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Booking a trip for march

1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  ekb18c 
#1 ·
hey guys,

Its come time to book my annual second week of march trip.

Ive done park city every year for the past 4 years, but looking at how utah's season is going vs colorado's im thinking its gonna be colorado this year.

Ive never been to Colorado (Park city and banff are the only resort areas ive been to out west) and i have a few concerns.

Apparently, Breckenridge and Keystone (especially breckenrige) have a problem with crowds; especially during march.

In addition, im also worried about altitude sickness but i'd appreciate some firsthand accounts on how significant it is.

Where in Colorado would you stay and what resorts would you go to; how is the bus system in terms of transportation between resorts?

Id appreciate all input and commentary.

Thanks.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
our group alternate each year between SLC and Denver. I can help answer a few question about CO as an experienced visitor. You might get better advice from the locals.

Resort wise we usually follow the snow. But we have a few favorite that definitely get our love every trip, winterpark and loveland. Then we usually pick one or two of the vail resorts depend on what we wanna do. Vail is huge in an awesome way but there are alot of flat cat tracks and if you are unfamiliar with the place, you spend more time figuring out how to get to places. Breck can be busy but once u get past the initial crowd and spread up into all the different peaks its not that bad. We generally avoid Keystone as none of us ride park and it feels crowded everywhere we go. But they do have evening sessions. It is said Keystone also have the better park setup. Been to Crested Butte and ABasin once, but i cant remember anything that stood out. I remember having a blast at Beaver Creek but cant remember details as it was one of the very first trip we took.

if you are in good health and work out you will be fine. I barely workout and i get out of breath a little sometimes when i have to traverse. So i wouldnt really worry about it. Just pace yourself when you drink alcohol. That was a mistake i learned the hard way.

we usually stay around frisco or dillon since its cheaper then staying near the resorts. Also when u stay in the summit county they have free buses that will take u to the resorts (Breck, Abasin, Keystone and Copper). So you can look for a hotel close to a bus stop to make things easier.
 
#3 ·
It's a tough call for this year. I'm in a similar boat since my crewdid 4 mtns in SLC last year, and then CO both years prior to that. We always rent SUV's so I can't speak to public transportation, but I wouldn't worry too much about altitude. If you're in decent shape, you should be fine. I found that staying hydrated and taking a nap the 1st day, which is a travel day anyways, pretty much eliminated any adjustment period.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Thanks for all the recomendations and input guys.

One of my bros friends just let me know that he has pretty severe athsma, at which point i was tempted to tell him "sucks to your asmar" but, I dont think colorado is a very good idea for him, unless we have no other options.

Im still trying to decide, but thats definitely gonna make doing colorado a hard choice.

British columbia is now in the mix (though it will be much more expensive, even though we live in toronto). When flying to somewhere in the states we fly from buffalo and the flights are dirt cheap, flying to or from canada or both makes the flights 2x more expensive, sometimes more.


If we do BC, i need to decide between revy, fernie, whitwater, kicking horse or big white or other resorts. Our priority is powder.
 
#5 · (Edited)
In addition, im also worried about altitude sickness but i'd appreciate some firsthand accounts on how significant it is.
If you're in decent shape, you should be fine.
if you are in good health and work out you will be fine.
Just wanted to say that just cos you're healthy and fit, doesn't mean, that you're not prone to altitude sickness (healthy in terms of healthy lifestyle and not healthy in terms of not having an infection, which could make you more prone). You never know in advance, who's going to be affected, predisposition is not yet known.

I know a completely healthy fit girl suffering from severe altitude sickness (incl. Edema) as low as 6500ft (she had to be emergency rescued by heli doing a simple recreational excursion).

On the other hand, when I did a trip to the Andes (14800ft), I expected me (asthmatic and long term smoker) to be the one of the group most prone, the other group members all being healthy and fit. I felt pretty well up there (sure, I was breathing holes into the air as well), but the most healthy gal of the group experienced altitude sickness and had to go down.

One of my bros friends just let me know that he has pretty severe athsma, at which point i was tempted to tell him "sucks to your asmar" but, I dont think colorado is a very good idea for him, unless we have no other options.
I don't feel any inconveniency boarding/breathing at 9900ft, while others without asthma already complain that they have to breathe hard - I use to joke that my lung is used to get along with little air ;). I begin to feel a difference at 11500ft though. Being asthmatic hasn't prevented a friend of mine from doing touring at pretty high mountains. Asthma doesn't mean, you have to exclude destinations/activities per se. It depends, how well he can manage it.
 
#6 ·
Just wanted to say that just cos you're healthy and fit, doesn't mean, that you're not prone to altitude sickness (healthy in terms of healthy lifestyle and not healthy in terms of not having an infection, which could make you more prone). You never know in advance, who's going to be affected, predisposition is not yet known.

I know a completely healthy fit girl suffering from severe altitude sickness (incl. Edema) as low as 6500ft (she had to be emergency rescued by heli doing a simple recreational excursion).

On the other hand, when I did a trip to the Andes (14800ft), I expected me (asthmatic and long term smoker) to be the one of the group most prone, the other group members all being healthy and fit. I felt pretty well up there (sure, I was breathing holes into the air as well), but the most healthy gal of the group experienced altitude sickness and had to go down.



I don't feel any inconveniency boarding/breathing at 9900ft, while others without asthma already complain that they have to breathe hard - I use to joke that my lung is used to get along with little air ;). I begin to feel a difference at 11500ft though. Being asthmatic hasn't prevented a friend of mine from doing touring at pretty high mountains. Asthma doesn't mean, you have to exclude destinations/activities per se. It depends, how well he can manage it.
That is very interesting.

What im taking away is there is basically no way to know who will be affected by altitude sickness, other than going somewhere high.

Helpful, and not helpful, at the same time.

Maybe we could all strangle each other and see who is affected the worst?
 
#7 ·
Unfortunately, altitude sickness ends up being a trial and error proposition for the 'otherwise healthy'. Things to consider are jet lag, which can relate
to hydration, sleep deprivation and other things as well as pre-existing
conditions such as asthma, chronic high or low blood pressure and
any recent cols or flu. Best rule of thumb if you are going to unusually
high altitude for you is to minimize all other stresses, especially alcohol
which contributes to most of the above. Or, stay lower altitude and
worry a bit less.
 
#10 ·
Just came back from CO visited Vail & Beaver creek.

I absolutely loved Beaver Creek as it was just big enough. Vail was great too but it was just so freaking big as someone else said.

I consider myself a pretty healthy person as I exercise at least 2-3 times a week with intense cardio and I only had problems walking up 3 flight of stairs to my condo. I was completed shocked that I was gasping for air. A few times, I was dizzy from the elevation but that quickly went away. I just drank tons of water before going and it seemed to help.

Other people I know were in bed for a 1 day and they do marathons!
 
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