CJR

So one of my good friends won a trip to Vail Colorado for two, and he decided to bring me. (Accomodations/Lift tickets are paid for, we need to cover the cost of transportation).

Were planning to go the first week of April. I was just wondering if anyone in the east has been out there before, as we have no idea what to expect.

We're both at an intermediate level, but the biggest mountain we've been to is Tremblant, which is tiny in size compared to what's out there.

Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers.

threej21

itll obviously come down to skill level and confidence, but after 1 1/2 seasons of nothing but small southeast hills, I just got back from my first trip west at keystone, breck, and a basin.
other than being more fatigued from such longer runs, i had no problem whatsoever. we always went to the top and stayed on blacks, blues, and some pretty tight tree runs...it was a blast...oh and the bigger, longer runs def yield to more speed, so hope your comfortable at mach 5, lol

the parks are amazing, and at keystone i was able to hold my own in the small and medium parks, but didnt quite wanna step it up to their big dog park, as its got some pretty crazy, intemidating features.

Milo303

You're wanting to go right before closing weekend?

I highly recommend coming out mid march as you're risking high temperatures and mashed potatoes coming at the very end of the season like that.

On the flip side, a couple seasons ago, closing day was the best powder day of the season.

Vail has something for everyone, nothing to be scared of, just a giant fun mountain

__________________
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion." - Abraham Lincoln

CJR

Yeah it was our only option due to our line of work and conflicting schedules.

Argo

I would shoot for the last week of march, spring break will be mostly over and the Easter/holy week crowds come the first week of April through closing weekend....

Argo

Do you ride parks or just cruise the trails?

CJR

Unfortunately we can't make that happen because of work.

About 50/50. For this trip though, we'll be primarily freeriding and enjoying the long trails the mountain has to offer.

Argo

Do you know where your accommodations are? Are you guys here all week and do you plan to just snowboard vail or do you want to venture out and do other stuff in other places? Breck is like 35 minutes on clear roads, keystone is 45 minutes, beaver creek is 15 minutes...... There's plenty of mountain in vail and plenty of après but if I was coming for 7-10 days I would wanna hit other resorts around here too just because I could, the pass is universal....

Argo

Resort Shuttle | Denver Airport Shuttle & Resort Transportation | CME for a shuttle service or just rent a car..... I like having the car rental.... So I have some freedom

CJR

I believe the lift tickets he won are good for all 3 of those. We only have 3 days accommodation, and 3 days of boarding covered. The plan is to fly from Toronto to Denver on the sometime on the 4th of April, stay there for the night, take the shuttle to Vail in the morning and leave on Sunday the 8th. So we basically get Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to shred.

At this time I'm not sure where we're exactly staying.