slyder

Hi guys,
I know this is off season and the forum is slow but thought I'd ask some generic advice.
Background

• 45 yr old dad, 2 boys 16, 15
• This will be our 4th??? season riding
• we only ride small WI, Midwest hills
• We only know ice, groomers, and badly maintained parks

** I have been offered a condo, sleeps 6 at Winter Park CO around Feb or Mar $500 for the week. We would need to drive there, flying isn't in my budget. Money is a concern. I"m not sure if it is Monday-Sunday or how the days work out, 5 days or 7days. I can get that info.
Thought to see if any of my kids friends/family wanted to join us to help split costs but none of them are at this level of riding.

Rough idea how much lift tickets for a week would be?

I/we have never ridden a real mountain. Not sure if we are equipped clothing wise. We get below zero here but never been in elevations. What might I/we need if we do decide to go.
I'm losing thoughts here so any advice or input you can give me would be great and I will add details as needed or I think of them.

Thanks

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Thanks
-Slyder

Krug

What's your total budget that you are willing to spend? Do you have your own snowboards or will you be renting?

I drove with the wife and kids to Beaver Creek last year and it wasn't bad at all. For lift tickets alone, you could do the 4 day deal that WP has going now for $149 per person. For the 3 of you, that will be $450, which is a GREAT deal. Add on another day or two if you like. Add a couple hundred bones for gas. Add another 120 bucks to stay at a hotel on the way out unless you are driving straight through and a 150 bucks for groceries (way cheaper to eat in the room than on the hill...a big benefit of the condo). Stop at a Costco in Denver and load up with groceries. Comfort suites in North Platte, NE is a great deal with free breakfast if you aren't driving straight through.

As far as clothing goes, If you have the gear to stay warm in Wisconsin in single digits, it will work in Winterpark to keep you warm.

If I did my math right, I would say you and your boys could have a great time and make great memories for around $1400. If you can swing it, go for it...at 16, it won't be long before your son won't want to hang with the old man!

Andy

Argo

I agree with krug on the price breakdown. Go for it....

slyder

Andy,
I really don't have a budget this would be a wing it trip. Staying under $1500 would be best. My oldest just got his license and my other boy will have his temps. So we should have 3 drivers, weather permitting. I would drive straight through but if a night stay is required on the way there or home, so be it, safety first.

We all have good equipment and clothes. We may add to the wardrobe as a just in case stuff. This we could use at home anyway.

The food idea is exactly where the condo would come in hand. Again I'm not sure if it's on the hill or near the hill.

Some of the cost could be offset in gifts. The kids have b-days and Christmas and family often buys them passes for area resorts that we will travel to. These could be cash towards this trip to help us.

This is all about memories. The only wrench is my wife and daughter don't ride so I need to sell this to the wife. It's a lot of money for a 1/2 of the family trip.

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Thanks
-Slyder

Argo

Take the wife and girl too. They can have fun doing off hill.stuff

HoboMaster

Riding in the midwest, you honestly probably have better gear than I do dealing with those winds and subzero temps. I ride maybe 3 days a year when it's just miserable, and layering up well pretty much does the trick in any situation.

Something to keep in mind if you go, is that high-elevations (above 10,000 ft typically) cause some people to have minor health issues such as nausea, dizziness, and lack of breath. I used to sometimes have this happen when I rode at Mammoth Mtn as a young kid. Your body has to acclimate to the difference in air pressure and lack of oxygen, which for some people is nearly instantaneous and others might be a day or two. If you are in good shape it tends to affect you less.

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PowderHound and TreeNinja

snowklinger

I never get cold here in CO, but I charge it and run hot. The lack of humidity makes cold temps alot more bearable then that nasty shit in the midwest that goes straight into your bones no matter what ur wearing.

As far as "big" mountain experience, just make sure the boys don't think they are badass and duck ropes, bad things happen. Also it is really easy even with a sense of direction to get turned around on the bigger mountains, especially ones with multiple peaks (most of em), so I'd recommend staying together until you get a feel for the place.

Winter Park has alot of cattracks and run-outs where boarders can get stuck and end up walking. Sometimes you can feel like you spend all day trying to get to the goods over there and just end up on flats after flats. Couple ways to avoid this: make sure your boards are all waxed up fast as shit before you go. Study the mountain and pick areas to ride for a couple hours, avoid "the grass is greener" mentality or you guys will be doing cross-country snowboarding all day and hate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w7sVSMbjyM couldnt get embed to work cuz its too smarty

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is it late october yet?

linvillegorge

I think you could stay under $1500 if you were smart. Having a kitchen will definitely help. I see lots of canned soup and grilled cheeses in your future, which works out just fine as snowboarding/winter food anyway. Fuel up at Wal-Mart here in Evergreen on your way up, don't rely on hitting up resort town grocery stores.

WP 4 pack = $149 then hit up a Shell station for gas a couple of times for the buy one get one lift ticket deal.

http://skicolorado.com/Four-Pass.aspx

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"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz

wrathfuldeity

^This...somebody needs to make the sandwiches. And the fun stuff...being lodge bunnies and getting hit on by hot sweaty gnarfairies.

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Donutz

I did something vaguely similar this last winter, where we went to Whistler for 5 nights. The biggest issue I had was that Seymour really didn't prepare me for the length of the runs on Whistler. I ended the first couple of days with my legs wobbling like spaghetti. Not that it ruined the trip by any means -- I had a blast, as did my family. But if possible, you should start some kind of training regimen maybe a month in advance to build up your leg strength and endurance.

Also, someone died in a tree well a week after I was there. Good piece of advice would be not to ride alone when you're in unfamiliar territory.

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Illegitimi non carborundum

Mountain Days: 30