[lab49232]

Bozeman and Whitefish are gonna pop too..also Leavenworth WA...

SHHHHHH... But no exactly this. This was my point places like Bozeman and Whitefish are currently dream locations but that'll change. On the bright side both of those areas are HUGE and you want terrain, holy hell. The bad part for Whitefish is that Glacier has blown up in popularity too so now summers are even going to start getting crowded. But you got a few years to get it now.

Levenworth is already almost played out. Stevens isn't built for crowds and its starting to get packed. It won't take long sadly

The thing that saves Sandpoint is all the Nazi's. Little too radical up there for a lot of people. Victor is just awful. I mean fucking horrible. So you own a 7 bedroom 4 bath house, there's literally nothing there.

The Navis don't get on the slopes though Don't talk to the locals and Sandpoint is a dream, that whole area is stupidly pretty. Not to mention Turtle racing in Coeur De Lane.

 

[SBK]

As bad as you say Oregon is I think Washington may be worse. Living in Seattle there are several areas within reach but all are extremely crowded on the weekends. I used to get a seasons pass for Stevens Pass because the weekday/weekends-evening pass was pretty reasonable and the crowds weren't horrific. Now I hit Stevens maybe once a year, the terrain is MEH and the crowds bad even mid-week if there is fresh snow. Crystal is a no go on weekends if you don't like crowds and the terrain is not to my liking, great if you like steep but the moderate stuff has a lot of flats. Can't even imagine going to Snoqualmie, short runs, crowds and mediocre snow. Baker is too far for day trips, at least more than the occasionally. Really the only places I want to go on the weekends are Mission and White Pass which pretty much require a weekend commitment.

As far as dream locations or retirement options for me I still think about Bend despite the crazy growth just because I really like
Bachelor and there are tons of other year round outdoor activities and it's a scenic location. Boise and SLC aren't that scenic IMO. McCall is scenic but Brundage and Tamarack are small hills with limited terrain. Sandpoint with Schweitzer would be nice, seems like prices are high there too and not a lot of job opportunities. There are certainly some nice locations with smaller local hills but certainly not what the original poster is looking for.

 

[killclimbz]

I don't see Whitefish blowing up. Mostly because of the jobs thing. maybe Kalispell will kick it into high gear. Bozeman on the other hand is definitely blowing up, jobs are still an obstacle everywhere in Montana, but there is more opportunity in Bozeman for sure.

 

[wrathfuldeity]

Oregon has no "resorts" which are built to handle crowds, we're still trying to pretend we're Baker but we now have triple the population and 1/3rd the level of terrain.

Baker is pretty much at capacity on the weekends...certainly with in the past 2 years, if you haven't gotten the goods in the first 3 runs, you ain't getting it. And by 11am BC is getting tracked. This past year on mid week pow days, the parking lot fills up much more than in the past. The past being maybe 2 rows of cars and easy goods all day. The only thing saving bakes is the lack of services, the drive and local weather...keeps the touristas from over-running the hill...but damm Seattle needs to stick to crystal and stevens; and Canooks to north of the boarder.

 

[lab49232]

I don't see Whitefish blowing up. Mostly because of the jobs thing. maybe Kalispell will kick it into high gear. Bozeman on the other hand is definitely blowing up, jobs are still an obstacle everywhere in Montana, but there is more opportunity in Bozeman for sure.

True, although I was putting Kalispell and Whitefish together as they're practically one town. Was talking to a real estate agent there recently and the amount of properties switching to full time vacation properties is insane. With the boom in tourism in the area in both summer and winter it's a year round destination which is gonna create jobs. But Whitefish is easily on my list of best places to live for riding and enjoying the outdoors. Bozeman is gonna be overrun long before Whitefish. That area's growth is explosive, but the thing Montana has going for it is how big everything is and that means room to accommodate growth.

PS if any of you haven't ridden Whitefish, don't it sucks stay away. Go to Colorado where there's snow and real terrain.

 

[killclimbz]

Yeah, I consider Kalispell and Whitefish basically the same area. It is super nice up there. I wanted to look at that area but the wife put the kebosh on that one. Hence Ridgway. Which the terrain around here sucks, you definitely want to go to Vail...

 

[powderjunkie]

I don't see Whitefish blowing up. Mostly because of the jobs thing. maybe Kalispell will kick it into high gear. Bozeman on the other hand is definitely blowing up, jobs are still an obstacle everywhere in Montana, but there is more opportunity in Bozeman for sure.

True, although I was putting Kalispell and Whitefish together as they're practically one town. Was talking to a real estate agent there recently and the amount of properties switching to full time vacation properties is insane. With the boom in tourism in the area in both summer and winter it's a year round destination which is gonna create jobs. But Whitefish is easily on my list of best places to live for riding and enjoying the outdoors. Bozeman is gonna be overrun long before Whitefish. That area's growth is explosive, but the thing Montana has going for it is how big everything is and that means room to accommodate growth.

PS if any of you haven't ridden Whitefish, don't it sucks stay away. Go to Colorado where there's snow and real terrain.

I definitely agree with the CO theme. The terrain is soooo much bigger and better there. And more snow to boot. Definitely think the western side of the state has alot of untapped potential. Especially that one town Ridgway... ?

 

[BurtonAvenger]

Colorado is crowded with Californians. Go to New England! Warmer winters with better snow.

Unless you've experienced 35k people on the hill, your lines aren't that bad.

 

[lab49232]

Colorado is crowded with Californians. Go to New England! Warmer winters with better snow.

Unless you've experienced 35k people on the hill, your lines aren't that bad.

HAHA tis true. Although for Oregon I'm not talking about lift lines, or even crowds in general it's more even being able to get to the mountain to sit in a lift line. And then about terrain/facilities/views vs crowd.

Pick, someone offers you a season pass to Timberline or a pass to Breck which you picking (based solely on the riding and crowds, not living area)

 

[BurtonAvenger]

Be happy you're not dealing with I-70. 4 hours to get to the mountains, 8 hours to return from them. People wonder why I don't leave my house on a Saturday anymore.

If we're talking walking distance, Breck would win as I can literally see the gondola from my chair right now. And I also know the mountain like the back of my hand.

 

[Argo]

HAHA tis true. Although for Oregon I'm not talking about lift lines, or even crowds in general it's more even being able to get to the mountain to sit in a lift line. And then about terrain/facilities/views vs crowd.

Pick, someone offers you a season pass to Timberline or a pass to Breck which you picking (based solely on the riding and crowds, not living area)

Timberline would be WAY down on my list. I lived walking distance to the lifts in Vail, lionshead village side, yet chose to move and settle in bend.

The crowds have gotten intense in CO all year long. Bachelors busiest weekends are no where even close to what an average weekend is in the front range. Even when there is a long line at the base of Pine, skyliner or Sunrise, NWX will be empty.

But, having said that. Colorado is the best, everyone should pick Keystone over ALL....

 

[lab49232]

Yeah, I consider Kalispell and Whitefish basically the same area. It is super nice up there. I wanted to look at that area but the wife put the kebosh on that one. Hence Ridgway. Which the terrain around here sucks, you definitely want to go to Vail...

Wifey made a mistake Been vacationing a bunch in the area the last few years, although Glacier NP will be interesting to see since the wildfires. I was there about 2 weeks before they started. Beautiful area with all the outdoor activities year round. Fishing, hiking, mountain biking, everything, boating/wakeboarding, everything.

Kalispell having an international airport is pretty neat as well, although at only a day drive from PDX I'm usually roadtripping it. Not to mention it's actually cheaper there in winter than in summer....

 

[lab49232]

Timberline would be WAY down on my list. I lived walking distance to the lifts in Vail, lionshead village side, yet chose to move and settle in bend.

The crowds have gotten intense in CO all year long. Bachelors busiest weekends are no where even close to what an average weekend is in the front range. Even when there is a long line at the base of Pine, skyliner or Sunrise, NWX will be empty.

But, having said that. Colorado is the best, everyone should pick Keystone over ALL....

Again agreed, Timberline is a joke for terrain and that's the opoint of the "boring" in the title. Colorado is obviously busier and more crowded. But it's also bigger. Its not a 1-1 comparison I'm making. I think 5 years ago Id have chosen Bend no problem but with what's already happened and where it's going it's not going to have the value. Take summer, backpacking in Sisters area is now the outdoors version of Disney. I like the proposed permit idea to protect all the damage being done from excessive crowds. but I also don't like being in an area I have to get a permit to walk around in the woods. I remember reading this quote a while back and being like yup that about sums it up "I don't even consider it a wilderness experience," said Chris Sabo, trail crew supervisor for Deschutes National Forest. "It's almost more of an urban park. The use is very high, really beyond what this area can accommodate."

 

[killclimbz]

Wifey made a mistake Been vacationing a bunch in the area the last few years, although Glacier NP will be interesting to see since the wildfires. I was there about 2 weeks before they started. Beautiful area with all the outdoor activities year round. Fishing, hiking, mountain biking, everything, boating/wakeboarding, everything.

Kalispell having an international airport is pretty neat as well, although at only a day drive from PDX I'm usually roadtripping it. Not to mention it's actually cheaper there in winter than in summer....

I just wish we had of looked. I would have loved to live that close to the Canadian border. Weekend trips to Rogers Pass would have been amazing. Fortunately the San Juans are one of the most bad assed ranges around. Pretty much everything here too. Though the lakes are not quite as good, the mountain biking is off the hook. Moab is about 2 1/2 hours away to boot.

 

[ridinbend]

I guess maybe your version of rich and my version of rich are different. Living in vail for 5 years showed me what my version of rich is..... Bend is very far from that.

As for crowds going down from pass price, i just like that it stays about the same, they sold 1000 less passes this year than last. There is no more max pass or any conglomeratefor bachelor, that was 30%+ of the crowds over the last 2 seasons.

Im happy that people are not liking the price or the lack of amenities as you stated. Thats good for me and other people that live here and only ride bachelor, bad for people that dont live in town.

This is encouraging news

 

[f00bar]

I think all these small gems of a town are going to see massive growth for the fact that there are so many jobs that don't tie you down to a location. Living at a no longer means you need to make your money from the local economy, or lack there of.

More bad news is that a good number of these people who can now move are likely from CA and will not settle for just moving. They will bring CA life with them.

If you want to keep your quaint little mountain towns you should outlaw high speed internet.

Then again there is all that porn, so it's a toss up.

 

[Aztrailerhawk]

Short bus nice.

Wish I had a short bus...........word burning stove...........couch........hammock.............

You need to get this so bad. WAY nicer to hang out in the parking lot....

 

[Aztrailerhawk]

Airport

I think all these small gems of a town are going to see massive growth for the fact that there are so many jobs that don't tie you down to a location. Living at a no longer means you need to make your money from the local economy, or lack there of.

More bad news is that a good number of these people who can now move are likely from CA and will not settle for just moving. They will bring CA life with them.

If you want to keep your quaint little mountain towns you should outlaw high speed internet.

Then again there is all that porn, so it's a toss up.

All the places within easy driving distance of a major airport, gotta have direct flights to big cities, they gonna get loaded up with people. So many telecommuters....

 

[ridinbend]

You need to get this so bad. WAY nicer to hang out in the parking lot....

The stove is so small that the work to get enough small pieces of wood cut small enough to properly fit is a pain in the ass and doesn't have a long burn time.

 

[Aztrailerhawk]

Trust me

The stove is so small that the work to get enough small pieces of wood cut small enough to properly fit is a pain in the ass and doesn't have a long burn time.

Miss Mojo has this covered.