# Travel and rest



## 4aprice (Mar 27, 2017)

Just got back from the annual spring trip to the Rockies.  Great snow, great weather and most of all great times with the family, but a lesson learned.  That lesson was, that at plus double nickles, 7 straight days on snow took away some of the enjoyment that I had last season when other obligations had me take a couple of days off to do some other things.  What is the the fine line between getting as much time (limited time for me since I'm still on the east coast) and not burning yourself out?  Be interested to hear from such people as JimK and ABC who do a lot of traveling what they find that limit to be.  I know from now on I will be planning to take a day or two off and enjoying it more.  3 to 4 straight seems to be max for me.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## dlague (Mar 27, 2017)

4aprice said:


> Just got back from the annual spring trip to the Rockies.  Great snow, great weather and most of all great times with the family, but a lesson learned.  That lesson was, that at plus double nickles, 7 straight days on snow took away some of the enjoyment that I had last season when other obligations had me take a couple of days off to do some other things.  What is the the fine line between getting as much time (limited time for me since I'm still on the east coast) and not burning yourself out?  Be interested to hear from such people as JimK and ABC who do a lot of traveling what they find that limit to be.  I know from now on I will be planning to take a day or two off and enjoying it more.  3 to 4 straight seems to be max for me.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ


I get that being the same age.

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## snoseek (Mar 27, 2017)

If you're not used to skiing everyday its gonna hurt after a few days. Tons of food and water plus rest every night. If you need to slam some zzzzquil or something similar to really get extra rest than that helps. 

Right now for me after a few days I get a little sore and take a easy cruisy day or a day off but I'm in crap shape Atm. My first years in Tahoe I was skiing all day and only taking a couple travel days off a month. Body adapts pretty quick. This is why we ski all conditions back east....its training/conditioning.

Colorado coming from sea level takes an extra toll too I'm sure. I think its a good idea to take a day or better yet a light day if you're out for a week.


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## spring_mountain_high (Mar 27, 2017)

i never sleep well the first night in a new place/bed


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## snoseek (Mar 27, 2017)

spring_mountain_high said:


> i never sleep well the first night in a new place/bed




hence the zzzquil aka purple draaank. I love the stuff when I NEED to get a big nights rest


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## dlague (Mar 27, 2017)

snoseek said:


> hence the zzzquil aka purple draaank. I love the stuff when I NEED to get a big nights rest


Knocks you out for sure but I wake up around 3 or 4 and am screwed after that.

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## kingslug (Mar 28, 2017)

My record is 11 days straight at Alta. 3 of them for the Avi course which had limited skiing but a skin up Alta, which wiped me out. Just got back from 6 days skiing at Jackson which was the limit for that place. 6 days seems like a perfect stretch. Unless there is something really interesting to see or do, then 5 days would work. I take 3 to 4 trips out west, Europe or S. America a year so I have it down pretty well.


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## Duncanator24 (Mar 28, 2017)

Highly depends on snow conditions and how much time I spend in the woods. 2 days open to close with powder and spending 90% of the time in the woods and that is plenty. Adding on another day or two with late starts/early finish, or easily extending that out to 5-6 days if I stop for lunch, get proper sleep, and hit some groomers along the way. That's assuming adding like 5+ hours of travel on both ends of that which really saps the energy and throws off the sleep cycles too.


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## Smellytele (Mar 28, 2017)

If it was up to me I would ski everyday but with the family when traveling west I take break days. travel day in get acclimated by walking around the ski towns and drink fluids (yes a few beers also). Then ski 3 days take a break, then ski 3 days then travel home. I have done 4 days with the travel in acclimation day then ski 4 days and travel home on the last day of skiing as well. flexibility can be key when traveling.


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## ironhippy (Mar 28, 2017)

Smellytele said:


> Then ski 3 days take a break, then ski 3 days then travel home. I have done 4 days with the travel in acclimation day then ski 4 days and travel home on the last day of skiing as well. flexibility can be key when traveling.



This sounds like a great plan, the key is flexibility. If you get a rain/crap weather day, that would be the ideal day to rest and do something different.

Getting yourself in better shape would also help, but that may not be the direction people want to go.


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## jaytrem (Mar 28, 2017)

I find it's helps to alternate skiing and snowboarding.  Seems to use different muscles. Tele skis tire me out the quickest, but seems like I could snowboard for ever and it doesn't take much of a toll on me.  I often joke with my snowboarding friends that I'm going to take the day off and just snowboard.  No way I'm taking a day off on a western trip though.  My trips are typically "safari" type though, makes it tougher to take a day off when you'll only be at a place for 1 or 2 days max.


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## jimk (Mar 28, 2017)

It's all about managing yourself as a weekend warrior or occasional ski vacation warrior.  None of us recreational skiers/boarders over the age of 35 can go from being mostly sedentary during our working lives to a week straight of blitzing double black diamonds for eight hours a day.  The best scenario is to take a full week ski trip, ski three days, rest one day, then ski three days.  Whenever I've done that the last few ski days of the trip often feel really great.  I know a lot of people take shorter ski trips built around 2-4 straight ski days to minimize the use of vacation time over a long weekend.  That’s fine to low elevation places like New England.  Ski three hard days, then return to the office cube and rest  for a few days.  But I don't like that plan for western trips because as a sea-level person I feel like I spend the first couple of ski days adjusting to altitude and can't really ski the mountains with 100% vigor.  In early March I skied with a grandmother at Whistler who was skiing her 80-something straight day and 100+ day for the season!  She is a high level ski instructor at Whistler and one day led me and about ten friends for several hours on some burly chutes and glades in the Symphony and Harmony bowl areas at Whistler.  She was doing this kind of guiding with portions of a large group visiting Whistler that week.  She is an example of an older person who can ski many, many days in a row.  It can be done, but she built up to it.  Also, I don't believe as an instructor she skis double black diamonds all day for 80 straight days.  I'm sure there are mellow days when she's working with beginners and intermediates.  When I took my nine week western ski trip in 2015 I got into a mode about halfway through it where I felt strong.  I got past the aches and pains and adjusted to altitude.  I believe there was a stretch where I skied about  eight or nine days straight without feeling labored, but some of those were partial days.  It was the best I felt on skis in 30 years.  The moral of the story is that you just have to pace yourself.  If you want to be doing this for a life time you have to remember it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Lady S at Whistler:  











One of the other guys in the group, shows the terrain we were lapping with her:





I can think of so many stories of skiing with inspiring older folks.  The good ones know how to manage themselves on a ski hill so they can keep coming back.  This guy is 71 and hikes Highland Bowl:





In a recent past winter I started leading him down a steep run in the Deep Temerity section of Aspen Highlands, about halfway down he took the lead because I had tired out.  Amazing thing about this guy is I asked him what he does to stay in shape and he said "nothing"!?!  Except he logs a lot of ski days during the season!!


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## crank (Mar 28, 2017)

I just turned 60 this winter.  Usually I go west for a week at a time.  I never take a day off.

Last season I skied Aspen, etc. for 10 days in a row and was fine for that as well. (Skied some with Jim K  and son there) However, and this becomes more important as you age, I try to keep my legs in good shape by walking, hiking, lots of cycling and mountain biking and even some elliptical in the gym.

All that and vitamin i.

And having said, that I skied 4 days at Jackson Hole this winter and my knees were killing me afterwards.  I think the difference is I was with a group of guys who did all out of bounds and back country so there was a lot of hiking involved in almost every run.  Plus I was at least 10 pounds lighter and in better shape the previous season.


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## drjeff (Mar 28, 2017)

Depends on a few things in my book

#1 - your pre trip "fitness" level, and not just cardio wise, but also ski muscle wise, as we all know that nothing substitutes for time in the boots, and using those ski muscles in ski specific motions.  Too many people go from just having a few days on snow ahead of time, and often very little other cardio and/or general fitness work before their trip and then think they can go 4,5,6,7... days straight??  Not going to work out very well the majority of time

#2 - both pre trip and immediately upon arrival rest and hydration - if you haven't rested up and pushed the hydration ahead of time and in the 24-48hrs upon arrival at altitude, most of us physiologically are going to have some ill effects when we then try and go out on the hill, and probably feel like we either can or should be tearing it up from run #1, and then since we're spending the $$ to be on that ski vacation, take more runs than we typically would

#3 - Don't try and do it all on the 1st day!!  So many people fall into that trap, and post travel day and post getting used to the altitude, they go way too hard the 1st day, and then spend the next few days trying to recover from the day #1 exertion as well as recover from the travel and adjust to the altitude

My personal West trips are usually 6 days in a row, but the prep for that doesn't start days in advance, but is more of a year round lifestyle thing


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## dlague (Mar 28, 2017)

Most I have done in a row back east was 5 and was OK but was not killing it every day.  Intake terrain breaks during the day by skiing stuff that is not so taxing for me.  Out west I have only skied 4 days in a row in Colorado and 5 in a row at Banff resorts plus Kicking Horse and that was on vacation.  Banff I was not breath taken like I was in Colorado.  Then again the top elevations at Banff resorts are the base elevations of many in Colorado.

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## BenedictGomez (Mar 28, 2017)

Duncanator24 said:


> *Highly depends on snow conditions and how much time I spend in the woods.* 2 days open to close with powder and spending 90% of the time in the woods and that is plenty.



I agree with this. 

  I think I could ski 7 days in a row no problem on groomers and the occasional on-map mogul runs, but if I'm at a Smuggs or a Jay Peak and I'm in the woods all day long, 2 days of that and I'm toast.  Wouldn't be able to ski a 3rd day in a row.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 28, 2017)

4aprice said:


> Just got back from the annual spring trip to the Rockies........  I know from *now on I will be planning to take a day or two off and enjoying it more.  3 to 4 straight seems to be max for me.  *



This is what I did last year in Utah, and it seemed to work well, although my last ski day at Deer Valley I was tired for sure.

Here's my tentative plan for Colorado, though obviously subject to change due to weather or a host of other things.

Day 1)  Arapahoe Basin
Day 2)  Loveland
Day 3)  REST
Day 4)  Vail
Day 5)  REST
Day 6)  Breckenridge
Day 7)  REST
Day 8 ) Vail
Day 9)  Vail

So 6 days of skiing out of 9 days.  Is this overkill on the rest?  Maybe it is, but personally I'd rather ski at or near 100% for fewer days than ski at 75% and cram a few more days skiing in.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 28, 2017)

Entirely up to the individual, but if I'm going out West, I might take the first day to get acclimated to altitude. I'm skiing the rest of the time.  Even if it means I'm taking it easy a couple of days.  I'd be too eager to rather be skiing to go every other day like you plan on doing on your trip.  Even if I'm just cruising groomers and checking out a couple of on mountain bars, I'd rather do that than sit around my condo or sight see.


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## Smellytele (Mar 28, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> This is what I did last year in Utah, and it seemed to work well, although my last ski day at Deer Valley I was tired for sure.
> 
> Here's my tentative plan for Colorado, though obviously subject to change due to weather or a host of other things.
> 
> ...



not bad but I would take out 1 rest day. ski 2, rest, ski 3, rest ski 2. assuming the day you fly in is not day 1 on your schedule.


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## jimk (Mar 28, 2017)

A-Basin is a bad mofo to start trip on  Maybe switch with Loveland day?  I'd probably do only two rest days too, but it depends on how you're feeling and gets kind of tricky if you start locking-in on days with something like liftopia.


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## Jully (Mar 28, 2017)

deadheadskier said:


> Entirely up to the individual, but if I'm going out West, I might take the first day to get acclimated to altitude. I'm skiing the rest of the time.  Even if it means I'm taking it easy a couple of days.  I'd be too eager to rather be skiing to go every other day like you plan on doing on your trip.  Even if I'm just cruising groomers and checking out a couple of on mountain bars, I'd rather do that than sit around my condo or sight see.



This, but I am also younger. Much to the frustration of family members/ significant others/friends wanting to do other things sometimes too.


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## kingslug (Mar 28, 2017)

And go easy on the booze. At altitude its like drinking twice as much. It was so dry at Jackson that my lips and fingers where bleeding, and I drink a ton of water. 2 drink max on those trips. There to ski not get hammered.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 28, 2017)

deadheadskier said:


> Even if I'm just cruising groomers and checking out a couple of on mountain bars, I'd rather do that than sit around my condo or sight see.



To me, while long-distance ski trips are primarily about skiing, they're not solely about skiing, I like to see an area and do some touristy stuff too.  Last year in Utah we explored Main Street in Park City, toured the Olympic & ski museum, visited the Museum of Natural History in SLC, which was amazing, went Curling, walked around the Temple square and looked inside the tabernacle and got-acosted-by-Mormons-who-I-think-wanted-to-convert-me, took a great long drive circling around the mountain range (Trailboss's suggestion), did some nature stuff & light hiking, stopped in to check out Sundance and had lunch there, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.  It is a highly to-each-his/her-own thing, but that's what I like.  And currently I'm looking for stuff to do in Colorado to fill some rest day time.



jimk said:


> A-Basin is a bad mofo to start trip on  Maybe *switch with Loveland day?*



Could just as easily do that, staying first 2 nights in Dillon, so the drive to either is the same.  Why is AB tougher than Loveland?


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## 4aprice (Mar 28, 2017)

crank said:


> I try to keep my legs in good shape by walking, hiking, lots of cycling and mountain biking and even some elliptical in the gym.



I do cardio almost daily and dry land training in the non skiing months and have dropped about 15 Lbs over the last year and thought I would do better but still had dead legs by the end of the trip.



drjeff said:


> Depends on a few things in my book
> 
> #1 - your pre trip "fitness" level, and not just cardio wise, but also ski muscle wise, as we all know that nothing substitutes for time in the boots, and using those ski muscles in ski specific motions.  Too many people go from just having a few days on snow ahead of time, and often very little other cardio and/or general fitness work before their trip and then think they can go 4,5,6,7... days straight??  Not going to work out very well the majority of time
> 
> ...



Agree with the pacing and am aware of it.  The next to the last day was powder and woods at Brighton, bell to bell, and probably contributed to the dead legs on the 7th.  Still the days I was forced to take off last year seemed beneficial and had me finish stronger and feeling better then this last trip.  Hydration may have been a contributing factor and something I may need to pay more attention to.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## jimk (Mar 28, 2017)

drjeff said:


> Depends on a few things in my book
> 
> #1 - your pre trip "fitness" level, and not just cardio wise, but also ski muscle wise, as we all know that nothing substitutes for time in the boots, and using those ski muscles in ski specific motions.  Too many people go from just having a few days on snow ahead of time, and often very little other cardio and/or general fitness work before their trip and then think they can go 4,5,6,7... days straight??  Not going to work out very well the majority of time
> 
> ...





BenedictGomez said:


> To me, while long-distance ski trips are primarily about skiing, they're not solely about skiing, I like to see an area and do some touristy stuff too.  Last year in Utah we explored Main Street in Park City, toured the Olympic & ski museum, visited the Museum of Natural History in SLC, which was amazing, went Curling, walked around the Temple square and looked inside the tabernacle and got-acosted-by-Mormons-who-I-think-wanted-to-convert-me, took a great long drive circling around the mountain range (Trailboss's suggestion), did some nature stuff & light hiking, stopped in to check out Sundance and had lunch there, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.  It is a highly to-each-his/her-own thing, but that's what I like.  And currently I'm looking for stuff to do in Colorado to fill some rest day time.
> 
> 
> 
> Could just as easily do that, staying first 2 nights in Dillon, so the drive to either is the same.  Why is AB tougher than Loveland?



BG:  Don't let us discourage you from taking sufficient rest days.  You know you and it sounds like you've got a good plan.  From Dillon/Vail location some rest day things to do are:
1. stroll Vail Village and shop until you drop, parking is free after 3PM. 
2.  In some ways Breckenridge is more fun to stroll than Vail, and more accessible with parking at fairly cheap meters right on main street.
3. go for a drive over to Leadville, see old Delaware Hotel and other small town shops.  Do a drive-by of Ski Cooper and look at some of the nearby Camp Hale historic areas.  Get a sandwich at Mango's Mtn Grill in tiny Red Cliff.  
4.  There are casinos in the twin front range towns of Central City and Black Hawk, CO if you think you'd enjoy that for something different.
5.  Glenwood Hot Springs about one hour from Vail.
6.  Not especially unique, but could shop at Silverthorne Outlets.  I found a good and cheap ski boot bag there two years ago. 

Re:  A-Basin and Loveland; they are both great, scenic, and very high elevation, which can be tough on first day, but Loveland has a lot more mellow cruising terrain.  A-Basin has some of that too, but it's more limited and you can easily find yourself doing demanding to VERY demanding runs there.  You'll be better for that after a day of altitude adjustment.


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## KustyTheKlown (Mar 28, 2017)

i'm 32. when i get on an airplane to ski, i don't take days off. i skied 7 straight in colorado and then 5 straight in montana this year, only taking 1 day off between for travel. i've done prior trips with 12-14 straight days with no problems. i sleep well.


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## crank (Mar 28, 2017)

The _*way*_ you ski can have a big impact as well.


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## jimk (Mar 28, 2017)

KustyTheKlown said:


> i'm 32. when i get on an airplane to ski, i don't take days off. i skied 7 straight in colorado and then 5 straight in montana this year, only taking 1 day off between for travel. i've done prior trips with 12-14 straight days with no problems. i sleep well.



Thanks for single handedly lowering the average age of poster in this thread by 15 years  :lol:


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## granite (Mar 28, 2017)

If you're out west and are going to ski many days in a row, it's a good thing to burn off lactic acid at the end of the day and fuel up within one hour after quitting.  Before you call it a day and head to après ski, try to burn off lactic acid by skiing very, very easy green runs-about the easiest ones on the mountain for a half hour or more.  Even if your legs are totally wasted, take a few runs on easy greens and you will probably feel your legs "coming back" from burning off the lactic acid.  Not only will your legs feel better, this will extend your time and increase your vertical on the ski slopes, the main reason you took a ski trip in the first place.  Make sure you hydrate and eat something high carb (bananas are really good) before you go to après.

I was in Vail in February and skied five days in a row, first chair to last chair, between 34,000 to 38,000 vertical a day.  About half the runs were off chair five in the back bowls skiing pretty hard slopes.  I was in decent shape, so I didn't have to ski easy greens at the end of the day, but in the past I have extended my ski day till last chair by skiing easy greens.  I'm an early riser, so in Vail I was in the exercise room from about 5:30 am to 6:00 am each morning doing easy stretching-therapy-core strengthening for my poor, pitiful lower back.  We were staying at the Marriot in Lionshead and they had a 15 yard indoor pool, so I did some real easy lap swims in the pool each day too.  Did a little walking after that, had breakfast and hit first chair.  My entire body was really loose and warmed up to start the day.  I figure there's a lot of time, effort and money invested in a ski trip and I want to ski all day long, every day, open to close if I can.


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## snoseek (Mar 28, 2017)

granite said:


> If you're out west and are going to ski many days in a row, it's a good thing to burn off lactic acid at the end of the day and fuel up within one hour after quitting.  Before you call it a day and head to après ski, try to burn off lactic acid by skiing very, very easy green runs-about the easiest ones on the mountain for a half hour or more.  Even if your legs are totally wasted, take a few runs on easy greens and you will probably feel your legs "coming back" from burning off the lactic acid.  Not only will your legs feel better, this will extend your time and increase your vertical on the ski slopes, the main reason you took a ski trip in the first place.  Make sure you hydrate and eat something high carb (bananas are really good) before you go to après.
> 
> I was in Vail in February and skied five days in a row, first chair to last chair, between 34,000 to 38,000 vertical a day.  About half the runs were off chair five in the back bowls skiing pretty hard slopes.  I was in decent shape, so I didn't have to ski easy greens at the end of the day, but in the past I have extended my ski day till last chair by skiing easy greens.  I'm an early riser, so in Vail I was in the exercise room from about 5:30 am to 6:00 am each morning doing easy stretching-therapy-core strengthening for my poor, pitiful lower back.  We were staying at the Marriot in Lionshead and they had a 15 yard indoor pool, so I did some real easy lap swims in the pool each day too.  Did a little walking after that, had breakfast and hit first chair.  My entire body was really loose and warmed up to start the day.  I figure there's a lot of time, effort and money invested in a ski trip and I want to ski all day long, every day, open to close if I can.



This actually makes a lot of sense. I know there's plenty of days where I'm just not feeling strong and on those days I'll take some cruisy runs and sometimes my strength and endurance will rebound a bit. If not then I guess it maybe does help for the next day...

I know this works on bikes as well. If you hammer out a lot of miles for a couple days it helps to do a leisurely paced "recovery ride" the following day to work things out.


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

If I had the luck/pleasure of a 7 day trip out west I'm skiing 7 days. Altitude adjustment I presume may delay - my only trip to Tahoe 20+ years ago didn't affect me tho.  But I will put my body through the ringer - I can do 10 days straight in East so why not west?  I'm 50+ years and maybe an old workhorse - no pampering needed and gotta get out there. You're tired end of day?  Rest, water and Advil. Get up do it again. Shopping and museums on a ski trip?  You high?  Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis.  I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude!  Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!


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## Smellytele (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> If I had the luck/pleasure of a 7 day trip out west I'm skiing 7 days. Altitude adjustment I presume may delay - my only trip to Tahoe 20+ years ago didn't affect me tho.  But I will put my body through the ringer - I can do 10 days straight in East so why not west?  I'm 50+ years and maybe an old workhorse - no pampering needed and gotta get out there. You're tired end of day?  Rest, water and Advil. Get up do it again. Shopping and museums on a ski trip?  You high?  Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis.  I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude!  Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!



Tahoe is at a much lower elevation than Colorado/Utah for the most part and skiing 7 days in a row in the East is much different than skiing 7 days in the west


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## snoseek (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> If I had the luck/pleasure of a 7 day trip out west I'm skiing 7 days. Altitude adjustment I presume may delay - my only trip to Tahoe 20+ years ago didn't affect me tho.  But I will put my body through the ringer - I can do 10 days straight in East so why not west?  I'm 50+ years and maybe an old workhorse - no pampering needed and gotta get out there. You're tired end of day?  Rest, water and Advil. Get up do it again. Shopping and museums on a ski trip?  You high?  Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis.  I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude!  Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!




What kind of savage eats crostini with fig and leaves out the goat cheese?


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## Tin (Mar 29, 2017)

Hookers and blow are the best rest you can get.


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## JDMRoma (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> Shopping and museums on a ski trip?  You high?  Sorry...toughen up folks, unless you're injured body aches are temporary. I would go batshyt crazy being out west just looking at everyone skiing while I go shopping and dine on figs and crustinis.  I hate people complaining "I'm old" - yeah well you just get older faster with that attitude!  Just move your body every day, toughen up your joints and power thru it!!!



Damn I love your attitude !!    If I had to go shopping you might as well just shoot me and put me out of my misery.


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## crank (Mar 29, 2017)

Last year we took a day off skiing at JH and did 12 miles of xc in Teton National Park just to relax.

Plenty of time to shop in the airport.


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## Domeskier (Mar 29, 2017)

I always take a day off to catch the local Pokemons.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 29, 2017)

I'm not in the best of shape, but had a much easier time in Montana than Colorado this season.

In Colorado we rode at Copper 4 days straight.  Arrived late on Wednesday night and took Thursday off to check out Frisco and Breckenridge.  It was fine because the altitude was kicking my ass.

After that rest day I did ride 4 days in a row though I was mostly sticking to groomers.  I didn't feel "normal" until the final day where the altitude wasn't as noticeable.  It didn't have any huge impacts, but slight headaches and much lower stamina was prevalent.  Also, I was drinking a TON of water.  So much so that while on the mountain I almost constantly felt like I had to piss.  But, that was the only way I felt any good was if I was drinking a ton of water.  Like someone else mentioned, Colorado was very very very dry.  Cracked and bloody knuckles galore.

Big Sky was a bit lower in altitude and I didn't really notice any effects from the altitude at all.  At Big Sky I also rode 4 days in a row.  No day off after arriving, though we did do a 1/2 day that day and got on the mountain around noon.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 29, 2017)

jimk said:


> *From Dillon/Vail location some rest day things to do are:*
> 1. stroll Vail Village and shop until you drop, parking is free after 3PM.
> 2.  In some ways Breckenridge is more fun to stroll than Vail, and more accessible with parking at fairly cheap meters right on main street.
> 3. go for a drive over to Leadville, see old Delaware Hotel and other small town shops.  Do a drive-by of Ski Cooper and look at some of the nearby Camp Hale historic areas.  Get a sandwich at Mango's Mtn Grill in tiny Red Cliff.
> ...



Thanks, this is just the sort of thing I need to start looking into.  




jimk said:


> Re:  A-Basin and Loveland; they are both great, scenic, and very high elevation, which can be tough on first day, but Loveland has a lot more mellow cruising terrain.  A-Basin has some of that too, but it's more limited and you can easily find yourself doing demanding to VERY demanding runs there. * You'll be better for that after a day of altitude adjustment.*



Okay, Loveland then AB it is.  Only reason I had them reversed is I thought AB would be busier on a Saturday.   As for altitude, I've only skied out west a few times, but it's never affected me (knock on wood).  I guess I'm just lucky and I hope that trend continues, but when I hear the numerous, _"the altitude kicked my ***"_ stories posted here, I don't have an experience to understand or relate to it.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 29, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Thanks, this is just the sort of thing I need to start looking into.
> 
> Okay, Loveland then AB it is.  Only reason I had them reversed is I thought AB would be busier on a Saturday.   As for altitude, I've only skied out west a few times, but it's never affected me (knock on wood).  I guess I'm just lucky and I hope that trend continues, but when I hear the numerous, _"the altitude kicked my ***"_ stories posted here, I don't have an experience to understand or relate to it.


Some people it just doesn't cause issues with.  My mother and father were with us in Colorado and my mother who is an avid walker and in very good shape had minimal altitude issues.  Others get hit even harder than my wife and I did.  We know a woman who's lungs collapsed while in CO and I know a woman who was on a trip with a co-worker and on the 2nd day of their trip complained of heart problem type symptoms and she wound up in ICU for 2 weeks with an enlarged heart instead of skiing with her group for their week trip.


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## kingslug (Mar 29, 2017)

Aleve is your friend.


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

Smellytele said:


> Tahoe is at a much lower elevation than Colorado/Utah for the most part and skiing 7 days in a row in the East is much different than skiing 7 days in the west


Why is 7 days in west harder?  I only ski a groomer when forced here - and usually I'm in bumps that are half iced up - I seem to tolerate crust more than the next skier.  So a few runs downs soft bumpy west run sounds a hell of a lot easier than what I deal with here. And long floaty lines through deep champagne powder...yawn....give me an umbrella drink to carry. (Maybe I've watched too many YouTube vids but pow looks easy as pie lol).


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## Jcb890 (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> Why is 7 days in west harder?  I only ski a groomer when forced here - and usually I'm in bumps that are half iced up - I seem to tolerate crust more than the next skier.  So a few runs downs soft bumpy west run sounds a hell of a lot easier than what I deal with here. And long floaty lines through deep champagne powder...yawn....give me an umbrella drink to carry. (Maybe I've watched too many YouTube vids but pow looks easy as pie lol).


It is much less exhausting to ride groomed snow.  Riding powder is exhausting.  The biggest difference to me was the altitude.  If you have no issues with altitude, you may have no problems and it may not be harder.


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

JDMRoma said:


> Damn I love your attitude !!    If I had to go shopping you might as well just shoot me and put me out of my misery.


. I live 2 miles from a mall in the flatlands, shopping is an expensive chore, not an event. Which is why my ski pants have tons of duct tape, so much easier to slap another piece of tape than actually get a new pair


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> It is much less exhausting to ride groomed snow.  Riding powder is exhausting.  The biggest difference to me was the altitude.  If you have no issues with altitude, you may have no problems and it may not be harder.


. Ahhh gotcha. I've been to Bogota a lot, which is 10k feet - have done some hiking to those lovely churches in the sky - once I was dehydrated and felt it - but next time I hydrated like hell and felt good. But yeah...I guess altitude skiing is the wild card to I need to figure out (someday soon..)


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> Why is 7 days in west harder?  I only ski a groomer when forced here - and usually I'm in bumps that are half iced up - I seem to tolerate crust more than the next skier.  So a few runs downs soft bumpy west run sounds a hell of a lot easier than what I deal with here. And* long floaty lines through deep champagne powder...yawn....give me an umbrella drink to carry. (Maybe I've watched too many YouTube vids but pow looks easy as pie* lol).



Powder skiing is tiring as crap.   I skied Hoyt's High after the 44" dump a few weeks back on the lucky 13th chair after the lift opened, and while it was one of the best runs of my decade, I could not have done that all day long.  I'm not in great shape anymore, but I'm not in bad shape either.  Granted that was not "champagne powder", but it rarely is.  Powder skiing is much harder than lapping groomers or even skiing bumps.


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## CoolMike (Mar 29, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Could just as easily do that, staying first 2 nights in Dillon, so the drive to either is the same.  Why is AB tougher than Loveland?



Never skied Loveland but Arapahoe Basin was a great deal steeper on average than the other resorts in Colorado that I skied.  At the end of a good day at A-Basin most of the other stuff at Breckenridge and Keystone felt flat to me.  Either way it sounds like a great trip and I like the way you've aligned your rest days.  I find that rest is an under-appreciated aspect of ski tourism.  Also, sprinkling in rest days allows you to adjust your schedule as needed to chase the best conditions.


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## CoolMike (Mar 29, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Thanks, this is just the sort of thing I need to start looking into.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Altitude sickness is tough to predict I think.  Stay hydrated.  Don't booze to much the first few nights.  Also, avoid hot tubs in my opinion.  I spent 25 minutes in a hot tub at 10k feet once and got lightheaded and dizzy.  Slept through dinner and woke up hung-over.

I was fine on the slopes though and even hiked a little.  Good luck!


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## Jcb890 (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> . Ahhh gotcha. I've been to Bogota a lot, which is 10k feet - have done some hiking to those lovely churches in the sky - once I was dehydrated and felt it - but next time I hydrated like hell and felt good. But yeah...I guess altitude skiing is the wild card to I need to figure out (someday soon..)


So you've got some experience with it and you may be OK.  We did Copper and stayed in Frisco - Frisco is 9k while the summits at Copper are between 12-13k.  Our 1st night in the condo and I was winded walking up to the 2nd floor bedroom! :lol:


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Powder skiing is tiring as crap.   I skied Hoyt's High after the 44" dump a few weeks back on the lucky 13th chair after the lift opened, and while it was one of the best runs of my decade, I could not have done that all day long.  I'm not in great shape anymore, but I'm not in bad shape either.  Granted that was not "champagne powder", but it rarely is.  Powder skiing is much harder than lapping groomers or even skiing bumps.


So don't you just have to get fatter skis?!  JK. My only experience in 45 years in East of deep pow is probably 5 days lol. So this champagne powder stuff is marketing hype?!


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## dlague (Mar 29, 2017)

I want to address A Basin Vs Loveland - both have similar elevation top of Chair 9 vs top Lenawee lift.  Both have hike to terrain if you are into that (not suggested for first day).  Both have areas that are challenging sections like runs off Chair 1 as compared to Pali Lift.  Just more at AB.  Both have moderate to easy runs from most anywhere.  My sons girlfriend is a beginner/intermediate and she was able to ski all around A Basin including Montezuma Bowl.  So A Basin is not that bad.  It all depends on how hard you want to hit it.  If you want to stay low that is feasible at both.  Loveland is twice as big as A Basin and has many more lifts.  We ski both and you can make each as easy or hard as you want.  

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Smellytele (Mar 29, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> So you've got some experience with it and you may be OK.  We did Copper and stayed in Frisco - Frisco is 9k while the summits at Copper are between 12-13k.  Our 1st night in the condo and I was winded walking up to the 2nd floor bedroom! :lol:



Altitude can hit you one time and not another. Doesn't matter always what shape you are in either or how much liquid you drink. But that being said it could make it worse if dehydrated or you are a fat slob.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 29, 2017)

Powder skiing is definitely tiring, but no, it's not as taxing on the body as spending a full day zipper lining bumps. This is especially true if you are skiing powder with the right equipment. Pounding down bumps all day puts far more stress on the core and quads.  

Who looks like they're doing more work?

This: ignore the cliff hucks.  I'm just talking about the normal footage 






vs


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## deadheadskier (Mar 29, 2017)

In this video ignore the airs and focus on the actual skiing






Skiing bumps at a high level you are making about five times as many turns as typical powder skiing and doing so on much more jarring terrain.


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## Smellytele (Mar 29, 2017)

deadheadskier said:


> In this video ignore the airs and focus on the actual skiing
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Bumps at altitude vs bumps at sea level is the real question


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

Smellytele said:


> Bumps at altitude vs bumps at sea level is the real question


So sea level (east ) most likely has more ice and rocks and stuff. Powdery bumps are nothing compared to conditions here. Eventually any good set of bumps has ice and keeping in control takes work. Recent powdery bumps here were like bouncing on a mattress haha. So fun. Next weekend it was work on same trail.  Pitch also affects it. So does the ice potential in East make up for altitude out west?  Can't say. My kids BF from Bogota that visits us for months at a time loves running here - he says he feels like superman compared running in Bogota lol.


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## SIKSKIER (Mar 29, 2017)

There is certainly more effort used in chopped up deep powder vs untracked.Untracked is pretty easy on body if you have the proper technique.For many years in a row we would have a group of friends take a whole cat for catskiing in BC.Each year the group changed a bit and it was interesting to see some that were very good eastern skiers in my mind struggle a lot in the bottomless.They were spent before the end of each day.It was mainly because they were sitting back which is very tiring.


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## dlague (Mar 29, 2017)

People should ski and rest based on their situation.  Some travel with none skiing family members.  Or spouse (male or female), friends or children may not ski as hard or as long.  Some may be curious about the area and like sight seeing.  Who cares, just take what the vacation gives you. 

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app


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## 4aprice (Mar 29, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> So don't you just have to get fatter skis?!  JK. My only experience in 45 years in East of deep pow is probably 5 days lol. So this champagne powder stuff is marketing hype?!



You got me torn between telling you to get out there or letting you remain in blissful ignorance (I don't say that to be mean, but you yourself have written your not that interested in finding out)  Three words, Mountains, snow and weather, all superior to anything you have ever experienced in Maine.  "Champagne Powder" may be a marketing slogan for some ski area (Steamboat?) but they aren't lying when they call Utah the "greatest snow on earth".  You can pound moguls on White Heat all season, all day and Snowbird will still kick your ass.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## SkiFanE (Mar 29, 2017)

4aprice said:


> You got me torn between telling you to get out there or letting you remain in blissful ignorance (I don't say that to be mean, but you yourself have written your not that interested in finding out)  Three words, Mountains, snow and weather, all superior to anything you have ever experienced in Maine.  "Champagne Powder" may be a marketing slogan for some ski area (Steamboat?) but they aren't lying when they call Utah the "greatest snow on earth".  You can pound moguls on White Heat all season, all day and Snowbird will still kick your ass.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ



Yes-  ignorant bliss suits my current lifestyle just fine


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## jimk (Mar 29, 2017)

Good discussion.

SkiFanE, thanks for the pep talk 

I actually had more trouble with altitude as a young man than now even though I could run six miles in 30 mins flat back then, 40 yrs ago.  My problem is due mostly to ignorance, but I might be genetically vulnerable?  The couple times it hit me strongly was from charging hard and not drinking water.  Now I try to go slower on first day and hydrate.  Trips that involve sleeping entirely at 9000'+ seem to be where I have to watch out the most;  i. e., Summit County, CO.  Big difference just compared to sleeping 1000-2000 feet lower.  Also, I don't try to fly and ski on same day any more.  I got hit pretty hard with alt sickness once 25 years just when I finished an afternoon of skiing Ski Santa Fe after flying in from sea level same morning.   Felt like crap next 24 hrs.  Skied thru it, but not fun.

About powder:  my memories about skiing powder decades ago are all so pleasant, but the big difference is back in the 70s and 80s I was skiing 6 to 12" of powder on top of groomers or inbounds bump runs (AND I was young).  Nowadays most of us ski all kinds of glades and off-piste terrain with variable snow.  Skiing new snow on top of that is harder than skiing it on a groomer or filled-in bump run IMHO.  The fun, but exhausting days I've had skiing in powder the last two years at Snowbird entailed snow deeper than 12" on steep off-piste terrain.   Don't tell my buddies at Snowbird, but my most enjoyable powder day in the last two years was a month ago at Beaver Creek skiing 12" on a single black diamond groomer with 2000' of vertical that I had all to myself for a couple hours:


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## 4aprice (Mar 29, 2017)

jimk said:


> Good discussion.
> 
> SkiFanE, thanks for the pep talk
> 
> ...



Agreed it is a good discussion (and I'm not trying to get on SkiFanE, she's entitled to her opinion).  I only started it because I hit a wall last week at 7 days.  Picking up a lots of valuable information.  Hydration may be my biggest downfall as I get so wound up in the skiing I forget about it till its too late.  Something I have to teach myself.  

Have fun in Utah Jim, along with Colorado, truly a special place to be.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## kingslug (Mar 29, 2017)

SO an equation could be..  fat skis + good hydration + minimal alcohol intake + quality snooze time = good pow day. 
change the variables and it could get much worse. 
Bumps knock the hell out of anyone, regardless of quality. Add altitude and it can be hell, but maybe in a good way. 
Try mogul runs at Beaver Creek...


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 29, 2017)

4aprice said:


> "Champagne Powder" may be a marketing slogan for some ski area (Steamboat?) but they aren't lying when they call Utah the "greatest snow on earth".



I've heard Japan might be even better, high mountains that rise straight up from the sea (sadly I wouldn't know).


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 29, 2017)

Thinking about this, the hydration aspect of this makes sense, because if you're not hydrated you're impairing your bodies ability to max it's carriage of oxygen.  This also might be why I haven't had problems, because I pretty much drink like a thirsty camel 365 days/year.  I dont walk past a water fountain without taking a sip, and I drink water at my desk all day long.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 29, 2017)

BenedictGomez said:


> Thinking about this, the hydration aspect of this makes sense, because if you're not hydrated you're impairing your bodies ability to max it's carriage of oxygen.  This also might be why I haven't had problems, because I pretty much drink like a thirsty camel 365 days/year.  I dont walk past a water fountain without taking a sip, and I drink water at my desk all day long.


I'm like this too, but still had altitude issues in Colorado and also felt like I had to urinate almost the entire time on the mountain.  I felt like my body wasn't retaining water quite as well as I am used to back at home.


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## snoseek (Mar 29, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> I'm like this too, but still had altitude issues in Colorado and also felt like I had to urinate almost the entire time on the mountain.  I felt like my body wasn't retaining water quite as well as I am used to back at home.




You need electrolytes if you're consuming extra water IMO. EmergenC packets provide them cheaply and easily...much better than Gatorade and not so much sugar. I use Nuun tablets in the summer when riding bike on hot days. It makes a big difference for me


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## Glenn (Mar 30, 2017)

I use Ultima Powder on days I run. Similar to Nuun, but a bit cheaper for what you get. However, Nuun is far easier than making a mix from powder.


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## kingslug (Mar 30, 2017)

My club went to Japan last year..and yes its all true, best powder in the world,just not very steep.


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## 180 (Mar 30, 2017)

My son is in this a few times!



deadheadskier said:


> In this video ignore the airs and focus on the actual skiing
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## bdfreetuna (Mar 30, 2017)

Topic I've been thinking about lately as well. I have been away much more than home this March, in California and skiing Tahoe, then business trips, and a business trip to Colorado that included skiing Telluride.

While these were fun trips and I'm glad to have experienced some different places, the math just doesn't work out for me. All the travel, the additional expense, and the bigger gamble taken with weather and everything else.

So next year I think I'll focus on some good Eastern mini vacations. Sugarloaf + hopefully Saddleback, Le Massif + Mont St Anne, Whiteface, Mad River Glen + northern VT.

The skiing was well and good in Telluride and Tahoe but the tree skiing is so much better in northern New England and the most fun days of this season have been out East as well.

I have learned that "big mountain skiing" isn't really my thing, and if a bunch of the terrain at some place is borderline or actually "extreme" (aka cliffs, eg Telluride) it doesn't do me any good if I'm not going to ski it.

So good revelation to have because it saves me time and money in the future.


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## bdfreetuna (Mar 30, 2017)

Getting sleep should be no problem in CO, WA, some other states soon. Go to the local Green Cross and pick up some Indica Sleep Tabs. Also helps you (maybe) drink a little less in the evenings.


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## Cornhead (Mar 30, 2017)

I think hydration is very important when skiing at high altitudes. Last trip I brought a one liter Soadstream  bottle with me. I forgot it and left it in the car at Taos. I tried to compensate by stopping for drinks of water at the various lodges on the mountain, but it didn't do the trick. I felt like shit. I felt good every other day when I had water with me.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Jully (Mar 30, 2017)

kingslug said:


> My club went to Japan last year..and yes its all true, best powder in the world,just not very steep.



How not steep is not very steep?


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## ironhippy (Mar 30, 2017)

Jully said:


> How not steep is not very steep?



I think specific destination depends here. 
I've never heard anyone complain that Japan isn't steep enough, but most of the reports I've seen have involved backcountry skiing.


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## madriverjack (Mar 30, 2017)

Way to go Spencer!!! What's he like 6'3" now

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Jcb890 (Mar 30, 2017)

snoseek said:


> You need electrolytes if you're consuming extra water IMO. EmergenC packets provide them cheaply and easily...much better than Gatorade and not so much sugar. I use Nuun tablets in the summer when riding bike on hot days. It makes a big difference for me


Good point.  Will have to give that a try next time.



bdfreetuna said:


> Topic I've been thinking about lately as well. I have been away much more than home this March, in California and skiing Tahoe, then business trips, and a business trip to Colorado that included skiing Telluride.
> 
> While these were fun trips and I'm glad to have experienced some different places, the math just doesn't work out for me. All the travel, the additional expense, and the bigger gamble taken with weather and everything else.
> 
> ...


Just curious why you thought so?  Do you like tighter trees?


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## bdfreetuna (Mar 30, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> Just curious why you thought so?  Do you like tighter trees?



Yeah, the whole vibe of the woods is different too. Of course it varies from mountain to mountain, but it's also because expert skiers out there want to ski real steep chutes and high alpine terrain.

We don't have much of that out here so expert skiers tend to ski gnarly woods. And fortunately our forests have usually better trees for skiing, with better spacing, a better canopy, more varied trees and more rolling terrain. In the west more often you get 1 kind of tree with a thick trunk, more spaced out, and a consistent fall line.

... which is probably fun too but IMO we folks who ski Jay and MRG and Sugarloaf and Magic are kind of spoiled when it comes to the trees.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 30, 2017)

bdfreetuna said:


> Yeah, the whole vibe of the woods is different too. Of course it varies from mountain to mountain, but it's also because expert skiers out there want to ski real steep chutes and high alpine terrain.
> 
> We don't have much of that out here so expert skiers tend to ski gnarly woods. And fortunately our forests have usually better trees for skiing, with better spacing, a better canopy, more varied trees and more rolling terrain. In the west more often you get 1 kind of tree with a thick trunk, more spaced out, and a consistent fall line.
> 
> ... which is probably fun too but IMO we folks who ski Jay and MRG and Sugarloaf and Magic are kind of spoiled when it comes to the trees.


As a snowboarder, I much prefer the trees I have tried out West.  Skiers may prefer the tighter New England trees though, that's what I was imagining when I asked my question.


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## RISkier (Mar 30, 2017)

Well, I'm well past double nickels. The impact on my body really depends on conditions, and in CO you're getting less oxygen than you're used to getting. I also find I have much more endurance later in the year than early in the year. On a week long trip we usually take a day off. Some time off freshens not only the body but also the mind. No shame in taking a day or two off and getting recharged. You're there to have fun, not beat yourself up.


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## dlague (Mar 30, 2017)

Jcb890 said:


> As a snowboarder, I much prefer the trees I have tried out West.  Skiers may prefer the tighter New England trees though, that's what I was imagining when I asked my question.


I find the tree skiing point rather interesting.  While much of the tree skiing involves towering firs there are also Aspen glades that are nice as well Beaver Creek has several.  I have found trees that are very tight, steep with huge drops one at Loveland off Chair 1 comes to mind that.  Personally it was not my thing.  New England does have varying types of trees from towering Pines to birches to maples to shorted firs.  But IMO the same tight trees can be found.  If trees get too tight then the speed is taken out of the run and it becomes more strategic.  It really is a to each there own type of experience.  Personally, I am getting the a similar tree experience as I had in New England.  That is not a deal breaker for me.


RISkier said:


> Well, I'm well past double nickels. The impact on my body really depends on conditions, and in CO you're getting less oxygen than you're used to getting. I also find I have much more endurance later in the year than early in the year. On a week long trip we usually take a day off. Some time off freshens not only the body but also the mind. No shame in taking a day or two off and getting recharged. You're there to have fun, not beat yourself up.


Speaking of - It really is a to each there own type of experience.  You paid for the trip so do what you like.  If you want to take a day take it, if you want to ski easier runs then do it.  It really does not matter.  Some else's perspective is ok but may not fit your situation.  My wife is of the camp of ski everyday since you are there but she also does not think that you have to kill it each day and it also does not need to be bell to bell.

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app


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## bdfreetuna (Mar 30, 2017)

I'm probably going to Denver in the 1st week of March next year, mandatory work related trip... I'm thinking of taking the drive to Steamboat from there. Their trees are always rated so highly and it looks like it has a wider variety of terrain I'd enjoy.

That said the best trees I've skied were Saddleback, Sugarloaf, Jay, MRG and similar. You can probably tell the kind of skiing I find to be a peak experience just based on that list. And powder is nice but I can have a good time without it


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## 4aprice (Mar 30, 2017)

dlague said:


> I find the tree skiing point rather interesting.  While much of the tree skiing involves towering firs there are also Aspen glades that are nice as well Beaver Creek has several.  I have found trees that are very tight, steep with huge drops one at Loveland off Chair 1 comes to mind that.  Personally it was not my thing.  New England does have varying types of trees from towering Pines to birches to maples to shorted firs.  But IMO the same tight trees can be found.  If trees get too tight then the speed is taken out of the run and it becomes more strategic.  It really is a to each there own type of experience.  Personally, *I am getting the a similar tree experience as I had in New England. * That is not a deal breaker for me.
> 
> Speaking of - It really is a to each there own type of experience.  You paid for the trip so do what you like.  If you want to take a day take it, if you want to ski easier runs then do it.  It really does not matter.  Some else's perspective is ok but may not fit your situation.  My wife is of the camp of ski everyday since you are there but she also does not think that you have to kill it each day and it also does not need to be bell to bell.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app



I agree, I don't see much difference in the woods at all except the snow is much deeper and better out west.  Spent most of last Thursday in the woods at Brighton with a guy who owns a home in Vermont and he was amazed at how you could go off trail almost anywhere along a trail and hit good lines (powder filled that day).  He claimed the Vermont house was going on the market.:lol:

Couple of years ago took a day off on our Utah trip and went down to Arches National Park.  That was really cool.  The hike up to Delicate Arch made up for the lack of skiing. There is so much to see and do out there and such beautiful country.  

Check your PM Dave.

Alex 

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## 4aprice (Mar 30, 2017)

bdfreetuna said:


> I'm probably going to Denver in the 1st week of March next year, mandatory work related trip... I'm thinking of taking the drive to Steamboat from there. Their trees are always rated so highly and it looks like it has a wider variety of terrain I'd enjoy.
> 
> That said the best trees I've skied were Saddleback, Sugarloaf, Jay, MRG and similar. You can probably tell the kind of skiing I find to be a peak experience just based on that list. And powder is nice but I can have a good time without it



Go ski the Jane, you will not regret it.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## snoseek (Mar 30, 2017)

4aprice said:


> Go ski the Jane, you will not regret it.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ



I agree. The trees at Mary Jane and also the eagle wind chair are some of my favorite anywhere. Steamboat has dreamy trees as well but when you want steep tech lines Im always wanting more. Also some of the trees off pali  and chair 1 at loveland are steep and tight.

Then again if tuna ain't digging the trees in tahoe then Im not sure if he's really gonna like anything in Colorado to be honest. I had a rare and awesome midweek session at jay peak last week and I can say those trees were sublime on that day. East coast trees, particularly northern vermont, when they're on, are very unique.

Me personally I like consistent flow trees. I like consistent steep pitches and I like tech with cornices, rocks and shit so I prefer being west but stick me smack dab in the middle of Michigan and you can sure as hell bet ill have a blast!


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## bdfreetuna (Mar 30, 2017)

Since Winter Park is kind of on the way to Steamboat from Denver it would be feasible to do both on next year's CO trip.

Speaking of Michigan... Mt Bohemia looks like the ultimate !


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## snoseek (Mar 30, 2017)

bdfreetuna said:


> Since Winter Park is kind of on the way to Steamboat from Denver it would be feasible to do both on next year's CO trip.
> 
> Speaking of Michigan... Mt Bohemia looks like the ultimate !




yeah its right on the way and they have multi packs you can buy for both areas I believe. Steamboat can be very much hit or miss in March IMO as it get sun blasted and champagne powder=mank when the sun is out so play it by ear.

And yeah Bohemia looks like a fun hill!


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## Jully (Mar 30, 2017)

snoseek said:


> yeah its right on the way and they have multi packs you can buy for both areas I believe. Steamboat can be very much hit or miss in March IMO as it get sun blasted and champagne powder=mank when the sun is out so play it by ear.
> 
> And yeah Bohemia looks like a fun hill!



I'm definitely planning on hitting Winter Park next year as well for all reasons stated. Only ever skied out west in Utah before (family connection) so I'm looking forward to it.


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## abc (Mar 31, 2017)

Many of the posts pretty much already answered the question on all the factors affecting the OP's question. But since the OP specifically mentioned my name, I'll share my experience as an example to support many of the advises of other posts. 

If you read my trip reports, you would have noticed I didn't ski non-stop for very many days in a row. Part of it is because I'm driving from one place to another. Some of the drives takes a full day (or two). So those are the "forced" rest days. So the longest is probably this very stretch I'm in: I've skied 8 days straight and tomorrow will be my 9th. Some of those days were hard charging days and some were relaxing groomer cruisers, mostly dictated by the condition of the day in question. 

But, 9 days doesn't even equal my past records, which stood at 12 straight days of skiing. I was in a 9 day vacation. Then my flight got cancelled due to a massive storm hitting the east coast grounding ALL flights. I was "forced" to stay there and skied another 2 extra days. 

Truth being, I've been doing 8 or 9 day vacations pretty much every year, sometimes twice a year. Basically, I take a week off. Fly out Friday and arrive at the wee hour of the night. Ski Saturday till the following Sunday, racking up 8 days of skiing. Sometimes, I flight out on Monday night instead of Sunday. That makes 9 days of skiing in a row. 

To the question of HOW I can ski 8 or 9 days straight when I only ski on weekends the rest of the season, there had been many answers, almost ALL of them apply to some degree!

But the #1 factor was laid out in 1 lone post above by *crank*: "*HOW you ski matters*"!

A few years back, I took a clinic which really help clean up my skiing. Resulting in a more efficient use of energy particularly in challenging terrain. Since then, I was able to ski steeps and bumps much longer without feeling tired. That, contribute significantly to my being able to ski full days and MANY days. 

The rest:

- Not all my ski days are full days. Sometimes, the weather/condition dictates morning or afternoon would be enjoyable and the rest of the day not. I don't stay out if condition are distinctly miserable. 

- Hard skiing vs easy skiing. I don't hammer at bumps all day long, even though I do enjoy bumps quite a bit and CAN ski them a lot. Still, I won't hammer on the bumps 1st chair to last.  

- Condition: Powder can be relaxing easy skiing or hard work depending on the consistency of the snow. Today for example, was borderline miserable. Dust on crust or plain coral reef in a big part of the mountain! We did find some soft snow in the morning which we lapped many times. But much of the afternoon was just moving around the mountain hunting for better snow. We conceited defeat mid-afternoon and decided to save our knees for another day. Of course by then, it's past 3pm. So I guess we didn't really "save" much of the day (or our legs).  

- stay in shape: I cycle, 50-80 miles/day on weekends. Plus a bit of swimming and kayaking, some hiking. I enjoyed all of those activities so it's recreation not work. 

I read all the posts. I don't feel I need to compete with the longest consecutive days posted, because I don't know what condition they had or what sort of terrain was involved. There're NO hard and fast rules on how many days anyone should ski between breaks, nor how long that break should be. That "rest day" can be a half day for some, an easy cruiser day for others, and a museum/shopping day for the rest! (ski country museum gives you the perspective and history of skiing, which I think is highly valuable for an all-rounded skier. Skiing isn't just about counting days and verts, after all. On the shopping front, I found a pair of telemark boots for 1/3 of the retail price on one of my "down day" a couple years back) 

So, to summarize, do what YOU feel is right. If you're feeling you're tired, don't really enjoy the skiing any more, take the day "off" to do something else. Or, if you're feeling it coming, take an "easy/half day" and just tool around. Some mountains I know offers  (on skis) "history tour", or "biology tour" etc. I've taken some of those in different mountains. I found them enjoyable. You're still skiing, but now with a different purpose than just going up and down racking up max verts.

After all, it's a ski VACATION. Do what makes you enjoy and relax. The office is where you need to be serious about your "best performance". Vacation is not work. So, take that off day when YOU feel like it, not when others tell you should. 

Sounds like you feel a rest day after 3 days may work best for you. It very likely be the right one then. It's also quite a common practice for many ski vacationers to take that rest day after 3 days of skiing. So you're in good company there.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 31, 2017)

Love steep trails/trees, but don't love tight trees.  Give me some nice wide open steep trees.


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## 180 (Apr 1, 2017)

madriverjack said:


> Way to go Spencer!!! What's he like 6'3" now
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AlpineZone mobile app



6'1


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## andrec10 (Apr 1, 2017)

After 3 days at the bird, I had to take a break.


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## jimk (Apr 12, 2017)

The fine Slopefillers website had a recent piece touching on this subject, basically calling for sanity and taking it easy instead of maximizing your lift ticket by pounding out vertical when you are exhausted and risk injury:  http://www.slopefillers.com/marketing-value-of-calling-it-a-day/


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## bdfreetuna (Apr 12, 2017)

Good idea to wear compression braces on knees or back *before* the pain starts and you're just trying to prop yourself up for remaining days if you're prone to this.


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