Quote:
Originally Posted by
snofun3 
Interesting that you deleted the "coming from NC" part of the original quote, as it substantially changes the context of the answer - yes?
Yes, the location does change things, but for NC maybe not so much. VT is about a 12 hour drive from NC depending on where in NC you start. It's a day's drive, making it a viable destination. From Florida, not so much. (c:
Anyway, even from the midwest if you can't get in and out to SLC without additional travel days, you're not trying (see the dozens of threads on the subject). I can do it from south Florida. Fly early morning on a Thursday, get free ticket to PC resorts (how well does that work at Tremblant), then fly back evening flight after skiing on Sunday. Four days, four skiing days - really easy to do.
Until Delta merged with Northwest a couple of years ago there were no non-stops between Detroit and SLC. You had to connect, turning a 4 hour flight into a 7+ hour flight. Add two hours to get to the airport and an hour at SLC to deplane, get luggage and the rental car, and it's a full day of travel. Yes, it's possible to ski SLC on arrival and getaway day, and I've done it before. But for people who don't live close to a major airport, or in cities with no non-stops it's difficult.
Now that Delta offers non-stops to SLC, I'm doing that more often. But I find that other western destinations basically require a day of travel each way.
I suppose if you like icy trails that's great, I'll take powdery glades thanks.
I like powdery glades too. I'm not so big on wide open bowls. YMMV.
If you can drive to Tremblant or Stowe in the same time as flying to SLC then either 1) you don't really live in the midwest, 2) there's Tremblant's and Stowes somewhere other than we traditionally know of, or 3) they fly AWFULLY slow airplanes from where you are.
Door to door, Tremblant is nine hours from Detroit. A non-stop to SLC is four hours in the air, add two hours on the beginning to get to the airport in time to get through security, and an hour to deplane and pick up the rental car and you're looking at 7 hours. Yes, this is two hours less, but as I said above, until recently there were no non-stops to SLC, making it about a wash. Even with 7 vs 9 hours, you're paying hundreds of dollars in airfare & car rental to save two hours. Do the math to see what makes more sense for your particular situation.
Try the turkey chili at Deer Valley, or the Italian at the top of John Paul lift before making blanket statements about food quality at resorts.
I've had the turkey chili at DV. and it's pretty good. The thing that struck me is that it tasted exactly the same as the turkey chili at Mt Holly. I think they might have stolen the recipe.
Good food at Snowbasin too. But not in the same league as the better restaurants in Quebec.
I don't have an altitude problem, and prefer it to the attitude problem in Quebec.
Oh please. As if there's no one with an attitude problem at Altabird.
The only thing better in Quebec than SLC is the beer.
Interesting. I don't really like Quebecois beer. I guess we just don't agree on much. (c:
But I do agree that for someone living in Florida it makes little sense to ski the east, unless you really really like Eastern Firm (TM).
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, anyone going to SLC should ski each of the ten major resorts in the area and make up their own mind. You don't have to ski them all the first trip, but if you go once you'll be back multiple times so just plan on hitting them all eventually. Then you can come here and argue which ones are better than the others.
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