The 2011 EpicSki Gathering - Page 21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Crocker 

I chatted with the skibums4ever at the Beach Friday along with Bazzer.  I ski with them occasionally at Mammoth.  They arrived late in the week, skied Keystone Thursday and Breck most of Friday.  They arrived at the Beach around 3PM because that is when they thought the party was.  My guest Richard skied Keystone Friday and missed the party because we also thought it was at 3PM.  I found out it was lunch when I saw it being prepared at noon.  No cell service at A-Basin, so no way to pass the word along.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm not sure we ever said what time it would be, because it is so ingrained in my worldview that beach parties start when you arrive, and end when you leave, and you can ski or not in between. ;-) I didn't even think about it. Sorry.

For future reference, A-Basin has cell service at the summit of the Pali lift.

Quote:

Originally Posted by veteran 

Assuming previous deals are repeated for a gathering in 2012 at Tahoe, a few tips are:

 

Sign up to southwest.com's alerts on sale fares to/from Sacramento or Reno. In 2010/11 there were fares from $49 (incl tax)  for LA to Reno, $90 between Reno and Denver and $120 from the east coast. As a rule of thumb, the sale fares are offered 3-4 months before departure. Southwest also offers 2 free bags, eg a suitcase and a ski bag, as included in the airfare (subject to weight limits). 

 

The skilaketahoe.com 6 paks (which get released around May/June) offer 6 vouchers to 7 resorts, 4 on the North Shore and 3 in the Sth Shore for about $380. The vouchers might be a good way to see up to 6 of the following: Squaw, Alpine Meadows, Northstar, Mt Rose, Heavenly, Kirkwood or Sierra-at-Tahoe.

Wow, Great tips for planning the Tahoe Gathering.  Thanks for this!^^^^

So if my adding is approximately correct, we had about 64 Bears (along with Friends-of-Bears), participate in a Gathering- or former-Gathering-related activity. 

Is that an Epic record? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by segbrown 

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm not sure we ever said what time it would be, because it is so ingrained in my worldview that beach parties start when you arrive, and end when you leave, and you can ski or not in between. ;-) I didn't even think about it. Sorry.

 

Yep I'm the same way of thinking.  Guess we have to remember that those not used to The Beach don't know the parties that begin before first run.  :D

Can I suggest the trip avoids Martin Luther & Presidents Week and other blackout dates for the skilaketahoe.com 6 pak and the cheap 'Sunday-Friday season pass deals.

There's a few early bird season pass deals worth considering ranging from $350 to $400 for a) Northstar & Heavenly combined, .b) Squaw Valley, c)  Homewood, Alpine Meadows + Red Lodge Mtn in Montana. (Homewood and Alpine Meadows are simply so awesome and under-rated, Squaw wanted to buy them). . 

South Lake Tahoe has plenty of accom deals, but Heavenly gets boring pretty quickly imo unless there's pow skiing in the trees. I picked up a week in a 1 bedroom apartment with a sofabed and microwave 'kitchen' for $560 incl tax. Casino Hotels rent rooms from around $70 a night, but hit your hip pocket because the nearest food and coffee is their Starbucks.   VRBO.com has terrific deals on renting houses in Tahoe. Horizon Casino had a sign offering a lift ticket or two with every twin share booking: it was so cheap I think they throw the room in for peanuts. 

I suggest the organisers print off www.snowbomb.com vouchers for those of us who don't carry printers on planes. Or they ask snowbom's Jim and Collier to print the vouchers off at their snowbomb office in Tahoe City. Saving $10 to $20 a day on lifts all adds up. And there's discounts on restaurants, snowcat tours and the like. 

Philpug should chat to Poulsen Properties' manager Bill and to Alpine Meadows guest services. I was there last week (spring deals time) and they gave 2-for-1 lift passes to about 20 people at Squaw whom we met over a communal aussie bbq dinner. 

For a group booking of 20 resort management students in late Feb to early March 2012 I was offered 25% off the rack rate for 1 bedroom apartments in Squaw Valley. Iirc, that worked out at ~$125 per apartment per night. 

This could be a very affordable gathering. 

Cheap hotel rooms are on the South Shore.  For 5 days mid-week, peak season this year, I paid from $130 to $188 for a single room.  That is a total for 5 nights, including taxes and all fees.  $188 for a week is even more reasonable than $125 for a night.

 www.Orbitz.com had sales for the winter months for the past 3 years.  You get $40 - $50 off if you book 4 nights or more.  So, you can expect discount for next year as well.  I would think that if you guys plan on booking a block of rooms, the rate may even be cheaper.  Furthermore, at this rate, you don't even have to share and can have the whole room to yourself.

For those flying into Reno, you can get a shuttle bus from Reno airport to the South Shore

http://renoairport.com/to-from-airport/shuttles/

One you get to the South Shore, everything is within walking distance.  No rental cars are needed.

Shuttle buses go from the South Shore to Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, and Sierra-at-Tahoe.  The Sierra shuttle is free, and the shuttles to Kirkwood and Squaw are not free, but the price is very reasonable at $10 round trip or so.

Hopefully, Vail corp will create a free shuttle to and from Heavenly and NorthStar next year.

If we get enough people, we can even charter our own party bus.  I have never used this guy before, but it is an example of tour services available in the area.

http://demotours.com/toursSKIRESSHUTTLE.htm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gathermeister 

No need to put 2012 ideas into this thread. We haven't even decided what week and the agenda is. Feel free to shoot me ideas via PM but let this thread bask in the afterglow of a great gathering. We will have plenty of time to talk about 2012!

Noted.  Why don't you guys create a 2012  thread and move above posts to it?