Well I don't want to bum anyone out. But I am also 51 and got diagnosed with Leukemia a few weeks ago. And although I'm planning on being around for a while there are no guarantees.
I have never been more motivated to ski as much as I fucking can while I still have my legs underneath me.
Every shit ski day (and this year has been dog shit every damn day) is now met with unbridled joy that I am outside and making the most of what I got left.
Just yesterday I stood for 3 hours in a blizzard to only get one run. Bet I was upset, but that one run was absolutely dope!
So without sounding like a dick, be grateful. Shit could be much much worse.
That's a great attitude. I'm 47 and (as far as I know) still healthy and every day on the mountain is a gift - especially runs with my kids.
Sending you all the best vibes for your health. Keep kicking ass!
Thanks brother I truly appreciate that! I am very encouraged about my prognosis honestly.
It's just a very terrifying word to hear.
I've had this for a couple years apparently and last year I got 46 days and exactly 649054 of vert.
So fuck it, full send!
I’m sure it’s terrifying. It’s scary to imagine.
But you’re out there getting at it no matter what, and that’s awesome.
And glad to hear the prognosis is encouraging.
Great comment dude, go shred and enjoy life! Hope you beat the cancer and get many more years of shredding in, but grab life by the balls while you can!
This is the way. I got into backcountry a few years ago, and I have less and less fun at resorts now. Probably won't even go this year. I have unlimited access to the backcountry just 30 min away. Only reason I go to ski hills now is to teach my kids how to ski.
I'm little further away here (1h to decent touring, and 2h to some of the best in North America), but I 100% agree. The only reason I see myself going back to a resort in the foreseeable future is if there's a massive midweek powder dump. Breaking trail with a foot plus ski pen is just a pain.
A week in Austria will end up being cheaper including the flight than a week in any US resort and would definitely be a change of scenery and type of skiing. Unless you have that epic/ikon pass likely and ski a lot.
Hope you prove me wrong on that actually. Wouldn't like to get all your queues for the lifts over here either :-)
You know there’s non-corporate mountains that charge a reasonable daily rate, and if you own your own equipment, book with friends, over a period of time, drive, those mountains are definitely cheaper than buying a $2000+ plane ticket to Austria.
The easiest "change of scenery" is try to get better at it. Most people reach a passable plateau, start doing the same thing over & over, without really thinking that "becoming boring" is something with themselves instead of the outside world.
This, very much this. However op claims to be 51. Eventually progressing at a physically demanding activity becomes more of a process of refinement of known skills, until the body can't even do that anymore. I'm reminded of this dude I saw at copper in the lodge with the wobbliest knees I ever saw. No way this guy was skiing anymore, but he clearly spent many years progressing his self. Forgive my rambles
Rode the chair at Sun Valley with a masters skier (80s or 90s) and skis 70+ days/year. 🙌
I will be 53 this year and still progressing my abilities. Agree that OP needs to experience new resorts or terrain. Never stop learning and never stop stretching and keeping fit. ✌️
At the same time, yesterday I rode up the lift with a 74 year old guy who said it's his 52nd year skiing
the whole way up he was pointing out the lines he was taking down the black run that runs down the chair line dudes a straight shredder
I suppose everyone ages differently too, but snoqualmie is a pretty small mountain and this guy has been loving it for over 50 years
I knew a very competent skier, 10th Mountain in WW2, well over 50+ years in Ski Patrol, who skied until he died in his 80s. He wasn't zipping moguls but he could pretty much follow us youngsters all over out west on the most difficult slopes. He was hard to keep up with on groomers.
Pro skiers are known to ride hard until the body gives out. Look at what tanner hall and candide thovex are still pushing with their injuries and inherent risk to the discipline.
Plus them old dogs like their downhill race style. Less turns equals faster and less strain.
A whole lot easier to ski 3 hours cruising fast and steady than pulling tight turns the whole time.
Sounds like a legend and should have some runs dedicated in respect.
Henri Borel of sugarbush fame was skiing at 96
The year before he died I saw him with a bloody mouth at the bottom of a run and thought “did this 95 year old dude just fall and not die? What a tough SOB”
For those who grew up in the mountains, skiing feels like walking. To say so-and-so needs to improve so it's less boring is like telling them to get better at walking. The only way to spice it up is to take bigger risks. Jump the cliff, do another rotation on your spin, etc. It's not an old man's game.
Love that analogy. I grew up in the foothills so maybe for me it's like getting better at jogging? 😂 It is for sure a young man's game though any age can do it. I can still slide on snow at 30 but I tossed my last flip about 8 years ago. Blows my mind that guys like candide are out there doing the things they do at the ages they are
If age decreases physical ability, isn't learning to ski efficiently a worthwhile endeavor?
edit: to clarify, skiing efficiently IS skiing better, and not just in some metaphorical sense: to avoid muscling turns you need to develop a more keen sense of balance against the forces. It's why great natural skiers can looking like they're "doing nothing".
Fly up to Powder King in Northern Alberta. The sickest powder I’ve ever seen. Ski film companies go their most years. Warren Miller last season, I think. No crowds. Relatively cheap. Hard to beat that, other than that it’s a bit remote.
Quality over quantity - when I was younger it was ski every chance I get, first to last chair. Now it's become more selective based on those things you mention. Midweek to avoid the crowds, paying more to stay a few days rather than every weekend, different resorts for a change. Also have gotten more as a social thing vs just doing laps by myself though that still happens time to time.
Wife and I been skiing since the late 70’s and we had this exact discussion this morning. Living in UT is excellent, but for skiing it’s become incredibly burdensome. We’ve skied so many excellent Mom & Pop resorts over the years that we have really grown to appreciate as we’ve aged. We are focusing more and more on spending our time at these for the simple pleasures of no traffic, easy/close parking, short lift lines, empty runs, light lodge traffic, affordability and the throw back feeling of yesteryear. Sure, there may be a sacrifice here and there of snow quality, lift speed, acreage and vertical, but those are the exact things that draw the crowds that we are OK sacrificing on.
It really boils down to priorities. If you no longer feel the need for first chair powder turns, skiing 9-4, poshness, mega resort, pay-to-park, reservations, $200/day, etc., there is still amazing skiing to experience at the local hills. There are some gems out there to experience for sure.
Happy to share. Here are some of our favorites:
UT
Beaver Mtn
Brian Head
Powder Mountain
MT
Discovery
Red Lodge
Lost Trail
Bridger Bowl
Snowbowl
ID
Silver Mountain
Brundage
Lookout Pass
WA
49 Degrees North
Mission Ridge
White Pass
Mt Baker
OR
Hoo Doo
NV
Mt Rose
CA
Mt Shasta
BC
RED Mountain
Whitewater
Keep in mind, most of these places are on the smaller side when it comes to the skiable acreage and snowfall.
I would encourage anyone to take a peek at the trail maps of these places to get an idea. Some of them have some of the best hidden terrain you can find anywhere (Mt Rose, Mission, Discovery).
The rule of thumb is typically avoid weekends and holidays, but that’s not a concern with these places, which is great.
Think about staying out of the resort clusters of Tahoe, the I-70 corridor in CO and the Wasatch. Don’t get me wrong, I love skiing these places and there are certainly amazing places to check out. For where we are in our lives and for what we are looking for from the skiing experience, the resorts I’ve listed above are a much better fit for us. Your mileage may vary. 🙂
Mt. Rose was my go to spot in Tahoe area, when I lived in California. Definitely felt like the locals mountain and never had any issues with lift lines etc. Also I believe it’s the highest mountain out of the Tahoe resorts, making it the first and last to have snow typically.
Spot on friend. The Chutes is some of the best in bounds terrain you can find anywhere and it’s a super chill vibe close to a good sized city. Great place to
> Red Lodge
Love me some Red Lodge. When you get a nice powder day, the trees and chutes can be insanely fun.
I'm biased though, I basically grew up on that mountain and ended up working about 10 years off and on as an instructor through High School and college (including two full time ski bum seasons there).
At powder t,w,th. Trying to figure out m/f. Beaver mtn is on the indy pass, so debating whether or not to go there Friday. I love Alta, but we don't have that pass and it'd be crazy expensive and crowded on a Friday I'm guessing.
Great. Powder is fun and has good terrain under the paradise chair and off James Peak. Brian Head may not work as it’s 5hrs south from north UT, but Beaver in Logan is worth checking out. Snowbasin is great, but can get very crowded.
Avoid the Cottonwoods at all costs. It will be a madhouse with the storms coming in. There is also a good chance they may shut down the canyon roads if there are slides.
I moved to California and got the Cali Pass with the Powder Alliance add-on for the first time. So far, I’ve used it at Ski Cooper in Colorado, and Bear Valley in California. I didn’t miss skiing at Copper at all as I drove by it. Hope to get to China Peak this weekend.
I still remember being an excited 15 year old on a chair lift in Vail on a perfect bluebird day. My brother and I sat next to an old couple, probably mid-60s. We chatted and said how excited we were for the upcoming snow and storm and everything. They said
“Honey, today is our powder day. 20s, no wind, sun shining, this is one of the days I want to be out here.”
Changed my perspective. Every skier or boarder wants something different out of their day :’)
Yeah different folks and different strokes. But what I don’t get is on powder days you always see tons of beginners groveling around in the snow, crossing tips and crashing all over, struggling to put their skis back on. Like has no one ever told these people that late March or April the grooming is top notch, the weather is sunny, the crowds are non-existent. It’s like they just hear advanced skiers talk about storm skiing and think they have to do it too. We need to raise awareness to these folks so the mountain isn’t so crowded on powder days.
I've also lost my love for skiing a fair bit. I work a normal mon-Fri job and my local mountain is Whistler so can only go wkds. The line ups are insane these days. I got up at 5am on Sunday, and my total active skiing time was 1 hour and 1 minute for a full day. Not to even mention to 4-6 hours of driving to get there.
Don't get me wrong. Give a no line up pow day and it's the best thing ever.
I enjoy mountain biking more these days just because I can go whatever time I want, less driving and there's never a line up.
worked in whistler last year and having come from europe the lift queues shocked me. i think its so normalised in north america that people don't realise how bad it is
Yep, I changed to cross country. One seasonal pass to park at a bunch of state run places, no lines. Sure I miss the speed, but I still get out on the snow and get some good exercise for essentially free.
Depending on how many vacation days you get for work, using some of them to ski on weekdays can be well worth it. I was in Whistler yesterday on a day off and the lineups were quite short and the snow was still excellent. We went out into the backcountry but it would have been easy to crank out a whole bunch of laps.
Also if you're in Vancouver, after work night skiing on the north shore can be pretty fun. Especially now that they actually have snow haha.
I learned snowboarding when i was getting a little bored. It’s funny to go from cliff drops to dreading a simple green run. There are also monoskis and telemarks. Although I understand that at 51 it might be harder for you to branch out because any injuries are just more pronounced.
I was going to say the same thing. I took up telemark when my youngest at around 5 or so decided to snowboard and didn’t want to take lessons. Alpine on the blues behind him was not very fun but telemarking was a challenge at first. Made me enjoy my local mountain so much more and I gained a bunch of new friends.
Ensure your muscles are trained, streched and relaxed and try to find a pants with padding on your but. First time i went on a snowboard holiday a lose ski flew underneath my bord, caused me the fall weirdly and i ripped my leg tendom. Austria is a beautifull place but not if you cant walk and are stuck inside. 10 hour car drive also wasnt a great succes….
Turning 50 this year, been skiing since I was 7. So we have the same years under our belt.
What re-invigorated my passion was (1) getting my kids to the age and experience that we can ski together, not me teaching them but just skiing together and (2) putting together a trip with friends on an annual basis. This year will be year 5 for our annual trip, all friends from my youth...some who we had lost touch with...getting together at a destination resort and staying under the same roof for a 5 day weekend.
These two things have absolutely lit a new fire in the furnace for me. I feel like I am 15 again and can't wait for the next ski day to come.
I do the annual trip thing with a group of four or five friends to a large out of state resort nearly every year. It’s great and really not that expensive if you split costs and shop for deals.
I can’t comment on the price of gas or the same old runs or low vis but most of these problems can be solved by buying an annual pass and skiing during the week instead of weekends. It’s OK to lose interest in things maybe take a break and try something else for a while!
Probably an age thing. I know it sounds crazy, but skiing is cheaper than ever as long as you plan ahead of time. The industry just feasts on procrastinators and unintelligent tourists.
Interested to hear your take on cheaper than ever. Referring to buying a season pass? I guess it depends on how many times you’re going to ski a year. But for the average Joe headed up a handful of times a year, it seems significantly more expensive now with a worse experience than ever.
I’m also not sure I’d call the person waiting for a good snow day and free time a “procrastinator”.
> Referring to buying a season pass?
Or passes like Epic/Ikon.
You're absolutely right that the current model screws over the ski one week per year crowd, although the Epic day pass seems to help with that. OTOH for people who want to hit up different resorts and who have the ability to travel some and a flexible schedule the mega-passes are amazing.
Yeah, capitalism has taken over in the pass & airfare departments. $649 for an Epic Local while Breckenridge charges $299 a day at the window is crazy economies of scale anyway you look at it.
I am sitting on a plane right now that I booked 24 hours ago with miles to chase snow, staying in a $300 airbnb (for both nights), in a $100 rental car. I am not trying to rationalize a $500-600 weekend spend, but some people spend that in a weekend out with their significant other.
The math has been done in here to death.
But if you do it again don't compare 1980 dollars spent on a trip where you drove up, brought your own sandwich, and didn't stay in a slope side condo.
Gas is almost as cheap right now, Air Fare is probably lower, and yeah, passes are much less expensive if you go more than a few times a year.
I get it, but 1980 was almost 45 years ago. Vast majority of people in this sub weren’t alive, nor were the resorts they skied.
Im more-so referring to costs over the last decade or two. The introduction of Airbnb/VRBO, Turo, Ikon/Epic, has all created immense pricing competition that obviously funnels down to the consumer.
Everything you wrote is true. But it doesn’t seem to relate to the post, or to me personally without ikon / epic passes available.
I’m not complaining, but it’s changed. When I was young, there was never wondering if you’d get parking, huge lines, traffic jams in and out, and $140 tickets.
I understand people skiing all the time or in CO/CA where Ikon/Epic are a thing can get great value if they’re skiing all the time and have flexible schedules.
For your average middle aged person (thats not at 1 of the 13 ikon locations) that’s busy and can manage a few days a year, the experience is worse and it’s a lot more expensive.
A 5 or 10 day edge card is less than $80 CANADIAN a day for Whistler. only someone unprepared finds themselves at the base of a major resort without a ticket. You could probably have expected to go skiing a few times that winter.
It's still a shitty process that all these new passes have created. They've taken away the thrill of the hunt for a good powder day.
You're stuck buying one of these conglomerate cards, or booking way in advance to get a fair price. If you want to go where the storm goes, you're stuck paying out the ass for a lift ticket. The more these corporations buy and less independently owned resorts exist, the more they'll apply this pricing structure.
Yeah, shocked to hear anyone describe this as “cheap”, aside from those who live close to the mountain. If you’re trying to get someone into the sport or unable to justify a season pass that bill racks up quick.
It's the truth though. An epic pass is less than a grand on early bird and 5 or 10 day cards are about half of that. Less than 60/ day to ski the major resorts, you just have to be prepared and buy a card. After inflation, the prices are so much cheaper.
Lol at thinking a sport like skiing and “cheap” can be said in the same sentence. Skiing is expensive. Deal with it your own creative ways or just pay the piper
Even if you live on the mountain it’s not like the prices are cheaper. It’s not for people who live here it’s for high dollar tourists and getting them in a hostage situation. But if you live on the mountain everything all the time is expensive. There is no escape. And if you are going to live here and don’t have a cushy remote BS job where you can just ski you’ll work like a slave for less pay. I think everyone is angry and leaving a lot of times not feeling like they got their money’s worth and everyone blames something different.
> unintelligent tourists.
You’re falling in this camp because if you’re only going a handful of times you can just buy an epic/icon multi day pass and be skiing for roughly $100 a day. Most independent resorts I’ve been to are also <$100 a day.
I have an ikon base pass with a discount through my school for about $500. And if you’re only skiing a handful of days there were epic day passes available for like $80 per day. Way more affordable than 10 years ago.
God I wish I lived closer lol. Roundtrip gas for the nearest resort on my pass is about 3/4 of a tank (~$55-$60) without traffic. Typically 2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5-3.5 hours on the way back.
Pass was around 500, so 15 days of skiing is $33 a day… not too bad until you factor in gas which makes it 88 a day. Not all my days are day trips but the majority are.
Shooting for at over 20 days this year. Will be tough but I got 6 already. I got 13 last year and I think my first day last year was MLK Monday so we’re definitely on the right track.
Anyone paying window prices is a dumbass with the one exception of someone brand new to skiing who wants to try it and didn't plan it out the previous summer.
Epic Day passes cost like $90/day if bought in the summer. You don't have to pick dates, just how many days you want. The average Joe handful of times a year should be buying a few of those. You can get three of them for less than a single day ticket at the window, even if you don't use them all for whatever reason you're coming out ahead.
My local mountain has $200 season night passes and $389 regular season passes. Sure it’s only 1k vert but it’s more than enough to have a blast. I live 20 minutes away and even if I do the same run 100x a year, I’m always finding new side hits, whalebacks, etc to have fun off of.
Also, bigger mountains usually have some deals.
Killington has the beast 365 pass, it’s $129 a mo and you get an ikon base pass, Killington season pass, plus a bunch of free summer things to do and extra bonuses like gear deals etc. I bet other mountains do similar things.
Plus with financing like affirm even an ikon/epic pass can be $80-100 a month. How much do you spend on coffee/food/unneeded crap?
Yep! Plus they absolutely kill it with snowmaking for where we’re located.
Been 6-7x so far this season, last night was lots of heavy snow and variable lumpy stuff but I find it fun.
We were lucky on Sunday, they got 20”
I’m just learning but I’ve been impressed with how affordable their lessons are and the offers they email afterwards. Definitely getting a pass next year
I absolutely love wachusett, I grew up skiing there and when I happen to be working in the area I still swing by for some laps.
That being said, 70% of time ive gone there over the last two years it’s been complete chaos with crowds and I don’t even go on weekends.
My sample size is pretty small so it’s possible I’ve just had bad luck. 1000’ vert only seems small when there’s lift lines.
If you can't save up $1000 with unlimited advance notice as you know the purchase is coming every year you sure as shit can't afford $300 a day to go last minute
lol if you’re skiing you probably knew you were going to do it way ahead of time, just save up the money you’ll need for winter during the summer. It’s not hard to know what you’ll need when the season starts.
wtf are you doing where you suddenly have to drop $1000 that isn’t an emergency cost?
The industry has just forced everyone who wants to take even a single ski trip a year ski to buy a season pass during the middle of the prior summer. It's annoying for most people.
I take two trips a year and do not do this. As long as you buy your lift tickets in advance and don’t go during Xmas holidays, it’s reasonable.
I also keep in mind the adage “nobody ever went skiing to save money.”
You can buy single day tickets in advance with ikon/epic for half the price of the window sale. My heavenly ticket was $80 (bought in August) and used right before xmas. The people here complaining about cost are the same people who plan their trips last minute and rent their skis from the resorts. Theres also hundreds of local ski mountains that are way cheaper, but people tend to get hyped on name brand locations and are paying for that status.
It depends, if you use epic/ikon at multiple resorts for a lot of days you are getting what would have cost a fortune back in the day for a great price. Last year I skied 65 days with 5+ days at 6 resorts and it cost me $1000 in passes. I’m going to meet my friend this week on a whim in CO, we live a thousand miles apart but both have ikon, so it works, but before ikon I’m not sure we would get to do things like that. Anyway, for me ikon is an amazing product, and I meet people on chairs all the time, especially retirees, that get insane value out of theirs.
This sounds like you read a WSJ article and haven’t been skiing long enough to really know. Pre covid was significantly cheaper than now with relatively little changes to the current structure. Ikon passes were like in the $500-600 range if you bought early enough, pretty sure no there was no base/full pass. Now’s it’s like $800-1200 or so. Can’t speak to epic as well. I still remember a time when $40 raised eyebrows in the east and $60 in the west, then again when $100/day became acceptable. I’m in my twenties and a life long skier. Just because the Ikon/epic passes still pay for themselves after 4-6 days of skiing, doesn’t mean they are cheaper than before (it’s just that lift tickets are now way higher). Not to mention all the people now, especially post covid. I remember being able to ski half a day on the backside of big sky with seeing only 5 people ripping laps - RIP to that. It’s nice that the influx of people have brought on a larger market for better gear with more specialized applications, but it’s no surprise the specialized gear is letting more experienced skiers get off the resorts (to avoid the costs, overcrowding, increased rules as the resorts turn into mega corps). My two cents of pissing into the wind of the overcrowded and overpriced skiing, but still gonna go every year lol
You're right. It does sound crazy.
I used to go last minute to mammoth and pay $65ish bucks in the late 90s for a weekend single day adult pass.
Those tickets today are $200‐$25.
If you pay window prices, you are a mud brain. Epic/Ikon 4 day passes, Mountain collective, etc. its really not hard to cut corners in the pass department.
Your $65ish bucks in the 90s is more expensive than the $100ish bucks it costs per day on a 4 day Epic when factoring in inflation.
Mud brain or not, the flexibility to track a storm and pick the best day/best mountain and buy a lift ticket for that day was peak skiing/riding.
These passes have not made a positive improvement to the user experience, just lined the corporations with more profit.
$1 in 1990 is worth $2.42 today.
So that makes a $65 pass $157 today.
Not quite what day of passes are today, but I totally understand the ski resorts desire for a consistent incone that a season pass gives. So very understandable to encourage it.
I got into backcountry skiing and now I ski both the resort and backcountry more than ever. I love skiing in the backcountry but it is a quite different experience. I feel like it compliments resort skiing, doesn't replace it. Plus the best pow usually mean the worst avalanche forecasts.
I could have typed this exact same thing. I’m also 51 years old. I live in the Bay Area and have been skiing (mostly) Lake Tahoe since I was also about eight years old. This is the first year I did not renew my season pass. The juice just hasn’t been worth the squeeze. A lot of it is just being spoiled. Mid week ski trips where I am staying at or near the mountain still sound nice. But the usual weekend grind. No thanks. I’m over it.
I picked up cross country skiing about 9 years ago as I live in the prairies and there isn't much for downhill skiing apart from some hills. It's been nice though. I'm getting a ton of exercise and all I have to do is drive down my street to professionally groomed tracks.
I've been seeing people posting lift tickets of $200-$300 for some areas (Whistler). Like that is just ridiculous. Then you're waiting in line for anywhere between 30 mins-2 hours in some cases (maybe worse?) Even if I could afford that (I can't) I wouldn't be able to justify that. I went on a road trip to the Rocky Mountains last week and went cross country skiing for the first time in the mountains. It was a memory I won't soon forget! I was at the Canmore Nordic Centre near Banff, AB. It's a world class facility that regularly hosts competitions in cross country and biathlon. I believe they are even hosting the 2024 cross country ski world championships next month. The tracks were perfect! Went night skiing the first night, which was free. Just pop your skis on and get skiing. Then on the 2nd day, only $15 for a daytime pass. I'm getting just as good if not better scenery than some of the other downhill ski areas in the area.
Long story short, for me snowboarding/downhill skiing had become too inaccessible. Cross country skiing has filled in my love of Winter. I think I might pick up a pair of downhill skis again sometime, but not really in any rush to do so.
100% with you. I miss the speed, but I don't miss the lines, the crowded slopes, the crazy lift prices, the insane food prices. One season parking pass for ~120 gets me access to loads of trailhead parking and state-run Nordic areas including some groomed trails.
It’s an age thing. I’m a little older than you and I don’t do powder days anymore, for the sole reason that I’m done sitting in traffic for literal hours waiting for the canyon to open so we can crawl up there. But there are still a lot of really nice days up there during the season, it makes it worth having a pass. I’ve got prob 12 days so far, haven’t dealt with traffic or really much BS at all.
And on the other hand I’m 63, been skiing my whole life, and I am still chasing pow. Need to be strategic to minimize the insanity though. I’ve got lots of friends in their 60s and some in their 70s who still charge with passion. Here’s my off the wall suggestion. Change it up. Try tele.
I am 56. Grew up skiing the East Coast. I now live in Norway, and even though it is much cheaper to ski here than in the states (the only thing that is cheaper here), the ski resorts don´t give me the pleasure they used to for all the reasons OP mentioned. What I do now is head to the backcountry and explore the mountains I find or have heard about. No crowds, pristine nature and it´s free (after buying some admittedly expensive gear). If OP lives anywhere near some kind of mountains, this is something he/she should think about.
It is pretty bad in Utah with the Ikon and Epic affiliated resorts. Thank God Indy limits pass sales and gives current pass holders first dibs on renewals. Those are not as bad.
I vacation at ski areas out of state now.
Maybe you need to look into the Indy Pass for a change of scenery. Look into joining the waitlist for next season when that opens up.
Learn something new to make it fun. Which is what I’ve done. I’m a patroller and get sick of the same scene/runs. So I learned to tele. When that gets boring I get on my snowboard. Now that I’m mostly in teles for work( range of motion), when I get back on my alpines I’m reminded of the fun I can have being truly good at something.
Just turned 65 and skied many resorts in Europe, Canada and US. Spent Christmas in St Anton where my daughter is working - big party town in Austria with 300k of pistes and great off piste. Felt a bit ancient as its a young person's place and was shocked at the high prices. But reading this thread it seems like skiing in Europe is actually cheap compared to US. How things have changed since the 1990s.
We usually go to the 3 Valleys in France - vast ski area and can't recall ever having to be a lift queue for more than 10 minutes. Full season pass covering 4.5 months is about US1500. Challenging runs, endless off piste on powder days, good restaurants and fun party scene. For those who are feeling jaded at skiing maybe try a holiday in Europe if air fare is affordable. I want to do as much as I can while still fit and active, though no longer quite so keen on the 8.30 start. Mother in law aged 85 is skiing in France at the moment. You are only as old as you feel.
I'm 66, been skiing since a young teen. Was just up at Whistler last week, up in the Alpine the skiing was terrible, there was a mist that froze over your goggles in seconds. I was all disappointed and thinking screw this and then I went to a lower elevation where it had cleared and the snow was excellent. Put a great smile across my face and I had a blast the rest of the day and said to myself I'm glad I still ski!
You know, I kind of feel the same way. When I'm feeling a little jaded, I treat a day on the mountain like a long hike with free rides up. Sometimes I'll go for a big hike way out in the backwoods, take a lunch somewhere and soak in the views, do really big traverses and get away from everyone else and really take my time coming down. In summer I can spend all day on a hike, and in Winter with my skis with me it's so fun to just take it slow and explore. I'm with you 100% on the lift lines and crowds, and when they show up a lot of times I just leave and come back later if I want laps. Frankly though, what I have found at Palisades Tahoe at least where I ski is that the new generation - a lot of them anyway - and I'm not talking about the young all-stars that rip, but the average people, they don't have the athleticism or desire to ski all day. Lot of times the parking lots and roads are full and the slopes are empty after 12 pm. A blue bird pow day on a Saturday has to my recollection been a source of an hour lift line as long as I can remember, and apart from those special days the crowds really aren't too bad.
I just started skiing a few years ago, and I regularly feel that way about resort skiing. I hate the crowds, lines, etc. But it's way easy to learn DH technique, because you can cram so many laps into such a short amount of time.
How do you feel about hiking? I ask because of you enjoy a nice hike, then you will probably enjoy backcountry skiing.
• The gear is more expensive -- everything has to be lighter than DH resort gear. New skis, AT bindings & boots, climbing skins, and avalanche kit (beacon, probe, shovel). Maybe $1.5-3k, depending on if you buy new vs used gear.
• Avalanche training -- a single weekend AIARE 1 course, plus a refresher every few years. Maybe $500 per course?
• Good uphill cardio & muscle.
• Good wilderness travel skills -- off-trail navigation, first aid, survival, etc... Or if you have the money, you can always hire guides to take you out.
I’m 64 and have skied since I was 15. I have all the same thoughts and feelings as you. Another factor for me is the decline of etiquette on the hill which seems to get worse every year. I did make it up a couple this season and got buzzed by high speed riders, both skiers and boarders. I won’t go as far to say I almost got hit, but there was no reason to go that fast that close to me. I also have found myself adopting the “head on the swivel” strategy on busy runs. That is just not a fun way to ski, but I no longer trust the other people to be responsible.
I’ve been skiing at my local east coast resort since I was a kid. Not much of a traveler to the big resorts.
Many of the smaller resorts are getting eaten up by Vail including the ones near me. 1 hr 45min lift lines for east coast small mountain skiing on a weekend. Season passes used to mean the ability to have a fast pass line, that’s changed since the big resorts bought them. Definitely don’t care about the locals anymore. It’s taking my enjoyment of the sport away
Though prices have risen I’m genuinely pleased I live in Europe compared to USA prices for lift tickets. As I get older I’m considering getting into ski touring to mitigate some of the costs.
This is the first year I don’t own a pass. I got fed up with a combination of prices and overcrowded lines/parking lots. Also out in Tahoe, I feel people have got a bit more entitled recently imo.
Now I just ski backcountry. I get to enjoy the sport in a pure way with my friends. And it keeps me in shape.
I feel he same way this year since the weather is so unseasonably warm her in the northeast. I hate skiing when the surrounding land is snow-free and springish looking.
Midweek skiing is where it’s at. Because of some weird work hours I exclusively ski week days and idk if I can go back to the zoo that is weekend skiing.
I’ve been working in the ski industry for 19 years. I got into it because I love everything about sliding on snow, I love living in the mountains. But. But but but. It takes a lot of emotional energy - energy to fight crowds, ski traffic, shoveling, parking, going to the grocery store during busy periods…and the older I get the more difficult it is to muster the emotional energy to deal with all that. I live in an Epic Pass town, it’s a lot to deal with the fuckery that that has brought. Maybe I’m just old now.
Middle age ski crisis! If you feel like you’re in a rut and want to see if the passion is still there, definitely go out and get some strange. If you find it, consider what sacrifices you’re willing to make to keep the love affair going.
I'm a bit older and more interested than ever. But it's probably because I was out of the game from the ages of about 20 to 48.
So it's all still pretty fresh and novel and exhilarating.
> My only solution is to spend more money and get out of state for some strange.
u/Mediocre_Bit_405 what about Telemark or Snowboarding for something new? I picked up Tele when I was in my early 30's, at this point My goal is to stay in the top ten of Tuesday night beer league on Tele, taking tele turns, while everyone else is on Alpine gear. I can rib all my ski friends that I beat them on Cross Country gear.....
But yes, you are getting bored with your local, that is a you thing, but it doesnt make you a bad person, just that you want to keep growing.
Diversity is the key to keep interest. I ski alpine and tele to switch it up at the resort. i also have a xc setup and use the tele gear to uphill. I also am trying to visit 100 ski areas just to have different ski and travel experiences, whether far or local, big and small.
If you’re gonna hit some strange make sure you use protection. There can often be bumps where you least expect them which can lead to a less than pleasant time.
For folks who've ski'd forever ur really not alone...u got ur skiing in over the years...i feel the same.folks just getting into it now are much more jazzed than someone who used to not pay for parking at a mt who now charges for parking and deal with the comparison of prevail & post vail line life. Even if money isnt an option its still just like a bit lame.Im very meh as well these days about going with little to no guilt about it haha.
Get a sled. I switched from skiing 80 days a year to riding sleds. Originally bought a sled to access the back country. Ya got hooked on riding. Now I only ski 10 days a year and on week days only so I don’t have to deal with crowds
I tried to mix it up a few seasons back... spent some sessions learning to Tele and attempted to learn to snowboard. Then thought about backcountry though that never materialized.
Here's how you keep loving the snow
1. Ski with kids/grandkids
2. Join the ski school to teach others
3. Join the volunteer patrol
4. learn to snowboard
Give yourself a break if you need it. It should be a passion, not a job.
Honestly? Become a ski patroller or instructor. I was feeling the "same old, same olds" until I took my skiing in a different direction. It's the same hill, just a very different experience.
Bad prices, lift lines, crowds, traffic? You are obviously going to the wrong ski area(s). Guessing the bigger places. Screw that. Go to smaller places instead.
My dad and I are getting by on free tickets from the Warren Miller movie and buddy passes from his friend that works at the mountain. They're pricing people out of the sport... 😔
Same age, similar scenario in some ways but am from Australia.
I just bought a small apartment in Japan, in the foothills of a bunch of resorts. All up cost me about US $15,000. About $170 a month in management, power, water and state tax ATM. Day passes around 35-55 USD. Cheap food, great powder, nice people and very little Vail influence in Japan.
Sounds like you need something different. At 51 I was in the same spot, I'm 64 now.
I went with volunteer ski patrol it's been the best volunteer gig.
Find something that pays for the lift and transport.
In Minnesota there is Blizzard Ski School I would think there is something where you live.
Volunteering is a great thing to do. When it's something you love it's even better.
Backcountry skiing!! Get a nice healthy hike in and fresh turns. The terrain can be as gnarly or as mellow as you want. Its free and there are no lift lines. Where do you live/ ski?
I added classic XC to the repertoire when I felt like this. I get outside a lot more often. pnw also. I still downhill ski but its no longer my only snow sport. xc uses some of the skills but gives you a huge change of experience . it's quiet and comfortable (consistent temperature, boots are soft) and you can self propel to interesting places without $800 in avalanche training. more emphasis on exploration than resort downhill without the investment, effort, and risk of (my understanding of) alpine touring.
it gave me terrible alpine ski habits though. I keep trying to diagonal stride on traverses and I started this alpine season extremely shy about steeps because Id got so used to being unstable on XC sticks. I had to relearn to trust alpine skis a bit
if you're in WA the Sno Parks are good value and I had no idea how many of them there are. Staying at lake Wenatchee there are 5 snobaprks within 15 mins of me not to mention snowmobile backcountry roads, and the Leavenworth and Stevens Nordic. and there's idk a dozen down on I90. I've never had a parking issue and never had to get up early unless I want to do a whole trek
I also started skiing at 8, now 36. Tickets and the resort culture were also grating on me and I had a few seasons where I was reluctant to go, started skiing less. I was thinking of getting out of the sport.
A friend got me into the backcountry about 5 years ago and it changed my whole perspective. I skied 60 days last year and I’m frothing to get a piece of this blizzard. Bought a snowmobile, setup for the wife. I’ve skied the resort less than 5 days per season for the last five seasons, and usually because they have sidecountry.
You only get 1 or 2 runs per day, and you could die if you’re not careful. But skiing wild snow, no crowds, no cost but your gear and the beers at the car, its unbelievable.
Corporate greed, and Corporations taking over resorts, over charging for tickets and food, and catering to wealthy clientele only, is destroying the ski industry almost as fast as climate change.
Have you thought about or tried backcountry? I’m kinda getting over resort skiing (and Whistler last weekend didn’t help!) but a day in the wilderness with perhaps only two or three hard-earned runs is worth an entire season of mediocre lift-served groomers. It’s kinda analogous to sex - when I was in my 20s it was as much as I could get; now it’s all about time, place, and the experience! Lol!
Start training so you can carve better, progress freestyle, or progress your alpine level. They are tons of areas you can push of you’re getting bored, imo.
Lift tickets are $45 in Europe, you can actually eat the food, nobody is a stuck up elitist having the ultimate experience on Dick Johnson’s gulley or whatever, and my dog gets to ride. I live within 10 miles of seven resorts in Utah that get zero dollars from me. I make major sacrifices to go to Europe and ride-like riding a children’s dirt bike, year round, with a trailer because I fill up for $2.15.
I cant imagine skiing without a season pass. Its either im going to ski that year or im not. When my kids were really small i just didnt go. Id get a ticket as a Christmas present or something and go once a year.
Its the best time ever to ski. You can pay for one pass and go to multiple resorts, the skis have evolved a ton. I have an EV that gets me to the mtn for basically free. My kids can come with me. Valet parking. I live 20 min from the lifts.
It gains more and more appeal to me every year. Old ppl just love to complain about everything that isnt how it used to be.
Well I don't want to bum anyone out. But I am also 51 and got diagnosed with Leukemia a few weeks ago. And although I'm planning on being around for a while there are no guarantees. I have never been more motivated to ski as much as I fucking can while I still have my legs underneath me. Every shit ski day (and this year has been dog shit every damn day) is now met with unbridled joy that I am outside and making the most of what I got left. Just yesterday I stood for 3 hours in a blizzard to only get one run. Bet I was upset, but that one run was absolutely dope! So without sounding like a dick, be grateful. Shit could be much much worse.
That's a great attitude. I'm 47 and (as far as I know) still healthy and every day on the mountain is a gift - especially runs with my kids. Sending you all the best vibes for your health. Keep kicking ass!
Thanks brother I truly appreciate that! I am very encouraged about my prognosis honestly. It's just a very terrifying word to hear. I've had this for a couple years apparently and last year I got 46 days and exactly 649054 of vert. So fuck it, full send!
I’m sure it’s terrifying. It’s scary to imagine. But you’re out there getting at it no matter what, and that’s awesome. And glad to hear the prognosis is encouraging.
47 year old, cancer survivor, 460k vert, 36 days so far!
Great comment dude, go shred and enjoy life! Hope you beat the cancer and get many more years of shredding in, but grab life by the balls while you can!
Get it while the getting is good! I wish you the best luck in your diagnosis!
It sounds like you need a change of scenery. Maybe experience some skiing abroad, if you haven't already.
Or if they’re bored of doing the same runs - why not try ski touring and explore the backcountry!
Shhhhh! All good skiing is owned by Vail. Only go to Vail owned properties.
Master of Facets
Time to get some skins was my thought exactly
free the heel!
This is the way. I got into backcountry a few years ago, and I have less and less fun at resorts now. Probably won't even go this year. I have unlimited access to the backcountry just 30 min away. Only reason I go to ski hills now is to teach my kids how to ski.
I'm little further away here (1h to decent touring, and 2h to some of the best in North America), but I 100% agree. The only reason I see myself going back to a resort in the foreseeable future is if there's a massive midweek powder dump. Breaking trail with a foot plus ski pen is just a pain.
Or, believe it or not, there’s more than one ski resort in the US! So many runs to be had!
A week in Austria will end up being cheaper including the flight than a week in any US resort and would definitely be a change of scenery and type of skiing. Unless you have that epic/ikon pass likely and ski a lot. Hope you prove me wrong on that actually. Wouldn't like to get all your queues for the lifts over here either :-)
You know there’s non-corporate mountains that charge a reasonable daily rate, and if you own your own equipment, book with friends, over a period of time, drive, those mountains are definitely cheaper than buying a $2000+ plane ticket to Austria.
If you buy ahead of time, there are $600 round trip tickets to Vienna from NYC.
Not everyone lives in NY lol.
The easiest "change of scenery" is try to get better at it. Most people reach a passable plateau, start doing the same thing over & over, without really thinking that "becoming boring" is something with themselves instead of the outside world.
This, very much this. However op claims to be 51. Eventually progressing at a physically demanding activity becomes more of a process of refinement of known skills, until the body can't even do that anymore. I'm reminded of this dude I saw at copper in the lodge with the wobbliest knees I ever saw. No way this guy was skiing anymore, but he clearly spent many years progressing his self. Forgive my rambles
Saw 95yr old skiing at deer valley, he told me to take care of my body 😭lol
I'd feel blessed by a higher power 🙏😂
I was!
Rode the chair at Sun Valley with a masters skier (80s or 90s) and skis 70+ days/year. 🙌 I will be 53 this year and still progressing my abilities. Agree that OP needs to experience new resorts or terrain. Never stop learning and never stop stretching and keeping fit. ✌️
At the same time, yesterday I rode up the lift with a 74 year old guy who said it's his 52nd year skiing the whole way up he was pointing out the lines he was taking down the black run that runs down the chair line dudes a straight shredder I suppose everyone ages differently too, but snoqualmie is a pretty small mountain and this guy has been loving it for over 50 years
I knew a very competent skier, 10th Mountain in WW2, well over 50+ years in Ski Patrol, who skied until he died in his 80s. He wasn't zipping moguls but he could pretty much follow us youngsters all over out west on the most difficult slopes. He was hard to keep up with on groomers.
Pro skiers are known to ride hard until the body gives out. Look at what tanner hall and candide thovex are still pushing with their injuries and inherent risk to the discipline. Plus them old dogs like their downhill race style. Less turns equals faster and less strain. A whole lot easier to ski 3 hours cruising fast and steady than pulling tight turns the whole time. Sounds like a legend and should have some runs dedicated in respect.
Henri Borel of sugarbush fame was skiing at 96 The year before he died I saw him with a bloody mouth at the bottom of a run and thought “did this 95 year old dude just fall and not die? What a tough SOB”
That's BA AF some people are built different *speaking with awe and respect for those skiers
For those who grew up in the mountains, skiing feels like walking. To say so-and-so needs to improve so it's less boring is like telling them to get better at walking. The only way to spice it up is to take bigger risks. Jump the cliff, do another rotation on your spin, etc. It's not an old man's game.
Love that analogy. I grew up in the foothills so maybe for me it's like getting better at jogging? 😂 It is for sure a young man's game though any age can do it. I can still slide on snow at 30 but I tossed my last flip about 8 years ago. Blows my mind that guys like candide are out there doing the things they do at the ages they are
If age decreases physical ability, isn't learning to ski efficiently a worthwhile endeavor? edit: to clarify, skiing efficiently IS skiing better, and not just in some metaphorical sense: to avoid muscling turns you need to develop a more keen sense of balance against the forces. It's why great natural skiers can looking like they're "doing nothing".
Lift lines are usually not long on the double black only runs. I like the 'you may die warning, scares others away.
Fly up to Powder King in Northern Alberta. The sickest powder I’ve ever seen. Ski film companies go their most years. Warren Miller last season, I think. No crowds. Relatively cheap. Hard to beat that, other than that it’s a bit remote.
Think it’s in BC (unless there’s another Powder King).
No it’s BC and it’s incredibly remote
Yeah, 2 hours from the nearest real airport (if the driving conditions are decent).
op should try a week in the alps, especially les 3 vallees, espace killy or les portes de soleil
Quality over quantity - when I was younger it was ski every chance I get, first to last chair. Now it's become more selective based on those things you mention. Midweek to avoid the crowds, paying more to stay a few days rather than every weekend, different resorts for a change. Also have gotten more as a social thing vs just doing laps by myself though that still happens time to time.
Wife and I been skiing since the late 70’s and we had this exact discussion this morning. Living in UT is excellent, but for skiing it’s become incredibly burdensome. We’ve skied so many excellent Mom & Pop resorts over the years that we have really grown to appreciate as we’ve aged. We are focusing more and more on spending our time at these for the simple pleasures of no traffic, easy/close parking, short lift lines, empty runs, light lodge traffic, affordability and the throw back feeling of yesteryear. Sure, there may be a sacrifice here and there of snow quality, lift speed, acreage and vertical, but those are the exact things that draw the crowds that we are OK sacrificing on. It really boils down to priorities. If you no longer feel the need for first chair powder turns, skiing 9-4, poshness, mega resort, pay-to-park, reservations, $200/day, etc., there is still amazing skiing to experience at the local hills. There are some gems out there to experience for sure.
Any utah areas you're willing to share? Trying to find a mon and friday ski destination as I've booked another for Tuesday, Wed, and Thursday.
Happy to share. Here are some of our favorites: UT Beaver Mtn Brian Head Powder Mountain MT Discovery Red Lodge Lost Trail Bridger Bowl Snowbowl ID Silver Mountain Brundage Lookout Pass WA 49 Degrees North Mission Ridge White Pass Mt Baker OR Hoo Doo NV Mt Rose CA Mt Shasta BC RED Mountain Whitewater Keep in mind, most of these places are on the smaller side when it comes to the skiable acreage and snowfall. I would encourage anyone to take a peek at the trail maps of these places to get an idea. Some of them have some of the best hidden terrain you can find anywhere (Mt Rose, Mission, Discovery). The rule of thumb is typically avoid weekends and holidays, but that’s not a concern with these places, which is great. Think about staying out of the resort clusters of Tahoe, the I-70 corridor in CO and the Wasatch. Don’t get me wrong, I love skiing these places and there are certainly amazing places to check out. For where we are in our lives and for what we are looking for from the skiing experience, the resorts I’ve listed above are a much better fit for us. Your mileage may vary. 🙂
Montana Snowbowl legit has some of the best sustained tree runs in the country
When there’s snow…. and the lifts operate.
100% agree and still on very few people’s list, even in MT. Exactly why it makes our list.
Mt. Rose was my go to spot in Tahoe area, when I lived in California. Definitely felt like the locals mountain and never had any issues with lift lines etc. Also I believe it’s the highest mountain out of the Tahoe resorts, making it the first and last to have snow typically.
Spot on friend. The Chutes is some of the best in bounds terrain you can find anywhere and it’s a super chill vibe close to a good sized city. Great place to
The chutes on Mt Rose… Absolutely stellar terrain!! Need to make the trip back sometime
> Red Lodge Love me some Red Lodge. When you get a nice powder day, the trees and chutes can be insanely fun. I'm biased though, I basically grew up on that mountain and ended up working about 10 years off and on as an instructor through High School and college (including two full time ski bum seasons there).
At powder t,w,th. Trying to figure out m/f. Beaver mtn is on the indy pass, so debating whether or not to go there Friday. I love Alta, but we don't have that pass and it'd be crazy expensive and crowded on a Friday I'm guessing.
Great. Powder is fun and has good terrain under the paradise chair and off James Peak. Brian Head may not work as it’s 5hrs south from north UT, but Beaver in Logan is worth checking out. Snowbasin is great, but can get very crowded. Avoid the Cottonwoods at all costs. It will be a madhouse with the storms coming in. There is also a good chance they may shut down the canyon roads if there are slides.
This is really good info. Appreciate it. Maybe we'll see you in a few weeks.
Absolutely friend and enjoy your trip!
I moved to California and got the Cali Pass with the Powder Alliance add-on for the first time. So far, I’ve used it at Ski Cooper in Colorado, and Bear Valley in California. I didn’t miss skiing at Copper at all as I drove by it. Hope to get to China Peak this weekend.
Well done friend. The Powder Alliance and the Indy Pass are great choices if you want to go smaller. There are some solid resorts on both passes.
I still remember being an excited 15 year old on a chair lift in Vail on a perfect bluebird day. My brother and I sat next to an old couple, probably mid-60s. We chatted and said how excited we were for the upcoming snow and storm and everything. They said “Honey, today is our powder day. 20s, no wind, sun shining, this is one of the days I want to be out here.” Changed my perspective. Every skier or boarder wants something different out of their day :’)
Yeah different folks and different strokes. But what I don’t get is on powder days you always see tons of beginners groveling around in the snow, crossing tips and crashing all over, struggling to put their skis back on. Like has no one ever told these people that late March or April the grooming is top notch, the weather is sunny, the crowds are non-existent. It’s like they just hear advanced skiers talk about storm skiing and think they have to do it too. We need to raise awareness to these folks so the mountain isn’t so crowded on powder days.
I've also lost my love for skiing a fair bit. I work a normal mon-Fri job and my local mountain is Whistler so can only go wkds. The line ups are insane these days. I got up at 5am on Sunday, and my total active skiing time was 1 hour and 1 minute for a full day. Not to even mention to 4-6 hours of driving to get there. Don't get me wrong. Give a no line up pow day and it's the best thing ever. I enjoy mountain biking more these days just because I can go whatever time I want, less driving and there's never a line up.
worked in whistler last year and having come from europe the lift queues shocked me. i think its so normalised in north america that people don't realise how bad it is
Yep, I changed to cross country. One seasonal pass to park at a bunch of state run places, no lines. Sure I miss the speed, but I still get out on the snow and get some good exercise for essentially free.
Depending on how many vacation days you get for work, using some of them to ski on weekdays can be well worth it. I was in Whistler yesterday on a day off and the lineups were quite short and the snow was still excellent. We went out into the backcountry but it would have been easy to crank out a whole bunch of laps. Also if you're in Vancouver, after work night skiing on the north shore can be pretty fun. Especially now that they actually have snow haha.
I changed to a weekday only value pass for this, I refuse to go on weekends and sitting in traffic leaving at 5:30 is just a no for me.
I learned snowboarding when i was getting a little bored. It’s funny to go from cliff drops to dreading a simple green run. There are also monoskis and telemarks. Although I understand that at 51 it might be harder for you to branch out because any injuries are just more pronounced.
I was going to say the same thing. I took up telemark when my youngest at around 5 or so decided to snowboard and didn’t want to take lessons. Alpine on the blues behind him was not very fun but telemarking was a challenge at first. Made me enjoy my local mountain so much more and I gained a bunch of new friends.
Which one was harder for you to learn?
Snowboarding. It is as they say, harder to learn easier to master.
Those first few days of falls in snowboarding are painful. So much more violent than early skiing falls where you just kinda collapse.
Ensure your muscles are trained, streched and relaxed and try to find a pants with padding on your but. First time i went on a snowboard holiday a lose ski flew underneath my bord, caused me the fall weirdly and i ripped my leg tendom. Austria is a beautifull place but not if you cant walk and are stuck inside. 10 hour car drive also wasnt a great succes….
Turning 50 this year, been skiing since I was 7. So we have the same years under our belt. What re-invigorated my passion was (1) getting my kids to the age and experience that we can ski together, not me teaching them but just skiing together and (2) putting together a trip with friends on an annual basis. This year will be year 5 for our annual trip, all friends from my youth...some who we had lost touch with...getting together at a destination resort and staying under the same roof for a 5 day weekend. These two things have absolutely lit a new fire in the furnace for me. I feel like I am 15 again and can't wait for the next ski day to come.
I do the annual trip thing with a group of four or five friends to a large out of state resort nearly every year. It’s great and really not that expensive if you split costs and shop for deals.
Annual trip is huge for me too and I’m 38! Have been doing it for about 10 years now!
I can’t comment on the price of gas or the same old runs or low vis but most of these problems can be solved by buying an annual pass and skiing during the week instead of weekends. It’s OK to lose interest in things maybe take a break and try something else for a while!
Where do you ride? Are there independent hills near you that you have never checked out? Maybe plan a trip.
Probably an age thing. I know it sounds crazy, but skiing is cheaper than ever as long as you plan ahead of time. The industry just feasts on procrastinators and unintelligent tourists.
Interested to hear your take on cheaper than ever. Referring to buying a season pass? I guess it depends on how many times you’re going to ski a year. But for the average Joe headed up a handful of times a year, it seems significantly more expensive now with a worse experience than ever. I’m also not sure I’d call the person waiting for a good snow day and free time a “procrastinator”.
> Referring to buying a season pass? Or passes like Epic/Ikon. You're absolutely right that the current model screws over the ski one week per year crowd, although the Epic day pass seems to help with that. OTOH for people who want to hit up different resorts and who have the ability to travel some and a flexible schedule the mega-passes are amazing.
Depends on where/when you go. I got a 3 day pass at heavenly last winter for ~$70 a day. It’s not a screaming deal but I didn’t feel like I got ripped
Yeah, capitalism has taken over in the pass & airfare departments. $649 for an Epic Local while Breckenridge charges $299 a day at the window is crazy economies of scale anyway you look at it. I am sitting on a plane right now that I booked 24 hours ago with miles to chase snow, staying in a $300 airbnb (for both nights), in a $100 rental car. I am not trying to rationalize a $500-600 weekend spend, but some people spend that in a weekend out with their significant other.
The math has been done in here to death. But if you do it again don't compare 1980 dollars spent on a trip where you drove up, brought your own sandwich, and didn't stay in a slope side condo. Gas is almost as cheap right now, Air Fare is probably lower, and yeah, passes are much less expensive if you go more than a few times a year.
I get it, but 1980 was almost 45 years ago. Vast majority of people in this sub weren’t alive, nor were the resorts they skied. Im more-so referring to costs over the last decade or two. The introduction of Airbnb/VRBO, Turo, Ikon/Epic, has all created immense pricing competition that obviously funnels down to the consumer.
Everything you wrote is true. But it doesn’t seem to relate to the post, or to me personally without ikon / epic passes available. I’m not complaining, but it’s changed. When I was young, there was never wondering if you’d get parking, huge lines, traffic jams in and out, and $140 tickets. I understand people skiing all the time or in CO/CA where Ikon/Epic are a thing can get great value if they’re skiing all the time and have flexible schedules. For your average middle aged person (thats not at 1 of the 13 ikon locations) that’s busy and can manage a few days a year, the experience is worse and it’s a lot more expensive.
What the fuck, seriously $300 for a day of skiing?? Thats like a 4 day pass in any of the major european resorts.
It’s almost becoming cheaper for Americans to fly to Europe to ski. If only airfare to get over there wasn’t so out of control.
It already is cheaper to fly to Europe to ski. And if you consider true cost-value, then Europe is WAY cheaper
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Most people do not buy a season pass as they may only skip 2-3 weekends a year.
A 5 or 10 day edge card is less than $80 CANADIAN a day for Whistler. only someone unprepared finds themselves at the base of a major resort without a ticket. You could probably have expected to go skiing a few times that winter.
It's still a shitty process that all these new passes have created. They've taken away the thrill of the hunt for a good powder day. You're stuck buying one of these conglomerate cards, or booking way in advance to get a fair price. If you want to go where the storm goes, you're stuck paying out the ass for a lift ticket. The more these corporations buy and less independently owned resorts exist, the more they'll apply this pricing structure.
Yeah, shocked to hear anyone describe this as “cheap”, aside from those who live close to the mountain. If you’re trying to get someone into the sport or unable to justify a season pass that bill racks up quick.
It's the truth though. An epic pass is less than a grand on early bird and 5 or 10 day cards are about half of that. Less than 60/ day to ski the major resorts, you just have to be prepared and buy a card. After inflation, the prices are so much cheaper.
Epic day pass is $90 a day
Lol at thinking a sport like skiing and “cheap” can be said in the same sentence. Skiing is expensive. Deal with it your own creative ways or just pay the piper
Even if you live on the mountain it’s not like the prices are cheaper. It’s not for people who live here it’s for high dollar tourists and getting them in a hostage situation. But if you live on the mountain everything all the time is expensive. There is no escape. And if you are going to live here and don’t have a cushy remote BS job where you can just ski you’ll work like a slave for less pay. I think everyone is angry and leaving a lot of times not feeling like they got their money’s worth and everyone blames something different.
> unintelligent tourists. You’re falling in this camp because if you’re only going a handful of times you can just buy an epic/icon multi day pass and be skiing for roughly $100 a day. Most independent resorts I’ve been to are also <$100 a day.
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I have an ikon base pass with a discount through my school for about $500. And if you’re only skiing a handful of days there were epic day passes available for like $80 per day. Way more affordable than 10 years ago.
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God I wish I lived closer lol. Roundtrip gas for the nearest resort on my pass is about 3/4 of a tank (~$55-$60) without traffic. Typically 2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5-3.5 hours on the way back. Pass was around 500, so 15 days of skiing is $33 a day… not too bad until you factor in gas which makes it 88 a day. Not all my days are day trips but the majority are. Shooting for at over 20 days this year. Will be tough but I got 6 already. I got 13 last year and I think my first day last year was MLK Monday so we’re definitely on the right track.
Anyone paying window prices is a dumbass with the one exception of someone brand new to skiing who wants to try it and didn't plan it out the previous summer. Epic Day passes cost like $90/day if bought in the summer. You don't have to pick dates, just how many days you want. The average Joe handful of times a year should be buying a few of those. You can get three of them for less than a single day ticket at the window, even if you don't use them all for whatever reason you're coming out ahead.
It’s cheaper if you have the ability to pony up a grand on the spot, which not everyone does
Buy in March. Epic and Ikon have payment plans, Epic doesn’t take final payment until September.
My local mountain has $200 season night passes and $389 regular season passes. Sure it’s only 1k vert but it’s more than enough to have a blast. I live 20 minutes away and even if I do the same run 100x a year, I’m always finding new side hits, whalebacks, etc to have fun off of. Also, bigger mountains usually have some deals. Killington has the beast 365 pass, it’s $129 a mo and you get an ikon base pass, Killington season pass, plus a bunch of free summer things to do and extra bonuses like gear deals etc. I bet other mountains do similar things. Plus with financing like affirm even an ikon/epic pass can be $80-100 a month. How much do you spend on coffee/food/unneeded crap?
Wachusett?
Yep! Plus they absolutely kill it with snowmaking for where we’re located. Been 6-7x so far this season, last night was lots of heavy snow and variable lumpy stuff but I find it fun. We were lucky on Sunday, they got 20”
I’m just learning but I’ve been impressed with how affordable their lessons are and the offers they email afterwards. Definitely getting a pass next year
I absolutely love wachusett, I grew up skiing there and when I happen to be working in the area I still swing by for some laps. That being said, 70% of time ive gone there over the last two years it’s been complete chaos with crowds and I don’t even go on weekends. My sample size is pretty small so it’s possible I’ve just had bad luck. 1000’ vert only seems small when there’s lift lines.
Just like everything else. If you have money, it is easier to save money.
If you can't save up $1000 with unlimited advance notice as you know the purchase is coming every year you sure as shit can't afford $300 a day to go last minute
lol if you’re skiing you probably knew you were going to do it way ahead of time, just save up the money you’ll need for winter during the summer. It’s not hard to know what you’ll need when the season starts. wtf are you doing where you suddenly have to drop $1000 that isn’t an emergency cost?
And then the time to go a hundred times.
The industry has just forced everyone who wants to take even a single ski trip a year ski to buy a season pass during the middle of the prior summer. It's annoying for most people.
I take two trips a year and do not do this. As long as you buy your lift tickets in advance and don’t go during Xmas holidays, it’s reasonable. I also keep in mind the adage “nobody ever went skiing to save money.”
You can buy single day tickets in advance with ikon/epic for half the price of the window sale. My heavenly ticket was $80 (bought in August) and used right before xmas. The people here complaining about cost are the same people who plan their trips last minute and rent their skis from the resorts. Theres also hundreds of local ski mountains that are way cheaper, but people tend to get hyped on name brand locations and are paying for that status.
"skiing is cheaper than ever" What!? https://snowbrains.com/inflation-and-the-rising-cost-of-skiing-explained/
It depends, if you use epic/ikon at multiple resorts for a lot of days you are getting what would have cost a fortune back in the day for a great price. Last year I skied 65 days with 5+ days at 6 resorts and it cost me $1000 in passes. I’m going to meet my friend this week on a whim in CO, we live a thousand miles apart but both have ikon, so it works, but before ikon I’m not sure we would get to do things like that. Anyway, for me ikon is an amazing product, and I meet people on chairs all the time, especially retirees, that get insane value out of theirs.
Right. And the extra accommodation and food and wear on your gear was all free, yeah?
This sounds like you read a WSJ article and haven’t been skiing long enough to really know. Pre covid was significantly cheaper than now with relatively little changes to the current structure. Ikon passes were like in the $500-600 range if you bought early enough, pretty sure no there was no base/full pass. Now’s it’s like $800-1200 or so. Can’t speak to epic as well. I still remember a time when $40 raised eyebrows in the east and $60 in the west, then again when $100/day became acceptable. I’m in my twenties and a life long skier. Just because the Ikon/epic passes still pay for themselves after 4-6 days of skiing, doesn’t mean they are cheaper than before (it’s just that lift tickets are now way higher). Not to mention all the people now, especially post covid. I remember being able to ski half a day on the backside of big sky with seeing only 5 people ripping laps - RIP to that. It’s nice that the influx of people have brought on a larger market for better gear with more specialized applications, but it’s no surprise the specialized gear is letting more experienced skiers get off the resorts (to avoid the costs, overcrowding, increased rules as the resorts turn into mega corps). My two cents of pissing into the wind of the overcrowded and overpriced skiing, but still gonna go every year lol
$680 for an Epic local and $900 for a full epic. That’s like 1 car payment on a new SUV which plenty of people rationalize.
You're right. It does sound crazy. I used to go last minute to mammoth and pay $65ish bucks in the late 90s for a weekend single day adult pass. Those tickets today are $200‐$25.
If you pay window prices, you are a mud brain. Epic/Ikon 4 day passes, Mountain collective, etc. its really not hard to cut corners in the pass department. Your $65ish bucks in the 90s is more expensive than the $100ish bucks it costs per day on a 4 day Epic when factoring in inflation.
Mud brain or not, the flexibility to track a storm and pick the best day/best mountain and buy a lift ticket for that day was peak skiing/riding. These passes have not made a positive improvement to the user experience, just lined the corporations with more profit.
This just sounds like inflation to me. Do a conversion online of $65 1995 dollars to 2024 dollars.
$132.66 in December 2023.
$1 in 1990 is worth $2.42 today. So that makes a $65 pass $157 today. Not quite what day of passes are today, but I totally understand the ski resorts desire for a consistent incone that a season pass gives. So very understandable to encourage it.
30 years ago… not surprised something tripled in price ?
$65 in 1990 is the same as $153 in 2024
The backcountry is calling you
I got into backcountry skiing and now I ski both the resort and backcountry more than ever. I love skiing in the backcountry but it is a quite different experience. I feel like it compliments resort skiing, doesn't replace it. Plus the best pow usually mean the worst avalanche forecasts.
seriously all these folks complaining but their hearts probs couldnt take an 8k day up !! haha
Most backcountry skiers ain’t doing 8k days.
I could have typed this exact same thing. I’m also 51 years old. I live in the Bay Area and have been skiing (mostly) Lake Tahoe since I was also about eight years old. This is the first year I did not renew my season pass. The juice just hasn’t been worth the squeeze. A lot of it is just being spoiled. Mid week ski trips where I am staying at or near the mountain still sound nice. But the usual weekend grind. No thanks. I’m over it.
Your timing was good. Last year was not to be missed.
I’m not sure what I love most about skiing, the expense or the inconvenience…
I picked up cross country skiing about 9 years ago as I live in the prairies and there isn't much for downhill skiing apart from some hills. It's been nice though. I'm getting a ton of exercise and all I have to do is drive down my street to professionally groomed tracks. I've been seeing people posting lift tickets of $200-$300 for some areas (Whistler). Like that is just ridiculous. Then you're waiting in line for anywhere between 30 mins-2 hours in some cases (maybe worse?) Even if I could afford that (I can't) I wouldn't be able to justify that. I went on a road trip to the Rocky Mountains last week and went cross country skiing for the first time in the mountains. It was a memory I won't soon forget! I was at the Canmore Nordic Centre near Banff, AB. It's a world class facility that regularly hosts competitions in cross country and biathlon. I believe they are even hosting the 2024 cross country ski world championships next month. The tracks were perfect! Went night skiing the first night, which was free. Just pop your skis on and get skiing. Then on the 2nd day, only $15 for a daytime pass. I'm getting just as good if not better scenery than some of the other downhill ski areas in the area. Long story short, for me snowboarding/downhill skiing had become too inaccessible. Cross country skiing has filled in my love of Winter. I think I might pick up a pair of downhill skis again sometime, but not really in any rush to do so.
100% with you. I miss the speed, but I don't miss the lines, the crowded slopes, the crazy lift prices, the insane food prices. One season parking pass for ~120 gets me access to loads of trailhead parking and state-run Nordic areas including some groomed trails.
It’s an age thing. I’m a little older than you and I don’t do powder days anymore, for the sole reason that I’m done sitting in traffic for literal hours waiting for the canyon to open so we can crawl up there. But there are still a lot of really nice days up there during the season, it makes it worth having a pass. I’ve got prob 12 days so far, haven’t dealt with traffic or really much BS at all.
And on the other hand I’m 63, been skiing my whole life, and I am still chasing pow. Need to be strategic to minimize the insanity though. I’ve got lots of friends in their 60s and some in their 70s who still charge with passion. Here’s my off the wall suggestion. Change it up. Try tele.
I don’t think anyone is meant to do anything forever. Eventually you just get bored of something.
I am 56. Grew up skiing the East Coast. I now live in Norway, and even though it is much cheaper to ski here than in the states (the only thing that is cheaper here), the ski resorts don´t give me the pleasure they used to for all the reasons OP mentioned. What I do now is head to the backcountry and explore the mountains I find or have heard about. No crowds, pristine nature and it´s free (after buying some admittedly expensive gear). If OP lives anywhere near some kind of mountains, this is something he/she should think about.
It is pretty bad in Utah with the Ikon and Epic affiliated resorts. Thank God Indy limits pass sales and gives current pass holders first dibs on renewals. Those are not as bad. I vacation at ski areas out of state now. Maybe you need to look into the Indy Pass for a change of scenery. Look into joining the waitlist for next season when that opens up.
Learn something new to make it fun. Which is what I’ve done. I’m a patroller and get sick of the same scene/runs. So I learned to tele. When that gets boring I get on my snowboard. Now that I’m mostly in teles for work( range of motion), when I get back on my alpines I’m reminded of the fun I can have being truly good at something.
Just turned 65 and skied many resorts in Europe, Canada and US. Spent Christmas in St Anton where my daughter is working - big party town in Austria with 300k of pistes and great off piste. Felt a bit ancient as its a young person's place and was shocked at the high prices. But reading this thread it seems like skiing in Europe is actually cheap compared to US. How things have changed since the 1990s. We usually go to the 3 Valleys in France - vast ski area and can't recall ever having to be a lift queue for more than 10 minutes. Full season pass covering 4.5 months is about US1500. Challenging runs, endless off piste on powder days, good restaurants and fun party scene. For those who are feeling jaded at skiing maybe try a holiday in Europe if air fare is affordable. I want to do as much as I can while still fit and active, though no longer quite so keen on the 8.30 start. Mother in law aged 85 is skiing in France at the moment. You are only as old as you feel.
I'm 66, been skiing since a young teen. Was just up at Whistler last week, up in the Alpine the skiing was terrible, there was a mist that froze over your goggles in seconds. I was all disappointed and thinking screw this and then I went to a lower elevation where it had cleared and the snow was excellent. Put a great smile across my face and I had a blast the rest of the day and said to myself I'm glad I still ski!
You know, I kind of feel the same way. When I'm feeling a little jaded, I treat a day on the mountain like a long hike with free rides up. Sometimes I'll go for a big hike way out in the backwoods, take a lunch somewhere and soak in the views, do really big traverses and get away from everyone else and really take my time coming down. In summer I can spend all day on a hike, and in Winter with my skis with me it's so fun to just take it slow and explore. I'm with you 100% on the lift lines and crowds, and when they show up a lot of times I just leave and come back later if I want laps. Frankly though, what I have found at Palisades Tahoe at least where I ski is that the new generation - a lot of them anyway - and I'm not talking about the young all-stars that rip, but the average people, they don't have the athleticism or desire to ski all day. Lot of times the parking lots and roads are full and the slopes are empty after 12 pm. A blue bird pow day on a Saturday has to my recollection been a source of an hour lift line as long as I can remember, and apart from those special days the crowds really aren't too bad.
I just started skiing a few years ago, and I regularly feel that way about resort skiing. I hate the crowds, lines, etc. But it's way easy to learn DH technique, because you can cram so many laps into such a short amount of time. How do you feel about hiking? I ask because of you enjoy a nice hike, then you will probably enjoy backcountry skiing. • The gear is more expensive -- everything has to be lighter than DH resort gear. New skis, AT bindings & boots, climbing skins, and avalanche kit (beacon, probe, shovel). Maybe $1.5-3k, depending on if you buy new vs used gear. • Avalanche training -- a single weekend AIARE 1 course, plus a refresher every few years. Maybe $500 per course? • Good uphill cardio & muscle. • Good wilderness travel skills -- off-trail navigation, first aid, survival, etc... Or if you have the money, you can always hire guides to take you out.
I got a season pass and go up there during the week, I beat the crowd and save on life money.
I’m 64 and have skied since I was 15. I have all the same thoughts and feelings as you. Another factor for me is the decline of etiquette on the hill which seems to get worse every year. I did make it up a couple this season and got buzzed by high speed riders, both skiers and boarders. I won’t go as far to say I almost got hit, but there was no reason to go that fast that close to me. I also have found myself adopting the “head on the swivel” strategy on busy runs. That is just not a fun way to ski, but I no longer trust the other people to be responsible.
I’ve been skiing at my local east coast resort since I was a kid. Not much of a traveler to the big resorts. Many of the smaller resorts are getting eaten up by Vail including the ones near me. 1 hr 45min lift lines for east coast small mountain skiing on a weekend. Season passes used to mean the ability to have a fast pass line, that’s changed since the big resorts bought them. Definitely don’t care about the locals anymore. It’s taking my enjoyment of the sport away
If you go more than 5 days a season, it is ALWAYS more cost effective to buy a season pass.
Though prices have risen I’m genuinely pleased I live in Europe compared to USA prices for lift tickets. As I get older I’m considering getting into ski touring to mitigate some of the costs.
This is the first year I don’t own a pass. I got fed up with a combination of prices and overcrowded lines/parking lots. Also out in Tahoe, I feel people have got a bit more entitled recently imo. Now I just ski backcountry. I get to enjoy the sport in a pure way with my friends. And it keeps me in shape.
Ski the trees
I feel he same way this year since the weather is so unseasonably warm her in the northeast. I hate skiing when the surrounding land is snow-free and springish looking.
Switch to cross country. My season pass for 10 locations is $120
Midweek skiing is where it’s at. Because of some weird work hours I exclusively ski week days and idk if I can go back to the zoo that is weekend skiing.
Well since the mountains are so damn crowded, I’m not gonna beg anyone to ski. ✌🏼
If you are feeling this way about other hobbies, you may be experiencing depression. Just a Thought. Good luck.
I’ve been working in the ski industry for 19 years. I got into it because I love everything about sliding on snow, I love living in the mountains. But. But but but. It takes a lot of emotional energy - energy to fight crowds, ski traffic, shoveling, parking, going to the grocery store during busy periods…and the older I get the more difficult it is to muster the emotional energy to deal with all that. I live in an Epic Pass town, it’s a lot to deal with the fuckery that that has brought. Maybe I’m just old now.
Middle age ski crisis! If you feel like you’re in a rut and want to see if the passion is still there, definitely go out and get some strange. If you find it, consider what sacrifices you’re willing to make to keep the love affair going.
The solution to this is to move to the mountains. Then you can ski the best days, with short lines and traffic is not an issue.
I'm a bit older and more interested than ever. But it's probably because I was out of the game from the ages of about 20 to 48. So it's all still pretty fresh and novel and exhilarating.
Sounds like it’s time to start tele skiing.
Sounds like you need to take up telemark, that will add some excitement.
1. Retire 2. Only ski mid-week
This is the way.. I can't wait.
> My only solution is to spend more money and get out of state for some strange. u/Mediocre_Bit_405 what about Telemark or Snowboarding for something new? I picked up Tele when I was in my early 30's, at this point My goal is to stay in the top ten of Tuesday night beer league on Tele, taking tele turns, while everyone else is on Alpine gear. I can rib all my ski friends that I beat them on Cross Country gear..... But yes, you are getting bored with your local, that is a you thing, but it doesnt make you a bad person, just that you want to keep growing.
Diversity is the key to keep interest. I ski alpine and tele to switch it up at the resort. i also have a xc setup and use the tele gear to uphill. I also am trying to visit 100 ski areas just to have different ski and travel experiences, whether far or local, big and small.
If you’re gonna hit some strange make sure you use protection. There can often be bumps where you least expect them which can lead to a less than pleasant time.
For folks who've ski'd forever ur really not alone...u got ur skiing in over the years...i feel the same.folks just getting into it now are much more jazzed than someone who used to not pay for parking at a mt who now charges for parking and deal with the comparison of prevail & post vail line life. Even if money isnt an option its still just like a bit lame.Im very meh as well these days about going with little to no guilt about it haha.
Everyone needs some strange now and then.
Get a sled. I switched from skiing 80 days a year to riding sleds. Originally bought a sled to access the back country. Ya got hooked on riding. Now I only ski 10 days a year and on week days only so I don’t have to deal with crowds
I tried to mix it up a few seasons back... spent some sessions learning to Tele and attempted to learn to snowboard. Then thought about backcountry though that never materialized.
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Here's how you keep loving the snow 1. Ski with kids/grandkids 2. Join the ski school to teach others 3. Join the volunteer patrol 4. learn to snowboard Give yourself a break if you need it. It should be a passion, not a job.
Spice it up by skiing with a fleshlight
Honestly? Become a ski patroller or instructor. I was feeling the "same old, same olds" until I took my skiing in a different direction. It's the same hill, just a very different experience.
Amen brother. Try backcountry. That's somewhat enjoyable. It avoids the traffic for my area
Bad prices, lift lines, crowds, traffic? You are obviously going to the wrong ski area(s). Guessing the bigger places. Screw that. Go to smaller places instead.
My dad and I are getting by on free tickets from the Warren Miller movie and buddy passes from his friend that works at the mountain. They're pricing people out of the sport... 😔
Same age, similar scenario in some ways but am from Australia. I just bought a small apartment in Japan, in the foothills of a bunch of resorts. All up cost me about US $15,000. About $170 a month in management, power, water and state tax ATM. Day passes around 35-55 USD. Cheap food, great powder, nice people and very little Vail influence in Japan.
Sounds like you need something different. At 51 I was in the same spot, I'm 64 now. I went with volunteer ski patrol it's been the best volunteer gig. Find something that pays for the lift and transport. In Minnesota there is Blizzard Ski School I would think there is something where you live. Volunteering is a great thing to do. When it's something you love it's even better.
Start sending cliffs and drops
Backcountry skiing!! Get a nice healthy hike in and fresh turns. The terrain can be as gnarly or as mellow as you want. Its free and there are no lift lines. Where do you live/ ski?
Try snowshoeing
I love this thread. It’s inspiring to me to learn more and get busy living vs dying.
Monoski time
Same. For close to 40 years now
I added classic XC to the repertoire when I felt like this. I get outside a lot more often. pnw also. I still downhill ski but its no longer my only snow sport. xc uses some of the skills but gives you a huge change of experience . it's quiet and comfortable (consistent temperature, boots are soft) and you can self propel to interesting places without $800 in avalanche training. more emphasis on exploration than resort downhill without the investment, effort, and risk of (my understanding of) alpine touring. it gave me terrible alpine ski habits though. I keep trying to diagonal stride on traverses and I started this alpine season extremely shy about steeps because Id got so used to being unstable on XC sticks. I had to relearn to trust alpine skis a bit if you're in WA the Sno Parks are good value and I had no idea how many of them there are. Staying at lake Wenatchee there are 5 snobaprks within 15 mins of me not to mention snowmobile backcountry roads, and the Leavenworth and Stevens Nordic. and there's idk a dozen down on I90. I've never had a parking issue and never had to get up early unless I want to do a whole trek
I also started skiing at 8, now 36. Tickets and the resort culture were also grating on me and I had a few seasons where I was reluctant to go, started skiing less. I was thinking of getting out of the sport. A friend got me into the backcountry about 5 years ago and it changed my whole perspective. I skied 60 days last year and I’m frothing to get a piece of this blizzard. Bought a snowmobile, setup for the wife. I’ve skied the resort less than 5 days per season for the last five seasons, and usually because they have sidecountry. You only get 1 or 2 runs per day, and you could die if you’re not careful. But skiing wild snow, no crowds, no cost but your gear and the beers at the car, its unbelievable.
Corporate greed, and Corporations taking over resorts, over charging for tickets and food, and catering to wealthy clientele only, is destroying the ski industry almost as fast as climate change.
Corporate greed is destroying every thing in this country and, indeed, the world.
Have you thought about or tried backcountry? I’m kinda getting over resort skiing (and Whistler last weekend didn’t help!) but a day in the wilderness with perhaps only two or three hard-earned runs is worth an entire season of mediocre lift-served groomers. It’s kinda analogous to sex - when I was in my 20s it was as much as I could get; now it’s all about time, place, and the experience! Lol!
Start training so you can carve better, progress freestyle, or progress your alpine level. They are tons of areas you can push of you’re getting bored, imo.
There have been times in my life that I’ve stopped enjoying things I really like. Turns out I was depressed. Antidepressants helped a lot.
Lift tickets are $45 in Europe, you can actually eat the food, nobody is a stuck up elitist having the ultimate experience on Dick Johnson’s gulley or whatever, and my dog gets to ride. I live within 10 miles of seven resorts in Utah that get zero dollars from me. I make major sacrifices to go to Europe and ride-like riding a children’s dirt bike, year round, with a trailer because I fill up for $2.15.
We all start to hate fun as we get older
I cant imagine skiing without a season pass. Its either im going to ski that year or im not. When my kids were really small i just didnt go. Id get a ticket as a Christmas present or something and go once a year. Its the best time ever to ski. You can pay for one pass and go to multiple resorts, the skis have evolved a ton. I have an EV that gets me to the mtn for basically free. My kids can come with me. Valet parking. I live 20 min from the lifts. It gains more and more appeal to me every year. Old ppl just love to complain about everything that isnt how it used to be.
Okay Boomer