Showing some leg
January 27, 2006
11 posts
10 users
2k+ views
Ok - cheesy subject line. But I wanted to get the attention of as many members as possible fast. My hubby and I have the option to either go to Winterpark CO in the next week or so OR we can do a days drive(7hrs) to Snowshoe or Timberline WV. I think most would say it was a no brainier and face the Rockies. But here is the kicker, neither of us ski and we just took our first snowboard lesson in Dec in Utah - GREAT place BTW. My question will novice snowboarders benefit and appreciate from 'better terrain and snow'? Also, how are the board schools at Snowshoe and Timberline? I know Winterpark has a great reputation for snowboard and ski schools and why the interest. Plus I was able to get airfare for less than the gas it would take us to drive to WV. All help appreciated.
joanna danna
This is only based on my own experience at bringing beginners to various resorts here and out west, so it is open to contradiction by others. Sadly, I have found the instructors out west to be FAR better than the ones around here. Or, let me rephrase that: I have found that what is instructed, taught, and learned by beginners is FAR more out west than it is around here. The instructors may be of equal quality in both places, but they just seem to get people farther along out there.
I find this sad because most people are going to be introduced to the sport at their local ski hills. If people aren't learning enough to come to appreciate the sport, then it's going to hurt the sport's chances of ongoing sustainability.
So... I'd say go to Winter Park. They're having a great snow year, you'll probably learn a lot more, and the mountain is huge for exploring (though there's a lot of flat spots at the top).
Now, don't you (or, if you're not the wife, your wife) owe us some leg?
From my standpoint, the only hassle skiing out west is traveling by air with all my gear. I imagine in your case, you'll be renting equipment, right? If so, it would be a no brainer to me to go out west.
Craig
Quote:
I was able to get airfare for less than the gas it would take us to drive to WV.
End of discussion. CO it is. On a weekend, you can take the Ski Train if you don't want to try the van/rental car route. Tix might sell out fast though.
http://skitrain.com/
This is a non discussion. If the airfare is less than the cost to drive then of course you go to CO. There is nothing in the equation here to put this in the favor of anywhere local.
It may say "DCSki" on the homepage, but in reality we're all secret plants for the Colorado ski industry...
Personally, I never thought it made much sense to bring a rank beginner to a great, expensive, far away ski area just to stay on the beginner hill the whole time, especially if they are likely to anchor down a trip companion of higher skill level. I feel money is better spent learning on local hills, so that when the newbie gets to a big mtn they better appreciate & take advantage of the vast terrain.
Others subscribe to the idea that taking a beginner to a great place speeds their development and plants a permanent seed in them about how great a primo ski experience can be even if they didn't fully enjoy it first time around.
In your situation you seem to already have the "never ever" day behind you which should open up some easy intermediate terrain, have an equally skilled/unskilled companion, face little cost differential, and you're already hooked on fine western conditions...sounds like Winter Park is a no brainer.
Winter Park is a little more blue collar than some of the other fancy CO resorts, but the mid-mountain Sunspot restaurant is a very nice and somewhat upscale place to grab a meal. They have one of the better reputations in CO as a learner mtn. Lots of dedicated learner terrain and lifts on lower mtn and some pretty easy scenic intermediate terrain higher up.
No .. Roger L .. I'm the secret plant for UTAH!!!! What was it someone else said on this board? .... the best snow is in Utah because God skis there!
Quite frankly, if I had a choice between learning to ski out west, and learn to ski at 7springs (which IS where I learned) I'd pick out west.
I compare western skiing vs. eastern skiing similar to manual transmission vs. automatic transmission.
If you learn to drive on a car with a manual transmission, you'll be able to drive both a manual and an automatic fairly easily, with only a little bit of adaptation to the differences between them. But it's very hard for someone who learns on an automatic to drive a manual.
I'd assume same goes for east vs. west skiing. Western skiing, you get the experience of powder. And if you can ski well in a couple inches of the deep stuff, I think you can ski anywhere relatively easily. Whereas, me, being an eastern skier my entire life, will probably have some trouble if/when I go out west to ski, just because I'll have to adapt to the different conditions, and it's really harder to adapt that way.
Anyway, that's just a really long-winded response which simply means, COLORADO!!
Quote:
I compare western skiing vs. eastern skiing similar to manual transmission vs. automatic transmission.
I would agree with this statement, but many will argue that the east coast is the manual. Some of the best skiers in the world learned to ski on the east coast, then moved out west to refine their skills. The old saying is if you can ski in the harsh conditions here (ice, narrow, cold, windy etc....) you can ski anywhere.
However, if it were me, this is a no brainer, go to CO!!!!
Yes it it simple - learn where you plan to do all your skiing. There's nothing funnier then watching a Western skier slippin' and slidin' here 'cause thet have no clue what an edge is. LOL If you plan to do all your skiing out West in powder, fine, learn there...but you'll be a hoot to watch at WhiteTail or Killington !!!
