Summer Projects

[Wookie]

No place in particular. To some degree, if you've seen one big Colorado resort you've seen them all. ....

I don't know if I would agree with that. Particularly along the I-70 cooridor I think each of the resort areas has it own flavor and the storms dump heavenly pow on one resort and neglect the mountain down the road (not that you can predict that). My quickie observations (at least for I-70):

Beaver Creek = the most expensive but quietest of the I-70 resorts. More high end dining and services. The best grooming in the world and more Green/Blue terrain available at high elevation (more snow/colder/snow making). Parking is free and shuttle service is great.

Vail = Open bowl skiing that you cannot find at other CO resorts. A good balance of casual and luxury amenities and dining. Parking in Vail is a bitch and the shuttle service can be weird

Breck = By far the best night life of the I-70 ski towns. Breck tends to be a younger crowd and more crowded but the place is so huge it's easy to find a quiet place to ski if you are a skilled rider.

Copper = Some of the most challenging terrain and quieter than the Vail resports.

A Basin = A ridiculously long season due to high elevation and a great place to get away from my wife (she gets altitude sickness at those high elevations and won't go there ... ). Perhaps the most casual big resort in Colorado, for me it's like skiing in PA, NY, NH, or VT with that small ski hill feel coupled with big mountain CO snow.

Keystone & Loveland = I have only skied each once so not enough experience to form an opinion but both were crowded when I was there (March Spring Break).

.... If we happened to stumble on a deal somewhere (say, generally, around Frisco or Silverthorne), we'd be interested. There may be no deals to be had, property in that country is higher than giraffe balls, but you never know. All these lodges want you to book for weeks at a time, months in advance. Having a spot to go whenever the urge struck would be nice.

Frisco or Silverthorne would give you a good base of operations without being directly in the valley under one of the big resorts. It would also be a nice place to vacation in the summer. The Dillon reservoir is beautiful in the summer. You're right about resort stays and real estate prices. I was fortunate to luck into a fractional ownership of a property in Avon and we have tried to expand it or buy an investment property with no success. For the times we want to tack on a few days to our stays in Avon with stops in other ski towns I have just lucked into VRBO openings where someone has less than a week between two bookings and is will to relax their "5 or 7 day minimum" rules to fill a gap.

[Bill]

For our annual pilgrimage to Colorado we also have timeshare in Avon, CO (in the valley below Beaver Creek Resort). Where are you looking to settle in CO?

No place in particular. To some degree, if you've seen one big Colorado resort you've seen them all. If we happened to stumble on a deal somewhere (say, generally, around Frisco or Silverthorne), we'd be interested. There may be no deals to be had, property in that country is higher than giraffe balls, but you never know. All these lodges want you to book for weeks at a time, months in advance. Having a spot to go whenever the urge struck would be nice.

[Wookie]

What part of the country is the luxurious Charm Chalet located in? We've kicked around a similar project, likely in Colorado which is a (fairly) easy day's drive for us.

Not sure where the "luxurious" version is but my dumpy fixer-upper version is in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania about a 2 hour drive from our home base and strategically located within a few minutes of a half a dozen ski hills. It's by no means a big mountain skiing area but good for weekend quick ski trips in the winter and great for hiking and fun on the lake in the summer.

For our annual pilgrimage to Colorado we also have timeshare in Avon, CO (in the valley below Beaver Creek Resort). Where are you looking to settle in CO? This season we expect to spend a few days at Breck, Vail, and Beaver Creek in February or March.

[Bill]

The girls have named the house the Charm Chalet.

What part of the country is the luxurious Charm Chalet located in? We've kicked around a similar project, likely in Colorado which is a (relatively) easy one day drive for us.

[Wookie]

I must say I am super jealous of your ski chalet! It sounds really wonderful to have for your family. Congrats!

If it helps ease your jealousy right now it is less of a ski chalet and more of a dusty home improvement project that I expect will consume my weekends for the next 3 months but I hope the hard work and investment will pay off with fun times for our family and an end to sleeping in motels during ski trips and summer weekend retreats.

Third time's a charm

Yup. The girls have named the house the Charm Chalet.

[macrophotog]

Updates ....

Project #1 -- DONE -- We are now the proud owner of a ski chalet in a beautiful lake community 15 minutes from three ski hills and less than an hour from 8 local ski destination. No more hotels or long day trips for the Wookies

Third time's a charm

[Posh]

Updates ....

Project #1 -- DONE -- We are now the proud owner of a ski chalet in a beautiful lake community 15 minutes from three ski hills and less than an hour from 8 local ski destination. No more hotels or long day trips for the Wookies

Project #2 -- Ski top sheet update --- In progress this week. Hopefully pics to follow.

Project #3 -- Girls' skis slated to arrive mid November.

I must say I am super jealous of your ski chalet! It sounds really wonderful to have for your family. Congrats!

[Wookie]

Summer Skiboarding Projects ......

1) Still working on trying purchase a 'Mountain House'. The purchase process is driving me nuts.

2) Trying out some skiboard graphics updates. I have been messing around with updating/changing the topsheet graphics of some boards. I'll post some pics if it works out.

3) Kid skis purchases. I typically update my kids' skis during the summer to take advantage of off season clearances. This year for my youngest I went a different route and supported a start-up Jr ski. If all goes well my daughter will be rocking a pair of Coalition Poppy Skis. Coalition is a ski company for women by women making some cool stuff.

Updates ....

Project #1 -- DONE -- We are now the proud owner of a ski chalet in a beautiful lake community 15 minutes from three ski hills and less than an hour from 8 local ski destination. No more hotels or long day trips for the Wookies

Project #2 -- Ski top sheet update --- In progress this week. Hopefully pics to follow.

Project #3 -- Girls' skis slated to arrive mid November.

[Tom91381]

Both of those look fantastic! I wish I had that kind of quiver at my disposal


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Thanks, I just started this ski boarding collection. Been using a Cannon M7 for years, until I decided I needed a new board with all the good snow we were getting in California.
I bought 2 new ones, then a bunch of used ones to see the differences and to find what I like best.. my family of 3 and friends like that I have many to choose from .
The other device to hold the skis so I can tune them up should come in handy when the snow hits the mountains


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[macrophotog]

Finally putting the summer projects to use, now it just needs to start cooling off




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Very nice!


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[Toro]

Both of those look fantastic! I wish I had that kind of quiver at my disposal


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[Tom91381]

Finally putting the summer projects to use, now it just needs to start cooling off




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[Tom91381]

I think my next venture is gonna be a ski tuning rack.. any ideas on what is needed on them? I'm new to this and never had something to maintain ..


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[valmorel]

I would like one of the ski helmets with the built in visor but so far they are silly money. The few that I tried didn't fit me that will either.
Back in the day, when the Helmet law was introduced into the UK compelling motorcyclists to wear a helmet, there was much debate over whether to have a full or half face design. Half face is without the chin guard, like most ski helmets. I remember one respondent saying that if he had to wear a helmet it might as well be a Sedan helmet, aka full face. L J K Setright if anyone remembers. Built in visor is pretty close to a Sedan in my estimation.

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[Bill]

I may have to wear my goalie mask on the hill next year .... I'm sure that would cut down on stupid questions about my skiboards in the lift line.

You should do it. The best sort of mask to wear would be one of those early, fiberglass Jacques Plante type masks, the preferred choice of sinister characters in spooky movies.