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Colorado 4/9-4/16..


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Missed this by 6 days...I know exactly where he's skiing and there's only a few people on the chairs wow...I'm gonna post a few more pictures from Colorado.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CM0x01y4SDk

 

This was my fourth year in a row doing a Colorado skifari in April. This wasn't my best trip for snow..three years ago had a deep pow day at copper and the following season had a pow day at Abasin. Steeps are not as long and unrelenting as Jackson hole and the towns of Silverthorne, Dillon and Frisco don't hold a candle to Jackson hole. In April it's mostly local looking forward to summer to mountain bike, raft or have a little peace and quiet without thousands of Herb tourons from Texas. I guess it's like that in most ski country towns.

 

I figure I'd do a cost breakdown to see what I spent on the trip I think this was my cheapest 6 day 7 night trip to Colorado likely cause the warm sunlight and 5-6 lap per hour pace had me sleeping through supper a few days. Also will post a good the bad and the ugly. Why I don't know cause I like writing ski reports and analyzing stuff. I like logistics most of my job is supply chain management. I watched a YouTube video on Douchbags the elite ski and travel bag brand and now want to buy the entire set of douchebag luggage and hook em all together into a giant douchebag train.

 

First off I enjoy flying and really like Southwest Airlines. Newark airport can suck but Denver airport being one of the worlds best airports makes up for it. Alamo rent a car at the Denver airport is so user friendly. They are as productive as the iPhone factory in China. Open 24 hours and renting out a car every minute or so with one returning every minute or so as well. When I arrived they had 5 people working the counter. For the first time I didn't arrive on a weekday which meant no serious traffic. Denver and colorados population are growing so fast. Will increase another 50% in the next two decades it's the new California at least the front range. The Lehigh valley is also growing in population like crazy probably the only thing it has in common with Colorado.

 

Silver Inn where I stayed was 30% occupied at most. Whether I had the free breakfast at 7am or 8am there was always a good variety of bagels and muffins and fruit. The proprietor was happy to see me taking advantage of the free breakfast as he personally goes to the grocery store everyday to buy the items. I think only two people run the place. A middle aged man and an older lady. So each is there 80+ hours a week. In the lobby there's usually a case of complimentary bottled water which is a nice touch. They went through 2 cases the week I was there which is under $10 so it's not costing them much but not common.

 

Loveland: Pros...parking is really close to tickets..tickets really close to lifts. Lift tickets are cheap..lots of gapers which is entertaining. Safety spots plentiful but only on lower half of mountain due to no trees on top half. Super wide can go from lift to lift to lift.

 

Cons..runs aren't that long..lifts are all low speed..lifts don't have safety bars. I know J Law is gonna say it's a moving couch how the heck are you gonna fall off but I always have my arm over the back and it's a little un-nerving in 30-40mph winds when the wide surface area of my skis are being whipped around by the winds. No on mountain food and drink.

 

 

Abasin..pros..It's Abasin..it's a legendary mountain its compact and immense at the same time. They only have one high speed lift to mid mountain but it gets you out of the base fast and if you wanna ski a top to bottom run it doesn't take much extra time..maybe 2 minutes for lower mountain run and 4 minutes up. Lenawee lift is long and slow but you can access all the front side except Pali from it along with Montezuma bowl with a 150 yard slightly uphill cat track. Pali lift is great I think 1300 vert but steep to the base. Mid mountain lodge has good food and a full bar with a bartender who tells stories and reasonable drink prices. I think $6.50 for an IPA..at 11,000 feet that's not bad.

 

Cons..close parking lot is small and fills up fast. If you can get in that lot can essentially ski back to the row you're parked in which really belongs in pros. The upper lots are a longish slog in ski boots including 3-4 flights of stairs. It's a busy place you might think you found a good place to take a piss and a ski school group goes through one row of trees away.

 

 

Copper mountain pros...it's a really big place...not mega resort sized but I bet in the top 20 in the USA. Nearly every major lift is a high speed quad or six pack and some of the lifts are long and go at least 3/4 of the way up the mountain. It's a fun atmosphere..there are trivia questions on the dry erase board at the base of the lifts, music playing all over the place from the various terrain parks and a lot of tourists which means if it's a pow day you're gonna get a lot of freshies. Multiple places to get food and drink on mountain...waffles, BBQ, beer, fireball whatever u want and prices aren't that crazy for a ski resort. 6 dollars for an IPA

 

Cons..close parking is $20, lots of low intermediate flatness..right on the highway not the most scenic place.

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Cost breakdown.

 

Airfare: $350

rental car $270

Airport parking offsite $100

Marijuana $200

Hotel $530 in Silverthorne $110 at Denver airport

Breakfast: free

Food and drink two days at Copper $60 on mountain bar, crepe place

Food and drink two days at Loveland..$35 ate late lunch in town both days (Mexican place, Vietnamese)

Food and drink two days at Abasin...$45 ate late lunch on way to Denver second day

Dinners in Silverthorne $120...murphys bar twice, Ruby Tuesdays, Wendy's

Gas $30

Various stuff...tips for shuttle drivers, tailgating beer, random stuff at target, random stuff from mini markets like Gatorade $60

 

 

Total about $1900

 

Oh shit forgot lift tickets

 

Copper two days $158...$40 for parking

Abasin..two days $182

Loveland two days $70 one day $40 the other.

 

Total lift tickets $490

 

Total trip expense...about $2400 could probably be about $100 less if I bought discount lift tickets online for Abasin and Loveland.

Edited by GrilledSteezeSandwich
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how much marijuanas did you get for 200$?

just bought a bunch of different grams?[/quote

 

 

That's 7 individual grams, gummies, cookies and a chocolate bar. About $15-22 per gram. Slightly less if you buy an 1/8...spent $5 on a little glass pipe.

Edited by GrilledSteezeSandwich
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  • 4 weeks later...

I still look at the Abasin webcams daily. They closed the Pali lift for the season today. Not for lack of snow but because the snowpack was becoming unstable with wet slides and rotting snow. I can't believe montazuma bowl is still open. Probably another week for that and then Lenawee lift and black mountain express rolling into June. I'm tempted to head back maybe the first weekend in June. Flights are cheap.

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