Ski Trip Advice
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Anonymous
Is Montreal really that much closer?? I'd guess it's maybe an hour less flight time. Maybe 1.5 hours. Most people go skiing for a week or a little less. The 1.5 hours on a plane isn't necessarily going to drive their decision. |
Anonymous
Np here. Yes Montreal is closer plus no time difference. It's s 1.5 hour flight vs a 4 hour flight to CO. We take a few long weekend ski trips so have gone to Tremblant several times because you can ski a 3/4-half day and still get home. Although we've done that at Vail too - it's just a much later arrival. Tremblant is lovely although the skiing is east coast skiing. |
Anonymous
| Another poster here in favor of Mont Tremblant. And often those flights aren't EVEN an hour and a half. The Dulles flights are about an hour and 15, the DCA flights are 65 minutes. For me, being able to go from DCA to a top notch ski resort in 2.5-3 hours is a no-brainer over trying to get to slopes in Colorado or Utah. |
Anonymous
But you need to build in the time for immigration/customs. Last time we took at trip to Canada we spent FOREVER at the airport trying to get back home. |
Anonymous
| We're heading to Beaver creek this winter with our 5 year olds. |
Anonymous
I hear you. That CAN happen. But it's honestly unusual. I travel between DC and Montreal or Ottawa (a 2 hour drive to Mont Tremblant, but the flights are frequently way cheaper) at least half a dozen times in the winter (and about another 6 times for the rest of the year). I've had one time when the customs/immigration stuff took longer than 20 minutes. ONE. And I've had one flight cancel and leave me stranded in Canada for the night. Look, travel nightmares can happen on any airline and with any destination. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but statistically speaking Canadian immigration/customs processes in airports AND at road crossings is, for the most, part, AWESOME. And it's a good option to consider rather than looking at spending all day traveling to the West. |
Anonymous
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I'd go to Park City, short flight, short drive, lots of places to eat, Deer Valley has a good kid's ski club.
Locally we did an overnight at the Battlefield Bed and Breakfast in the Gettysburg area and skied at Liberty. Make reservations in advance if you plan to do the ski camp. The hill is small and icy but it'll do for one afternoon esp. if you are out of shape! Canaan Valley area near Davis WV has 2 small ski areas, Canaan Valley and Timberline, there are lodges and plenty of houses for rent but it is booking up. Snowshoe is a longer drive but bigger ski area, cheapest condo I've seen runs $250 a night in high season and there is little other options nearby. |
Anonymous
We all have global entry and it's totally worth the $20/year. Not only do you get through US immigration quickly but you can also go in the Nexus line, which is equivalent to precheck. |
Anonymous
| +1 for Mt. Tremblant. No time difference, easy flight, and it's a lower mountain. DS got elevation sickness at 10,000ft & it wasn't pretty or fun, never mind losing a few days of skiing. No chance of that at MT. The only real downside is how super cold it can get in Canada. |
Anonymous
Frequently windy and miserably cold. Similar to a bad day in the alps or Stowe. Same conditions as Stowe, ice and not much powder. If I am going to Canada to ski, I am going west. |
Anonymous
They both get miserably crowded, but Breckenridge is worse, imo. My favorite place in CO is Buttermilk. |
Anonymous
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Pp here who posted about Buttermilk. Also try Ski Cooper. It's really small. I haven't been there during Christmas, which may have a different atmosphere. But when we've been, it's not crowded at all. Zero to minimal lift lines. And mostly families and old people.
Posters talking about Colorado are talking Copper Mtn, Breckenridge, and Keystone, but those places are huge and crowded during holiday breaks, and you'll spend half your day in lift lines (unless you're more advanced and can stick to blacks). Plus, you're going down the mountain with a massive group of screaming out of control beginners who don't know what they're doing. And I consider myself a perpetual beginner, I have ton of tolerance for those who are even less confident than me. But it's rough when it's crowded. Definitely research other options. Also, make sure you can even find accommodations before buying ski passes, this close to the holidays. |
Anonymous
| Oh, and Wolf Creek. It's way farther west, but Pagoda Springs is nice. |
Anonymous
| Pagosa Springs, that is. |
Anonymous
The lines weren't that horrible but we had to walk the length of the Montreal airport and back just to go through it. Not sure why we had to go through all of that now that I think about it. We were connecting from QC. Direct is probably better. |