The Ski Organizers Staff
Chris Swope
Ski Vacation Specialist
(800)283.2754 Ext 218
cswope@skiorganizers.com
- Best Tip for the Perfect Ski Vacation: Take a few minutes to plan in advance how your “typical” ski day is going to go. In other words, have everyone in your party know what to expect so there are no surprises…that way everyone will stay happy!
Are you going to rise early and be the first one on the lift? Are you going to sleep in and get on the mountain at 11am? Does someone need to get the kids checked into ski school while the other gets fresh tracks? Are you going to cook a sit-down breakfast at your condo, or grab a bagel and juice on your way to the lifts?
Are you going to stop for lunch a little early (before 11:30am) to avoid the crowds and long lunch lines? Or would you prefer to stop for lunch a little later than everyone else, say after 1:30pm? Either of these will save you 30 minutes at most big resorts waiting in line and then trying to find a table. Or, for the die-hard, will you pack some energy bars and trail mix, throw on your Camel-Pack avoiding lunch altogether? Deciding this ahead of time and making sure everyone in your party is aware ahead of time will save some discussion and frustration on the hill.
Also, do whatever you can to get a trail map before your trip and scope out the mountain a bit. Get a general feel for where the lifts are, and what terrain would be suitable for you and your party to ski; that way you’re not getting to the top of the first chairlift ride and saying, “Ok, where should we ski?” A little FUN planning in advance will have you ALL SMILES on the mountain! Lastly, don’t forget to triple your H2O intake to help with adjusting to the altitude & don’t forget your sunscreen. (Ok, that was more than one tip)
- Favorite Ski Resort: A 50/50 split between Squaw Valley, CA and Vail, CO.
just because I’ve skied these the most. Squaw when I just want to ski steeps & Vail when I’m with my family and want a huge selection of terrain available to suit everyone.
- Favorite Apres Ski Bar: Garfinkle’s in Lionshead Village, Vail
- Favorite Lodging Property: St. Regis - Aspen, CO
- Favorite Resort Restaurant: Beano’s Cabin, Beaver Creek, CO
- My best ski day was: What a tough question! There are so many I can think of: Huge airs and steeps at Squaw – carving Super-G turns down Blackcomb Glacier at Whistler – The Mushroom Chutes at Jackson Hole – Bumps at Mary Jane/Winter Park – Finding locals-only powder stashes in the trees at Vail - Skiing Berthoud Pass, Colorado backcountry under a full moon – thigh-deep powder at Alta after sitting at the bottom of Little-Cottonwood Canyon for 2 hours that morning – the aspens in Priest Creek in Steamboat - the chutes at Kirkwood, CA – Sugarbowl, CA chocking on 3 feet of powder – Alpine Meadows, CA was in a white-out so bad in a storm that we literally groped our way down from the top in 20” of freshies completely blind…laughing the whole way – whooping and hollering through the smoke.
But if I’m really honest, it has to be WAY, WAY back in the mid 1980’s when I was a teenager and 5 or 6 friends and I took one of our many memorable trips to all 900 vertical feet of terrain at one of our old stomping grounds – Seven Springs Resort in PA. I can’t remember a particular day, but there we were, 15 or 16 years old, and a day on the mountain meant TOTAL FREEDOM. Sure, it was mostly man-made snow, it was crowded and the terrain doesn’t even hold a candle to the sorriest resort out West, but we didn’t know any better! It was the group of us getting on the mountain at 8am – and skiing every single acre that place had to offer until 11pm – all without parental supervision, no schoolwork to think about, and without thinking about the stress of adolescence…just a bunch of buddies ripping it all day and night.
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