[BudgetGlobetrotting]

If I could go to Slovenia or the Alps, I would. Unfortunately, I have limited time frame. I recently became infatuated with the idea of a ski trip. Thinking 4-5 days in January or February, with 3 days max on the slopes, with free time for bumming/ exploring/ drinking /reading/ gaming?

Goal 1: Good mountain. I used to be a good snowboarder, but that was before college and the Middle East. I want to go to a nice mountain, not Michigan (not from Michigan currently)

Goal 2: Affordable. Don't want to break the bank at a $200/night hotel (ahem, Whistler).

Goal 3: Game.

Background: I'm a 23 year old relatively recent graduate. Work in finance. Comfortable with the mysterious solo gentlemen game type.

I'll probably go solo on this trip flying from my Midwestern city (think Chicago type airport). Haven't been around a real ski resort area in my better years. Used to go with family and the like, so I've never seen the inside of a bar or game possibilities.

Current Ideas:
Bozeman, MT - Bridger Bowl / Big Sky - Probably Montana State college tail possibilities. (Being 23 yo and Midwestern could help). Great logistics with cheap hotels downtown Bozeman. Great ski. Can this be beat??? I'd like something more exotic.

Jackson Hole, WY - Cheap. Zero ideas about WY girls. Probably easy to a shirt guy, but is it completely dead?

Utah - Ogden is cheap. My cheapest flight is to SLC..short drive to Ogden. Might have a buddy there. People in Ogden are *most* liberal of Utah given the University vibe...but is there any drinking/girls?

Canada - Whistler out of the question due to $. Banff via Calgary seems like horrible logistics with flight, driving, etc, but I'd love to see Banff if it's better than my knee jerk reaction. (I'd be especially (!) interested in any Banff insight)

Colorado - Not too familiar with the mountains, area, logistics at all. Any suggestions would be great. Not Vail.

Where Else???

Have friends in Vermont, but the ski seems weak and weather dependent out there. Full disclaimer: No experience.

[gringochileno]

Consider Breckenridge, Colorado. The Summit County resorts (Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain) are all great mountains and it's not as expensive to stay there as Vail. Breck has a decent bar scene and it attracts a lot of tourists during the high season, so if you're looking for drinking and girls you should be able to find some if you stay in Breck (at least more so than most places in UT or WY). It's right off I-70 and easy to get to from Denver International Airport which should be very easy to fly into from anywhere in the Midwest.

I grew up around there and I'm about your age so if you're headed out that way I can give you some more specifics.

[one-two]

I usually go Thanksgiving weekend. There is not much snow so early in the season, but the tickets are cheap. I would recommend Snowmass, Aspen CO. It's kind of pricey, but it is perfect for beginner trails. The longest one is over 5 miles!

[LostGringo]

Ski areas are uniformly terrible places to get laid. If you want to get some great skiing and have a decent chance to get laid, check out the Okanagan region of BC. Fly into Kelowna - a cool, small city of perhaps 100k - geared to year-round tourism. You can ski Big White, Apex and Silver Star. You might get lucky and run into some nice local in the bar while her boyfriend "Reggie" is out driving the snowplow on the graveyard shift for the highway department. Overall a lot cheaper than the big names out west and little "attitude". WestJet flies there on the cheap from several US gateways. Plan B - fly into Spokane and rent a car. A few hours north.

[HiFlo]

In VT there's always a bunch of cougars at the lodge bar around 3-5PM.

Of course, snowboarder chicks are cute if you are in with that crowd.

[gringochileno]

(09-15-2012 03:55 PM)LostGringo Wrote:  

Ski areas are uniformly terrible places to get laid.

This is true (albeit to varying degrees depending on the ski area). Keep in mind also that it can be pretty rough to go out drinking into the wee hours of the morning and then be up early the next day for a full day of skiing. You've usually got to pick between skiing and trying to get laid or you end up half-assing both of them, which isn't a great option if your vacation is only a few days long.

[Jackhammer]

I've never been there but my friends tell me Stowe, Vermont is pretty good for skiing.

[scotian]

I've been to Banff many times, hit the slopes at Lake Louise mostly, very nice hill, lots of powder, good party scene in near by Banff. I don't know why you think logistics will be so bad, there's direct flights between Calgary and many USA cities, if you rent a car at the airport, you can be in Banff within 1.5 hours, there's also shuttles.

I'm not an avid skier or snowboarder like some of my friends, they love the slopes around the BC side of the Rockies; Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Golden, etc.

Don`t sleep on the hills back east either, I`ve been to Ski Mont-Tremblant a couple of times too and although the hills aren`t as crazy as the ones in the Rockies, there`s good times to be had there, lots of hot French Canadian women at that resort.

[Qwest]

I'm a big fan of Aspen but it is certainly kind of pricey. Tons of chicks there though and the apres ski is a shitload of fun. I'm definitely going back this winter. Was there last presidents day weekend and had a blast there.

[20Nation]

(09-13-2012 11:28 PM)BudgetGlobetrotting Wrote:  

Current Ideas:
Bozeman, MT - Bridger Bowl / Big Sky - Probably Montana State college tail possibilities. (Being 23 yo and Midwestern could help). Great logistics with cheap hotels downtown Bozeman. Great ski. Can this be beat??? I'd like something more exotic.

Jackson Hole, WY - Cheap. Zero ideas about WY girls. Probably easy to a shirt guy, but is it completely dead?

Utah - Ogden is cheap. My cheapest flight is to SLC..short drive to Ogden. Might have a buddy there. People in Ogden are *most* liberal of Utah given the University vibe...but is there any drinking/girls?

Bozeman is beautiful, the women are surprisingly hot, but are all white and a ton of cow girls. My best friend growing up played football for montana st. So I went to a lot of the football parties so maybe it had much hotter girls than normal. But those parties were full of hotties. But I've never been skiing there. It's not too expensive, maybe average.

Jackson Hole is ok for picking up women. People travel there from all over. I always see famous people when I'm there, and if you want to meet a girl who's dad's a billionaire. That's the place to go. This place is very expensive.

I have spent some time in Ogden. Around Utah Ogden is known (well south ogden) is known as the ghetto. It's full of white trash. I'd be worried that the bars would be full of those type. But I've never went out in that city so I can't tell your for sure. This place is way cheap, but I dont think the skiing is the greatest.

[Brian]

Breck is about as good as it gets for nightlife. That being said, I've always said/thought if you want to get laid on vacation dont go skiing.

[Qwest]

(09-15-2012 08:32 PM)Brian Wrote:  

Breck is about as good as it gets for nightlife. That being said, I've always said/thought if you want to get laid on vacation dont go skiing.

Better than Aspen?? Haven't hit Breckenridge before, but Aspen was solid...

[Brian]

(09-16-2012 03:10 AM)Qwest Wrote:  

(09-15-2012 08:32 PM)Brian Wrote:  

Breck is about as good as it gets for nightlife. That being said, I've always said/thought if you want to get laid on vacation dont go skiing.

Better than Aspen?? Haven't hit Breckenridge before, but Aspen was solid...

Havent done Aspen, but similar to Vail, and Breck is way cheaper. The reality is skiing nightlife sucks. You ski until 4, drink a few beers, have dinner, and go to bed. I'm a bigger night owl then most and when I go skiing I fall asleep at 9pm - I never go to bed anywhere near that early any other time - skiing just exhausts me. Factor in you have 4 or so days to ski a year and the last thing you want to do is stay out drinking and feel like shit.

[kosko]

(09-15-2012 06:50 PM)scotian Wrote:  

I've been to Banff many times, hit the slopes at Lake Louise mostly, very nice hill, lots of powder, good party scene in near by Banff. I don't know why you think logistics will be so bad, there's direct flights between Calgary and many USA cities, if you rent a car at the airport, you can be in Banff within 1.5 hours, there's also shuttles.

I'm not an avid skier or snowboarder like some of my friends, they love the slopes around the BC side of the Rockies; Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Golden, etc.

Don`t sleep on the hills back east either, I`ve been to Ski Mont-Tremblant a couple of times too and although the hills aren`t as crazy as the ones in the Rockies, there`s good times to be had there, lots of hot French Canadian women at that resort.

Mt Tremblant is full of French broads and a lot of American broads whom go their to party.

Whistler is the bread and butter. I am talking from partying though as I have never touched a snow hill in my life. But I have parties at them a few times though lol.

Banff and Whistler give you International broads at your finger tips and generally more party atmosphere to play off of. I have herd good things about Vermont but fragmented. People whom ski says there are good hills there and then people say Vermont chics are chill and good fucks but they don't combine the two together though.

[BudgetGlobetrotting]

Good feedback, thanks. I realize skiing and the exhaustion factor will greatly limit my chances, but I'd rather have some sort of chance when I take a day or two off in between slope days. A girl would just be a bonus and better alternative than my kindle.

I think Bozeman sounds safe but I'll have to take a closer look at Breck and Banff since they might have more upside.

[BahamaPapa]

Budget, Sorry I’m late on the thread. I usually just lurk, but I had to sign up to drop some knowledge on this topic. The situation that you’re aiming for isn’t exactly simple. You’re gonna hafta make some concessions on one or more of your 3 criteria and it’s probably going to be on the price. Skiing isn’t a poor man’s sport, price is most likely going to depend on where you’re coming from.

New England
Mountains: If you’re a halfway decent skier you might as well cross NE off your list of potentials. I started off skiing in NE. I don’t even like to call em mountains because they’re so small. I skied Okemo in Vermont last December and I tracked it out by lunch time. It reminded me of why I moved west. In NE the snowfall is often shit resulting in icy runs. After my first vacation to Utah I learned that if I wanted soft turns in NE I was gonna hafta go off piste to get em. Skiing on the East coast is like getting your dick sucked with a condom on, it’ll do the job but it could be way better.
Affordability: The mountains in NE are fairly easy on the pocket. There’s always a flea bag motel in every ski town that you can stay at for cheap.
Game: Forget it, these resort towns are small. Any sandbag that’s decent looking is going to have left for bigger towns for university or just to get away.

Montana
I’ve never been there so I can’t speak on it. It is on my list of places to hit though.

Jackson Hole
Mountains: Top to bottom JH is the steepest mountain I’ve ever skied. It doesn’t have a whole lot of intermediate stuff so if you’re not on your game you might not have a lot of fun there. I had a powder day there that was so deep when I dropped off a trail the snow came up to my junk. My life will never be the same.
Affordability: JH is fuckin expensive. A day pass will run you at least a Benjamin. Accommodation is expensive as well. You might hafta stay at an even more Podunk town outside of Jackson to get a good deal.
Game: I spent a week there and didn’t see one sandbag that made me happy in my pants. There’s no club/bar scene there. If getting action was high on your list I wouldn’t recommend going there.

Utah
Mountains: Utah has plenty of options. I go there every year for a ski trip. Park City and Snowbird are a must. Snowbird is one of the most challenging places I’ve ever skied. Alta has gnarly terrain too but I hate their lift system. It’s slower than molasses.
Affordability: You’re gonna pay out the nose to go to the bigger resorts but if you go to a smaller one like Solitude you can get a day ticket for around $70. As far as lodging goes, I stay in Salt Lake City when I go Utah. First off I know a sandbag that has a spot out there but if I can’t stay with her there are plenty of hotels you can stay at for decent prices. The best part about it is you can get to all the major resorts in 30-45 minutes depending on the traffic.
Game: I don’t have much experience in SLC regarding game cuz I have a standby out there but I will say this. Don’t get confused by what you hear, every girl you run to in SLC isn’t going to be Mormon. The SLC area has a population of over 1 million people and it’s one of the healthiest states in the US. They got fine broads out there. I think the whole Mormon excuse is a misconception that pretenders perpetrate in order to justify being lazy or to mask their failures. Besides, I know a Mormon sandbag that’s at temple every Sunday but during the week she’s down like four flat tires.

Colorado
Mountains: I was a liftie at Keystone back in 07. The mountains got everything you need. If you’re big into terrain parks Keystone and Copper Mountain are among the best in the world. Utah gets more snow than Colorado though.
Affordability:
If you go to Vail you better have coke money. A few years ago when I went skiing there I hit the McDonald’s and it didn’t even have a dollar menu. Lift tickets are fairly pricey with Vail and Aspen on the higher end. Most people stay in Frisco or Dillon when they ski in summit county. Hotel prices aren’t super cheap but you can get a deal depending on when you go.
Game:
When I was living in Summit County the ratio of guys to girls was damn near 7-1. I’ll never live there again. The selection was so bad that there was a different scale we judged sandbags on. We called it the Summit County Scale. If a girl was a Summit County 7 then she was a 5 anywhere else. The only way I survived was by going back to Denver on the weekends. Breckenridge is a little better because Breck is actually a town, not just a resort. They have a little bit of nightlife over there.

Whistler
Mountains: The best that north America has to offer. I visited like 5 years ago and I liked it so much that I’m living there now. I meet people from Europe all the time and they tell me it’s better than Europe. It’ll take you days to track this place out. My only “complaint” is that the powder isn’t powder, it’s more like cement. Whistler’s low in elevation and close to the ocean so when it’s not snowing it’s raining.
Affordability:
It’s expensive as hell. Forget trying to get a hotel room. They have a hostel in town if you don’t mind that kind of thing. Or you can try craigslist and see if you can crash on someone’s couch. The locals are so hard up for money that they’ll jam 10 people in a 4 bedroom house. I’m not kidding, it’s gross.
Game:
People party their asses off. If I need to have a chill night I can’t even go out because I can’t trust myself to stay in control. But there’s a downside. Whistler has a weird culture where the locals think it’s them against the world. Local sandbags can tell if you’re from out of town and they won’t give you a play. They don’t care how much money you have or how nice your clothes are. Your best bet is to try to score with a tourist that’s come up for the weekend. The local broads take pride in looking ratty too. They’ll say “I don’t need to wear heels or a skirt, this is whistler”. However, as a guy if you look anorexic, have shoulder length hair, a scrubby beard, haven’t showered in a couple days, and can grind a rail on a snowboard you’re gonna pull with the local sandbags. You get bonus points if you speak French. There is some talent out here but not a lot. As a result the guys are hungrier than a pack of jackals so these sandbags know they can act however they want and still get attention.

There’s so much more I can say but I wanted to keep this as short as possible while still giving you the nitty gritty.

[Laner]

I have been to Whitefish, MT a few times. I love the place. The skiing can be epic if caught on the right cycle.

The town itself is a lot of fun too. Great people and good old fashioned type of nightlife. I have done better here in the summer, but winter can be pretty decent for the ladies as well. A lot of people come down from Fernie for a change of scenery which adds a bit to the place.

I highly recommend.

I dont think Mt Baker has been mentioned. Its probably my favorite place on the west coast. Insane dumps of snow, cheap lift tickets, very cool vibe, and Glacier can be a super fun town as Bellingham is not far away and girls there love to shred.

As mentioned, its low elevation on the coast and the snow is not dry. But fuck is it deep. Good backcountry access as well if you have the gear (they WILL check).