Western Trip

[Woodsrider427]

Marzski, I try to day trip to Wintergreen during the week mostly. Last year I think I did 4 day trips there, this year I want to up that. Friday's are usually the easiest for me to take off, but I can usually take a midweek day every so often (I'd like to do every other week this year). You are welcome to ride along anytime, I would definitely enjoy the company. Taking some lessons is on my list of things to do this season, I have never done one but could certainly use some help. Any advice on finding a good instructor? I will look into Steamboat too (especially if the Maxpass add-on works out).

My oldest daughter and I have all of our own gear, my wife and youngest do not. I was wondering if it was worth it to try and bring the skis, or just take the boots and rent skis.

Spydee, on the Maxpass website it lists Snowshoe's "Primo" pass and "Unlimited" pass as eligible for the upgrade. It doesn't specifically mention the ridiculous pass, but I'm hoping it's considered the same as the unlimited. I sent them an email to find out.

[spydeeTJB]

Spydee, on the Maxpass website it lists Snowshoe's "Primo" pass and "Unlimited" pass as eligible for the upgrade. It doesn't specifically mention the ridiculous pass, but I'm hoping it's considered the same as the unlimited. I sent them an email to find out.

Woods
Ridiculous is unlimited (no black-out dates, restrictions, etc). I recall there's a thread from last season discussing this (details weren't ironed out until late fall?) and maybe some on this board that pulled the trigger.

[Woodsrider427]

Spydee, on the Maxpass website it lists Snowshoe's "Primo" pass and "Unlimited" pass as eligible for the upgrade. It doesn't specifically mention the ridiculous pass, but I'm hoping it's considered the same as the unlimited. I sent them an email to find out.

Woods
Ridiculous is unlimited (no black-out dates, restrictions, etc). I recall there's a thread from last season discussing this (details weren't ironed out until late fall?) and maybe some on this board that pulled the trigger.

That's great, thanks. That definitely puts Steamboat on the list. Although that does also help confuse me more, I didn't think this would be such a hard decision.

[marzski]

Spydee, on the Maxpass website it lists Snowshoe's "Primo" pass and "Unlimited" pass as eligible for the upgrade. It doesn't specifically mention the ridiculous pass, but I'm hoping it's considered the same as the unlimited. I sent them an email to find out.

Woods
Ridiculous is unlimited (no black-out dates, restrictions, etc). I recall there's a thread from last season discussing this (details weren't ironed out until late fall?) and maybe some on this board that pulled the trigger.

The Snowshoe regulars on DCSki discussed the MAX Pass upgrade stuff in the spring but I don't remember the final answer. Seems to change every year.

[marzski]

Marzski, I try to day trip to Wintergreen during the week mostly. Last year I think I did 4 day trips there, this year I want to up that. Friday's are usually the easiest for me to take off, but I can usually take a midweek day every so often (I'd like to do every other week this year). You are welcome to ride along anytime, I would definitely enjoy the company. Taking some lessons is on my list of things to do this season, I have never done one but could certainly use some help. Any advice on finding a good instructor? I will look into Steamboat too (especially if the Maxpass add-on works out).

My oldest daughter and I have all of our own gear, my wife and youngest do not. I was wondering if it was worth it to try and bring the skis, or just take the boots and rent skis.

Unless you or your daughter are hard to fit for skis (petite or very tall), much easier to just take boots and rent skis for a first trip out west. Figuring out how to pack skis, and what ski bag to buy, is a bit of a pain. I ended up buying a Sportube 2 after it became obvious that I would do at least one flying ski trip a season. Most of the time I'm only taking one pair of skis, but then if my daughter is going too it's easy to bring two pairs. Both of us are petite, so once we got our own skis it's nice to have them around. I still rent demo skis for a powder day.

As for Wintergreen, I'll keep your schedule in mind. I'm retired so pretty flexible.

As for a good instructor . . . I know several very experienced instructors at Massanutten. Including one who moved from Wintergreen to Mnut quite a while ago. If you are willing to pay for private lessons, what you want to talk to the ski school about is a PSIA Level 3 instructor. Best to wait until October to call. A Level 3 instructor is not only more experienced as a skier, but has more training on assorted ways to teach. Usually takes 10-15 years to learn enough to pass the Level 3 exams. Note that a PSIA Level 2 instructor with 10+ years of experience could be a good fit as well. There are part-time instructors who are quite good but don't have the time or interest to do what it takes to pass the exams for the next level of certification (teaching, skiing).

[Woodsrider427]

Marzski, I try to day trip to Wintergreen during the week mostly. Last year I think I did 4 day trips there, this year I want to up that. Friday's are usually the easiest for me to take off, but I can usually take a midweek day every so often (I'd like to do every other week this year). You are welcome to ride along anytime, I would definitely enjoy the company. Taking some lessons is on my list of things to do this season, I have never done one but could certainly use some help. Any advice on finding a good instructor? I will look into Steamboat too (especially if the Maxpass add-on works out).

My oldest daughter and I have all of our own gear, my wife and youngest do not. I was wondering if it was worth it to try and bring the skis, or just take the boots and rent skis.

Unless you or your daughter are hard to fit for skis (petite or very tall), much easier to just take boots and rent skis for a first trip out west. Figuring out how to pack skis, and what ski bag to buy, is a bit of a pain. I ended up buying a Sportube 2 after it became obvious that I would do at least one flying ski trip a season. Most of the time I'm only taking one pair of skis, but then if my daughter is going too it's easy to bring two pairs. Both of us are petite, so once we got our own skis it's nice to have them around. I still rent demo skis for a powder day.

As for Wintergreen, I'll keep your schedule in mind. I'm retired so pretty flexible.

As for a good instructor . . . I know several very experienced instructors at Massanutten. Including one who moved from Wintergreen to Mnut quite a while ago. If you are willing to pay for private lessons, what you want to talk to the ski school about is a PSIA Level 3 instructor. Best to wait until October to call. A Level 3 instructor is not only more experienced as a skier, but has more training on assorted ways to teach. Usually takes 10-15 years to learn enough to pass the Level 3 exams. Note that a PSIA Level 2 instructor with 10+ years of experience could be a good fit as well. There are part-time instructors who are quite good but don't have the time or interest to do what it takes to pass the exams for the next level of certification (teaching, skiing).

Thanks for all of the feedback.

[Woodsrider427]

Spydee, on the Maxpass website it lists Snowshoe's "Primo" pass and "Unlimited" pass as eligible for the upgrade. It doesn't specifically mention the ridiculous pass, but I'm hoping it's considered the same as the unlimited. I sent them an email to find out.

Woods
Ridiculous is unlimited (no black-out dates, restrictions, etc). I recall there's a thread from last season discussing this (details weren't ironed out until late fall?) and maybe some on this board that pulled the trigger.

I just got a reply email from Maxpass and Snowshoe's ridiculous pass does not qualify for the Add-on. She said I would need to "upgrade" to the Unlimited Pass to qualify. I responded and asked how much to upgrade and what the difference is, I assume it's just the amount paid but I am curious what they'll say.

[spydeeTJB]

That stinks. Per Snowshoe's website, under season passes, the Unlimited pass price increases on 3 Sept from $349 to $379. Probably have to contact Snowshoe, not MaxPass, about the upgrade cost.

[Woodsrider427]

That stinks. Per Snowshoe's website, under season passes, the Unlimited pass price increases on 3 Sept from $349 to $379. Probably have to contact Snowshoe, not MaxPass, about the upgrade cost.

I haven't called Snowshoe yet but I would imagine the upgrade would just be the difference between the Ridiculous pass and the current cost of the Unlimited. If I'm not mistaken the ridiculous pass came with all the same benefits, but I guess they don't accept it because of the price discount. The add-on is still a good deal (even with paying the upgrade) if we choose an included destination.