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-   -   Steamboat vs. VAIL (http://www.skibanter.com/showthread.php?t=6807)

Sean December 8th 04 02:36 AM

Steamboat vs. VAIL
 
Hi all,

Could any of you that have spent time at Steamboat and Vail shed some light
on how the blues at each compare? I have heard that Steamboat blue trails
would be green at most of the other slopes in CO. I'm taking the girlfriend
to Vail in a couple of weeks and she is crossing the line between beginner
and intermediate skiier- she had no problems with the blues at Steamboat,
but if a
Vail blue is a little tougher I'd like to line her up with a lesson on day
one. (Neither of us have been to Vail)

Also, for those that have ridden Vail - are the back bowls for the extreme
boarders or could an intermediate level rider handle the terrain?

Thanks for your help,

Sean



Paul Christofanelli December 8th 04 03:45 AM

Sean wrote:

: Could any of you that have spent time at Steamboat and Vail shed some light
: on how the blues at each compare? I have heard that Steamboat blue trails
: would be green at most of the other slopes in CO. I'm taking the girlfriend
: to Vail in a couple of weeks and she is crossing the line between beginner
: and intermediate skiier- she had no problems with the blues at Steamboat,
: but if a
: Vail blue is a little tougher I'd like to line her up with a lesson on day
: one. (Neither of us have been to Vail)

: Also, for those that have ridden Vail - are the back bowls for the extreme
: boarders or could an intermediate level rider handle the terrain?

There's plenty of 'easy' blues at Vail, no doubt. Stick to the Lionshead
side and you should be fine, except you might have to take the cat track
near the bottom, skipping the last pitch. Game Creek bowl (up on that
same side of the mountain) also has lots of blue/green.

BTW, I don't think that Steamboat's blues are in general easier than other
blues at big CO resorts.

As far as back bowls go (I'm chuckling thinking of the comments you'll
probably get), they're not extreme at all. Just a basic black pitch in
general, but ungroomed, so they would definitely tend to be harder...but
since you're (apparently) on a board, ungroomed is probably not that big
of a step. There are blue ways into the back, over on the China Bowl
side, that are partly groomed at least. I think Blue sky bowl (other
side of the drainage) is a little steeper and it's steeper on the west
end of the complex.

If a 'couple weeks' means before Christmas, then you should have
lots of fun.

-Paul C.


Sean December 8th 04 03:54 AM


Snip


There's plenty of 'easy' blues at Vail, no doubt. Stick to the Lionshead
side and you should be fine, except you might have to take the cat track
near the bottom, skipping the last pitch. Game Creek bowl (up on that
same side of the mountain) also has lots of blue/green.

BTW, I don't think that Steamboat's blues are in general easier than other
blues at big CO resorts.

As far as back bowls go (I'm chuckling thinking of the comments you'll
probably get), they're not extreme at all. Just a basic black pitch in
general, but ungroomed, so they would definitely tend to be harder...but
since you're (apparently) on a board, ungroomed is probably not that big
of a step. There are blue ways into the back, over on the China Bowl
side, that are partly groomed at least. I think Blue sky bowl (other
side of the drainage) is a little steeper and it's steeper on the west
end of the complex.

If a 'couple weeks' means before Christmas, then you should have
lots of fun.

-Paul C.


Thanks for the reply Paul. I've been looking over the map and
Lionshead/Game Creek look good for what we're doing...I'd like to get on
some of the more agressive terrain while I am there, but wanted to hear from
the experienced about the conditions.

Thanks again!




[email protected] December 8th 04 04:26 AM

You really shouldn't have any problems with any of Vail's blues.
However, since you are on a board, watch out for long traverses.
Getting around Vail on a board can be a pain.

snoig


Hank Sniadoch December 8th 04 04:26 AM

One more reply .... if your girlfriend handled the greens and blues at
Steamboat, she'll have no problem with Vail.

Vail has groomed trails on one side of their ridge, bowls which
intermediates can ski on the other side of the ridge, and then ungroomed
powder on the second ridge which is called Blue Sky Basin ..... I don't
recommend you ski Blue Sky Basin ..... but you could possibly do the bowls
......

The nice thing about Vail is you can get to the top and decide whether you
want to ski the bowls or turn around and stay with the groomed trails .....
"Sean" wrote in message
link.net...
Hi all,

Could any of you that have spent time at Steamboat and Vail shed some
light
on how the blues at each compare? I have heard that Steamboat blue trails
would be green at most of the other slopes in CO. I'm taking the
girlfriend
to Vail in a couple of weeks and she is crossing the line between beginner
and intermediate skiier- she had no problems with the blues at Steamboat,
but if a
Vail blue is a little tougher I'd like to line her up with a lesson on day
one. (Neither of us have been to Vail)

Also, for those that have ridden Vail - are the back bowls for the extreme
boarders or could an intermediate level rider handle the terrain?

Thanks for your help,

Sean





Sean December 8th 04 05:12 AM


"Hank Sniadoch" wrote in message
...
One more reply .... if your girlfriend handled the greens and blues at
Steamboat, she'll have no problem with Vail.

Vail has groomed trails on one side of their ridge, bowls which
intermediates can ski on the other side of the ridge, and then ungroomed
powder on the second ridge which is called Blue Sky Basin ..... I don't
recommend you ski Blue Sky Basin ..... but you could possibly do the bowls
.....

The nice thing about Vail is you can get to the top and decide whether you
want to ski the bowls or turn around and stay with the groomed trails
.....
"Sean" wrote in message


Thanks Hank and snoig...

Staying away from Blue Sky Basin works fine as I'd ruled it out b/c of time
restraints, anyway.

Appreciate your time in responding.



lal_truckee December 8th 04 05:23 PM

Paul Christofanelli wrote:

As far as back bowls go (I'm chuckling thinking of the comments you'll
probably get)

....

I am practicing self restraint. It's tough.

Paul Christofanelli December 8th 04 05:38 PM

lal_truckee wrote:
: Paul Christofanelli wrote:
:
: As far as back bowls go (I'm chuckling thinking of the comments you'll
: probably get)
: ...

: I am practicing self restraint. It's tough.

Yep...your name popped into my head almost immediately, but
I resisted the urge to mention it :) Nice job on the restraint!

On another subject, if you happen to come across a decent pair of
Raichle's (the model is escaping me, but you know what it is) or F1's,
let me know. I've decided that those with a pair of thermofit (or
something) liners would be the ticket. I really liked the lightness and
flex of those boots. My boot sole length is 312. Just a longshot....

-Paul C

Sean December 8th 04 06:13 PM

I am practicing self restraint. It's tough.

Ahhh...I just found the thread titled "Bowls, Glades, Chutes". That gives
me an idea on the need for self restraint on your part. Wish I would have
seen that discussion before I revealed my my true grasp of ski terms, or
lack thereof. Thanks for pushing me to look around a bit and for having a
good sense of humor.






snoig December 9th 04 02:21 AM


Sean (NO SPAM) wrote:
Thanks Hank and snoig...

Staying away from Blue Sky Basin works fine as I'd ruled it out b/c

of time
restraints, anyway.

Appreciate your time in responding.


Blue Sky Basin really depends on the conditions and if it's open when
you are there. If the snow is good, it's a lot of fun. OTOH, it's not
bad advice to just stick with Lionshead and Game Creek. Vail is big
and if you try to cover it all in one day, you can really miss a lot
because you are always traversing to get to one place or another.
snoig



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