Finally had some time to hit the slopes!
How and where are you skiing in 2026?
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I’ll be skiing in Tahoe next week. Where are you skiing @waimea?
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I’m not.
It’s not necessarily that the conditions in my area suck this year (they do)
It’s not necessarily that I’m getting old and am afraid how an injury would affect me (I am, and I am)
It’s not necessarily that the cost has become outrageously prohibitive (it has)
It’s more that I find it increasingly hard to justify travelling a couple of hours to spend a small fortune to stand in a line with several hundred (or sometimes over a thousand) other people to ride up and ski on an overcrowded hill with far less than ideal conditions.
I spent a good portion of my younger life (almost 20 years) living and working in ski areas, getting a free season pass (with courtesy privileges at other resorts), and effectively being paid to ski.
I’ve had multiple 200+ day seasons.
I’ve skied in some of the most incredible conditions that you could possibly imagine (think 36" deep light dry powder, with face shots so frequent that you have to stop every 5-6 turns to knock the snow off of your goggles, or untracked runs on 40 degree slopes, or consecutive 5200 vertical feet peak to valley runs on freshly groomed trails).
I’ve skied in some of the worst possible conditions that you could possibly imagine (think 15 inches of wet, heavy elephant snot so thick that you had to use your poles to push yourself down a double black diamond run, or ice sheets covering 4000 feet of elevation, or having to ski over 50 foot sections of mud and rock to reach the next patch of snow).
I’ve skied in bounds, I’ve skied out of bounds, and I’ve ski toured into some mind blowing back country areas that very few people have seen in winter.
And now, unless the conditions are exceptional, I can’t get motivated. In other words, I think that I’m skied out.
So I bought myself a 3D printer, built an LR3 CNC, and now I have a new activity!
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Tuesday -Thursday…so awesome. That last trip I took was the first good snow of the season and a Friday. I will not do that again, That is the first time I have had to stand in a line like that in a long time, huge bummer. Then I got stuck in a traffic line in the parking lot for a little more than 2 hours. Someone spun out at the bottom and they had a hard time getting them out.
Normal, not packed day, is amazing. I am picky about the conditions, I wear a helmet now, I look for deals and people to ride up with me, and ticket deals. So, I agree.
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ME TOO. I skied for over 50 without one. 4 years ago I took a fall that really rang my bell. As soon as I got home, I ordered a helmet.
@Bartman, you sound like my brother in law. He had worked at ski resorts for over 40 years. He worked at Keystone for most of them. He skied some incredible runs up there. He’s had 3 knee surgeries. He gave up skiing after the last one. Lucky for me, he still gets 4 comp tickets and 20 half price tickets and he sends them to me.
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Colorado has had a rough ski season. My main mountain is Keystone and they are good at making fake snow (at least until Jan 1, when they aren’t allowed to buy water for snow anymore). I also go Tues, or Thurs. It’s been a good season for me, despite the lack of snow. I’ve had a couple of decent days out of the 15 I’ve been so far this year. Nothing incredible.
I really can’t complain. I bought the pass in september and really only pay for electricity for the van each time I go.
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I get an uneven number of skiing days per year. this year 3 days so far. I am hoping for at least 3x this amount.
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I see those pics, and I think “isn’t it too cold to get the ski boat in the water?” 
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I am in the Swiss Alps and I am at the end of one week in Laax. It snowed 5 days consecutively the week before and the conditions are quite good. Unfortunately is very work and the snow is melting quickly especially at lower altitude.
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Do you have any pictures?
I hope I am wrong. But I think CO’s ski season is going to end this week for most places. This weather report and camera feed are from Keystone.
Been a really rough year. I gave skiing a high priority and only got a couple of good snow days. I did get a lot of skiing this year (for me). But it was almost all on groomers on well packed snow.
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Same here, record highs, everything is already closed.
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Yeah, it was 80F at my back deck yesterday. Welcome to summer. Until it freezes in 3 weeks.
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I went skiing with my brother and his family in Tahoe a couple of weeks ago. It was fun, but not the best snow. We were hopeful because a storm came through a week before, but it rained a couple of days later.
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“Until it freezes in 3 weeks”
It better not! My peach tree is LOADED with blossoms. I will not allow a strong wind or deep frost… gotta get that fruit set.