Dumping today

Glad yall had fun. It's crazy what Mainstreet restaurants charge. I made a reservation at Butchers.

Wrapped up four days at Banff Sunshine yesterday, kiddos can't wait to go back.

Vail conditions today really had me wishing I didn't work yesterday.

Slinks said:

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Whats your general preference when traveling to ski since weather is always so unpredictable?

You fly in and rent a privately owned car and get awd/4wd and ask for snow tires or chains just as backup? Fly in and take a shuttle/van? Or fly in and call it good enough to only have awd/4wd since most rental places don't seem to offer or gurantee snow tires or chains.

Just curious what most people do. I've got pros and cons I've experienced jn all 3 options.

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Take the back way up 24-9 to avoid I-70 at all costs when there's any weather whatsoever.

Anyone have any insight into the brand killtec? Was picking up my skis from the shop today and was looking for jackets for my son for next year. They had one 1/2 off for $100

Never used one but ive heard some of their older gear had issues tearing out of the shoulder seams and getting wet fairly easily. No idea if they have fixed those issues. I can say that they rate highly. It's a German company.

When we left yesterday my neighbor had tossed my skis in his box for the drive home. They made a stop in OK last night to see his brother and just got home. When they unpacked the box, they found it definitely is not 80mph West Texas dust proof. Even after he hosed them down they're still coated in super fine dust.

So I guess I'm adding "Clean Skis" to.my to-do for tomorrow.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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Record time today. 850 miles in 13 hours. With a 5yr old and an 11 month old.

Express lanes on 25 and 470 are clutch.

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Go dad!

ChoppinDs40 said:

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Record time today. 850 miles in 13 hours. With a 5yr old and an 11 month old.

Express lanes on 25 and 470 are clutch.

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Indeed they are, especially on the weekend. I don't know what the deal is but it's always a ****show every weekend from monument/county line up to castle rock.

Just decided two weeks ago to head to Loveland Wed (lessons) and likely Thurs (or Copper/Keystone). Loveland's nothing special to most, but love it about 40% time (when the wind isn't whipping you over the pass).

It'll be a test of daddy's patience and slower year as taking my 7, 7 & 8 yr old girls for their third ski trip…driving from SA area. Momma's spring break this year just ended, so I'm getting lots of 'advice' on how to keep them breathing…pray for us, ha!!

Sounds like the advice is needed, if you chose to live in Puryear!

Bayou City said:

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Never used one but ive heard some of their older gear had issues tearing out of the shoulder seams and getting wet fairly easily. No idea if they have fixed those issues. I can say that they rate highly. It's a German company.

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Thanks. I've pretty much stuck with obermeyer over the past decade+ or so and have been extremely happy with their stuff.

Last year we flew to Denver and then drove to Keystone in a AWD rental. The roads were horrible, trucks pulling over to chain up, snow plows running back and forth, the entire state of Colorado on the highway. The rental did fine and I never once felt it wasn't capable.
Weather was below 0 and had to drive from the condo to the resort each day and didn't have issues. Even was fine after 7" of snow over night, going down the mountain, and on the icy roads of Denver.

Had a heck of a drive out of steamboat yesterday. White out / blizzard over the rabbit ears pass. Had to go about 15mph and at times couldn't tell where the road was and lost the vehicle in front of us. Snow tires and some dumb "snow / rain" driving option on our 2WD expedition. Packed snow / ice from Kremmling to Silverthorne. Lost traction twice but recovered. I-70 east shut down so got lunch. Finally made it down and decided to get a hotel in Dalhart. Didn't want to catch up with the winds / dust and fires. Easy 6 hour drive today. Long trip though.

Had a great trip. Beautiful weather and great base with variable conditions all week. Didn't see a snowflake till we woke up to leave. Then 7". Crusty mornings. Great soft conditions most of the day and then some mashed potatoes late in the day, mid-mountain to lower. Beer was cold at T-bar and Slopeside and Timber and Torch. Great week since our spring break was a week ahead of most of Texas. No lift lines all week.

Jock 07 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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Record time today. 850 miles in 13 hours. With a 5yr old and an 11 month old.

Express lanes on 25 and 470 are clutch.

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Indeed they are, especially on the weekend. I don't know what the deal is but it's always a ****show every weekend from monument/county line up to castle rock.

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Yeah and then it just clears up? What the hell is that?

ChipFTAC01 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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Record time today. 850 miles in 13 hours. With a 5yr old and an 11 month old.

Express lanes on 25 and 470 are clutch.

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Go dad!

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thanks!

Wouldn't be able to do it without my co-pilot that sits in the third row to administer child care.

1 stop a bucees in Amarillo for gas and breakfast.

I had to take a deuce in Clayton. Everyone dropped their blank tank here as well. Topped off gas.

No stop until Winter Park. Surprisingly traffic was manageable today. Cruise was set to 82/85 most of the trip.

That's even stricter than our routine, which gets us into COS in about 11 - 11.5 hours.
Gas in Childress.
Lunch at Rudy's in Amarillo.
Top off in Clayton, sometimes let the kid buy one of the model cars there

If you ever find yourself in the springs on a Thursday to Sunday and looking for lunch check out https://www.chuckwagon719.com. Husband and wife who went to high school at Langham creek & Cy Fair moved up here and smoking great BBQ. Although maybe not as big a draw for someone passing through from Texas. But it is among the best bbq I've found in CO. Near Peterson so makes for a solid lunch if I have time for the line.
Anyhow figured I'd mention, now back to your regularly scheduled ski discussions.

Love the driving discussion. I'm stereotypical dad always trying to "make good time" and minimize stopping/delays. We're in Houston and drive to Albuquerque the first day before our much shorter 2nd day drive to Telluride. It's almost 900 miles and the best we've done is 2 short stops only for gas, bathroom and snacks/food. But usually it's 3 - 4 short stops. We never stop to sit down and eat anymore.

We usually try to leave around 5 in the morning, which puts in Albuquerque at around 5:30pm with time change.

Next day is a much easier drive to Telluride - 5.5 hours. We usually stop at the Wal Mart and liquor store (next door) in Durango for provisions and get to Telluride around 2 - 3pm.

The drive back is always much worse of course. The drive from Telluride to Albuqurque that always seems so easy on the way there always seems to take forever on the way back. We used to push to Wichita Falls but that's just too difficult - so we now stop over in Amarillo.

Edit to add we have 10 year old twins and have been doing long road trips since they were in diapers. I can't say they like the actual driving part of the road trips now (the destinations, sure)...but hope they'll appreciate them one day. The driving can be difficult - but I enjoy it overall and the fact that we're all forced to be together for that period of time. My wife calls me Griswald after all...

DFW to Beavercreek. We stop and eat Rudy's in Amarillo. Spend the night in Colorado Springs and make the shirt 2.5 hour trek up I-70. We drive the entire way back going home.

Family of 5. 11, 9 and 6 year old on board. We're lucky to get three hours in before someone has to pee or poop.

IAH or AUS to DEN (which never I can get best direct flight on United). Hertz full size suv with 4WD. < 2 hours to Avon/BC. Then reverse it to come home. Family of 5. Was bummed to leave BC yesterday morning. Friday finally delivered us some of the white stuff….

We are Austin to Breck. Leave at 7 a.m, one gas/potty break around the state line and stop at Trinidad around 6 p.m. Stay at new Hilton Garden. Leave next morning around 6 a.m. Arrive at house around 10 a.m.

Breck to Austin. Leave around 7 a.m., one gas/potty break in Post and stop at new LaQuinta in Sweetwater around 7 p.m. Leave next morning around 7 a.m. and home around 11 a.m.

No kids. I drive 13/15 hours each way and have cruise set to 80. BlueCruise works I/20, I27, I25. 36 gallon tank.

Make this trip at least a couple times per year.

Bruv, these Ripsticks… rip.

I've already wiped twice because I take a carve turn too fast and my old skis would just chatter and slow me down.

These just kept carving and came out from underneath me.

Super light. Fast as hell.

Dallas to Steamboat the last three years. The six years before that we flew to Hayden. Prices got so crazy and job flexibility improved so we could drive. Pros and cons to each. Roughly a 15 Hour Dr. We typically drive 10 hours to Colorado Springs and spend the night. Then we take the back way through Breckenridge, which is about four hours to Steamboat . The last two years we drove straight back 15 hours. We almost died last year with a head on vehicle on 287 near Vernon. We saw a fatal crash in the same vicinity. We decided it's not worth the 15 Hour drive so we planned to spend the night in Amarillo and visit with some family. Due to blizzards and then the wind, we stayed in Dalhart at a new Holiday Inn express. Really nice. Then had an easy day drive of 6 1/2 hours from Dalhart. Maybe my favorite part of the Dr. is Clayton to Raton. Love that scenery. Wildlife. Lots of pronghorn, saw elk on the Raton pass, mule deer. Second favorite part of the drive is from Colorado Springs to Breckenridge. Third best part of the drive is from Silverthorne to Steamboat Springs. Lots of wildlife typically.

One of the best powder days I've ever had at Mt Ashland, and it only lasted from 11-1. Snow plow broke down so they're escorting everyone down with an ODOT grader.good news is not many are up since it was a ***** to get up here and was pretty squirly in my Jeep, but sad it had to come to an end.
Gotta love small mountain problems.

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The last two years we drove straight back 15 hours. We almost died last year with a head on vehicle on 287 near Vernon. We saw a fatal crash in the same vicinity. We decided it's not worth the 15 Hour drive so we planned to spend the night in Amarillo and visit with some family.

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Before kids, my wife and I did the 18+ hour drive from Telluride back to Houston straight with no overnight stops. We obviously made it - but it was very obvious we should never do that again. It got to be dangerous overnight in the dark without sleep. We learned our max is about 12 - 13 hours in one drive. I also do 100% of the driving, which factors in to that.

Gotta switch out. Makes it so much easier. Even if you don't sleep. The fact that you're not monitoring everything 24/7 lets you rest and freshen up.

That said, our max is also 12 hours. Which just happens to be Beaver creek to DFW.

I manage the grain elevators in and around Panhandle. I bet we know quite a few of the same people.

Told ya.

txaggie05 said:

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Told ya.

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Hit a few powder spots on side of runs. They float quite well also.

Also, I was so pumped to try out my new skis today.

Then out walks my 70 year old father with his brand spanking new Lange SureFoots.

He flew to Denver last week to get fitted. He said they were everything as advertised today. Boot heaters and all.

Welp, there goes another $2k of my kids college fund. Gotta have em.