Mountain Collective - Easiest resort to get to?

[Tricia]

Im thinking I might do Reno area for a few days SOON, But ill just get my friends to pick me up ,feed me, house me, take me to the hill and home again oh ya and have my swag waiting!

I heard a rumor that this can happen in Reno.

 

[KingGrump]

I like to think through most of my purchases in a very rational manner. Criteria like price, brand, suitability, ergonomic, durability, dollar value, blah, blah blah...
Mamie on the other hand will go berserk when she sees that four letter word - FREE.

The two free days on the MCP have very similar effects on most people. Most just focus on the free days and will jump through hoops to redeem the free days. Often incurring higher expenses in the relocation. I believe most folks will have a better and more relaxed experience when they cash in on the half price days via the MCP.

Some folks like to check off resorts and trails like notches on the bedpost or gun belt. I am not one of those.
I like to ski a new area for at least a week to get a full feel for it. For areas I have visited and willingly return. A season is usually not enough. Those are the keepers. MCP has quite a few of those.

To be honest, I have never had a MCP. However, I have had season passes to MCP resorts. Have utilized quite a few of the half price days. Money and time well spent.

Often we should take a step back so we can see the forest beyond the tree.

 

[Crank]

Robin and I both got MCP's this season. We have week-long trips planned to Taos and Telluride so it seemed to make sense. However, with the ski club group discount we could get in Taos it is a less than break even deal What put it over the top for me is I am planning on using 54 or 5 free days in UT during The gathering. For Robin it will be incentive to take another trip. We are considering SLC or JH for Christmas - New Years.

 

[mdf]

...there is something to be said for the sunk-cost fallacy as a negotiating strategy (even if it is only with yourself!)

 

[DonC]

...there is something to be said for the sunk-cost fallacy as a negotiating strategy (even if it is only with yourself!)

Gym membership anyone?

 

[SkiNC]

I just like to travel. I like to visit different places, so even though it's not exactly cost effective to plan some shirt 2-3 day trip just cause I can get free lift tickets, doesn't mean it's not worth the dough! After some research, I'm thinking Sugarbush, Can stay in Burlington, rent a car and the flight is literally $150 round trip.

 

[Jim Kenney]

If you'd rather stay closer to the slopes than Burlington and you are traveling solo the Hostel Tevere is a fun and inexpensive choice for Sugarbush: http://hosteltevere.com/stay

 

[mdf]

I've stayed at the White Horse Inn several times. It is right by the entrance to the Glen Ellen side of Sugarbush. If the horizontal transport lift over to the main (Lincoln Peak) side is running -- it doesnt always -- it is very convenient to start there. If not, it is a short drive to start on the other side.

 

[Started at 53]

@DonC and others who don’t like the “turboprops” on the last legs to some ski destinations, I’ll bet those are actually JetProps and are some of the most reliable engines made. JetProps work exactly like jet/turbine engines but have a prop rather that a fan. Plus is they will have shorter take and landing run outs

Travel in confidence

 

[at_nyc]

@DonC and others who don’t like the “turboprops” on the last legs to some ski destinations, I’ll bet those are actually JetProps and are some of the most reliable engines made. JetProps work exactly like jet/turbine engines but have a prop rather that a fan. Plus is they will have shorter take and landing run outs

It's not just the plane. It's the pilots, airports and lack of backup flights.

Most regional flights are operated by less experienced pilots. We hear more accidents involving regional JETS than with major airlines.

Smaller airports often have shorter runways. When weather is bad, they're more likely to close the airport. Stranding you on either side of the trip.

Winter is a generally more demanding flying time. Weather delay is more likely. On a small regional airport, your choice of alternate flights when weather cancellation happens is also less.

Even when everything else is equal, the end result still favors larger planes. When the weather hits Aspen airport on one of my trips, all of the "prop" planes turned back to Grand Junction and/or Denver. The only plane landed was the Boeing 727 from Chicago. As I sat on my little "jetprop" plane waiting for a window to take off (which never materialized, and we were unloaded back into the terminal), I watched with envy the Boeing jet heading for Chicago took off gracefully!

 

[at_nyc]

Some folks like to check off resorts and trails like notches on the bedpost or gun belt. I am not one of those.

Some folks just like to CHECK OUT new resorts for a couple days before committing to a week with their family. MCP give them a chance to do just that.

Some folks have FF miles they could use for FREE which makes for an even more compelling case financially.

Some folks just like to travel! The OP admitted to being one such.

Keep in mind the flights will be the same whether one stays one day or one week. It's just IF you already know you like the mountain, then spreading the air fare over a week looks better on the per-day cost. But if you end up not liking that mountain all that much, you end up spending a whole week of lodging which is more than the flight itself. Forest & trees, etc, etc...

For example, I used my MCP's 2 FREE days to CHECK OUT Sun Valley. I'm glad I did. I'm never going to spend a week there. I also use 2 of my FREE days to check out Banff. I like it so much the next time I go, it'll most likely be for a week.

 

[Started at 53]

It's not the plane. It's the pilots, airports and lack of backup flights.

Most regional flights are operated by less experienced pilots. We hear more accidents involving regional JETS than with major airlines.

Smaller airports have shorter runways. When weather is bad, they're more likely to close the airport. Stranding you on either side of the trip.

Winter is a generally more demanding flying time. Weather delay is more likely. On a small regional airport, your choice of alternate flights when weather cancellation happens is also less.

My cousin is a former Air Force A-10 pilot and now a 59 year old Delta pilot. He would absolutely refute your premise above. He currently (on leave due to cancer) flies Atlanta ~ Lagos, Nigeria on a regular basis. Pilots are compensated by a combination of weight and hours, so the longest flights and heaviest planes pay the most money. So the older “experienced” pilots fly the largest planes and longest flights. He 100% feels that it would be safer to have the younger guys flying you all over the oceans on the long haul flights, why? Because they are the more difficult flights in terms of fatigue. He feels that the whole system is messed up and backwards.

While weather might be a factor in not getting you to your destination, or stranding you at said destination, those planes and pilots are super safe and the runways are much longer than needed for the twin jet prop aircraft. And... IF you have engine issues, those planes have a much better glide ratio then a jet.

Quite a thread drift. But I would fly in a twin jet prop no problem. I have flown into suspect Alaskan “airstrips” (sandbars in rivers) in Super Cubs that have cloth rather than metal fuselages with my gear strapped to the wing and I was sitting on the fuselage frame straddling the single seat of the pilot. Yeah I might be a bit crazy. And I have always assumed I would die in a plane crash, but I do believe in the safety of the commercial flights in and out of the ski resort areas. Travel with confidence. I am happy to fly into Eagle or Aspen. Drive from Denver? NO Thanks.

Edited to add: Colder temperatures are much better and safer to fly in the mountains. Higher temps and higher density altitude are the worries of pilots in the summer. Mountain flying is never as safe as flatland flying I will give you that!

 

[at_nyc]

Colder temperatures are much better and safer to fly in the mountains. Higher temps and higher density altitude are the worries of pilots in the summer. Mountain flying is never as safe as flatland flying I will give you that!

How about snow and ice? BTW, I'm not half as concerned about safety than just getting home at or near the time I initially expected to.

I've traveled by plane both summer and winter. There were WAY more delays and cancellations on my winter travels than summer!

I'm a physicist. But while I understand the physics of the planes. I've long ago learned physics plays only a small part in many of our daily activities. We convince ourselves everything is as good as it can be because the physics (or engineering) is taken care of. But it's all the "other" stuff that cause havoc! Like, if your flights got cancelled, there's but only 2 more planes each with only 50 seats to take up the remaining passengers. While if you're at a major airport, there're 10 more flights, each having 200 seats to share that load. .

Last but not least, the finances also favors NOT flying into regional airports. Inexpensive flights to Denver or SLC is easy to find any time of the season. Whilst with flights to Jackson or Aspen CAN be found cheap occasionally, it's very much hit or miss.

Don't get me wrong, I've flown into regional airports plenty. As part of those flights, I've experienced first hand plenty of their disadvantages due to the MANY other factors beyond safety and the physics of flying!

 

[Started at 53]

@at_nyc

All of your points are well made for sure. No doubt you have fewer options at a regional airport and yes, a lot tougher to get on a later flight.

I typically travel for free as I have more FF miles than I can redeem so the regional airports are not an issue for us.

 

[mdf]

My experience is the regional jets are more reliable than the big ones. They often run on a repeated loop between two cities, so the complicated "we don't want to get our planes stuck at x" considerations don't apply. They may be delayed by many hours, but they eventually will go.

 

[at_nyc]

I typically travel for free as I have more FF miles than I can redeem so the regional airports are not an issue for us.

I know the rules of FF is you can't sell the seat for money, but...

I used to have tons of FF miles, from prior years of business travel.

One year, I was on a ski club trip to Telluride, The original flight was cancelled, with no replacement for 2 days! (yep, you guessed it, regional airport) But a different airline, the one I had tons of FF miles, had a half empty plane and were happy to give out seats in exchange for miles. I "gave out" almost ALL of my FF miles for seats for my club-mates. They gave me back their refunds on the flight that got cancelled (plus drinks at the après).

It was a very inexpensive trip for me. But now that I don't travel for business any more, I had to actually pay for my flights.

Sorry for the thread drift. Though the OP seems to have found his destination anyway.

 

[John Webb]

Easiest MCP area might be the closest one to you !
In my case it's Squaw Valley.