Whistler or Aspen

[KingGrump]

That’s what they say too...
What size wok is in the van?

14"

 

[Mike King]

As others have said.... Aspen.

Having skied the Coastal Ranges for maybe 1,000+ days, you may have wonderful snow at Whistler's base. Mire than likely though, it will be cold, damp, and rainy. Perfect weather for a spa day. Or drinking.

Aspen in April: you may see a storm of wonderful, dry snow come through. More than likely, nights will be crisp. Days will be sunny and around 50. Perfect for chilling either at the base area, or on Main. If they have access to a vehicle Glenwood Springs is not far. Go hit the hot springs.

Whistler = industrial. Aspen = intimate.

Look up Charlie MacArthur or Jennifer Simpson for a lesson. I may be around as well. Let me know and we can make a few runs.

Jennifer and Charlie are great instructors. We have a lot who are in the same league, so if they are unavailable, I'd suggest Thomas Roennau (ex Danish demo team), Tim Cafe (former coach of Alice Robinson), Katrina Alder (ex Argentine demo team), Jen Rupert (hang with her if you can), or a ton of other folk.

Mike

 

[Mike King]

This is correct.

For some reason though, a lot of people on here seem to like pricey and snooty, so it may be what they're after.

I.E. après ski to me is beer, half price apps, and a bar stool. après in Aspen is oysters, fine wine, and white table cloths.

You find what you want to find in Aspen. Sure, there are the .1%'ers here but there are also a ton of ordinary people. If you want to think Aspen is pretentious, you will be able to find things that reinforce that image. But we have a lot of folk and amenities that make Aspen accessible for folk of more modest means. Like lodging for under $200 a night in town. Places to eat great food for an affordable price (ever hear of the bar menu?).

You can find ski bums living on the cheap on Aspen mountain. Guys in old ski clothes patched up with duct tape (more often at Highlands).

So, if you came to Aspen expecting to find it to be pretentious, your expectations were reinforced. But for those of us who live and ski here every day, we see a pretty wide diversity of folk. You just have to look.

Mike

 

[JoeSchmoe]

You find what you want to find in Aspen. Sure, there are the .1%'ers here but there are also a ton of ordinary people. If you want to think Aspen is pretentious, you will be able to find things that reinforce that image. But we have a lot of folk and amenities that make Aspen accessible for folk of more modest means. Like lodging for under $200 a night in town. Places to eat great food for an affordable price (ever hear of the bar menu?).

You can find ski bums living on the cheap on Aspen mountain. Guys in old ski clothes patched up with duct tape (more often at Highlands).

So, if you came to Aspen expecting to find it to be pretentious, your expectations were reinforced. But for those of us who live and ski here every day, we see a pretty wide diversity of folk. You just have to look.

Mike

I first went to Aspen expecting a regular ski town. We stayed in Glenwood Springs and drove up. After a full day at Highlands we went into town to soak in the legendary après I had heard so much about on either this site or the old one. We had no expectations other than a good time as I wasn't aware of the 0.1% thing. What we found was the champagne and oyster crowd... and everyone was dressed up... No one in ski gear. Nothing like we imagined. We walked around town looking for what we would consider a normal bar. After a long search, we found a depressing semi-underground pub and we were the only ones there. We had one pint and high tailed it back to Glenwood.

 

[DanoT]

I first went to Aspen expecting a regular ski town. We stayed in Glenwood Springs and drove up

One of the things that I like about "Aspen" is the entire Roaring Fork Valley, which includes Basalt, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs and everything in between.

 

[Tony S]

I first went to Aspen expecting a regular ski town. We stayed in Glenwood Springs and drove up. After a full day at Highlands we went into town to soak in the legendary après I had heard so much about on either this site or the old one. We had no expectations other than a good time as I wasn't aware of the 0.1% thing. What we found was the champagne and oyster crowd... and everyone was dressed up... No one in ski gear. Nothing like we imagined. We walked around town looking for what we would consider a normal bar. After a long search, we found a depressing semi-underground pub and we were the only ones there. We had one pint and high tailed it back to Glenwood.

Not all places need to be all things to all people, thank God. I don't like Park City / Deer Valley, but I don't need to. Lots of folks love the place.

I'm really looking forward to doing more exploration at Aspen next winter, since the on-snow experiences I've had there have been awesome.

 

[surfandski]

Hands down, Aspen! Whistler is a zoo and at all the Aspen resorts, you pretty much have runs to yourself unless it's peak season.

 

[DerKomisar]

Kicking around a late March (week of 3/20) spring break family trip, is Whistler even an option to consider or should we stay in the US?

Already planning a Park City trip in late Feb. Have visited Breck, Vail and Keystone previously so looking for other places (especially Epic pass options).

 

[dovski]

Kicking around a late March (week of 3/20) spring break family trip, is Whistler even an option to consider or should we stay in the US?

Already planning a Park City trip in late Feb. Have visited Breck, Vail and Keystone previously so looking for other places (especially Epic pass options).

So WHistler is an option, they will be open until late April and should have great snow in March. That said I would chose Banff over Whistler and then you can ski Sunshine, Lake Louise, Norquay and if you are feeling adventurous could also drive to Revelstoke and Kicking Horse. You would also have better snow in Banff IMHO and a really cool mountain town vibe.

 

[DanoT]

Kicking around a late March (week of 3/20) spring break family trip, is Whistler even an option to consider or should we stay in the US?

Already planning a Park City trip in late Feb. Have visited Breck, Vail and Keystone previously so looking for other places (especially Epic pass options).

I have a 6 week trip to Aspen planned for Jan to March but with the uncertainties due to the Covid Delta Variant I am reconsidering entering the US and what that entails with testing and possible quarantine and then going thru the same process upon return to Canada. Looks like another winter to stay and ski local or regional for me.

Weather wise, late March to early April is a great time to visit Whistler as it is the best chance to see the sun, the crowds are gone and everything is on sale.

 

[dbostedo]

So WHistler is an option, they will be open until late April and should have great snow in March. That said I would chose Banff over Whistler and then you can ski Sunshine, Lake Louise, Norquay and if you are feeling adventurous could also drive to Revelstoke and Kicking Horse. You would also have better snow in Banff IMHO and a really cool mountain town vibe.

If Whistler was asked about because of an Epic pass, then the Banff places wouldn't work.

@DerKomisar - does the pass you're on matter for this question?

 

[DerKomisar]

If Whistler was asked about because of an Epic pass, then the Banff places wouldn't work.

@DerKomisar - does the pass you're on matter for this question?

Ideally be great to keep using Epic places. Had some thoughts about Tahoe area but the fires make that a bit tricky. And leaving the States might be just as tricky. May have to reconsider Whistler this year even. At least knowing it’s a realistic option in late March is great to know. Appreciate the Banff idea, wife is done skiing after a day or two and can enjoy other activities while me and the kids try and ski bell to bell. Looks like we might be headed back to Breck/Vail/Beaver.
Have never been to Aspen and only have heard great things and it’s on the shortlist and will hopefully do when we jump to an Ikon pass and hit some of their offerings (including Steamboat, Deer Valley, Alta/Snowbird, maybe even Jackson Hole)

 

[dovski]

Ideally be great to keep using Epic places. Had some thoughts about Tahoe area but the fires make that a bit tricky. And leaving the States might be just as tricky. May have to reconsider Whistler this year even. At least knowing it’s a realistic option in late March is great to know. Appreciate the Banff idea, wife is done skiing after a day or two and can enjoy other activities while me and the kids try and ski bell to bell. Looks like we might be headed back to Breck/Vail/Beaver.
Have never been to Aspen and only have heard great things and it’s on the shortlist and will hopefully do when we jump to an Ikon pass and hit some of their offerings (including Steamboat, Deer Valley, Alta/Snowbird, maybe even Jackson Hole)

So in Banff you have 3 resorts on Ikon, and Revelstoke is also Ikon but you need to budget 3 hours to get there. I believe Kicking Horse is on Epic though. One thing to consider is cost and Banff is much more affordable than Whistler or Aspen plus you pay for everything in CDN $$. I am always shocked at how far my $$ goes in Banff. If you book early like we did through SkiBigThree using either Ikon or Mountain Collective Pass you can get about 45% off accommodations. We booked the 2 bedroom Suite at the Moose Hotel for $420 cdn/night including tax. This is one of the nicer/newer hotels in downtown Banff, so great location and amenities. Lift tickets for this trip are all covered by our Mountain Collective Pass. Flights are covered by air miles and car rental for our Yukon was about $700 cdn for 10 days. So all said and done I would not call this a cheap vacation as we are still spending some $$ but I would call it good value given that we are there for 10 days and getting a pretty big bang for our $$ especially considering there are five of us.

 

[mdf]

Then there’s at least one that doesn’t believe in seasoning. I.e., salt

I'm not opposed to salt. I'm opposed to excess salt.