# Season Passes...



## IkayakNboard (May 12, 2005)

I don't have much money, so I'm thinking of getting either the basin only pass ($229) or the copper only pass ($269). I've had the basin pass for the past several years, love the mountain when there's fresh snow, the beaves are great, but the days in between when all the stashes are tracked out kind of suck. Not a lot of options on the small mountain. Copper is bigger, so more options and a better park, but that also means more gapers to deal with. Plus A-basin is giving a 1 day ticket to Silverton with every season pass this year, which would be damn nice. I'm not shelling out $400 for the CO pass, because after the 10 days at vail I'd just be riding a-basin anyways. So between basin and copper, which would you go with?


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## GAtoCSU (Apr 18, 2005)

You should get the 2 for 1 copper pass for 180.


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## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

Monarch is doing a season pass for $279, with one day at silverton unguided and three days at the butte. Seems like a good deal to me, especially since it's off the I-70 clusterfuk. Good luck. Hope to see you on the hill this winter.

Peace
-Dan


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## Clorox (Aug 10, 2006)

Mang that is a tough one! Copper has so much more terrain, but you have to ride the parking lot bus and the lifts can get jammed. Basin is open longer and is mucho fun to get drunk in the parking lot with other like-minded peoples.

As far as the 2-for-1 deal goes, you have to both be college students and open a savings account with $100 at Wells Fargo (also known as Satans bank where they will financially sodomize you). Once you get your pass you can withdraw all your money and close the account though. 

If you want to stay on the cheap side and cant get the 2-fer-1 deal then I would get the Basin ticket. Then if Basin is tracked out you can always dick around on the pass. And if you want to get some park action, just jump down to Keystone and clip a ticket for some night riding. At 4pm it is never hard to snag a ticket there. In fact why buy a pass at all? Just go after 11am and clip away.

/wait what I meant to say is clipping is bad, very bad


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## lmaciag (Oct 10, 2003)

If anyone is looking to split the 2 for 1 PM me... I'm in my last quarter of grad school and might as well take advantage... From what I've heard they don't check too closely on the 'student' part of the deal, all they really care about the account w/WF, but you can close that after you get the deal. Just need to go together to get it. My math would make it $134.50 each, not $180.

Laurie


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## Clorox (Aug 10, 2006)

*lmaciag* I got the WF thing last year. First you can't have an existing account with them. They will have you open one account with a $100, then you get a two for one voucher. WF won't check your student status.

You take the voucher and your student buddy to the pass sales location. It is there that they will ask for your student IDs. Once you get your pass you go back to WF and close the account.

It's a good deal, and worth the hassle.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

A-basin. Copper is just getting worse and worse every year. I had a 4pak there last year and the one day i went was bad enough to convince me not to go back. It was insane. I made the mistake of going to the park. The hardest part about it wasn't the kickers or rails, it was the gaper dodging. Triple black diamond shit. It was like riding Keystone on their 36hr festival(or whatever its called). One ribbon of death for an entire parking lot full of bro's. A-basin is tits. No gapers, hardly any bro's, You can find a parking spot...sometimes. This is the first year i'm sayin F U to keystone,breck,vail,beav, copper. I'm not gonna miss standing in line with tourists anymo. Wish i was closer to Monarch. 
A-basin, bitches!! Its the only mtn worth a damn. 

Or you could do what i plan on doing more of.....roadtrippin to the Bird and the hole!!!!!!!!!


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## Cutch (Nov 4, 2003)

I prefer Copper, especially as a boarder. It has tons and tons of stashes, and is super easy to move around. Avoidling the crowds is easier than most of the other mtns, and you get so much terrain. The hike-to options are great as well.


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## miker (Jan 26, 2006)

Loveland! 

No tunnel, No passes to cross, few gapers, back country accessible. nuf said.


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## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

How have the Basin lift lines been recently. I haven't skiied there for four years or more and remember looong ass lines on everything but Pali for much of the year. Oh, sweet, sweet pali, nectar of the gods, how I miss you.


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## IkayakNboard (May 12, 2005)

Dan, Monarch would be sweet, but that's about a $40 round trip each time for me. Basin lines haven't been that bad lately now that everyone has the cheap multi-mountain passes. I think I'll just stick with the basin pass and run the shit out of the wall and beaves when it snows...and get drunk in the parking lot when there's nothing but crust. If you get the Monarch pass, let me know when you're using your day at Silverton. Maybe we can carpool.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

DanOrion said:


> How have the Basin lift lines been recently. I haven't skiied there for four years or more and remember looong ass lines on everything but Pali for much of the year. Oh, sweet, sweet pali, nectar of the gods, how I miss you.



I went there tons last year, the only lines are early on in the season when other resorts haven't opened. I NEVER waited in a line once the season got rolling. They were pretty much non-existent, course i never ride on those cursed weekends. The parking lots can be full there and i still never waited, esp at Pali!!!


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## Clorox (Aug 10, 2006)

Speaking of Monarch, has anyone hit Mirkwood Basin? Looks like a killer hike out if you go back far.

Gotta love Monarch, mostly noob Texans, Oakies and Christian tour buses, leaving all that sweet, sweet, great divide powder in the trees untouched.

Oh, and has anyone heard when the A-basin expansion will come about?
Thank god they are not building a friggin resort there, but a lift on Montezuma would be niiice!


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## Steve Kahn (Apr 17, 2004)

*basin*

my 2:

the basin is pretty cool, unless you like to ride pow.

montezuma will continue to be great, until the damn lift is put in.

i question whether the people that push the basin over copper are more interested in the social atmosphere instead of quality snow (relative term)?

the beav's will always rip though.

i think cutch has it right - if you're into skiing moguls and not trees, however, basin will be just fine.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

*Re: basin*

A-basin=the closest thing to steep terrain around

Copper=gapers and an intermediate mountain with speed patrol on every roller. 17 glades are only thing worth a damn.


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## jennifer (Oct 14, 2003)

I second loveland. If you can ski weekdays, they have a weekday only pass for dirt cheap. Great terrain, closer than the other resorts, way better snow than summit county, with no lines, and free close-in parking. I've always wondered why people pass up loveland and drive the extra dist. to deal with the crowds and parking hassle of summit....


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## sandbagger (Feb 1, 2006)

*Re: basin*



gapers said:


> A-basin=the closest thing to steep terrain around
> 
> Copper=gapers and an intermediate mountain with speed patrol on every roller. 17 glades are only thing worth a damn.


You obviously ski a different Copper Mt than me. :lol: Copper has some very respectable steeps. And your earlier comment about being in the park shows why you're having these problems. Copper has darn good terrain and I hardly ever wait in lines there. Of course, I'm not going to the Eagle or Flyer lifts either. If you know how to avoid those and stay up high, Copper is darn good with some pretty steep terrain.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

Not sure where your skiing then. I don't ride flyer or eagle. I said i made the mistake of going to the park, ONCE. I stay to the six-man, hell i don't even ride the shuttle buses from the parking lot, i walk over. I've ridden the mountain thru and thru, I've ridden the entire backside, i've ridden the cat, the onion roll, I've followed the boundaries down everyside and in between,i know where all the smoke shacks are, inbounds and out. The mountain aint steep. :wink: 

guess its all relative though


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## boatnbike (Aug 11, 2006)

Clorox said:


> Speaking of Monarch, has anyone hit Mirkwood Basin? Looks like a killer hike out if you go back far.
> 
> Gotta love Monarch, mostly noob Texans, Oakies and Christian tour buses, leaving all that sweet, sweet, great divide powder in the trees untouched.
> 
> ...


I did Mirkwood a couple of times last year. The hike's a bitch. The terrain's good but it gets pretty crusty beween snows - not really worth the hike. If you can catch it after a big dump, it would definately be worth it. Occationally you can hitch a ride from a patrolman on a snowmobile but you've got to be lucky.


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## dougjerk (Apr 13, 2006)

why not get the CO pass and ride keystone and brek?


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## psu96 (May 9, 2006)

Mirkwood is sweet, well for something close by...the hike isnt bad, get you ass in shape...the season pass deals are pretty sweet. they also put a bid in for Steamboat, doubt they'll get it but that would be awesome to have three days there as well.


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## sandbagger (Feb 1, 2006)

gapers said:


> Not sure where your skiing then. I don't ride flyer or eagle. I said i made the mistake of going to the park, ONCE. I stay to the six-man, hell i don't even ride the shuttle buses from the parking lot, i walk over. I've ridden the mountain thru and thru, I've ridden the entire backside, i've ridden the cat, the onion roll, I've followed the boundaries down everyside and in between,i know where all the smoke shacks are, inbounds and out. The mountain aint steep. :wink:
> 
> guess its all relative though


well, it's fairly steep relative to other shit in the area. Steeper (or more accurately, more accessible steeps) than Vail, WP/MJ, most of Breck (haven't ridden the new lift), Keystone, etc. It's not Highlands Bowl, Jackson or the Butte, but it's pretty good for the front range. Spaulding Bowl, some of the stuff of S, the top of Reso, some of the backside are all decent. Again, not outrageously steep, but to say ABasin is steep but Copper isn't is kind of odd. Acreage wise, Copper has close to or more in-bounds steeps than the Basin, and the Basin only has a couple of runs (Gauthier, hiking east wall) that are legitimately steeper than Copper's lift served stuff.


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## Steve Kahn (Apr 17, 2004)

*missing the point*

i think you guys are missing the point (gapers/sandbagger) - which is this: 

there might be slight differences between which mountain is steeper (copper/abasin), and you can get all technical with statistics of average gradient per area, or somthing nifty like that, but the real question you're trying to discuss here is which mountain is better. 

i contend that a-basin is a generally steeper, but the snow quality is much much much much poorer. there's just no trees to protect it anywhere. so gapers has it right (IMO) in that the basin is steeper, but SB has it right that copper is the better mountain, not cause it is steeper, but because it has some trees that hold the pow in. 

now obviously, this is quite a subjective opinion (beauty/beholder), and there are probably alot of you out there who don't care as much for snow quality, and are more interested in knee bashing down pali...(which i admit is quite fun) - but i would still hold to my opion, and even go out to say that for those that actually ski/ride alot, and conisder themselves experts, that taking away the social atmosphere of the two places, that copper is the superior mountain, mainly because A-basin has no trees.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

Ok,whatever you say,man. Copper is steep.


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## sandbagger (Feb 1, 2006)

*Re: missing the point*



Steve Kahn said:


> so gapers has it right (IMO) in that the basin is steeper, but SB has it right that copper is the better mountain


actually, I wouldn't necessarily contend that Copper is a "better" mountain, nor would I disagree with the idea that ABasin is steeper, it is steeper overall: has a few runs that are steeper than anything at Copper, has a far greater percentage of steeps on the mountain.

Take a look back at gapers first post about Copper and the basin. If all of Copper is intermediate, then there's very very very little in CO that would qualify as steep (and very little at the Basin). Yet somehow the Basin is steep, that's the odd part. As far as non-hiking terrain, a lot of places at Copper match Pali, only Gauthier is clearly steeper than anything at Copper.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

I'd go Copper for variety - both in that you've already had passes to A-Basin and that Copper is a bigger mountain with more varied terrain. I've always felt like although A-Basin is great on a good day, but on cold windy days or days with subpar snow conditions, it's hard to find a good niche on that mountain.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

:shock: :shock: :shock: Now there's a paradox for you. CO isn't steep---could it be?? Like i said, i guess its all relative to the individual :wink: . 

While your analyzing my old post read the one i said about A-basin being the _closest thing to steeps _*around*. 

Your smokin rocks if you think Copper is anything above an Intermediate mountain(advanced intermediate maybe)though. It sure as hell aint an advanced or expert mountain. Ski copper though, i outgrew skiing with tourist,texans and weekend warriors long ago. I'll stick to the BC and earn my powder days. Speaking of powder....Don't you think putting the words powder days,and any Vail/Summit county resorts name, in the same sentence--an oxymoron? Honestly? 

Well if i ride a resort i'm hittin up the basin, I dont need a deep deep powder day,(which copper apparently has so much of)to ride trees or stick a landing, as long as i have some badass terrain for fun.


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## Steve Kahn (Apr 17, 2004)

this discussion reminds me of my favorite low water class III run....numbers.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

I like pretzels and cheese.


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## sandbagger (Feb 1, 2006)

gapers said:


> :shock: :shock: :shock: Now there's a paradox for you. CO isn't steep---could it be?? Like i said, i guess its all relative to the individual :wink: .
> 
> While your analyzing my old post read the one i said about A-basin being the _closest thing to steeps _*around*.
> 
> ...


I guess I'm just not core enough for you. I have skied a lot at Jackson, Crested Butte, etc, but those must not be steep if I can ski them snd still enjoy my intermediate mountains. And yeah, there's never any powder days at resorts, and they are completely filled with tourists and texans and weekend warriors (oh my god, self-loathing, I AM a weekend warrior, I really suck! :shock. All the really cool people are in the backcountry skiing the gnar-gnar, those of us who deign to spend some of our ski time riding slow flat lifts are just living a lie. :lol: 

Thanks for the humor, and thanks for showing your perspective.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

You finally caught on,Have fun on those wicked steep,infamous groomers and those crazy back bowls of copper. And say hello to the speed patrol....now thats a skiing experience i wanna take. 


Douchebag,embrace your weekend warrior'ness. We cant all be core.


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## Clorox (Aug 10, 2006)

Damn I thought I knew how to rip and have fun, but gapers totally just harshed my mountainbuzz.


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## Steve Kahn (Apr 17, 2004)

*pride*

yeah, it is too bad - skiing/snowboarding are too easy, and thus we end up with 50 million pro bad ass super gnar gnar elitist experts. 

i guess with all the pride out there it is hard for a discussion over which mountain is better for what for it not to degerate into a "i'm better than you" thing....

i think it is a function of the sport...in kayaking, if you are pulling the trigger too early, and too aggressive, you will get beat down pretty bad. this humbles us all, makes us all remember that we were all beginners somewhere back, and keeps us from being too "tough" - climbing is alot like that too - but skiing, the consequences are generally not too much...there really isn't a whole ton of death defying terrain (i'm sure, mr. gapers, that you are excluded from this). go big, have a tough fall, limp for a week maybe....perhaps a tree collision..generally not the beatdown you might get running rigo before you're ready. 

just keep trying buzzers. at some point, you might be as core as gapers....then you can look down on everyone for your skill at sliding down a mountain on a piece of plastic is oh so great.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

^ i dont know, ive had a few crashes that are tough to get going afterwards. its not the injury, its the pride. 

the trick is to just enjoy anytime you get on snow. i dont think im "better" than anyone, or i dont care how "good" people think i am. i will go skiing anywhere, with anyone, because i enjoy just being on my skis! it doesnt matter whats in front of me, whether if its a 50 foot cliff into untouched or a long green roller thats been groomed all season. its just the fact of getting out there. and it doesnt matter if the people i ride with are rank beginners or pro riders, ill ski with whoever is chill.

the same with mountains. yeah, some mountains arent as good as others, but most mountains have good stashes or at least a halfway park, so no matter where you go theres always something to do!

the only exception to this is Vail, which truly does suck ass and is the only place i will NOT ski. thats not say vail doesnt have the stashes and stuff, its just a personal preference. i wont ski at a resort that claims to be "the best in the nation" when it really isnt even the best in its own state!


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## johnrweeks (Oct 27, 2006)

*Season Pass*

I am looking for another student to go halves with me on a super pass. I have a wells fargo coupon. A couple of us are going to head to Billabong's this weekend. If you are interested please send me an email, [email protected]

Thanks
John


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