Hi all,
So far this season I have gone to TM once (Sat Dec 19) and that’s all. I was wondering how the crowds have been at other local resorts. TM was not very crowded but I’m worried it will start to get more crowded as the winter picks up. I was hoping to ski this weekend. I’ll have a beginner with me so it doesn’t really matter where I ski (the bunny hill is the same everywhere). I’m just trying to figure out if it’s worth the trip back out to Davis or if I should head to Liberty, Bryce, or MNut. At the same time I don’t want to go somewhere that is packed with people or feels excessively risky. I know the weather doesn’t look promising, so TM may be my only option anyway. Let me know your thoughts!
Which weekend? Jan. 2-3?
For Mnut, you can check the webcams and see how many people are around the base areas, including the teaching zone that has the magic carpets. Since the children's program isn't running, that should be open to the public all day long. Usually reserved for lessons until 2pm.
Normally, Sundays are not that busy at Mnut. People who are checking out that morning from resort lodging are much more likely to go tubing before they drive home than bother with renting gear for skiing/boarding. Never busy much before 10:30 in any case. Note that day ticket sales are all online and there is limited availability. Have been selling out during the holidays, but not until a day or two before. With a beginner, can consider a 4-hour ticket. Although there is something to be said for paying just a little more and skiing 9:00-11:30, taking a longer lunch break, and then doing more skiing after 2:00. Not sure how that would work out for a day tripper though.
My impression is that Bryce or Timberline always have fewer people on weekends than Mnut or Liberty. With the new lifts at Tline, might well be worth the extra driving during the holidays. Especially if the beginner can handle Salamander. Far more entertaining than the beginner trails at Bryce.
Wow 10 minute lift lines on a weekend is nothing compared to the huge lines at Snowshoe where your stuck for 30 to 45 minutes next to people so Snowshoe better darn well have more people enforcing mask wearing as they don’t seem to care about crowds.
Wow, that's fantastic....10 minutes for the busiest week of the year at TM. I've spent 25 or more minutes in that line with the old lift during Christmas week. Will only get quicker when they can load every chair(whenever that is)......translates to no lines during midweek and small lines during regular weekends.... forget long weekend of MLK and PD.
😷, Maybe I'll just ride/ski when the high temperature is in the single digits and wind-chill is well below 0. People tend to mask up then and stay masked up
Gotta get up there, pick up pass and get riding......
Reisen wrote:
We just returned from Timberline (Sun, Dec 27), and it was quite crowded. 45 minute line to pick up our tickets (bought online), and about a 10 minute wait each time for the main 6-pack chair.Generally a good experience, but timberline’s enforcement of masks in lift lines was minimal and nowhere near as strict as Snowshoe’s.
Reisen wrote:
We just returned from Timberline (Sun, Dec 27), and it was quite crowded. 45 minute line to pick up our tickets (bought online), and about a 10 minute wait each time for the main 6-pack chair.Generally a good experience, but timberline’s enforcement of masks in lift lines was minimal and nowhere near as strict as Snowshoe’s.
Thanks for the quick thoughts. Would love to read a more thorough review of your experience - esp. (1) what you would do differently in retrospect (e.g. get there earlier/later to avoid the 45 minute line to pick up tickets); and (2) how your experience at T-line affects what you plan to do for the rest of the winter (e.g. more/less trips to T-line going forward).
marzNC wrote:
Especially if the beginner can handle Salamander. Far more entertaining than the beginner trails at Bryce.
What makes Salamander interesting? It it like Sidewinder at Whitetail?
dukegrad96 wrote:
marzNC wrote:
Especially if the beginner can handle Salamander. Far more entertaining than the beginner trails at Bryce.
What makes Salamander interesting? It it like Sidewinder at Whitetail?
IIRC, what's interesting about it is that it's really long. Sidewinder is more fun. My oldest took to Sidewinder pretty quickly after his lesson. IMO, it's just about the ideal green circle trail.
