A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Monday, December 30, 2024 . I decided to try Cross-country (Nordic) skiing at Aqua Dome. I walked downstairs and rented some Salomon Classic Cross-country skis (25 euros/day) from Sunup Sports.. . Salomon Classic 173 cm skis (ski length is based on 80 kg weight) . Salomon (44.5) boots. . Salomon poles. One of the Aqua Dome concierges explained where the cross-country trails were located, and…
Read More: Cross-country skiing in Langenfeld
Friday, January 3, 2025 . At around 07:45, I stopped by the Aqua Dome reception to purchase a daily pass for Solden. It was 79 euros plus a 3-euro deposit, for a total of 82 euros. The daily pass was much less expensive than a daily pass at U.S. Ski resorts! (The 3-euro deposit was refunded to me after I returned the ski card.) .…
Read More: Skiing Solden
Monday, December 30, 2024 . Once we reached Aqua Dome in Längenfeld from the Ötztal Bahnhof (train station) using bus #320, we dropped off our 3 large suitcases and decided to grab lunch (as our room #169 was not yet ready). . . We decided to grab lunch at the cafe and sat near the bar. We ordered the following items: . . Boris: Frittatensuppe…
Read More: Relaxing at Aqua Dome, Langenfeld
I reserved two days of snowboarding, with the idea of extending it by one additional day if the snow conditions were excellent. . . . Here is a map of the Ski Arlberg Ski Resort: . . . . Sunday, December 22, 2024 - Renting Snowboards . . After lunch, we boarded the hotel's shuttle for a short ride to Nasserein, where we stopped by…
Read More: Snowboarding Ski Arlberg
The famous Austrian village of St. Anton am Arlberg has long been a dream ski destination for me, so I was excited when Inna reserved four nights at the Pfeffermühle Hotel in St. Anton from December 22 - 26, 2024. . . . . . Pfeffermühle Hotel recommended renting skis and snowboards from Alber Sport (which also has on-site ski storage lockers). The closest shop…
Read More: Enjoying St. Anton amd Arlberg
Saturday, December 18, 2021. . On Saturday, December 18, 2021, we woke at 05:30 to prepare for the long drive to North Lake Tahoe. One of our friends offered us a room at a house on Donner Lake (near Truckee), and we planned to use it as a base to snowboard at Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) and at Alpine Meadows. I pre-purchased Ikon passes…
Read More: Snowboarding at Lake Tahoe
I originally planned to leave San Jose by 13:00 for the December return trip to Mammoth Mountain, arriving in Mammoth Lakes around 19:00.. . . . However, due to Bay Area traffic and road closures on 89 South (which Google Maps did not initially anticipate), we had to drive farther on 89 East, then follow 395 South to Mammoth. Fortunately, the roads were reasonably clean,…
Read More: Back to Mammoth Mountain
After waking up around 6:45 a.m., I showered and dressed for snowboarding at Alpine Meadows. Carlo and Susan - our hosts at the Truckee Airbnb - prepared a delicious breakfast for us: yogurt, scrambled eggs, hot coffee, and tea.. . . . After breakfast, we drove to Alpine Meadows, arriving at about 8:12 a.m. The drive was supposed to take 25 minutes, but it took…
Read More: Alpine Meadows Powder
A few months ago, I purchased 2-day Squaw Valley lift tickets for a planned trip to Truckee, CA. However, due to the extreme snowfall, all of the roads to Truckee were closed.. . After our recent epic snowboarding trip to Mammoth, we decided to head back to Squaw Valley (before the warmer temperatures melted all of the freshly fallen powder). My plan was to head…
Read More: A Soggy Day at Squaw
My son has always talked about the beautiful powder conditions at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, but I never had the opportunity to go there. However, with his high school ski week vacation from February 17-22, I decided to see if it would be possible to visit Mammoth Mountain.. . At first, I considered driving there, but the 6.5-hour trip from San Jose would be tedious…
Read More: Chasing Mammoth Powder
I have always dreamed of snowboarding or skiing in Switzerland, so when an opportunity presented itself, I decided to seize it.. . . . . . From the many possible Swiss resorts, I selected Verbier based on feedback from a Swiss citizen who has lived there. My alternatives included Zermatt, Chamonix in France, and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria.. . . . Since I…
Read More: Snowboarding Verbier
I had difficulty sleeping due to the coffee in the Al Bicerin drink. At first, I wanted to leave an hour earlier for Bardonecchia Ski Resort, but when I woke up, I was too tired. We decided to depart one hour later.. . . . We first boarded the Metro L1 line, bound for Puerto Nuevo (3 stops). Then I purchased two one-way train tickets…
Read More: Snowboarding Bardonecchia
After a long day of snowboarding at Heavenly, we decided to try snowboarding at Kirkwood - one of our favorite Lake Tahoe resorts - especially because the US-88 road was open.. . . . To avoid parking problems, we woke up early and departed South Lake Tahoe at 7:00 am for the one-hour ride to Kirkwood. We left on time and arrived at Kirkwood at…
Read More: Final Day of Snowboarding Kirkwood
With another significant snowstorm approaching, Alex and I were eager to have one last go at snowboarding at Lake Tahoe's ski resorts. Checking the weather on Friday, March 16, I was concerned about the requirement for chains on Highway US-50 and US-80 and the closure of US-88 (the road to Kirkwood).. . . . When I woke up at 4:00 am on Saturday morning, I…
Read More: Heavenly Powder
Time to make fresh tracks!. . When a massive snowstorm appeared on the horizon, Alex and I began tracking it using the OnTheSnow and OpenSnow apps on our iPhones. Hoping for some fresh, light powder at Lake Tahoe ski resorts, we eagerly anticipated its arrival.. . . . As expected, the storm deposited 30+ inches of fresh snow at Kirkwood, Heavenly, Northstar, and other nearby…
Read More: Fresh Powder at Kirkwood
In November 2017, we considered skiing at Whistler/Blackcomb but realized the cost was too high. However, while drinking coffee at our favorite Philz Coffee, I was perusing a message from NorCal Snowboarders and noticed a planned Whistler ski trip, which was really inexpensive. How did NorCal manage to keep prices so low? . . . Inna and I looked into it further and discovered we…
Read More: Snowboarding Whistler
With a reported total of 16 inches of fresh snow at Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, January 24, and Thursday, January 25, Alex and I decided to try snowboarding at Northstar and Heavenly on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29. . . . We woke up around 03:50 on Saturday, January 29, and quickly dressed for the 4-hour drive to Northstar (from San Jose). The…
Read More: Snowboarding at Northstar
Since I purchased the Epic Local Pass from Vail Ski Resorts for Alex and me, I was eager to snowboard at one of the accessible ski resorts (Heavenly, Kirkwood, or Northstar). Although the snow conditions were not very favorable, I decided to try snowboarding at Heavenly anyway.. . I booked a room for one night on Saturday, January 13, at the conveniently located Blue Lake…
Read More: Snowboarding Heavenly
After getting up at 4:00 a.m., we packed our snowboarding gear and headed to Kirkwood Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. The drive was surprisingly smooth, and I arrived in Kirkwood around 8:00 a.m. (a 3.5-hour drive). The roads were clear; there were no snow or highway restrictions (e.g., 88, 89, 50). . . . . Since we arrived early (around 8:00 a.m.), we…
Read More: Snowboarding Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe
After many changes in travel arrangements, we settled on our Whistler Ski vacation for February 18 to 22. Since we could not book our favorite Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside hotel for Alex's annual ski week (at Dartmouth Middle School), we made reservations at the Crystal Lodge. Pan Pacific usually offers significant adventures for skiers, such as the included 2 adult Whistler/Blackcomb lift tickets for each…
Read More: Snowboarding Whistler