05 Summit Expression Session - Use this thread for talk

[Michelle]

Hello carver-ites! Glad to see everyone is keeping busy in the summer as well and havin' fun!

As most of you know, we have posted the dates for the SES 05. The dates will be Feb 14-18th, with possibly a day before or a day after for extra time on the hill. In other words, we will either have the Sunday before included (Feb 13th) or the Saturday after (Feb 19th). This will be decided later, but you can definitely plan on that week in particular.

The other big news is that we have decided to host the event for the entire week in the Aspen Valley . This means we will not be moving around from Aspen to Summit County, and you guys/gals can rent one room and stay there the entire week. This means cheaper lodging, and probably cheaper lift tickets for all of us. Also means if you fly into Aspen you won't have to rent a car, although it is nice to get to and fro all the parties with all the new booty you will win at the raffles .

I will be making a trip to Aspen this summer (yes, a hard job) to meet with the mountain managers, as well as lodging reps to try and get us a good deal on rooms/suites. I would start planning to share a room with someone if you are coming by yourself, it will help with the price!

If anyone has questions, please feel free to email me and I will try to answer them. Know that I will probably have more information towards the fall, and once things get closer. I will post any new information I get on the web site, so check there for all your FAQ.

Also, i am doing many updates to the web site, so check out the new Bomber photo galleries on all of our sites. Feel free to comment!

Have a great, fun, safe summer!
SES web site
Michelle

[Coldrider]

Thanks, Michelle, for your and Bomber's efforts and hard work in putting together such a terrific event. I'm already looking forward to the '05 event.

I must ask, however, if all of the days are scheduled for resorts in the Aspen Valley (which is in Pitkin County), and no days are scheduled for any resorts in Summit County, wouldn't it be more appropriate to call the '05 event the AVES? (or PES?) (or ES?)

[D-Sub]

unless you ride at Snowmass the whole time

[Michelle]

UUUHHHH, No.

[MozzMann]

Well since I didn't manage to get there Feb this year, I'm gunna bust my butt to get there for 2005.
I managed to hang on to my tickets and have them open dated for 18 Months.
so if I don't use them next Feb I loose out .

Mozz

[Michelle]

We'd love to see you there! It is looking really big, so make your plans early for housing and tickets. Should be a good one! Let me know if you need help with anything.

[MozzMann]

Thanks Michell I'm going to need some help locating cost effective accomidation as it looks like that will be the biggest expence.

Hireing a Car and driving from other areas doesn't bother me but there is a trade off of course.


I'll keep an eye on the 2005 thread and that should help with decisions , when I know later next month if I can afford to go I'll be pre booking as early as I can .

I share too if anyone can put up with a middle aged yuppie.

Maurie

[D-Sub]

Id LOVE to come to this, but the incredibly high lift ticket prices combined with the cost of a place to stay..well...

probably not gonna happen.

bummer

[D-Sub]

it was a joke..Snowmass Expression Session still = "SES"

[Tim Tuthill]

D-Sub: I paid less than $150/night last year at Snowmass for 2. We walked 200 ft put on our boards carved down to the lift, and away we went!! Bomber gets the lift tickets for $42 bucks a day. Can you say real cheap!!! Come up and ride with me this season!! Tim

[Aisling]

D-sub, i'm with ya... if i can find a way to save up enough money i so want to go to the SES....

do folks do any group condo-ing like we did at the ECES this year?

[oldvolvosrule]

Me too!! I wanna go this year, I missed last year, I don't want to miss another one. I'm all for rooming with fellow carvers to keep the $$$ affordable.

[D-Sub]

Originally posted by Aisling
D-sub, i'm with ya... if i can find a way to save up enough money i so want to go to the SES....

do folks do any group condo-ing like we did at the ECES this year?

would I look like the typical male if I were to say "I'll room with ya" right now?

[D-Sub]

Originally posted by Tim Tuthill
D-Sub: I paid less than $150/night last year at Snowmass for 2. We walked 200 ft put on our boards carved down to the lift, and away we went!! Bomber gets the lift tickets for $42 bucks a day. Can you say real cheap!!! Come up and ride with me this season!! Tim

$42!?!?!?!?!?!

at SNOWMASS?

Im fckin THERE

i would love to meet you, Tim. Youd be a huge inspiration, and a nice buffer against my fear of "getting old"

[fishrising]

How far is it / how long is it by car, from Denver out to Aspen Valley? I've done the Denver to Silverthorn area many times, but I don't remember how far it is out to Aspen...

I've got frequent flyer miles, and friends who live in Denver, so I may be able to do this cheaply, if it's not a 4 hour ride each way...

Anyone know realistically how long it takes to drive? Sure, I can look it up on mapquest or yahoo maps, but I am looking for a "I've done that drive before and it takes X hours..." answer.

Or, is a daily bus ride possible? (I can't believe I am considering a bus ride, I guess I really want to go...)

The catch is that my wife (who skiis once a year) and our new born will join me, but they will stay in Denver with our friends while I head out to ride...maybe I can get away with 1 night out at Aspen...instead of driving back and forth.

I am from CT, so driving 3 hours each way to go skiing is not a big deal to me...

Thanks!

[Aisling]

Originally posted by D-Sub
would I look like the typical male if I were to say "I'll room with ya" right now?

hehe, well i suppose so... and maybe some chicks would be offended... but not me. LOL
heck, i'll room with ya !! its all about cost effectiveness people.

[Michelle]

How far is it / how long is it by car, from Denver out to Aspen Valley? I've done the Denver to Silverthorn area many times, but I don't remember how far it is out to Aspen...

Ok, let me give you the skinny on the driving times, etc. being that I just did it a few weeks ago.

Summer, 2 1/2 hours from Silverthorne to Aspen. Means from Denver, 3/12 -4 depending on what part of Denver, traffic, etc.

Winter: 3- 3 1/2 hours depending on conditions of the road and traffic from Silverthorne. Plan on another 1 1/2 - 2 hours from Denver depending on where in Denver you are starting from.

The drive is I-70 all the way except the last 45 minutes. However, on I-70 you go through Glenwood Canyon, which can be really hairy in the winter, as the road will sometimes freeze. Plan on going slow through the canyon, then it's interstate the rest of the way to Denver, but you have 2 passes to cross.

There is an airport in Aspen, also one in Eagle which is about 1/2 way. In the winter, they sometimes do specials flying in to Aspen. Once in Aspen, you will probably not have to rent a car, depending on where you are staying. If you are staying in Basalt, Carbondale, or Glenwood, you may have to because it is about 1/2 hour to 1 hour drive from the Airport. However, staying in Snowmass, Aspen, Buttermilk you can take shuttles to your hotel/condo, and busses to and from the resorts. During the day they are free, at night they are $2. They also have taxis.

Snowmass is about 20 minute drive from Aspen, Buttermilk and Highland are in between. I will post maps on the SES site.

Lodging: You will get the best deals on lodging if you are booking for 5 or more nights. Since Aspen is a destination resort, they plan their deals around people staying for a week. I have really researched this so that people on a budget will be able to afford lodging. If you can collaborate with a few people and share a condo, you will get the best deal. You can get a condo in town or at Snowmass for $150-200/night, and usually that will sleep 4+ people. I will be posting whatever I have found on the "Lodging" part of the SES page, so check there. I have also found some B&Bs that are affordable, and some hostel type places for singles that are $50+/night. So there are options. Best bet is to get on this forum, meet people, and share a condo. You can also stay at places like "Motel6" and such if you go out of Aspen valley to Basalt, Carbondale, or Glenwood. Basalt is about a 1/2 hour drive from Snowmass, Glenwood is about 1 hour. If you have a car and don't mind driving, that might be the option for you.

Family stuff: there are so many things to do in Aspen that if you don't ski/ride, you can entertain yourself. If you have a family, there is dogsledding, movies, shopping, rec centers, cross country skiing, sledding in parks, etc etc etc. No one will be bored! If you haven't been to Aspen, it is a Town first, and then a ski resort. Lots of people live there on a daily basis, and it's pretty cool.

Food: If you are staying in a condo, I recommend buying food at the store and cooking at home, with maybe a lunch/breckfast out and a dinner here or there. The prices for dinners are not much more than Summit County, although you can eat at some pretty swank places you can also eat for realtively inexpensive. There are lots of great resturants, and a couple of grocery stores including City Market and some health food stores.

Lift Tickets: We have not yet determined the prices for the lift tickets yet, but yes, it will be under $50/day only for those participating in the SES. I will probably only have 6 day tickets, so the normal "can I go for just 3 days" may or may not apply through Bomber. you may be on your own for those, haven't decided yet. It really gets to be a huge issue when EVERYONE wants something special, and I have to keep it all in my mind (there's only so much space in there, and I've got 100 people I am trying to keep organized for a week!).

If you still have questions, check the SES site. If you still have more questions, email me . You will get a much better response the earlier you plan, because come Nov Bomber gets a little crazy.

Hope to see you all there! With the early response we are having, I think it will be a really big event, probably the biggest we have seen so far. YAHOOO!!!!

[rekre8r]

My wife and I would love to attend this sesion. We like the $150-$200 per night condo option. Anyone interested in splitting that with us? Michelle where do we want to stay? We would be driving down from Montana. Am so looking forward to seeing more than one Alpine rider on the mountain at at time.
Robert

[Michelle]

In answer to your question "where do we want to stay" it all depends on your budget. You can stay in Aspen Valley if you can find someone to share a condo with, or do a B&B. Or, if you want to go a bit cheaper, stay in Basalt or Carbondale or Glenwood Springs, but be ready to drive a bit after riding/after parties. If you are staying in Aspen Valley, either Snowmass or Aspen proper would be good. The Bomber crew is staying in Aspen, which is where the town is and the "night life" is, although the after party events hosted by Bomber will probably not be in Aspen. Snowmass is a little less expensive, not much, but there is no "town" feeling, it is a resort. You can't walk from Snowmass to Aspen, it is about a 20 minute drive. You would also be limited in restuarants in Snowmass, unless you drove to Aspen for a night or something of that sort.

Keep the questions coming.....

[D-Sub]

Originally posted by Aisling
hehe, well i suppose so... and maybe some chicks would be offended... but not me. LOL
heck, i'll room with ya !! its all about cost effectiveness people.

yeah..honestly...Id love to come to this, and I certainly cant afford a condo all by myself. might actually have a motorhome by that point though...

consider me 75% there. really would love to ride with some expert carvers. never have before. Im sure it will be humbling but at the same time Ill get to walk away with some improved skills

[Aisling]

D-Sub,

i'm no expert, i'm barely a novice, and all these folks are super nice and helpful! if you make it you will have a blast. I did at ECES and even though i looked like i'd just gotten the hell kicked outta me afterwards, (bruises, wrecked thumb) i loved every minute of it.

because its only just getting to be august, i would say i'm 75% there as well. haha

saving my pennies right now...

[Jim Callen]

There is a free shuttle service going from snowmass to aspen that runs until 5, and after that it's 3 dollars, I believe. That runs until 2:15 AM. It's very convienient to have, and if you get a place downvalley, you can still catch the busses as they run prety often as well, albeit I'm not sure how much they are.

And to respond to the food thing, I think it'd be your best bet to go to restaurants here in Snowmass and Aspen, as opposed to going to the store and buying food. The store food is crazily expensive, and for a few bucks more and less of a hassle, you can get some really good food, you just have to know where to go. The Artisan restaurant in snowmass has the best food I've ever eaten, and their entrees don't go over $25, so it is more than possible to find good food for not too expensive. You'll probably want to get some breakfast foods at the store, but some of the hotels and condos have continental breakfasts, so those work well too.

[D-Sub]

unfortunately, $25 a meal IS a lot to me

[Aisling]

I'm there with ya... i tend to look for 10 bucks and under LOL...

but i am still in school after all :-p

[D-Sub]

well, heres my deal

My mom lives in Paonia, which is only like a 2 hour drive...so...I'll have a good base to start from. I can certainly stock up on dry/canned goods to stay on the cheap

heh. she also has a tiny trailer I could take, but...I think itd be a bit too cold for that ****, altho I do have a bag rated to -20 (actually lived in a van in Crested butte for about 6 weeks from the end of october to mid december. wasnt exactly warm

dunno...Id just really really really really really really (is that enough reallys?) like to ride with yall, learn about the new techniques (this straight board and super rigid binding system doesnt feel right to me yet)...

Im sure there are ways to cut costs. always are

[MozzMann]

OK My state of Play at present I'll be flying out of Oz on the 6th and Arrive Denver on the 6th (weired eh) 2:30 PM , I'll possibly get a Bus to Aspen or be Hireing a Van Similar to my own car here. ( Opps scratch that just been advised I can fly in and out of Aspen )

I have arranged a 14 night stay in Aspen WITH 14 Day 4 Mountain lift pass for $1500 AUD through a local Snow Travel agent .
Now if I can't get a friend to come with me I'll have spare room( I think) and since I'll be in Aspen a week ahead of time I might if asked nicely be able to pick others up from the Airport.

I resheduled my Air fares took a bit of haggeling but it's done now.$ 1740 Aud

Touch wood it looks like I'm there

Mozz

[D-Sub]

wow. someones got some cash

need a personal assistant?

[MozzMann]

Nah mate it's called saving likabastard for 2 years to get there .

Iwant to get some quality shots for my Oz Carve web site.
I just heard that the price willbe a bit higher than I had planned but I'm still headin' your way. there ain't no way you yanks are gunna have all the fun

[D-Sub]

nice, man. Good to have some aussies there. fun folk!

[Aisling]

mozz, how ya goin? i've a very dear friend who has lived in melbourne for the past few years. irish transpant to Oz.
i love aussie folks!
good luck w the trip planning