Summary, Best of , Takeaways, Tips and Recommendations!

It was a great trip and our only regret was the lack of new snow, everything else was great.  I am sure we will do something similar in the future maybe the Southern Rockies, Canada or the Pacific Northwest.  Here are a some observations, recommendations and tips.

Best of:
Best Large Hotel - St. Regis Deer Valley
Boutique Hotel - Knob Hill Inn Sun Valley, Honorable mention Rusty Parrot Jackson Hole
Best Bed - Rusty Parrot, it was so comfortable
Best Breakfast - Rusty Parrot
Best Hot Tub- Summit Hotel in Big Sky has a pool that is a hot tub located adjacent the ski slope
Best On Mountain Dinner - Everett's 8800 at Big Sky accessible by ski lift
Best Cabin Dinner - Trail Creek at Sun Valley
Best Mountain - Jackson Hole
Most Crowded - Steamboat Springs as we were there on President's Day
Least Crowded - Yellow Stone Club, averages 175 people per day
Best Geyser - Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park
Best Wildlife - At Grand Teton National Park
Best Cruiser Runs - Sun Valley Warm
Steepest Runs - Jackson Hole
Best Bar - Mangy Moose Jackson Hole
Most Upscale Vibe - Sun Valley
Best Thrift Shop - Gold Mine Thrift Shop in Ketchem
Best Tram - Snowbird
Most Iconic Ski Resort - Tie Sun Valley and Alta
Oldest Demographic Skiers - Sun Valley
Fastest Lifts - Deer Valley, all high speed except for 2
Most Comfortable - Yellowstone Club with bubbles
Best Gondola - Jackson Hole, longest
Best Chairlift - Challenger at Sun Valley 2,850 vertical
Most Amazing Resort - Yellowstone Club
Best Ski Day - Jackson Hole with Tommy Moe, Honorable Mention Yellowstone with Hank Kashiwa
Most Scenic Drive - tie for the a) 40 miles directly south of Big Sky and b) the 50 miles South of Jackson
Best Canyon Drive - Glenwood Canyon near Glenwood Springs Colorado, second Hoback River Canyon south of Jackson
Best Dinner - St. Regis  J&G Grill Wine Vault with Caymus Vintner
Best Mountain View Dining - Summit at Snowbird
Best Lunch - Rainbow Lodge at Yellowstone Club
Best Photo Ops - Grand Teton Nat. Park with Brad Schwarm of Alpenglow
Favorite Adaptive Ski Programs Visited - National Ability Center, STARS, Eagle Mont
Best On Mountain Cabin - Yellowstone Sugar Shack
Best Runs - Beatlemania YC, Warm Springs SV, Paint Brush JH
Best Wine  - Lail 2010 John Daniel Cabernet Sauvignon
Best Internet Service - Holiday Inn West Yellowstone
Most Common Response about our trip - "Can I go with you"
Best Charity Event - NAC Red White and Snow
Best Business Event - Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets Summit

Takeways
2000 miles, 19.5 MPG, 5 states, no car issues, $1.79/g average gas
Hotels - $125-$325, not counting the St Regis
14 ski days, 9 ski resorts, 50+ friends, 100 new friends and many experiences
Mountain Collective pass averaged $50 per day, no lift discounts at Big Sky or Steamboat
Only bummers - my cousin's wife Jen broke her shoulder and we would have like more powder
Surprises - much warmer and less new snow than planned but plenty of base snow
The natural beauty of the Northern Rockies was spectacular, See the USA
Driving was easy if you have good weather, a good vehicle and keep it to 6 hours a day every few days
Learning to blog and video interview was  not too hard but it does take time and planning
It was great to see friends but also our 2 sons, cousin and wife and former college roommate
We had time for skiing, sightseeing, as well as philanthropy and business
Our auto packing system worked great- skis inside car and clothing bar across the second row passenger seats
We enjoyed several hotel room with wood burning fireplaces
People were very friendly everywhere.
We noticed that previously the we flew to ski areas we missed much of the natural beauty that you can only see by driving
It was interesting to compare resorts one after the other under the same conditions rather that years apart.

Recommendations
Plan ahead, make hotel reservations in advance, otherwise you risk being in less quality lodging
We also made most of our dinner reservations in advance if you want to go to better places
Have a good SUV with good winter tires
Bring a wide variety of clothes and skis for all conditions, we brought 3 pairs of skis each
Every hotel has internet so you are not off the grid unless you want to be

Photo Tips

Taking ski videos on the iPhone worked well as long as it was sunny
For interviews we used a directional microphone that attaches to the iPhone
Use the mic windscreen if you are outdoors, we learned the hard way on this
Use a pocket camera also, it is much faster to use than an iPhone and better in low light and with flash
While driving have your DSLR camera with telephoto zoom lens ready for wildlife shots
We used 3 cameras, nikon DSLR, canon pocket camera and iPhone

Blog

We had never blogged before.  It actually was pretty easy and fun.  It gives you a record of your trip and friends seemed to like it.  We used the "Blogger" online software.  I suggest practicing in advance before you go on the trip.  Transferring photos and videos took a little bit to figure our but then it is pretty easy.  I uploaded all video to You tube then used a link in Blogger to show it.  The photos generally can be uploaded direct from you phone or camera or connected with an SD card. to laptop or I pad.  I would recommend having a laptop but an iPad or similar will do.  Try to create the blog posts within 24 hours so you do not forget the details.  We also used a journal/logbook to record mileage, weather conditions and other notes.

It was a great trip and we suggest other give it a try!

Red White and Snow begins

RWS is the 3 day fundraiser for the National Ability Center, an Park City based entity that empowers individuals of all abilities.  www.discovernac.org  Kelley and Jim have been supporters of this organization for the last 5 years and Jim in in his second year serving on the board.  Our guests for this event include Bob and Tami Wille,  and Brad Calbert and Deb Courtney

The event kicked off Thursday night with a wine tasting event at the Stein Ericksen Lodge.  About 30 vintners participated in the event.  Friday begin with a ski with the legends event.  We skied with about 20 Olympians and many vintners.  We were all decked out in retro ski gear.  Friday lunch was at the St. Regis terrace with 250 people under sunny skies.  Friday evening we hosted a RWS vintner dinner for 30 at the St. Regis with Caymus wines as our vintner and Richard Samaniego as our chef for the J&G Grill.  Saturday we skied and attended the Gala event at the Montage.

 Deb Courtney

 Matt our NAC veteran with Kelley and Deb

Ready for the Gala Event

Richard Samaniego J&G Grill Head Chef

Skiing Alta an Iconic resort

Thursday we traveled to the top of the Little Cottonwood Canyon to ski Alta, an iconic resort.  That morning my cousin Les and his wife Jen, who broke her shoulder, departed for the drive back to Northern California.  Alta is a a unique place, that has an "Old School" feel to it.  Alta along with Deer Valley is one of the two resorts in the U.S. that do not allow snowboarders.  Alta is thought of as being synonymous with Powder snow.  However, on our trip it had not snowed substantially in several weeks, so we were skiing "groomers" on a partly sunny and fairly warm day (35 degrees at the top and 45 at the bottom).  The result was little crowds and we had a very nice half day of skiing.  We were able to use our Mountain Collective pass.

In the afternoon we went down to Salt Lake City to visit our son Matt who has recently relocated to this town.  We had a very good visit with Matt.  Then back up to Park City to get ready for the next event, Red White and Snow, the three day fundraiser for the National Ability Center which Kelley and I have supported for several years.  The event kicked off with a wine tasting at the Stein Ericksen lodge.  Later that night four of our friends arrived.  More about RWS in the next blog. post

Deer Valley with Cushman and Wakefield

Sunday afternoon we checked into the St. Regis Deer Valley.   Our cousin Les Seely and his wife Jennifer joined us.  They have also been on a road trip traveling from Northern California to New Mexico, skiing Taos, Pajarito and then  on to Vail.  Sunday evening was the beginning of the Cushman and Wakefield Capital Markets Summit event.  It started with a reception and dinner at the St. Regis attended by about 125 real estate professionals.

Monday was group ski day .  We skied in a group of 8 with Olympian Tracy Evans, an aerialist.  We all had a great ski morning.  In the afternoon we raced Nastar as a group.  Kelley did great beating me on the first run, I beat her on the second.  Kelley had the 3rd fastest combined time including all the men.  Tommy Moe and Erik Schlopy raced and Eric edged out Tommy by a nose. A very fun time.  In the evening the whole group went to Riverhorse Restaurant which was very good.

On Tuesday, we skied with our real estate friends Andy and Kate Ebbott and Joe Nevarauskas.  It was cloudy at first but then the sun came out for a warm spring skiing day.