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I’ve just returned from a July/Aug 2010 trip to ski the North and South Islands of New Zealand. We stayed in Queenstown on the South Island and Skied Coronet Peak and Treble Cone. Then we went to the North Island and skied Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu (believe it or not, Wh is pronounced as an ‘F’ in New Zealand)
 The Remarkables from Coronet Peak The words I would use to summarize New Zealand Skiing are ‘steep’ and ‘remote’. The mountains themselves rise straight up 3-4K ft from the valley floor (or sometimes a lake) and there is a 30 minute drive up an unpaved road with 1,000 ft drop-offs and no guardrails to get to any of the resorts. Just the trip there is worth the adventure if you like that sort of thing… It’s common for 4wd or chains to be required if there has been fresh snow.
 Remarkables from Queenstown Hill The mountains are extreme and straight up. There aren’t any condos or villages at the base, just a lodge (surprisingly nice ones!) perched on a less-steep place in the mountain where you can build something. The skiing is great if you like blacks. greens and blues? they exist and are groomed, but are usually cuts back and forth like a road. but they are more than catwalks or roads, usually 20 yds wide. There are also no trees and few rocks, so getting your bearing with flat light is something that takes getting used to when you’re used to trees being on your sides to orient you.
Don’t expect obstacles to be marked either. At Treble Cone, we were there on a powder day with 6″ of fresh and as we were swooping down the wide open bowls, we would run up on cliffs and rocks and even holes in the snow in the canyons where you drop into ice-cold stream. none were marked. it’s a true adventure…
Lifts are GREAT there. Modern high speed lifts service the terrain in most areas and there are lots of them, keeping lift lines manageable.
My favorite place of the 3 we tried was Whakapapa on the North Island mostly due to my preference for a more gentle slope and more varied terrain. Treble Cone was a very close second though and by far the best if you like extreme terrain. Coronet Peak, which is only 30 mins from Queenstown all the way up to the lodge was very crowded and the terrain was decent but nothing unique.
None of the areas had cross country or snowshoeing… it’s just not done in New Zealand since all of the snow falls on steep mountains.
New Zealand skiing doesn’t compare to Keystone or Colorado skiing, but is definitely worth the trip just for the scenery and to experience the sport in a whole new flavor.
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I’m ‘down under’ in Australia and New Zealand for 6 weeks with the family (me, my wife and two kids 13 and 17). It’s their Winter here of course, so we brought our gear along on the 15 hr flight and went to Australia’s premier ski field (as they call them) called Perisher and Blue Cow. It was an absolute BLAST skiing among the huge red boulders and Eucalyptus trees. The snow was mostly manmade, but covered well, and with the thousands of people on the slopes, the conditions were remarkably good in the rocks and trees (most of the aussies staid on the groomers!) Skiing is HUGE here with our daily lift ticket costing more than $100 (yikes) plus the $31 to ride the train and enter the national park where the ski are is. There isn’t much ‘vertical’ here (the resorts are at 5,000 ft and the mountain tops at 6,000) but they are well served with many many lodges and even my first 8-person high speed lift.
I enjoyed it immensely, but it doesn’t compare at all with the mountains of Keystone where you get much much more for much much lower cost. Lodging here is at least 4x the cost of similar lodging in Keystone with SkyRun making me realize how good we have it in Colorado…
I’ve attached a few photos to show you how different skiing in the ‘bush’ in Australia is. Our next destination = the Remarkables in New Zealand where we’ll spend 2 weeks.
 Riding the lift over the gum trees  Note the old-school 2-chair lift with the mid-west windmill looking poles... Tweet This Post
 Many think that Summer in the Colorado Rockies is the best time to be here. It’s 60-70 degrees in June and September 70-80 degrees in July and August, not humid at all, and you don’t even need air conditioning. And there is actually MORE to do in the Summer than in the Winter when the focus is on the World-class skiing. There are discounts available to SkyRun guests on almost all of these activities!
Below are our favorite things to do in the summer here:
Mountain Biking on hundreds of miles of flat or not-so-flat terrain. Or bike haul on the lifts and just ride down.
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Ride a van from Mountain View Sports up Vail Pass and coast down 12 miles without peddling.
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White water rafting in several area rivers that are 15 to 60 mins away
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Enjoy one of many Summer Festivals in Keystone.
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Golf on 3 championship courses
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Fly fishing in the Snake River. Lessons Available.
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Horseback riding at Keystone Stables
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Enjoy Keystone’s full service Aveda Spa – Best in Summit County
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Hiking on hundreds of trails, see some suggestions in your in-room resort guide.
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Boating or sailing on Lake Dillon
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Shopping at one of 50 Silverthorne Outlet Shops. The name brands you buy at discounts.
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 May 29th starts the traditional summer resort activities like golf and mountain biking, but also summer tubing sessions and the terrain park will be open for some short-sleeved sliding!
Summer Remix Event Details
Snow Tubing:
10:30am – 2:30pm, Saturday – Monday
$29 per hour
Scenic Lift/Gondola Rides:
10am – 5pm, Saturday – Monday
$12 per adult/$8 per child
Keystone Bike Park:
10am – 5pm, Saturday – Monday
$25 per adult/$15 per child
The River Course:
11am – 7pm, May 21 – October 3
Terrain Park Access:
10am – 2pm, Saturday – Monday
Lift access to Upper Flying Dutchman, atop Keystone with several rails and features in terrain park-style
Price: $12/pass holders and $18/non-passholders
Schedule
- Hawaiian Remix Tubing Sessions, Adventure Point – 10:30am – 2:30pm
- Featuring a live DJ, and a Hawaiian theme
- $29 for a (1) hour session
- Rail Park Remix, Flying Dutchman – 10am – 2pm
- Hit some sweet rails on our Flying Dutchman park
- Snow Cones, Gondola Plaza – 12pm – 2pm
- Free and delicious treat for your ride up the gondola
- Kid’s Face Painting, Summit House Patio – 11am – 2pm
- Free for all the boys and girls
- Keystone Bike Park, Keystone Resort – 10am – 5pm
- Enjoy a plethora of trails
- Downhill single track trail from mid-mountain down
- $25 for an adventurous day on the mountain!
- Golf is open at The River Course – book tee times from 11am – 7pm
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When the skyrun website was launched 4 years ago in keystone, it was acclaimed by guests and property owners as the most user friendly and informative site in the market.
Today, we take it to the next level with V2.0 of the skyrun website, launched for our Keystone, Copper, Breckenridge and Steamboat locations. This next version has many new features aimed at easier searching, better information and better display of pricing and photos, what our guests need most to make sure they’re getting the best condo for their money.
Check it out at keystone.skyrun.com!
 new skyrun keystone website Tweet This Post
From first-hand experience, I can attest that the enthusiasm for a family ski vacation can quickly turn sour if your children are hungry, cold, or worst, lost on the slope! Here are a few tips to ensure that your family ski vacation is one you can recount with positive stories.
Clothing: Make sure your children are dressed in layers. We all know that layering allows our bodies to accommodate our constantly changing temperature. Avoid cotton clothing as it retains moisture and try some of the readily available wicking fabric products. A Turtleneck, fleece and jacket are all a good idea and the little one’s can shed layers as necessary.
Body Fuel: Stuff your pockets with Powerbar-like snacks, nuts, and dried fruit. Inevitably, someone will want to quit before others are ready because of hunger.
Extras: Make sure to keep a gear bag in the car with extra clothing items like mittens, socks, headbands, sunglasses, goggles, sunscreen, and lip balm. long underwear and socks. If you’ve ever seen the monumental size of the lost and found boxes at ski resorts, you will know that is only inevitable that someone will forget something…
Protective Eyewear: I can’t emphasize this enough. I hear more horror stories from my ophthalmologist friends about the dangers of the Colorado sun on young eyes, especially when it reflects off the snow. Make sure your children have UV protective sunglasses or goggles.
Plan for Being Separated on the Slope. While we all hope it never happens, I can assure you, it can happen much faster than you think. Make sure you plan a meeting place before you begin skiing in the event your child becomes lost. The information booth is a good place or decide which lift you will ski next so if you get separated. Make sure your child carries a piece of paper in a secure pocket that has your home, cell and lodging phone number as well as your name. Inexpensive walkie talkies are now available and are a big hit on the slopes.
Planning a little in advance ensures a great adventure, fun, laughter. It is a wonderful feeling to know that your children’s fondest childhood memories were of your family ski vacations.
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When a family decides to vacation in a beach or mountain resort, they usually stay in a Vacation Rental vs. a traditional hotel room. A Vacation Rental is a condo or a home that is owned by a private person (not a company) and maintained and service by someone (a property manager) it from someone who provides keys and services to them. This article provides an insiders look at the typical economic and business relationships between the parties involved.
There are 4 basic roles in a vacation rental transaction.
Guest -> Sales -> Property Manager -> Property Owner
Guest: Rents a property
Sales: Represents and is knowledgeable about one or more properties. (examples ski.com or vacationroost.com)
Property Manager: Provides on-site services to maintain, secure and clean the property and service the guests (or property owners) needs while in the property. They also coordinate the calendar so that only one guest or the owner is using the property. (examples skyrun.com)
Property Owner: Owns the property, pays the mortgage and utilities, maintenance, etc.
These 4 functions exist in every vacation rental transaction. Traditionally, the financial flow has been that the guest pays the property sales function (often called ‘tour operator’ or ‘travel wholesaler’ or the old term ‘travel agent’) for the condo (say $1,000). The sales function keeps 10-20% and give the property manager 80-90% of the rental price ($800-$900 in our example). The property manger keeps 25-50% of that and pays the owner whats left ($400-$650). Everyone gets paid for their role in the transaction. It is common in the industry with ‘traditional’ property management companies to raise their website prices by 20% to be able to pay for the 20% commission the sales function takes.
However as we know the internet can ‘flatten’ any sales transaction. If one party fills more than one of the roles, one or two parties in the process can be eliminated and money typically saved.
There are two typical ways this is happening in the market today:
- Property Manager has its own sales function:
Guest -> Property Manager -> Owner
- Advantages:
- Can pick from many available properties.
- Can talk to knowledgeable person to help plan the trip.
- Property Manager has enough properties and guests to be able to negotiate discounts with local restaurants and shops for ski equipment and lift ticket and discounts which can save $thousands.
- Property manager is on-site for a more hotel-like service experience to handle lock-outs or maintenance issues.
- Disadvantage:
- Owner pays property manager, so three parties are involved serving the 4 functions.
- Rent from Owner: Guest -> Owner
- Advantages:
- Price is usually lower for the lodging – A skilled negotiator can negotiate directly with owner and haggle directly with the decision-maker.
- Owner is VERY knowledgeable about their specific property.
- By using a rent-from-owner website like VRBO.com, guest can look at and consider multiple properties from individual owners all over the world.
- Disadvantages:
- Takes more time/more phone calls – Have to talk to indvidual owners to consider multiple properties.
- No discounts available for non-lodging expenses.
- Owner is hours or more away from the property. To service the guest, the owner typically mails keys and then contracts with local cleaners and maintenance companies. There is frequently a charge added for cleaning by the owner for these services provided by 3rd parties.
So there are multiple parties involved that need to be paid even in the 2-party scenario, it’s just the owner that is coordinating them vs. the local property manager. So I’ll call this the 2+party scenario.
So both the 2+ and 3-party scenarios above have merit and both are better than the 4-party scenario. The scenario that SkyRun Vacation Rentals employs is a hybrid approach to these last two with the advantages of each. The basic premise is that when an owner contracts with a property manager to provide their guests services instead of contracting with individual cleaners and maintenance personnel, then everyone wins.
The property manager can provide the guest better service and discounts on other parts of their trip and provide the property owner one-stop shopping and 24×7 on-site support for their property and their guest.
The guest then has choice, they can rent from the owner directly on VRBO, or rent from the property managers’ website (www.SkyRun.com). Property managers like SkyRun and their owners can offer the guest all or part of the 20% they would pay the sales function. The property costs the same lower price whether rented directly from the owner or through SkyRun and the guest can even take advantage of specials on lift tickets etc offered by the property manager, whether the property rented directly from the owner, or from the property manager.
In summary, here is our advice:
- Look for property management websites like www.SkyRun.com vs. travel agent or wholesaler sites to save $’s. If you’re unsure, ask the company if they manage the properties directly or if they are offering properties from a variety of onsite property managers.
- When renting directly from an owner, look for a property that is professionally managed onsite. Then you get the best of both worlds. Low price and high service.
- And as always, look for the best TOTAL TRIP price including everything you’ll need and including all taxes/fees/etc.
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Wind rushing past my face,
Hair tossing behind my head
The feeling, the chill, the utter thrill.
The feeling I get when I’m flying down the hill.
Gliding across the soft blanket of white,
Weightless as if I were a feather.
Turn by turn, slope by slope, I take on the hill,
The monster of a mountain.
Moguls, jumps I challenge them all,
Wind rushing past my face,
Chilling me to my bones.
I feel the thrill swell, swell
Swell within me until I can’t hold it back.
Swoosh, swish, the snow billows up beside me
Into great clouds of white.
I can’t see a thing.
O the feeling, the thrill the utter chill,
The feeling I get when I’m skiing.
- Anne Cox – Age 11
 The poem author Anne at Keystone Tweet This Post
Many people don’t realize that Keystone has the most terrain of any resort in Summit County at 3,144 acres of in-bounds terrain. The mountain has a very unique 3 mountain-deep orientation where both base areas are on the front, then there is a back, then another front, then another back (with 3 bowls) then another front with 2 more bowls!
The first mountain is called Durcum Mountain named after Max and Edna Durcum, the founders of Keystone. It’s slopes are wide, long (2,500 of vertical top to bottom) and vary from gently sloped greens to blues with a few black diamond runs. The longest green run anywhere is here called ‘Schoolmarm’. Schoolmarm is wide and gentle through all of it’s 3.5 miles. Many long green runs are actually narrow fire roads. Schoolmarm is a great slope from top to bottom. It’s probably because of Schoolmarm that Keystone has a reputation as a green or blue groomer resort. It’s not…
Because off the back of Durcum mountain is blue cruiser Mozart, and 2 black runs (one groomed, one bumped) that take you down to the back of Durcum where you can come back (on the Ruby Express 6-chair) or head into the ‘Outback’ which is what the 2nd mountain is called. Use Mozart as a last resort, it’s the most crowded and worst snow conditions in the whole resort. It’s hard to imagine why so many people are on it, but let them stay there leaving the rest of the mountain for you… The Windows trees to the left of Mozart are a great find on a powder day virtually ignored and not really as hard as they look. They do get harder and harder the deeper you go into them, so pick your way down and dump into Mozart with the rest of the crowds as far down as you dare.
The outback (2nd mountain) has blue cruisers on all sides. They’re all wide, impeccably groomed and only one of them is popular. Try Alamo here for a blue groomer. The hidden/ignored runs on the Outback are right under the chair (geronimo) and even better are the runs the left of geronimo that are usually completely ignored. black, long, steady and bumpy, but powdery a week after a dump.
You can also hike (or take a cat trip) behind the outback restaurant (the best place to eat on the mountain during the day or night), to ericksson, independance and bergman bowls. all 3 great and worth the trip. The hike is long to the bowls (45-60 mins) but there are lots of places to jump into the trees before you get there where again, you’ll be alone. Make sure someone knows where you are, or better yet, ski with a friend.
On the 3rd mountain (North Peak) is one blue groomer (perfect and wide and WAY too crowded). But like the rest of Keystone, there are other places to go that are uncrowded and hidden. To the skiiers left from the top are some of the best blue treed glades I’ve ever found. the trees are wide and the terrain varied from gentle pitches to a few hidden canyons. There are also 2 hidden blue runs here (Elk Run) that appear on the ski maps but are hard to find… you ski down through a few widely spaced trees and then voila, they open up. Usually one is groomed and the other is not.
The terrain to the skiiers right from the top of the 3rd mountain is similar in that it’s treed and opens up to 3 or 4 open runs, except it’s BLACK and steeper than the terrain on the left.
And if you crave above tree-line skiing, a 15 min hike or a $5 snow cat ride is available straight ahead from the top of North Peak to 2 more bowls. The North Bowl to the left is steep at the beginning and the farther over you go, the gentler it gets. If you go all the way to the right (where the cat takes you), the pitch is an easy blue. South Peak has a steep entry (and a cornice to jump off of if you go in early to the right) and wide open deep snow for 10-20 turns before you get into a treed canyon run that is like a luge run. If you don’t like tight spaces and speed, stay out of South Bowl.
And I haven’t even mentioned the #3 ranked terrain parks, tubing hills, beginning areas, kids forts and tunnels and tree runs or a few more powder stashes that will remain ‘mine’ forever…
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I am typing this from a ski-in ski-out condo in Lone Eagle slope-side at Keystone on ‘Black Friday’. The family is still mostly asleep, but we’re heading out for early morning skiing soon. Keystone did a GREAT job this year of getting 10 slopes open for Thanksgiving. They had the tubing hill AND mountain house, which eased the congestion dramatically.
My wife and I headed up to the little town of Montezuma, just 10 mins to the East of here for some snowshoeing and xc skiing on their plethora of free trails. the snow cover is STUNNING up there. no rocks, plenty of fresh snow. There are many trails, but we trecked up to Saints John one day and up the main valley past the Ben Rothelsberger home another day (is that ‘The’ Ben R? does anyone know?)
Hat’s off to Keystone, and of course hats off to families and holidays where they can reconnect and recharge in the Colorado Rockies.
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