[quote=ctr70]”I also must have lift-serviced skiing within a couple of hours of my home, so Florida is out for me”
If you are talking about Big Bear, I wouldn’t even call that skiing. I would rather not ski at all than go to Big Bear.
You have a crushing 7 hour drive to get to Mammoth to get any real skiiing living in SD. With all the money you would save on housing in FL, you could just fly to REAL skiiing in Utah or CO 3-4 times a year! A flight from FL to Salt Lake is faster than driving to Mammoth.[/quote]
Well, I’m kinda glad you feel that way, because it’s already plenty crowded. I ride primarily at Baldy now. I went to Snow Summit once last season, and had plenty of fun. I also go to Mountain High. I can think of plenty of things I’d rather do less on a beautiful winter morning than go snowboarding in Southern California. My drive to Mammoth in June was 5 hours and 40 minutes, BTW.
Me in Florida ain’t going to happen. If my wife and I could find better employment in Salt Lake area, I’d have to seriously consider it. Same for other snowski-superior markets, such as Portland and Seattle or Denver, although I hear that I-70 drive can be nuts. My brother lives in Fort Collins and lifts seem like a world away for him compared to his past living in CO and Sierra mountains.
Edit: To add that hiking at Palomar and Laguna can’t compare to Yosemite/Sierra or what I imagine best of, say, PNW to be, but I still do it and enjoy it.
Hanging out at the beach and swimming in 63-degree Pacific on a sunny August day ain’t the pinnacle of beach play, but I still do it and enjoy it.
