Holiday Weekend Survival Guide
The New Year is here, and many of the resorts out West are off to a fantastic start. Powder-starved locals are getting their fill, and plenty of holiday tourists have had their minds blown by some of the best before-Christmas snow many mountains have seen in a while.
The week after New Year’s also means Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Presidents Day are coming up in a hurry, which means the busiest times of the entire winter season are upon us. But you know what? That doesn’t mean you can’t still have an awesome time. After all, a busy day on the mountain still beats out pretty much any day at work.
Whether you’re traveling across the country to ride the resort of your dreams, or a local just trying to enjoy your day off, here are a few tips to keep in mind when navigating the holiday-weekend crowds.
Show up early—or late
Exactly how early will depend on the mountain, but with parking spots becoming increasingly rare at many resorts, it’s better to err on the side of caution. After all, you can always enjoy a nice leisurely stretch or a cup of coffee in the lodge if you need to kill some time after putting your
boots on—but sitting in multiple hours of traffic and starting your day in the afterglow of recently departed road rage is
not the way you want to go.
The other option is showing up in the afternoon—parking spots tend to open up around 1:00 pm, and lift lines usually die down while the masses are in the lodge eating lunch. Speaking of…
Pack a lunch
You know how after a few hours of getting after it, you start to work up an appetite for cheese fries, chili, and all the other hot, hearty foods they serve in the lodge? So do the thousands of other people on the mountain. Unless you’ve got a thing for throwing elbows to secure a seat (maybe it scratches the same itch as a good mosh pit?) you should probably pack a lunch during peak-crowd days. Besides, everybody knows sandwiches taste a little bit better after they’ve been slightly smashed in your
jacket pocket.
Head on a swivel
Holiday-weekend crowds mean there will be a certain amount of children, beginners, and terrified adults doing the pizza-wedge or heelside skid, often unpredictably across the entire slope. Stay sharp and keep your
headphones at a level that lets you hear what’s going on around you, as you may need to make unexpected evasive maneuvers. Give people plenty of room, and try not to sneak up on anyone—when passing in close quarters, give an “on your left”, or at least make strange Yeti noises so they know you’re there. Remember, keeping everyone safe is more important than being right about who has the right-of-way.
Pick your spots
While almost all resorts will have some lift lines on busy weekends, you can get more runs out of your day on the mountain by being a little bit choosy with your terrain. Holiday crowds tend to go for the most easily accessible high-speed chairlifts—so if you’re fortunate enough to be riding a mountain with some variety, look for slower or more out-of-the-way lifts. They’ll usually have shorter lines, and are often hiding powder stashes in trees and gullies that most people pass by without a second thought.
Be excellent to each other
If you’re a grumpy old local who thinks holiday crowds are a scourge upon your town, remember they’re the main reason your favorite resort stays in business. Showing a little patience toward the person who accidentally cut you off or ran over your
snowboard in the lift line is much better than letting a minor annoyance ruin your day.
Similarly, if you’re on vacation at a ski resort, try to be understanding if a lift breaks down, terrain is closed due to avalanche danger, or the snow isn’t quite what you expected. Mountain employees are generally doing their best, and if the lifties had weather machines, it’d never stop snowing!
Whether you’re a once-a-year vacationer or a lifelong
ski bum, we’re all there for the same reason: because we love playing in the snow. Take the right attitude into holiday weekends, and you might find yourself enjoying some interesting conversations on the chairlift—or at least an exciting game of human slalom on your way back down to the car.
TJ Parsons is a semi-reformed snowboard bum who now has a semi-adult career as a professional writer and creative. He's a self-proclaimed perpetual intermediate who thinks the outdoors are for everyone, and who wants to help dismantle gatekeeping and elitism in outdoor sports. When he's not squeezing brain juice into a keyboard, you'll find him riding boards or bikes throughout the Intermountain West.
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