Camping on the mountain??? How much trouble??? Would it be ok to do this???

Kevo

Active member
So if hypothetically a certain person (me) and a certain girl decided to dig a snowcave deep in the woods at Vail so as to #1 Have an amazing night and #2 get two days for one on our passes how fucked would we be if we got caught? Also, say we were to go through a backcounty gate (the one on top of the hike in Sun Down Bowl for those of you who know Vail) and camp just on the other side of it, would that be ok? We were thinking we could do that and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it if it was a huge issue to camp in bounds.
 
No way man, we both have -15f bags and caves keep you warm, plus I have a stove and everything we need. We camped on top of Flagstaff Mountain this past saturday with no tent or bivy sack, just our bags and a tarp. Oh, and there are things that can be done to keep warm when it is just you and a girl.
 
Haha, fucking hilarious.

Flagstaff? I was there last time at this year-- staying with some relatives in Phoenix and was surprised at how cold it was up there. Pretty cool.

Anyways, good luck with that shit. Let us know how it turns out.
 
i camped out in a tent in the beginning of the year at my mountain. but we also don't have hotels n shit
 
how could you get two days out of your ticket? wouldnt they check and see that it was from the day before and give you the old no dice?
 
Yeah I have a colorado pass with unlimitted to Breck, Keystone, and A Basin and 10 days at Vail/Beaver Creek. Vail only checks passese on the bottom of the mountian on the front side and if we camp up top or on the backside or in bluesky we will never even get close to where they scan passes the second day. Again, cold isn't an issue, we both are experienced winter campers and have the right equipment, and like I said earlier, we camped on top of flagstaff mountain outside of Boulder this past saturday with no tent and just a tarp- it was in a huge windstorm/snowstorm where trees were getting blown over and we were fine because we just cuddled up real tight and kept warm.
 
resorts that have a backside (like stevens pass and silverstar) dont usually have ticket checkers at the bottom of the lifts there. My dad was hiking BC at stevens a few years ago and ran into a small plywood lean-to with two guys cooking breakfast in it. Apparently they go and build a shack every year way out in the BC and then hike to it and ski free turns down the backside for as many days as they want.

Stealing is very bad though, but i thought it was a cool story.
 
are you guys on vail property when you do this? If not vail cant say anything because you are not on their property!
 
ff we go through the backcountry gate, we would be just outside Vail's property, which is why I think it would be ok.
 
just find a little monkey trail into some trees and camp in the middle of the woods, then no one will know your there. me and a buddie did that at tremblant like three years ago and it worked out fine. just watch out for the groomer when you ski down in the morning
 
camping back country isnt that cold.. havent you all campedin the winter.. snow caves are warm as ballz.. If you have your ski gear and warm bagz that'd be a nice little thing to try actually. I know people that do that telemarking, but not on a moutanin. Its just like backpacking hiking, but on skis
 
i'd say go for it if you know what your doing when it comes to winter climbing/camping, people that say it will be too cold dont know what they are talkin about
 
someone sleeping in the snow at bachelor got killed. don't get killed, thats my advice.
 
im pretty sure that one of the reasons that they dign your pass at the bottom is to keep track of where you are, so at the end of the day so and so went up, and so and so went down, and if you get caught your fucked because there would prob. be search parties looking for you thinking your dead
 
they don't actually check when you come off the mountain do they? i've never been to vail, but i can't imagine the hassle that would be associated with scanning everyone when they leave. I always assumed they only use the passes to find you if you're reported missing.
 
wait, are you camping on a ski mounatin? or in the bc, if you are on a mountain, do they have night skiing cause when the days over, ski patrol checks all the trails and woods to see if people are hurt or whatever
 
i was actually thinking about this yesterday, not quite but like building a little hut in the woods, there are tons of places and not dangerous either, or maybe even like a really nice snowcave, how long do snowcaves last?
 
I would just bring a tent in a backpack and camp slightely out of bounds. A snow cave could cave in a and mean certain death. But other than that sweeet Idea!
 
not too sleep in even, just to make as a place to chill during the day and not have to go back to the lodge, and a place to hotbox,

and also yesterday i found out you can make mini hotboxes in the snow, just kick a hole in the snow, like 1 foot deep, and exhale into it, and the next person can use it, the smoke stays in for like 1 minute or so
 
So I think we are going to do it and just be barely on the other side of the backcountry gate in the white river national forest. For the record 1- the guy at batchelor was run over by a front end mounted snowblower in the parking lot, we will be up above the sun down bowl out of bounds where groomers don't go 2- we both have -15f bags, 3- the area we will be in is not avalanche prone at all, 4- snowcaves are warm, 5- Vail only scans passes at the base of the mountain when you go up and they have no night skiing. Plus you are legally alowed to exit through said backcountry gate. So I think it would really be ok. I think we are going to do it. We usually save our Vail days for pow, but 2 days for 1 would be worth it. Plus, waking up on top of the ridge above Sun Down with a perfect view of Mt. of the Holy Cross when it is in alpenglow...ahhhhhh it will be the most amazing 2 days ever!
 
i would suck if they did that blasting to start avalances and they hit you or you got hit by an avalance
 
Oh man...she just IM'd me and told me its going to snow on thursday and that she was looking forward to going this friday. i can't explain how excited I am right now. I had some of the best 2 days of my life with her this past weekend. We skied 2 epic powder days at Vail, spent the night at her friend's parent's house when they were out of town, and then camped out on top of Flagstaff Mountain (above boulder) in a snowstorm without a tent. And then to top things off, we went back to her apartment and fell asleep watching a ski movie. It was so amazing. I can't wait. It's like Christmas eve as a little kid.
 
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