White water rafting and down hill skiing

[jIMOh]

My ER will be spent on the slopes 5 days per week in winter, then I will raft on the melted snow in spring.
WHERE do you think are the best locations for these activities.

Colorado is my favorate (good climate to boot) and most articles I have read suggest reasonable tax rates for retirees.

West Virginia is the next best place, not sure I could convince wife to move to sticks of WV, though.

 

[youbet]

My ER will be spent on the slopes 5 days per week in winter........West Virginia is the next best place, not sure I could convince wife to move to sticks of WV, though.

WV for ski slopes? Really? Wasn't aware of that.

Look at northern Wis or the UP of Mich for having both ski slopes and white water opportunities. Just as remote as WV though, maybe more so.

 

[sarahsays]

West Virginia is the next best place, not sure I could convince wife to move to sticks of WV, though.

It would be really cheap! And the country is beautiful.

 

[jIMOh]

WV for ski slopes? Really? Wasn't aware of that.

Look at northern Wis or the UP of Mich for having both ski slopes and white water opportunities. Just as remote as WV though, maybe more so.

Not sure what mountain range is there- but it's part of Appalachan range which runs through central PA and up through upstate NY and into Vermont.

I think 90% of WV is in Mountains. The parts I have driven on (I-70, I-68 and I-79) make that appear to be true.

 

[honobob]

Reno or Tahoe!

 

[RunningBum]

WV is definitely worth considering. The New River has some great rafting. Gauley season in the fall (4 or so weekends when they open the dam) is said to be as good as any in the world. I've talked to guides who've also rafted out west and they say that WV is as good or better than anything out there. The only advantage of the west is that you can take longer, multi-day trips if that's your thing.

Snowshoe has the best skiing in the state. I still haven't been there myself, but I understand it has pretty good variety and snow. You won't confuse it for Colorado, and the season isn't as long, but it's much better than some of the smaller hills.

The problem is that Snowshoe isn't exactly adjacent to the rafting. I don't know exactly how far, but check it out if you are considering this. A much closer ski area to rafting is Winterplace, down in the SE corner, but it's a small hill. Winterplace is about the same size as Wintergreen, where I live. Personally, I don't get that bored skiing the same few runs over and over. I'd prefer having a Colorado sized resort, but I'm in Virginia for other reasons, and the skiing is good enough. I take a week or two out west for better skiing.

The rafting outfitters are mostly on US 19, a 4 lane highway north of Beckley, which has two interstates running through it. But to get to a launch point upriver you travel some narrow windy backroads.

I don't know anything about Colorado rafting to know which resorts good rivers are near. Some of the Colorado ski areas can be pretty remote too. It depends on what your idea of "the sticks" is. If it's access to a big city, you may be closer to Baltimore and DC in WV than you are Denver in some areas of Colorado.

 

[RunningBum]

WV for ski slopes? Really? Wasn't aware of that.

Look at northern Wis or the UP of Mich for having both ski slopes and white water opportunities. Just as remote as WV though, maybe more so.

Snowshoe has a 1500 foot drop and 230 acres. Granted this is tiny compared to anything out west, but I don't think anything in Wisc/Mich has that kind of elevation.

 

[haha]

Reno or Tahoe!

Perfect place. Reno- "Biggest Little City in the World".

Ha

 

[brewer12345]

Other place that comes to mind is Utah.

 

[jIMOh]

Snowshoe has a 1500 foot drop and 230 acres. Granted this is tiny compared to anything out west, but I don't think anything in Wisc/Mich has that kind of elevation.

I went to college in MI and did not take the skiing comment in MI to seriously.

 

[TromboneAl]

No question, Tahoe area. But it's crowded and you're going to get bored with those activities very quickly.

My take on rafting: Long periods of boredom punctuated with moments of terror.

 

[Razor]

Is the Cahulawassee river in West Virginia? Great whitewater river but watch out for toothless, shotgun totin hillbilies that like pork.

 

[honobob]

No question, Tahoe area. But it's crowded and you're going to get bored with those activities very quickly.

Midweek the slopes and the river are pretty empty. Good reason to work odd days or be retired. In the middle of the week your legs will give out before the day is over because you ride up, ski down, no lift lines, repeat. Bored? Augment with cheap booze and waitresses in the casinos!

 

[Caroline]

Reno or Tahoe!

I'll second that.

I don't know much about downhill skiing, but the skinny skiing is very fine, and the whitewater rafting cannot be beat out here. You have dozens of rivers to choose from -- every one a unique experience.

My take on rafting: Long periods of boredom punctuated with moments of terror.

You're right on the terror part, Al, but that is exactly the POINT! If you want to avoid the boredom, try the mighty "T" -- the Tuolumne. NO boredom, ALL terror. Highest clench-factor in the west, IMHO.

Whitewater Rafting Mile-by-Mile Guide for the Tuolumne

 

[RunningBum]

My take on rafting: Long periods of boredom punctuated with moments of terror.

Rafting is another great midweek activity. You go through some rapids, and in a few places you paddle back into a hole (there's a name for it that escapes me right now) and ride in it until the guide gets bored and starts rocking it to toss people. You can request the mild ride and they won't do that, but if you want the wild ride, you'll be going overboard. On weekends, I don't think they have much time for that.

On the New River, there's not really any long boring stretches. Two or three places where you have time to get in the water and swim and cool off is about it.

 

[HFWR]

Per Gallagher:

Skiing - that's not a sport. You get on top of a slippery mountain with sleds on your feet, and you go down. Big deal; try not to. Go up. Now that would be a sport...

 

[RunningBum]

You're right on the terror part, Al, but that is exactly the POINT! If you want to avoid the boredom, try the mighty "T" -- the Tuolumne. NO boredom, ALL terror. Highest clench-factor in the west, IMHO.

Whitewater Rafting Mile-by-Mile Guide for the Tuolumne

Looks great!

Here's one top 10 rating of rivers for rafting:
Top 10 Whitewater Rafting Trips & Vacations | iExplore

Your Tuolumne ranks #2 in the world! The Gauley is #8 (but that would only be the 22 days of Gauley season in the fall, as the article notes).

 

[Leonidas]

I'll second Brewer on Utah. We just came back from our third trip to Park City.

I had an interesting conversation with the guy driving the parking lot tram at Deer Valley. He was a retired Teamster and worked there to provide for toy and beer money, and to get the free skiing for he and his wife.

Usually residents get a great deal on lift tickets, but a LBYM'er might be willing to trade a few hours a week for free skiing and beer money. Next season could be a good time to find a job at a ski resort, Congress has been roadblocking a lot of things and the type of visa they use to bring ski instructors up from South America to work during winter has not been re-approved.

 

[Nords]

My take on rafting: Long periods of boredom punctuated with moments of terror.

We're going to have to make you an honorary submariner. But hopefully it's not as a result of white-water rafting...

 

[deserat]

Live in NorCal now - ski during the week in Tahoe - no waiting on lift lines - day is over quick cuz legs give out Rafting - have done American River out here - pretty good.

If you are willing to go international, Switzerland or Austria offers the same - and awesome - did both in both countries - plus hiking when bored with that.

 

[Scrapr]

My ER will be spent on the slopes 5 days per week in winter, then I will raft on the melted snow in spring.


Why not do both? IN THE SAME DAY

Bend, Oregon

Ski Bachelor in the morning. Ski season is going to go long this year. They got a couple inches last weekend. This weekend more coming.

Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort - Mt. Bachelor

Raft in the afternoon.


Sun Country Tours: Compare all River Trips

water is going to be cold though

 

[mb]

Utah has great skiing and great rafting but they are in different parts of the state.

All the good ski resorts are in the north except for Brian Head which is in the southwest. All the good rafting rivers (Colorado, Green) are in the southeast.

They are separated by 2-4 hour drives.

I do know of a number of adventure athletes that maintain homes in both one of the Colorado ski areas and in the Moab area in eastern Utah. The climate in Moab is fairly mild it can use it as a place to get away from the winter snow.

Some possibilities that I haven't heard mentioned yet are western Idaho and New Mexico.

MB

 

[Walt34]

West Virginia is the next best place, not sure I could convince wife to move to sticks of WV, though.

It's not that bad. Most places do have electricity and indoor plumbing.

We're in the Panhandle at the northern end of the state.

There are three shopping malls within 30 minutes, one within 10 (although I'll admit it's small), three hospitals within 30 minutes, one within 10. We do not have rush hours - traffic at 5:00 PM Friday afternoon looks like DC at 10:00 AM Sunday morning. DC and Baltimore are both about an hour and a half away, but almost double that during rush hours. Many take the train to DC but that's a 2-hour trip each way.

A decent single-family house can be found for less than six figures, although it may not be luxurious.

There are a lot of "urban refugees" in WV who elected to drop out of the rat race, DW and I included. The north branch of the Potomac River is 20 minutes away, the Shenandoah is 30. I can't say about the skiing, when I see snow I go inside.

 

[brewer12345]

New Mexico.

MB

Forgot about that. Great food and fishing, too.

 

[jIMOh]

It's not that bad. Most places do have electricity and indoor plumbing.

We're in the Panhandle at the northern end of the state.

There are three shopping malls within 30 minutes, one within 10 (although I'll admit it's small), three hospitals within 30 minutes, one within 10. We do not have rush hours - traffic at 5:00 PM Friday afternoon looks like DC at 10:00 AM Sunday morning. DC and Baltimore are both about an hour and a half away, but almost double that during rush hours. Many take the train to DC but that's a 2-hour trip each way.

A decent single-family house can be found for less than six figures, although it may not be luxurious.

There are a lot of "urban refugees" in WV who elected to drop out of the rat race, DW and I included. The north branch of the Potomac River is 20 minutes away, the Shenandoah is 30. I can't say about the skiing, when I see snow I go inside.

I think living in a quieter less busy location is appealing. I have 15-25 years to convince my wife of the same thing.

What are state taxes like?