Maybe RP can make this the next vacation prize:

To-The-Point Cruise Lines - THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE CRUISE

 bokey wrote: 

Ukraine to open Chernobyl area to tourists in 2011
By MARIA DANILOVA
The Associated Press
Monday, December 13, 2010; 8:12 PM

 Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of northern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of people were resettled from areas contaminated with radiation fallout in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Related health problems still persist.

 Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova said experts are developing travel routes that will be both medically safe and informative for Ukrainians as well as foreign visitors. She did not give an exact date when the tours were expected to begin.

"There are things to see there if one follows the official route and doesn't stray away from the group, " Yershova told The Associated Press.

 appy_monkey wrote:
 
I know that one, all too well. Some of my best wipeouts have been on the 'last run'. Lots of places, like Steamboat for example, you have to take a couple of lifts to get to the bottom anyway, so it's kind of a long cruise, rather than a bombing run. I was with a girl who separated her shoulder on a last run, same as your friend.

I know better than to take a hard last run: my last run is always a nice cruiser. Except the time I tried to take a shortcut, and ended up on the worst double-black on the mountain. Took me half-an-hour to get out of that minefield. Worse, a group of skiers on the other side of the run, one guy hit a valley between two moguls and snapped one ski in half at the binding! It was gonna be a long night for him...

c.

 Zep wrote: 
That must mean I'm on vacation right now, ...but that can't be right.

 cc_rider wrote: 
I went to Vail in 2002'ish. I did not goto Steamboat though. I liked Vail alot because it was big. Good variety of difficulties, plus, like many of the places out west, you have really long runs. Vail has several bowls to ski in...and some "back country" type terrain.

We didn't do much in the village though (it was like any big new develpment ski area) , we stayed in Frisco(?) We toured the Summit County area resorts, Arapahoe Basin, Beaver Creek, Keystone (night ski if not too cold) and went down to Breckenridge (my second time there, fun town)
side note, hopefully you won't need to use this info: Vail is a great place to be near if you break your leg like one of my friends did on the trip, they have top notch sports medicine doctors there to assist all the training athletes.
Remember, never announce that "this will be my last run" that's bad luck. That's what happened to my friend, last run at A-Basin, starting to snow, near the bottom, nothing technical, snap. they had to call in a 4wheel drive ambulance cause it was snowing so much and our mini-van wouldn't make it all the way to Vail.

 cc_rider wrote: 
Woo hoo— appy and I visited the Zugspitze on our first summer together





  (appy on the left, dude named Greg on the right)

 cc_rider wrote: 

Probably not although it would be cool to visit that part of the world sometime.  We MIGHT make it out to Vermont via New York for a bit of late season skiing and to catch up with friends and family.  HJ and the kids otherwise could head over somewhere in our February school holidays but I can't travel in Feb due to work pressures. 

I'm thinking that if the girls are heading off on a cycle tour this year (usually May) I'll go with them- hopefully they'll go somewhere warmer than Scandinavia this year.  Then maybe central Europe in July.

The ultimate vacation is one where I forget which day of the week it is.

 MrsHobieJoe wrote:
 
I learned to ski on the Zugspitze. But this is strictly a domestic affair. Speaking of affairs, you're welcome to join us, if the barkeep doesn't mind...

 cc_rider wrote: 

TAKE ME!

edit- Europe is pretty cool too for skiing.

okay, this is not exactly 'Ultimate', but I didn't feel like starting a new thread.

Winter Vacation, middle of February: Steamboat? Or Vail?

I've been to Steamboat, it's one of my fave places, but hey, I've been there. How does Vail stack up?

Activities to include Skiing/snowboarding, maybe snowmobiling, with a little nightlife thrown in.

Whaddya think?