TR: The Ill-Advised, Yet Awesome, Yurp Epic Pass Road Trip

Alright, let's try this again and see if the glitches keep happening (tried to post day by day on the trip and then afterward and had all sorts of issues with the photos, etc).

Bought an Epic Pass for the first time (my home mountain is on Ikon) and decided to make the most of it. Road tripped end to end from Munich to Torino and hit every Epic Pass resort in Europe. 27 hours of driving through Munich Germany, Bolzano Italy, Skirama Dolomiti (Madonna Di Campiglio), Innsbruck, The Zugspitze/Garmisch Partenkirchen (not Epic, but might as well add the Bavarian Alps!), St Anton/Arlberg, Andermatt and Verbier Switzerland, and then Courchevel/Meribel/Val Thorens France to finish it up before heading out of Torino.

But first, as an esteemed older German hiking buddy of mine advised, the best way to shake off the jetlag is to head a short distance from Munich to the village of Herrsching (can take the S Bahn) to hike up to a 12th century monastery where they've been brewing beer since 1457. A liter of Specziel Hell and a ham hock the size of a large cantaloupe and I was ready for the trip ahead.

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Alright, seems to be working alright, so let's continue...

Spent the rest of the day in Munich - the glockenspiel, watched some river surfing, and then another pork knuckle at the Hofbrauhaus, because why not? A traditional Bavarian breakfast the next morning and off to Bolzano as a launching off point for ski day #1.

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Passed through Austria on my way to Bolzano Italy to see the real Otzi (no offense TGR Otzi!). Arrived just in time to get in and out before close and then grabbed a pizza and a Paulaner. Love the mix of Italian and Germanic food/drink in this region but my Italian and German are both horrible and not knowing which to speak at any given time in this region made both somehow worse.

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Alright, to the skiing! Tried my best to be efficient with the driving but follow the storms passing through and caught 10-15cm of new snow at Madonna Di Campiglio. Started out completely socked in and turned into a bluebird day by noon and could easily see the off-piste spots with plenty of fresh snow left over. Again with the delicious mix of Italian and Tyrolean food, had a quick lunch of veal meatballs with venison sauce. Skied until the snow was all churned up and then headed to Innsbruck.

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Back to Austria to Innsbruck to pause for a few days while waiting to head West into a nice storm front brewing that promised 30-40cm at each of the next 3 stops. Hit the Zugspitze/Garmisch/Partenkirchen area (highest peak in Germany) to rip some bluebird groomers, get a sunburn, and Weiner schnitzel and apres at 2 miles high. Took a train, cog railway through the mountain, and gondola to get up to the ski fields. Back to town for some more cured/roasted meats, bacon lard spread, and spätzle.

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St Anton/Arlberg was showing 33cm in the forecast at elevation so I headed out early. Visibility was tough, but there was snow to be found. I didn't get a good feel for the place because I couldn't see shit most of the time - I'd definitely like to go back here and try again. When more clouds rolled in, skied village to village at the end of the day from St. Anton through St Christoph, Steuben, Zurs and back. Apres at the Krazy Kangaru. Even though this is Epic affiliated, had to pay for a lift ticket as I wasn't staying at one of the hotels for 4 nights minimum. Only 80 Euro and knew that going in, but kind of a fake Epic Pass resort if you ask me.

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Second day of storms as I headed to Andermatt - nuked from the time I arrived until I left. Stayed in town so was first in line for the Gemstock cable car in the morning. Another few dozen cm added to the fun, but visibility still tough. Cleared a little by afternoon and could see a little more of the terrain. There is a tremendous amount of side country here and was able to talk to a few people and get after it a little before dark, but this would be an awesome place to explore with someone who know what's where, and the benefit of a bluebird day. The town itself was quaint and old and one local described that it used to be industrial nearby and was more of a pass through resort. Now with the new hotel Chedi plunked right in the middle of it and tens of million of dollars of projects underway, it feels like it's about to explode as a destination resort. Because I was NOT paying to stay there, I was able to reward myself with a white whale of bourbons I wanted to try. Was one of the cheapest things on the menu at the bar.

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Verbier. I wanted to hate it. The $7 espressos, $35 sushi rolls, and the $3600 a night hotel rooms you have to stay at in order to use your Epic Pass for the day (thankfully stayed on points at the W - voted world's best ski hotel 8 year running). But how could I hate this? A meter of new snow, bluebird skies, all the off piste you can plainly see from the lifts and how to get back to the right place, amazing food, great location, etc etc etc. I'm sure it was a one of a kind day and could never justify paying to take the family there. But holy shit!

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Umm, I’m not seeing these pics

A contrast from the W, last stop staying at a budget lodge with a great location at Courchevel La Praz... Largest interconnected resort in the world - bigger than the largest 5 in North America combined. Biggest challenge was navigating around and ending up back where I needed to be in a day. Still some snow but more of a marathon to burn out my legs on the last day of skiing on the trip and hit all of the resorts - Courchevel, Mirabel, Val Thorens, Les Menuires, apres at the famed La Folle Deuce, and then make it back to La Praz without using a taxi. Done and done and I was wiped out. 6 days, 6 ski areas, 6 countries (passed through Lichtenstein on the way) 1250 miles, and so much food. Couldn't find a copilot for this one, but now several ski bud have regrets. It was a hell of a lot of fun.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by buttahflake

Umm, I’m not seeing these pics

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Any of em?

Not sure why there are so many TGR glitches on my end. When I logged on in Europe, none of my recent PMs were there. I posted pics yesterday fine but now some are erroring out. If I edit and save, they reappear, then disappear again. My username and password are saved but sometimes it works and sometimes it tells me that it's incorrect when it's saved in my phone. Any suggestions?

A bunch just loaded, not all, and many are sideways. Sick trip

Resize your pics (even just slightly) and save them again. They should post right side up.

I reloaded them again and now they should all show. If that doesn't work, I give up. Going to have to look at them sideways, I guess, as I'm already longer doing this than I'd like...

Looks like a quality trip!

Just wow. Thanks for sharing.

++++
Yurpski r00lz.

These pics are worth turning your head for. Looks like an amazing trip!

FKNA, man!

Awesome stuff!

Nice, looks fun!