Bring 10 Or More People To Canyon Ski Resort For: Fill & Download for Free

What is the dark side of driving for Lyft or Uber?Well, there are quite a few things actually that qualify as being the dark side of driving for Lyft or Uber. I’ll try to lay them all out for you!My car takes a brutal beating: Between smelly passengers, cleaning fees, added mileage, slammed doors, my car suffers the most from this income source. I have to pay for the maintenance of the vehicle, gasoline usage, and I have to have a good car wash membership to keep the clean inside and out. It takes work and effort to have a clean, nice-smelling vehicle. I do not smoke but many drivers do which also makes it trickier to keep a car clean. For me, it makes it tricky when i pick up people who smoke or smell like cigarettes, weed, shrooms, or any other strong odor. After each of those rides I have to air out the car. I have had all of my windows rolled down for 15 minutes before in the middle of winter while it was snowing due to smelly passengers. I also have to make sure the seats are clean and when there is an incident involving bodily fluids I need to shampoo the seats as well. I forgot to emphasize added mileage. I can easily drive a thousand miles in a week. It adds up very quickly!I get a small percentage of the fare: If a passenger takes a $10 ride, the driver probably is going to make $4 or maybe $5. Passengers assume we make a lot more than we do, which leads to the idea that you don’t have to tip the driver. I can see why you don’t want to tip your driver, but put yourself in our shoes. If we don’t make enough tips we don’t make enough money driving that night. Imagine a 10 hour night, coming home with $150 and having to pay $30–40 in gasoline. Now imagine if there had been no tips. That $150, would be $120. Take home would be $80 after 10 hours of driving, and probably 200 miles on the vehicle. Yes we drive that much in a single night. The most I have driven on a single day was around 500 miles, within a 50 mile radius. That’s a lot of driving in circles. So help the driver out and give him or her a tip. They not only will appreciate it, they rely on tips to make driving worth-while.Uber and Lyft take more from the passenger than they should: Uber doesn’t want you to know this, but they changed the way they charge the passengers a couple years ago from a calculation based off of mileage and time, to a flat rate pre-agreed upon amount. They calculate what they think the ride will be in terms of time and mileage, and charge the passenger that amount. Seems normal right? Well, what they don’t tell you is that they don’t always calculate the most efficient route. Sometimes they calculate a slower route that adds 5 miles to the trip and 10 minutes. The driver takes the efficient route, yet the passenger pays for the inefficient route. Seems fair, right? Well, it gets worse when there is a surge. The passenger gets calculated based off of a surge multiplier but the driver only gets a small percentage of that multiplier worded as a “Fixed surge amount with the possibility of increasing to be a more significant amount of what the passenger paid” This means the driver doesn’t get most of the surge. I have seen passengers charged $120 for a trip when I only got $60.Most will argue that this is robbing the driver. Yes, it very well may, but it also is over-charging the passenger. Perhaps this is the only way that uber may actually start to turn a profit.There are way too many drivers: There are a lot of drivers and on slow days that can mean that drivers are not making any money. It takes a lot of strategy to make money driving and sometimes that strategy includes staying home on certain days of the week or year.Drivers want to make money: Yes this doesn’t seem like a shock, but it can also mean that you aren’t going to get a ride from that concert or bar at midnight or 1:00 in the morning on a thursday night. If I am faced with the choice of a 45 minute ride in a snow storm to a ski resort from the airport on an XL surge ride, or a 10 minute ride with a 15 minute pickup battling traffic only to turn around and go right back for another ride I am going to choose the airport. Why would I limit myself to $7 per ride that takes 20–30 minutes versus one ride that will make me upwards of $60–70 and take just as long as 2 rides downtown? I’d prefer making $70 over $14. Plus, the airport trips tip more regularly than the drunk couple leaving a concert wanting to go home and hoping they don’t puke on the way. My SUV handles the snow amazingly and I much prefer the longer drive. Plus I might get a ride back down the canyon giving me another $30–60. So instead of making $20–30, I would make over $100 in an hour and a half. The point I am trying to make is, drivers have no problems with rejecting a ride they don’t like in favor of another. Occasionally we may even cancel on you because we want a higher surge amount for the ride. So instead of getting upset that you thought I was coming to pick you up and it was gonna cost you $20 from the super packed concert venue and after I cancel it’s gonna cost $40 or $50, realize that you are lucky to get a ride at all with the hassle it is to pickup at that venue.Not every ride is a good one: Sometimes we have to tell someone to knock it off before they start having sex. Sometimes we have to tell people we can’t fit one more person in the car. Sometimes we have to tell someone they can’t drink alcohol in the car. Sometimes we have to tell people they have to bring a car seat in order for us to let them take their toddler in the car. Sometimes we have to tell parents that we can’t take their 12 year old daughter home alone after a school dance. Sometimes we have to say no and you will get upset at us about it. You may yell at us, use profanity, slam doors, or even possibly get violent, but I am not going to disobey the law because of a couple of drunk people who want to go home. Some drivers may, but I am not. Plenty of other people want to follow the rules and I will gladly go and get them instead. Please don’t waste my time with you wanting to disobey the rules.If you have 7 people, don’t get an Uber XL. Get 2 Uber X’s.If you have 5 people, don’t get an Uber X, get an Uber XL.If you have an open container of alcohol, leave it at home or drink it. Don’t fill up a Solo cup with your favorite whiskey on ice just because you want to get a buzz before the club. Drink it before getting in the car. It is illegal and your driver is the one liable!If you have a child under 8, bring a car seat or booster seat and learn how to install it correctly! I should not have to teach you how to put your child in a car seat or how to use a seatbelt to secure that car seat to the car.If you want to have an intimate moment with someone, please don’t do it in the car. It is very uncomfortable for the driver, and likely there is a camera. Just wait till you get home.Kids should never order an Uber or Lyft without an adult. under 18 without an adult is not allowed to ride in the car. I have had a 10 year old request a ride before. He wanted me to take him home and wanted to put his scooter in my trunk. No. Don’t be the parent of that kid. And don’t get upset about it either. I have had to reject so many unaccompanied minors it is not even funny. And every time they get mad cuz i am gonna collect the no show fee.I’m sure there are a lot more but this pretty much sums it all up. Drivers have to put up with a lot yet still we go out and give more enjoyable rides to people every day. I want you to get out of the car and say “That was a pleasant ride!” instead of “Man, that was a crappy uber driver.” Yet at the same time, I am going to do my best to follow the rules and make money. Enjoy your next ride everyone!Edit: I forgot to mention that sometimes we have to deal with angry passengers. Sometimes in an attempt to follow the rules and keep people safe passengers (especially drunk ones) can get violent and yell obscenities at the driver, or even smack the phone out of the phone mount or become physically aggressive. It is very infrequent but does occur.

I have lived in California since my teens, and skied every ski resort including the backcountry. They all get similar snow except the further west generally speaking the deeper the snow depth in light snow years. This list is for terrain and terrain only. If you need to find amenities, then this list is not for you.Kirkwood Mountain Resort (South)- although hard to get to, even from a road closure perspective. This amazing resort, has the most advanced terrain as a percentage, and amazing off-piste type of terrain especially the terrain in between the back and front sides, and between the Cliff (#10) and Cornice (#6) and the vast terrain north of #6, which is also mind blowingly good. Over 50% of the mountain is advanced/expert and that’s an understatement. Nothing about this terrain is an understatement, if you push yourself *(bring a friend). Kirkwood will take your breath away.Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows (North) A truly crowded, and famous place. Hard to get powder here as there are so many avid rider fans of these two resorts and the north shore is much more crowded with people and avid riders. These resorts are both in a perfect section of the North side of Lake Tahoe, which is generally older mountains as the crown of the Sierra is to the south of Lake Tahoe (think Yosemite). But this Granite Chief Wilderness area is amazingly steep for being this far north. A true exception. In the future these two side by side resorts will be connected making for the most supreme skiing experience on par with #5. Heavenly. But Alpine and Squaw Valley tend to get better snow than Heavenly so focusing on just one choice of the top 3, you have to pick these resorts first, because huffing it out to Kirkwood deep in the Carson Range is hard, and depending on storm conditions, chancy.Northstar (North)- What suburban boulevards are to America in general, this resort is to Lake Tahoe resorts. This place is for the pampered with plenty to do at the base area. It has everything, except double diamond craziness (see above two for that). This resort, and Sierra-Tahoe make a serious commitment to snowboarding terrain and features, half-pipe and so on. Probably the two most rider friendly are Northstar and Sierra-Tahoe.Sierra-Tahoe (South)- this is my home resort and it has a mid level resort feel and is known for it’s Huckleberry Canyon double diamond terrain and the heavily treed terrain on the rest of the mountain. This is the best place to find powder if you are coming in after 11am. Ski anywhere you don’t see ropes and wear a helmet. Most of us locals consider this the best mountain to ski on a daily basis (trees maintain snow quality). Perhaps Kirkwood as well. Both are the least crowded on this list to downright empty on a Tuesday.Heavenly (South) - this is one of the pioneers of the area is simply massive, with a 10,000 foot top and thousands of well balanced acres to explore. There is serious double diamond terrain here in the Canyons of the Nevada side, and generally a very dry snow as it is high and gets fed from the desert basin below more than any other resort, or similar to Mt Rose (the Reno-Sparks metro ski resort). Heavenly has to depend on snowmaking more than others because of its south-easterly basin location.Sugar Bowl (North) - You can’t leave out this Donner Summit resort as its the oldest ski resort, a true grandfather worthy of this title. Plenty of double diamond extreme stuff (*the 58’s) and nice amenities make this a great family resort that was started in the 1930’s with some funding from smart business people such as Mr. Walt Disney himself. A real gem, with fantastic snow base in great years, and the resort I frequented heavily, during my college days.If you have tried these 7, soon to be 6 resorts (3 per region), well then you can say you’ve done the best and biggest that is in Lake Tahoe. Homewood, Diamond Peak, Mt. Rose. These are all fantastic resorts with something special to offer and generally service the north side which needs more slopes as far more people travel to the North shore and development there is at a higher pace. Remind yourself of where you want to explore. It is hard to locate in Tahoe-North and travel down to Kirkwood (easily over 1 hour of travel time). Donner Ski Ranch, Boreal, are definitely smaller. Soda Springs and Tahoe Donner are very small, and for a avid ski traveller, coming in to explore for the first time, not worth it. You want an experience of a lifetime, see my list.

I grew up in the Vail Valley, and I lived and worked in the Roaring Fork Valley (Aspen) for 15 years. I also visited Telluride before it became the destination resort it is now. There really are no major differences between the three resorts. They all compete for the same clientele: the rich and shameless that have way too much money to spend. If you're looking for a fantasy ski trip to Colorado, and you have the money to spend, then any of the three resorts will satisfy you. If you're trying to save money, there are better options in Colorado.There are minor differences between Vail, Aspen, and Telluride that are a result of their origins. Aspen and Telluride were mining towns before someone built a ski area. Vail was a sheep pasture converted into a ski resort. You will find a lot of Victorian architecture, relics of Colorado’s Gold Rush, and historical structures within Aspen and Telluride. This brings a certain charm to these areas that Vail lacks.Vail, especially Vail Village, was constructed to resemble an European village in the alps. Tourists from southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland feel right at home in Vail Village. Depending on your view, this either gives Vail a certain romantic charm of a European vacation or a trip to Disneyland. Being right off Interstate 70 is not going to improve people's perception of Vail.Vail is a lot easier to get to then Aspen or Telluride. Depending on the time of the week (avoid driving I-70 on the weekends), Vail is a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive from Denver International Airport (DIA). Or, you can fly into the Eagle Regional Airport, and Vail is only a 30 minute drive away. Vail Resorts operates a shuttle service, Colorado Mountain Express (CME), from both airports straight to your hotel front door.Aspen is a 5 to 6 hour drive from Denver International Airport. There is a small airport outside of Aspen, but it's one of the most difficult airports to fly into, and during bad weather, flights will be re-routed to DIA. You can also fly into the Eagle Regional Airport to get to Aspen. That will cut your drive time down to 2 hours. CME offers shuttle service from the Aspen and Eagle Airports to the front door of your hotel. During the summer, it is possible to take Independence Pass to reach Aspen, but that's a longer and a more dangerous drive then taking I-70 to Glenwood Springs and Colorado 92 to Aspen. If you go over Independence Pass, you will miss out on seeing Glenwood Canyon, one of the most beautiful drives in Colorado.Getting to Telluride will feel like an excursion. It will take 8 to 10 hours (possibly more depending on the weather) to drive from DIA to Telluride, and there is no shuttle service from DIA to Telluride. Therefore, most visiters to Telluride will fly into Montrose or Durango. Like Aspen, there is a small airport outside of Telluride, but it is also subject to weather conditions. I am assuming there is a shuttle service from Montrose to Telluride just like CME.You can't go wrong with the skiing at all three resorts. Telluride, because it's in southern Colorado, will receive more snow than Vail and Aspen. Aspen is a collection of 4 seperate smaller mountains each with their own different personality. Vail is the largest ski area in Colorado, and Beaver Creek, another large ski area, is 15 minutes from Vail. All three resorts are trying to build up their summer activities and become year around destination resorts, but if it's summer activities that you are looking for, then Glenwood Springs “near” Aspen is the place to go. Glenwood is about an hour drive from both Aspen and Vail, and Glenwood is home to a world famous hot springs.As an alternative to Vail, Aspen, and Telluride, you should also consider Breckenridge, Winter Park, or Steamboat. Steamboat also has a pair of hot springs that you can enjoy after a day of skiing.