High Sierra Topix

I am depressed to say that last year I only got up once, albeit for a great 3 day weekend with friends at the Juniper Springs Lodge. Nonetheless, that was my only snowboarding of the entire season (I feel dirty :retard: ). I want this to be different this year (especially if I might be moving to Montana in the spring). The thing is, I don't want to have to blow a bunch of money on lodging.

So...what are some tips for things people have done to cut the lodging cost? I'm talking about pseudo-spartan trips here: drive up Fri night, come back Sun afternoon. Possibly solo, maybe 1 friend at most. Pure boarding. Although I've not yet done it, I'm not above snow camping if that can be done. I'm also not above sleeping in my car (SUV) if that can be done unmolested as well. I'd rather not have to drive all the way back down to Bishop if you get my drift - I'm thinking pull in, pull off somewhere, crash, wake up, board, eat pizza and drink beer, crash again, wake up, board, drive home. The kind of trip my wife would hate due to lack of plumbing and shower. Cost: lift, food, gas.

Any ideas?

Krudler,
I camped solo in my 89 Corolla SR5, then my 92Toyota P/U extra cab. After I met SnowDude, I introduced him to carcamping and he got his 98 Blazer ZR2, and I got my 99 4Runner. We quit carcamping when we got married and got the condo. At first we were only going to rent it out, but after the honeymoon, decided I didn't want anyone sleeping in my bed.

I used to heat up my food on the dashboard, with the heater running! If you need a shower, there's a few places to shower. I used to dry my hair using the heater too. Back then I was paying for my lift tickets (no season pass back then), so this was the only way to make it affordable.

I can tell you the places to carcamp if you're interested.

Or try Motel 6, Davidson House (?), Quality Inn . . . I rode with Doug395 & Skibum but forget where they stayed. They might be able to help.

Snow Nymph wrote:I can tell you the places to carcamp if you're interested.

Thanks Snowy! Thats just what I'd be looking for....
PM me if you want, thanks soooo much.

I have stayed at the Davidson Street Guest house in the past. They have two dorm rooms (one male and one female) plus a couple of private rooms for famlies. It is a hostel type setup with a common living room and a community kitchen. I was last there a couple of years ago and it was $40 for the first night and $37 for each additional night. There were several liftees living there who had not found a place to live, so current conditions and learning where to avoid the crowds was a big plus.

I have also stayed at the Mammoth RV park (I have a tent that is made for the bed of my truck). They put me in an RV spot so I ran a cord for electricity and connected a small electric heater! They have an area for tent camping that is 10 or 15 steps from the parking area. The RV spot was about $35 a night. There is an indoor pool and spa for evening fun.

The Swiss Chalet is nice and one of the lower priced motels I stayed there this last spring after a weekend trip to Duck Lake.