The 2013-2014 Ski Season Thread

[Ginx snewx]

That's an awesome vid Bob,surfing and snow, best of both

[Hitman]

Lift served Ski season still going strong at Killington. Up to 62 days now and hoping to hit 70. Feeling pretty good about that given my 300 mile round trip to the hill.

That is more than impressive. Bravo. (The skiing that is. My round trip is about 500. But who's counting. I'm just joking, of course.) I like the driving, although it does take some thing out of me. Mostly because I can't fall asleep for hours after I'm done.

Seriously, though, I can't come close to 70. I take off from Xmas to New Years, and took a week to go out west. But I only skied 5 days out west, so it was a net gain of 1 day since I missed 2 weekends here. I took 2 days off for ws Vulcan, too.

[Cold Miser]

And here's an afternoon shot from my buddy Mike Hitelman...

 

 

Dude in the suit, awesome.

 

 

Does the mountain staff get mad at people who hike up, and then ski down after the season ends?

[powderfreak]

Does the mountain staff get mad at people who hike up, and then ski down after the season ends?

 

No, not at all.  As long as everyone does their own thing and doesn't cause any issues (ie vandalism or purposefully getting in the way of any off-season operations), its very well received.  Some places do not like it and get very up tight about it, but hiking and skiing is such a part of the culture up here that there's no way it would be stopped.  Back in the day on the original ski trails, folks in the 1930s/40s used to hike up like 3 times a day to ski down.  That's darn impressive, haha. 

 

On a powder day in October or like late April/May, the parking lot can have like over 100 cars in the lot of people skinning/hiking. 

 

I may go up tomorrow because its been snowing a little in town...we keep getting bursts of big, wet flakes, so I gotta imagine its doing good things up on the mountain.

 

[J.Spin]

I'd give the season a B- for snowfall...but I think the last two months of the season made up for January. From Valentines Day onward it was solid. Funny how that was the turning point in two different seasons within the last 7 years. The record cold March and snowiest since 2007, was a ton of fun.

 

Grading the season- B+. The same as every year. Good stretches. Bad stretches. Pow sometimes. Rain others. Frozen piste laps on sharp edged skis....it's all about the same.

 

I know these grades are as subjective as people want them to be, but B+?; that seems way too high unless your rating includes a lot of skiing outside the Northern Greens this season.  That’s more than a full grade above average, and realistically, the debate for this season should probably be whether or not it even reached average.  I’d argue it didn’t quite get there:

 

Overall season snowfall was below average.

December snowfall was well below average.

January snowfall was incredibly far below average.

February snowfall was average.

April snowfall is below average.

Mt. Mansfield Stake SDD appears to be coming in below average.

There were no 40” storms.

There weren’t even any 30” storms?!

That cold was mentioned by adk.

January in general.

 

There’s no question that March was simply awesome, with better snowfall and snow preservation than average.  But awesome skiing in February and March in the Northern Greens is almost a given, so I can’t see how March could possibly counteract everything in the list above.  The great March helped a lot in redeeming the season, but I was waiting for a great follow up April to consider a full recovery to even the average level, and April has come in pretty “meh” so far – the Mt. Mansfield Stake snowpack looks like it’s at, or slightly below average now.  This April has been nothing like many Aprils – snowfall is still below average at our house, and I suspect it’s the same in the mountains as well.  So, my grade still sits at a C-.  That’s just a touch below average, which, with the help of that great March, is probably where the overall season sits.  There are less tangible items such as thaws, snow preservation, etc., but I mean come on… the second half of December and January are key skiing and snowpack building times, and there was less than two feet of snow at the Mt. Mansfield Stake in the middle of January.  People were comparing midwinter snowpack at nearly 4,000’ on Mt. Mansfield to valley locations in the Northeast.  Do people remember all the powder days and off piste skiing in December and January that we didn’t get?  I think people are under representing those periods in their scoring.

 

I’d even argue PF’s snowfall rating of a B-; I guess that there are timing aspects that can be taken into the snowfall parameter, but this was a below average season for snowfall, and a well below average season for large storms.  We didn’t even get a single 18” storm at the house this season, and that’s the first time that has happened since I’ve been keeping records.  For the mountains, how can a season that is overall below average on total snowfall, and doesn’t even have any 30” or 40” storms (there is typically a 40” storm or two, and I just ran the numbers on 30” storms, and it averages 2 to 3 per season), get an above average (or even average for that matter) snowfall grade?

[MarkO]

I'd rate the season a B, maybe a B+. but that's because we had a great season at the local (Campton) mountain. They were able to open before Christmas and stay open through April 6th on all natural snow. Something that's very difficult to do. Early on through about mid-late January I remember it being thin cover, but right up and on through early April the cover was great. I'd guess they probably got about 100" of snow which is probably slightly higher than average. But not much of it was wasted early or late season.

 

 

PF, my skis, boots, pack and gear weighed in at 41#'s. I'll have to look into some skins. I'm also 70#'s heavier than my high school cross country weight of 125#'s when I could run 5 minute miles lol.

[Hitman]

I know these grades are as subjective as people want them to be, but B+?; that seems way too high unless your rating includes a lot of skiing outside the Northern Greens this season.  That’s more than a full grade above average, and realistically, the debate for this season should probably be whether or not it even reached average.  I’d argue it didn’t quite get there:

 

Overall season snowfall was below average.

December snowfall was well below average.

January snowfall was incredibly far below average.

February snowfall was average.

April snowfall is below average.

Mt. Mansfield Stake SDD appears to be coming in below average.

There were no 40” storms.

There weren’t even any 30” storms?!

That cold was mentioned by adk.

January in general.

 

There’s no question that March was simply awesome, with better snowfall and snow preservation than average.  But awesome skiing in February and March in the Northern Greens is almost a given, so I can’t see how March could possibly counteract everything in the list above.  The great March helped a lot in redeeming the season, but I was waiting for a great follow up April to consider a full recovery to even the average level, and April has come in pretty “meh” so far – the Mt. Mansfield Stake snowpack looks like it’s at, or slightly below average now.  This April has been nothing like many Aprils – snowfall is still below average at our house, and I suspect it’s the same in the mountains as well.  So, my grade still sits at a C-.  That’s just a touch below average, which, with the help of that great March, is probably where the overall season sits.  There are less tangible items such as thaws, snow preservation, etc., but I mean come on… the second half of December and January are key skiing and snowpack building times, and there was less than two feet of snow at the Mt. Mansfield Stake in the middle of January.  People were comparing midwinter snowpack at nearly 4,000’ on Mt. Mansfield to valley locations in the Northeast.  Do people remember all the powder days and off piste skiing in December and January that we didn’t get?  I think people are under representing those periods in their scoring.

 

I’d even argue PF’s snowfall rating of a B-; I guess that there are timing aspects that can be taken into the snowfall parameter, but this was a below average season for snowfall, and a well below average season for large storms.  We didn’t even get a single 18” storm at the house this season, and that’s the first time that has happened since I’ve been keeping records.  For the mountains, how can a season that is overall below average on total snowfall, and doesn’t even have any 30” or 40” storms (there is typically a 40” storm or two, and I just ran the numbers on 30” storms, and it averages 2 to 3 per season), get an above average (or even average for that matter) snowfall grade?

I dont necessarily disagree with your assessment, as my grade was a B-, but a couple of points.

 

while december was below average snowfall, it came on the heels of snow at the end of november, and it was cold enough to make more snow than usual.  so the skiing conditions were very good until we hit the rain/freeze of the grinch storm on 12/23.  I think we were even discussing when the woods would be in play (note to self-dont jinx it ever again).  So overall, I thought december was pretty darn good.  

and as for March, it was great, borderline epic, with snow and cold without taint.  That cant be said for most March's or any month for that matter.  There was soft dry powder in the trees the whole month, when usually its more of a mixed bag.  and it set up for a longer season. It is uncommon to be able to ski off piste in the middle of april without any recent snowfall.  

[powderfreak]

I know these grades are as subjective as people want them to be, but B+?; that seems way too high unless your rating includes a lot of skiing outside the Northern Greens this season.  That’s more than a full grade above average, and realistically, the debate for this season should probably be whether or not it even reached average.  I’d argue it didn’t quite get there:

 

Overall season snowfall was below average.

December snowfall was well below average.

January snowfall was incredibly far below average.

February snowfall was average.

April snowfall is below average.

Mt. Mansfield Stake SDD appears to be coming in below average.

There were no 40” storms.

There weren’t even any 30” storms?!

That cold was mentioned by adk.

January in general.

 

There’s no question that March was simply awesome, with better snowfall and snow preservation than average.  But awesome skiing in February and March in the Northern Greens is almost a given, so I can’t see how March could possibly counteract everything in the list above.  The great March helped a lot in redeeming the season, but I was waiting for a great follow up April to consider a full recovery to even the average level, and April has come in pretty “meh” so far – the Mt. Mansfield Stake snowpack looks like it’s at, or slightly below average now.  This April has been nothing like many Aprils – snowfall is still below average at our house, and I suspect it’s the same in the mountains as well.  So, my grade still sits at a C-.  That’s just a touch below average, which, with the help of that great March, is probably where the overall season sits.  There are less tangible items such as thaws, snow preservation, etc., but I mean come on… the second half of December and January are key skiing and snowpack building times, and there was less than two feet of snow at the Mt. Mansfield Stake in the middle of January.  People were comparing midwinter snowpack at nearly 4,000’ on Mt. Mansfield to valley locations in the Northeast.  Do people remember all the powder days and off piste skiing in December and January that we didn’t get?  I think people are under representing those periods in their scoring.

 

I’d even argue PF’s snowfall rating of a B-; I guess that there are timing aspects that can be taken into the snowfall parameter, but this was a below average season for snowfall, and a well below average season for large storms.  We didn’t even get a single 18” storm at the house this season, and that’s the first time that has happened since I’ve been keeping records.  For the mountains, how can a season that is overall below average on total snowfall, and doesn’t even have any 30” or 40” storms (there is typically a 40” storm or two, and I just ran the numbers on 30” storms, and it averages 2 to 3 per season), get an above average (or even average for that matter) snowfall grade?

 

All valid points, J.Spin...I'd actually probably agree with you on all of those.  I just feel like if this season is rated low, some will think we are spoiled, but maybe we are, haha.  But yes, snowfall at Stowe ends at 266" so below normal and it drops my 17 year average down 3 more inches to 312". 

 

But yes, statistically, definitely a below average grade for snowfall. 

 

I've attached my snowfall summary for this season, and some comparisons to previous seasons.

This year was the third straight below average winter, and fourth out of the last five seasons, so we may be getting due for an above normal winter again soon.

 

[powderfreak]

Did a quick lap this afternoon... I really enjoy this time of the season.  I know folks want the lifts to keep running (well, some folks do...a lot of people I know actually enjoy it more when the lifts shut down, haha), but there's something about wandering around an empty mountain, still filled with snow, just enjoying the peace and quiet.  Its so nice to be able to have some time to just be thinking inside your head with no distractions...the hike up takes about an hour and its much more fun than any treadmill or bike in a gym.  You get into that rhythm and it just seems very relaxing out there...rather than the go, go, go mentality when the lifts are spinning.

 

Coverage remains excellent even on south facing Spruce Peak here, which I chose because it was a cold day and if anything was going to soften up, it would be Spruce.  And sure enough the lower 2/3rds corned up nicely, while the upper elevations and north/east facing terrain on the main mountain remained firm as temps didn't get out of the 20s up near the top.

 

Coverage on the main mountain over there is still looking pretty darn awesome for the end of April.  Hard to believe if the ski area was open, it could still have like 75% of trails open.

 

[Ginx snewx]

Sugarloaf looks like Mid winter

[Cold Miser]

No, not at all.  As long as everyone does their own thing and doesn't cause any issues (ie vandalism or purposefully getting in the way of any off-season operations), its very well received.  Some places do not like it and get very up tight about it, but hiking and skiing is such a part of the culture up here that there's no way it would be stopped.  Back in the day on the original ski trails, folks in the 1930s/40s used to hike up like 3 times a day to ski down.  That's darn impressive, haha. 

 

On a powder day in October or like late April/May, the parking lot can have like over 100 cars in the lot of people skinning/hiking. 

 

I may go up tomorrow because its been snowing a little in town...we keep getting bursts of big, wet flakes, so I gotta imagine its doing good things up on the mountain.

 

That's pretty cool.  If I lived near there I would do this. 

 

So when you go, you only go up/ down one time during a day?

 

What is skinning?

[tamarack]

How can a season with below normal snowfall rank above C-level? By being cold and holding snowpack, both of which characterized 2013-14. MBY actually finished 13" above my 88" avg, but even if I were to magically make the 13.3" of 3/19-20 disappear, such that my snowfall was dead on the avg, the A- grade for cold (highest grade of my 16 winters here) would slide the combined grade into B-land. As it actually worked out, this was my 2nd best for snow depth days (2007-08 is unlikely to be threatened in my lifetime) and the 142-day unbroken period with 1" or more OG (Dec 1 thru Apr 21) is the longest I've recorded since living in Ft.Kent.

[J.Spin]

How can a season with below normal snowfall rank above C-level? By being cold and holding snowpack, both of which characterized 2013-14.

 

I agree that snowpack and temperatures can play a factor in a winter season’s grade, but I still don’t see, aside from March, where the colder temperatures have already been highly lauded and factored into the equation, how those parameters are going to dramatically improve the rating of the ski season in the Northern Greens.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, the snowpack at the stake was below average, so it’s hard to see how it can help to raise the rating.  Aside from the snowpack spike in March, the Mt. Mansfield Stake spent most of its season at or below average, and if one were to integrate this year’s curve by snow depth days, it should come in below average:

 

 

If we had a site with good data for snow depth days at base elevations, one could try to make the case for the snowpack in the lower elevations being better than average, but I’m not sure if the data would help anyone make their case; based on the data from our site, similar to snowfall, snow depth days this season were less than 90% of average.

 

And remember, at least in Northern New England, below average midwinter temperatures don’t elevate the ski experience, they lower it.  The bitter temperatures are a big turnoff for a lot of people in terms of skiing the Northeast.  Below average temperatures in January and proximal days aren’t really a positive (both adk and I alluded to that, and PF mentioned the cold a number of times this season).  Ideally one would want below average temperatures in October and November, gradually tapering to average somewhere in December, then above average through January and a gradual return to below average in March and April.  Below average temperatures in January may mean we’re simply sitting in dry arctic air, which is a double whammy in the quality of the ski experience if it means frigid temperatures and little snowfall.  If I recall correctly, this past January was like a perfect trifecta of odiousness with regard to ski conditions… below average temperatures, incredibly low snowfall (bottom 5% of seasons using the stats from my data set)… and somehow a bunch of rain to boot?  November and March certainly get props for their below average temperatures this season, but in my opinion, they were more than counteracted by the anomaly that was January and adjoining sections of December and February.

 

Coincidentally with regard to snowpack, the last of the snow at our site disappeared today, so the period with continuous snow on the ground this season was 11/22 - 4/25.  The length of the period with continuous snow (155 days) was actually above average, despite the fact that snow depth days were below average.

[powderfreak]

And remember, at least in Northern New England, below average midwinter temperatures don’t elevate the ski experience, they lower it.  The bitter temperatures are a big turnoff for a lot of people in terms of skiing the Northeast.  Below average temperatures in January and proximal days aren’t really a positive (both adk and I alluded to that, and PF mentioned the cold a number of times this season).  Ideally one would want below average temperatures in October and November, gradually tapering to average somewhere in December, then above average through January and a gradual return to below average in March and April.  Below average temperatures in January may mean we’re simply sitting in dry arctic air, which is a double whammy in the quality of the ski experience if it means frigid temperatures and little snowfall.  If I recall correctly, this past January was like a perfect trifecta of odiousness with regard to ski conditions… below average temperatures, incredibly low snowfall (bottom 5% of seasons using the stats from my data set)… and somehow a bunch of rain to boot? 

 

 

I wholeheartedly agree with the bolded statement in your post... its always something in my mind when its early fall and the winter outlooks are coming out.  I find myself hoping for a slightly above normal temperatures heart of winter, and it sort of goes against what a lot of others on the forum are looking for.  Its like if someone makes a forecast of +1 to +3 departures in temperatures during Jan and Feb, a lot of posters on here look at that as a bad thing, while I almost look at that more favorably than a -3 departure in Jan/Feb.  It usually means more moisture too...which I'll take my chances with.  Although this last January completely went against the general trend up here of more precip in winter = more snowfall...but I doubt we see something like that again soon where precipitation is way above normal and snowfall is like a couple standard deviations below normal.  The best pattern is if its just cold enough to snow, but not excessively cold as to limit the PWATs or push the baroclinic zone too far south/east of this area so the storm track stays off-shore. 

[powderfreak]

Coincidentally with regard to snowpack, the last of the snow at our site disappeared today, so the period with continuous snow on the ground this season was 11/22 - 4/25.  The length of the period with continuous snow (155 days) was actually above average, despite the fact that snow depth days were below average.

 

Just melted today?  Wow... was that a snowbank or just as it lays snow cover?  You must have a pretty sheltered property.  I'm down in Albany, NY this evening after driving down here this afternoon...and I didn't see anything more than widely scattered plow piles from Stowe to Waterbury to Richmond on RT2, and then absolutely nothing after that.

[powderfreak]

Prior to driving to Albany... I spun a quick lap up Spruce Peak and visited the south facing corn fields.  The snow as perfect corn...textbook stuff.  The top inch or two was soft corn/granular, with a firm base under that from the freeze last night.

 

Snow cover even on these south facing snowmaking trails is quite impressive for the end of April.

 

 

 

 

Better coverage on April 25th, 2014 than there was on March 15th, 2012

 

 

[J.Spin]

Just melted today?  Wow... was that a snowbank or just as it lays snow cover?  You must have a pretty sheltered property.  I'm down in Albany, NY this evening after driving down here this afternoon...and I didn't see anything more than widely scattered plow piles from Stowe to Waterbury to Richmond on RT2, and then absolutely nothing after that.

 

That’s a great question, because you’d definitely have a sense of the general snow situation around here; it’s typically a lot like down in Stowe, and there’s not much snow right now in the lower mountain valleys.  The last spot where the snow seems to melt out on the property (at least that I’m aware of at this point) isn’t even a snowbank spot; it’s back in the woods where our property line abuts the interstate.  There are lots of large boulders back there that I’m sure are from when they built I-89, and between protection from the sun thanks to the trees and rocks, the thermal mass of the boulders themselves, and the cooling from a nearby stream, it seems to be the last place that holds natural snow on our property.  I actually discovered it by chance just a couple of seasons back when I was out there in the spring, but as I haven’t uncovered another place where the snow lasts longer yet, it’s my current marker for when the winter snow is officially gone from the property.  For my CoCoRaHS data, I report from my stake, which is in a much more representative or “average” type of location on the property (which seems appropriate for monitoring hydro data), and that melted out more than a week ago.  Since that stake spot is somewhat arbitrary though, I also like to have the more objective measure of the duration of the snowpack within the confines of the property.  Looking back at my data from years past like ‘06-‘07 and ‘10-‘11, with the last visible snow disappearing toward the end of April, I suspect that that area has held onto snow into early May before, but I just didn’t know about it.  It’s also interesting to note that here in Waterbury we’re on the south-facing side of the Winooski Valley, and when I look across to the north-facing side in Duxbury, I can see that at equivalent elevations, the snowpack definitely persists there longer.  It almost seems as though that wall of the valley never gets sun, and I actually don’t even know how high the sun angle has to get before it’s able to clear the mountains and hit that area with direct sunlight.  For all those houses over there, it seems incredibly cold and dark for much of the year.  It would be interesting to know how long the snow lasts over on that side of the valley if anyone has got sheltered areas akin to the one I’ve found on our property.

[HIPPYVALLEY]

I'm surprised Sugarloaf is going to continue daily into May.  My brother said there we're maybe 100 people on the mountain yesterday.

Not sure how you can afford to run lifts when most of those folks were probably season pass holders.

[powderfreak]

I'm surprised Sugarloaf is going to continue daily into May.  My brother said there we're maybe 100 people on the mountain yesterday.

Not sure how you can afford to run lifts when most of those folks were probably season pass holders.

 

Sugarloaf still running with 90+ trails open, which is awesome.  From a mountain operations standpoint though, they are doing it right...operating only 2 lifts to get to all that terrain. 

 

Although Sugarloaf's remoteness cannot be doing them any favors in skier visits this time of year...but its a hardcore skiers mountain and the folks that ski this time of year are the hardcores.  Anyway, with two lifts running, they are probably streamlined as much as possible.  I also noticed their snow report and social media and stuff is now being done by communications manager and marketing director, ie salaried folks.  I have no doubt those two lifts are also being run by probably salaried operations staff or similar level, too.  You may even have the Mountain Operations VP out there bumping chairs too this time of year.

 

However, the mountain that wins the award for most puzzling operation has to go to Jay Peak, VT.  Even Killington is down to between 1 and 3 lifts depending on the day (weekends they have 3, some midweek days they've just been doing Superstar Quad)... however, remote Jay Peak is still operating 8 of 9 lifts.  8 lifts at the end of April!?!  That's like 2-3 beginner lifts...how many beginners can they possibly have up there this time of year?  I talked to a buddy on Friday that went to Jay that said a very similar thing to what most have noticed this time of year at a ski area... 100 people on the mountain is likely a liberal estimate.  He had told me they had all their lifts open and I said, no way, but sure enough, looks like 8 of 9 are still spinning.  Probably an uphill capacity of several thousand skiers per hour, for the 78 people there.  

 

More power to them though if they are able to pull that off...but gotta love Jay as they never do things the "traditional" business ways. 

[Skivt2]

Killington was awesome this weekend. 4+" of fresh snow. So nice to get that floaty feeling again. Still looking at a number of weekends left. I would think 5/18 for sure and maybe later. Mtn still hoping for June.

[bobbutts]

Jay report has them down to 4 lifts now and no Tram.  I was there on a Friday a few weeks ago and everything except the carpet was running with lots of empty chairs.  Tram wasn't even filling up.

Took a run down the village lift to check out all the real estate development and there were 0 people on the trails/chair down there.

[powderfreak]

Jay report has them down to 4 lifts now and no Tram.  I was there on a Friday a few weeks ago and everything except the carpet was running with lots of empty chairs.  Tram wasn't even filling up.

Took a run down the village lift to check out all the real estate development and there were 0 people on the trails/chair down there.

 

I've stayed in the condos down by Jay's Village lift...they are really quite nice.  The condo layout was well done with relation to the lift...true ski-in ski-out lodging.  Plus a condo is what you want at Jay Peak...create your own nightlife with your friends, rather than getting a hotel room and expecting to find other stuff to do besides sit in the hotel room at night.

[bobbutts]

We stayed in the Mtn and Golf condo there.  Nice place and brand new, is kind of weird to have the bathroom upstairs from the bedroom tho.  Walk out the back door onto the course, and a 5 min walk or short shuttle ride to the lifts.  For my 10 year old, the indoor water park was a huge hit.  2nd day she choose to go there again instead of skiing.

If you think it's dead now for nightlife you should have seen in in the 80's-90's.

[ORH_wxman]

Not too late for epic skiing out west. I would have been tempted if I didn't go to Hawaii.

 

http://www.arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/snow-conditions/

 

What a great pattern for them it has been this April...probably gonna get smoked again next week too. I skied A-Basin years ago in April and it was pretty awesome. A lot of interesting terrain on that mountain.

[Lava Rock]

Not too late for epic skiing out west. I would have been tempted if I didn't go to Hawaii.

 

http://www.arapahoebasin.com/ABasin/snow-conditions/

 

What a great pattern for them it has been this April...probably gonna get smoked again next week too. I skied A-Basin years ago in April and it was pretty awesome. A lot of interesting terrain on that mountain.

looks like mid winter out there. skied a lot of places out there, mostly Loveland. Never got to A-basin.

[ORH_wxman]

looks like mid winter out there. skied a lot of places out there, mostly Loveland. Never got to A-basin.

 

 

I've gotten to A-Basin, Keystone, and Copper...I'd like to go further west next time I get out there, places like Crested Butte and Telluride...maybe Steamboat or Aspen if a sweet deal comes along.

 

The three above that I skied are all nice...Keystone is the easiest for terrain, but an excellent family mountain as kids 12 and under ski for free...massive $$ saver and well worth it if you aren't looking for extreme runs and have kids. A-Basin and Copper have some pretty gnarly terrain if you want it...I did the East Wall at the basin and felt a little jittery at the top of some of those runs despite being pretty used to tough terrain by that point in my ski life.

 

A-Basin is cool in that they usually stay open into early June...sometimes they make it to July. No early closings by contract there.

[Lava Rock]

I've gotten to A-Basin, Keystone, and Copper...I'd like to go further west next time I get out there, places like Crested Butte and Telluride...maybe Steamboat or Aspen if a sweet deal comes along.

 

The three above that I skied are all nice...Keystone is the easiest for terrain, but an excellent family mountain as kids 12 and under ski for free...massive $$ saver and well worth it if you aren't looking for extreme runs and have kids. A-Basin and Copper have some pretty gnarly terrain if you want it...I did the East Wall at the basin and felt a little jittery at the top of some of those runs despite being pretty used to tough terrain by that point in my ski life.

 

A-Basin is cool in that they usually stay open into early June...sometimes they make it to July. No early closings by contract there.

Nice. My wife used to live out there and back in 2002 I was out there for the winter. We hit winterpark, copper, snowmass, breck. Just great skiing. I've also cycled a lot through those areas. Interesting to ride past A-basin and see the lift turning in late June one year. Would like to ski wolf creek. they get tons of snow. One thing that's nice out there is you can buy a fairly heavily discounted tix at one of the supermarkets or ski rental places. I'd never pay $100+ to ski at aspen or vail. Just nuts.

[tamarack]

Just melted today?  Wow... was that a snowbank or just as it lays snow cover?  You must have a pretty sheltered property.  I'm down in Albany, NY this evening after driving down here this afternoon...and I didn't see anything more than widely scattered plow piles from Stowe to Waterbury to Richmond on RT2, and then absolutely nothing after that.

 

I thought the same, as my last day with 1"+ at the stake was 4/21 and I've had deeper snowpack (though much less snowfall) most of this snow season.  Then I read the follow-up and can relate - there were still two patches of snow visible from the house this morning, in the pines about 100' into the woods.  I'm guessing they might be gone when I get back after work

 

Not too late for epic skiing out west. I would have been tempted if I didn't go to Hawaii.

 

Did you think of trying Mauna Kea?  Not lift-serviced, but still...

[Dan76]

I've gotten to A-Basin, Keystone, and Copper...I'd like to go further west next time I get out there, places like Crested Butte and Telluride...maybe Steamboat or Aspen if a sweet deal comes along.

 

The three above that I skied are all nice...Keystone is the easiest for terrain, but an excellent family mountain as kids 12 and under ski for free...massive $$ saver and well worth it if you aren't looking for extreme runs and have kids. A-Basin and Copper have some pretty gnarly terrain if you want it...I did the East Wall at the basin and felt a little jittery at the top of some of those runs despite being pretty used to tough terrain by that point in my ski life.

 

A-Basin is cool in that they usually stay open into early June...sometimes they make it to July. No early closings by contract there.

 

 

 

Only 9hrs left  http://www.intrawestpassport.com/?e=A&ctr=cta Steamboat is great for the family,but a little pricey.

If you like A-Basin Jackson Hole is the basin on steroids.

[ORH_wxman]

Only 9hrs left  http://www.intrawestpassport.com/?e=A&ctr=cta Steamboat is great for the family,but a little pricey.

If you like A-Basin Jackson Hole is the basin on steroids.

 

 

Never done the northern rockies, but that would certainly be a treat. Some good places in Idaho and Montana too. You could probably ski 10 months out of the year in some of those spots if they really wanted to do it. (of course high enough, you could go all year)

 

I think Timberline on Mt. Hood actually runs lifts in every single month.   Not sure how much vertical you get in a month like August, but that's still pretty cool.

 

 

 

Another place i'd like to tackle soon are some of the places around Alta, UT. Them and the western slope Colorado resorts get some pretty epic powder in mid-winter.