Colorado Ski Thread 2018/19 Season

[Chewbacca 7787]

1 hour ago, wild_turkey said:

Just got back from Telluride. We had good fresh powder the first day which was awesome. No new snow after that but the skiing was still fun.

Telluride is my favorite place in Colorado and there isn’t a close second. Such a cool town.

Telluride is great.  One of my favorites as well.

[Bobby Light 76]

Are discount lift tickets even a thing anymore? All I've read is the resorts have pretty much shit all that shit down

[Napoleon 8700]

46 minutes ago, Bobby Light said:

Are discount lift tickets even a thing anymore? All I've read is the resorts have pretty much shit all that shit down

If you buy 7 days in advance, some of the resorts offer a discount. (I was looking at Steamboat 1-Day Passes, and it seemed like walk up tickets were $179/day, but there was a discount for advance purchase of 7 days or more.)

TRY THESE SITES FOR DISCOUNTS:

EPIC (Vail owned) Mountains: https://www.snow.com/PlanAVacation/LiftTickets.aspx

Several Mountains: https://www.liftopia.com/region/colorado

Article About Discounts Before the 2017-18 Season: https://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/10/28/save-money-on-ski-lift-tickets/163168/

Various Mountains: https://www.getskitickets.com/tickets/co/

Colorado Mountains: http://www.skicentral.com/lift-ticket-discounts-colorado.html

The Google is your friend.

[RPM 26356]

On 1/21/2019 at 12:02 PM, GlenFromTheMailRoom said:

Hitting Breck on Thursday through Saturday for the first time.  Any recommendations on food, rentals, etc?  We're staying in the middle of downtown.

On 1/21/2019 at 2:03 PM, Al_4_ISU said:

Angel's Hollow has fantastic Bloody Marys and good food.  Ollie's is a fun bar with good beer selection.  Good bar food.

Late to see this and you probably found it on your own but La Francaise is a fantastic little french bakery just down the street from Ollie's. Loved walking there and eating breakfast by the river. For recreational herb I recommend Alpenglow Botanicals on Airport Road next to Breckenridge Distillery.

The local paper is pretty good, too. It's free and has tons of info. 

 

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1613]

5 hours ago, RPM said:

Late to see this and you probably found it on your own but La Francaise is a fantastic little french bakery just down the street from Ollie's. Loved walking there and eating breakfast by the river. For recreational herb I recommend Alpenglow Botanicals on Airport Road next to Breckenridge Distillery.

The local paper is pretty good, too. It's free and has tons of info. 

 

Got back in late Sunday.  Skiing was great - other than my boots feeling a little packed out.  We went to Ollie's, The Dredge, and a few other places around town.  Breakfast at the butterhorn was awesome.  

The distillery was fun, but a little crowded.   Wound up at the medicine man and it was okay.

Peak 6 was insanely fucking cold but a lot of fun.  Sadly I didn't see a dude with boobs in a Sun Devil shirt @Upgrayedd.

Edited January 29, 2019 by GlenFromTheMailRoom

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Breckenridge tap house for buffalo and braised lamb tacos for the mutha fucking win........

[Upgrayedd 5821]

35 minutes ago, GlenFromTheMailRoom said:

Got back in late Sunday.  Skiing was great - other than my boots feeling a little packed out.  We went to Ollie's, The Dredge, and a few other places around town.  Breakfast at the butterhorn was awesome.  

The distillery was fun, but a little crowded.   Wound up at the medicine man and it was okay.

Peak 6 was insanely fucking cold but a lot of fun.  Sadly I didn't see a dude with boobs in a Sun Devil shirt @Upgrayedd.

Spent some time at Peak 6 on Friday.  Fun wind buff.  Was at Ollie’s in Frisco for a bit Saturday night.  Vail was fun on Sunday.  Traffic to the tunnel not so much fun.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

3 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

Spent some time at Peak 6 on Friday.  Fun wind buff.  Was at Ollie’s in Frisco for a bit Saturday night.  Vail was fun on Sunday.  Traffic to the tunnel not so much fun.

Friday was the only day to venture up there. Thursday (till after lunch) and Saturday it was closed or just too friggin' windy and no visibility.

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1613]

4 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

Spent some time at Peak 6 on Friday.  Fun wind buff.  Was at Ollie’s in Frisco for a bit Saturday night.  Vail was fun on Sunday.  Traffic to the tunnel not so much fun.

Ha! We probably did run into each other at some point then. Went to 6 Friday morning and we were there in a big group at Ollie's on Saturday.  13 of us in total.  

We took the early Thursday flight out of Austin and traffic wasn't a problem.  One of the other folks with us took the 4pm out of hobby and got stuck near the tunnel for 3+ hours after they shut it down Friday evening.

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1613]

3 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Friday was the only day to venture up there. Thursday (till after lunch) and Saturday it was closed or just too friggin' windy and no visibility.

We got out early Friday morning and took the lift straight up.  Even then it was frigid, windy, and had very little visibility.  It got dicey enough that we slowed to a stop in some spots because we couldn't see.   The lift ride up was miserable.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, GlenFromTheMailRoom said:

We got out early Friday morning and took the lift straight up.  Even then it was frigid, windy, and had very little visibility.  It got dicey enough that we slowed to a stop in some spots because we couldn't see.   The lift ride up was miserable.  

Yeah sometimes it's just not worth it up there. Windows is our favorite . Lots of trees to hide in and get out of the wind and horrible ride up.  

[triplehorn 2664]

Just got back from the annual guy trip to the Wasatch and had 4 consecutive fresh pow days at powmow.  Every day just got better.

morning report on our final ski day yesterday:

 

[triplehorn 2664]

Some pow pics from this week:

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

I just came..... twice.....

[LonghornJones 837]

Looks like you got a bunch of facials on your annual guys trip!

[triplehorn 2664]

Ha yeah, no wives, girlfriends, or family invited.  Just 9 swinging dicks in a 7 BR house this time.  I had my own room which is essential - no earplugs needed to sleep through the sawmill.  And we cooked a ton of food.  Face shots and meat sweat ftw !

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 minutes ago, triplehorn said:

Ha yeah, no wives, girlfriends, or family invited.  Just 9 swinging dicks in a 7 BR house this time.  I had my own room which is essential - no earplugs needed to sleep through the sawmill.  And we cooked a ton of food.  Face shots and meat sweat ftw !

Where specifically were y'all skiing ?

[triplehorn 2664]

56 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Where specifically were y'all skiing ?

Powder Mountain.  We usually go where the snow is though, and will hop over to Alta/Bird, Solitude, PC/DV if they get it.  Little Cottonwood canyon (alta/bird) didn't open for traffic until 4:30p yesterday and Honeycomb canyon at Solitude was closed due to storm recovery.  It worked out for us at PM.  Drawbacks to PM are having only one detachable speed quad on the whole mountain, no gondolas, small 1970's infrastructure.  It's also a 'low angle' mountain for the most part. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

18 minutes ago, triplehorn said:

Powder Mountain.  We usually go where the snow is though, and will hop over to Alta/Bird, Solitude, PC/DV if they get it.  Little Cottonwood canyon (alta/bird) didn't open for traffic until 4:30p yesterday and Honeycomb canyon at Solitude was closed due to storm recovery.  It worked out for us at PM.  Drawbacks to PM are having only one detachable speed quad on the whole mountain, no gondolas, small 1970's infrastructure.  It's also a 'low angle' mountain for the most part. 

Thanks,  deep pow makes all mountains great, steep or shallow for the most part.  Haven't skied powder mountain yet.

[LonghornJones 837]

Heading to Winter Park Friday. Snow is looking pretty good.

Any bar recs in Tabernash, Granby,or Winter Park?

[Chewbacca 7787]

1 hour ago, LonghornJones said:

Heading to Winter Park Friday. Snow is looking pretty good.

Any bar recs in Tabernash, Granby,or Winter Park?

The Ditch in WP is always good.  Good margs and good food.

There's a new distillery in Fraser.  Haven't been but have heard good things.

Idlewild Distillery in WP has good cocktails.

Hideaway Park Brewery in WP makes some good beer.  You can get food from Fraser Valley Hotdog next door and bring it over since they don't serve food.  Or eat out on the patio with your drinks.  Fraser Valley Hotdog is one of my favorite places to eat up there.

Solstice in Fraser has good cocktails and probably the best food in the area.  Small and somewhat pricey, though.

Have heard good things about Tabernash Tavern but have never been.  It's also expensive.

Can't help you on Granby.  I almost never get out that way.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Chewbacca

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

A-Basin on Saturday.  Damn excited.

I also realized this weekend that in the process of moving twice since my last visit CO ski trip, I've lost all my old ski gear.  So I'll be snowboarding in Carhartts.  Should make for some interesting reactions.

[ballrific 215]

Meeting some friends in Keystone later this week, haven't been in years. Hoping for some new snow, forecast looks ok so far.

Any decent restaurant/craft beer recs in the area that's kid friendly?  Guess that rules out bars...

I think Dillon? is nearby and Breck just down the road but will probably be staying near the slopes at Keystone.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Just now, ballrific said:

Meeting some friends in Keystone later this week, haven't been in years. Hoping for some new snow, forecast looks ok so far.

Any decent restaurant/craft beer recs in the area that's kid friendly?  Guess that rules out bars...

I think Dillon? is nearby and Breck just down the road but will probably be staying near the slopes at Keystone.

Not much in Keystone if I remember correctly, but good skiing.

[SimonBolivar 10960]

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

A-Basin on Saturday.  Damn excited.

I also realized this weekend that in the process of moving twice since my last visit CO ski trip, I've lost all my old ski gear.  So I'll be snowboarding in Carhartts.  Should make for some interesting reactions.

 

Post some pics if you get the chance. I think A-Basin is one of the prettiest resorts in CO.

Edited February 11, 2019 by SimonBolivar

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

47 minutes ago, ballrific said:

Meeting some friends in Keystone later this week, haven't been in years. Hoping for some new snow, forecast looks ok so far.

Any decent restaurant/craft beer recs in the area that's kid friendly?  Guess that rules out bars...

I think Dillon? is nearby and Breck just down the road but will probably be staying near the slopes at Keystone.

There's a decent Mexican joint in Keystone with good margs.  Don't remember anything in the way of craft beer there though.  Dillon has a brewery.  It's ok.  Nothing mind blowing, but definitely family friendly.  Good food, too.

 

25 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

 

Post some pics if you get the chance. I think A-Basin is one of the prettiest resorts in CO.

Will do.  The wife is dropping me off while she putzes around Breck for the day.  I think eventually she'll get tired of that and just drink at the base of A-Basin waiting for me to get done.

I agree with you RE the scenery of A-Basin.  

Edited February 11, 2019 by Al_4_ISU

[Napoleon 8700]

On 2/7/2019 at 8:36 AM, triplehorn said:

Some pow pics from this week:

 

 

High School crew?

[Chewbacca 7787]

Should be some good snow rolling in later this week in just about the entire state.  See you fuckers on the hill.

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

15 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Should be some good snow rolling in later this week in just about the entire state.  See you fuckers on the hill.

Looks like 1-3" through Summit County every day between now and Saturday.

I'm thinking I picked a good weekend.  If you see a guy at A-Basin in the Montezuma Bowl/Beavers snowboarding in Carhartts, that's me.

[LonghornJones 837]

If you see a guy at winter park with a flask out, taking a quick breather, that's me.

[Born to Run 6569]

Anyone know if there is a shuttle from Den to Salida? My son and I really enjoyed Monarch last year- no lines, great prices, no I-70 madness. A buddy wants to join us a day after we get in, but fly back at same time so two rental cars is less ideal.
Open to other ideas. It’s a quick 4 day trip over spring break. As such I don’t want to deal with crowds at Breck/WP

[Napoleon 8700]

6 hours ago, Born to Run said:

Anyone know if there is a shuttle from Den to Salida? My son and I really enjoyed Monarch last year- no lines, great prices, no I-70 madness. A buddy wants to join us a day after we get in, but fly back at same time so two rental cars is less ideal.
Open to other ideas. It’s a quick 4 day trip over spring break. As such I don’t want to deal with crowds at Breck/WP

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Denver-Airport-DEN/Salida-CO-USA?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnY_jBRDdARIsAIEqpJ250a-1XpC4RUzlqdjXort6jT4j40aBEUSQEYqigytVGLFNt-ErCJwaApBFEALw_wcB

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https://www.busbud.com/en/bus-salida-denver/r/9wuehk-9xj654

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

So I've been hearing a lot of talk about 70 being a nightmare for ski traffic these days.

We're staying in Idaho Springs tomorrow night.  If we leave there by 7AM Saturday, will we be ahead of the shit show or right in the thick?  Is it reasonable to expect getting to A-Basin before 9 in that time frame?

Edited February 14, 2019 by Al_4_ISU

[LonghornJones 837]

From someone who lives in Dallas, I think you should be in front of the Denver traffic. Also, the CoDOT website is great for traffic alerts and cams.

From OpenSnow:

The second round of snow will then follow from Thursday night and into Friday morning. This round should deliver even healthier totals (4-8 inches) but due to the high amounts of moisture and strong winds, expect more thick snow quality. For travel, slick and snow-packed road surfaces will continue to be the story through Friday so give yourself extra travel time.

The third and final definite round of snow will push into the corridor on Friday night and continue into Saturday. This round of snow will be accompanied by a stronger cold front and even though we won't be looking at bigger totals (2-6 inches), we should receive much fluffier snow quality due to the colder temperatures. Icy, slick, and snow-packed road surfaces will continue and due to the cold front on Saturday morning, keep an eye out for possible accidents and road closures. 

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by LonghornJones

[Chewbacca 7787]

So I've been hearing a lot of talk about 70 being a nightmare for ski traffic these days.
We're staying in Idaho Springs tomorrow night.  If we leave there by 7AM Saturday, will we be ahead of the shit show or right in the thick?  Is it reasonable to expect getting to A-Basin before 9 in that time frame?

You will be right in the thick of the shit at that time.

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

4 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

58 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

So I've been hearing a lot of talk about 70 being a nightmare for ski traffic these days.
We're staying in Idaho Springs tomorrow night.  If we leave there by 7AM Saturday, will we be ahead of the shit show or right in the thick?  Is it reasonable to expect getting to A-Basin before 9 in that time frame?

You will be right in the thick of the shit at that time.

So if I wanted to be to A-Basin by 8:30, what time should I leave Idaho Springs?  I'm assuming with the snow that the Loveland Pass will be closed.

[Chewbacca 7787]

So if I wanted to be to A-Basin by 8:30, what time should I leave Idaho Springs?  I'm assuming with the snow that the Loveland Pass will be closed.

I'd leave by 630. You will likely be early to a basin but that is better than being late. You might be able to make it on time leaving at 7 and it might take 3 hours. You never really know.

[hopkinsnhorns 533]

Lulz, my sister-in-law and her husband were supposed to fly into Reno today then drive up to Tahoe for a week of skiing with his family.  Tahoe is impassible and their cabin is expected to be without power until Sunday.  So... now they get to spend the week in Reno.  What a fucking waste of valuable vacation time.  I couldn't help but laugh, but now I'm starting to feel bad about all this schadenfreude.

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

19 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

22 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

So if I wanted to be to A-Basin by 8:30, what time should I leave Idaho Springs?  I'm assuming with the snow that the Loveland Pass will be closed.

I'd leave by 630. You will likely be early to a basin but that is better than being late. You might be able to make it on time leaving at 7 and it might take 3 hours. You never really know.

Seems reasonable.  Once we're through the tunnel, I'm not that worried.  Traffic up from Dillon is something we can manage.

[Napoleon 8700]

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Seems reasonable.  Once we're through the tunnel, I'm not that worried.  Traffic up from Dillon is something we can manage.

 

What "tunnel" are you talking about?

You get off the highway before the Eisenhower Tunnel and then pass Loveland Ski Area and will have a "very exciting" short drive from exiting the highway to the A-Basin parking lot.

By very exciting, I mean "One lane... slow as shit... huge drop offs if you went over the guard-rail" exciting.

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

8 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

 

What "tunnel" are you talking about?

You get off the highway before the Eisenhower Tunnel and then pass Loveland Ski Area and will have a "very exciting" short drive from exiting the highway to the A-Basin parking lot.

By very exciting, I mean "One lane... slow as shit... huge drop offs if you went over the guard-rail" exciting.

I've driven the Loveland Pass 3-4 times, including the last time I went to A-Basin.

CODOT has it currently closed due to snow.  If it snows tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday AM, I don't see why that status would change.

EDIT:  They changed it's status to open, but it looks like shit.  I'm used to driving on a snowy, icy roads.  But I'm used to doing it on the Great Plains, and not down a steep grade with deadly cliffs to my side.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Al_4_ISU

[triplehorn 2664]

On 2/11/2019 at 4:38 PM, Napoleon said:

 

High School crew?

The core group is made up of grad school friends from the 90's, with a variable add-on or two every year.  We started with road trips to Taos in the 90's and used to stay in the top floor of a stucco house in Taos village owned by my old landlord from Sr year at UT.  We've all been on the west coast for the last 20 years, so we just conveniently meet up at the SLC airport and hit the mountains every ski season.

did some light skinning this year too

 

[Napoleon 8700]

2 minutes ago, triplehorn said:

...did some light skinning this year too

You're so granola! 

😂

Sounds cool. More interesting than my annual fantasy football destination drafts with the high school buddies.

(We never consider doing any "light skinning" the last weekend of August/first weekend of September and I'm okay with that. I'm not even sure what that would mean at that time of year.)

[triplehorn 2664]

skinning followed by crampons.  that's a ski resort 4 thousand feet below.

VVV

 

[Born to Run 6569]

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Denver-Airport-DEN/Salida-CO-USA?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnY_jBRDdARIsAIEqpJ250a-1XpC4RUzlqdjXort6jT4j40aBEUSQEYqigytVGLFNt-ErCJwaApBFEALw_wcB
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https://www.busbud.com/en/bus-salida-denver/r/9wuehk-9xj654

Thanks!
Maybe I should look at Cooper or A basin then.

[Napoleon 8700]

7 hours ago, triplehorn said:

skinning followed by crampons.  that's a ski resort 4 thousand feet below.

VVV

https://medium.com/s/greatescape/extreme-athleticism-is-the-new-midlife-crisis-d87199a18bed

[triplehorn 2664]

2 hours ago, Napoleon said:

https://medium.com/s/greatescape/extreme-athleticism-is-the-new-midlife-crisis-d87199a18bed

^^^ The main difference for me is that I took my first ski mountaineering course 15 years ago.  So I've been into it for a good stretch.  I definitely am going easier than back then, because now I have better, lighter gear  😉 😎

Ski mountaineering can be a very humbling and dangerous undertaking.  If you approach it within your limits and with caution and patience, then it's fun and amazing.  

 

Couple old pics from my first time on Mt. St.Helens way back when.  I skinned up with Blizzard Titans and the old Marker Duke AT bindings - fucking panzers

 

 

 

 

[Al_4_ISU 12489]

100% leaving Idaho Springs at 6:30.  The traffic on 70 has been thick all day.  We got here about 9AM, and any time I look at the highway it’s stop and go (or almost)

[Anastasis 23487]

Fuck I’m getting old. Day one kicked my quads ass. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Fuck I’m getting old. Day one kicked my quads ass. 

Acclimation is fundamental.