Colorado Ski Thread 2018/19 Season

[Napoleon 8689]

2 hours ago, triplehorn said:

Avy yesterday at Tumalo Mtn. next to Mt. Bachelor in OR.  It’s a popular backcountry schuss.  No one hurt in this one - thought to have been triggered by a snowmobile near the rim.

That's some scary shit.

The last Saturday of the season (2nd to the last day) the year I worked at Crested Butte, a ski patrol guy was skiing out of bounds, alone, and died in an avalanche. He wasn't covered in much snow, but got knocked out and ended up face down under ~6 inches of snow. I didn't know the person, but there was definitely a pall on the mountain the last day of the season. Avalanches ain't nuthin' ta' fuck with.

NOTE: Just because I worked at a ski resort one ski season does not mean that I can ski worth a shit.

[XYZ 2154]

How’s the snow looking in Colorado this winter? I went to Wolf Creek last December and they had very little snow.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

This is a really good early season. Yesterday Breck was boasting about how it’s the earliest they’ve ever opened all their terrain. 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

Any recs on a mountain/place to stay for a trip on the cheap in late February? We have a toddler we were going to try to get started on skiing, so we were figuring something like Monarch and staying in Salida would be a good way to go. We will be driving, so closer to Texas is always good. Also have to consider that we may not get to do much skiing at all because the little one.

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

5 hours ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

This is a really good early season. Yesterday Breck was boasting about how it’s the earliest they’ve ever opened all their terrain. 

I was in Breck over the summer and the locals said last season was very bad,  almost historically bad.   They were down about never having another good snow season again and I told a few of them we feel  the same  way bout rain down here when we are in drought.   Then shit happens like Harvey and the floods like we had this fall on the Colorado and Llano Rivers and  it's soon forgotten.  

But damn I wish I was on my way to Breck right now.  

[4th and 5 4914]

Breck: six more inches yesterday, with snow forecast for the next 4 days. 

Epic snowfall this season. Can’t wait. 

[XYZ 2154]

On 12/21/2018 at 3:22 PM, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Any recs on a mountain/place to stay for a trip on the cheap in late February? We have a toddler we were going to try to get started on skiing, so we were figuring something like Monarch and staying in Salida would be a good way to go. We will be driving, so closer to Texas is always good. Also have to consider that we may not get to do much skiing at all because the little one.

Ski at Wolf Creek and stay in Pagosa? Taos? Angel Fire? Red River?

[Bobby Light 76]

My wife wants to go somewhere with snow and nightlife. She loves the feel of a ski village but not interested in skiing. Any recs for a nice ski town that may be cheaper since it's not right next to a ski mountain? Thinking Like Durango ish

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

My wife wants to go somewhere with snow and nightlife. She loves the feel of a ski village but not interested in skiing. Any recs for a nice ski town that may be cheaper since it's not right next to a ski mountain? Thinking Like Durango ish

Breck fits your criteria well as far as being close to the main ski area. Now most of your ski destinations are going to cost you a premium during the peak weeks. But Breck is a little easier on the wallet vs Vail, Aspen, and Beaver Creeks. This is assuming you want to go to Colorado and flying into Denver or Eagle west of Beaver Creek.

[Napoleon 8689]

7 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Breck fits your criteria well as far as being close to the main ski area. Now most of your ski destinations are going to cost you a premium during the peak weeks. But Breck is a little easier on the wallet vs Vail, Aspen, and Beaver Creeks. This is assuming you want to go to Colorado and flying into Denver or Eagle west of Beaver Creek.

 

I haz agree. 

Park City, Utah isn't too shabby either, but it's Utah. (And Utah inherently sucks... they'll find something to fuck you over on if you're not "in the club".)

Some of the places around Tahoe are fun as well and it's easy to fly in/out of Reno, Nevada.

I've never done Canada, but Banff & places around there might fall into this category (and be slightly less expensive, because CANADA).

JACKSON HOLE (Wyoming) might be worth considering.

[wild_turkey 3166]

Crested Butte is a nice little ski town and relatively inexpensive.

Telluride is my personal favorite, although price may be closer to Vail at this point.

Durango is not a ski town IMO.

[strangulation! 1716]

On 12/21/2018 at 3:22 PM, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Any recs on a mountain/place to stay for a trip on the cheap in late February? We have a toddler we were going to try to get started on skiing, so we were figuring something like Monarch and staying in Salida would be a good way to go. We will be driving, so closer to Texas is always good. Also have to consider that we may not get to do much skiing at all because the little one.

Sipapu, near Taos.

https://www.sipapu.ski/specials/

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

Crested Butte is a nice little ski town and relatively inexpensive.

Telluride is my personal favorite, although price may be closer to Vail at this point.

Durango is not a ski town IMO.

Created Butte would work. Only issue with Crested Butte is your discount airlines like Southwest and Frontier only fly to Denver. I think Frontier flys into Colorado Springs as well.

[4th and 5 4914]

19 hours ago, Bobby Light said:

My wife wants to go somewhere with snow and nightlife. She loves the feel of a ski village but not interested in skiing. Any recs for a nice ski town that may be cheaper since it's not right next to a ski mountain? Thinking Like Durango ish

The kids and I ski, the wife might go once and then hit the spa and shops. She definitely digs Breck or, second choice, Park City/Deer Valley/Canyons. Both are easy to get to and neither requires a vehicle. I'm assuming you want to ski. Both have lifts that go into the main street. Lots of skiing at either place. Snow should be better at Breck.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

20 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

The kids and I ski, the wife might go once and then hit the spa and shops. She definitely digs Breck or, second choice, Park City/Deer Valley/Canyons. Both are easy to get to and neither requires a vehicle. I'm assuming you want to ski. Both have lifts that go into the main street. Lots of skiing at either place. Snow should be better at Breck.

Depending on how far out you have to book. Whichever of those two has the bst snow or best snow forecasted, should be your destination.  

[Hpara759 1780]

Its not Colorado....but its snowing its buttocks off at Ski Apache

 

https://www.skiapache.com/live-webcams/

 

[Napoleon 8689]

I'm driving up to Arrowhead this morning (Saturday morning) and either skiing there, Bachelor's Gulch, and/or Beaver Creek. (My friend's family's house is halfway down the side of the slope to the Arrowhead lift.)

I think that their guest room is full, so I might be driving back after the Bama/OU game... (not that they don't have about 80 feet of couch space throughout the house for me to crash on, but the owner generation sets the rules).

I'll take at least one photo of something and post it tomorrow or Sunday...

...unless I don't. 

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

Seems like Colorado and New Mexico are striking gold so far with snow this season and it's not even half over.

We might make another trip to Colorado this up coming  summer which means white water rafting will be a blast with all that snow melt.   

[4th and 5 4914]

21 hours ago, Hpara759 said:

Its not Colorado....but its snowing its buttocks off at Ski Apache

 

https://www.skiapache.com/live-webcams/

 

A friend in Ruidoso sent a pic showing 20 inches and counting. This time 3 years ago they got 40 inches one night, just as we drove in from Texas. We couldn’t get out of his driveway for a day but Day 2 we made it to apache and it was the best skiing I’ve ever done anywhere. 

[Napoleon 8689]

16 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Seems like Colorado and New Mexico are striking gold so far with snow this season and it's not even half over.

We might make another trip to Colorado this up coming  summer which means white water rafting will be a blast with all that snow melt.   

It's not even 1/3 of the way through.

The year I worked at Crested Butte is snowed sometime in early November (I think) and then maybe one or two times for a total of about 3 to 5 inches by January ~4th. Other than manmade snow, the mountain was in horrible shape.

Then on ~January 4th, it snowed about 14". We averaged about 12"/day for the next week. We had snow possibly every day for the rest of January and probably about 10 days WITHOUT snow for the rest of the year.

When it rain in SoCal, it snows in Colorado a couple of days later. Look for "Mudslides in 'the Southland'." and you'll see epic dumps in January -> April in Northern New Mexico up to northern Colorado.

[jimmyjazz 45976]

My 16 YO daughter (pics, $50) is headed to Durango tomorrow with friends & their parents.  She has been once before, different resort, and only snowboarded, which she liked.  With the current conditions (whatever that is, seems like they've gotten some recent snow), is it advisable for a reasonably athletic novice to stick to snowboarding or should she go for skis?

Last time I told her to ski first and then try snowboarding, but she didn't listen, and I guess she proved herself.  I still think she should ski, but then again, I've never ridden a cricket bat down a mountain, either.

[Napoleon 8689]

36 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

My 16 YO daughter (pics, $50) is headed to Durango tomorrow with friends & their parents.  She has been once before, different resort, and only snowboarded, which she liked.  With the current conditions (whatever that is, seems like they've gotten some recent snow), is it advisable for a reasonably athletic novice to stick to snowboarding or should she go for skis?

Last time I told her to ski first and then try snowboarding, but she didn't listen, and I guess she proved herself.  I still think she should ski, but then again, I've never ridden a cricket bat down a mountain, either.

She's 16, let her snowboard. 

She's already started on it, she likes it, it's "cool", and her bones are still flexible. Osteoporosis hasn't set in yet, so now is the time to perfect her snowboarding.

If you're a cool dad, you'll offer to pay for a 1/2 or full day refresher lesson so that she'll be back up to speed faster than just trying to remember all the shit that she's forgotten.

FREE & NOT FREE LESSONS:  https://www.purgatoryresort.com/free-lessons/

There should be plenty of snow for snowboarding to be fun. There were snowboarders on Arapahoe basic in mid-November, there will be snowboarders all over the place in Purgatory tomorrow. Check out the Purgatory Snow Report: 12" in the last 6 days, no biggie dude. https://www.purgatoryresort.com/snow-report/

 

[jimmyjazz 45976]

I'm not going to stop her from snowboarding -- I'm just wondering if she's willing to ski if that would be more productive.  She's only going to be on the slopes 3 days (max).

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm not going to stop her from snowboarding -- I'm just wondering if she's willing to ski if that would be more productive.  She's only going to be on the slopes 3 days (max).

Seems like most  teens and even younger look at skiing as something we "old" people do.   LOL!  Thank the X games and the Winter Olympics for that.  

I have to say if this Gen X'er was 26 instead of 46, I might give it a try, but I haven't had knee surgery yet and I rather keep it that way as long as possible.   

 

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

9 hours ago, Napoleon said:

It's not even 1/3 of the way through.

The year I worked at Crested Butte is snowed sometime in early November (I think) and then maybe one or two times for a total of about 3 to 5 inches by January ~4th. Other than manmade snow, the mountain was in horrible shape.

Then on ~January 4th, it snowed about 14". We averaged about 12"/day for the next week. We had snow possibly every day for the rest of January and probably about 10 days WITHOUT snow for the rest of the year.

When it rain in SoCal, it snows in Colorado a couple of days later. Look for "Mudslides in 'the Southland'." and you'll see epic dumps in January -> April in Northern New Mexico up to northern Colorado.

The slopes are going to max out this season for sure and then some.   Damn I need to find a way to get up there, even for a quick extended weekend thing.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

14 minutes ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Seems like most  teens and even younger look at skiing as something we "old" people do.   LOL!  Thank the X games and the Winter Olympics for that.  

I have to say if this Gen X'er was 26 instead of 46, I might give it a try, but I haven't had knee surgery yet and I rather keep it that way as long as possible.   

 

I thought boarding was the answer for people with bad knees ?  I thought it was bad for your face and wrists more than anything else.

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

3 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I thought boarding was the answer for people with bad knees ?  I thought it was bad for your face and wrists more than anything else.

I've heard the same thing.  Maybe not so hard on the actually riding the board,  but personally I rather not chance the potential wipeouts and the knee or knees taking the brunt.  I'll stick to the skis.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

11 minutes ago, Nueces River Rat said:

I've heard the same thing.  Maybe not so hard on the actually riding the board,  but personally I rather not chance the potential wipeouts and the knee or knees taking the brunt.  I'll stick to the skis.

That is precisely my philosophy .  I know I can get hurt skiing , but I have no desire to get hurt learning how to board .

Edited December 30, 2018 by Onboard 2.0

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

Let her snowboard. Going back to skis is always easy. Boarding takes more balance and developing that while young is a good thing.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Let her snowboard. Going back to skis is always easy. Boarding takes more balance and developing that while young is a good thing.

Skiing is more difficult to master than boarding from everything I've seen and heard others talk about.  If you haven't mastered skiing it's not "easy" to go back to.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

If you haven't mastered skiing it is certainly easy to go back to the same relative level of proficiency. Snowboarding may not be as difficult to master as skiing, but just getting to where you can reliably switch edges without slamming your face or the back of your head into the snow is a lot more difficult upfront and better to learn younger.

[Napoleon 8689]

9 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

If you haven't mastered skiing it is certainly easy to go back to the same relative level of proficiency. Snowboarding may not be as difficult to master as skiing, but just getting to where you can reliably switch edges without slamming your face or the back of your head into the snow is a lot more difficult upfront and better to learn younger.

This times a baffinity!

i hadn’t skied in 20 years before going for an hour at A Basin. I was never very good, just a blue run skier, but picked up almost where I left off. 

I might try snowboarding again later in the season when there is more power, but I would kill myself on the mountain now if I tried to snowboard. 

[Napoleon 8689]

Hit Arrowhead & Bachelor’s Gulch yesterday. (West side of Beaver Creek.)

Light snow has been falling since Sunday night and it picked up Monday afternoon. 

Staying warm while riding the lift with my buddy  

 

Bachelor’s Gulch Ritz Carlton & ski lift

Looking south from Mamie’s warming hut & patio at the top of Bachelor’s Gulch lift around 2:30pm.

 

 

[harpercollins 394]

need advice on deer valley.  what is the absolute easiest (non-bunny slope run)?  if i do a refresher adult group lesson will the beginner lift ticket be sufficient for my first day?  it's basically good only for silver lake express.  i'm an advanced beginner skill-wise but factoring in my fear i'm a beginner.  

[4th and 5 4914]

Just finished a week in Breck. Conditions were great. Everything is open. The best places to ski were:

-best experience: Peak 8 Superconnect to 6 chair to Imperial Chair (highest lift in North America at 12,800 feet), to Peak 8, then take the catwalk over to the Whale's Tail. Definitely a spot you will want to take in for a while before you drop in. You can see Pike's Peak, about 70 miles away. I bet you can see for over 100 miles. Go down the Whale's Tail to Wanderlust to get to Peak 6 without going to the base area.

-Peak 6 is great, Kensho lines weren't bad, steeps at the top, nice trees down below, snow was very good.

-best snow was Mercury lift area, great place to wind down on some blues after skiing hard all morning.

-C chair, least crowded, a few easy blacks

-6 Chair had some difficult terrain, not crowded. About halfway up, on a sunny day, look to your right, and in a tree, about halfway up, maybe 15 yards away will be a porcupine, sleeping in the sun. We also saw a fox running around above the treeline just above 6 Chair.

-peak 10 is awesome, Falcon lift not very crowded, a few slick spots up there though

-stay the hell away from the base lifts (Beaver Run, Quicksilver, Independence)

-no car needed, we just took a van from the airport, used the bus to get to the store and acquire other essential items

 

[LonghornJones 837]

Whats the best rental car from the airport in order to get around the mountains (going to Winter Park)? I'd rather not buy chains for a rental, and I am assuming sub-par road conditions so I can be prepared. All-wheel drive all the time, front wheel drive only, 4-wheel drive jeep?  This will be my first time to drive it solo, but I want to take the family in the future so I want to be comfortable when that happens. TIA

 

[Chewbacca 7780]

Whats the best rental car from the airport in order to get around the mountains (going to Winter Park)? I'd rather not buy chains for a rental, and I am assuming sub-par road conditions so I can be prepared. All-wheel drive all the time, front wheel drive only, 4-wheel drive jeep?  This will be my first time to drive it solo, but I want to take the family in the future so I want to be comfortable when that happens. TIA
 

Where are you staying in WP? Might not need a car. Home James will take you to/ from the airport.

[LonghornJones 837]

North of Granby. Not Winter Park proper.

[Chewbacca 7780]

North of Granby. Not Winter Park proper.

Nevermind. You need a car.

[Napoleon 8689]

This is the 2nd day in a row of this at Breck.

 

The other area mountains have been getting ~3"-5".

Even Denver (especially the South Side) have been getting hit all day. We've probably gotten about 4" to 6", but it's been ~33F and some of it has melted.

[Upgrayedd 5814]

Got two trips booked for Colorado.

January 25, 26, and 27 in Breck.  February 25 thru March 2 at Vail/BC.

Any you assholes gonna be up there?

 

 

[Napoleon 8689]

On 1/12/2019 at 9:10 PM, Upgrayedd said:

Got two trips booked for Colorado.

January 25, 26, and 27 in Breck.  February 25 thru March 2 at Vail/BC.

Any you assholes gonna be up there?

This coming weekend I'll be heading up to my friend's family's house in the Arrowhead/Bachelor's Gulch part of Beaver Creek. (I'm not good, so I won't be on anything too difficult.) I think that we'll be skiing Saturday-Monday (1/19-1/21), if you're not that good, I might consider driving up for a day the following weekend.

My friend thinks that he and his wife & kids will be back for Presidents' Day, whenever the hell that is. Considering the size of the house, I could probably go for some of that and his wife & kids might not even know that I'm there... unless they see my car in the driveway.

I was considering skiing up somewhere in the Vail family this past weekend, but I got snowed into the driveway in Denver and the plan would have had me starting to shovel snow early on Saturday morning before bringing a dog to bundle in the car while I skied one day and then I would have driven on to Steamboat to stay with some friends for the night, before driving back to a Vail property in the morning to ski again. (I would not pay $179 for a last minute lift ticket to Steamboat when I have a season pass to the Vail Properties. Nope.)

[HoustonHorn 1062]

So CB was great. Stayed at the Grand Lodge near the base. Very convenient with two kids. Awesome to watch the torchlight parade/fireworks on NYE and made it to Secret Stash for some pizza. Thanks for the recommendations. Absolutely beautiful as well.

Difficult terrain - its been 30 years since I skied there so did not remember just how comparatively difficult the mountain is. They appear to take pride in under-classing runs. I am well past skiing blacks these days but there were some blue runs that I would consider to be tough blacks/double blacks on other mountains. I have no interest in moguls and that level of difficulty but long cruiser blues and steep, challenging blues are great. The kids are just getting comfortable on blues as well, so hopefully we'll have several years to ski together.

Is there anyone here really familiar with the town, mountain, Gunnison, and local winter/summer activities. Even better, anyone with any insight into Vail's plans with the recent purchase? Heading back up there to look at buying a place and would love additional insight from regulars. Loved the overall atmosphere, the people were great and obviously very excited to talk about how great CB is. Unfortunately I think the Vail purchase will change some of that (hopefully not too much - and some of it for the better), but also seems like it could be a beneficial investment.

Cheers!

[Chewbacca 7780]

1 hour ago, HoustonHorn said:

So CB was great. Stayed at the Grand Lodge near the base. Very convenient with two kids. Awesome to watch the torchlight parade/fireworks on NYE and made it to Secret Stash for some pizza. Thanks for the recommendations. Absolutely beautiful as well.

Difficult terrain - its been 30 years since I skied there so did not remember just how comparatively difficult the mountain is. They appear to take pride in under-classing runs. I am well past skiing blacks these days but there were some blue runs that I would consider to be tough blacks/double blacks on other mountains. I have no interest in moguls and that level of difficulty but long cruiser blues and steep, challenging blues are great. The kids are just getting comfortable on blues as well, so hopefully we'll have several years to ski together.

Is there anyone here really familiar with the town, mountain, Gunnison, and local winter/summer activities. Even better, anyone with any insight into Vail's plans with the recent purchase? Heading back up there to look at buying a place and would love additional insight from regulars. Loved the overall atmosphere, the people were great and obviously very excited to talk about how great CB is. Unfortunately I think the Vail purchase will change some of that (hopefully not too much - and some of it for the better), but also seems like it could be a beneficial investment.

Cheers!

Not CB specific, but I would not buy a vacation home in CO as an investment.  Buy it because you love coming here, buy it because you want to use it, but don't buy it because you think you'll make money on it.  The real estate markets in mountain areas near resorts are not what I would call stable.  They can swing pretty wildly.  

 

That said, I really like the CB/Gunnison area.  Tougher to get to from Denver, but if you're flying in to Gunnison that's not an issue.  You've got some great fishing/hiking/mountain biking in the immediate area.  Lake City and Creede are not that far away for a day trip if you need to visit with some fellow Texans during the summer.  Taylor park is one of my favorite places on earth, and it's very close.  I spent several months in Gunnison for work and I like it a lot.  Slower pace of life.

[Twizzler 161]

any thoughts on Utah?. 

Headed to park city, deer valley early Feb,

[crash_davis 23113]

8 hours ago, Twizzler said:

any thoughts on Utah?. 

Headed to park city, deer valley early Feb,

Utah is great.  I ride so I have never been to Deer Valley.  DV has a great reputation for being a top notch resort and great runs.

Park City MR is hella busy, the busiest in the area.  We always spend a day riding there but haven't made it over to the new addition (The Canyons).  Went to the Canyons a few times a decade ago.  It was a shitty resort with short runs and a lift system that was all kinds of fucked up.  PCMR and DV side of the mountain gets less snow than the other side of the mountain which include Brighton, Solitude, Alta, and Snowbird resorts. 

I normally ride Brighton.  It's our base resort.  It's a very popular snowboard resort.  It's a local's resort so don't expect much in amenities.  Actually don't expect anything in the way of amenities.  My second favorite resort in the area is Snowbasin.  It's about an hour from SLC but well worth the drive.  Nice resort with amenities that out of towners expect from a ski resort.  Funny because it's mostly locals.  Solitude is blah.  The best thing about it is that its probably the least crowded resort in the area.  So if you want to avoid the masses, Solitude is your answer.  If you can deal with the boarders and the lack of amenities, I would drive 5 mins further and hit Brighton instead of Solitude.  But again, Brighton is FULL of boarders and all that entails.

Never been to Alta (ski only) or Snowbird.  Heard great things about Alta.

Good summary below.

https://www.snowpak.com/utah/best-ski-resorts

Edited January 15, 2019 by crash_davis

[HoustonHorn 1062]

15 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Not CB specific, but I would not buy a vacation home in CO as an investment.  Buy it because you love coming here, buy it because you want to use it, but don't buy it because you think you'll make money on it.  The real estate markets in mountain areas near resorts are not what I would call stable.  They can swing pretty wildly.   

 

That said, I really like the CB/Gunnison area.  Tougher to get to from Denver, but if you're flying in to Gunnison that's not an issue.  You've got some great fishing/hiking/mountain biking in the immediate area.  Lake City and Creede are not that far away for a day trip if you need to visit with some fellow Texans during the summer.  Taylor park is one of my favorite places on earth, and it's very close.  I spent several months in Gunnison for work and I like it a lot.  Slower pace of life.

Considering buying because we'd actually use it a few times per year for skiing and during the summer and if we can get rental income to offset the cost then I'd like to maximize that. I also think that the Vail investment will generally increase the values of property in the area over the next 10+ years assuming you get the right place in the right area. For better or worse, Vail will make changes to grow the resort, improve amenities, etc. They've invested $1.2B in the last decade to improve and grow resorts and plans to spend another $175M this year. Having skied at Canyons/PC the last few years, Crested Butte was definitely a step behind as far as the overall experience. Not that it was bad - we had a great time and love the area. But things could definitely operate smoother and I expect that will happen sooner rather than later.

To add, I think the potential growth for CB is better than a lot of other places so if I'm going to buy something might as well try to find something that will appreciate over time. Obviously no guarantees, but I'm willing to take the chance the area will grow and prices over the long term will appreciate.

Edited January 15, 2019 by HoustonHorn
To add

[immamac 42864]

17 hours ago, HoustonHorn said:

So CB was great. Stayed at the Grand Lodge near the base. Very convenient with two kids. Awesome to watch the torchlight parade/fireworks on NYE and made it to Secret Stash for some pizza. Thanks for the recommendations. Absolutely beautiful as well.

Difficult terrain - its been 30 years since I skied there so did not remember just how comparatively difficult the mountain is. They appear to take pride in under-classing runs. I am well past skiing blacks these days but there were some blue runs that I would consider to be tough blacks/double blacks on other mountains. I have no interest in moguls and that level of difficulty but long cruiser blues and steep, challenging blues are great. The kids are just getting comfortable on blues as well, so hopefully we'll have several years to ski together.

Is there anyone here really familiar with the town, mountain, Gunnison, and local winter/summer activities. Even better, anyone with any insight into Vail's plans with the recent purchase? Heading back up there to look at buying a place and would love additional insight from regulars. Loved the overall atmosphere, the people were great and obviously very excited to talk about how great CB is. Unfortunately I think the Vail purchase will change some of that (hopefully not too much - and some of it for the better), but also seems like it could be a beneficial investment.

Cheers!

I lived there for 2 years and have been spending at least 10 weeks a year there for the last 7. My in laws and some very good friends still live there, I'd be happy to answer any questions in DM to not derail the thread or you could start a CB thread 

[HoustonHorn 1062]

8 hours ago, Twizzler said:

any thoughts on Utah?. 

Headed to park city, deer valley early Feb,

Agree with a lot of what crash says above. PC is very busy. Canyons I think has improved a lot (only been in the last 5 years so can't comment on how it was before) and is generally much less crowded. Its enormous and you can spend almost an entire day just going from one side of the mountain to the other. Vail built a gondola to connect the two so you can actually ski both together now but it does take some time to make it to that side of the mountain on Canyons. Not sure what level skier you are but if you are a beginner and not comfortable skiing blues, do not go to Canyons. There is literally one tiny green slope off the High Meadow lift and nothing else accessible unless you can get down a blue. That said, the blues are generally pretty easy around Saddleback. 

For challenging blues - Lookout is a great, steep, pretty long run. Apex is a nice long run off of the Condor Express. Sidewinder and Cloud 9 have been blues in the past but appear to be marked as black now. When groomed, they are fantastic, steep blues. Lots of nice runs off of Dreamscape/Daybreak/Peak 5. I prefer skiing Canyons over PC.

Can't comment on the black runs, but there were definitely a lot of very challenging looking runs.

We've always rented by Owner at the Grand Summit Lodge. We've been there 4 times and I still can't easily find my way around. It's pretty massive, but a decent place to stay at the base. Decent amenities. The base area has a big open area in the middle where kids can play, sometimes they have musicians, etc. Great ski school - I can give you a name if you or your family are looking for private lessons.

Transportation into town is provided and is free (+tip).

[LonghornJones 837]

Park City Main Street webcam:

https://www.visitparkcity.com/plan-your-trip/park-city-webcams/

Coming down pretty good today (1/15/19).