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Arapahoe Basin 12/25/2016

dlague

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Nov 7, 2012
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CS, Colorado
Conditions: Phenomenal - natural PP with powder 2-4 inches but visibility up high as poor.

So as I mentioned elsewhere we planned to ski Vail and Breck but in the end ski only A Basin. Our military son has yet to get his pass and the buddy tickets are not exactly cheap. In trying to find the best deal for him and his girlfriend we ended with a liftopia.com deal and used two of our ski show $10 gift cards.

Once again we got a bit of a late start and got to A Basin around 11:30 bit we were all skiing as a family and the place was like a ghost town so lapping the lift was going to be easy. It was lightly snowing when we arrived and there was a decent storm that passed through the mountains over night.

We hopped on to Black Mountain Express, which is a great lift due to speed, and took a warm up run down High Noon. Immediately we could tell that this was going to be fun. Next, we then wanted to head over to Montezuma Bowl

At higher elevation visibility was poor due to heavy snowing, winds were constant, and light very flat. We skied Larkspur which was awesome but it was one and done on that side. In fact, when returning back to the front side we skied Lenawee Face and you literally could not see terrain features. It was basically powder and chop but skied well but it was anyone's guess was was coming. In any case we continued down Dercum's Gulch and then to Ramrod. Ramrod was slightly powder bumped and fun.

We decided to basically lap and ski from Black Mountain Express since it was faster. We killed a lot of time riding Lenawee and Zuma lifts and it felt dangerous due to the conditions higher up. Now while High Noon and Ramrod were awesome the surprise of the day were the trees between Sundance and Wrangler. We ski that area over and over. Another cool trail was North Fork with is a narrow bump trail that was a blast. Another cool glade was off the lower section of Chisholm. On our last couple runs , we skied The Gulch which is an even narrower bump run with good pitch and then ended on Exhibition which was also a good powder bump and bump run. The only issue with Exhibition was this spots. It looked like it was open with just natural.

Overall, it was a very fun day even though skiing higher was taken off the table. Nice to see how much is open though. Also was glad to see that our son's girlfriend can ski pretty good. Always have told our kids - make sure you date/marry someone who skis that way you know it will not be an issue later.

Visibility from Lenawee Face
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Dercum's Gulch
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8f4c6e5fb5ac958f089592f1367a3fa9.jpg


The Gulch
06792699c3751e8dd0327b8ccfb274d4.jpg


Exhibition
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4aprice

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Lake Hopatcong, NJ and Granby Co
Just want to add that storm skiing in the west is a different animal. A Basin is a place I would avoid during a storm just because if I can't see then its just not fun for me. I remember running down to the Valley from Loveland Basin in one storm (a story for another time as it was awesome). Hiding at Buttermilk in Aspen and the trees at Brighton Utah. You may not have had a choice but a place with good tree cover is what I look for in a storm.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

Cornhead

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Ha, my first time at A-basin got vertigo skiing the open bowls during snowfall. It was freaky, headed to the trees for a little perspective. Thanks for posting, can't wait to return.

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dlague

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CS, Colorado
Just want to add that storm skiing in the west is a different animal. A Basin is a place I would avoid during a storm just because if I can't see then its just not fun for me. I remember running down to the Valley from Loveland Basin in one storm (a story for another time as it was awesome). Hiding at Buttermilk in Aspen and the trees at Brighton Utah. You may not have had a choice but a place with good tree cover is what I look for in a storm.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
That is why skiing the lower part of A Basin was perfect. Visibility always clear and the winds were limited.

The snow feels so much different like silky smooth when skiing it. Also feels very light so resistance on the tails seems less.

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dlague

Active member
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
8,792
Points
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Location
CS, Colorado
Ha, my first time at A-basin got vertigo skiing the open bowls during snowfall. It was freaky, headed to the trees for a little perspective. Thanks for posting, can't wait to return.

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I get it! On the Montezuma side it was tough to see. I led the way by stopping so others could see where to go. In a bowl with no perspective feels weird.

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chuckstah

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Ha, my first time at A-basin got vertigo skiing the open bowls during snowfall. It was freaky, headed to the trees for a little perspective. Thanks for posting, can't wait to return.

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The same happened to me there way back in the 80's in a heavy squall. Didn't know up from down. Very strange feeling. Found the liftline by chance, and slowly followed it down. All clear in an hour or so.

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Cornhead

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I've never experienced disorientation while skiing in the East like that. I skied off the Montezuma lift headed towards the base. I forgot you go uphill alittle before continuing downhill. My mind's eye was anticipating a totally downhill run. When what was physically happening didn't jive with what my mind was expecting it fucked with my head. Also felt virtigo just skiing downhill without being able to see at all.


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