jimmywilson69
Well-known member
I've never waited in a long line at Blue Sky. Now getting out of there at the end of the day can be PIA, but that's easily avoidable. Easily one of my favorite areas of Vail.
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Eagle/Summit County Colorado ski area choices, etc?
- Thread starter BenedictGomez
- Start date
Smellytele
Well-known member
You do have the small "lodge" on top Belle's Camp
jimk
Well-known member
...with one of several free BBQ grilling areas for do it yourselfers at Vail.
There are some choke points in Blue Sky Basin that can be unpleasant on busy days, but my impressions are generally favorable too. I chuckle at folks who bad mouth Vail as a ski area. Coming from my part of the country it's a huge wonderland of skiing. Frontside has tons of runs including classic 1960-70s super wide groomer boulevards, but also bump runs, parks, and some trees. Backside has the famous bowls, which on a good day are pretty extraordinary and not something you get to ski just anywhere. Blue Sky is newer and has kind of has a retro/natural MRG feel with lots of glades and narrow trails that go with the topography. Vail imparts a feeling of spaciousness, but on any given day there are a lot of humans out there with you. At various points you'll see a crowd of people congregating and realize this.
dlague
Active member
...with one of several free BBQ grilling areas for do it yourselfers at Vail.
There are some choke points in Blue Sky Basin that can be unpleasant on busy days, but my impressions are generally favorable too. I chuckle at folks who bad mouth Vail as a ski area. Coming from my part of the country it's a huge wonderland of skiing. Frontside has tons of runs including classic 1960-70s super wide groomer boulevards, but also bump runs, parks, and some trees. Backside has the famous bowls, which on a good day are pretty extraordinary and not something you get to ski just anywhere. Blue Sky is newer and has kind of has a retro/natural MRG feel with lots of glades and narrow trails that go with the topography. Vail imparts a feeling of spaciousness, but on any given day there are a lot of humans out there with you. At various points you'll see a crowd of people congregating and realize this.
We were there for only one day and never really focused on one area. It is huge. We were there on New Years day and it was practically a ghost town until they herded the cattle back to town at the end of the day. We had hoped to make it there more often but it was always easier to hit Breck or A Basin and sprinkle a little Loveland and Keystone in the mix.
Like I mentioned earlier, lots to look forward to next season. We will get 40 days or so in and I feel we barely scratched the surface. The biggest challenge has been to remove the intimidation factor from my wife. She would try almost any run in New England but here I have been having to ease her into steeper terrain. Looks like Blue Sky would have been a good place for her to ski.
4aprice
Well-known member
Whats the end of the trip? Heading out tonight, and the only for sure plans are Mary Jane Saturday. Was really considering hitting Loveland either Thursday or Friday.
Alex
Lake Hopatcong, NJ
dlague
Active member
At Loveland:
Bumps under Chair 4 were skiing great. Steeps under Chair 1 skied well in the afternoon but was very firm in the morning. Runs from chair 9 were also really good in the afternoon. Trees off Chair 8 are in great shape too in the afternoon. However, there will be no significant warm up in the mountains to soften things up. Will be interesting to see how the few inches of new snow plays out for Friday. Friday will feel like Winter up in those hills!
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BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Leaving Sunday.
Got a great lesson in why Vail is toast early. Just took a scenic drive around the mountains from Vail, to Minturn, to Leadville, to Copper Mountain and back, and while it was just nuking snow atop and at the base of Copper (30 degrees base) it was raining at the base of Vail and 38 degrees. The difference between a 10,000 foot base and about a 8,800 foot has made a big difference with the recent weather being so warm, I could see from the highway Copper (though closed) still has 100% coverage to the bottom.
dlague
Active member
Makes a big difference at Loveland and A Basin too!
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dlague
Active member
Well looky here!
https://opensnow.com/dailysnow/colorado/post/8619
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https://opensnow.com/dailysnow/colorado/post/8619
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Ski2LiveLive2Ski
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Awesome! Hitting Abasin Sat and Sun 
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Better late than never!
dlague
Active member
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
^ Leaving in about 5 minutes for either Loveland or A-Basin, will decide on the road. Looks like about 6 to 8 inches down so far.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Finally a Powder day in colorado. Snow stake @ loveland says 7.5 inches, but it lies, there's gotta be a solid 10" out there. Simply fantastic.
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
nice... Loveland on a Powder is killer. I be the Chair 1 Expert terrain is great today.
In my 3 winters of skiing there they underreport more often than not! Nice good for you!
dlague
Active member
Damn! Good for you! Hope to be there tomorrow afternoon. If not then A Basin for sure on Sunday. Powder will be gone but the new snow will be nice!
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dlague
Active member
Both LL and AB are awesome on Powder days. So spread out that there are so many places to get fresh tracks.
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BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Second-to-last run of the day we went to the top, and there were still plenty of fresh lines, and you didnt even need to ski or hike very far either. It snowed all day until about 3pm, just a fantastic day.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Last day of the trip was today at A-Basin, and thus ends the 2016-2017 ski season for me. On to gardening, trout fishing, hiking, and biking.
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