Smellytele
Well-known member
I assume he got one like this one View attachment 23091
I love mine so much better than the Transpacks
I love mine so much better than the Transpacks
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Yet Another Solicitation for Colorado Info
- Thread starter Zand
- Start date
Zand
Well-known member
Reserved the car...$300 for the week for a mid-size SUV from Alamo thanks to Autoslash (thanks for the tip Edd!). AAA would've cost me $468 for the week. I'm hoping that since it's Sunday night and people are returning from the weekend that maybe there will be a better selection of SUVs and I can grab one with 4WD.
Everything is reserved and ready to go now. Stoke is real!
Everything is reserved and ready to go now. Stoke is real!
dlague
Active member
Great western snow?
So the first thing that you need to do is hope for snow! There is a 3-6 inch amount coming between this Thursday-Saturday. December was not a good snow month and January has not fared any better. Typically February has been a low snow month historically. That being said the temps have stayed low enough for lots for snow making and much of the terrain that is open is due to that. Any natural terrain that is open is thin relatively speaking but not terrible. Slopes that are south facing have been pretty firm. Someone mentioned 80 inch base at A Basin well it is more like 40. East wall is far from opening, Montezuma Bowl has a lot open with a lot of exposed rock. Every thing off the Pali lift is open but there are several thin spots - Pali face was skiing pretty good though. Many of the groomed runs have been pretty firm thus far but ski very good.
If you fly southwest check in a ski bag and luggage which would include helmet gloves ski pants, jacket etc. Carry your boots on plus a pack. When we flew to CO they wanted the ski bag and the boot bag checked as two pieces.
Steamboat has been the beneficiary of snow storms that have stayed further north in CO as a result they are probably the most open at this time but it is a hike. Many of the bowls/higher terrain that are open are open where snow collects as wind blows especially at Copper.
Someone mentioned traffic on I-70 - well you plan on being there from Monday to Friday - traffic will be a non issue. The worst time is Friday night and Saturday mornings going into the mountains and Sunday returning and you will not be around for that it appears.
I see that you are planning on the first night in Golden. Is that in hopes to get acclimated? If so one day will not do much. I recommend taking Ginkgo Biloba for increased saturation in arterial oxygen in your blood to limit possible mountain sickness - it works. While here drink lots of water eat bananas before skiing - we still do that and it helps.
Looks like you currently have a 2WD and there is snow predicted for next Wednesday-Friday. They are pretty strict about chain laws here. If you can snag a 4WD or AWD you do not need chains. Good luck.
Hope you find good runs and enjoy!
So the first thing that you need to do is hope for snow! There is a 3-6 inch amount coming between this Thursday-Saturday. December was not a good snow month and January has not fared any better. Typically February has been a low snow month historically. That being said the temps have stayed low enough for lots for snow making and much of the terrain that is open is due to that. Any natural terrain that is open is thin relatively speaking but not terrible. Slopes that are south facing have been pretty firm. Someone mentioned 80 inch base at A Basin well it is more like 40. East wall is far from opening, Montezuma Bowl has a lot open with a lot of exposed rock. Every thing off the Pali lift is open but there are several thin spots - Pali face was skiing pretty good though. Many of the groomed runs have been pretty firm thus far but ski very good.
If you fly southwest check in a ski bag and luggage which would include helmet gloves ski pants, jacket etc. Carry your boots on plus a pack. When we flew to CO they wanted the ski bag and the boot bag checked as two pieces.
Steamboat has been the beneficiary of snow storms that have stayed further north in CO as a result they are probably the most open at this time but it is a hike. Many of the bowls/higher terrain that are open are open where snow collects as wind blows especially at Copper.
Someone mentioned traffic on I-70 - well you plan on being there from Monday to Friday - traffic will be a non issue. The worst time is Friday night and Saturday mornings going into the mountains and Sunday returning and you will not be around for that it appears.
I see that you are planning on the first night in Golden. Is that in hopes to get acclimated? If so one day will not do much. I recommend taking Ginkgo Biloba for increased saturation in arterial oxygen in your blood to limit possible mountain sickness - it works. While here drink lots of water eat bananas before skiing - we still do that and it helps.
Looks like you currently have a 2WD and there is snow predicted for next Wednesday-Friday. They are pretty strict about chain laws here. If you can snag a 4WD or AWD you do not need chains. Good luck.
Hope you find good runs and enjoy!
Zand
Well-known member
Bump: 3 days to go! Any first-hand reports? Sounds like some snow Saturday and maybe some light snow Tuesday. I see the Cirque still isn't open at WP. Looks like good driving conditions Monday morning to get from Denver over the mountains.
Also, any parking tips? I'll be driving into Winter Park Monday, I've seen people say to park at Mary Jane. Will I be able to park near the lodge at 9am or will I be heading for the satellite lots? Tuesday won't be an issue, the hotel has a shuttle so I'll just use that.
Same deal for Copper... driving in Wednesday so what's the best place to park over there? I'll probably take advantage of the Summit Stage out of Frisco on Thursday.
Lastly, anyone from here gonna be around at all? Gonna be a solo trip so if anyone wants to take a few runs and maybe show me some good stuff! Also looking for food recommendations, especially in Frisco. I've seen a couple but there's never too many food recommendations.
Kind of a bummer that it's been a dry winter there, but seems like they've got the majority of the stuff open. Even with the dry winter probably still 100X better than anything I've skied here so far this year.
Also, any parking tips? I'll be driving into Winter Park Monday, I've seen people say to park at Mary Jane. Will I be able to park near the lodge at 9am or will I be heading for the satellite lots? Tuesday won't be an issue, the hotel has a shuttle so I'll just use that.
Same deal for Copper... driving in Wednesday so what's the best place to park over there? I'll probably take advantage of the Summit Stage out of Frisco on Thursday.
Lastly, anyone from here gonna be around at all? Gonna be a solo trip so if anyone wants to take a few runs and maybe show me some good stuff! Also looking for food recommendations, especially in Frisco. I've seen a couple but there's never too many food recommendations.
Kind of a bummer that it's been a dry winter there, but seems like they've got the majority of the stuff open. Even with the dry winter probably still 100X better than anything I've skied here so far this year.
Just got back last night - its thin but the snow Monday really helped, Vail got 11" and as expected the conditions were much improved. If CO gets a storm like that again this weekend it will drastically improve things. It has been warmer though, so expect some ice, not the bullet proof stuff we've had out here but it can be a bit firm in the morning.
powhunter
Active member
I’m at WP now. Conditions are great! Definitely park at MJ. Rumor is the cirque this weekend. Heard some blasting the last few days.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
xlr8r
Active member
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At Copper now, the snow is excellent, but there are some thin spots in the bowls, got a core shot yesterday. Gonna try the tucker snowcat today hopefully. another 6+ inches are supposed to fall tomorrow.
gmcunni
Active member
i'll be at Breckenridge on Saturday with the masses... supposed to snow a few inches, hoping for a fun day.
sankaty
Member
A question for you MAX passers that have visited Copper this season:
Is the MAX pass direct to lift, or do we need to get a Copper-specific RFID?
We're headed out to Copper on Friday. Very excited!
Is the MAX pass direct to lift, or do we need to get a Copper-specific RFID?
We're headed out to Copper on Friday. Very excited!
Zand
Well-known member
I'll be able to answer copper on Wednesday but winter park is direct to lift so bet they are too. I waited in line this morning at winter park for nothing. Not sure why the eastern max mountains that have rfid don't do direct to lift...makes no sense.
xlr8r
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2009
- Messages
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Just got back from Copper, the MAX pass is direct to lift, just stick it in your pocket.
Just about everything at Copper is now open, however above tree line there are thin spots with exposed rocks (I got 2 core shots in my 5 days there this week). Have a good time, I'll try to write a trip report in a day or two.
Just about everything at Copper is now open, however above tree line there are thin spots with exposed rocks (I got 2 core shots in my 5 days there this week). Have a good time, I'll try to write a trip report in a day or two.
K and Pico both DTL.
Zand
Well-known member
Glad they figured it out then. Been to 4 eastern mountains with the pass and none had DTL. But glad to know I'll be able to skip ticket lines at K.
sankaty
Member
PSA: If you have the MAX addon to a Pico Pass, it might not be direct to lift at Killington. Because of a glitch in their system, our MAX passes were reading expired at K. They had to give us paper tickets. Not sure if this affects all Pico passholders with the MAX addon. One of the lift attendants thought they could fix the issue at the season's pass office, but I haven't had time to check on that yet.
Direct to lift worked great a Stratton. At Okemo they needed to load days on Okemo RFIDs, but they waived the fee for the cards.
Direct to lift worked great a Stratton. At Okemo they needed to load days on Okemo RFIDs, but they waived the fee for the cards.
Zand
Well-known member
Got back home this morning, figured I'd recap with the things I learned as a first timer. Already missing it and can't wait to go back.
Firstly, altitude sickness. I guess I was lucky. Never felt ill at all while I was there other than a minor headache at the end of the first day, nothing a couple advil couldn't solve. Breathing felt very weird the first couple days, but got used to it. Never got to the point where I wasn't sucking wind when I did pretty much anything, but after a couple days you get used to it. The insomnia is for real though, every night I was awake for hours at night no matter how tired I was. Also could not drink enough water the first few days. Went through bottles of water like a fish but never felt like enough.
Winter Park I immediately fell in love with while Copper took time to grow on me. I think Winter Park is very similar to a great eastern mountain in that there's good glades and steeps everywhere, high and low. It set me up for initial disappointment at Copper because unlike WP, 2/3rds of the mountain is Okemo. You have to go to the goods there. Once you get to them, the bowls and summit ridges are a whole new world. In all, the good stuff at Copper is better than anything at WP, especially if the bowls are skiing nicely. Winter Park is better overall because you can find good terrain anywhere off just about every lift.
If you like staying somewhere that's somewhat low key but still has a lot to do, Frisco is wonderful. The prices for food at the resorts is shocking compared to the east (which is already expensive). The free busses that they have everywhere out there are great to use especially when it's snowing. The people out there are very nice and helpful and always have great recommendations if you ask.
This is definitely going to be an annual trip for me. The trip is definitely a little pricey but something worth saving up for. If you're on the fence, now is a great time to give it a try. The conditions here are going to be pitiful after this week's torch and it's getting really damn good out there.
Firstly, altitude sickness. I guess I was lucky. Never felt ill at all while I was there other than a minor headache at the end of the first day, nothing a couple advil couldn't solve. Breathing felt very weird the first couple days, but got used to it. Never got to the point where I wasn't sucking wind when I did pretty much anything, but after a couple days you get used to it. The insomnia is for real though, every night I was awake for hours at night no matter how tired I was. Also could not drink enough water the first few days. Went through bottles of water like a fish but never felt like enough.
Winter Park I immediately fell in love with while Copper took time to grow on me. I think Winter Park is very similar to a great eastern mountain in that there's good glades and steeps everywhere, high and low. It set me up for initial disappointment at Copper because unlike WP, 2/3rds of the mountain is Okemo. You have to go to the goods there. Once you get to them, the bowls and summit ridges are a whole new world. In all, the good stuff at Copper is better than anything at WP, especially if the bowls are skiing nicely. Winter Park is better overall because you can find good terrain anywhere off just about every lift.
If you like staying somewhere that's somewhat low key but still has a lot to do, Frisco is wonderful. The prices for food at the resorts is shocking compared to the east (which is already expensive). The free busses that they have everywhere out there are great to use especially when it's snowing. The people out there are very nice and helpful and always have great recommendations if you ask.
This is definitely going to be an annual trip for me. The trip is definitely a little pricey but something worth saving up for. If you're on the fence, now is a great time to give it a try. The conditions here are going to be pitiful after this week's torch and it's getting really damn good out there.
darent
Active member
I have skied steamboat and copper, had a blast in Colorado and liked both places, but I found you get more bang for your buck in Utah. what I spent for a 6 days at steamboat I could get 10 days in Utah. just sayin check around.
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