dlague
Active member
A Basin
Conditions: PP, crusted powder and wind blown surface
Day two of our excellent adventure and this was one of the eagerly awaited places we wanted to go. A Basin did not disappoint. We arrived before first chair and met the Monster Jobs Regional Manager as my wife's company is a key account for them. He was fairly familiar with A Basin and is based out of Denver. He served as our guide for the day, not to mention he was nice enough to buy us lunch and adult beverages.
Standing at the base was a little intimidating due to a few runs there that were steep and bumped. Our son who has a pass kthere thought they might be sketchy due to the warming and refreeze. He was there the weekend before and experienced it first hand. We got on the Exibition Lift and took that mid way up and the initial views of East Wall were breath taking. We then skied to and took Lenawee Lift to the top of the front side and did a few laps there. It is very open and it was also very fast. Some spots were wind blown which made it seem icy. However that was only on the top of knolls. After a few runs we went into Montezuma bowl also using the Lenawee Lift. Views from the top o f Montezuma Bowl were equally fascinating. So many options - so much fun. First run down the middle on Larkspur started off with a fairly steep pitch (blue trail though) and then was a great cruiser to the bottom of Zuma Lift. Our next run on Norther Spy was into the face to skiers left where there was a few inches of wind blown powder. Big turns here were not your friend, rather quick slalom turns proved to work best. We skied in a glade (Torrey's) towards the bottom and found that skiing that to far acrosss will put you pass the lift where you have to hike back. The next run on that side was to skiers right on Black Bear and the snow there was choppy with a mix of powder and crust that was breaking up. Still it was a great run. We then skied another run on the front side Humbug to Gentry to Ramrod before eating and beverages compliments of Monster. Ramrod was a nice powder bump trail.
We headed back out to do a few bump runs off the Pallavinci Lift which had no safety bar which was a little freaky. Those runs were fairly steep. Shudder and Challenger made Avalanche at Cannon look like a blue trail. To get there we skied North Chute and Powderkeg. I actually took a digger on one run and slid head first on my back and thought "fuck!". Luckily I slid to the next bump and stopped. Meanwhile my wife skied West Wall which was steep in its own right for a blue trail and Wildcat We proceeded across the front to another lower angle bump trail called North Fork that my wife joined us on and she did great. We skied a couple more runs on the front and then a last run on the back side on Long Chute which skied the same as Black Bear before calling it a day. On our way back to the lodge we skied Humbug to Decrum's Gulch to High Noon skiing full out to the base.
Overall, I was very impressed with A Basin and the options seem endless. From East Wall to Montezuma Bowl to the front side to the steeps bumps of Pallavinci, there are so many options it is crazy. We skied on a partly sunny day and had drinks on the deck around 3 before heading back to our place. We are looking forward to skiing there again and would recommend it to anyone since there is something for everyone.
Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone
Conditions: PP, crusted powder and wind blown surface
Day two of our excellent adventure and this was one of the eagerly awaited places we wanted to go. A Basin did not disappoint. We arrived before first chair and met the Monster Jobs Regional Manager as my wife's company is a key account for them. He was fairly familiar with A Basin and is based out of Denver. He served as our guide for the day, not to mention he was nice enough to buy us lunch and adult beverages.
Standing at the base was a little intimidating due to a few runs there that were steep and bumped. Our son who has a pass kthere thought they might be sketchy due to the warming and refreeze. He was there the weekend before and experienced it first hand. We got on the Exibition Lift and took that mid way up and the initial views of East Wall were breath taking. We then skied to and took Lenawee Lift to the top of the front side and did a few laps there. It is very open and it was also very fast. Some spots were wind blown which made it seem icy. However that was only on the top of knolls. After a few runs we went into Montezuma bowl also using the Lenawee Lift. Views from the top o f Montezuma Bowl were equally fascinating. So many options - so much fun. First run down the middle on Larkspur started off with a fairly steep pitch (blue trail though) and then was a great cruiser to the bottom of Zuma Lift. Our next run on Norther Spy was into the face to skiers left where there was a few inches of wind blown powder. Big turns here were not your friend, rather quick slalom turns proved to work best. We skied in a glade (Torrey's) towards the bottom and found that skiing that to far acrosss will put you pass the lift where you have to hike back. The next run on that side was to skiers right on Black Bear and the snow there was choppy with a mix of powder and crust that was breaking up. Still it was a great run. We then skied another run on the front side Humbug to Gentry to Ramrod before eating and beverages compliments of Monster. Ramrod was a nice powder bump trail.
We headed back out to do a few bump runs off the Pallavinci Lift which had no safety bar which was a little freaky. Those runs were fairly steep. Shudder and Challenger made Avalanche at Cannon look like a blue trail. To get there we skied North Chute and Powderkeg. I actually took a digger on one run and slid head first on my back and thought "fuck!". Luckily I slid to the next bump and stopped. Meanwhile my wife skied West Wall which was steep in its own right for a blue trail and Wildcat We proceeded across the front to another lower angle bump trail called North Fork that my wife joined us on and she did great. We skied a couple more runs on the front and then a last run on the back side on Long Chute which skied the same as Black Bear before calling it a day. On our way back to the lodge we skied Humbug to Decrum's Gulch to High Noon skiing full out to the base.
Overall, I was very impressed with A Basin and the options seem endless. From East Wall to Montezuma Bowl to the front side to the steeps bumps of Pallavinci, there are so many options it is crazy. We skied on a partly sunny day and had drinks on the deck around 3 before heading back to our place. We are looking forward to skiing there again and would recommend it to anyone since there is something for everyone.
Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone
