dlague
Active member
Conditions: PP, Powder Chop and Powder
After out day at A Basin, we were stoked to hit Loveland. Our strategy for MLK Weekend was to stay away from Vail resorts which would prove to be the right strategy. However, we did notice heavy traffic on the 70 when we first woke up (thank you Waze) which led us to consider Monarch but opted to go out for breakfast to kill some time then see how things shake out. Well about thirty minutes later the travel time dropped by 20 minutes and in the end we had no traffic issues at all and arrived around 10-10:30. While it looked sunny from a distance when we arrived it was snowing which made visibility a little tough. The Continental Divide is a snow making machine for Loveland.
When we arrived we decided to target Chair 8. Knowing it would take several runs to get there we started by skiing from Chair 1 and skied over to Ptarmigan, so we thought but ended at Chair 6, no biggie from there we skied to skiers left and this time did get to Ptarmigan. Form there we skied to skiers left which dropped us into gulch of sorts and realized that getting to Chair 8 required we ski to Chair 4 which is where we ended up. Realizing that it was getting close to lunch we decided to take a run from Chair 4 back to the base. Now all the runs in between chairs were awesome but the light was flat above tree line and often you were hitting bumps under the powder chop that were not very visible which made things interesting.
After lunch, we figured out that we can Take Chair 2 and ski over to Chair 4 which we did. Going up Chair 4 we noticed the mid station which you basically dropped out of the chair to exit there (we did not), We went to the top terminal and exited to the right and took a traverse over to Chair 8. Visibility being tough (think white room – not the song) you were heading in a general direction not really knowing what was ahead. You could not see the peaks and the trees ahead were a faded shadow that served as a beacon of where we needed to go. In fact, my wife went of a 3-4 ft drop that took her out. She injured her knee on Gondi at Sugarloaf and it continues to plague her this season but refuses to get it checked in fear that it will end her season. In any case, I skied to her to help, took my skis off and sank to the top of my knees. Realizing that walking to here was futile, my wife managed to get up but the poles were of no help. Getting my skis on was a bit of a challenge too. After, that we heeded a little more caution. As we approached Chair 8 we cut through the glades which were really cool.
We finally made it! We ended up lapping Chair 8 for four runs and that part of Loveland is pretty fun. The first run we skied to skiers left which was a powder run but the pitch was not too exciting, next run was under the chair to the skiers left which skied really nice with a variety and bumps and chop that entertained. Third run was right under the chair and there were a boat load of launching points that were playful and mixed things up. Last run was to skier’s right of the chair which was more bumped out with soft pillow like bumps. When we wanted to go back, the idea was to use the tunnel under the highway for the fun of it. So we set forth and skied The Face which ended up being a pretty serious bump run that my wife was not too keen about (remember knee). This run has a playful start and ended in a glade, but in between the bumps were huge. She survived using the tools and mentality of learn what you need to get yourself out of anywhere.
She was cooked at this point, but my son wanted to go ski under Chair 1. She headed in while we did two runs. Skiing under Chair one is the primary bump skiing area at Loveland. While there are other areas like South Chutes, West and East Ropes as well as others elsewhere, the runs under Chair 1 are steeper, have more character and I find very interesting. We basically skied two runs, starting on Avalanche Bowl and Tiger’s Tail over to Holy Cat and Cat’s Meow respectively. My legs feeling tired, I actually bailed on Cat’s Meow and skied down Busy Gully which I found interesting and no less easy on the legs.
Another great day of near perfect conditions, while visibility was an issue at times, it was only up higher. We basically skied around the entire ski area From Chair 1 to Chair 8.
Chair 9 was closed due to blasting in Patrol Bowl where Chair 9 exits. Just like at A Basin, blasting was heard throughout the day. BTW, There have been several avalanches around Loveland Pass which has encouraged avalanche mitigation over the past week. Also in the past week, nine people have been caught in avalanches in Colorado. Two victims, fully buried, were dug out and rescued. There have been no reported deaths.
After out day at A Basin, we were stoked to hit Loveland. Our strategy for MLK Weekend was to stay away from Vail resorts which would prove to be the right strategy. However, we did notice heavy traffic on the 70 when we first woke up (thank you Waze) which led us to consider Monarch but opted to go out for breakfast to kill some time then see how things shake out. Well about thirty minutes later the travel time dropped by 20 minutes and in the end we had no traffic issues at all and arrived around 10-10:30. While it looked sunny from a distance when we arrived it was snowing which made visibility a little tough. The Continental Divide is a snow making machine for Loveland.
When we arrived we decided to target Chair 8. Knowing it would take several runs to get there we started by skiing from Chair 1 and skied over to Ptarmigan, so we thought but ended at Chair 6, no biggie from there we skied to skiers left and this time did get to Ptarmigan. Form there we skied to skiers left which dropped us into gulch of sorts and realized that getting to Chair 8 required we ski to Chair 4 which is where we ended up. Realizing that it was getting close to lunch we decided to take a run from Chair 4 back to the base. Now all the runs in between chairs were awesome but the light was flat above tree line and often you were hitting bumps under the powder chop that were not very visible which made things interesting.
After lunch, we figured out that we can Take Chair 2 and ski over to Chair 4 which we did. Going up Chair 4 we noticed the mid station which you basically dropped out of the chair to exit there (we did not), We went to the top terminal and exited to the right and took a traverse over to Chair 8. Visibility being tough (think white room – not the song) you were heading in a general direction not really knowing what was ahead. You could not see the peaks and the trees ahead were a faded shadow that served as a beacon of where we needed to go. In fact, my wife went of a 3-4 ft drop that took her out. She injured her knee on Gondi at Sugarloaf and it continues to plague her this season but refuses to get it checked in fear that it will end her season. In any case, I skied to her to help, took my skis off and sank to the top of my knees. Realizing that walking to here was futile, my wife managed to get up but the poles were of no help. Getting my skis on was a bit of a challenge too. After, that we heeded a little more caution. As we approached Chair 8 we cut through the glades which were really cool.
We finally made it! We ended up lapping Chair 8 for four runs and that part of Loveland is pretty fun. The first run we skied to skiers left which was a powder run but the pitch was not too exciting, next run was under the chair to the skiers left which skied really nice with a variety and bumps and chop that entertained. Third run was right under the chair and there were a boat load of launching points that were playful and mixed things up. Last run was to skier’s right of the chair which was more bumped out with soft pillow like bumps. When we wanted to go back, the idea was to use the tunnel under the highway for the fun of it. So we set forth and skied The Face which ended up being a pretty serious bump run that my wife was not too keen about (remember knee). This run has a playful start and ended in a glade, but in between the bumps were huge. She survived using the tools and mentality of learn what you need to get yourself out of anywhere.
She was cooked at this point, but my son wanted to go ski under Chair 1. She headed in while we did two runs. Skiing under Chair one is the primary bump skiing area at Loveland. While there are other areas like South Chutes, West and East Ropes as well as others elsewhere, the runs under Chair 1 are steeper, have more character and I find very interesting. We basically skied two runs, starting on Avalanche Bowl and Tiger’s Tail over to Holy Cat and Cat’s Meow respectively. My legs feeling tired, I actually bailed on Cat’s Meow and skied down Busy Gully which I found interesting and no less easy on the legs.
Another great day of near perfect conditions, while visibility was an issue at times, it was only up higher. We basically skied around the entire ski area From Chair 1 to Chair 8.
Chair 9 was closed due to blasting in Patrol Bowl where Chair 9 exits. Just like at A Basin, blasting was heard throughout the day. BTW, There have been several avalanches around Loveland Pass which has encouraged avalanche mitigation over the past week. Also in the past week, nine people have been caught in avalanches in Colorado. Two victims, fully buried, were dug out and rescued. There have been no reported deaths.
