Vail trip from February 23rd, 24th, & 25th.

[Tonyr]

Resort or Ski Area

Vail

Date

Feb 23, 2023

Snow Conditions

1. Powder

The 23rd was definitely the best day of skiing that we have ever had at Vail, I've always been a little underwhelmed by this mountain until today, the snow was perfect and there was fresh powder stashes all over the place. We started off over at the Game Creek Bowl, the new 6 person lift is great and really keeps the lines down back there which was one of this areas problems. Did a handful of runs, mostly in the unmarked trees, and we found untouched powder on almost every line through. For some reason, no one really skis the unmarked trees in Game Creek. It's really the first place on the mountain that we always try and hit before we move to other areas. From there we skied the Sundown Bowl which, to me, is underwhelming. I know most people love big bowl skiing but I never got it, so it was one and done back there. After we made our way back from the Bowl, I was able to ski Prima Cornice for the first time......




Every visit I've been here the Prima Cornice has always been closed, so I looked forward to finally skiing it. I remember reading that the first line from the top entrance was the steepest so I gave it a whirl. It's definitely a steep, challenging run. The drop-in looked filled in standing at the top but as soon as my skis touched down into the chute it was all rocks on every turn. I wouldn't consider that first part at the top skiing, it was more survival mode getting down that first short drop-in. The rest of the run though was fantastic as it became a steep powder filled glade. I meet my wife and son at the bottom of Pronto which is right next door and was glad that they didn't ski this one with me. Looking later at my FatMap app they show the first drop-in of Prima Cornice at 44 degrees. It definitely felt that steep and was as challenging as anything I've been on so this is a good one if your looking to push yourself while at Vail. From here we all called it a day....

 

[Tonyr]

As good as yesterday was today was even better. The conditions were perfect plus it snowed around 8 inches I'd guess while we were out, making it a top 3 day of the season so far. Started off again at the Game Creek Bowl did a few amazing powder filled tree runs before heading over to the Avanti lift area to hit some unmarked trees which were pretty good. Like the Game Creek Bowl, no one really skis the unmarked trees over there as it's mostly a place for intermediates....




From Ben's Face, which was knee deep powder the whole way down, we made our way over to Mudslide, that is a double black run under Gondola One and hasn't ever been opened during our previous visits. While challenging, this run is mild compared to the very first line at the top of Prima Cornice. My family went down Mudslide with no problems, the run has a nice mix of trees or an open chute to chose from. We skied a little bit of both sections then called it a day, tomorrow should be another good one. The lines have been very light the last two day here.....

 

[Edd]

Awesome pics!

 

[Tonyr]

Thanks! I really had to stay steady on those shots from the upper middle and top of Prima Cornice, those areas of that run are no fall zones!

 

[Tonyr]

Had a great sunny, 40 degree last day of the trip. I'll post some photos later, the lines were in full force today. We went through the singles lines and still waited 10 to 15 minutes for each lift. The Blue Sky Basin line was the worst I've ever seen, the line started past the bridge.....

 

[Tonyr]

Skied our last day of the trip, the leftover powder was a little heavy in the woods today but was still a lot of fun. The groomers on trail were perfect in the sunny 40 degree weather. We made it over to the back bowls straight away this morning, specifically to Blue Sky Basin. As I posted earlier, the lines were horrible all day. We stayed mostly in the singles lines but it didn't help much. Did a couple of runs in Blue Sky Basin then made our way back, It took nearly 3 hours round trip to go there and back. Our experience is partly why we normally avoid going all the way back there. I can find the same great tree skiing in the Game Creek Bowl and in the sidecountry trees on the Frontside. Today was another reminder of why we don't go all the way over to Blue Sky Basin anymore, especially on a weekend. With all this being said, we had an amazing time the last three days, every day was a little different but great in its own way. This experience has definitely raised my opinion of the mountain overall. Here are some of my better photos from the day......

 

[ThatGuy]

Great pics, are they processed or straight from the phone?

 

[Tonyr]

Thanks! They have all been enhanced, a day like yesterday with the sun out makes the process a lot easier. My editor now has an erase function so on that last photo I was able to edit out people in the crowd.

 

[eatskisleep]

Beautiful pics!