Colorado, better late then never

[mikesathome]

I have a free place to stay in Breckenridge closing weekend of April 16th for 3 nights so guess I am making it out west this year. \/

I plan to hit Vail one day that weekend, if the snow is still around do they keep any of those bowls open that late in the year?
I know it’s the Vail spring parties; I plan to check some of it out. How is the parking when those parties are going? Can you still get into those $20 or so parking garages?

Any MTB?
I have an early flight in and a late flight out, if the weather was nice I wanted to see if I could mountain bike some place either on my way from in from the air port or on my way back. I see Fort Collins has a lot of trails and bike shops. I don’t want any crazy trail, maybe just a rather easy shorter trail with some views LOL especially if I just skied 3 days before I ride LOL oh and far away from any hungry bears. Just a thought, I might just ski the whole time :mrgreen:

 

[rfarren]

I plan to hit Vail one day that weekend, if the snow is still around do they keep any of those bowls open that late in the year?

If they are open hit em at the right time. They are south facing, so they'll bake in the afternoon sun, but at the same time could be very firm in the morning. A better bet might be Blue Sky Basin, which I think has better terrain anyways.

 

[mikesathome]

I plan to hit Vail one day that weekend, if the snow is still around do they keep any of those bowls open that late in the year?

If they are open hit em at the right time. They are south facing, so they'll bake in the afternoon sun, but at the same time could be very firm in the morning. A better bet might be Blue Sky Basin, which I think has better terrain anyways.

Love blue sky basin, skied it a lot last year.
Patorl there did a good job of closing some of the really ICY runs in the morning and opening them later in the afternoon.

 

[EMSC]

I plan to hit Vail one day that weekend, if the snow is still around do they keep any of those bowls open that late in the year?
I know it’s the Vail spring parties; I plan to check some of it out. How is the parking when those parties are going? Can you still get into those $20 or so parking garages?

Any MTB?

You're into the 'play it by ear' part of the season. Some years can be iffy by then in the back bowls(and for certain need to time it right), some years (like last year) it's still full on powder season at that time. Unless it's a very large powder storm weekend, by then the crowds are pretty non-existent (A-basin might be the exception to that as it's just getting going in the spring cycle). The parking garages in Vail are $25/day last I knew.

MTB - Tons of trails in the foothills, and well before you drive all the way to Ft Collins (that would be way out of the way). Again 'play it by ear' season for MTB though. If it's a wet spring the trails will very muddy and may even be closed (a lot of them are right now due to too wet). Of course that usually means the skiing is pretty good. So if the skiing is only OK the MTB might be worth while and vise versa.

PM me in a few weeks when it might be close enough to at least guess what's going on. Maybe I can get out of the house for one day.

 

[mikesathome]

I plan to hit Vail one day that weekend, if the snow is still around do they keep any of those bowls open that late in the year?
I know it’s the Vail spring parties; I plan to check some of it out. How is the parking when those parties are going? Can you still get into those $20 or so parking garages?

Any MTB?

You're into the 'play it by ear' part of the season. Some years can be iffy by then in the back bowls(and for certain need to time it right), some years (like last year) it's still full on powder season at that time. Unless it's a very large powder storm weekend, by then the crowds are pretty non-existent (A-basin might be the exception to that as it's just getting going in the spring cycle). The parking garages in Vail are $25/day last I knew.

MTB - Tons of trails in the foothills, and well before you drive all the way to Ft Collins (that would be way out of the way). Again 'play it by ear' season for MTB though. If it's a wet spring the trails will very muddy and may even be closed (a lot of them are right now due to too wet). Of course that usually means the skiing is pretty good. So if the skiing is only OK the MTB might be worth while and vise versa.

PM me in a few weeks when it might be close enough to at least guess what's going on. Maybe I can get out of the house for one day.

Thanks EMSC.
Its totally a 'play by ear trip'
I wont even book a flight till April 1st.
I have never skied Loveland, how do they favor late in the year?

As for the MTB part, I am open to drive where ever. I guess the best way to make it work would be a place to rent a bike fairly close to a trail head.

hopefully I don't even want or can MTB, due to a great COLD late season storm cycle LOL

 

[Killclimbz]

Just for the record, we've been in a pretty good precipitation cycle the past 4 weeks and it looks like it's going to continue through the first part of April. So you could be having great powder days during your visit. The first half of the season sucked around here. The last half has been money.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Title of the thread should really be "Better Late Most of the Time." March/April is the most consistent time for Front Range Colorado. Max snowfall by a modest amount (more than that on the Continental Divide), all terrain covered, and by April the crowds die down down some. The early season this year was extreme, but it's not unusual for some of the advanced /expert terrain not to be adequately covered during the Christmas holidays at most of these places (the high snowfall areas of Steamboat, Vail and Winter Park excepted).

 

[Killclimbz]

Isn't March/April the snowiest month for a lot of places?

Generally speaking January is a great month around here. Tony, I'm sure you can crunch the numbers to show that it's way better in March but January is when it piles up and you have the "cold smoke" on a consistent basis. It sets the table for later in the season.

Booking before January is always a gamble, when ever I look around it seems to be pretty rare that places are fully open in December. In California it seems to be prime Mountain biking season as often as it's ski season.

Anyway, Tony is right, coverage is near or at it's max come March, this year we are lucking out, because back in the beginning of February we had great coverage for early November. It was terrible. Then the storms finally decided to show up and it's been great since.

 

[EMSC]

I have never skied Loveland, how do they favor late in the year?

As well as anybody, snow wise. A bit more work to hit some of the steeps and a bit shorter on the sustained Vert compared to A-Basin, but definitely worth a day if you've never been. Though avoid it in a snowstorm - a lot of it above treeline, and avoid it mid-winter with a wind blowing - crazy cold then.

(the high snowfall areas of Steamboat, Vail and Winter Park excepted).

Steamboat & Vail, yes, but I've never been impressed with WP's early season open terrain. Much less than Vail or the 'Boat IMHO. But then I'm thinking of the Christmas week or before time period...

back in the beginning of February we had great coverage for early November. It was terrible.

Nice!

Generally speaking January is a great month around here.

You mean other than the flat light and bitter cold winds (or is that only at Eldora)? O

 

[Tony Crocker]

EMSC has it pretty much right.

Loveland and A-Basin both have the back-ended skewed snowfall. Loveland gets a bit more but has a wide range oif exposures while A-Basin is heavily north facing, perhaps the new Montezuma terrain I haven't seen excepted.

In snowfall Steamboat is a notch ahead of Vail and Winter Park, which are about the same. But EMSC is correct that Winter Park lags some in early season open terrain (21-year averages):
Thanksgiving: Steamboat 24%, Vail 25%, Winter Park 40% (proximity to Denver may be a factor in here) Compare Breck 17%, Copper 24%
mid-December: Steamboat 77%, Vail 81%, Winter Park 66% Compare Breck 55%, Copper 44%
Christmas week: Steamboat 97%, Vail 95%, Winter Park 85% Compare Breck 75%, Copper 70%
Once you get down to the 70% range expert terrain tends to be very limited.

Isn't March/April the snowiest month for a lot of places?

No. Interestingly March was the snowiest month in ~20 years of data in most of Utah and Colorado when I started collecting stats, but that bump has faded into very minor significance over the past 15 years. Telluride's March excess over the next highest month is down to 16% now, and it's generally in the 10% range elsewhere in CO and no longer the highest month in Utah. March has never had the highest average snowfall in any ski area north or west of Utah. The Continental Divide areas of Berthoud, Loveland and A-Basin are the only ski areas in North America where April snowfall is as high as a typical winter month, and in a lot places it's only half as much. In Utah it's about 3/4.

Generally speaking January is a great month around here. Tony, I'm sure you can crunch the numbers to show that it's way better in March but January is when it piles up and you have the "cold smoke" on a consistent basis. It sets the table for later in the season.

Not if you want to ski terrain like North Face of Crested Butte, Hanging Valley, Gold Hill, Copper Bowl, Vasquez Cirque, Ridge at Loveland, anything steep at A-Basin. These areas are closed or marginal coverage until February much of the time.

 

[jaa37]

We're trying to decide whether to book a trip Easter weekend to Vail/Beaver. Sounds like you guys are saying the snow should be pretty good. I understand it's not a guarantee, but I had heard the snow this year was a bit light there, and we're coming all the way from NYC, so we want to make sure the skiing will be great before we spend the money.

 

[mikesathome]

We're trying to decide whether to book a trip Easter weekend to Vail/Beaver. Sounds like you guys are saying the snow should be pretty good. I understand it's not a guarantee, but I had heard the snow this year was a bit light there, and we're coming all the way from NYC, so we want to make sure the skiing will be great before we spend the money.

Welcome to first tracks online!
My 2cents, it's spring time, you could get a snow storms, and cold, or dry and mild, and or anything in between. If you wait and watch the weather out there, look for trip reports on here, it might give you a better idea of what conditions will be like.
For me coming from Detroit flights are under $200 (what a deal!) I plan to be there one week after Easter, but don't plan to book any flights till around the 1st of April.

Right now weather looks good for the Vail area, if this type of pattern holds on for the next few weeks (Warm up, then cool down and snow) things will be pretty darn good I think.

 

[rfarren]

We're trying to decide whether to book a trip Easter weekend to Vail/Beaver. Sounds like you guys are saying the snow should be pretty good. I understand it's not a guarantee, but I had heard the snow this year was a bit light there, and we're coming all the way from NYC, so we want to make sure the skiing will be great before we spend the money.

With money on the line go to Mammoth or Bachelor instead. It's only worth going to CO if you got a free place to stay or are visiting friends. In mid April there is no guarantee that Vail will be open, or that the skiing will be good. Your best bets in CO during that time frame is A-Basin or Loveland. I think there is another thread going on right now that is very pertinent to this subject.

 

[EMSC]

In mid April there is no guarantee that Vail will be open, or that the skiing will be good.

Umm, actually I've never seen any of the big resorts in Colo close up shop early in any year or any weather situation. All of the major Colo resorts are scheduled to stay open through April 18th and they will unless they want to tread entirely new ground that they never have previously. Utah I notice after looking that a lot of the resorts list a closing date that is dependent on 'weather conditions'.

Going back to the expert on statistical numbers:

Title of the thread should really be "Better Late Most of the Time." March/April is the most consistent time for Front Range Colorado. Max snowfall by a modest amount (more than that on the Continental Divide), all terrain covered, and by April the crowds die down down some.

That said, Mammoth and Bachelor are also excellent options. But want to be clear how many threads of great skiing in central mtns of Colo I can point you to for April skiing... No guarantees in any given year of course, but some of my April TR's from the past two years:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6726
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6750
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7903
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7905
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7923
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7937

 

[Tony Crocker]

I think those April 18 closing dates in I-70 corridor of CO are pretty safe. Snowfall since early February has been at least average even though it was seriously deficient before then. In 2002 there was a severe late season snow drought in those areas and some terrain lost cover prematurely. I don't recall whether anyone had to back up a closing date though.

As noted in the other thread I'll still take Bachelor or Mammoth unless there is a big cost difference due to the airfare. However, your lodging in Bend for Bachelor will likely offset the airfare difference if you're there for a week.

 

[jaa37]

We're looking to stay April 2-6, and it looks like the price difference on flights is $200+ on each ticket to go to Bend or Mammoth. So I think we'll probably stick with Summit County. It sounds like the conditions that first weekend of April should still be pretty decent. Thanks for all of the responses so far! Any further advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[jaa37]

Or...maybe we'll switch gears to Utah and try Alta/Snowbird. At the risk of starting an endless online argument (yes, I saw the long Alta/Snowbird thread while lurking), is the difference in conditions between Alta/Snowbird and Vail/BC likely to be significant the first weekend of April?
As you can tell, I'm an indecisive traveler... :-k

 

[rfarren]

When does Alta close? I thought it was the second week of April, however, I could very well be wrong. Snowbird will be open, and has great deals then. Personally, and I'm from NYC, if I had to put money on it with those dates I would be searching for airfare to Bend. Bachelor is way up on the list of resorts I would like to hit in the spring.

 

[Admin]

When does Alta close? I thought it was the second week of April, however, I could very well be wrong.

Always, always the third Sunday in April. This year that's April 17.

 

[rfarren]

When does Alta close? I thought it was the second week of April, however, I could very well be wrong.

Always, always the third Sunday in April. This year that's April 17.

word.