EMSC
Well-known member
Ahhh, the Eldora Breeze.
Had a few friends in town for an Uphill/Downhill mountaineering race that Eldora has held the last couple years. I was only able to make it up on Sunday with my son. The full Eldora Breeze (TM) was going. Top of the 6 pack and IP lifts was 'sporting' for the last 100 yards or so to say the least. At one point after a couple runs they shut the upper mountain lifts due to 80MPH wind gusts. Fortunately the Sprint race for the event was held on Chute the race training trail at the bottom, so no impact to that and after a couple laps of the terrain park on the lower mtn and watching the sprint race we went inside for an early lunch.
It was good timing, just as we were about to end lunch the wind was calming down just enough to re-open the upper mtn lifts (gusts to 'only' ~60MPH). The oddest part of the wind was that there was no storm. Just sunny, bluebird skies and temps near the freezing mark. Usually when the wind howls it is overcast or even snowing.
Several more trails open than when we had been in Early Nov. And a good chunk of snowmaking looked complete or in progress for over/back from the Corona chair. But then Corona tail itself will take a week of snowmaking too. Still that will be on the early side for that to be open for/just after Thanksgiving. Far more often in the past it would be in time for Christmas that that would open up.
I was expecting lots of hard/icy given the combo of the long snowless period and the wind scour, but for the most part things were pretty soft with only a few scrapey spots. being early season with lots of days to go, we ditched by ~2p when the shadows and flat light started to get more substantial.
Had a few friends in town for an Uphill/Downhill mountaineering race that Eldora has held the last couple years. I was only able to make it up on Sunday with my son. The full Eldora Breeze (TM) was going. Top of the 6 pack and IP lifts was 'sporting' for the last 100 yards or so to say the least. At one point after a couple runs they shut the upper mountain lifts due to 80MPH wind gusts. Fortunately the Sprint race for the event was held on Chute the race training trail at the bottom, so no impact to that and after a couple laps of the terrain park on the lower mtn and watching the sprint race we went inside for an early lunch.
It was good timing, just as we were about to end lunch the wind was calming down just enough to re-open the upper mtn lifts (gusts to 'only' ~60MPH). The oddest part of the wind was that there was no storm. Just sunny, bluebird skies and temps near the freezing mark. Usually when the wind howls it is overcast or even snowing.
Several more trails open than when we had been in Early Nov. And a good chunk of snowmaking looked complete or in progress for over/back from the Corona chair. But then Corona tail itself will take a week of snowmaking too. Still that will be on the early side for that to be open for/just after Thanksgiving. Far more often in the past it would be in time for Christmas that that would open up.
I was expecting lots of hard/icy given the combo of the long snowless period and the wind scour, but for the most part things were pretty soft with only a few scrapey spots. being early season with lots of days to go, we ditched by ~2p when the shadows and flat light started to get more substantial.