EMSC
Well-known member
After plenty of absence.... Well, I wish I had more to report but it's been another long, strange, messed up winter for me (more below).
I'm going to go back to Jan 16th when Eldora had - finally! -opened the backside (Corona lift) a few days earlier and interestingly also opened up most of the steep terrain back there. The main groomer/cut runs get absolutely wind blasted back there so they literally cannot open that lift without snowmaking even in a good year, but the best of the steeps actually get snow blown IN to them and are skiable depending on natural snowfall only. Not that Eldora has gotten tons of snow, but certainly more than last year at this point and has gotten a fair number of 2-8" refreshers from mid-Jan to today.
Anyway there was far less rocks and logs than I would have expected on the steeps.
That said, lots of snowmaking was still ongoing due to the super late start of cold/winter in the west this year. Nearly through all of January before exhausting their water supply (Alpenhorn snowmaking here).
Yes Eldora does have night skiing.... if you happen to be a racer.
Then all hell broke loose in my life. Emergency surgery for me, and both my son and wife coming down with Covid while I was in the hospital. So not only by myself in the hospital, but moving into a hotel room to recover for a week and then staying with family in Colo Springs for another week, etc... Basically 3 weekends off of skiing for all of us right in the middle of the season. So much not fun. So much loss of what muscle and energy that I had previously.
Anyway, finally made it back up this past weekend but held myself to a much lower standard to not risk anything. While officially 'no limitations', I stuck to mostly blue groomers, skied slower than normal, etc... Have to begin to build back slow at first.
I believe they used the last of their water to make a small amount of snow on Lower Diamondback trail. Much less snow than normal for sure (thinner and narrower than normal), and the only baby bumps I let myself try all day. The puff of snow in the pic is from the standard "Eldora Breeze" of ~40MPH.
Then heading home this road grader headed down the shelf road was occasionally putting his blade down for seemingly no useful reason. Generated a lot of sparks and terrible burning smell.
I'll finish off with the very Colorado: "Excuse me while I lick the road"
I'm going to go back to Jan 16th when Eldora had - finally! -opened the backside (Corona lift) a few days earlier and interestingly also opened up most of the steep terrain back there. The main groomer/cut runs get absolutely wind blasted back there so they literally cannot open that lift without snowmaking even in a good year, but the best of the steeps actually get snow blown IN to them and are skiable depending on natural snowfall only. Not that Eldora has gotten tons of snow, but certainly more than last year at this point and has gotten a fair number of 2-8" refreshers from mid-Jan to today.
Anyway there was far less rocks and logs than I would have expected on the steeps.
That said, lots of snowmaking was still ongoing due to the super late start of cold/winter in the west this year. Nearly through all of January before exhausting their water supply (Alpenhorn snowmaking here).
Yes Eldora does have night skiing.... if you happen to be a racer.
Then all hell broke loose in my life. Emergency surgery for me, and both my son and wife coming down with Covid while I was in the hospital. So not only by myself in the hospital, but moving into a hotel room to recover for a week and then staying with family in Colo Springs for another week, etc... Basically 3 weekends off of skiing for all of us right in the middle of the season. So much not fun. So much loss of what muscle and energy that I had previously.
Anyway, finally made it back up this past weekend but held myself to a much lower standard to not risk anything. While officially 'no limitations', I stuck to mostly blue groomers, skied slower than normal, etc... Have to begin to build back slow at first.
I believe they used the last of their water to make a small amount of snow on Lower Diamondback trail. Much less snow than normal for sure (thinner and narrower than normal), and the only baby bumps I let myself try all day. The puff of snow in the pic is from the standard "Eldora Breeze" of ~40MPH.
Then heading home this road grader headed down the shelf road was occasionally putting his blade down for seemingly no useful reason. Generated a lot of sparks and terrible burning smell.
I'll finish off with the very Colorado: "Excuse me while I lick the road"