Keystone on Tuesday 3/4 was a cold and windy day. By the time we made it over to North Peak we were being abused by the wind on the lift and the trails. With the conditions and being the 3rd day of our week long trip we opted for a half day and quit around noon.
A-Basin on 3/5 was excellent. They were calling for some afternoon snow but no wind and it was clear skies in the morning so we decided to give it a shot for the day. It turned out to be an excellent decision. They got about 2" of new overnight. No wind and bluebird until noon and the temps were low enough to not bake the snow. The snow showed up at noon and only really stuck around for about an hour. The new montezuma bowl was great. We took a couple runs on a long traverse skiers left to Grays and Torreys. These were fairly open at the top with a few trees and rocks and thickened up toward the bottom. And a few just to skiers right of the lift such as Independence and Miners Glade. These had a steeper pitch and were a bit thicker. We mixed in a few runs on the front side as well. And we had the place to ourselves. Coming up the Zuma lift around 11 am we counted about 20 skiers in sight throughout the entire bowl! All in all you couldn't ask for a better non-powder day.
Keystone on 3/6 was a decent day. Another inch or two of snow overnight helped freshen up some areas. Spent most of the day in the outback, usualy on Wolverine, Wildfire and Pika. Also took a run in the Black Forest on skiers right of the Outback. Problem on that side is the long flat runout at the bottom. It really takes it out of you after a run like that. Also, found some basically untouched snow in the trees on skiers right of Go Devil. Now that access to Go Devil requires going through the terrain park is seems to get less activity. It is nice to come through on the last run of the day and find fresh snow.
Keystone on 3/7 was the last and probably the best day of the trip. They reported 2" i think, but in places it was easily 4". And those places seemed to be in the trees in the outback. The crowds picked up so we moved onto the less frequented runs, or inbetween runs. Inbetween Pika and Porcupine, Porcupine and Bighorn, and The Grizz and Oh Bob were fun. The best was between The Grizz and Oh Bob which is skiers right of the lift. There was more than 4" of snow because it looked like it hadn't been touched all week. I took 2 runs through the same area and only saw 1 person who wasn't with me. There is a steep pitch for most of it and the trees can get tight at times but with 6" in places it was easy to float through. Probably my 2 favorite runs of the trip. We stayed out until 5 pm milking our last day on Isrishman and Paymaster until our legs had enough.
As a side note about our trip. We had a fairly large group and like most everyone else we were looking for the best deals. We had our trip lined up early and some of us purchased the A-Basin Bonus season pass. It cost $310 and you could purchase it online (this was nice being from Ohio). The Bonus pass gives you unlimited days at A-Basin plus 5 days at Keystone or Breck, or 1 of those 5 can be used at Vail or Beaver Creek. Plus some other perks that i don't remember. It's a pretty good deal if you are going to ski at least 5 days at Keystone or Breck compared to the window prices. It was easy to pick up, 7 of us got our pictures taken and passes picked up in about 10 min. Now I've just got to figure out how to get back out to A-Basin in April for more skiing.
A-Basin on 3/5 was excellent. They were calling for some afternoon snow but no wind and it was clear skies in the morning so we decided to give it a shot for the day. It turned out to be an excellent decision. They got about 2" of new overnight. No wind and bluebird until noon and the temps were low enough to not bake the snow. The snow showed up at noon and only really stuck around for about an hour. The new montezuma bowl was great. We took a couple runs on a long traverse skiers left to Grays and Torreys. These were fairly open at the top with a few trees and rocks and thickened up toward the bottom. And a few just to skiers right of the lift such as Independence and Miners Glade. These had a steeper pitch and were a bit thicker. We mixed in a few runs on the front side as well. And we had the place to ourselves. Coming up the Zuma lift around 11 am we counted about 20 skiers in sight throughout the entire bowl! All in all you couldn't ask for a better non-powder day.
Keystone on 3/6 was a decent day. Another inch or two of snow overnight helped freshen up some areas. Spent most of the day in the outback, usualy on Wolverine, Wildfire and Pika. Also took a run in the Black Forest on skiers right of the Outback. Problem on that side is the long flat runout at the bottom. It really takes it out of you after a run like that. Also, found some basically untouched snow in the trees on skiers right of Go Devil. Now that access to Go Devil requires going through the terrain park is seems to get less activity. It is nice to come through on the last run of the day and find fresh snow.
Keystone on 3/7 was the last and probably the best day of the trip. They reported 2" i think, but in places it was easily 4". And those places seemed to be in the trees in the outback. The crowds picked up so we moved onto the less frequented runs, or inbetween runs. Inbetween Pika and Porcupine, Porcupine and Bighorn, and The Grizz and Oh Bob were fun. The best was between The Grizz and Oh Bob which is skiers right of the lift. There was more than 4" of snow because it looked like it hadn't been touched all week. I took 2 runs through the same area and only saw 1 person who wasn't with me. There is a steep pitch for most of it and the trees can get tight at times but with 6" in places it was easy to float through. Probably my 2 favorite runs of the trip. We stayed out until 5 pm milking our last day on Isrishman and Paymaster until our legs had enough.
As a side note about our trip. We had a fairly large group and like most everyone else we were looking for the best deals. We had our trip lined up early and some of us purchased the A-Basin Bonus season pass. It cost $310 and you could purchase it online (this was nice being from Ohio). The Bonus pass gives you unlimited days at A-Basin plus 5 days at Keystone or Breck, or 1 of those 5 can be used at Vail or Beaver Creek. Plus some other perks that i don't remember. It's a pretty good deal if you are going to ski at least 5 days at Keystone or Breck compared to the window prices. It was easy to pick up, 7 of us got our pictures taken and passes picked up in about 10 min. Now I've just got to figure out how to get back out to A-Basin in April for more skiing.
