loveland, CO 5-3-09

[EMSC]

Better than expected.

Surprisingly large 'crowds' for May. I barely made it into the main lot for parking and then they filled the bigger lot down at the valley too with shuttles running. Being Loveland, lines were still short, but there actually was a short line on #1 for example and I even had to wait for several chairs a couple of times on the Ridge (#9) which is super rare. Fortunately few figured out the ridge was so good until almost noon.

3" reported overnight, but more like 6" on the upper part of the Ridge (Chair 9). Something like 7 laps into Wild Child & Super Bowl areas (with at least some hiking required each lap, up to the full 15min hike for the first couple). Then a bit sticky and tricky snow the last couple hundred verts back to the base of the chair. You'd have to wait a few minutes for a quick break of sun to be able to see your line well, but surprisingly fun and smooth skiing (at least where you were making fresh tracks). The very upper part was cool and even the base area couldn't have been above mid-40's by the time I left.

Once I was both tired and it started being more overcast with some grauple thrown in, I headed down to try a couple runs lower down. Chair 4 was not good at the time I hit it - odd wind/frozen stuff on the very top grading to super slush bumps half way down. And finally Hitting a couple of laps off Chair 1, hitting over the Rainbow and Avalanche bowl with better snow though very spring wet bumps. The better stuff was definitely earlier. Done by 2:45pm.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Nice! I'd like to see more photo TRs from Loveland. I went there once in 1981, so I don't remember much except thinking how weird it was to have a major highway at the base. But the terrain looks like fun.

How big is the snowfall difference between Loveland and Keystone/A-Basin/Breckenridge these days?

 

[rfarren]

I really liked Loveland. Thought it had really nice terrain. I only wished you could actually ski under the highway.

 

[EMSC]

the terrain looks like fun.

How big is the snowfall difference between Loveland and Keystone/A-Basin/Breckenridge these days?

Loveland's biggest drawbacks are the brutally cold winds most of the winter since much of it is alpine terrain, and relatively short fall lines (no more than ~1,000' of sustained pitch without some flats/benches). But it does have some fun terrain.

Per Tony's website on snowfall:

Loveland - 358" (a little over 400" this year with the April storms)
Abasin - 320"
Breck - 287"
Keystone - 227"

Part of Lovelands snow advantage over Abasin is that the wind scours the opposite side of the divide/ridge and drops it into Loveland. Especially noticeable in smaller storms, where I was skiing ~6" on the ridge Sunday vs only 2" new reported at the basin.

I only wished you could actually ski under the highway.

:?: Under :?: There is one tunnel under I-70 from skiing below chair 8 to get you back to the base lodge... But you have to take your skis off (or just not care about skiing on concrete [-( )

 

[rfarren]

I only wished you could actually ski under the highway.

:?: Under :?: There is one tunnel under I-70 from skiing below chair 8 to get you back to the base lodge... But you have to take your skis off (or just not care about skiing on concrete [-( )

Yeah, I hated having to take my skis off. I would have much preferred to have been able to ski back to the base.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Loveland - 358" (a little over 400" this year with the April storms)

I would be interested in ESMC's take on the contradictory info on the Loveland website: http://www.skiloveland.com/themountain/ ... story.aspx

If you add up the "new snow column" at left it totals 338 from November 1 to April 30. Yet the "season-to-date" column at right is 399 for those same 6 months. Given the fairly consistent comments about the Continental Divide areas being shortchanged this year vs. areas farther west, I'm inclined to believe the 338. FYI 69.5 of the 338 was in April: second highest snow month of the season. Not so unusual: Loveland's April average is 62 inches.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Loveland - 358" (a little over 400" this year with the April storms)
Abasin - 320"
Breck - 287"
Keystone - 227"

Are those stats for this year or yearly averages? Those numbers for Keystone and Breckenridge seem a bit high.

 

[EMSC]

Are those stats for this year or yearly averages? Those numbers for Keystone and Breckenridge seem a bit high.

Long term annual averages. They look about right to me except Breck maybe (I would have estimated more like ~250" for Breck).

the contradictory info on the Loveland website

Looking at the early part of November as a test case (page 8 on their snowfall detail), note the season total going up more than by the listed new snow in the 4-6th and again on the 11th... As I assume that the folks running Loveland are not stupid and would be able to notice that discrepancy as well, I can come up with one potential hypothesis for this:

Note the reporting time listed is always between 4-6am. Especially the Colo ski areas that are easily reachable by Denver metro, will often update their snow reports at ~12pm on snowy days to try to entice some afternoon skiers (With something like this marketing text: " 2" of new snow so far and it's snowing hard out with X" more expected, come on up and get some fresh powder!" or etc... written on the web pages). Perhaps this report is only picking up the first report of the day and not the second? I do know that for Eldora for example during active snow days/periods (multiple day storms) that looking at Snocountry it will have the wrong YTD totals (or occasionally even daily totals) and then get corrected a day or two later. However as I don't follow Loveland all that closely on a day to day basis, it is only a hypothesis.

Tahoe resorts for example make it easier to figure out by reporting a "new" # and then a separate "24 hour new".

 

[EMSC]

Given the fairly consistent comments about the Continental Divide areas being shortchanged this year vs. areas farther west, I'm inclined to believe the 338.

Let's assume my hypothesis is correct (post above). Then it's 77" for April - well above vail/breck to help make up some of the YTD difference. They had a big Dec and early Jan too with NW flow on the divide. So it's Feb and March that were really bad for snow on the divide areas (relatively speaking) and for unknown reasons even worse at the Basin this year (when most of the FTO'ers visited A-basin & reported).

 

[Tony Crocker]

Long term annual averages.

Yes, and projected to a November 1 to April 30 time frame (except for a handful of areas open outside that date range) so that all areas are treated on a consistent basis. A-Basin's 320 includes 29 inches May average. Loveland probably averages 35+ in May (and likely clears 400 if you count 12 months instead of 6), but I don't count it since the area is closed after the first weekend. I've counted October snowfall at the I-70 areas in a couple of seasons where there was enough of it to open areas earlier than normal with some natural snow runs. Not for the typical snowmaking WROD's at Loveland.