We drove Sunday after skiing Eagle Point 4+ hours to Grand Junction. We got a late start and did not get on the hill at Powderhorn until 11AM. Powderhorn is the "local hill" for Grand Junction, about 45 minutes away. It's built into the side of a mesa and has some interesting volcanic topography.
There are two long slow chairs (thus a chilly ride in the shade) of about 1,600 vertical. With the holiday the 3 levels of parking were over half full but lift lines were no more than 5 minutes on the Take Four quad at the base. The skiing was a throwback to 30 years ago, much of it in a positive sense. Groomers like Bill's Run, Maverick and Red Eye had lots of dips, rolls and turns to make the skiing interesting.
There were also blue bump runs like Equalizer.
As joegm laments, these are practically an endangered species at "modern" ski areas. The flat mesa above the ski area is visible in the distance.
Snow coverage was generally good, and locals said the start to the season was above average as in most of the region. The exposed Cannonball run at far skier's right was closed, and steeper pitches on the lower half of the West End chair had quite a few obstacles. But it's Colorado in December, so despite no recent snow it was all packed powder with zero ice or slush.
Racer's Edge is another of the bump runs on Take Four.
We eventually moved over to the West End chair, which was very quiet, ski on every time. Some upper terrain there.
The two terrain pods are mostly separate, but Liz wanted to check out Sven's Bend, a gladed area in the middle.
At the end of the day we returned to Take Four and skied Wonderbump in the fading sun. The top section is mogulled.
But the lower part (used for races earlier) is groomed.
Views of distant mesas are to the north across the Colorado River. The exit route to I-70 East on "45 1/2 Road" goes through some weird rock formations that would not be out of place in Bryce Canyon.
The drive to Glenwood Springs was less than half the previous day's marathon.
There are two long slow chairs (thus a chilly ride in the shade) of about 1,600 vertical. With the holiday the 3 levels of parking were over half full but lift lines were no more than 5 minutes on the Take Four quad at the base. The skiing was a throwback to 30 years ago, much of it in a positive sense. Groomers like Bill's Run, Maverick and Red Eye had lots of dips, rolls and turns to make the skiing interesting.
There were also blue bump runs like Equalizer.
As joegm laments, these are practically an endangered species at "modern" ski areas. The flat mesa above the ski area is visible in the distance.
Snow coverage was generally good, and locals said the start to the season was above average as in most of the region. The exposed Cannonball run at far skier's right was closed, and steeper pitches on the lower half of the West End chair had quite a few obstacles. But it's Colorado in December, so despite no recent snow it was all packed powder with zero ice or slush.
Racer's Edge is another of the bump runs on Take Four.
We eventually moved over to the West End chair, which was very quiet, ski on every time. Some upper terrain there.
The two terrain pods are mostly separate, but Liz wanted to check out Sven's Bend, a gladed area in the middle.
At the end of the day we returned to Take Four and skied Wonderbump in the fading sun. The top section is mogulled.
But the lower part (used for races earlier) is groomed.
Views of distant mesas are to the north across the Colorado River. The exit route to I-70 East on "45 1/2 Road" goes through some weird rock formations that would not be out of place in Bryce Canyon.
The drive to Glenwood Springs was less than half the previous day's marathon.
