Pajarito-Bred
New member
What a great way to start off the season, with more than enough powder to play in! Driving up Friday nite, I was starting to worry, but finally the steady rain turned to snow at the turn-off, 4 miles and 500 vertical feet from the base. Saturday morning's report:
Last 7 days 48"
Last 48 hours 29"
Last 24 hours 15" (about half of that during the day Fri.)
Sunday's update: 5"
Saturday's snow was quite a bit heavier than ideal, and areas that were newly opened that day were challenging to skiers and boarders- one practical snowboarder even remembered to bring his ski poles along. It's not too often in CO that the fresh is both very heavy and very deep- but for early-seaon base-bulding, I can't complain. My natural inclination to veer off into untracked trees resulted in more than one exhausing slog back to the nearest track. We lapped the Big Burn all day. It was the first day for High Alpine to open, and the skiing was much better on the Burn where the earlier powder had been cut. Where the slope was not-quite-steep-enough, skiers and boarders both were glomming onto the nearest track, then launching into the un-cut for a few turns. This of course lead to plenty of high-speed somersaults, with face-first inspections of the snowpack, and lift-ride entertainment.
Crowds? Saturday was opening day for Highlands, most of the locals headed over there, for what we heard were also epic conditions. Peak late morning crowds were almost enough to fill the chairs.
Sunday we ventured over to High Alpine, with a few new on top of lightly tracked, it was a blast! Upper Green Cabin had a few cat-widths groomed in the center, with plenty of powdershots along both sides. The ski patrol was still bombing the Cirque and the Wall Sun afternoon, but they'll be ready to open soon! Elk Camp chair and the gondola were not yet open--- and would have been un-skiable unless groomed first.
Last 7 days 48"
Last 48 hours 29"
Last 24 hours 15" (about half of that during the day Fri.)
Sunday's update: 5"
Saturday's snow was quite a bit heavier than ideal, and areas that were newly opened that day were challenging to skiers and boarders- one practical snowboarder even remembered to bring his ski poles along. It's not too often in CO that the fresh is both very heavy and very deep- but for early-seaon base-bulding, I can't complain. My natural inclination to veer off into untracked trees resulted in more than one exhausing slog back to the nearest track. We lapped the Big Burn all day. It was the first day for High Alpine to open, and the skiing was much better on the Burn where the earlier powder had been cut. Where the slope was not-quite-steep-enough, skiers and boarders both were glomming onto the nearest track, then launching into the un-cut for a few turns. This of course lead to plenty of high-speed somersaults, with face-first inspections of the snowpack, and lift-ride entertainment.
Crowds? Saturday was opening day for Highlands, most of the locals headed over there, for what we heard were also epic conditions. Peak late morning crowds were almost enough to fill the chairs.
Sunday we ventured over to High Alpine, with a few new on top of lightly tracked, it was a blast! Upper Green Cabin had a few cat-widths groomed in the center, with plenty of powdershots along both sides. The ski patrol was still bombing the Cirque and the Wall Sun afternoon, but they'll be ready to open soon! Elk Camp chair and the gondola were not yet open--- and would have been un-skiable unless groomed first.
