Spring or winter skiing strategy in Colorado

johnnash

johnnash

New member
Our family is headed to Summit Co. next week for spring break, planning to ski the Vail group, starting on Tues. I've read the suggestion by Tony and others that the best strategy for spring skiing is to follow the sun, starting on east facing slopes and ending the day on the north facing slopes in the afternoon after they've had a chance for the re-frozen snow to soften. We were planning to follow that advice, but now I'm wondering if what we're going to encounter is more like spring or winter conditions. There's been a fair amount of snow in the last few days -- 12 in. in last 2 days, 24 in the last week reported at Keystone -- with a bit more in the forecast, and no extremely warm temps (highs in Dillon of mid- high 40s forecast all next week). I'm wondering if the high, north-facing slopes at all the resorts are likely to have unmelted powder surface conditions, in which case we may want to reverse our strategy and head straight for those. If A-basin is likely to have winter conditions with all of its north-facing slopes, we may also want to give it more priority. Any of you more experienced western skiers have some advice?
 
I will be at Beaver Creek Sunday afternoon and Vail Monday. The Beav has had 9 inches in the past 48 hours and Vail 22 (Breck 6, Keystone 12, Copper 9, A-Basin 10, Winter Park 7). Of the areas you're near I would rank them as follows in snow preservation in warm weather: A-Basin, Copper, Beaver Creek, Winter Park, Keystone, Vail, Loveland, Breckenridge. The latter 2 have the worst exposures, but also some very high altitude terrain that could be quite good, though it's ungroomed and advanced.

But Vail and Winter Park get the most snow of those areas, and 22 inches will have totally resurfaced Vail to packed powder. So I would go there right away if I were you. Let me know if you can get there Monday.

Meanwhile here at Crested Butte they got a big 3 inches of dust on crust. I'm not complaining. I got my quota of good luck in Alaska.
 
I'm expecting spring conditions for this weekend and next as I'm seeing predictions of highs anywhere from 40-55 next week in both Vail and Keystone. I'll be skiing Beaver Creek tomorrow (with Jenn Berg from Warren Miller for a bit :D ) and Copper on Sunday so I can report back on their conditions next week. Last Sunday at Keystone I got a late start and found that most of the mountain was pretty soft by 2pm with the exception of some runs on North Peak that are shadowed much of the day. I haven't been to A-basin since January so I can't speak to that one, sorry.
 
We'll be flying Mon., so won't be on the slopes til Tues. I expect to be online Monday evening, so any TRs from the weekend or Monday would be very helpful in planning our first couple of days.

Likewise, if anyone else is interested in conditions on Tues., I'll be happy to inform.

Thanks.
 
I was at Keystone Tuesday and I'm sad to report that conditions were pretty terrible. I was on my tele gear, so I didn't hit the bowls or anything really steep (just learning that stuff), but the groomers were east coast ice sheets. Cruising down Mozart I saw the Ski Patrol out with 3 orange sleds carrying 2 people each. South facing slopes were better, but not by much as it only hit 40 that day.

Hopefully it'll warm back up and we'll get some spring conditions for you. I'll probably be at Copper Saturday.
 
Here's my belated Vail Report--
Tony, sorry you weren't there a couple days earlier, the skiing was.... very interesting........
I skiied at Vail on Friday, Mar 30, (sorry for no earlier post than this one)
the report was 29" new in the past 7 days (on top of unreported frozen corn, evident on many turns)
It was a typical spring day, with 12 kinds of snow and 14 changes in the weather.
Back bowls, on the east- and west aspects in the am held some very nice powder, especially under triple Chair 17, (west-facing)
Blue Ox, off antique Chair 10 was fabulous, groomed a few days prior, the next ride up 10 tempted me down the bumps of Highline, under the lift, not as great as it looked from the lift, unless the greatness was in the challenge, big powdery piles and fast, choppy, icy troughs.
I still have a couple of paid-for days, too bad it costs me $60+ to ski for free! (meaning already paid-for, and wasted if I don't use those days up) ($26 for gas, to drive my SUV 300 mi round trip, $17 to park in the garage, and $17 for lunch (one draft beer plus one bowl of soup)
and every bit worth it! to ski in great/challenging snow (depending on what part of the turn I'm in), and drink that $7.00 beer while gazing at the log beams the restored Two Elk lodge.
Hitting Beaver Creek instead with a buddy and a sack lunch zaps the costs and crowds by 3/4.
I hope to get one more of those $60 "free" days next friday! (this friday I'll be packing up for the (not very) spring skiing final weekend at Snowmass)
 
I think Saturday the 31st was the peak day in that time frame for conditions at Vail. Though people I talked to said visibility in the bowls was difficult.

Should still be decent now, with another 26 inches in the past week.
 
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