The Colo snow storm

[EMSC]

I'm sure everyone is thinking "wow what a big snow storm for the colo ski areas" given that the current storm is in the national news. The real answer seems to be "not as much as you'd think". Abasin and Loveland are both reporting 2 day totals of 7" :-( Though wolf creek is reporting 24" in 48 hrs \/ / And yet I'd bet the storm being in the national news brings in a bunch of reservations for the big name resort on I-70 (who got virtually nothing out of this storm).

Meanwhile un-opened Eldora has gotten a minimum of 30" :shock: I find it highly unlikely that they would try opening early (though you never know since they do have a new GM). Partially because it is a dry snow that will pack down to rather little (they've been making snow too though).

Anyway, down here in the flatlands, I've got a minimum of 24" and probably closer to 30" as of this morning - and yes, still snowing decently down here (though downtown Denver has way less than that - maybe a bit over a foot).

 

[Old Timer]

It looks a lot like out back of my house here in Broomfield tonight. Last night we got another 8 inches of snow, though the 2 feet that we got back in October has long since melted here in the Denver-area. It was 70 degrees out on both Wednesday and Thursday this last week when I played golf. A-Basin, Copper Mtn, and Loveland all have some terrain open, and Copper Mtn has the most vertical drop open so far, over 2100 ft vertical base to summit, on the American Eagle and Excelerator HS quads. Eldora is supposed to open for the season on November 20th, and they are still selling 4-Packs for $129 in Boulder at Eldora Mountain Sports on Canyon just west of 28th Street. Loveland is also still selling 4-packs, good any day of the season, for $119 too, which is about half of the regular season day rate per ticket. Eldora's website claims a base depth of 16 inches and Loveland's claims 18 inches. The snow on the live webcam feed at the top of Chair #1 at Loveland looked pretty good heading downhill on Spillway. Loveland's Chair #1 is a really steep and short FGT that is around 1000 feet vertical, and they also have Chair #6 open now too. A-Basin has 4 blue and green runs open from mid-mountain down, plus Lenewee Face off of the summit, for about 1600 total vertical open so far. Snowfall in the mountains has been a little thin this season so far, but Wolf Creek got another 2 feet or more last night too. Several more local areas are planning to be open for the Thanksgiving holiday too. If you want to ski cheap, through tomorrow Echo Mountain near Idaho Springs is still selling an unrestricted season pass for $169, though they only have 650 feet vertical drop, one FGT. and maybe five runs to the bottom plus glades. Still, you could ski 60 days there for under $3.00 per day if you are desperate to ski cheap, and they are really close to Denver too!!! They also have night skiing. Echo Mtn. is the former Squaw Pass Ski Area that closed in the 1970s.

I've got my Eldora 4-Pack already, see you up on the hill!!! I enjoy cruising Corona Bowl when it is groomed. 1600 feet vertical, black diamond, on my old 210s!!! Can you say fast??? Yee haw, catch me if you can!!! Eldora is an hour from my house. You know that I have never seen a liftline on the Corona Quad??? Never ever!!! Plus there is a little lodge at the top of Corona with a deck that serves BBQ and beer, for less than half the price at Vail, what more do you need??? Apres-ski in Nederland try the Wild Mountain BBQ and Brewery, the XXX sauce is my favorite. They serve great prime rib and brisket, and brew their own beer too. Catch me later.