EMSC
Well-known member
Nice day overall. Nothing too exciting is open yet with Panorama and Eagle Wind closed and much of the steeper stuff on the Mary Jane side closed. But large amounts of terrain are open on natural snow base of maybe 3 feet. Didn't hurt that they had 2" new and 8" in 48hrs. The reduction in capacity of the lifts kind of matches up with the reduction in total people such that lift lines are actually kind of similar for a holiday ski day. I think the report was for ~860 acres open (out of 3,000 acres)
It was a chilly, but bearable day (unlike Copper Mtn on Dec 23 which I didn't write up as it was a high of 5F at the base and brutally cold such that I didn't take a single picture for example). Temps in the upper teens all day with a mix of heavy overcast to flurries during the day. The wind was moderate at the top of the Super Gauge/Sunnyside area which made it a bit chillier than I'd like. The terrain open in that area was moderately crowded such that we decided to drop down to the anciently old HSQ of Pioneer (It breaks down a lot). While the layout is dumb at best for that lift, with the ridiculously long flat runout to the base of that lift, it serves some nice blues and single blacks that face north and don't get very beat up and usually (as today) you can find moderate pitch leftovers for a few days after a snowfall. We did multiple laps on that and occasionally mixed in Looking Glass double for laps that went to skiers right/lookers left trails.
Eventually heading up what used to be Eskimo (they've ripped the signs off the side of it, but you can still make out the name) and down the fairly steep Outhouse to hit super gage again on our way back to our car at the entirely appropriate Corona parking lot.
Are there stumps & rocks in places? yep, but no more than expected for early season snow conditions. Similar to Copper last week, I haven't seen any desperation terrain openings as yet despite the slowish start to the season.
Definitely better than sitting around the house; including probably for many fly-in travelers it would be good enough, as most of them don't ski steep stuff anyway.
View attachment 3
It was a chilly, but bearable day (unlike Copper Mtn on Dec 23 which I didn't write up as it was a high of 5F at the base and brutally cold such that I didn't take a single picture for example). Temps in the upper teens all day with a mix of heavy overcast to flurries during the day. The wind was moderate at the top of the Super Gauge/Sunnyside area which made it a bit chillier than I'd like. The terrain open in that area was moderately crowded such that we decided to drop down to the anciently old HSQ of Pioneer (It breaks down a lot). While the layout is dumb at best for that lift, with the ridiculously long flat runout to the base of that lift, it serves some nice blues and single blacks that face north and don't get very beat up and usually (as today) you can find moderate pitch leftovers for a few days after a snowfall. We did multiple laps on that and occasionally mixed in Looking Glass double for laps that went to skiers right/lookers left trails.
Eventually heading up what used to be Eskimo (they've ripped the signs off the side of it, but you can still make out the name) and down the fairly steep Outhouse to hit super gage again on our way back to our car at the entirely appropriate Corona parking lot.
Are there stumps & rocks in places? yep, but no more than expected for early season snow conditions. Similar to Copper last week, I haven't seen any desperation terrain openings as yet despite the slowish start to the season.
Definitely better than sitting around the house; including probably for many fly-in travelers it would be good enough, as most of them don't ski steep stuff anyway.
View attachment 3
