I have a Salomon jacket that in going on season 6 with that's been great. Plenty warm up here in MN

My wife loves Obermeyer too, but not sure if it's because of form or function...maybe both. I like Helly Hansen.

I do love my Columbia jackets too, they have some ski specific jackets and are plenty warm

I think I have a Picture jacket currently. If you are going skiing occasionally then maybe consider a waterproof Simms or Sitka jacket and use it for your ski trip. It would be just fine for the casual skier, plus you get a badass fishing/hunting jacket!

If dinero is no concern, Arcteryx or Fly Low.

For us, wife and I both run Backcountry's own label bibs / jacket. It's full GoreTex shell, but 1/2 anyone else's GoreTex stuff. It's always on sale, you just have to wait.

Thanks everyone for the responses I really appreciate them.

Colombia, Ober, and Salomon are all great too. I might actually pickup a Salomon jacket later in the season.

Lmk what you find that she likes and I can either see if I have a discount code or email the vendor for one. They rarely say no… (looking at you Burton).

Jock07 I think you'd love the XLT Virtika. My 6'4-6'10 homies love them.

Cool, I'll have to check them out.

How about that. I didn't realize that.

I have an older Columbia jacket I could just send you. It is a men's small but it could be one to test out?

Thanks for the offer, she already has one but has decided after recent trip to aspen that she needs a new one. I really appreciate the offer.

Any lone have any insight on Purgatory to share - never been and headed there the week after Christmas.

Great day at Vail! 6 overnight and 2-4 through the day. Dumping at the moment.

Schweitzer is open but only 1 lift and it's icy AF. Weather alert saying up to 10" on the mountain tonight. Tomorrow should be much better.

Skied there last year, probably going back at the end of January. Had a great time. Short to no waits, plenty of good blues and long green trails, and some crazy blacks as well. The one that got me last year was right above one of the westernmost lifts. It's very convenient if you stay at a condo at the resort as you can basically ski right onto the lifts and go. The lodge complex is nice with some good bars and food, and they have a couple of mountain lodges up on the mountain itself that make a great lunch/meeting/break spot with a bar, food, and a view. We liked the powder house for the view.

Go up the main lift and then ski down to lifts 3, then 5, then 8 and you can ski down a good selection of blues that are entertaining but not too tough, and fast if you take the right lines.
I like Chet's and Peace. Careful on the shortcut black down to lift 8. Basically the bottom of black burns bash, steeper than it looks, it's the one that got my ACL and meniscus, but I skied it 3 days later without them, and now they're good as new for this year.

The town is nice for shopping, bar hopping, and dining. Stop off at the little roadside bar called the nugget just south of the resort. It's pretty cool.

Another 5 in Vail last night. 53 inches over the last 10 days. Ripping 1st Chair and then headed to Ege for a flight to Tulum for the week.

What wasn't ideal? Didn't they pick up like 9 inches Friday night? I'd of thought Saturday open would of been amazing.

Headed up to colorado next week

Posted on another thread also but what better option for driving thru the colorado passes?
4WD F250 superduty or RWD full size SUV weighing about 5800 lbs ?

Aggie said:

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Headed up to colorado next week

Posted on another thread also but what better option for driving thru the colorado passes?
4WD F250 superduty or RWD full size SUV weighing about 5800 lbs ?

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I would drive the F-250 if it has good tires. This is my daily driver for SW Colorado

Panda you have any hookups in WinterPark?

Will be there between Christmas and new years.

We skied Wolf Creek yesterday and it was phenomenal! Plenty of snow and mix of packed and powder depending on what you were looking for. Only downside was the snow storm (blizzard to these Texas eyes) that hit about 230. We couldn't see a thing while skiing so made it hard to see the small bumps and dips. Few hard falls for this newby. But it was good, cheap, and not crowded. Only waited like 5 minutes when the lifts first opened and then never again. Would recommend. But don't recommend driving back down to Albuquerque the night you just finish skiing.

maroonblood90 said:

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Any lone have any insight on Purgatory to share - never been and headed there the week after Christmas.

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I live In Durango and ski Purg a bunch, what do ya want to know? They have slowly been opening more lifts, not a ton of snow yet but enough.

LRHF said:

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Aggie said:

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Headed up to colorado next week

Posted on another thread also but what better option for driving thru the colorado passes?
4WD F250 superduty or RWD full size SUV weighing about 5800 lbs ?

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I would drive the F-250 if it has good tires. This is my daily driver for SW Colorado

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Is the SUV safe to take?
I've driven SUV non 4WD to crested butte and Breckenridge
We are going to Wolf creek this time and have read some " horror stories" about HWY 160

If you want to be sure you can get up the pass to ski no mater what then you probably want the truck unless you want to put chains on the SUV.

I'd 1000% take the truck and maybe throw some sand bags in the bed.

Looks like a pretty decent storm pushing through Wednesday/Thursday and then clean for the next week+. So, the time to get the turns is now trough the end of the weekend.

I don't have any hookups at WP unfortunately. I'ts a great little hidden gem though. Some of the best snow in the state right now. Probs top 2 along w Steamboat.

I hate to post this but if you're planning a Christmas ski trip to Summit County in Colorado, I'd start seriously considering changing your plans. Here's why:

Breck 24 inch base and 6 inches over last 5 with 1 expected over the next 10

Vail: 40 inch base 20 over the last 5 and 1 expected over next 10

Snowmass: 37 inch base 12 over the last 5 and nothing expected next 10.

Steamboat: 33 inch base with 17 over the last 5 and 5 expected over the next 10

Next Saturday it's supposed to break freezing and stay above freezing for the daily highs for the next 5 days.

If that's true, Breck is going to be a nightmare at Xmas. Working with a base that's only 2ft deep with nothing expected through 10 and temps in the mid to high 30s is a recipe for a disaster. If that's true, the base will be potentially less than 20 inches deep (I won't ski less than 30) and the only thing getting added is man made that won't be able to keep up with the melt at those above referenced temps. I'd be praying for a Christmas storm and even that probs won't be enough to push them where they usually are. They need multiple ft.

To put it into perspective, Breck's base is 63% of the average that this point in the season (24 vs 38) and that numbers only likely to grow over the next 2 weeks. Not only do they have the least snow, they get the most skiers. That's a bad bad bad combo.

For comparison: the Breck / Key base is 60% of the Vail base (24 in he's vs 40 inches). It's usually 33% higher at this point (40 inches vs 30 inches)

So yeah, I'd either look at changing to Vail or Snowmass/Highlands because if the forecast stays true, they will be the only hill with a decent base at Christmas. Steamboat will probs be ok too but at 33 and likely dropping 5-6 inches over the next 2 weeks, it's probs gonna have a lot of snow snake snipers.

Vail is 33% above average 40 vs 30. BC is 44% above average (39 vs 27), Steamboat is 34-% below average (33 vs 50), and Snowmass is 76% higher (37 vs 21). Moral of the story: the dry line has been eastern Eagle County and it's a BIG drop off. Again, I'd look at potentially moving from Sumco to Eco if possible. These numbers are BAD for most of the state.

The one outlier is WP. They are probs the most eastern of the large hills but still are carrying their weight pretty well. They have a 35 inch base vs a historical 31 inch base at this point. So, somehow, WP is still beating the average by about 13% whereas the hills around them are all 60% or lower of the 30 year average.

If you're wondering how SS can have such a small base with as much snow as they've received, you have to look at the elevation and the temperatures. SS is super low elevation 6,900 ft base so when we get these unseasonably warm temperatures, it melts off FAST. The summit is still relatively high at 10,500ft but a majority of the hill (something like 65%) is under 9,200 which makes it lose weight quickly. For comparison, Telluride's base is at 8,725 and Vail/BC are 8,160. That extra 1,200-1,800 ft of elevation is huge when it warms up. They actually have a chance of rain snow mix at SS early next week. That's crazy to think of in mid/late December.

The purple squares are days w a rain snow mix possibility. Ay ay ay

What is a snow snake sniper?

Rocks, spruce tops, or anything else slightly poking through the snow that you can't see until you feel your bases getting grooved with a fat core shot that can't be replaced.

These would all be snow snake snipers. You don't see them until they murder your bases.

Picture 1: Exposed tree limbs

Picture 2: Spruce top extending through the base, tree limb protruding above the base because the top layer has been pushed off, and last but not least an 80% covered rock that's HUNGRY for some PTEX.

Never heard that term before. I've definitely hit trees and rocks and it's not pleasant. Might be a good time for some rental skis at Christmas and leave mine at the house. Or just go fly fishing instead of skiing.

I've been riding shop skis all season and that's at Vail w a 40 inch base. I can't even imagine what a 24 that's getting front range usage will look like in a week or two w no signings y snow. Most of my Sumco homies are making the daily or bi-weekly trip to Vail because they won't ski Sumco right now because outside of the park, it's BAD. I should mention they would usually rather drink poison than ski Vail…

If I wasn't working in the shop, I'd be on an old set of demo rentals that I purchased end of season that I don't care if they get trashed.

Vail's had almost 3 1/2 ft the last 10 days (that's why they have a solid base) and I STILL had a couple chunks of red sandstone try to introduce themselves on Friday. One you legit couldn't see at all and the other completely destroyed the base and sidewall of my shop coworkers brand new Faction Prodigy 3.0's. That's a $600 ski day if you don't have the regional rep as a homie to help you claim a factory defect.

What's forecast for skiing WP 12/18-20 look like?

docb said:

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Never heard that term before. I've definitely hit trees and rocks and it's not pleasant. Might be a good time for some rental skis at Christmas and leave mine at the house. Or just go fly fishing instead of skiing.

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Indeed!