11 inches at Steamboat

Skiing Vail today.

Buying new boots today

Don't buy them! Find the hard shell you like and I can put in an order

Anyone know how Idaho resorts like Sun Valley and Schweitzer are looking?

Glad we're going to Steamboat next week. Looks like it's in a little better shape than others.

ranchag04 said:

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Glad we're going to Steamboat next week. Looks like it's in a little better shape than others.

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Plenty of snow here and still snowing as I type this. You'll have a good time.

ranchag04 said:

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Glad we're going to Steamboat next week. Looks like it's in a little better shape than others.

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Musicfest? Haven't been in a long ass time, need to get back, such a great time.

Summit still is trash but most of the other hills have "good" coverage right now. Steamboat has been decent all year. Still not much for the trees but nice top cost for the groomers. Probs nice if you aren't used to skiing powder.

Planning on taking the family to Keystone in late December next year. My son will be 2 and would be turning 3 in the middle of January. The beginner lessons start at 3 and I was wondering if he would be not able to participate with his 3rd birthday only being a month away. I understand he would need to be fully potty trained as well by the time lessons would start which is the plan. Anyone ever run into this issue?

CREAg87 said:

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Anyone know how Idaho resorts like Sun Valley and Schweitzer are looking?

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I'm at Schweitzer 3 days/week. It sucks.

They only have 3 lifts running. Very little snow. Crowds are way low, which is about the only thing good.

Still snowing. Skiing is great today!

Minnesota getting 1.5" of rain and low 50's temps is killing the snow our local hills have been making. Typically that kind of moisture content with normal late December temps would be a foot of snow

rather be fishing said:

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CREAg87 said:

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Anyone know how Idaho resorts like Sun Valley and Schweitzer are looking?

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I'm at Schweitzer 3 days/week. It sucks.

They only have 3 lifts running. Very little snow. Crowds are way low, which is about the only thing good.

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That sucks, was deciding between Idaho and Oregon

Vail got 6 inches and honestly it's still not very good. It's way better but it's still really bare in spots and icy. Expected it to be better.

Hate to be the person to say this but yes they will.

Good news: just say he's three. They really only care about the potty training. They don't check IDs

CREAg87 said:

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rather be fishing said:

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CREAg87 said:

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Anyone know how Idaho resorts like Sun Valley and Schweitzer are looking?

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I'm at Schweitzer 3 days/week. It sucks.

They only have 3 lifts running. Very little snow. Crowds are way low, which is about the only thing good.

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That sucks, was deciding between Idaho and Oregon

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2 weeks ago, they got 6" of rain on the mountain and lost everything basically. They have 1 lift open in the back bowl but there's not much you can ski. Way too many rocks still exposed. They've got some of the long cruiser blues open but you end up having to weave through people.

aggiebonzo said:

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Planning on taking the family to Keystone in late December next year. My son will be 2 and would be turning 3 in the middle of January. The beginner lessons start at 3 and I was wondering if he would be not able to participate with his 3rd birthday only being a month away. I understand he would need to be fully potty trained as well by the time lessons would start which is the plan. Anyone ever run into this issue?

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My daughter turns 4 in May and will be taking 4 and up lessons in March at Loveland. A friend of mine did the same with theirs a few years ago at Wolf Creek. The age limit is only there because it's easy to set a hard cut off but the ski school really only cares about if they can communicate, follow instructions, and are potty trained. Just tell them he's 3, it's more accurate than saying he's 2.

"Potty Trained and Willing". That's it.

HouAg12 said:

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Wolf Creek has more than enough snow…out there today

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I'm in Pagosa today and skiing on Wednesday/Thuesday at Wolf Creek. This last snow storm was nice but it'll be warm when I ski. Hopefully it doesn't ice in the afternoon.

rather be fishing said:

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CREAg87 said:

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rather be fishing said:

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CREAg87 said:

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Anyone know how Idaho resorts like Sun Valley and Schweitzer are looking?

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I'm at Schweitzer 3 days/week. It sucks.

They only have 3 lifts running. Very little snow. Crowds are way low, which is about the only thing good.

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That sucks, was deciding between Idaho and Oregon

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2 weeks ago, they got 6" of rain on the mountain and lost everything basically. They have 1 lift open in the back bowl but there's not much you can ski. Way too many rocks still exposed. They've got some of the long cruiser blues open but you end up having to weave through people.

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I'm guessing southern Idaho is a bit better. I know Anthony Lakes opened last weekend in OR and that's right over the border.

Bach in OR is worth the visit. Hood is hit or miss. We'll be 75% open a few days after a storm and then rain for a week. Same cycle is forecasted this coming week: big snow Christmas, rain, big snow later this week, then highs in the 50s at Meadows. This blows.

Man. It's probably gonna be a loooong fire season here in Southern Oregon (and likely all over the west coast and PNW) if we don't get some snow pack.

How is Durango/Purgatory looking??

JustPanda said:

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Don't buy them! Find the hard shell you like and I can put in an order

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Didn't see that in time but I couldn't wait. After Friday and Saturday, my feet were killing me. Bought from the shop on the mountain, so supporting the local guys, plus they guarantee the fit through this season, so all fit adjustments are covered. They heat molded the liners and I'll get the shells molded in the next week or so. Probably going

Went with the Atomic Hawx Prime 110 and put an aftermarket bed in. I bumped down to a 27.5 from the 28.0 I have been wearing. Spent a full day in them and it was so much better.

Going to have to do a punch out on a couple of spots, but I had so much less foot/leg fatigue and I skied harder than I have all season.

Totals from the last storm:

Vail - 9 inches over 5 with a 37 inch base (still some really bare spots but way better than last week)

BC - 15 inches over 5 w 35 inch base (they needed it bad and it's skiing much better but still bare in spots)

Breck - 6 over the last 5 and a 25 inch base. 32% open and I haven't heard anything positive coming out of Breck. Still 30-32% open and 6 inches isn't enough to really move the dial from the conditions last week. If I was headed that direction, I'd pivot to skiing Steamboat, WP, Vail, or if I was determined to stay in Sumco: Copper.

Keystone - 7 over last 5 w a 25 inch base and 34% open.

Steamboat - 28 over 5 and a 61 inch base.

WC - 10 over 5 and a 32 inch base

Purgatory - 8 over 5 and a 22 inch base

Telly - 8 over 5 and 30 inch base

As you can see VERY variable conditions dependent on where you are in the state - SS has a lot of snow, Eagle and Pitkin have decent snow, WC has ok snow and and ok base. Purg and the Summit CO hills are still in really tough shape. 32% open for Breck and 34% open for Keystone is really bad when you compare Cooper open at 68% and Vail open at 79%. Those are both much larger than Keystone and Breck. More terrain = less wear on what's open.

Edited to add: I'd be suspect of the numbers coming out of Vail Resorts. There's not way it snowed 6 inches at Breck and Keystone and every one of those inches ended up lifting the base. That's just not very believable because it doesn't happen that way. They are really really really wanting to get those base numbers out of the 20s. I seriously doubt their numbers though because I just skied vail and the base MIGHT have risen 4-5 inches. No way it built up 7-8. There are still spots with no snow and that doesn't happen on a storm that pushes the base up 1/2 ft or more. So yeah, I'd take their #s w a grain of salt.

I'd say if anyone coming up could change to Steamboat it would be a good option. Skiing was absolutely fabulous the last 2 days and not very crowded. It usually does get busier after Christmas though. I'm sure that is not easy as lodging options may be tough. Maybe just a day trip if staying in Summit county.

I can help people if they need lodging. Steamboat has great snow. Only place in the state. Snowmass was really positive yesterday. A lot of the bare spots filled in and the groomers did a good job or rebasing the bare spots. Vail and BC have ok snow, they have good snow in a lot of spots but where things funnel down to some of the lifts it's scrapped off and rocky / bare. As long as you stay away from the tourist traps, it's quite solid. Breck and Keystone are still really really dicey. You're skiing on 50% lower base there than all of the hills around Summit and skiing on a much tighter range. Vail has almost all of the back bowls open.

Any reports from Whitefish from the group? We won't be there till March 1 but just curious.

Pahdz said:

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Any reports from Whitefish from the group? We won't be there till March 1 but just curious.

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Looks like it's pretty crappy right now. Snow report recommends riding a lift down to the base for beginner skiers due to hazards.

Pahdz said:

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Any reports from Whitefish from the group? We won't be there till March 1 but just curious.

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Uphill traffic has been paused due to poor conditions.

That's badass!!

I saw that on their Instagram