JustPanda said:

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I can give some of my friends #s. They watch kids all the time. Good folks and probs wouldn't charge nearly what the sitter services cost.

I know someone that manages local a sitter service if you'd like to go that route though.

https://www.beavercreek.com/plan-your-trip/childcare.aspx

https://www.vailmanagement.com/vail-valley-guide/babysitting-vail

https://www.rockymountainsitters.net/

https://eaglevalleysitters.com/

https://vailsitters.com/

http://www.activitysitters.com/

I prefer not to give Vail Resorts my business if possible. The last 4 are all well known companies. 3 are local.

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Just pulling this to the bottom of the thread so I can find it more easily next time as I try to set everything up for our trip in a month.

When do we need to reserve equipment for BC at Spring Break? Don't remember if there were any issues last year, but don't want to wait until its too late

I'd rent it now just to get it in the books.

If you go through Charter Sports and pickup in Vail vs Avon/BC I can help ya out on the price Feel free to shoot me an email or a text.

Do y'all rent powder skis at all? Just in case I ever come up on a crazy powder day.

We do, but I wouldn't rent them to you I'd let you use them for free.

I have Nordica Enforcer in 100 and 110 (heavy powder driving ski)
I have the Faction Mana 2.0s at 102 (nice in between waist w firm toes)
I have the Atomic Bent Chetlers in 110 (hella soft powder ski)

I have each of those in your size too! 184-188

Preciatecha

Panda,

You ever given the Bent Chetler 120's a couple laps?

I've skied on them several times. I enjoy them (143/120/134) FULL TT if I'm in the back at Vail with 12 inches+ and I know I can sit back seat and flow and never have to cross lines or trace over anything that's been run. Otherwise, they are way too soft for me. The 2024s are better than the 2023s IMO, but the minute you get off deep POW or higher speeds, you're hitting hella levels of toe chatter. Probs one of the hardest front slapping toe chatter skis I've ever been on at medium to higher speeds once you transition from POW to packed.

Good: Lightweight for the waist width.
Good: Solid turn radius at 19 on a 184 for a (143/120/134).

Bad: Heavy flex and chatter at medium to higher speeds when you transitions from deep powder to packed powder or groomers.

I prefer the Mana 4.0s (144/119/137) Rocker Flat Rocker partial TT. It's not an easy ski given the flat profile under the waist, but they're probs my favorite set of niche condition skis. You barely ever find anything with that profile.

Good: Flat under waist allows the ability to turn 360 degrees on a dime when you balance the transfer off the toes and heels and into the waist.

Good: Extra weight and partial TT rocker profile helps to push through any sort of chop that the Bents would want to try and float.

Heavier ski that you need to drive BUT more controlled power under foot and less desire to push you into a float when you really need a push given the lack of camber.

Flat under waist is counter intuitive to most beginner or intermediate skiers which makes catching an edge really easy.

Turn radius off the partial TT toe and heel is long for a 119/120 (23 vs. 19 for the Chet's) BUT the turn radius under the waist is basically 0 if you know how to transfer weight through the waist and not the toes or heels.

So yeah - Chet's are sick if it's fluffhead POW where you're dropping into fat dumps on clean lines. They start to struggle when you start to trace retracks or cross tracks as they want to push you up into a rabbit bounce vs pulling you into the mountain (that's my biggest pet peeve and why I don't ride them often)

The Manas have less play but they don't rabbit bounce or chatter. If Atomic were to stiffen the flex to reinforce the toes and heels, IMO it'd be a better ski because the camber and the soft flex are what push you into the rabbit hop and those mods play very little into the net weight and wouldn't have any influence on the turn radius.

Just my 5 cents.

If you'd ever like to demo them and you're in Vail/BC let me know and I'll hook ya up.

Updated 10 Day Forecast for CO and 24 hour snow totals:

Vail: 3 over last 24, 25 expected through 10, 37 inch mid mountain base, 87% open
BC: 3 over last 24, 23 expected through 10, 35 inch mid mountain base, 80% open.
Snowmass: 7 over last 25, 21 over next 10, 33 inch mid mountain base, 65% open
SS: 5 over last 24, 36 over next 10, 50 inch summit base, 94% open.
Telly: 3 over 24, 26 expected over 10, 28 inch summit base, 59% open.
Purg: 2 over 24, 25 expected over 10, 23 inch mid mountain base, 82% open
WC:4 over 24, 38 expected over 10, 36 mid mountain base, 100% open!

Separating the Sumco hills here to highlight the disparity between them and the rest of CO:

Keystone: 2 over 24, 10 expected over next 10, 26 inch summit base, 61% open
Breck: 3 over 24, 10 expected over next 10, 25 inch summit base, 48% open.

Shaping up to be a really nice ride over the next 10-14 days across most of the state. I sound like a broken record, but Sumco still not getting the numbers they need and if these numbers hold true, they will be WAY behind after these rollers pass. Almost everywhere in the state is picking up 20-30+ inches yet Sumco only forecasting 8-10. Missing these big rollers in an El Niño year can be a real season killer because we typically pick up 4-5 per season snd they already wiffed in the first two (why vail and BC have a 50% higher base) so if they miss out on this one, that's missing out on 50-66% of the biggest dumps and they're already on the lowest level base by far of any of the major CO ski hills. So, they need these numbers to flip to even begin to catch up (Breck and Keystone need the numbers Telly/Purg/WC are picking up). Because they missed the first two rollers, Breck and Keystone are 20+ inches on the short side of their average base depth for this time of year and forecasted to only pick up 1/3-1/2 of the snow as the rest of the state. Add that to the fact they are the heaviest run hills in the state and that's a lot of OUCH. In 38 years of skiing CO, I've NEVER not once seen this level of disparity between Sumco and the rest of the state especially the disparity between Vail and Copper/Breck/Keystone. Never ever ever and honestly not even close. Thus far, the storm systems are backing up at Vail Pass to the west, Indy pass to the SW, Rabbit Ears to the north, and Monarch to the south which means by the time the systems reach the triangle that includes Summit, the moisture content is totally gassed so instead of catching high elevation snow, they are just catching some brutal high elevation wind.

Please note: some of the base numbers I quoted are mid mountain and some are summit readings. If the summit reading is under 30, that's BAD news. Steamboat ALWAYS provides the summit reading so that's not abnormal. However, when Vail Resorts hills and Telly quote their summit readings it's usually because they are scared to provide the mid mountain. It's a little slight of hand magic trick they've used for years to fool people that don't know the difference between the two. Rule of thumb is cut the summit by 25-33% to get the mid mountain. Good news for Telly is they're picking up numbers in this storm that they desperately need. Once this roller passes, Telly should be back to its normal self so if you're hitting anywhere in the San Juans or Sangres over the next couple of weeks, you timed life perfectly. If you're hitting up the Sawatch or Gores or Routt, you're hitting them at almost the perfect point in the season.

Sorry if these updates are annoying. I can totally tone them down if you guys and gals would prefer.

any recommendations for east coast skiing with youngish kids (9 and 11)? we have been to colorado for spring break the past 5 years, but we have a soccer tournament in virginia the first weekend of spring break and don't really want to fly all the way back across the country to go skiing the rest of the week. trying to figure out if there is anywhere on the east side of the US that won't disappoint us when comparing to telluride, crested butte, beaver creek etc.

the main things we'd be looking for are the ability to stay on the mountain or at least at the base, a good ski school, and lots of intermediate runs.

East Coast skiing is its own animal. If you're used to skiing the Rockies, you will be sorely disappointed w the conditions a majority of time for Ski East. Crested Butte, Telly, and BC are some of the top spots in the whole country. IMO, there's not a comparison between those and any of the Ski East hills. For Ski East it's usually MUCH icier and very crowded.

Good news is they are actually picking up some snow over the next 10 (like 2-3ft). Thus far it's been feast or famine for Okemo, Mt Snow, Wildcat, Killington, etc. They've been in a snow rain cycle that's really crushed them at times thus far this season.

Edited to add: They get extremely heavy wet snow. It's nothing like the powder in CO or UT or MT. Because of that excess water content, when the temps drop after it dumps, the snow turns into a weird concrete powder mix that's REALLY grabby.

Edit to add: Some of the ski east hills like killington and wildcat have some teeth. The women's World Cup downhill circuit goes through Killington usually as the opening of the season so it has the grade and vertical drop that's still considered championship caliber.

Killington is one of my wife's favorite hills. I think it's because she won more races there than anywhere else, but she's an ex pro Red Bull rider and one of the steeliest boards/skiers I've ever seen. So, the flavor tastes good to some people and she's ALOT better than me (she can do a flat footed front or back flip so if youre ever at Vail or Snowmass and see a cute little blonde doing fronts and backs while waiting in the lift line, that's probs her). So yeah who knows?

wow, that sounds miserable. thanks.

Hey Panda,
How is Crested Butte looking? We'll be there mid-Feb so still a little ways off, but can't say I'm not getting a tad bit nervous reading your reports about the rest of the state. Although your comment above about CB being one of the top spots in the whole country has me feeling a little better...

Man. Being in Houston where I basically have to fly anyway, much rather ski Snowbird or Alta with the amount of snow they can pump out. But…the Little Cottonwood Canyon Rd. makes I-70 look fun and to stay in the limited lodging at the mountain is super expensive.

CB has had a rough start but things are starting to materialize well for them over the next couple of weeks (I can't project all the way out to Feb, but January is setting up to be much much better than 2 weeks ago)

They caught 1-2 inches last night and are expecting 24 over the next 10. The base is low for them right now, 31 mid mountain and 60% open, but once this roller set passes, they should be able to drop a lot more rope and probs build that base into the mid 40s which is a huge step up from where it's been. Should really do wonders covering the bare spots, should help fill in the trees, and will finally give them enough of a hit to push snow into the spaces that are scant.

Personal opinion: I wouldn't be worried about any of the major hills in Colorado over the next 2-3 weeks sans those in Sumco. Everywhere else should see a really really nice jump in conditions and quality of snow over the next 10-14 days which will help hold things if we don't pickup snow after this roller.

Little Cottonwood is its own animal, especially when it snows. Alta and Bird and the rest of Big and Little CW are really setting up nicely for the next couple of weeks. It's been famine thus far but this roller is really setting them up well for the next couple of weeks at a minimum. They will also finally have enough snow to drop more rope and their snowmaking will finally not be treading water which will dramatically improve the overall conditions since it's allows snow crew to catch a breath and allocate resources to other parts of the mountain.

bmac_aggie18 said:

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Man. Being in Houston where I basically have to fly anyway, much rather ski Snowbird or Alta with the amount of snow they can pump out. But…the Little Cottonwood Canyon Rd. makes I-70 look fun and to stay in the limited lodging at the mountain is super expensive.

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Is little cottonwood really that bad? I haven't skiied Alta in probably 15 years but we'd always stay in Sandy and then head up around 7ish? Don't recall it being a nightmare but I also see the closure alerts that Alta puts out especially in a crazy season like last year.

Thanks!

From Lisa Falls to Alta it can get really hairy. It's a tight space and it only takes one spin out to close it all day. For some reason I've seen more roll overs on LCC then probs anywhere else. No idea if it's the grade or something else but when people lose it on LCC it feels like an explosion.

It's the traffic that does it for me. I went back in February and was lucky to hit some Powder but everyone else was too and took me 1.5-2hrs to get up there Thursday, Friday and Saturday and it's only about 15 miles. To get on the road from SLC it's a brutal 3 way stop sign that everyone is inching their way onto. I may have been able to get up there quicker on a bike

I spun a truck in 2003 in little cottonwood and luckily slid into the mtn and not off the steep side. Was a beautiful morning, roads were wet and sun was out. Hit a small patch of black ice and was immediately spinning. Ripped off a running board and plenty of body damage- picked up the pieces, turned the truck around and headed straight to the bird!

The canyon is steep in many places (I used to ride this canyon on a bicycle growing up) and the road has some pretty good curves. I think This makes it challenging when conditions aren't great. As always, slowing down is often the answer!

For those that don't want to drive, there is great bus service in LC and BC.

Lat time I drove it I had almost that exact same thing happen to the Subaru in front of me. We were going along at a steady 30-35 and I thought they were managing the conditions well. Then out of nowhere, they spin out HARD and went straight into the mountain. Lost their fender, half the bumper, and totally snapped the axel that hit the mountain. Luckily, nothing was headed in the oncoming lane, but holy **** was it out of nowhere. Definitely took the rest of that drive at 20-25moh and that was with studded artic claws.

I used to do the books for Solitude and Alta. I never minded BC but if I was in LC, it was hands on the wheel and doing my best to not let my attention wander.

How often to folks spin out and go off the mountain? I know it happens - but is it a relatively common thing? I've driven through some pretty rough conditions...4WD and always very slow...but that kind of thing freaks me out. Driving over Ophir pass in a snow storm this past November, driving slow and straight - hit a patch of ice and skidded a little. Recovered fine - but would have been more trouble if on a turn...

I'm talking anywhere in the high mountains - not location s specific.

MAS444 said:

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How often to folks spin out and go off the mountain? I know it happens - but is it a relatively common thing? I've driven through some pretty rough conditions...4WD and always very slow...but that kind of thing freaks me out. Driving over Ophir pass in a snow storm this past November, driving slow and straight - hit a patch of ice and skidded a little. Recovered fine - but would have been more trouble if on a turn...

I'm talking anywhere in the high mountains - not location s specific.

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Exactly once for me and I'm 49. If I did a root cause analysis on my incident would say the following:

*Too fast around the corner
*Rear end needed 200 lbs of wt
*New vehicle and didn't understand how much torque the engine created when the turbo kicked in

I'm sure everybody has heard the statement "There aren't any friends on a powder day". This didn't apply to my accident but I've seen this mentality a lot when people are driving up the canyons. Just leave earlier and plan to arrive safe!

I've almost dropped a couple of spots but never gone full blown over. Once on the Eagle River bridge at Red Cliff and the scariest was having one wheel drop off the side of Red Mountain pass. We were heading south and had a snow plow cross into our lane. Swerved to avoid it and the lost the back end because we didn't have it weighed down correctly and the Thule on top changed the center of gravity. The result was the back right tire dropping off the roadway. Luckily my wife slammed the parking brake on and all we needed was a winch to pop us back on 550. Now I'll only drive RMP during the day and when it's blue and sunny.

We call the side of 550 the Mississippi Cliffs because if you go over the edge you have at least a 4-5 Mississippi count before you hit. Enough time to take a final puff or two of a J and pass it before you perish.

Does almost skidding off the trail on the first switchback just below California Pass count? The switchback was already pretty deep snow and so I tried to cut the corner some in the more shallow snow and basically slid on the snow until my front tires were at the edge of the drop off on the low side of the switchback. My wife got out of the car while I gingerly backed it back uphill a bit and turned it 90 degrees back in the direction of the road.

Before that, I had usually been confident but cautious on snow, having driven on it only infrequently and probably having been more lucky than good. I'd driven RWD trucks and suburbans in snow and being careful, never had an incident.

On 550, I've only driven it once in snow, in early fall. It was slow slow going, as they didn't have the plows going yet. Pretty much everyone was driving in the middle of the road above the line unless you had to pass someone going the other way. In most places, if you go off, you're hitting big trees on the way downhill. not that that is any better.

I think my most embarrassing driving in the snow story would be backing up our brand new jeep into the snowbank behind our house while using the backup camera. Somehow I managed to back the backup camera and only the backup camera into the hardest spot of the bank. Camera is still broken 3 years later.

I only seem to hit things in the snow when I'm in reverse. That's includes my 12 year old. Luckily he doesn't hold it against me but it's embarrassing when you're a worse driver then your wife according to your kids. That's an ego hit.

Panda- I know you're not near Steamboat, but do you get rental discounts up there? We usually rent kids gear through Christy Sports but thought I'd ask before we reserve them.

Heading to Angel Fire, NM on Jan 31st. Haven't heard good reports so far this ski season but it shows they got 10" yesterday so hopefully they're close to opening up more than the 31/81 runs they have open right now.

Has anyone been recently?

I haven't been but I have friends there right now. It's been brutal before last nights snow. Super sparse coverage, lots of exposed rocks, and very very icy. They're on 25 inch base AFTER yesterdays snow. Expecting 13 inches over the next 10. So it'll improve to probs about a 30 inch base maybe a little more after the next 10 days. Still super low but better than it's been. They still probs need another 2-3ft to get back to average. Probs won't be able to tell much of a difference if you're accustomed to skiing groomers but the omnibus conditions are less than average for this time of year. The base is about 60% deeper now than at the start of January. That sounds good, but when the base increase by 60% on 10 inches of natural powder + man made, that means they were working with gravel and rocks as a base before.

JP have you ever replaced foam padding on goggles? I have a pair of Smith Squads with multiple lenses that I like a whole lot but the foam is done.

Squad or Squad XL? Want me to just snag you a new set of XLs from the shop?