We have been getting slammed the last couple of weeks. We topped the 200in mark for the season tonight at the house & it hasnt cleared in about a week (~36 inches combined). The conditions honestly are a PITA but with my new set of Dynastar legend big dumps (whoop)im enjoying every minute. Everything is powder, but thats killing the green and some blues since the Snow plowers are essentially creating sweet kick jumps (sweet when they arent on the bunny hill). Visibility has been low to very low on the back and we closed a couple runs for safety the last couple of days (redtail on the backside down to grouse & BP). We really need things to clear. Im starting to get really edgy about vail pass and a couple of the snowpacks through the Gore. They look really ominous.

nnichols, i'm heading in Thursday afternoon through Tuesday morning. How's the upcoming weekend looking???

Thanks for the update. I'm heading there in two days for some boarding on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I'm definitely visiting Keystone (day of arrival from Den for afternoon/night skiing) and Vail but still can't decide between Copper or Beaver Creek on Saturday. I've been to Beaver Creek before and had a blast as it wasn't very crowded (we had several great runs to the west of the resort all to ourselves) and the powder was fantastic!

We're heading up there Wednesday through Saturday, so I'm glad to see some of the snow reports.

Does anyone have any reviews on the White Mountain snowmobile tours? We've got one scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

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I've been to Beaver Creek before and had a blast as it wasn't very crowded (we had several great runs to the west of the resort all to ourselves) and the powder was fantastic!

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Copper will be crowded on a Saturday, guaranteed. If you like to ski blacks and double blacks, you can avoid the lines. Beaver won't be as crowded. Although, last Saturday I saw more people at BC than I had seen in a long time.

Edit: One other thing to think about...if it's snowing hard, Vail Pass can be a beast. It can also close with you on the wrong side of it and not open for hours (not fun if you're sitting in the car).

[This message has been edited by Sooner Born (edited 2/22/2010 1:31p).]

I just got back from Breckenridge this past Saturday and it was so much fun. It was my first time snowing so I can't compare but the instructors told me it was the best snow they've had all season. I learned to snowboard and man was it fun, I never thought I would like it as much as I did but I am hooked. I can't wait to try out other places now. I was there from 2/14-2/20.

As for, White Mountain snowmobile tours, they are great. I took the 2 hr tour with my wife and 5 yr old son and we all had a blast. They take you to a place about a quarter of the way up to have some fun time with a small course to race on and then after that continue on up the mountain. I would definitely recommend the tour.

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Copper will be crowded on a Saturday, guaranteed. If you like to ski blacks and double blacks, you can avoid the lines. Beaver won't be as crowded. Although, last Saturday I saw more people at BC than I had seen in a long time.
Edit: One other thing to think about...if it's snowing hard, Vail Pass can be a beast. It can also close with you on the wrong side of it and not open for hours (not fun if you're sitting in the car).

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Thanks Sooner. This is precisely the type of scoop I was hoping to get from a local. Looks like Keystone (Thurs), Vail (Fri) and BC (Sat) for me. I'll be staying in Silverthorne, so with a 30-40% chance of snow Thurs, Fri and Sat along the I70 corridor, I'll have to keep an eye on Vail Pass.

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I'll be staying in Silverthorne

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Might I recommend Smashburger.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll stop by for a burger.

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Might I recommend Smashburger.

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Silverthorne is also the birthplace of the game of drolf.

[This message has been edited by Sooner Born (edited 2/22/2010 9:48p).]

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You're damn right it is. I've heard that two of the founding fathers are regulars on TexAgs.

In Silverthorne, The Mint is pretty good. One of the places where you pick out your own steak and actually cook it yourself.

Ive never understood the Mint and Minturn country club (ive heard they are both excellent). If I buy an expensive steak, I sure as heck dont want to have to cook it. We just had a place on the mountain open where you can buy a 1/2 burger and then season it and the outside grill chef will cook it for ~7-8 dollars (good deal on the hill).

[This message has been edited by nnichols (edited 2/23/2010 11:11a).]

holly cheet - it was crowded on saturday. from 930-1230, got 5 runs on peak 7. then it thinned out a bunch and finished the day strong. talk about frustrating though... great snow this weekend.

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I've only skied Peak 7 once, and the wait was really bad. It was 3 weekends ago, and we waited 15 minutes at the lift. I went back to 8 and 9, and I never waited more than 2-3 minutes.

I Ski'd Breck today and the crowds were nuts (15+ minute waits at the bottom of peaks 7 & 8), but that's what I was expecting for a Saturday. I enjoyed coming down from the top of Peak 8, but the 3-4 story hike up there off Imperial felt like a 10 story climb . A few thoughts...
1. Beginner friendly resort (many blues felt like greens).
2. Lift system could be improved with a few mid mountain lifts to help relieve the crowding at mountain bases (particularly on peaks 7 and 8). A four seater at 6 chair would be nice as we waited 15+ mins there as well.
3. Lots of terrain was a plus but waits at 7 and 8 kept up from getting to hit as many 7, 8, 9 runs (and all of peak 10) as we wanted.

Overall, we had a decent time at Breck and will be returning at some point to explore the parts we missed but will be visiting mid week to avoid the crowds.

Copper was my favorite and Keystone was nice but we ran into quite a few icy patches on more than a few runs.

[This message has been edited by AgBlitz (edited 2/27/2010 10:32p).]

Just got back from Copper. What an awesome time we had! We were there Sunday through Friday. We tubed and snow mobiled as well. Everything was great! One major thing to note, I70 was a parking lot going back into Denver when we were west bound on Sunday. NEVER schedule your trip to return on a Sunday. It was 90 miles of stop and go traffic. Felt sorry for those poor suckers.

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EVER schedule your trip to return on a Sunday

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You can return on Sunday but you have to leave in the morning or at the very least before noon.

We drove back Sunday morning at 7 am from Silverton and were at Denver International 1 hour and 20 minutes later with no traffic. Our hotel manager advised that as long as we left before 10 or 11 am, we should be OK. The airport, however, was a madhouse at 9 am.

I was surprised at all the traffic that I saw driving Westbound from Denver that early in the morning.

My wife and son used White Mountain for a snowmobile tour. They had nothing but good things to say. They booked the morning of the trip with no issue. I drove them out to the site...it takes about 20 mins from Copper and they want you there 30 mins early. It's a nice drive out there.

White Mountain was indeed an excellent tour. We had a very good time riding around above the treeline. Excellent views and a great guide.

Just got back Monday for Keystone and A Basin and it was pretty nice. Would have liked the snow we got Sunday night on Saturday but still wasn't bad. Never really had to wait long for lifts and it wasn't real crowded. I just missed the last Kat track to the bowls though so I was a little disappointed (no way I was hiking) but I know better next time.

A Basin was a lot of fun. Zero lines, good bowls and skiing in the snow storm at the end of Sunday was great.

I really need to move back.