Purg caught 12, and Ski Apache got 17. They might actually get to ski a couple of weeks this year.

Spending this weekend and next getting my volunteer hours in for ski races. Today was a bad day to be hand timing starts. It got up to 16. Hands and feet are still recovering.

Lighten up Francis
Colorado license plates are green. Some NM plates are turquoise
Today was great, sorry you missed it

This

We've done Steamboat every year for the past 10+ years (threw Breck and Tahoe in there once) and with our cabin going on the market soon, we'd like to plan a different route next year MLK week. With 1/3 kids still in ski school, blue run lovers, where should we go? We met an older CO man on a lift that said his most favorite is Snowmass with Steamboat second. Any suggestions?

Have you skied Winter Park?

It has some awesome LONG blues.

Cranmer, Hughes (blue black actually), all of Vasquez ridge, the bowl, tons of Mary Jane.

It's our #1 spot and we keep going back because of its large amounts of blue runs. It's also a spaced out mountain once you get off the base and know how to get around.

I would also suggest Whistler. The amount of skiable terrain there is insane. You could ski those 2 mountains for a week and not get bored.

Steer clear of Crested Butte. It's a balls to the wall mountain. Good blue cruisers can be counted on 1 hand there.

Vail has lots too but it's a different price point altogether (although you did mention Aspen).

Did you do Heavenly at Tahoe? It's a great blue cruiser too, especially the California side.

Love that lift when it isn't crowded. Best views, awesome laps.

Edit to add Beaver Creek. Enjoy bachelors gulch and some time at the Ritz.

If I had money to burn, I'd stay there and ski there every time if I could.

If you fly from Texas, Park City is only a 30 minute drive from the Salt Lake City airport, which has Numerous Direct flights daily. If driving, it's 4-5 hours closer to the Colorado ski resorts. PC has better skiing for what you described and is less crowded.
I don't think we will ski in Colorado again, but made many trips before discovering PC.

31" so far now for the storm at ski apache, best storm in recent memory. Of course being Ski Apache, they can't get more than 2 lifts and the gondola running and still want $160 for an adult lift ticket. We will be up on Thursday when they let the local kids ski for stupid cheap.

12" here in Ruidoso on top of a layer of ice. Trees snapping like twigs and no power.

Yeah I didn't get the joke either. But I don't get lots of things…

corndog04 said:

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31" so far now for the storm at ski apache, best storm in recent memory. Of course being Ski Apache, they can't get more than 2 lifts and the gondola running and still want $160 for an adult lift ticket. We will be up on Thursday when they let the local kids ski for stupid cheap.

12" here in Ruidoso on top of a layer of ice. Trees snapping like twigs and no power.

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When I saw the Ski Apache reference yesterday I pulled them up on Open Snow to look at their stats and eventually clicked through to their website. Everything just seems like a confusing mess.

I "learned "to ski at Ski Apache about 30 years ago (and by learned I mean in a half day lesson they basically taught us how to put on our skis, stand up when we fell and how to board the lift before my friends taught me the rest) so I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it. Never been back since.

Logistics at WP can be a little confusing for the uninitiated but you are spot on that once you get off the base and get the hang of getting around it's great for blue cruisers and intermediate terrain.

I second the Heavenly recommendation too. Smaller relative to a WP but it's such a fun mountain

Bingo. We basically plan out an entire morning and afternoon at WP by saying "ok let's do this and then take this lift and do these 3, and then that lift and then those"....

Our go-to is usually Gondola, Cranmer, over to Vasquez first thing to hit the fresh powder or cords... do 3-4 laps on Vasquez, then hit High Lonesome over to Mary Jane. Then Super Gauge up for Sleeper down. then lunch. Then Pano and Sunnyside for 3-4 laps over there.

Super Gauge back up, finish on Hughes. Grab a beer or two. Jump on the bus back to the condo. Hot tub, beers, dinner, sleep.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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corndog04 said:

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31" so far now for the storm at ski apache, best storm in recent memory. Of course being Ski Apache, they can't get more than 2 lifts and the gondola running and still want $160 for an adult lift ticket. We will be up on Thursday when they let the local kids ski for stupid cheap.

12" here in Ruidoso on top of a layer of ice. Trees snapping like twigs and no power.

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When I saw the Ski Apache reference yesterday I pulled them up on Open Snow to look at their stats and eventually clicked through to their website. Everything just seems like a confusing mess.

I "learned "to ski at Ski Apache about 30 years ago (and by learned I mean in a half day lesson they basically taught us how to put on our skis, stand up when we fell and how to board the lift before my friends taught me the rest) so I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it. Never been back since.

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It is the most poorly managed ski area in the country. At some point their business model changed to provide bare minimum services at premium prices bc the weekenders coming up from El Paso, Juarez, Midland, Las Cruces are still going to come and pay. Meanwhile the locals are getting squeezed from an affordability and availability perspective as the mountain is typically closed M-W outside of holidays.

The 2012 Little Bear fire destroyed much of what used to be pretty good terrain on the lower mountain. After losing so many trees in the fire much of that is now completely open to the sun and wind and generally unskiable, and management has done nothing to try replant or put up artificial barriers. There is still some great terrain on the upper mountain, but we've been having pretty lean snow years so it isn't open a bunch. When it is open, it's a pain in the butt round trip to get to as they won't open any other lifts that service the top other than the gondola.

That sucks.

I remember the first time I went to WP as a kid… cut my teeth at Crested Butte so basically the polar opposite as far as mountain logistics/size are concerned. I was probably 14 and couldn't get anywhere. So dang frustrating. Went back the next year and experience couldn't be more different just with a years experience to provide familiarity.

My oldest are 6 and 4 and have been on skis for two years now… WP would be a dream to take them in a couple years when they're ready

No, just Tahoe and Beck. Hubs has done Whistler and CB 20 years ago. Good suggestions, will look into it all!

MouthBQ98 said:

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Also it is my understanding Taos is great skiing when it has had good snow.

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It is, let me know if you ever come out!

Wife and I were supposed to be in Park City 24th-28th. We changed our AA flight here in Dallas from Sat afternoon to Friday night to try and beat the weather.

We were good weather wise and actually boarded the plane Fri night but the Captain never showed up and they had us get off the plane after an hour or so of sitting there. AA kept telling us he was on his way but after 5 additional delay announcements they finally cancelled the flight around midnight. Only hotel we could find that had availability and an airport shuttle was a Motel 6. Lovely way to start 20th anniversary trip haha.

Got to airport early Saturday for our 11:45am flight and we had pilots, captain and ok weather but the crew wasn't there and finally showed up to the gate an hour late. By that time the weather got significantly worse and we missed our window to take off. Boarded and sat on place again only to be told weather wasn't gonna allow us to take off. Customer service line was about a mile deep. Complete S show.

Cancelled our flight over the phone and said this trip isn't gonna happen and gonna have to eat $1,400 for our vrbo which I didn't buy the insurance for (lesson learned). Came back home Saturday night and our checked bags including ski and snowboard equipment is still at the airport (we had it pulled so it wouldn't get sent to SLC). They said it would be 6+ hours to even attempt to get it with no guarantee so we said screw it and left to go home and would come back Mon or Tues and get it. People were livid and going crazy about not being able to get their checked luggage after the cancelled flights.

Spoke with the lady who owns the VRBO we were supposed to stay at and somehow the 4 days after our stay (28th-1st) were somehow still open. All of February and most of March she was booked. She agreed that if we can still get out there we can stay and she will block off the dates for us, so we now have flights to fly out of DFW Tuesday morning and come back Saturday. In-laws are being cool and staying the extra days and watching the kids so we don't eat the VRBO and extra epic pass days we purchased.

At this point I don't care how the snow is in PC. I just want to get there to test out my new snowboard setup and wife wants to use her new custom ski boots and skis. I'm fairly confident by Tuesday morning the airlines should be departing (hopefully).

TLDR: buying the vrbo/airbnb travel insurance prob is a good idea.

Brutal

RangerRick9211 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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Man sorry to hear that, that's rough. My wife had a similar # when trying for a second kid after our oldest. We eventually wound up with perfectly healthy twin boys. But it took us ~ 3 years.

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Thanks all.

Turns out the wife is preggo again this week! We're so hopeful.

And a slew of test turned up a definite indicator of an issue they can medically be solved. Anti-mullerian hormone high.

Net is we're not optimistic now, but every hopeful this works out or we figure it out.

Skied Hoodoo today. Bach tomorrow.

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Day 1.

Different skiing above the tree lines and the views are amazing.

Pictures do not do this place justice.

Mountain and village worth a return visit.

We were there 7 years ago before kids. Did a Christmas trip to Prague, Munich (skied Garmisch also), Zurich, and then spent new years in Zermatt.

People firing off fireworks on NYE inside Zermatt was nerve rattling. Literally people shooting Roman candles from balconies!! Old ass wooden buildings.

Make sure to get down into Italy.

Nice. We've been in the summer but never during ski season.

maroonpivo said:

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We've done Steamboat every year for the past 10+ years (threw Breck and Tahoe in there once) and with our cabin going on the market soon, we'd like to plan a different route next year MLK week. With 1/3 kids still in ski school, blue run lovers, where should we go? We met an older CO man on a lift that said his most favorite is Snowmass with Steamboat second. Any suggestions?

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Do not recommend right now, but Schweitzer has a crap ton of blues. The majority of the back bowl is blue, there's just no snow this year.

On average, how is "early season" snow there? Might do this end of this CY.