Conditions Report
7″ overnight, 16″ in the last three days and 26″ the past week left Winter Park, CO with a mid-mountain base of 58″, the deepest in this part of Colorado.
The snow started last night, around 5 pm and quite heavy, reaching 4″ before 9 pm, and continuing through the night. The temperatures were just right, the snow was soft and fluffy.
In anticipation, we awoke early with plans of being on the mountain for the first chair. Getting to the resort just after 8 am, it appears we weren’t the only ones with that idea as a line was forming at the Zephyr already. The 24hr total was 7″, on top of the 4″ the previous day so we had almost a foot of powder to play in.
Heading up the Zephyr at 9 am, there were already tracks below us on Hughes, either from lucky employees or skiers who had paid for the privilege. The sound of riders beneath us was awesome… nothing. The sound of silence coming from the skis and boards as they made turns, floating in the powder.
The snow on the Winter Park side was epic, easily the 7″ reported, and a joy to ski. Even as it got chopped up throughout the day it remained light and easy to plow on through. The weather was awesome too, blue skies and sunshine poking through the remaining clouds, no wind, and perfect temperatures for skiing.
Engledive was awesome, bumps filled in and unskied, bouncing from pillow to pillow. Over on the Mary Jane side, Wildwood Glade trees and Bluebell were pretty special, too. Unfortunately, the bowl was closed, although the Panoramic chair was turning, (maybe because the clouds had started to come in and visibility up there was probably zero) and there was a line beginning to form at the corral of powder-starved skiers anticipating its imminent opening. It had been closed all day yesterday too, so there was 12″ and more fresh waiting up there.
We’ve been deprived this season of decent tree skiing. Of course, it’s there, and there are some epic tree runs to be had in the early season, but this skier likes his skis and legs the way they are. I’ve seen the junk on the floor, and until there’s a decent base, I am less than enthusiastic about entering the trees. Maybe I’m just getting older and more sensible (read: boring!)…
Wildwood Glade was pretty great, and the High Lonesome trees were epic quick snow. Crowds were none existent and following a couple of hours of clouds, the sun was shining through again. Hardly extreme gnarly tree runs, but still fun!
It’s great to finally be in the trees again. Winter Park has some unbelievable tree runs, and I’m looking forward to knee high days in Topher’s, Do-or-Die, and the many runs between the trails off the Challenger chair.
Those days aren’t far away, there is plenty more snow in the immediate forecast. But this day was up there, top 5 this season…
