Well I finally got on my board for the first time this 2009-10 season this past weekend at my favorite Colorado resort – Wolf Creek. They got 6 feet of snow last week and I was lucky enough to catch the last 2+ of that (never believe what the National Weather Service says regarding predicted snow totals there – they called for 4 t0 6 inches the night before they got 18″ – if they use the words “snow may be heavy at times” or “significant accumulations possible” – just go). Sunday was a full on raging blizzard with sustained winds of 30 to 40 and gusts to 60 so I had to hold my board with both hands while hiking the bowls and while it was still fun after 5 hours of buffeting we were ready to call it a day and save some legs for Monday. When we got to my car it had merged with the snowbank it was parked next to and the ride back to South Fork was the hairiest I’ve ever done there. Shortly after that they closed the pass which did not reopen till 10 the next morning which is why I never stay in Pagosa when it’s dumping.
Local jumping the rail on the hike up to Knife Ridge
Frank on the Knife Ridge Bridge
Monday brought clear skies, no wind, no tracks and no people as at least half were stuck in Pagosa waiting for the pass to open. So we had the whole glorious mountain to ourselves (and a few other lucky east siders) for most of the morning and definitely made the most of it. Knife Ridge was in prime form and worth every step of the hikes to get there. Not that I need a reminder, but man do I love that mountain!
Meanwhile, the rest of the state finally got some snow with most locations getting up to a foot of much needed fresh. Aspen Highlands opened for the season on Saturday and called 18′ in Highlands Bowl for the storm but friends of mine were shut down at Snowmass on Sunday as they closed all the lifts mid morning because of high winds (the only advantage of those old slow non-detachable chairs at Wolf – they never close). Right now it unfortunately looks like we’re in for a dry spell for awhile – not the xmas present the Colorado resorts were looking for.
As for our lucky neighbors to the North, it just keeps getting better. Whistler officially set the record for the snowiest month in recorded history with 18.3 feet of snow in November!!! They are now in the middle of another snow cycle as they’ve called 2 feet in the last 48 hours with a year to date total of 247″ and 6600 acres open and yes it’s only December 17th. The rest of BC is getting hit as well which has resulted in a continual barrage of emails from all the places I’ve either been or considered going to up there telling me how I need to get there now. My pick of the litter this week is this video from Baldface Lodge which is calling last month Snowvember – got to love it. However, if you really want to get a feel for the BC mindset check out the videos in the blog post below this – very funny…
I had heard about this contest called the Powder Highway Ultimate Ski Bum Blow Your Mind Contest sponsored by Kootenay Rockies Tourism where the winner got a 3 Month Journey along the BC Powder Highway, including Free Lift Tickets at all of the Resorts, 16 days of Heli and Cat Skiing, Accommodation and Transportation. Unfortunately, by the time I found out the details, the entry deadline had already passed. The prize is one of my basic life goals – to ski and ride all of the BC resorts and cat and heli ops so I was quite saddened to find out I was too late to enter. However watching the contest video brought a big smile to my face as it was clearly made with folks like me in mind. So while I’m bummed I didn’t get a shot at it I do see that the winner was a worthy choice…
So when you’ve done a bunch of cat and heli trips and are constantly researching where to do your next cat or heli trip you end up on a lot of email lists. And when the places you’ve visited or inquired about get snow, they’re more than happy to share that info with you. Thus for the last week or so I’ve been bombarded with emails describing epic early season conditions in British Columbia full of pics and links to videos designed to get you to reach for your wallet. My favorite of the ones I’ve received recently is this video from Kicking Horse Resort in Golden, BC which was actually sent by Great Canadian Heliskiing which is located just down the road from Kicking Horse and is now planning on opening early if they can induce enough powder fanatics like myself to come up on short notice. The Kicking Horse video basically describes my greatest fantasy (at least of the ones I can discuss in public) – having an entire beautifully gladed ski area to your self and a few friends – is that too much to ask? Then yesterday I got this link from Canadian Mountain Holidays with a video from their Revelstoke operation (and where the photo on top of this post is also from) showing some typical BC tree skiing. Yep, things are looking good in BC.
Colorado, on the other hand, is experiencing a little bit of an early season drought. While Boulder has gotten three decent storms already, the mountains have not fared so well with traditionally snow blessed resorts like Vail having received only 37″ total to date. There are rumors that the weather pattern is going to change starting this weekend (keep your fingers crossed) but until then I guess I’ll keep on watching these videos and saving my pennies for my next trip up north…
Silverton Mountain is a backcountry skier/riders dream. Located deep in the San Juan Mountains it has super steep terrain and is regularly hammered with big storms. Because the base is at 10,400’, the lift goes to 12,300′ and the hiking tops out at 13,487’ it typically provides great early and late season conditions. The place is run by Aaron and Jen Brill who basically designed, built and now manage the mountain – it’s basically my dream of what I would like to have in my backyard – a single lift that accesses tons of steep powder laden terrain. I try to make it there at least once a year for the unguided skiing (early and late season only) but it’s a long ways away (7 hours by car over hairy roads) and can be a somewhat frustrating experience at times (try to imagine doing avalanche control on almost 2000 acres subject to huge storms with just you and your friends to help – it takes time). But on every day I’ve been there I have had at least one run that rivals the quality of heli and cat operations at ski hill prices.
Speaking of helicopters, amazingly enough Silverton added one to their mountain last year. This is sort of like your favorite burger joint adding lobster thermidore to their menu because prior to this the only amenity Silverton offered was a yurt with a wood stove and some post skiing beer. And this morning I found this link to Red Bull Project X where they used the helicopter to help build a half pipe for Shaun White there – what will they think of next! Well worth checking out – they obviously spent a lot of money to make this happen and the website, pictures and video are all high quality.
And on one final note, Silverton needs our help to allow this all to continue happening. They’ve added a new bus (with seats, no less!), are trying to open more terrain early season and increase the number of unguided days. But they can’t do it if we only show up on dump days so if you can, get your butt down there early season – you’ll be a better man (or woman) for it.
Warren Miller is doing their annual movie tour and while they’re certainly not the most radical movies out there, it is fun to see the powder porn with a crowd and more importantly get a free lift ticket for your efforts. The ticket is usually only good for an early season day (0r two for one mid season) at Copper Mountain or Winter Park/Mary Jane but it means you’re basically seeing the movie for free and I find it handy to have a non season pass for an early season poach days at one of those hills.
Also here’s a link to a crash highlight video they’ve put up online if you like that kind of stuff.
