Looking for advice for southern Colorado

[gefiltephish]

I'll add to some thoughts- having lived in Breck/Frisco/Leadville for 6 years this thread makes me a lil homesick! I had an Epic and (occasional) Copper pass, skied some other big and indie areas too...

Abasin is amazeballs! The new Beavers chair makes opens up tons of great trees, without the hike out like before the expansion. Even better terrain if you get to the hike-out (skiers' left) stuff. Good trees on the Zuma side too, but you're getting off the chair on the Continental Divide, way above treeline! If viz is a concern, both Loveland and Abasin can get gnarly in storms! As one would expect- they are on either side of the Continental Divide (Loveland Pass). Both spots def have an indie vibe.

Keystone often offers friendlier storm skiing (and less snow). Long groomer runs and the best terrain park. Meh. BBQ at Arapahoe Cafe in nearby Dillon is a must!

Breck is a circus with crowds down low and for upper lifts too. Very cool town, worth a summer visit to hike/bike also. Steep trees abound and killer bowl skiing. Home of the bestest ski shop, AMR Ski and Board.

Copper offers a mix of everything- super long groomed and bump runs, good trees, solid bowl skiing on many aspects (both sides of the ridge!). I would be at Copper or ABasin if in Summit and crowds are a factor. Cheaper lodging in historic bluer collar Leadville, 20 mi to the south.

Vail and Aspen (Snowmass and Highlands) are among my favorites, once you are mid-mountain or higher. A drop off Dragon's Tooth or a cruise down Blue Sky Basin, and hike up Highlands Bowl, are recommended at some point.

I find Steamboat weird. All below treeline, very unique blue-level Aspen grove skiing. Overhyped imo, they can get lucky with storms. Town has some hidden gems, different feel with a busier state highway going through. I prefer summer here, although their woods are burning hot right now :/

Have not skiied Crested Butte or Telluride, but I hear they are the real deal... Indie wise, maybe Powderhorn is worth a look? Interesting Wintry Mix podcast about tiny home rentals at the resort, heard good things about the tree skiing. The biking in nearby Grand Junction is worthy of its own trip...

Monarch is a favorite! Monarch Pass can get snow while it's pleasant in Gunnison and Salida. Salida is a cool town with the Arkansas River going through (fun rafting). The mountain is smaller, but still offers great terrain. Hike/traverse too bowl skiing is worthy if the snows there.

 

[MarzNC]

I'll add to some thoughts- having lived in Breck/Frisco/Leadville for 6 years this thread makes me a lil homesick! I had an Epic and (occasional) Copper pass, skied some other big and indie areas too...

Thanks for the info. My ski buddy likes Crested Butte. He was going to meet up with one of our mutual friends there last March. Obviously that didn't happen due to COVID-19.

My crew spent a few days at Telluride a few years ago when it was on the MCP. It's fun and well run. Glad I went, but I can't say I'm in a hurry to go back. Probably not even in my personal Top Ten. Will be paying attention to what happens this season since the CEO just quit or was pushed out. He became a partner and CEO just a few years ago. Resignation a couple weeks ago seemed quite sudden. Bill Jensen's past connections to VR may have made it easier for Telluride to become a partner for Epic. Although it's a better fit for Epic than the MCP.

Monarch is a favorite! Monarch Pass can get snow while it's pleasant in Gunnison and Salida. Salida is a cool town with the Arkansas River going through (fun rafting). The mountain is smaller, but still offers great terrain. Hike/traverse too bowl skiing is worthy if the snows there.

Was funny to figure out that the vertical at Monarch is the same as Massanutten, my home mountain in northern VA. But obviously very different snow and a lot more acreage. Mnut has only about 75 acres.

How long is the hike?

I've done the hike up to the Ridge at Taos a few times, and the short little hike to Long Shot at Snowmass. I used to think the hike to Catherine's at Alta was work and could only do it once a day. But have gotten into better shape and that doesn't phase me any more. Have looked at the start of the hike to Highlands Bowl, from where the snowcat drops off. We didn't intend to hike that day. Not sure that will ever happen. Maybe with an instructor in good conditions.

 

[MarzNC]

Anybody ever stay in South Fork? We're thinking about staying at the Wolf Creek Ski Lodge. Seems to have been revitalized by new owners around 2011. I like the fact that they have the Wolf Creek snow report and webcam on their homepage.

I realize there are far more lodging options in Pagosa Springs. This trip we will have a short timeframe and don't want to have to worry about Wolf Creek Pass being closed, or open but very snowy.

 

[raisingarizona]

Ski Santa Fe has amazing tree skiing and it's not nearly as steep as Taos. Taos is no joke and I imagine it doesn't offer much for someone that doesn't like skiing bumps. I know that you've been there before but if you are avoiding moguls where do you ski there?

Wolf Creek is ok, it's mostly flat, punctuated by some fun, short steeps here and there but I've only been once and I haven't felt the need to go back.

Silverton is a must for any serious skier imho. That place is ridiculous! And they have affordable, working mans heli drops!

I like Purg. Monarch looks fun. I hear there bar is pretty darn sweet.

 

[MarzNC]

Ski Santa Fe has amazing tree skiing and it's not nearly as steep as Taos. Taos is no joke and I imagine it doesn't offer much for someone that doesn't like skiing bumps. I know that you've been there before but if you are avoiding moguls where do you ski there?

Checked out Santa Fe before heading to Taos the first time. Agree that the tree skiing could be good. But it was pretty much all frozen the day we were there.

I didn't say that I'm avoiding bumps at Taos, or anywhere else at this point. I used to avoid them but that was over 15 years ago and before I started taking lessons from very experienced instructors both at Massanutten and at destination resorts like Alta and Taos. I didn't ski more than 10 days in a season at big mountains until 8 years ago.

In general, my guess is what you would consider fun in terms of steep trees would still be in the "no way" category for me. I've skied three of the Taos double-blacks in the last four seasons. Doing one or two in good snow with an instructor over the course of a week is more than enough "adventure skiing" at this stage.

What's been really fun is getting good enough to ski more terrain at Alta, even when skiing solo.

Alta April 2019

 

[Cornhead]

Santa Fe is a great local hill. Not a ton of vertical, but like AZ said, great tree skiing. I never did it, but there's a gate at the top of one of the chairs that allows you to ski to the access road. So if you can leave a car there, that can be done, looked like fun.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

there's a gate at the top of one of the chairs that allows you to ski to the access road. So if you can leave a car there, that can be done

I took a pic of it (closed at the time) in this report.

 

[raisingarizona]

We got the in bounds tour from paos alto (his pug ski forum name) and he showed us some of the access points to tour the canyons and peaks just beyond the ropes. He was a long time patroller there, helped build the patrol shack up top and clear a bunch of their tree runs. He was a great guide and had a shit ton of ski area and Santa Fe historic knowledge.

I think he said they have an open boundary policy. There’s only a small number of people that tour back there and when we peaked over the ridge most of the terrain was untouched.

there’s some very cool lines in there. Plenty of legit steep shots. I need to get back this season. Another guy on TGR has invited us back to tour with him. I need to get on that.

I wouldn’t want to purchase a pass to ride up once and go tour though. They don’t sell one ride tickets but it’s only a 1600 ft. Vert. Skin to the top and it’s an easy one.

 

[Cornhead]

I think Santa Fe may be one of the highest base elevations. I can remember looking over my shoulder on the quad and being able to see probably Colorado.

There's a sign at the top with tubes welded to the top. You're supposed to look through the numbered tubes, and then look at the sign to tell you what you're looking at. I only realized this looking at my pics afterwards. The next time I returned I was ready to check out the tubes. It was an El Nino year, the snow completely covered the sign, the tubes were all that was above the snow.

 

[MarzNC]

My ski buddies and I have a plan in place. Plane tickets bought and motel rooms reserved. Two nights in South Fork after driving from Taos, two nights in Dillon, and the final night near the Denver airport. But not at the Denver airport since the hotel shuttles aren't running. Might be by Feb but we'll have a rental car so might as well save some money staying 20 min away instead of 5 min away from the airport.

Ski list includes Wolf Creek, Monarch, ABasin, Copper, and Loveland. Could be a couple days at Wolf Creek or one day there and the next at Monarch on the way to Dillon. We'll decide based on snow conditions and road conditions.