Glenn

On mountain weed sales*

When has 5 mph made a difference for you? Skiers will lose if they aren't tuned. Hit a big jump on a slower day than you're skis are tuned for and you are eating your knees.

I'll be in disguise. They don't call it secret for no reason.

Terrible. Great mountain great conditions, don't turn it into the Doug show Mt edition.

Something about the best days somewhere are better than the worst days somewhere else. I'm not sure if it's true, but I'm pretty sure it is. And by the better place I of course mean blue mountain.

Doug, you don't race or hit big jumps. There is no reason for you to have good skis. Get real.

switchsideskier 3===D Doug

Will it help me get better or have more friends like post on PASR will?

Elk is fun nobody skis there.

Seriously, move.

Shoe game.

That's how most of us ride normally.

I'll be a secret shopper there that day.

WRONG. Post count is king. Always. Moron.

At least it's right side up.

Also I think you should take a free avalanche awareness course. Even if you don't plan to ever ski out of bounds, you are going to be living by steep mountains and you should act like it.

Loveland and A-Basin don't have any high speed lifts. I sat in the copper parking lot for about an hour trying to decide if I wanted to ride after a late night partying in vail. I decided against it, but that mountain looks fun, from the base area, and I doubt it catches the crowds the other summit/vail resorts do. Of course, if you want to look at things purely economically, the vail/summit/5mtn pass is always going to look more appealing than the WP/Copper/Steamboat pass. Also regarding mountain passes my experience is that if there is a long section with no passing you will always get behind someone going 10-30 mph below the speed limit regardless of conditions. As such, unless you are in a major storm event, it likely will make no difference how long the drive will take. BP has very limited passing for downhill traffic. If you sit at the bottom of the pass groups of 20+ cars will come by, then no one for a while. At the bottom passing is allowed, and everyone starts raging past the slow car.

Are you looking at a resort for yourself or for your kids or both? What kind of terrain are you looking at? Will you be skiing trees, bumps, terrain park, groomers, high alpine bowls, everything? What level skier is everyone in the group, and how far is everyone willing to take it? Everyone in the group will get better so quickly just having such a wide variety of terrain/features to practice on. I like looking at trail maps and seeing what percentage of the hill seems to be stuff I would want to ride. Key/Breck: If you are thinking your kids will be the next big thing to happen to freestyle skiing/snowboarding this is a great training ground. A-Basin: Similar to loveland with a gnarly pass added into the drive. A little more tree's a little less bowl. Loveland: Bowl skiing, maybe some chutes here and there, few trees. Plenty of Green/Blue a few steep shots, especially if you want to hike. There are lots of mid mountain lifts, strange traverses and a dead end basin (with a running lift in it) which required a hike out for me this past winter. Add in terrible visibility days, and I have gotten split from my group 100% of the time when I go there. With only 1 base area, 1 lodge, 1 bar and only 1 lot open everytime I've been there, I've found my group at the end of the day no problem as well. Crowds haven't been issues for me there. Winter Park: I'm partial but this place is awesome if you like steep trees, backcountry access (both legal and illegal), occasional bowl skiing; both steep and mellow, bumps, a well built but far from elaborate park. WP suffers from lack of high quality green/blue trail selection. Many greens contain a long traverse which will require skating. Many blues are short, run into a green/traverse or are bumped. Jane side is easy to stay together, WP side is a little harder. Jane is bumps, steep trees, access to the high alpine stuff. If parsen bowl is drawing you to WP go to loveland. Parsen sucks, it's not nearly as cool as it looks from the map and it is loaded with goobers. The pass will close a couple of times a year. If you are stuck on the WP side of the pass there is another way with adds 2 hours onto the drive, and assumes Eisenhower tunnel is open. Otherwise, you will need to find a place to stay for the night. Steamboat: Fantastic blue/black trees of aspen and pine. Great snow, low crowds, bullshit cowboy town. I get lost from my group 25% of the time, but we are usually moving all over the place trying to explore as much as possible. It's super easy to stay at a particular lift or ride in a crowd to the next closest and move systematically around the hill. The place is huge, it's mostly families on vacation skiing there and the terrain is very playful. It's also seemingly too far for anyone on the front range to go to. This probably has the best groomers in the state also. Eldora: If you live in boulder and want to ski everyday this would be a good option. Echo: If you never want to leave the park, but still don't want to ride the best park in CO this would be your best bet.

Lots of snow in April. Two years in a row massive dumps in april here at WP. Maybe you will catch some maybe not. It's less crowded than in march too.

I bet Nick rode deeper snow in those 15 days than either of you did in 100+. Also, he did it without mommy and daddys help.

I ride there free anyways. IMHO steamboat will not be worth it that early unless they get pooped on. They are low in elevation and the appeal of that place is all the little cliffs with flat landings that are only good if there is fresh snow. The BC there is really good too, but good luck finding someone to show you around. If it gets good I will ride with you all, but I find it hard to justify the cost of a hotel. Also the terrain park will suck.

I can't speak to the utah portion of the drive, but CO from Grand Junction to Glenwood is pretty boring. Once you hit Glenwood you head south and it's slightly more interesting. I'd be bored, and would try to avoid the drive, but thats me. I've made some negative remarks about snowmass before, but after reviewing photographic evidence, I really want to get there. The drive from Denver to Aspen is pretty scenic the whole way, and it's all major highways, so short of a large snowstorm you shouldn't need to worry. If there is a large snowstorm, you don't make it to your destination, but you do get to whatever resort you can and get in on some deep snow. It's win-win.

For real though, that first shot looks so good. Nice pitch and great looking snow. Just waiting until we get a little bit here to get on some fun stuff. A+ thread.

Wow serious pow stoke! That looks fun but I would never hike for skiing. I like vert and lifts. Jackson hole has a high speed lift that boots you to the top in 11.1901930 min for some serious skiing. I plan on going to Jackson Hole every year.

WTF.