trackbiker

Belleayre has maybe 100 more vertical feet off the Super Chief. No one on here is going to ski the beginners area below that. Plattekill has zero flat runout. Belleayre has better snowmaking but when it snows Plattekill is the place to go. If you count the time standing in line, you'll get to the top faster at Plattekill than on Belle's HSQ. And the trails will be less crowded and less skied off on the way down at Plattekill. Plattekill has to compete against state owned Belleayre who gives away tickets and offers big discounts. Plattekill has a lot of special deal days and discounts. The little more you may pay at Plattekill is worth it for the terrain, the vibe, and to support a guy who loves running his ski area and is working like crazy to make it even better. Depending in the way you go, it may be 20 minutes farther to Plattekill but you'll get more runs in on better terrain at Plattekill. Never mind. Go to Belleayre. I enjoy looking at it from the top of Plattekill and thinking that I'm glad I'm not there standing in line while I'm skiing a better mountain with better conditions and less crowds. Plattekill rocks.

Nice to see you posting on here Harv. From the hint I'm guessing Big Tupper? They look to be in good shape and not that old. Go Lazlo! I never understand why people will go to Belleayre when they could go right down the road to Plattekill for better terrain, less crowds, and a great vibe. Love the lodge. It is hard to get there from PA. There is no real direct route. But once you get there it's worth it.

They used to use old brochures for trailmaps. They cut off the top and the bottom is the map. That's the map I have that calls it the North Face Express. Maybe they still use some of these for trail maps. Despite the lifts there are no lines and great terrain.

I have an older trail map that shows the T-bar and the Northface Double Chair. On the older map the Northface Double was called the Northface Express but it is not a high speed lift. Installing that(second hand)lift was one of the first big things that the current owner did. It took a few a years as they had the money. I agree with GSS, I'm sure a high speed lift is not on the top of their priority list. They added snowmaking last year and in spite of good snow the last two years I would think that adding more snowmaking would be a priority before adding a high speed lift. They're only open Friday thru Sunday except during holiday periods. The owner and his family took a trip to Jay Peak after Plattekill closed this year. He said he has tram envy after that trip. A great guy competing against state run ski areas that give tickets away. Support him and make a trip to Plattekill next season. Great terrain and great vibe. Here's a link to his Jay Peak blog: Lazlo's Jay Peak Report

Ended mine Sunday, May 22nd at Arapahoe Basin with 6" of fresh powder. Warmed up in the afternoon but the conditions were great. They plan to stay open until June 19th. Lenawee Lift Line Top of the Front Side Montezuma Bowl with Keystone and Breckenridge in the background Nice soft bumps The Beach Loveland Pass on the way home

Because what GSS said made a lot of sense. Anyone who thinks we are paying only $4.00/gal. is an idiot. How many BILLIONS did the wars in the Middle East cost us? That all of us pay for and our kids will be paying for; not the oil companies, but they sure profited from it while getting tax cuts at the same time. Seen their profit statements lately? The same people that want to keep us on fossil fuels, pay for propaganda and junk science to discredit global warming, and give tax breaks to billionaires while the middle class suffers. Think your vote counts? The next Presidential election is going to cost a $1 billion. How much are you donating? And if you don't think the wars were about oil....how many poor African countries are we "fighting for freedom" in? Get off the oil and they'd go back to throwing sticks and stones at each other. If you're a teacher and all you can think about is cheap gas for you and not a bit about how the world works, the bigger picture, and how we'll deal with things once the ruling class has rung every last cent out of their obsolete industries, well there isn't much hope for the future.

You meant to hit your forehead with the back of your hand when you said that, right? Because if you didn't you'd be the first "idiot" teacher that I would vote to lose their collective bargaining rights and to get fired for being an "idiot". Follow the money trail.......Idiot.

Gad 2 was already closed for the season and Gadzoom closed Sunday. Don't know why they close Peruvian then reopen it on May 13th. Maybe they close the tram on the 13th and use Peruvian and the tunnel instead?

You would really like Snowbird. You can do a long weekend in Utah easy. The Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon areas are only 45 minutes from the airport and there are great ski and stay deals down in the Valley. Takes 30 minutes tops to get to any of the resorts. You can't stay closer unless you stay at the resorts and there are regular restaraunts with regular prices close by. It's nice to have a car but you don't need one. The hotels will pick you up at the airport and the ski bus is usually included with the ski & stay packages. I got a great deal this weekend. No ski packages this late but found a great hotel that includes a hot breakfast and a "light" dinner as well. Also has an indoor pool. PM me if someone is planning a budget trip next year and I can give some recommendations. Oh yeah; Love Southwest. Skis fly free. Might not be any powder but you never know. There will be plenty of snow left. The base is really deep. Post some pics when you get back. There is some really good stuff off of the Gad 2 chair as well. I was there on a powder day last year and everyone headed to Mineral Basin. Gad 2 area was empty and there is a lot of really good stuff over there. I could have stayed over there all day with fresh tracks but it was my first time there and I wanted to check out the rest of the place.

Great Western Lift was closed. Looks like lots of great stuff up there. The glades were crunchy in the morning but the new snow made them really nice. But Brighton still doesn't compare to Alta or Snowbird.

Woke up this morning and the sun was out. Forecast had called for rain in the valley and a few inches of snow in the mountains. Got to Snowbird a little before 9:00 with blue skies and no wind. Loaded up on the sunscreen, bought my spring special $64.00 ticket including the tram, and took the tram to the top. 28 degrees at the top and felt like 50. Looked into Mineral Basin and knew where I was heading. There was an inch of fresh powder on top. Spent most of the morning there just rotating around the basin. They groom a couple ways down but otherwise you just pick a path and ski. Just avoid the cliffs! Headed to the lodge and had lunch outside on the deck. Got in the tram in sun and got out in clouds. It started snowing a little while later. Spent most of the afternoon skiing off the Gadzoom Lift because it was cloudy up top and the light was really flat. Snow had gotten wetter with the warmth towards the bottom and was really nice carving snow. But check out the photo with the thermometer. No wonder they get so much snow out here. 58 degrees and snowing. And it wasn't a wet snow either. No big flakes. Same old small powder flakes. Yes those white spots in the photo are snow flakes. Snowed for about and hour and never turned to rain. Limited lifts but almost everything was accessable except for trails and glades off the Gad 2 Lift. Peruvian Lift and the tunnel were closed but are listed as reopening May 13th. Everything else closes tomorrow except for the tram, Mineral Basin Express, and the beginners Chickadee lift and they have tons of snow everywhere. Got to give them credit though. Last open in UT. Planning on closing Memorial Day and reopening for the 4th of July if weather permits. Snowbird is my favorite of any place I've skied so far. They have everthing from open bowls, to glades, to chutes, to wide trails, to narrow trails. The easiest way down from the top is one blue trail and sections of it are not an easy blue. Realized I need to add captions to the photos. Blue sky morning view of Salt Lake City from the top Heading to Mineral Basin Looking up from halfway down Mineral Basin Looking down from halfway down Mineral Basin View of Little Cottonwood Canyon Lunch on the Deck. GSS, It was a grilled cheeseburger, Lays Sourcream & Onion Baked chips, and a Gatorade Natural Halfpipe Little Cloud Lift View of the Main Base from the Gad Valley area 58 degrees and snowing!

Skied Brighton Saturday because I hadn't been to either of the Big Cottonwood Canyon areas and Solitude closed last weekend. Started snowing as I passed Solitude. Arrived at the lodge at 8:50 and parked in the first row near the lodge. All the areas here open at 9:00 even on weekends which is Ok with me since I got in from Moab late Friday night. First lift was Majestic because it was closest to the lodge, a fixed grip quad. One of the ssslllooowwwwest quads I ever rode. Thought it was going to be closing time before I got to the top. Conditions were fresh soft cord with a dusting of powder on top. Temp was 26 at the base and it felt a lot colder up top. No wind. The morning was mostly clouds with some sun but snowing lightly the whole time. I put sunscreen on because I didn't want to get fried like I did at Mt. Rose. The woods and off piste were crusty powder but everything else was great. The Scree Slope was cut up powder but skied well. After lunch the snow picked up and after 2:00 it really started dumping. So much so you had to brush yourself off when you got off the lift. So much for expecting spring conditions. The conditions just got better as the day went on. It was amazing how much easier it was to ski the off piste stuff with 2 to 3 inches of fresh powder. Saw a lot of people heading into the glades when no one was in them in the morning. All in all one of the best days of the season. In spite of that I wasn't impressed with Brighton. A lot of flat areas in the middle of the mountain and no sustained steeps. The Great Western Express lift was closed and that is where the steep stuff is. I bet they open it tomorrow with the new snow. But even the blues on the other peaks would be greens at Okemo or Stratton. The snow base is really deep and only three areas in the SLC area are still open. Alta and Brighton close tomorrow. Snowbird will be the only one left.

Toast, Please remember to send some reports and photos from the trip. Most people in the States have no idea how most of the rest of the world lives. There'd be a lot less complaining if they did and they wouldn't give a $h!t what Snooky or Lindsay Lohan were doing.

Thanks for the info. I'm flying Southwest so I think I'll take my skis with me and check the weather as it gets closer. Nothing on the calender for Sunday so I'd be heading up to the mountains anyway. I have a party to go to Saturday night so I don't know how early I'll get there.

Snowbird is saying they are open until Memorial Day so you should get a day out there. All the others will be closed by May even with a 200" base.

From their website: "Mother Nature was our friend the last few weeks, but this time she got the best of us

I'd pick Mt. Snow. I like it better than Stratton. I like Magic the best but they have limited snowmaking and the base is getting thin. The latest I have skied is April 8th at Stratton 2007. 4" of fresh snow that day with mid winter conditions on Easter Sunday, their last day of the season. April 4th also Easter Sunday last year at Snowbird, a powder day. Hope to set a new "latest date" this year at Alta or Snowbird on April 24th, also Easter Sunday.

Southwest is actually one of the better airlines these days, despite the cabin rupture. They are one of the only airlines to not charge for baggage so you don't have every person on the plane carrying their luggage on including "Suzie Q", on her once in a lifetime vacation, trying to stuff every piece of clothing she has ever owned into the overhead compartment. They also count two pieces of ski baggage as one. Just make sure you check in online to get an early boarding number. I'm flying SW to Utah later this month and will be taking my ski equipment because it won't cost me $50.00 each way ($100.00 total) when I can rent for 2 days for $40.00. The village at Northstar is really nice. You'll have a good time and, either way, the skiing will be better than that time of year in PA.

Flew into Reno from Vegas last Saturday night. Was watching the weather all week and while the Lake Tahoe areas got hammered with 158" of snow over the previous week, they also got hammered with wind. Up to 65 mph at the summits. I got up early Sunday with plans to ski Mt. Rose because it's close to Reno and I had to stop and rent skis. For some reason I could not get internet service on my BB but there was no wind in Reno. I headed to the rental shop and they told me that MT. Rose was still on wind hold. They checked all the other areas and the only one that was 100% open was Nortstar at Tahoe. They said Northstar is the place to go when it's windy because it is sheltered from the winds. Northstar was the last place on my list but it was the only choice. They have the fake village thing going but it's a really, really nice fake village. Conditions were wind hardened powder, a few inches of soft powder, packed powder on a soft base, to broken up wind blown powder depending on where you were on the mountain. Winds were from 35 mph at the top to calm on the front. The Backside was the most windy but the winds weren't bad at all once you got 1/3 of the way down. What looks like chunks in the pics was the broken up windblown powder that just crumbled into powder when you hit it. All in all a great day. Weather was sun and clouds. When it was cloudy it was snowing. I'll let the pictures tell the rest. I never saw so much snow in my life! They had a little snow Sugar Pine Glade Powder Bowl Trail Lookout Mountain Lift Line Tonni's Trail Washoe Trail Since I had already bought a discount ticket at the hotel on Sunday morning I headed to Mt. Rose on Monday. Mt. Rose originally had opened with just the lower beginner trails open on Sunday but ended up closing. It was the complete opposite on Monday. Blue sky day, no wind, and no crowds. Some clouds did drift over the mountain but not for long. Got a sunburn on my nose and between my hat and goggles. Don't forget the suntan lotion when you go out west. Only took me 30 minutes from Reno including a stop for coffee. I didn't realize that I could see Mt. Rose from my hotel window until I could see my hotel from Mt. Rose. All the tall mountains out there have slides that look like ski trails. Was glad to see that chains weren't required on Rt. 431, Mt. Rose Hwy., on the way up. I gave a thumbs up sign to the road crew when I passed them. That must a gnarly road when it snows. Skied every trail except for some glades and the Chutes. I did ski up to the Chutes and looked over. That is the closest thing I've seen to a cliff on lift served terrain. Wanted to try one but I was skiing alone without a helmet. There are no double black diamonds when the snow is that soft. At 9700' you are literally skiing in the clouds View of Lake Tahoe From Upper Ramsey Trail View of the Chutes Wild Side Glades View of the Winters Creek Base Area View from Winters Creek Lodge View of Glades from the Blazing Zephyr Lift

From the Elk Conditions Page: Comments: Spring Carnival is on Sat., March 19! Elk will remain open thru Sunday, March 20! Elk will be closed Mon., Mar. 21 thru Thurs., Mar. 24, & POSSIBLY reopen for Fri., Mar. 25 & Sat., Mar. 26! Please check for updates on Wed., Mar. 23!

Glad you're getting the goods out there. I was out there last year and skied Alta and Snowbird. Liked Snowbird better than Alta even though I was looking forward to skiing an area that didn't allow snowboading. (no offense intended to our snowboarding friends. I was just so used to hearing that scraping sound behind me in PA from out of control boarders that I was looking for a relaxed ski experience. I ski with a friend who boards and just spent 5 days in VT with my nephew who is a boarder but I am not worried about them hitting me.) Well there is no "scraping" sound out west as the conditions are so good. Had a powder day at Alta and Snowbird. There are plenty of off the map places to find powder at Alta and Snowbird even with the rush on a powder day. Had a local show me some lines at Alta later in the day only because he said, "It wasn't crowded that day", and Snowbird was empty on Easter Sunday and there were plenty of lines all day. The Mormons were all in church and no one from out of the area is booking trips that late. I don't think I'll ever have as good conditions on such an uncrowded day. A good friend of mine told me that Powder Mountain is the best place to ski out there on a powder day. Fresh lines all day and no crowds.

From Hancock, NY you take 17 to 30 to Halcottsville and follow the signs. About the same distance as Belleayre but a much better mountain when there is snow. Support the independant guy who bought it and has to compete with NY State owned Belleayre that gives away tickets. Plattekill has some pretty good deals as well, is less crowded, and while they've increased snowmaking capacity, it's the place to be when it snows. Here's a pic of Plunge and Giant Slolom from this time last year.

That was the Reader's Digest version of the report. I could do the GSS version and tell you what I gnashed on on the way up and what music I rocked out to. (Hint:It wasn't nachos from Sheetz or rap.) I even had pictures and my report was shorter. Just bustin on ya Douglas from A-Town. I actually find your reports amusing.

My legs were shot by 12:30 after things got chopped up so I'm glad I only did a half day. 4.5 hrs was enough. I'll be out in Tahoe end of March and Utah in April. Will be renting skis so I'll try some different wide boards. Loved the AC30's in the pow but I might try something different. Couldn't justify buying new skis when I love mine on the groomers which is 95% of east coast skiing. Plus 2 kids in college and I'll be spending alot of dough on the spring break trip. They tried to sell the AC30's to me at a really, really good end of season price last year. But I just didn't like them on the groomers. I hear you though, and I'll try some different wide skis.