• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Colorado 2020-2021 Colorado Weather and Stoke (and beer)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Noodler

Sir Turn-a-lot
Skier
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Posts
6,314
Location
Denver, CO
Coverage on 8 is fine. Coverage on 4 is not. Especially after the big wind event. Patrol stomped around over there last week, but coverage is just not there for people to safely ski.

Yeah, that insane wind did some serious damage across much of LL. It looked like the mountain coverage moved back a month or two. All that snow went to Kansas...
 

TDCSPRINGS

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Posts
335
Location
Colorado
Coverage on 8 is fine. Coverage on 4 is not. Especially after the big wind event. Patrol stomped around over there last week, but coverage is just not there for people to safely ski.
Thanks. That makes sense. I couldn't see 4 from the road but 8 looked good. Have they put the road/trail in up top yet or is that still yet to come?
 

jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
Thanks. That makes sense. I couldn't see 4 from the road but 8 looked good. Have they put the road/trail in up top yet or is that still yet to come?

Cat has started work on the roads to/from 8, from top of 4 (Apollo) and up Rookie Road as well (set off a big remote avy when doing the last one.)
 

nay

dirt heel pusher
Skier
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Posts
6,477
Location
Colorado
Next storm appears headed for the SW mountains as well. Pretty wild that the usually NW flow of a La Niña is only dropping significant storms out of the SW.

Should be in the 60’s in Den tomorrow. Might as well enjoy it.
 

afski722

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
207
any recent beta / intel on how Vail, Beaver Creek, and Keystone are skiing? - both condition and crowd-wise?
 

TDCSPRINGS

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Posts
335
Location
Colorado
They're all going to be crowded and you are going to hit a lot of rocks. That is just the reality here right now.
 

Doug Briggs

"Douche Bag Local"
Industry Insider
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
7,484
Location
Breckenridge, CO
He didn't ask, but Breck is moderately busy midweek for my taste (I leave at 10 or so when there are more than 5 groups in line and after 7 or 8 runs) and way busy on weekends. If you stay on the plentiful groomers, you won't hit anything. Even low pitch natural is pretty clean.

I have not tried anything off-piste besides Lincoln Meadows and Wirepatch which are mellow Peak 7 runs that have skied beautifully especially after our huge dumps of 3 - 5 inches. (sarcasm on the dumps, but they are perfect with just a few inches of fresh)
 

afski722

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
207
Yeah, thanks, just hadn't seen much commentary on those places on this thread compared to the other resorts. I assumed it was all pretty much the same level of rocks and relative crowds all considering the way this season is going.
 

TDCSPRINGS

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Posts
335
Location
Colorado
Yeah, thanks, just hadn't seen much commentary on those places on this thread compared to the other resorts. I assumed it was all pretty much the same level of rocks and relative crowds all considering the way this season is going.
I have been to Keystone, Vail and BC multiple times each the past month. I would say Keystone is definitely the busiest. The last two visits to Keystone had hour to hour and a half waits on Dercum and just marginally better at North Peak.

Vail has been ok until about 10:30 when the lift lines start lasting 30-45 minutes. You can get some relief in the bowls (China and BSB are insanely busy tbough), but coverage is incredibly sketchy and go in there ready to take a core shot.

BC is the least busy of the three, but still busier than normal on non-holiday periods. I'm used to 10-15 minute waits at most at BC, but average is probably 30+ minutes right now.

If you know where to get away in the bowls and aren't scared of a few rock shots, Vail is probably the best option. Otherwise I would recommend BC. I wouldn't even bother with Keystone. Insanely crowded and pretty terrible conditions.
 

PlainsSkier

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Posts
346
Location
Fargo
Copper had the best snow that I skied over the past week. Was at A-Basin today, going to have to come back when I have more time to ski it and they have more snow...

139781072_10102870095881979_1608580049660000427_n.jpg
 

tball

Unzipped
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,362
Location
Denver, CO
BC is the least busy of the three, but still busier than normal on non-holiday periods. I'm used to 10-15 minute waits at most at BC, but average is probably 30+ minutes right now.
Are those wait times on weekdays or weekends?

Copper had the best snow that I skied over the past week.
Fake news! ogsmile

Copper is way behind in snowfall this season, per the Summit Daily:
 

TDCSPRINGS

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Posts
335
Location
Colorado
I went to BC on a weekend in early Dec and that was the wait. I went their midweek on Jan 6 and the wait was almost identical. I'm not sure what weekends are right now, but in my experience, BC is always a little less crowded than Vail, BC, Keystone or Breck.
 

tball

Unzipped
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,362
Location
Denver, CO
Thanks. I wonder if capacity limits are making weekdays crowded. Normally, weekdays in January should be empty, especially when the snow is crummy.
 

Doug Briggs

"Douche Bag Local"
Industry Insider
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
7,484
Location
Breckenridge, CO
Thanks. I wonder if capacity limits are making weekdays crowded. Normally, weekdays in January should be empty, especially when the snow is crummy.
Lack of upper mountain terrain and Peak 6 at Breck is contributing to crowding. It is possible, with some ingenuity, to ski without lines at Breck, though. Peak 10 was very un-busy this morning at 9:30 as was Super-Connect. I think we are back to smaller crowds for midweek but had to leave for work before I could find out for sure. There was no line at the gondola today at 10. Up until today the maze was pretty full every morning when I left at 10.
 

ski otter 2

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
2,920
Location
Front Range, Colorado
I'll
Are those wait times on weekdays or weekends?


Fake news! ogsmile

Copper is way behind in snowfall this season, per the Summit Daily:
Yes, it's behind in snowfall, but......
(For example, this morning there was only about 1.5" of fresh, where other areas got more, again.)

Now the "but": On the groomers, as I posted earlier, because of the huge amount of snowmaking Copper did starting way back when for the international racer programs, coverage on all those groomers is much better than the other areas I go to. Not close.

Almost endless groomers, by comparison, all with very good coverage. 2K vertical. Even Ptarmigan has good coverage, especially relatively.

Top FIS/WC racers will not pay for coverage with rocks, not any where they ski. They have often come to test out large numbers of skis for their WC season. If those skis get even slightly nicked, at that level, that defeats the purpose: they will not come back. So Copper has to match that need.
And they have. (Very glad I have FIS/WC race skis, mostly from ScotSkier, at great prices.)

Copper may be like Breck, with shorter lines midweek now, not sure except for today.

Today, Tuesday, was fairly cold to start with, but I didn't wait in any lines.
(I leave if there are lines, usually around 11 or so, so far.)
Today I just left when I felt like it (old guy), for almost the first time.

Flyer had the longest, looking over in that direction at 11: probably still less than 2 to 3 minutes - short.
 
Last edited:

TDCSPRINGS

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Posts
335
Location
Colorado
Thanks. I wonder if capacity limits are making weekdays crowded. Normally, weekdays in January should be empty, especially when the snow is crummy.
I really don't know what it is. It seems much busier this season than previous so I don't think restrictions are doing much. We went to BC on a Wed and expected it to be a ghost town. I was shocked when I saw the amount of people there and how long the lines got.

Having Grouse completely shut down isn't helping, but I also think with every other leisure activity shut down, everyone is flocking to the ski resorts. It was the same way this summer and fall on the trout streams. "Secret" spots that I rarely ever saw another person at were crowded with people. I guess this is the new normal, at least until we get through the pandemic.
 

afski722

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
207
Lack of upper mountain terrain and Peak 6 at Breck is contributing to crowding. It is possible, with some ingenuity, to ski without lines at Breck, though. Peak 10 was very un-busy this morning at 9:30 as was Super-Connect. I think we are back to smaller crowds for midweek but had to leave for work before I could find out for sure. There was no line at the gondola today at 10. Up until today the maze was pretty full every morning when I left at 10.
This.

Exactly. I know how to ski Breck, even on busy Saturdays, and how to avoid crowds when everything up high is open. When every lift, every hike, and its skiable pretty much everywhere inbounds, one can navigate Breck and predict and avoid the crowds.
With most the terrain not open yet up high, major lifts (T-Bar, Peak 6, Imperial) not open, and the hiking terrain not open it gets a lot tricker and pushes a lot more people on the lower/base area lifts.
 

afski722

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
207
I really don't know what it is. It seems much busier this season than previous so I don't think restrictions are doing much. We went to BC on a Wed and expected it to be a ghost town. I was shocked when I saw the amount of people there and how long the lines got.

Having Grouse completely shut down isn't helping, but I also think with every other leisure activity shut down, everyone is flocking to the ski resorts. It was the same way this summer and fall on the trout streams. "Secret" spots that I rarely ever saw another person at were crowded with people. I guess this is the new normal, at least until we get through the pandemic.
Yep. Obscure hiking spots and pull outs that would rarely ever see anyone at, ever would have multiple cars in them.

I think with so much of youth sports, kid birthday parties, grandma's 75th birthday party, football playoff watching party, etc. etc. etc being cancelled this year, there are less distractions and alternatives than skiing this year. (other than the usual honey-do-list stuff like painting a bathroom).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Sponsor

Staff online

Top