Arizona/New Mexico 2022-2023 Four Corners Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

raisingarizona · Mar 21, 2023

Scratch that. More like 3584. If it's fat you could also climb up to Agassiz Peak and descend into Third or Second Gully for 4440 verts. The False Summit of Ag would put you over 4k too but I don't think that's often skiable to the south.

raisingarizona · Mar 21, 2023

If you climb to the summit of Humphreys and descend through the Inner Basin and all the way out Locket Meadow Road to the FS Gate we park at for those full pulls it's 5k of vertical.

I should mention that all of these long runs here have substantial cruises down long flat-ish sections but they mostly flow downhill.

James · Mar 21, 2023

So the person who told me 4k was fairly accurate.
Those are big numbers for the US.

RobSN · Mar 21, 2023

James said:
So the person who told me 4k was fairly accurate.

Well, yes, and no.

In practical terms, if you don't want to skin up, and simply ski as much as possible, the real elevation change for anyone above an intermediate is to ski from the top of the Agassiz Chondola (11,540ft according to my Garmin) to the bottom of the Grand Canyon Express lift (9,344ft according to my Garmin), a practical elevation delta of 2,196ft. All additional elevation delta is at the expense of much additional effort delta (or exceptional boredom on the greenest of green)!!!

raisingarizona · Mar 21, 2023

RobSN said:
Well, yes, and no.

In practical terms, if you don't want to skin up, and simply ski as much as possible, the real elevation change for anyone above an intermediate is to ski from the top of the Agassiz Chondola (11,540ft according to my Garmin) to the bottom of the Grand Canyon Express lift (9,344ft according to my Garmin), a practical elevation delta of 2,196ft. All additional elevation delta is at the expense of much additional effort delta (or exceptional boredom on the greenest of green)!!!

There's some more vert if you cut across the catwalks from Bowlside and ski to the bottom of the Prairie.

Dryheat · Mar 21, 2023

The bottom of aspen chair is a bit lower than GCE. I've been stuck taking it a few times this year when forced to park in the lower lower and even lower lots. (Including this past Sunday)

I also find it befuddling that the saddle is 11.5k. The agassiz top of lift serve is 11.5k. I've always assumed it was a hike up to the saddle instead of just across. But I defer to our spirit animal on this.

Between Whistler and AZSB, I racked up 166k vert over 5 ski days last week. The legs are due for a well deserved work trip to recuperate.

Dryheat · Mar 21, 2023

Separate Note: Powerpass 2023/2024 dropped Copper reciprocal days and doesn't have Valle Nevado on it.

This might be the final nail in me not renewing the powerpass.

raisingarizona · Mar 21, 2023

Dryheat said:
The bottom of aspen chair is a bit lower than GCE. I've been stuck taking it a few times this year when forced to park in the lower lower and even lower lots. (Including this past Sunday)

I also find it befuddling that the saddle is 11.5k. The agassiz top of lift serve is 11.5k. I've always assumed it was a hike up to the saddle instead of just across. But I defer to our spirit animal on this.

Between Whistler and AZSB, I racked up 166k vert over 5 ski days last week. The legs are due for a well deserved work trip to recuperate.

I don’t remember what the elevation is at the saddle. I would think it’s a little higher than the chair.

Oily Bee · Mar 22, 2023

teejaywhy said:
Think I will head up there Fri-Sat for one last blast.

The hill is only open Saturday and Sunday this week. I should be up early Saturday morning and waiting in line, I'm still working on covering the early part of my shift at work though.

teejaywhy · Mar 22, 2023

Oily Bee said:
The hill is only open Saturday and Sunday this week. I should be up early Saturday morning and waiting in line, I'm still working on covering the early part of my shift at work though.

Interesting. They sold me a ticket for Friday.

Dryheat · Mar 22, 2023

Dryheat said:
Separate Note: Powerpass 2023/2024 dropped Copper reciprocal days and doesn't have Valle Nevado on it.

This might be the final nail in me not renewing the powerpass.

To add: Sunrise has yet to commit to the 2023-2024 Indy Pass.

raisingarizona · Mar 22, 2023

Dryheat said:
To add: Sunrise has yet to commit to the 2023-2024 Indy Pass.

It's probably too much effort for the Sunrise management team.

teejaywhy · Mar 22, 2023

raisingarizona said:
It's probably too much effort for the Sunrise management team.

They would first have to open mail/email and/or check phone messages.

Core2 · Mar 22, 2023

raisingarizona said:
I don’t remember what the elevation is at the saddle. I would think it’s a little higher than the chair.

I looked at a topo map. It is about a 250' elevation difference between the saddle and top of gondola.

Core2 · Mar 22, 2023

I skied today and it was excellent except for the super delayed opening on GCE. Plenty of powder left up there for tomorrow. The snow is so high now a guy jumped and tapped my skis with his hand while I was riding the Sunset lift.

RobSN · Mar 22, 2023

Core2 said:
Plenty of powder left up there for tomorrow.

Great, since that is where I intend to be in the morrow!

Oily Bee · Mar 23, 2023

teejaywhy said:
Interesting. They sold me a ticket for Friday.

oh dang you're right! that might make it easier for me to sneak out of work for the morning.

teejaywhy · Mar 24, 2023

Snowing up here at Sunrise.

Oily Bee · Mar 25, 2023

Sunrise was fantastic yesterday, I snagged first chair! I wish I had more time to spend up there.

It looks like they are open Friday and Saturday next week now as well, 31st and 1st.

teejaywhy · Mar 26, 2023

Sunrise Park Resort: Friday-Saturday March 24-25

Arrived Friday morning to snow showers. Approx 2" of new on top of the unmolested ~15" or so that came earlier in the week. Snowed off and on all day. A wonderful opportunity to ski all the runs on top of Sunrise mountain and make new tracks. A light crowd, never any chairlift waits, and by the end of the day, still skiing so nice.

Driving in Friday Morning

Saturday - Bluebird day, bright and sunny and no wind. Parking lot more full but still NO LIFT LINES. Gusty winds overnight filled in yesterdays tracks and provided a refreshed opportunity for new lines. WOW. Skied till my legs were jelly. Crown Dancer, Maverick, Lupe, Rustler and Superstition were ungroomed and purely delightful.

Rustler: