I've started my season in the Mid-A a bunch of times, and in New England a couple of times. But I'd never started my season "out west"... until this season.
I was lucky enough to ski 2 days at Vail and one day at Beaver Creek last weekend. They're having a good start to the season, with Vail 10% above average snowpack, and Beaver Creek 50% above - and the resorts had a lot of terrain open. There was snow and sun and friends and cookouts and a lot of fun... it was a great way to start the season.
Day 1 - Vail
I started early lining up a bit before first chair to make the most of my first day. I was in new boots, and took a bit of time to adjust... things just felt weird. But they sorted themselves out throughout the weekend.
1st lift ride over Gore Creek
Heading out for Day 1
The view of mid-Vail from Lift 2
I was on these DPS Foundation Cassiars... not my favorite ski, but they do everything pretty well
View from somewhere at Vail
We had some snow roll in - it was brief, but nice to see
Greg and @nebraskawhit (Whitney) in the falling snow (I tend to ski with a lot of snowboarders )
We thought Northwoods may have a line, but skied down to this view... in general, I had very few lift lines in 3 weekend days
Somewhere off Northwoods
Whitney in Northwoods
Some fun bumps off Ramshorn... they were medium sized, but not trough-y
Clouds rolling over the front side of Vail
Day 2 - Beaver Creek
We decided to ski Beaver Creek on Saturday, in part for variety, and in part to avoid potential Saturday crowds. Plus they opened a bunch of runs off of Birds of Prey that folks wanted to hit. I didn't wind up skiing any of the hard stuff off Birds of Prey as the easier off-piste I did ski was already challenging - I really felt like I regressed since the end of last season, though it's coming back.
Kristen, Jess, and Me on the lift
Jess, Adam, and Kristen near Cinch lift
Me near Cinch lift
After a couple of mid-mountain runs, we headed to Birds of Prey
After a bunch of runs off BoP, we headed over to the other side of the mountain to Rose Bowl... this is the view from the deck...
... where we had a cookout. We brought a camp grill and a bunch of food and drinks up in backpacks. @MattSmith in the yellow jacket.
Day 3 - Vail
It was back to Vail for day 3... we cruised around, and there were rumors of back bowls opening. But that never materialized. They did run chair 3 which has some nice bumps, and I skied all of Ledges again, which had a variety of terrain and bumps. But mostly it was a groomer cruising day.
View from somewhere on the Vail frontside
A bit more lift lines at Vail, but never more that maybe 5 minutes at most
Somewhere in Northwoods area again
Setting up for the final cookout!
Finally, A bunch of grey jays also enjoyed our cookout. It was a great way to kick off my season, and get some extra days in early!
I was lucky enough to ski 2 days at Vail and one day at Beaver Creek last weekend. They're having a good start to the season, with Vail 10% above average snowpack, and Beaver Creek 50% above - and the resorts had a lot of terrain open. There was snow and sun and friends and cookouts and a lot of fun... it was a great way to start the season.
Day 1 - Vail
I started early lining up a bit before first chair to make the most of my first day. I was in new boots, and took a bit of time to adjust... things just felt weird. But they sorted themselves out throughout the weekend.
1st lift ride over Gore Creek
Heading out for Day 1
The view of mid-Vail from Lift 2
I was on these DPS Foundation Cassiars... not my favorite ski, but they do everything pretty well
View from somewhere at Vail
We had some snow roll in - it was brief, but nice to see
Greg and @nebraskawhit (Whitney) in the falling snow (I tend to ski with a lot of snowboarders )
We thought Northwoods may have a line, but skied down to this view... in general, I had very few lift lines in 3 weekend days
Somewhere off Northwoods
Whitney in Northwoods
Some fun bumps off Ramshorn... they were medium sized, but not trough-y
Clouds rolling over the front side of Vail
Day 2 - Beaver Creek
We decided to ski Beaver Creek on Saturday, in part for variety, and in part to avoid potential Saturday crowds. Plus they opened a bunch of runs off of Birds of Prey that folks wanted to hit. I didn't wind up skiing any of the hard stuff off Birds of Prey as the easier off-piste I did ski was already challenging - I really felt like I regressed since the end of last season, though it's coming back.
Kristen, Jess, and Me on the lift
Jess, Adam, and Kristen near Cinch lift
Me near Cinch lift
After a couple of mid-mountain runs, we headed to Birds of Prey
After a bunch of runs off BoP, we headed over to the other side of the mountain to Rose Bowl... this is the view from the deck...
... where we had a cookout. We brought a camp grill and a bunch of food and drinks up in backpacks. @MattSmith in the yellow jacket.
Day 3 - Vail
It was back to Vail for day 3... we cruised around, and there were rumors of back bowls opening. But that never materialized. They did run chair 3 which has some nice bumps, and I skied all of Ledges again, which had a variety of terrain and bumps. But mostly it was a groomer cruising day.
View from somewhere on the Vail frontside
A bit more lift lines at Vail, but never more that maybe 5 minutes at most
Somewhere in Northwoods area again
Setting up for the final cookout!
Finally, A bunch of grey jays also enjoyed our cookout. It was a great way to kick off my season, and get some extra days in early!
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