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I never understood why Backside was closed, so glad to see some flexibility reopening it with the new snow.(y)

Mammoth's storm total was 25 inches and Kirkwood's 42. Palisades got 25 at its base, 29 at Alpine base and 43 at Palisades 8,000. Utah only got scraps from this storm but is in line for at least a foot more midweek. Yes, the Idaho OpenSnow guy expressed some bitterness seeing this with all...

One of the links above mentioned that the Mt. Roberts tram I rode is overcrowded when cruise ships are in port now. The used pulse gondola is obviously a reaction to the skyrocketing prices and backlog orders from Leitner/Poma and Doppelmayr for new lifts. Stuart has had a couple of recent...

That's a good definition for my 98 underfoot, rockered tip but stiff tail Blizzard Bonafides. In far flung areas in the Alps it's not practical to be switching up skis during the day. So I want something that decent in both powder and on hard packed groomers. Even on new snow days busy...

I'm going to call anecdotal on this. More relevantly, the resort is at 2,300 meters and the ski terrain goes up over 3,000. So perhaps it was like Mammoth a couple of times this season, where it rained at the Main Lodge snow plot but still snowed higher up. These storms enhance Mammoth's...

While I agree with all of this sentiment, it still leaves the question, "How does Alterra make money, and specifically enough to satisfy its investors?"

That’s a very informative article from PeakRankings. A recent Forbes article says many private equity companies are having trouble raising new capital and limping along with these Single Asset Continuation Vehicles that replace restless initial investors with new ones. I’ve always wondered how...

Yes fat skis are essential in very heavy snow. But I thought the Nordstau snow was fairly low density until the spring sun got at it. And I wasn't skiing it at that high elevation. Ovrannaz, Chatel, Avoriaz, Flaine, all in the 1,800 - 2,300 meter range. I was not on fat skis at any of...

There is no reliable and consistent way to do that, particularly with the huge verticals. Bottom of someplace like Zermatt and its 99 inches is not particularly useful info. But Isola 2000 has a vertical not that different from many places in North America: 1,800 - 2,603 meters and the snow...

I spy former admin's green helmet in the pic above! You might want to check in with Jimk and/or his son for insider knowledge.

I agree with ChrisC about Lake Louise, Telluride and Tahoe, but would put Alyeska up there with them. Weathertoski's list is on another level IMHO. First views of something the likes of which you have never seen before tend to leave the most lasting impressions. In my case that would have...

Alta website shows Supreme Bowl closed, along with Backside and everything off the High T. That’s a lot of Alta’s prime powder terrain. I’d guess the T lost coverage during the March heat wave, not sure that would true for Yellow Trail on the way to Backside.

Isola 2000 has almost exactly the same standard deviation of annual snowfall vs. average (40%) as Mammoth (39%) with that average being half as much (175 vs. 350 inches). However, as at many places in the Alps Isola measures snow at the very bottom of lift service vs. Mammoth about 1/3 of the...

We will be skiing Mammoth April 15-17. Storm total is 16" so far. Mammoth should have no problem lasting until Memorial Day with similar snowpack now (38-107 inches) as at this time in 2011-12 (60-96) and much more than in 2013-14 (40-70) and 2014-15 (18-50). Wolf Creek closed as announced...

I was surprised that Flaine did not have one of those signs at the top with that panoramic view of the north face of Mont Blanc.

It's interesting that Saalbach and St. Anton have the block letter signs. The highest density of on-mountain huts/dining options is surely in Italy. I can believe that the block letter signing started with the purpose built resorts in France. That said, the mountain scenery is a bit less...

Avoriaz and Zermatt were the only ones I noticed on this trip. But we got this one on on the last day of our best Euro ski trip in 2018. German-speaking areas don't necessarily conform to the French block lettering style.

Juneau already has a sightseeing gondola within walking distance from the cruise port. I recall using it after dinner on our 2001 cruise to view the sunset and also a tidal bore moving in the water channel.

Here's some more hilarity.

Friday warmed into the mid-30s F so spring conditions became more widespread, including nearly all pistes in Morillon/Samoens and some first day softening in the lower part of Flaine. We started on Aup de Veran, view down to Flaine buildings: Crossing Diamant Noir we saw this warning sign...