2018-19 Season Recap

[jamesdeluxe]

Similar to the previous season: as a now 99% destination skier, there's a big difference between what I had planned at the beginning of winter and where I actually ended up skiing. My two trips across the ocean were moved to other regions based on conditions and as always, thank god for frequent-flyer awards. Especially disappointing was having to cancel my long-awaited Pyrenees visit (see the beginning of the Werfenweng TR for details).

Cottonwoods, UT: Dec 13-18
I'd encountered comparative low-tide conditions in previous Decembers, but last year's virtually snowless early season in Utah was the first time that I actually cancelled and ate my flights (redirecting to eastern Switzerland for four out of five powder days). As always, it'd be nice to hit Sundance and/or Snowbasin to mix things up; however, it's unlikely at that point in the winter.

Western Pyrenees, SP and FR: Feb 2-10
I've been planning/putting off this trip for a number of years, but similar to last season's very worthwhile visit to the Maritime Alps, I'm going to step up and get 'er done. With Toulouse as gateway airport, my prospective plan is to ski three days in Spain -- two at Baqueira, the Pyrenees' largest ski area with a huge amount of lift-served off-piste, and one at off-the-beaten-path fave Boí Taüll -- along with single days in France at Peyragudes, Le Mourtis, St. Lary, Grand Tourmalet, and Piau Engaly. It's only scratching the surface of this range but I have to start somewhere.

Gstaad, CH: Mar 9-17
For some reason, I've always been curious about this region straddling the French/German linguistic border of Switzerland less than two hours from the Geneva airport, often written off as a more understated version of St. Moritz but with lesser terrain. Alpinforum trip reports and British articles have portrayed it in more positive terms. I can imagine three or so days at the main circuit along with day trips to one of the many nearby local's areas including Chateau d'Oex, glacier-equipped Les Diablerets, and Rochers de Naye's stunning views of Lake Geneva.

It goes without saying that 20 total ski days is at the low end of where I'd like to be at the end of any season. That said; I was especially happy with both Alps visits and feel that the "quality instead of quantity" cliché is warranted.

20 Days
2 Brighton, UT
2 Solitude, UT
1 Snowbird, UT
1 Camelback, PA
1 Werfenweng, AT
1 Tauplitz, AT
1 Wurzeralm, AT
1 Hinterstoder, AT
1 Planneralm, AT
1 Riesneralm, AT
1 Hochkönig, AT
1 Zwölferhorn, AT
1 Pizol, CH
1 Savognin, CH
1 Bivio, CH
1 St. Moritz/Corviglia, CH
1 St. Moritz/Corvatsch, CH
1 St. Moritz/Diavolezza-Lagalb, CH

 

[lono]

I've read all your reports with great interest. Fantastic skiing in very cool places , if you ever take a group ,I'm in.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Thanks Lono. Looking forward to your season recap of 110+ days.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I've read all your reports with great interest. Fantastic skiing in very cool places , if you ever take a group, I'm in.

None too likely I suspect. We have been going to the Alps in somewhat overlapping timeframes and our paths have not crossed yet.

Nonetheless James' Alps trips provided inspiration once Liz and I started our own "Alps Project" in 2017.

This was the year James hit one of the same destinations we did. St. Moritz was not the one I would have expected; Andermatt and Engelberg seem more his style.

the "quality instead of quantity" cliché is warranted.

James is perhaps the extreme in this regard. It's interesting to see only one eastern day during a season regarded as quite good by many eastern skiers. But it requires flexibility to take advantage of that and metro NYC is not an ideal location. I've noted before that excellent air connections from NYC make air travel far more attractive than road marathons to lesser ski areas.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

It's interesting to see only one eastern day during a season regarded as quite good by many eastern skiers. But it requires flexibility to take advantage of that and metro NYC is not an ideal location.

Yes, 60 minutes drive time from my house in northern NJ allows me to hit the Poconos (East Coast fourth-tier: fine for family outings but that's about it) and 90-100 minutes to the Catskills (East Coast third-tier: fun if you hit them during/after storms, which requires flexibility). If I lived within an hour of the Catskills, I'd certainly go there more often. Even with less than optimum conditions, I can view them as the skiing version of working out at the sports club, similar to your SoCal ski areas like Snow Summit/Big Bear. I'm aware that Baldy has very legit terrain and that the limiting factor is undependable snowfall.

I've noted before that excellent air connections from NYC make air travel far more attractive than road marathons to lesser ski areas.

I successfully road-marathoned throughout the northeast for a long time; however, starting five years ago I de-emphasized that due to an increasingly inflexible schedule (work and particularly a special-needs son) and that I enjoy the Alps trips on both a skiing and cultural level much more than stateside: ergo, "quality over quantity." Moreover: between FF awards, living close to an international air hub, judicious use of booking.com, and far less expensive lift tickets, my Alps trips are the same price or cheaper than ski visits out west.

Until I retire, that's ^^ my MO.

 

[Patrick]

We have been corresponding, and Patrick's ski quality should increase significantly in May/June when he's not on the job. :wink:.

I don't know, I've had some really good days. I'll spare you some post from Edelweiss (powder or not) and awesome groomer days...but even if I didn't really travel much this winter, I've had a few good powder days.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bts9aYtFGfG/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtcEgBllJfy/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtPTsHtFxME/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrH_DMeF0vv/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKid2tFOCP/

 

[EMSC]

Looking increasingly like I won't ski again this winter so I'll drop my current #'s in here and update if necessary. Part of it is that unlike some, I have little interest in spending 3-4 hours in the car for ~2-3 hours of corn skiing before things get to be heavy slop. Not a good value proposition for me.

Anyway, a solid season and my first back over the 30 day mark since Jr was born. Also several first time visits for me (** below). 36 total days. A bit surprising since Jr had surgery in Feb, but he hit 29 days (2 of them when I was not there). My wife had 14 days, enough to justify her Ikon pass, though she's not a big skier.


By Resort
Eldora 16 44%
Copper 4 11%
Winter Park 6 17%
Whistler** 4 11%
Taos 2 6%
Breckenridge 1 3%
Vail 1 3%
Cypress** 1 3%
Angel Fire** 1 3%

By Month
Nov 2 6%
Dec 6 17%
Jan 6 17%
Feb 7 19%
Mar 12 33%
Apr 3 8%

 

[Tony Crocker]

~2-3 hours of corn skiing before things get to be heavy slop

Out here you can often get a good full day skiing groomers early on and moving by noon to the steeps, where gravity overcomes the spring snow resistance. I'm consistently skiing 20+K per day over Memorial weekend even though I'm usually done by 1:30 - 2:00PM.

Unfortunately A-Basin's window for those conditions is typically about 2 weeks before the steeps are shut down for wet snow instability. It will be interesting to see how Breck handles that. A-Basin's strength is that winter conditions with some powder days often extend all the way through April into early May like this year. We had that experience ourselves when we chose to wrap up the terrible 2014-15 California season in Colorado.

 

[Tony Crocker]

The Pali shutdown came on May 17 but only lasted two days before the winter weather returned. I don't think EMSC's ski season should necessarily be over with the ongoing weather, conditions and open terrain.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Pali finally closed for good on June 2. That's remarkably late given A-Basin's stringent monitoring of the spring snowpack and a testimony to the high quality of May skiing in 2019. A-Basin will be open at least 3 weekends in June but limited to the blue terrain from the Black and Lenawee lifts. There will be significant steeps skiable at Mammoth for at least another month.

 

[Patrick]

Well, since the one month break between April 14 to May 11, I've scored 5 straight weekend at Mont St-Sauveur plus one earned turns day 15km away from home at Camp Fortune.

Kudos on making late season great which finished with a closure of skiing and opening of waterpark on the same day, Saturday June 8. No worry, the ski season is never over, I'm taking a break next weekend for Morgane's university graduation, but I should be back on snow the following weekend.

Updated numbers below:

Patrick wrote:
Anyway here is my current count, I've been stuck at the same count since April 14, my longer break from skiing since November. There are still one month left of skiing within a day drive and beyond in the East, so I'm hoping to get a chance to go, but a few important issues are still in the way.

Days 86 (72 Days / 14 nights)

Local Ottawa - 60miles/100km or less:
Edelweiss: 53
Ste-Marie: 6
Calabogie ON: 1
Fortune: 2* earned turns
Cascades: 1

Not local
Killington VT: 6
Mad River Glen VT: 3
St-Sauveur QC: 8
Smuggs' VT: 1
Cannon NH: 1
Burke VT: 1
Owl's Head QC: 1
Bretton Woods NH: 1
Middlebury VT: 1

Before someone gets on me, I've been being paid with 66 of those outings (I managed to pay for my NZ 2016 and Australia 2018 trips for those 2 seasons of coaching), so my actual out of pocket cost is $165 US or under $2CDN/day.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Well, since the one month break between April 14 to May 11, I've scored 5 straight weekend at Mont St-Sauveur

How much skiable terrain is left at MSSA from mid-May on?

 

[Patrick]

Well, since the one month break between April 14 to May 11, I've scored 5 straight weekend at Mont St-Sauveur

How much skiable terrain is left at MSSA from mid-May on?

Well they had all of Hill 70 and Nordique open plus the Silver Creek(?) park for a few weekends.


Pictures from May 11:
Open terrain
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxcdyqlBuUn/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Closed terrain (Hill 71):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxgtRwOhD_P/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pictures from May 18 (May Madness):
Day
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxqkZh_BdM8/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Night
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxtJ9rUhq8N/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pictures from May 26:
They sacrificed the bottom of the Nordique trail to push snow for the base of the lift. Hill 70, Upper Nordique and park were still opened.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx8nBval2sN/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pictures from June 1:
Hill 70 and Upper Nordique. Silver park is done. They moved some of the snowpark features on Nordique.
Part 1:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByMadp0Fg8z/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 2:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bybzi5gF_j2/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pictures from June 2:
Part 1:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByPDW-Lln14/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 2 to be posted soon (waiting for a video).

Drive back:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTUNeMlDuS/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pictures from June 8:
Only Hill 70 left...walking required to reach the lift.
Part 1:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byd5_ZXFM3X/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 2:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byg8GoPl_ef/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 3 to be posted soon. Waiting for a video.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Area Sum of Days Sum of Vertical Sum of Powder
Mt. Baldy 4 67.8 9
Mammoth 18 425.4 24
Snow Summit 0.5 12 0
Bear Mt. 0.5 8.1 0
Snowbird 4.5 74 29
Alta 1.5 24.9 8
Taos 3 53.1 0
Deer Valley 1 24.8 2
Killington 1 16 0
Telluride 3 68.5 0
Purgatory 1 26.8 0
Crystal Mt. 2 33.9 2
Fernie 1 19 6
Apex Alpine 1 20.6 3
Castle Mt. 2 43.4 5
Arizona Snowbowl 1 28.1 0
Wolf Creek 1 16 1
Ski Santa Fe 1 13.2 2
Revelstoke 1 16 0
Mustang Powder Snowcat 3 54.5 49
Andermatt Gemsstock, Switz. 2 37.4 12
*Stratton 2 19.4 0
*Sunday River 1 14.7 0
*Sugarbush 1 21.1 1
*Arosa, Switz. 0.5 8.4 3
*Lenzerheide, Switz. 0.5 10 1
*St. Moritz: Corvatsch, Switz. 1 18.6 3
*St. Moritz: Corviglia, Switz. 1 18 1
*Diavolezza/Lagalb, Switz. 1 18.3 4
*Engelberg-Titlis, Switz. 2.5 49.8 14
*Brunni, Switz. 0.5 4.6 0
*Andermatt-Sedrun, Switz. 1 24.8 2
*Morzine/Les Gets, France 1 14.5 5
*Avoriaz, France 1 22.1 8
*Chatel, France 1 16.3 6
*Stevens Pass 1 19.3 3
*Pajarito 1 17.6 12
Totals 70 1381.0 215
* = new area

Now complete after June 21 with Patrick at Mammoth. Liz and I are off to the South Pacific June 25 - July 29. Liz had 50 days. She did not go to Canada but she got a couple of SoCal local days at Mt. High East and Waterman when I was gone.

This was my fourth highest season in day count, second highest in vertical and third highest in powder. Good years in California help, but the early 5 days in the Northeast and the Southwest road trip after Iron Blosam Week were also out of the ordinary.

Those extra trips also contributed to record area counts for one season: 37 total areas and 16 new areas. Liz had 19 new areas in 2018-19 and is up to 170 lifetime, about double what she had when we met in 2011. We were big beneficiaries of the Ikon Pass. I skied 37 days at 12 different Ikon areas. Liz skied 27 days at 10 different Ikon areas. We are cutting back to the Base Ikon for 2019-20 because Liz used no days that would not have been on that pass and I used one (a 6th day at Altabird).

Powder was very much in bits and pieces rather than concentrated in big days like last year. From Jan. 9 to Mar. 15 I skied 35 days and only two of them with no powder. Both of those were abbreviated days skiing just groomers in anticipation of powder to come.

The Euro trip delivered high quality skiing as in the previous two seasons. The "Big Five" off piste routes in Engelberg were my highlight of that trip. Canada was getting into its lean phase of 2018-19 while I was there but my timing was lucky. Mustang got 8 inches new snow upon our arrival and we got to ski a lot of Mustang's best terrain. The 4 feet of new snow during Iron Blosam Week was a record for the 20+ years I've been going there. Our timing was good for New Mexico too, with bell-to-bell powder at Pajarito, good slackcountry in Santa Fe's Big Tesuque and excellent conditions on Taos' Kachina Peak. I always get some good spring skiing at Mammoth, but June 8 makes the short list of "as good as spring skiing gets."

 

[jamesdeluxe]

An impressive season with so many different regions: SoCal, Mammoth, BC, Wasatch, southwest, New England, CH, FR,

All those numbers running together after each ski area make my head spin.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I can't wait to see your reaction when I ski at Tiffindell and Afriski in South Africa/Lesotho.

Here you go, Patrick:

Yesterday someone posted a TR from Lesotho on Alpinforum with pix on both pages (here's a Google translation so you have an idea what he's talking about). It's 4.5 hours south of Johannesburg and the ski terrain (basically a WROD) is 3,030 to 3,222 meters, which surprises me. I would've never guessed that type of elevation there.

 

[Tony Crocker]

(basically a WROD)

No kidding. I've told people here that Afriski/Tiffendell have a summer wet/winter dry climate (what one would expect at latitude 29), but that pic is the perfect illustration.

3,030 to 3,222 meters, which surprises me. I would've never guessed that type of elevation there.

Most of eastern Africa from Ethiopia through the northern half of South Africa is a plateau typically in the 3,000 - 6,000 foot range. This region was popular for European settlement because many insect scourges, notably the tsetse fly, only live in the tropical lowlands. The high altitude tropical climate is quite pleasant; thus many low latitude capitals are at 4,000+ feet: Mexico City, Bogota, Quito, La Paz, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Harare, Pretoria.

The Drakensberg Mountains top out at 11,340 along Lesotho's eastern border. The two ski areas are on the northern and southern borders, both around 9,700 feet. They are the highest mountains south of the partially glaciated mountains in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

 

[Sbooker]

^^^^^^^^
Seeing that I can safely keep South Africa off my skiing bucket list.
Looks a little uninspiring.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Seeing that I can safely keep South Africa off my skiing bucket list. Looks a little uninspiring.

Agreed, not really much different from skiing indoors in Dubai. I was in South Africa 1.5 years ago and didn't even consider going there.

 

[Tony Crocker]

In my case it would be the 7th continent, so worth a day out of a 2+ week trip sometime.