EMSC
Well-known member
I made it as far as Grand Junction after my day at Silverton. I had considered Powderhorn where I have never skied, but I figured the elevation probably had skunked the snow plus the main detachable Quad was down for repairs for a week. So instead I headed east and stopped off for a very quick set of runs for a couple of hours at Copper instead.
The snow driving back across the state seemed below average until I hit Vail Pass itself and then Copper seemed as deep as normal for sure, with the snow kind of petering out again approaching Frisco on my way home. The snow depth pattern seemed weird to me. Anyway I pulled in ~11:30a to a basically completely full Alpine parking lot which surprised me. Being a Monday I assumed it would be a touch quieter than that. Texas schools must be on break.
I tried out Spaulding bowl first. Very firm and not what I was seeking especially after a good day at Silverton. So I beelined toward Tucker mtn which always has the best snow. Lillie G was meh to start and by the bottom of that run it was horrible refrozen junk. No fun at all. I made a mental plan to ditch immediately if Tucker was not good. Fortunately that was not required. the snow on Tucker was a mix of chalky firm in spots, but also wind sift, moderately and lightly skied older new snow. So I took 5 or 6 laps there before deciding I was quite tired from Silverton still and heading back out. I tried out Union Bowl on my way but it was far firmer and less wind sift than Tucker. Not horrid, but very clearly not as good.
I hit the base again about 2:30p. Driving home in much better than weekend traffic which was a big bonus.
I forgot to start and stop the GPS watch a few times making for an interesting Google Earth view.
Top of Patrol Chute in Spaulding Bowl
The short but steep pitch top of Resolution lift
Good snow coverage
An Example of soft wind sift between moguls on Tucker.
The snow driving back across the state seemed below average until I hit Vail Pass itself and then Copper seemed as deep as normal for sure, with the snow kind of petering out again approaching Frisco on my way home. The snow depth pattern seemed weird to me. Anyway I pulled in ~11:30a to a basically completely full Alpine parking lot which surprised me. Being a Monday I assumed it would be a touch quieter than that. Texas schools must be on break.
I tried out Spaulding bowl first. Very firm and not what I was seeking especially after a good day at Silverton. So I beelined toward Tucker mtn which always has the best snow. Lillie G was meh to start and by the bottom of that run it was horrible refrozen junk. No fun at all. I made a mental plan to ditch immediately if Tucker was not good. Fortunately that was not required. the snow on Tucker was a mix of chalky firm in spots, but also wind sift, moderately and lightly skied older new snow. So I took 5 or 6 laps there before deciding I was quite tired from Silverton still and heading back out. I tried out Union Bowl on my way but it was far firmer and less wind sift than Tucker. Not horrid, but very clearly not as good.
I hit the base again about 2:30p. Driving home in much better than weekend traffic which was a big bonus.
I forgot to start and stop the GPS watch a few times making for an interesting Google Earth view.
Top of Patrol Chute in Spaulding Bowl
The short but steep pitch top of Resolution lift
Good snow coverage
An Example of soft wind sift between moguls on Tucker.
