Loveland, CO 4-2 and 4-3, 2022

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Shockingly good. I'm actually here for some ski races at the Valley side but snuck over to the basin side twice during the day. I never strayed from Earls express lift due to the significant undertaking of just getting to the Ridge chair (#9). But I preferred the bird in that hand per se.

I was super busy all week and honestly didn't pay any attention to the weather up in the mtns. I just assumed it would be either mush or dust on crust type skiing this weekend.

Instead it turns out Loveland got something over 20" touring the week and there were even 4-6"+ of powder turns to be had on some of thier best terrain. Like lower Over the rainbow. No clue why it hadn't been fully skied.

All I know is I got 7 laps early when some of it was pure powder turns an almost no one over there but tons of Patrol where were doing sled practice.

Then got another 4 laps in early afternoon when it was still prime soft, only a rare icy trough in the moguls that I found.

Then after my sons 2nd run he wanted to lap the partially softened groomer off chair 3 taking our ski day right to the 4p end.

Just enough softening on the flats and non steepest terrain this afternoon though that I suspect it will be decent (for me anyway), but less good early am. Perhaps frozen in those spots all day as tomorrow has a 1-2" forecast vs sunny and maybe 34ish at the base today.

It was my 5 or 6th morning g lap before I got a picture of anyone other than Patrol... This guy skiing my exact line that had just been powder moments before.

Patrol was at least 10 to 20 x the number of public skiing those runs.

Oh yeah, there was a ski race going on too.

 

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Woke up to snow falling (staying in Silverthorne). Again really hadn't paid much attention to storm timing or details so it was kind of a surprise for me. It snowed decently for a few hours before shifting back toward a hazy version of blue skies by the end of the day.

I would say highly variable amounts with 1" at the Valley, 2" at the base of the Basin side and probably 3" on the Ridge. Though the snow was so wind affected on the Ridge that it was very challenging skiing. Firm chalk in spots, dense drifts in spots and every possible combination in between.

I started out with a lap in the South chutes. Soft but a bit variable as the new snow was being blown to fill in between bumps. Then attempted 3 Ridge laps on Chair 9 (roughly primer bowl, jelly roll, castle rock).

Early Ptarmigan groomer pic.

Early visibility up top

It was genuinely quite cold early, with 25+mph winds in your face coming up the lift. Perhaps 1-2 people every 10th chair or so.

While it's always wind blown up there, it's much thinner snowpack than normal across the ski area.

I then moved back down after the challenge of the Ridge back to the soft snow on the lookers left of Chets Dream quad for 3 laps. Eventually heading back to the race. There is a website Livetiming that you can see live where they are in the race order, allowing me to time my forays on the basin side. Also helps to have a 12 year old, not an 8 yr old.

Strange place to put the start in my book. 30 vert down the initial pitch.

After lunch, of course heading back to the Basin side for a few more laps on Over the Rainbow until my legs decided "uncle" before I actually needed to go back. The Snow was still super soft on that trail except the first 4 turns at the entry that were firm and chalky.

Pick your line carefully though...

Not sure if this side view of Over the Rainbow and Avalanche bowl comes out as interesting looking as it did standing outside for awards after the race.

I was asked multiple times about this over two days. I feel I was a bit less spectator than the ticket implies. But definitely spent several hours spectating as well this weekend.

 

[ChrisC]

Did Loveland fill in OK over the course of the season?

I guess spectator tickets are good for lift rides.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I forget -- is the Valley sector reserved only for racing over the course of the season? I've never been over there but always chuckled about the chair at the bottom that at one time connected Basin with Valley.

 

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Did Loveland fill in OK over the course of the season?

It's reasonably filled in, but thinner than normal for sure. Basically everything is open, but you do want to watch for rocks and hazards more than normal. That said, for the most part it's just a few additional rocks and hazards more than normal so relatively easy to avoid them.

is the Valley sector reserved only for racing over the course of the season?

No, it is open to the public. Chair 3 even has a mid station so early learners can get off and ski the lower half that is low angle blue terrain. Typically Chair 3 is only open to racers in the very early season weeks when they rent out lane space to world cup teams. There is also a very high chance of one of the 3 main blue trails off chair 3 being completely shut off for races or race training any (most) given days of the season though. In recent seasons that trail has been Twist...(used to be Switchback).

As to Chair 5 (no longer even shown on the trail map) it still sits there ~20 years after its last use. I heard that it was teenagers that got it permanently shut down. Since it crosses the Basin side parking lot as well as US6, clearly a few risks to cars. Despite some netting in place, teens apparently used to throw stuff off the lift... The shuttle bus system works just fine in its place. Though not sure how easy it is to get drivers for such a short, and thus boring for them loop.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Just got an e-mail from Loveland that their 4-Paks this season are $229: approx. $57/day. Weren't they something like $35/day just a few years ago or was that further back than I'm recalling?

 

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I'm not 100% sure but I think they were $219 last year and maybe $199 the year before that? Somewhere around there. So it has been a while since the $35/day mark.