Recommendations for Spring 2004 trip (1st week of April&

R

R Coleman

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We're planning a family ski vacation for spring break next year. Unfortunately it falls during the first week of April. <BR> <BR>Previously we've skied at Copper Mountain during this time and skiing has been pretty good. <BR> <BR>Any other recommendations for early spring skiing out west? Since we haven't been anyplace else this late in the year we prefer to target a place that historically indicates a high probability of having decent snow and conditions. <BR> <BR>Have given consideration to the Heavenly/Tahoe area. <BR> <BR>Looking forward to any suggestions. <BR> <BR>thanks, <BR> <BR>Rick
 
Rick, FYI there have been some posts replying to your message in the Eastern section, but I've directed all additional replies over here.
 
i rode breck last yr during spring break. it was the 3rd or last week in march(i forget). it was the best friggin time ever. i rode the park the whole time pretty much. spent most of my time in the superpipe. man, is that a dream pipe or what? so nice. i rode it until the last day when i lost focus for a split second, caught my heel edge coming down off a 5' air out of the pipe and slammed my head. that pissed me off big time. i couldn't ride it the rest of the day, and it was my last day riding. it just sketched me out, and i think i had a mild concusion or something. i didn't feel right. the night life in breck is where it's at too. straight off the hill to sushi breck($100) then got picked up by our buddies, headed to the bars and raged until the wee hrs of tha morning. that whole night i had spent still dressed in all my gear....boots and all. i never dance at clubs and i danced at places where there wasn't anyone else dancing. i was on fire that night. good times. <BR> <BR>seeing you rode copper last yr, you probably know all about the breck night life. Tahoe would be nice, but try to get to Kirkwood if you can. i've heard that's where the goods are at, but it's kinda out of the way. south of lake tahoe about an hour(i think). maybe vouch for whistler. all the stories i hear about trips to that place have always been good. you might be able to get spring break deals too. there's a lot to choose from, but there are a few to work with. hope that helps a bit. good luck and have fun. <BR> <BR>oh. are you into steep and deep backcountry type sh.t? Fernie and interior BC has incredible terrain. red mtn, etc, etc.
 
Hey, <BR> <BR>As far as snow conditions go that time of the year...look for a mountain that faces north and is located at a higher elevation than other areas in the region. In late March-Early April, Summit County, Colorado (Copper, Breck, Keystone, especially Abasin and Loveland) can be great. The resorts all have multiple aspects so you can follow the sun if its crusty, or hide from it if the snow's powdery. Also, Summit County and the surrounding areas all have some extremely high base areas(9,000+ feet) and higher summits (up to 13,000ft). The snow will be better up there than at spots like Steamboat and Vail's Back Bowls. The frong range of Colorado often times gets plastered with big snowstorms sometime in the spring. Last year it was 70 inches in mid March on Loveland and A-Basin. Also, for a family, there is a lot to do and the area (Breck, Keystone, Copper) is more of a resort area then some of the following places. <BR> <BR>Also, Mammoth Mountain in California comes to mind for great spring skiing. Deep bases with the California sun, and the highest elevation of a major resort in the Sierra are what makes Mammoth great late season. <BR> <BR>Alta/Snowbird, Utah usually is a great bet the first week of April. The Wasatch can get great spring storms and with the northfacing terrain there can be a lot of great skiing left in early May, nonetheless early April. <BR> <BR> <BR>-Scott
 
I have expounded on this subject several times. I have 3 articles (3/98, 4/99, 3/01) analyzing late season plus another (7/01) comparing Christmas to spring break referenced at <A HREF="http://bestsnow.net/insdtrak.htm" TARGET="_top">http://bestsnow.net/insdtrak.htm</A>. The areas I rate "5" for spring break in the latter article will usually still have considerable terrain with a midwinter powder/packed powder surface in early April. <BR> <BR>I have personally taken one-week destination trips in late March/early April more than any other time in the ski season and haven't had a bad one yet. But I do know where and where not to go. What you want to avoid are 1.) areas with minimal north-facing terrain and 2.) low elevations. <BR> <BR>With regard to the suggestions in this thread, I firmly agree with Mammoth and the Cottonwood Canyons. Mt. Bachelor and several western Colorado areas also rate a spring "5". Of the areas closer to Denver, A-Basin is #1 and Copper #2 for spring snow preservation. Loveland and Breck, despite their high altitude, have mostly east exposures. The other recommendations I would question are the interior B.C. places (Red, Fernie, etc.). They are low altitude and have variable exposures. You'll do great if it dumps while you're there (as on my late March 1999 trip), but there will be a lot of variable surfaces if it doesn't snow for a couple of days.
 
I read the eastern comments and must strongly advise AGAINST Jackson Hole for late season. I found this out the hard way in 1986 on my first trip there. With the SE exposure 75% of the mountain was unskiable glue despite a 110-inch base. Steep ungroomed terrain is deadly (which is what Jackson is all about) in late season if south exposed. After one day we rented a car, drove to SLC and skied Alta/Snowbird the rest of the week. It was T-shirt weather there too, but the ski surface was no problem. <BR> <BR>Banff/Lake Louise is good (assuming low snowfall Louise has an adequate base). Big White faces mostly south, but it is predominantly intermediate and well groomed. It also has a chronically overcast climate and likely doesn't sustain as much sun damage as most south-facing areas. <BR> <BR>So Big White is manageable late season even though it's not a top choice. But anyone who goes to Jackson later than President's Weekend will not be happy unless it dumps while you're there.
 
At Tahoe Kirkwood is definitely best for late season, and the upper parts of Heavenly next. But Mammoth is better than either and I would recommend spending at least part of the week there if you fly to Reno. Reno-Mammoth is about a 3-hour drive.
 
I was at Whistler March 31 - April 4, 1998. The Whistler alpine and Horstman/Blackcomb glaciers at Blackcomb preserve comparably to Mammoth. Lower down expect spring conditions with real slop for the bottom 2,000 vertical or so (where you have the option of downloading). But for better skiers the alpine is where you want to be anyway and there's plenty up there to keep you entertained for a week or more. I would avoid Whistler if you have beginners in your group (who will be stuck in crappy snow down low), but otherwise I recommend it for spring.
 
I'll second the notion to avoid Jackson late in the season unless you go on a spur of the moment fling because there is a serious snow storm expected. Granted, I believe it is only open till April 4th or sometime around then, but I have heard horror stories of death crust in the morning, followed by knee deep slop by 11am. <BR> <BR>I'd personally pick Mammoth. Lake Louise/Banff region is also a great idea, Tony. High latitude, much higher elevation than the Fernie/Red/Whitewater region of B.C. (but also half the snow). <BR> <BR>If not Mammoth...head to Summit County, CO, and then Alta/Snowbird in Utah...I do think Snowbird edges Alta out in terms of spring skiing and snow preservation. Avoid lower elevation Park CIty resorts. <BR> <BR>Anyone know how Winter Park does in the spring? It seems to reap the benefits of the Front Range's spring snowstorms but what about snow preservation/aspects? <BR> <BR>-Scott
 
I commented on Lake Louise/Sunshine on the eastern thread. Both of my trips were late season and conditions were excellent, but they were good years (1999 and 2002). It is very evident at both Louise and Goat's Eye that you wouldn't want to be there in a low snow year like 1993, 1998 or 2001. So yes they are usually good for early April, but wait until at least January to make your reservation. <BR> <BR>I agree completely with Scott's Utah and Mammoth comments. <BR> <BR>In Colorado the Mary Jane sector of Winter Park does have the good exposure, but the skiing is primarily moguls. This will appeal to many who post here but perhaps not all. The original Winter Park terrain is mostly low intermediate and will be mostly groomed. <BR> <BR>In general I'm not a big fan of Summit County: high skier traffic puts more pressure on the snow surface than other Colorado areas farther from Denver. For early April I'd go for Aspen, Crested Butte or Telluride. Taos is good too. Check all of these for closing dates, as some close as early as the first weekend of April, often with their best conditions of the season.
 
Tony Crocker wrote: <BR><BLOCKQUOTE><HR SIZE=0><!-Quote-!><FONT SIZE=1><B>Quote:</B></FONT><P>Taos is good too. Check all of these for closing dates, as some close as early as the first weekend of April, often with their best conditions of the season.<!-/Quote-!><HR SIZE=0></BLOCKQUOTE> <BR>And Taos always seems to be one of those, closing remarkably early. This year seems later than I recall earlier years being, as it's set for 4/11/2004.
 
In the Tahoe area: <BR> <BR>Kirkwood is mostly Northern exposure. Great terrain, but mostly an advanced mountain. The backside gets the morning sun, and the front stays pretty firm. Last April was the best month of skiing here as over 12 feet of fresh, cold, dry snow fell. In my opion, the best mountain in Tahoe - beautiful remote mountain location <BR> <BR>Alpine Meadows faces a variety of directions. Unfortonately, a lot can be closed in April. Good variety of intermediate, advanced and some expert terrain. Lots a fun - stays open through May with often enough snow to keep double diamonds open <BR> <BR>Heavenly has the best veiws of blue Lake Tahoe. This is wher I take visiters. mostly intermediate groomers, some fun trees. The advanced terrain is mostly gone by April due to sun exposure and the Expert stuff is usually closed. Fun, long cruisers are the name of the game at Heavenly. Lots of vert 3200', but with long flat sections to cruise (which can be hard in slush) if you want to ride the whole mountain. <BR> <BR>The nice thing about Tahoe is that all the mountains are close. You can stay in South Lake and get to any of the big hills (except Sugarbowl - which is an hour) in 45 minutes. I say stay in tahoe and get a potpori of skiing and riding in. <BR> <BR>Mammoth is big and offers a great amount of spring options in April. A fair amount of the mountain may be closed down by April, but conditions permitting they will keep much open. Mammoth has the most vertical (3300)as opposed to Kirkwood 2000 or Alpine's 1600, but the top half of Mammoth is advanced only, especially in spring conditions. I went there last June and had 2100' vert and fun conditions even though only a very small part of the mountain was open - still I had to wait until noon for the top to soften up.
 
Not much to add to the good advice already given, except to say that Loveland does have a really nice chunk of north facing terrain off Lift One that shouldn't be ignored... It went off last year - skied in over a foot of powder there after they closed, and that was sometime in May if I remember right. (got in on a couple private employee ski parties <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)">) I know they just had a monster year(540"+), but 400' is the average... If you do wind up in CO, be sure to check out Loveland. They aren't part of Intrawest or Vail, so crowds are non-existant.
 
Mammoth is 100% open for a minimum of 2 full weeks in April, more in big years or if Easter falls late. The week before Easter is the most common spring break for California public schools, with week after Easter next most used.
 
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