EMSC
Well-known member
First race of the season for Jr. Which means I was stuck in more limited areas of the resort than a typical ski day.
Mostly a chamber of commerce type day as I call it. Meaning small amounts of fresh snow the day & night prior (4" in 24 and 1" overnight to keep things soft and fluffy, but not anything like too much as to make skiing difficult for the masses. Plus of course a bluebird day. However it was definitely chilly early, with -2F on the car thermometer at 7:15a when we pulled into the village parking garage. Race day would be the only time I would ever pay to park at Winter Park ($30) and only since we have to be on the Winter Park side of the resort with early lift load at 8a for course inspection. Traffic was not horrid, but quite heavy on I70 even that early in the am and fairly slow-ish paced on Berthod pass, esp the Winter Park side which was snow covered and slick both ways, where the I-70 side of the pass was snow free by the afternoon.
Anyway it was Mrs EMSC's first day of the season (!) given the poor conditions early and the repeated days at Eldora on only OK surfaces.
The snow surface was excellent. Pretty much as good as it gets without being a powder day. Excellent groomers with an inch of fluff early, super soft bumps, etc... Really she only skied half the day before sticking in the base area after lunch. Due to Covid last year they really changed around the format of races to reduce field sizes. So each gender has its own race day; and with the reduced size of the field, for SL they can now get 4 race runs in per day. Which is great for the kids, but provides less 'get-away' free ski time for the parents.
While there are a handful of 'bones' still to hit, in general the base depth is quite good for this time of year. WP is claiming something like 150" YTD though I'm sure that counts some early snow that Tony would never allow due to the warm early season and melting. I can also say that WP is not a resort that is requiring masking at their Gondola for those that are interested in that requirement that a few resorts have put into place for Trams & Gondolas.
Early am at top of Olympia Express:
In the trees near the newly re-named Explorer lift (used to be named Eskimo for many many years).
The only trails closed on the Winter Park side of the ski area are closed only due to snowmaking on Hughes. The reason for continued snowmaking is that Hughes is the race trail for FIS GS and Super G races. They have some huge swales on it that are roped in some cases to allow you to make your way to other trails, but also block some trails. Winding your way down the maze actually lead to some of the softest and best snow of the day.
Upper part of Hughes
The race was on lower Hughes and accessible via the Arrow lift. Here is the start area:
Race in action:
Everyone knows about the invention of the Bradley Packer right?
Original communications tower and newer 'fake tree' style communications tower
Best snow of the day for me was on Little Pierre which was only open part of the day off the Hughes trail rope maze.
Solid snow depths in the area for this time of year.
Mostly a chamber of commerce type day as I call it. Meaning small amounts of fresh snow the day & night prior (4" in 24 and 1" overnight to keep things soft and fluffy, but not anything like too much as to make skiing difficult for the masses. Plus of course a bluebird day. However it was definitely chilly early, with -2F on the car thermometer at 7:15a when we pulled into the village parking garage. Race day would be the only time I would ever pay to park at Winter Park ($30) and only since we have to be on the Winter Park side of the resort with early lift load at 8a for course inspection. Traffic was not horrid, but quite heavy on I70 even that early in the am and fairly slow-ish paced on Berthod pass, esp the Winter Park side which was snow covered and slick both ways, where the I-70 side of the pass was snow free by the afternoon.
Anyway it was Mrs EMSC's first day of the season (!) given the poor conditions early and the repeated days at Eldora on only OK surfaces.
The snow surface was excellent. Pretty much as good as it gets without being a powder day. Excellent groomers with an inch of fluff early, super soft bumps, etc... Really she only skied half the day before sticking in the base area after lunch. Due to Covid last year they really changed around the format of races to reduce field sizes. So each gender has its own race day; and with the reduced size of the field, for SL they can now get 4 race runs in per day. Which is great for the kids, but provides less 'get-away' free ski time for the parents.
While there are a handful of 'bones' still to hit, in general the base depth is quite good for this time of year. WP is claiming something like 150" YTD though I'm sure that counts some early snow that Tony would never allow due to the warm early season and melting. I can also say that WP is not a resort that is requiring masking at their Gondola for those that are interested in that requirement that a few resorts have put into place for Trams & Gondolas.
Early am at top of Olympia Express:
In the trees near the newly re-named Explorer lift (used to be named Eskimo for many many years).
The only trails closed on the Winter Park side of the ski area are closed only due to snowmaking on Hughes. The reason for continued snowmaking is that Hughes is the race trail for FIS GS and Super G races. They have some huge swales on it that are roped in some cases to allow you to make your way to other trails, but also block some trails. Winding your way down the maze actually lead to some of the softest and best snow of the day.
Upper part of Hughes
The race was on lower Hughes and accessible via the Arrow lift. Here is the start area:
Race in action:
Everyone knows about the invention of the Bradley Packer right?
Original communications tower and newer 'fake tree' style communications tower
Best snow of the day for me was on Little Pierre which was only open part of the day off the Hughes trail rope maze.
Solid snow depths in the area for this time of year.
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