Eldora, CO - Apr 16,2021

EMSC

Well-known member
Over a foot of new snow this week, so time to call an audible on a Friday. On the steepest stuff you had to pay ever more attention to ski the soft snow vs Icy bumps as the day went on, but with rare exception that was mostly pretty easy to do. With no parking reservations required on weekdays for a few weeks now, I figure Eldora might have had the busiest day of their entire season, with occasionally HUGE lines on Corona lift - to the point of having to hike UP the Around the Horn trail. Fortunately I only dealt with that once, then it calmed way down as everyone either headed back frontside or perhaps bailed after a couple runs to go to work. By the 2nd time the line was getting that long again it was time for a late lunch. A few more runs and we called it a day just after 3p. Chilly mid-winter day with temps in the low 20's and light snow all day long (though probably only and inch or two fell the whole day). The snow was not blower pow, nor heavy wet spring stuff. Medium density snow for the win.

I considered other Ikon options, but Abasin and copper got less snow on steeper terrain, and my son didn't really want to drive all the way to Winter Park either... Turned out to be a very good day just sticking with what you know best.

20210416_092653.jpg


20210416_094901.jpg


20210416_101221.jpg


20210416_104957.jpg


20210416_111110.jpg


20210416_113449.jpg


20210416_114104.jpg


20210416_124840.jpg


20210416_133947.jpg


20210416_134256.jpg


20210416_152742.jpg
 
Trivia for 70s music fans that I ran across on Wikipedia the other day:

Supertramp_-_Even_in_the_Quietest_Moments.jpg


Artwork
The front cover is an unusual photo of an actual snow-covered piano and bench with a scenic mountain peak backdrop — an actual, but gutted, grand piano was brought to the Eldora Mountain Resort (a ski area near Caribou Ranch Studios, where they recorded the Even In The Quietest Moments album) — which was left overnight and photographed after a fresh snow.
 
That's the view from right at the top of what is now the 6pack.

Caribou Studios was certainly a thing for a while. A chunk of it is now open space. The Caribou name came from an old ghost town nearby.

I forget who was the owner of Eldora at the time, but they hauled that piano shell up via snowcat per what I heard (quite a while ago now. I remember being told about it back in the early 2000's).
 
That's the view from right at the top of what is now the 6pack (...) they hauled that piano shell up via snowcat per what I heard (quite a while ago now. I remember being told about it back in the early 2000's).
Just noticed this post -- that album was released in April 1977, so the photo must've been taken during the 76-77 season.
 
Wow, I had heard of the collision and death, but not that it was Ron. Yes, I knew him. I even have a signed world cup photo sequence he took on my office wall. He was a super technical coach often taking high speed pics and videos and often worked with the US team. For several years we even had him do a technical clinic about top World Cup technique of the moment for our race team's older athletes at the start of the season.

Definitely a loss and quite a surprise. I heard Eldora was mostly empty that day... So no idea how the two of them intersected on a low angle blue (Windmill is the easiest trail that is open off the top right now).
 
Back
Top