Drive-by skiing advice/options for Aspen, Jackson Hole and/or more...

[WTF is dat]

How was aspen today

[Vets]

How was aspen today

Good. A little fresh. Snowmass and Aspen Highlands skied better (they seemed to have deeper snow in the upper bowls.) Buttermilk was blowing man-made in places to get ready for the X-games. I skied all 4 in one day. This has gone from my to-do list to my to-do again list.

[Shredhead]

One and done?

Did you hike the bowl?

[Tye 1on]

gotta apologize, crystal ball was a little jacked. JHMR got 10 since the lifts closed yesterday, 16 in 24 hours. Fairly busy, but great visibility, will be great skiing. Hopefully it reloads again right before you arrive...

[WTF is dat]

Good. A little fresh. Snowmass and Aspen Highlands skied better (they seemed to have deeper snow in the upper bowls.) Buttermilk was blowing man-made in places to get ready for the X-games. I skied all 4 in one day. This has gone from my to-do list to my to-do again list.

All four resorts in one day is craziness... I could ski Ajax one day by itself

[Vets]

One and done?

Did you hike the bowl?

Yes and yes. I needed to get on the road even though I wanted to stay for more.
I had great timing on Highlands Bowl (as well as a great time skiing it.) Skied right up as the snowcat was making a pickup. Did a hike/traverse to a mostly clean line.
Today I skied at Mt. Crescent, Iowa on my way to Illinois. A little place that is a lot of fun.

[Vets]

gotta apologize, crystal ball was a little jacked. JHMR got 10 since the lifts closed yesterday, 16 in 24 hours. Fairly busy, but great visibility, will be great skiing. Hopefully it reloads again right before you arrive...

I'm looking forward to it.

[Vets]

All four resorts in one day is craziness... I could ski Ajax one day by itself

Yes, it was sort of crazy. Similar to having an appetizer variety sampler in place of a full dinner. Any of the resorts could easily fill up at least one day.

[uglymoney]

Wow. I could spend a week at all of them but Buttermilk. If the goal was to just ski a bunch of places in one day you missed Sunlight.

I think there was an interesting ownership story behind Mt. Crescent that I read about over at epic but I don't recall what it is now?

[Vets]

Wow. I could spend a week at all of them but Buttermilk. If the goal was to just ski a bunch of places in one day you missed Sunlight.

I think there was an interesting ownership story behind Mt. Crescent that I read about over at epic but I don't recall what it is now?

Does this mean that I need to move Sunlight up higher on my to-do list?
One of my motivations for skiing Mt. Crescent was having visited the area on a previous road trip during the summer. I hiked the hill and thought that if I ever had the opportunity, I would ski there in the winter. I had that opportunity yesterday. The place has a great vibe. Everyone there was very friendly and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. The place put a smile on my face. I also bought a cool t-shirt.

[uglymoney]

When I was a kid we'd stay in Glenwood sometimes and ski Sunlight on days my parents were feeling chill. Had a lot of fun. Cool little place kind of like Snow King and Terry Peak. From the sound of it you'd like it.

We had a good pow day at Chestnut last Sunday. Check their Facebook for a couple pics...I even made a cameo. Snowing again today.

[SchralphMacchio]

Vets I am in Jackson now and will be here through Tuesday if you want to hook up.

[Vets]

^^Sunlight has definitely moved up on my to-do list.
I'll check out Chestnut's Facebook page.
^ Schralph, I wish that I could join you there, but I won't be headed that way until after the first of the year.

[Vets]

At Powderhorn, CO it looked like they painted the chairs and the towers to match my Lhasa Pows.

[Vets]

An update before I head west.
Yesterday I skied at Villa Olivia in Bartlett, IL. 180 vertical feet of fun and fresh pow.

Cool temps made the snow feel light and dry:

Who would have expected snow to rival Utah's "Greatest Snow on Earth" or Steamboat's Champagne Powder" in Illinois.

Since it was a pow night I brought my Lhasas...

As you can see they not only handle the snow well; they also can handle the lights...


Looking back:

(I hiked the little knob below the lift as one of my "sidecountry" runs to get fresh tracks.)

If you look carefully you can see my tracks on my other "sidecountry" run:


A little place that was a lot of fun.

P.S. From what I have heard, it even has better snow conditions than Tahoe currently has.

[leroy jenkins]

Yes and yes. I needed to get on the road even though I wanted to stay for more.
I had great timing on Highlands Bowl (as well as a great time skiing it.) Skied right up as the snowcat was making a pickup. Did a hike/traverse to a mostly clean line.
Today I skied at Mt. Crescent, Iowa on my way to Illinois. A little place that is a lot of fun.

NO TRAVERSING IN HIGHLANDS BOWL!

[japanada]

Hell ya for The Villa! That's in my old backyard! Glad the Midwest stop was worth it!

The snow at Jackson is pretty good right now and will only be better when you get in!

Sent from my mind to your eyes.

[uglymoney]

An update before I head west.
Yesterday I skied at Villa Olivia in Bartlett, IL. 180 vertical feet of fun and fresh pow.


If you look carefully you can see my tracks on my other "sidecountry" run:


I little place that was a lot of fun.

P.S. From what I have heard, it even has better snow conditions than Tahoe currently has.

Yeah, I think we do have better snow than the Sierra right now! But damn it is cold. Nice TR and fresh tracks. You are probably already on the big road west but I'll be at Chestnut with the family at opening bell tomorrow.

[Vets]

NO TRAVERSING IN HIGHLANDS BOWL!

Sorry. I didn't know. It was my first time there.
Here is what it looked like:

[Vets]

Hell ya for The Villa! That's in my old backyard! Glad the Midwest stop was worth it!

The snow at Jackson is pretty good right now and will only be better when you get in!

Sent from my mind to your eyes.

Looking forward to it. So I gather that skiing The Villa will have been a good preparation for Jackson.

[Vets]

Yeah, I think we do have better snow than the Sierra right now! But damn it is cold. Nice TR and fresh tracks. You are probably already on the big road west but I'll be at Chestnut with the family at opening bell tomorrow.

Thanks. Tempting, but not sure if the road timing will allow for the detour further north.

[uglymoney]

Thanks. Tempting, but not sure if the road timing will allow for the detour further north.

I'll be on sickbirds skiing tele always on the Apache chair or wallowing in front of my daughter depending on who's turn it is. From the nut it is 20 minutes to Dubuque and then fast four lane all the way back down to I-80.

But if you are heading to JH just hammer on it and get the hell out of here before it really gets cold!

[Vets]

I'll be on sickbirds skiing tele always on the Apache chair or wallowing in front of my daughter depending on who's turn it is. From the nut it is 20 minutes to Dubuque and then fast four lane all the way back down to I-80.

But if you are heading to JH just hammer on it and get the hell out of here before it really gets cold!

Sorry that I missed out on Chestnut. I took a more direct route along I-80 and skied for an hour at Ski Snowstar in Andalusia. You'll find it interesting that more than once the people I spoke to on the lifts recommended a much bigger mountain further north - Chestnut. They told me about the views of the Mississippi River. Ski Snowstar only had views of a small creek. Still, everyone there was having fun including me.

[uglymoney]

Sorry that I missed out on Chestnut. I took a more direct route along I-80 and skied for an hour at Ski Snowstar in Andalusia. You'll find it interesting that more than once the people I spoke to on the lifts recommended a much bigger mountain further north - Chestnut. They told me about the views of the Mississippi River. Ski Snowstar only had views of a small creek. Still, everyone there was having fun including me.

Cool deal Vets. I have never skied Snowstar actually or Mt Crescent. In fact took a bunch of rides yesterday with quad cities residents and we talked about Snowstar as well. Nothing special about yesterday other than the beginner areas were packed and it was way warmer with the rest of the mountain less crowded than predicted. Some damned good tele skiing and my 3.5 year old is starting to kill it.

Safe travels to JH and thanks for this little blog. We're making the trek to JH in early March.


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