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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    7,919

    Early and Late Season Colorado Bumming

    So Im going to have the entire month of November off this fall and the entire month of April off as well next spring. Not enough business to justify my presence at the hotel, so Im going to chill and collect unemployment in the mean time.

    Now this gives me a solid 8 weeks of possible riding time that Jackson wont have their mountain open, but Colorado will. Anyone ever try and dirtbag it camping and stuff chasing early and late season storms thataways? Ive got my truck and dog and my boards.

    Im thinking of picking up an Abasin only pass (possibly the one that allows a few days a Breck and Vail for variety) for lift served and then Ill have my split as well for the backcountry adventures. Is this the way to go considering I will only be skiing in the months of November and April, or should I possibly go for the Loveland only pass?

    Hows camping in those parts that type of year? Its not the dead of winter so I dont think camping should be out of the question. Itll be cold but not unbearable. Anywhere around there that I can camp for free for a couple weeks at a time? Dont need amenities, but some soft hassle free ground to sleep on would be sweet. Any other things to hit around the area in the early and late season? Looking for a good cheap way to add 50 days to my season on the cheap.
    Last edited by AdironRider; 08-05-2009 at 12:46 PM.
    Live Free or Die

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Denver, kinda
    Posts
    133
    Arapahoe is open longer than Loveland and if you want to get a 5 mountain pass its pretty cheap and gets you into Breckenridge and Keystone if you want to get your park rat on. For a few extra bucks that pass can also get you some days at Vail and Beaver Creek which if you use helps the pass pay for itself even quicker. There are also some fun tours in the nearby area for when you get bored, and if you are used to skiing Jackson in the winter that will happen.

    Camping is not out of the question at all but if CO does get early winters in high country. Also if it gets weather like the did last year (where spring came in January and winter came in April) it could be pretty cold. There's a clearing on your right about a mile down the road from A-Basin (driving towards Dillon). Not sure if it's an official camping area but there's a freshwater spring right next to it and I've seen many a tent set up there. Also Dillon is a short drive down the hill if you get hungry...definitely not a bad place to stay and party in the spring especially lots of people go to the beach and grill/rage.
    http://zpski.blogspot.com/

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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    4
    Both the Basin and Loveland should be open for all of November and April. The Basin pass with the extra days is great and alot cheaper than the 5 mountain pass, especially if you think you will not ski the other areas more than 5 times and it also includes a day of unguided skiing at Silverton. The Loveland pass includes extra days as well, as you get 3 days at Monarch. Loveland is far less crowded than the Basin, escpecially early and late season. Since the Basin is tied into the Vail Resorts pass, all of these resort passholders (ie. Breck, Keystone, Vail, BC) go to the basin when these other resorts are closed. You also have to take into account that about 150,000+ people have the VR 5 mountain pass and can go the the Basin at any time.

    Both Loveland and ABasin have some great hike to terrain access from inbounds and you also have the option of skiing all of Loveland Pass between the 2 areas.

    As long as you handle the elements, there are numerous camping options nearby. The best options are on the Basin side of Loveland Pass towards Keystone. There are a handfull of turnouts on both sides of the road that are greating camping spots. Montezuma road next to Keystone also has a lot of great camping areas right off of the road and is only short drive to either area. ABasin no longer allows overnight campoing in their lots, but the lot across from the CDOT shack and right next to the Basin's upper lot does allow overnight camping. There are fewer spots on the Loveland side of the pass for camping, but I do l believe Loveland allows some overnight camping in one of their lots.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Truckee
    Posts
    172
    Wolf Creek ski area in the San Juans usually gets the most snow and has the most open terrain in November, especially on a El Nino winter. I would highly recommend it before abasin or loveland. Although the terrain is short it has some great options and features with steeps similar to our home mountain, although as I said, much shorter. Not to sure of the camping options but they tend to be pretty cool with occasional car camping in the lot. In April you should buy a sled and rally the pass or Togwotee, but if thats not an option A basin is good to go.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Three-O-Three
    Posts
    15,418
    Funny to see a few recommendations already. I'll add my two cents: Get a Loveland Pass. November is really hit or miss just about anywhere in CO, but Loveland has far less crowds (read: no crowds) whereas A-Basin will be slammed every weekend in November with their 4 runs open. If there's going to be a storm in November, Loveland will get just as much snow as anyone. This past November I had some 2-ft plus days at Loveland with 10-15 other maggots, whereas A-Basin didn't get much.

    In April its a different story- Loveland and A-Basin are both super fun and should have great conditions. Again, the crowds at LL will be much less, which is probably why you'll see so many maggots there. You can literally roll into LL on any day of the week and expect to see at least 3-4 other TGR guys- sometimes many, many more.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    11,132
    Posts
    445
    Stick around Jackson in November. Go the Eastern Sierra in the Spring.

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