2011-2012 Summit/Eagle CO Ski Conditions, Roll Call and Stoke

[Lindahl]

Checkin out Mush tomorrow. See you mags out there. Tryin out the new Float 36.

[MakersTeleMark]

Checkin out Mush tomorrow. See you mags out there. Tryin out the new Float 36.

Look, I've skied with you, and I know you've been super-motivated this year since you have some new ties out of the front range, but WTF? Do you like pain?

Please post results of exactly how it is. The skin up the poma, the new snow on hoar, the trek out. Really?

Please give us a conditions and backpack report.

[shera]

Look, I've skied with you, and I know you've been super-motivated this year since you have some new ties out of the front range, but WTF? Do you like pain?

Please post results of exactly how it is. The skin up the poma, the new snow on hoar, the trek out. Really?

Please give us a conditions and backpack report.

Hehe, my sarcasm meter is kinda redlining, but I like this guy's energy. And the beta...

[Lindahl]

Hehe, my sarcasm meter is kinda redlining, but I like this guy's energy. And the beta...

meh

Makers, I've always been super motivated, its just more obvious when I post about it during a shitty season. Back in college, I used to wake up at 3am to drive 12 hours roundtrip once or twice a week to ski 6 hrs at Mammoth. I didn't miss a weekend last year, and likely won't this year either. Skiing is what I love to do, even when conditions are pretty bad. I always manage to have a blast.

On another note, sweet sunrise right now.

[Lindahl]

Pretty damn good out here. Thinkin of giving bighorn a shot.

[montanaskier]

throw up some pics B. I'm sure it's skiing ok, but all those facets on the bottom freak me out. I'm an old fella, bad knees, and a kid...I'll hold off until it snows and settles...then snows again.

[montanaskier]

Vail opened 17 today....fat skis and expert skiers only. No guarantee it's open after today. Sounds like some skier compaction hoping it snows this week.

[Lindahl]

Well, Mushroom was amazing all day, and the first half of Bighorn was even better, but I took a gamble on the lower half and felt like I broke even. A definite struggle, but nothing outrageously terrible. Needs more coverage, too many logs in the gullies and some bushwhacking on the way out. Sugarfest, of course, at the very end.

Oh and I heard Old Mans slid full width. Hopefully to ground for a fresh start, but I didnt get a look.

[leftfield]

Anyone been up bighorn(north side)? I haven't liked what i've found in the snowpack on similar aspects up on vail pass, just curious if anyone more venturesome than myself has been poking around there yet.

[shera]

Anybody want to ride to Vail together tomorrow morning? I can do employee parking. Need to find out where that is, Ford Park maybe?

[summit]

1. I might work my Tuesday shift on Thursday. Vail does sound good.

2. I concurr there are good turns on Black Lakes, but the wind put an energized soft/hard slab layer in on the 13th and we had shooting cracks up to 50ft, collapses into the basal facets, etc. The new load it is about to receive is going to make it uber sketch (this is a technical snow science term).

3. Sadly, to those folks hoping stuff slides to the ground to set us up for stability, it doesn't work here. You flush those facets and lay down a little bit of new snow which in a few days or weeks turns right back into the thin faceted pack that just slid. You've probably seen this while touring and you go to a start zone of that line that always slides and in March that it is a foot deep and all facets with a breakable crust. You have to get enough snow, QUICKLY, after the slide to shut down the TG process. So if we can line up a 7ft storm for CO that falls with the right distribution and timing... OK in the reality of living with a continental snowpack, this problem won't go away until June. Sorry to be captain bringdown.

[shera]

Ok, captain bringdown, if you want to beater around inbounds tomorrow, gimme a shout. I'd like some first chair action.

[Lindahl]

Mushroom was significantly better on Saturday. It got too warm and the snow was extremely dense on Sunday and took a lot of energy to ski. It still was pretty fun, but nothing like Saturday. It certainly didn't seem warm enough on Saturday to change things that much, but I guess it was.

[montanaskier]

you think Sat and Sun were warm, wait til this coming week. Snow levels likely to be between 9500 and 10k with possible heavy rain below that level. Cold front late in the weekend so "maybe" Sunday/Monday. Some cold air would help with all the moisture this weekend but it just isn't gonna happen. Everyone needs to be really, really careful this coming week as Summit stated, any new load is gonna cause a mess.

[Lindahl]

Avy danger aside, some rain and real warming might actually be kind of good. If the warmth moistens up those layers, and then refreezes, you might not be diving down too deep anymore.

[PowTrees]

Avy danger aside, some rain and real warming might actually be kind of good. If the warmth moistens up those layers, and then refreezes, you might not be diving down too deep anymore.

I think the devil's advocate for this scenario is the rain wouldn't soak through to the ground and bond all the layers, instead it would more likely cause a nasty icy crust for new snow to slide on which could then step down into the weaker layers below the crust causing bigger, more destructive avalanches.

It's been a nice amount of years since the R word at the top of Vail in January, wishing to keep it that way.

[AfroMullet]

it would take a lot of rain to percolate the snowpack, however thin it may be. probably just build a nice icy crust.

on a brighter note, it is absolutely DUMPING right now in leadville...

[Lindahl]

I was thinking more about the warmer weather than the rain.

Anyway, here's what the conditions were like in the Vail slack this last weekend, even got a faceshot. Nothing too exciting and mostly to just show the conditions, so I chose a short song and clipped short the longer sections of skiing. Hit a much more fun line in Mush on the first run, but forgot to turn on the camera. There's also a line I'm just aching to ski, but no one I've been up there with feels comfortable dropping the 20-25' without having more days on snow. Any takers?

[ALP snow]

Sure, I would love to drop a 20+ footer right now. I am locked into a Squaw trip tomorrow but will be back Saturday. Sucks we finally get snow then I have to leave...

[PowTrees]

10"!! Will be doing my best to avoid the evil W and the terrible R, it's slaying time.

Say hello or join me lining up early for the Vista Bahn, I am easy to spot with my Lhasa Pows, and coffee in hand.

[Neezer]

I'll have my Lhasa pows, a red jacket and black pants on this morning....heading to vail.

[pappag]

Should be a good day. About 4" of those 9-10" fell yesterday while the slopes were open.

[montanaskier]

good morning at the Beav. Ran into leftfield in the lift line and skied with DaHeel for an hour or so before work. I'd say 4 yesterday and 5 overnight. Wasn't super light or crazy heavy but supportable and covered up most sharks. Good times.....skiing pow is good for the soul.

In other news, today the snow line looks like it may have lowered quite a bit for this coming weekend. It's been all over the place this week but this is the first sign of it getting down to 8k or so. Fingers crossed we get all snow.

[AfroMullet]

There's also a line I'm just aching to ski, but no one I've been up there with feels comfortable dropping the 20-25' without having more snow on the ground.

helped ya out there

[Lindahl]

helped ya out there

Snow coverage isn't the concern in this one particular area, even if you didn't have a clue about the area. There's a nicely-piled up snow funnel in the landing zone (similar to when I was dropping stuff in WC off Knife Ridge back in October). Honestly, I feel comfortable dropping anywhere across that particular section, even without the snow funnel. The pack is at least 5' deep across the entire LZ, and it's all grass and shrubbery underneath. As always, know your terrain.