Breck or Vail in Mid April??

Actually, after checking the web cams and weather report today (I keep in touch because a buddy is out there), I have to say that Summit County is is in pretty bad shape, and, A Basin isn't worth it because the East Wall is pathetically closed, furgetabout the back side. It would have to start snowing a whole lot right now to make mid April hopeful, and the opposite seems to be happening.

Revise: Stay in Breck, have a good time up on top. 99% of tourists will be gone, anyway, and many locals may have packed up and moved to their summer gigs, too, so crowds will be minimal on the slopes and in eateries. Bring a ton of spf 50, too.

Benny

Thanks for the revision.  I had checked the snow report at A-Basin and thought maybe you had a few too many of what ever cocktail you are holding in your photo.   Is that a margarita?  We are staying at a ski in ski out condo (Trails End) at peak 9 so skiing at Breck is way more easy for us.

ml242 wrote

Abasin > Vail+Beaver Creek (unless there is fresh) > Copper > Breck > Keystone

My rankings are usually Vail > Copper > Breck > Abasin > BC and I don't even consider Keystone as an option.  If you include Steamboat then that is #1 for me because I love good tree skiing.  But mid April in a Bad snow year Breck seems like the smart play due to the elevation.

Red Bull and Vodka.


edit: Found this on the internet: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/co/co.sno.html which is average snowfall for many places in Colorado by month. Check out Berthoud Pass. That's why it's such a popular BC playground. Normally, Summit and Breck should be good in April, so........

Since it's just us here I can tell you guys that the trees at Beaver Creek are totally insane. You just have to look outside the lines a bit....

Man, you are going to have such a great trip though. Even with low snow the weather out there is such a blast.

Benny Profane wrote

Red Bull and Vodka.


edit: Found this on the internet: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/co/co.sno.html which is average snowfall for many places in Colorado by month. Check out Berthoud Pass. That's why it's such a popular BC playground. Normally, Summit and Breck should be good in April, so........

How about Wolf Creek? Some impressive figures there, too.

tBatt wrote

Benny Profane wrote

Red Bull and Vodka.


edit: Found this on the internet: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/co/co.sno.html which is average snowfall for many places in Colorado by month. Check out Berthoud Pass. That's why it's such a popular BC playground. Normally, Summit and Breck should be good in April, so........

How about Wolf Creek? Some impressive figures there, too.

I have never been there, but someone I trust told me that it's great in early season, but actually fills up from the massive storms during the season and loses it's steepness. Really. That's what he said.

If you buy an A-Basin pass for next season you can ski there all spring...

Could be worth a second trip in a month if the weather gets stormier, too.

Adult Pass 2012-13 $299.00
Ages 19-69. Enjoy unlimited skiing and riding at Arapahoe Basin for the remainder of the 2011-12 Season and the entire 2012-13 Season. This pass is non-transferable and non-refundable.

BTW: I really do get jealous of the pass prices out West.

Everyone we have spoken to has said that Breckenridge has more snow than anywhere else around.  We have stayed at Breck so far this week and probably won't venture to the other mountains.  There is definitely snow here, but the conditions are not ideal.  The 4-8 inches we were supposed to receive last night and today was really about 1 inch, but at least that helped a bit. If the temperatures warm up, the snow is fine, but the last two days have been pretty cold, so the snow is fairly crusty.  the Imperial Experess lift hasn't been open for the last two days, so the summit has been closed. The T-bar was open today though. We did a trail today that reminded me of Lookout Below at Whiteface, (called Mach 1 here), except that it never warmed up so it was a disaster. My son proclaimed it the best run of the day. We are still having a lot of fun. The mountain is really nice and much easier to navigate than I had expected.  There are no crowds either. We haven't waited in a single lift line in 3 days.  The town is a lot of fun too - the crepe shack is a must.  We are staying at the base of peak 9, and have an easy walk to the lift and to town, which is really nice.

The only downside to this trip is the altitude adjustment.  This place is really high.  CMR and I felt pretty bad for about 48 hours after we arrived, and my daughter couldn't even ski yesterday due to to the headaches and breathing issues (she is an athletic 13-year old, so it was very surprising).  Trip report to follow - we still have 3 days left here.

ml242 wrote

BTW: I really do get jealous of the pass prices out West.

You betcha. It's something else. Winter Park and Copper have teamed up with Steamboat  for $419 next year. (you get six days at Steamboat for that, which makes it a no brainer, since Steamboat is, yes, 105 a day retail. You do the math).

Now that Vail has two major mountains in Tahoe on their pass, if you have the time to travel, you now get some major unlimited skiing for $650 in two states. Kind of ridiculous. Benny may move west very soon.

poindexter wrote

The only downside to this trip is the altitude adjustment.  This place is really high.  

I hear you. You sleep above 9000 at the base of Breck. Last year, I made the mistake of doing my second run in wind buffed powder off of chair 9 at Loveland (it looked so fine......) which drops you off above 13,000 ft. I was sick that night. Very.