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Breckenridge snow report
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Seven months of skiing! - 10/5/2010 15:10by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley's home resort of Breckenridge is officially closed for the season, but that hasn't stopped him skiing. Report filed May 10, 2010
We're now into the seventh-month of skiing this season in Summit County! Another storm cycle has come and gone since the last update. The storm deposited 20-25cm new snow at A-Basin, where I skied on Thursday. The fresh snow didn't completely cover the sun-baked crust and moguls from the previous few days in between storms. However on Cornice-Run I found the deepest powder of the day where the wind had blown super light and dry powder creating a lane of deepness. I lapped Cornice-Run repeatedly, lapping up the untouched powder, and dropped into West-Wall and King-Cornice pistes at the end.
Thursday night and Friday a stronger pulse in the storm added a fresh blanket of snow over Breck. I ascended above treeline and skied Horseshoe and Contest Bowls, and again, the powder was primo. Today, Saturday, we hit Horseshoe Bowl once more just because it's been so good and there isn't any reason to ski anywhere else when it's this good. Especially when it's in your backyard. Now we're waiting for more snow to arrive tonight and persist through Monday though accumulations should be lighter than during the last two storm cycles. Cheers to seven months of skiing!
Click on the link for our Breckenridge resort report. Best powder days of the season in Summit County - 28/4/2010 18:05by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley's home resort of Breckenridge is officially closed for the season, but that hasn't stopped him skiing. Report filed April 28, 2010
Last Friday through Monday were four of the best powder days of the season for Summit County. I skied A-Basin Friday and Saturday. Friday the ski area had a fresh 25cm or so, but by Saturday morning there was double that amount, with the wind having creating deep pockets.
First run off Pallavicini chair I dropped into untracked knee-to-thigh deep powder on the piste called Powder-Keg (aptly named) adjacent to North-Chute. Definitely my best descent ever on that particular aspect. Next I hopped on Lenawee Mountain Lift for a ride to the top. I was one of 15 skiers to immediately drop the untouched backside of the area. I skied the Northern-Spy piste skiers' left of Zuma lift. What a phenomenal descent through pristine deep April powder on top of the Continental Divide it was.
The skiing is absolutely gorgeous at A-Basin right now. During the week the slopes are virtually empty. The grooming crews are laying down fresh corduroy every night. Meanwhile the backcountry is spectacular. Avalanche danger has subsided with a more cohesive snowpack thanks to warmer temperatures and higher sun angles in early April.
Sunday and Monday we switched from lift-served skiing at A-Basin to hiking at Breckenridge. I have just purchased new climbing skins after my old ones completely lost their stickiness and was ready to gain some vertical with fresh Black Diamonds. Objective: Horseshoe and Contest bowls. Breck had garnered nearly a half-meter or so of fresh snow by Sunday morning, and by Monday morning another 25 centimeters had fallen. We had to wait until late April to get it, and then we had to earn it - but it was well worth the wait. My lines in Horseshoe and Contest were my best of the season at Breck. Monday was the better of the two days with that extra coating of snow providing for stellar descents, and the wind again had blown in extra snow creating bottomless conditions.
Now another storm system is lurking to the West and should bring yet more powder Thursday through Monday. I guess I'll have to go skiing.
Click on the link for our Breckenridge resort report. Breckenridge may be closed, but there's still snow in Colorado - 20/4/2010 08:55by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley's home resort of Breckenridge has shut up shop for the season, but that hasn't stopped him skiing. Report filed April 20, 2010
Breckenridge shuttered for the season last Sunday ending with about 635 centimeters of snowfall - about 125 centimeters below the long-term average. Most of Northern Colorado experienced below-average snowfall while ski areas in Southern Colorado, including Wolf Creek and Telluride, enjoyed average to above-average snowfall. Breck had some good powder days but never got "the big one". C'est la vie.
Despite the disappointing statistics, it looks as though winter isn't quite done with Colorado just yet. The ski areas of Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin) and Loveland are still open, and powder days in both in April and even May are not unknown. Just to underline the fact, snow is forecast for the end of the week.
With Breck closed I'll be skiing A-Basin which has a one-meter base. A-Basin, also known as "The Legend," has operated since 1946. The ski area is located 28 kilometers East of Breckenridge with a base elevation of 3,300 meters above sea level on the Continental Divide. It has one of the longest seasons of any ski area in the United States, typically opening in October and closing in June. This season A-Basin opened on 9 October, its earliest opening ever. A-Basin hasn't announced a closing date yet....
Monday morning at A-Basin the pistes were frozen and hard but by afternoon the sun softened the snow for excellent Spring skiing. I spent the cold morning hours ripping high-speed corduroy runs. Later I skied the famous "East Wall" terrain and found some fresh powder slashes where the sun hadn't baked the snow.
This is the time of year when "The Beach" becomes a lucrative spot to park slopeside and set up a barbecue and beer keg for a day of skiing, food and libations in the warm Spring sun. Typically, The Beach fills up quickly in the morning and soon lawnchairs are out, steaks are grilling, and suds are flowing. A-Basin is quintessential Colorado ski culture. It's a slower pace with an old-school feel. No bells and whistles, just great skiing and a chilled environment.
Meanwhile, Loveland Ski Area, which also sits on the Continental Divide North of A-Basin, will close the 2nd of May. Click on the link for our Breckenridge resort report. Saving the best till last - 8/4/2010 23:36by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the superb late-season snow conditions in Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek - April, 2010
This week a strong Spring storm churned through the northern Rocky Mountains of Colorado and deposited a deep blanket of powder. Vail and Beaver Creek were the recipients of the most snow and Steamboat up north finally got some snow action too. Vail received 80cm of snow from Monday to Wednesday and 120cm since last week. Beaver Creek fared well with 90cm of new snow.
I skied Vail on Tuesday during the storm and it was definitely my best Vail day of the season with bottomless powder everywhere I turned and an virtually empty mountain aside from grinning locals.
On Wednesday I skied Beaver Creek and again it was one of the best powder days of the season.
Meanwhile, in Summit County, Breckenridge reported 23cm from the storm and 45cm in the last week. Breck now has an average settled base of 1.95m with 10 days remaining in the season. Warm and sunny weather returned quickly after the storm moved out on Wednesday, and it's classic Spring skiing with pistes softening throughout the day with sun exposure.
The Spring break crowds have dissipated, so the slopes are relatively empty. We have one more chance of powder before the lifts close for the season with a system forecasted to move through the area early next week, but it doesn't look like it will contain as much energy or moisture as the last one. Click on the link for our Breckenridge resort report. Click on the link for our Vail resort report. Click on the link for our Beaver Creek resort report. The storm finally does its stuff - 25/3/2010 10:58by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - March 24, 2010 An early-spring storm churned into Colorado overnight on Tuesday and persisted through to Wednesday morning. The storm dumped copious snow onto the Front Range mountains and Denver woke up to white streets again. Last night, a storm spotter reported 17cm of accumulation in 90 minutes in the foothills west of Denver. Eldora Mountain Resort, 56km north-west of Denver, picked up a half-metre of new snow as of Wednesday morning. The Colorado Avalanche Information Centre (CAIC) issued an avalanche warning for the Front Range mountains and Sangre De Cristo range as a result of the rapid snow build up. It was a brief but potent storm. The upper low is ejecting out of the Rockies into north-east Texas as of Wednesday evening.
This storm didn't miss Summit County like last week's did. Wednesday morning we found 20cm of new snow on the pistes of Breck, just enough to cover the sun-baked crustiness from the previous week's warmth and make it a good powder day. Many of our favourite lines skied-well, including the southside of Peak 10, Billy's Bowl and the Peak 7 ridgeline. I also did a mini-tour in the sidecountry of Peak 6 and found some even deeper pockets. Breck now has a reported 1.85m base, although while touring the mountain I've seen areas in the three-to-four meter range. Next up: clearing tonight then another winter system targets Colorado on Friday/Saturday. Specific storm track to be determined. Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Gettin' some freshies - 21/3/2010 20:54by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - March 21, 2010
A big storm hit Colorado last Friday but most of its energy and snow passed east of Summit County (although to the west, Vail did get 25cm out of the storm)and Breckenridge only reported 7cm of new snow. With no significant snow in the past seven to ten days and big "Spring Break" crowds, the pistes have turned into a combination of hardpack, ice, moguls and corduroy with softer snow in the afternoon. Spring has arrived in Breck. It's sunny and warm today (Sunday) and will be tomorrow as well with a ridge of high pressure dominating the weather. On Tuesday and Wednesday a cold front drops down from the northwest and should produce snow in Breck although no significant accumulations are expected at this time.
On Saturday morning, some friends and I headed out-of-bounds via a backcountry access gate to explore Peak 9 terrain and search for freshies since none were to be found in-bounds. We had intended to summit Peak 9 but high winds at about 3800m on the final ridgeline prevented us from making the summit, so we dropped in early. We found some decent fresh wind-blown powder and had a really nice 500m descent. That should keep us satisfied until we (hopefully) get snow next week.
One good side effect of the recent warm weather is a 'safer' snowpack in the backcountry. Although avalanche danger is still moderate to considerable, the snowpack has coalesced - it's not as volatile as it was a month ago. We'll definitely be out exploring the excellent backcountry terrain that surrounds Breck, as conditions and safety dictate. If you're skiing Breck and you wish to tour the backcountry, make sure you exit the resort via access gates and know you're entering expert and potentially dangerous terrain. For daily avalanche conditions check out Colorado Avalanche Information Centre . Be safe!
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Deep powdery goodness in Breck - 12/3/2010 17:40by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - March 12, 2010 Another half-meter of snow has accumulated on the pistes of Breckenridge in the past week. With wind blowing freshly-fallen snow, we've been skiing knee-deep powder in the upper bowls.
When skiing Breckenridge, you need to pay attention to the prevailing wind direction, then ski the lee side of the ridgelines. For example, last Wednesday the southerly wind blew fresh snow onto northerly aspects. North Bowl on Peak 8 was fantastic. A day later the wind shifted direction and the deepest snow was found on southeast-facing pistes. Skiing Magic Carpet off the Peak 7 ridgeline was like, well, riding a magic carpet. So the wind at Breck can be a real pain in the backside at 3900m elevation, but it can also be a blessing when it creates deep powder goodness out of only a minimal amount of snow accumulation. Breckenridge reports an average settled base of about 1.8 metres with about 5.4 metres of total snowfall for the season. Still a little low, but as I've witnessed in my four previous seasons here we can still get some major snowfall in March and April. We're keeping our fingers crossed. A little snow may fall this weekend, but most of next week will be warm and dry. The preliminary forecast indicates a storm coming in from the northwest for next weekend. Stay tuned. Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Plentiful snow and a powder day expected on Friday - 3/3/2010 09:08by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - March 2, 2010
After an influx of snow throughout February, Breckenridge has entered March with good conditions. A steady stream of storms alleviated the parched pistes providing plentiful powder. March and April are 'normally' two of the wettest, snowiest months of the season. We're keeping our fingers crossed for big Spring storms to steamroll Summit County once again in 2010.
Nearly all of Breck's terrain has decent coverage with an average 1.72 metre base - meaning that whenever 15cm or more of snow falls, it's a fun day on the mountain. During the last few weeks I've had some sensational descents in many of my favourite areas - Horseshoe Bowl, Lake Chutes, Whale's Tail, Art's Bowle, George's Thumb and Imperial Bowl. In the short-term, according to the current forecast, Thursday through to Monday looks snowy with a possible powder day on Friday.
It's hard to believe it, but only six weeks remain of the season. Breck closes on April 18. It'll go fast, so I'll be out on the mountain as much as possible savouring every carve and slash while I can.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. 88cm in a week! - 21/2/2010 17:32by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - February 21, 2010
Breckenridge reported 88cm of snowfall over the past seven days as of Saturday morning. A persistent moisture stream riding southwest is mixing with cold air sinking from the north right over Colorado - and dumping sensational powder on Breck. Another burst of snow is coming overnight Saturday and Sunday morning will be Breck's third consecutive deep-licious powder day! After a hiatus in snowfall during the day on Sunday another surge of snow is slated to begin in the afternoon/evening and persist into Monday. Conditions will be stellar for days to come. Next week looks snowy too with another storm cycle possible by Thursday.
Wow, it feels good to report such great snow conditions in Breckenridge for a change. However, it's crucial to land the early chair at Breck to score the uncut powder since the crowds are bigger this time of the year, and the fresh powder draws even more people. Lately, T-Bar and Imperial chair are opening earlier than usual. Today T-Bar opened at 8:45am and Imperial opened at 9:30am. The early birds get the sweet powder turns.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Ullr's showing the powder love - 15/2/2010 15:24by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - January 14, 2010 A half-metre or so of snow has coated Breckenridge since Friday night. Conditions are primo. The snow should end by Sunday night with a few sun breaks on Monday but not much sun. Somewhat moist northwest flow with embedded shortwaves means light snow showers are likely over the next few days. A more significant system is slated to arrive Wednesday night/Thursday. I love it when this pattern gets locked in. The skiing should be great all next week with enough new snow to keep the pistes fresh and the wind moving snow around the mountain will recycle the powder especially above tree-line. Finally, Ullr is giving Breckenridge some powder love.
On Sunday morning, my friend Danny Ricciotti and I had immaculate powder descents in Appaloosa and Oatmeal Bowls on the Southside of Peak 10. Then we cut over to T-Bar, but the queue had already filled with powder hounds frothing at the mouth for freshies in Horseshoe and Contest Bowls. Instead of skiing the flotsam left behind by the pack, I cut over to Imperial chair, and after a five-minute wait was on the chair with nobody else around. I cranked out three luscious runs in Imperial Bowl before the hounds arrived. The best snow was on the south-east facing side of the ridgeline where the prevailing wind had blown it in all night. The glades on Upper 4 O'Clock near the fence-line were especially tasty as well. Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Deep 'n' floaty in Breck - 13/2/2010 22:37by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - February 13, 2010
Up to 25cm of snow has fallen on Breckenridge over the last day or so with wind-drifts creating much deeper pockets. A 'Winter Weather Advisory' is in effect until late Sunday morning. The jet stream is flowing from the Northwest and tracking right over Colorado bringing plenty of Pacific moisture with it. This type of pattern typically favours Summit County and the Northern Mountains of Colorado. An additional 10-20cm is expected before the main storm energy passes with locally higher amounts possible. Northwest flow will remain locked in for much of the coming week with additional snowfall keeping things fresh.
On Saturday morning the pistes were in fantastic shape, with a soft blanket of powder covering everything but the most tenacious hard-packed moguls. Horseshoe Bowl off T-Bar was finally deep and floaty again, the best I've seen it all season. Imperial Bowl has almost entirely filled-in with most rocks buried deep in the snowpack. I skied knee-deep powder in Imperial Bowl twice in a row then moved on. Peak 7 terrain including Whale's Tail, and the chutes off the ridgeline are skiing brilliantly right now. I found the deepest powder of the day in Billy's Bowl where the prevailing wind has deposited ample powder, but I encourage anyone skiing Billy's Bowl to ski the ridgeline and drop in past where the cornice ends as the cornice and the main bowl are way too volatile. I wouldn't even approach the edge of the cornice right now. Finally, skiing the trees on the lower sections of the mountain is fun with most logs completely covered now.
Looking outside my window right now the snowfall is dense and swirling. Hopefully we'll be on the upper end of the potential snowfall amounts by tomorrow morning. This snow infusion was exactly what Breck needed, and mid-February isn't too late to finally get some deep powder. Maybe this storm portends the great skiing to come in the remaining two months of the season. In the meantime, Sunday will be another powder day.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Scary terrain at Crested Butte - 10/2/2010 20:35by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - February 10, 2010 Between Sunday and Tuesday, I skied Breckenridge, Wolf Creek and Crested Butte. Guess which one had the deepest powder?!
We awoke Sunday to 12-16 cm of new snow in Breckenridge. I secured second chair on the Imperial lift and had a good first descent in wind-buffed powder far skier's right along the fenceline in Imperial Bowl. The coverage is still a bit thin in the bowl. This season it seems like we're perpetually waiting for a prolonged snow event to totally cover all the rock gardens. After another descent in the bowl I hiked to the summit to wait for the opening of Lake Chutes (LC). After 10 minutes, patrol cleared LC and a dozen or so of us charged down the ridgeline aiming for our preferred lines.
LC, some of Breck's most 'extreme' terrain, consists of 40º-50º slopes, cliffs, rock outcroppings and a series of chutes; the terrain is only accessible by hiking to the summit from the top of Imperial chair, about 48 m off vertical. LC is named for a small lake located at the base of the chutes. The lake rests at 3500m above sea level in a cirque created by glaciation. In the summer the lake melts and becomes a gorgeous cobalt-blue gem. Before Imperial chair opened in January 2006, only a smattering of people skied LC per winter due to the time and difficulty in accessing the terrain. Now it's relatively easy to access LC although, as many people realise once they start the summit hike, 48 m of vertical is deceivingly difficult. If you visit Breck and you are an advanced skier then you'll definitely want to explore it.
On Monday morning I stood on top of Alberta Peak (elevation 3627m), at around 8.45am with a few other guys who had just completed the hike/traverse to the top of Wolf Creek (WC). It appeared that nobody had touched Alberta Peak during the previous day's storm. The steep Alberta Peak descent was sublime in smooth bottomless powder. In the distance I heard packs of powder wolves howling as they dropped into the steep and deep from the ridgeline.
WC only received half a metre of new snow during the last storm cycle and now has a base of about 2.7 meters. Overall, WC has had seven meters of snowfall this season. After slaying Coyote Chutes, Keith's Glade and Dog Chutes off Knife Ridge all morning I once again capped off the day with a pristine descent in Horseshoe Bowl with two guys who had also travelled from Summit County that morning to ski some of the deepest powder in Colorado.
I woke up refreshed Tuesday morning at the Crested Butte Int'l Lodge & Hostel ready to ski Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) for the second time in my life. My first experience at CBMR in February 2008 was memorable: waist-deep powder. This day, however, I wasn't so lucky. The conditions were packed powder, corduroy, and the steeps were mostly tracked out with some patches of fresh powder from the previous day's storm. CBMR is loaded with steep and technical terrain, and that's why it's hosted extreme freeskiing competitions for so many years (CBMR hosts the 2010 USX Freeskiing Championships next week, 17-21 February).
I found some decent and adrenaline-inducing lines in Teocalli Bowl, Wolf's Lair, Spellbound Bowl and Phoenix Bowl. When skiing CBMR, proceed cautiously in unfamiliar terrain or you may wind up in a dangerous situation as I nearly did a few times. Later, after emerging from the scary terrain (And believe me, there is terrain that is far more technical and scary at CBMR) I chilled in the Ice Bar & Restaurant at mid-mountain for awhile then took a half-dozen or so runs down steep groomers before packing it up and heading back to Breck.
No major storms are in Colorado's immediate future. Snow showers and light accumulations are possible this week. The next chance for deeper accumulations comes this weekend when a storm might aim for the Central mountains.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Every kind of snow except knee-deep pow - 6/2/2010 10:49by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - January 5, 2010
Today, I did the Tour de Breck, skiing from Peak 7 to Peak 10 and back. I found variable conditions across the four peaks of the Breckenridge ski area: soft and hard corduroy, a bit of silky wind-blown powder, chunky powder-chowder, ice and boilerplate. It didn't matter that I wasn't skiing knee-deep pow-pow. I wanted to cruise from one end of the ski area to the other just to enjoy being in the high alpine and the feeling of racing down a mountain on sharp steel edges and freshly-waxed bases with a frigid wind biting my face.
Breck's network of chairlifts is highly efficient. Starting with Independence chair on Peak 7 it took me three chairlift rides and three runs to transverse to the base of Peak 10. Along the way I stopped for coffee at the Peak 9 Restaurant, my favourite Breckenridge lodge, to re-caffeinate and defrost the extremities. The Peak 9 Restaurant opened in 1974 and is Breck's only privately-operated, on-mountain restaurant. It has a mellow ambiance and an old-school feel, with numerous old photographs adorning the walls and fabulous 360º views of the ski area. The restaurant is a big part of the ski area's history.
Later, after straight-lining most of Cimarron on Peak 10 and scaring myself a little, I ducked into Tenmile Station on Peak 9 for water. Tenmile Station, aside from being a popular place to get married in the summer, is like a little mining museum with loads of mining artefacts and old photographs hanging on the walls. One thing I hadn't noticed before is a nice selection of old books on a ledge in the stairwell leading to the lower level, like a mini-library, in case you'd like to catch up on some 19th-Century philosophy between GS runs...
Today I had a good time skiing. The conditions weren't epic. Not even close. But it didn't matter. I skied solely for the sake of skiing. And now some good news! Snow's in the forecast for Summit County once again with moderate accumulations *possible* over the weekend and into Monday. However, once again it looks like Colorado's Southwest mountains may get buried, so... another road trip may be necessary. Although skiing really fast on hard-packed corduroy is fun, absolutely nothing compares to charging down a steep mountainside in deep, powder goodness.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Shoop, shoop, shoop - 26/1/2010 21:36by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Vail and Breckenridge - January 25, 2010 Fast forward to Monday, January 25. Location: Vail. Conditions: blue sky and deep powder!./p>
Vail received 75cm of new snow in the past week with most of it falling on Sunday and Sunday night. Monday morning was therefore one of Vail's best powder days of the season thus far. My friends Nick, Amy and I were in the first group of 20 skiers off the Vista Bahn chair skating hard along the cat-track to reach the freshies first and keep ahead of the dozens - soon to be hundreds - of tenacious powder-fiends on the lift behind us. I've had good days at Vail, but Monday was fantastic with plenty of knee-to-thigh deep powder in the trees, open bowls, and cliff bands.
Meanwhile, in Summit County, Breckenridge had 38cm of new snow during the last week, helping alleviate undesirable piste conditions somewhat. However, since the snow fell in spurts over a week Breckenridge didn't have any one big powder day. So, Breckenridge continues to lament over the dry winter and hope big Spring storms aim for Summit. Historically, Breckenridge's snowiest months are February to April. We can only hope history repeats.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. An epic day in Wolf Creek - 25/1/2010 21:38by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Wolf Creek - January 23, 2010 Last week a potent Pacific storm-train pumped copious snow into the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado. Wolf Creek Ski Area fared well from the continual moisture injection with 1.7 meters of accumulation. I skied Wolf Creek (WC) last Tuesday at the start of the storm cycle and it was good. However Saturday, January 23, was one of the most memorable days on the mountain in my 27 years of skiing.
The way that the day transpired made it borderline "epic." That word gets overused to describe a good day of skiing, so I don't use it except when warranted. It's warranted in this case. Knowing the roads could be bad, and being a Saturday when many others would be heading to WC in search of the powder too, I left Breck early again, at 3:15am, to ensure I would make it to Wolf Creek before the first chair.
I landed third-chair on the Treasure lift at 8:30am. Only a few dozen people were on the mountain at that point. I then heard that Wolf Creek Pass Westbound was closed for snowploughing (Turns out I had beat the closure by 45 minutes), and numerous vehicles were stuck at the bottom until ploughing was completed. So a small group of powder-junkies had the entire ski area to ourselves until they re-opened the pass! Even after the pass opened it took another hour for all the vehicles to reach the summit, and Wolf Creek Pass Eastbound didn't open until afternoon. By then we'd taken care of all the fresh powder. Great care.
I skied the steep untouched Alberta Face on my first two descents, then hit the glades skier's right of Treasure chair on subsequent runs. After harvesting the low hanging fruit it was time to earn turns. On the ridgeline above the Knife Ridge Chutes I watched skiers dropping steep technical lines, took photos, then pushed out farther to ski steep glades. I had two exquisite bottomless-powder descents in Dog Chutes and Coyote Park. To end the day I hiked/traversed to Horseshoe Bowl (about 45 minutes to the bowl) for the best descent of the season to date. It's tough to beat steep 'n' deep lines in wide-open powder bowls.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. 5-7cm of snow an hour! - 21/1/2010 22:43by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge, Telluride and Wolf Creek - January 18-21, 2010 When the snow doesn't come to you then you have to go to the snow.
Let me tell you about my roadtrip to Wolf Creek and Telluride this week. But first a quick update on Breckenridge's snow conditions. Breck received light snow over the past few days, freshening the lower pistes a bit, but the snow did little to cure the hardpack/boilerplate/icy moguls firmly entrenched on the steeper pistes. More snow is on the horizon with 12-25cm of accumulation possible in the next few days. Maybe more if we're lucky. The resort has opened the summit of Peak 7 enabling skier-access to the vaunted Whale's Tail terrain, and portions of Lake Chutes are also now open, but coverage is still thin and sketchy. More snow is needed. Now, back to the roadtrip. On the evening of Monday, 18/1, a powerful Pacific storm aimed for Colorado's Southern San Juan Mountains, so I made a game-time decision to ski Wolf Creek on Tuesday and Telluride on Wednesday. I left Breckenridge at 3:15am Tuesday morning with a mug of black-vanilla tea and an extensive playlist to keep me alert during the four-hour drive in the pre-dawn hours.
The roads were dry and the skies clear nearly all the way, but as I ascended the Eastern side of Wolf Creek Pass it began snowing hard. I arrived in Wolf Creek's parking lot just before 7:00am giving me time to suit-up and brew French press coffee with my MSR WindPro camp stove (which boiled water in three minutes despite strong wind, heavy snow and cold temperaturs - definitely the best camp stove I've ever owned).
I mainly skied the terrain betwixt the Treasure and Alberta lifts, and I was very "glade" I did. Descending the glades known as Glory Hole, Patina, and Summer Day felt like rafting down a moderately-swift Colorado river. I floated and bounced softly along through the glades bursting through deep snow like a raft bursting through whitewater.
Later I traversed along the top of the ridgeline skier's right of the top of Treasure chair and dropped into Boundary Bowl and upper Glory Hole where I found luscious knee-to-thigh deep powder.
Glory Hole is appropriately named. From the top of the ridgeline to the bottom it's a nice long run, although the terrain is terraced and flat at times. Being on tele-skis this isn't a problem for me, but I did see some boarders struggling in the deep snow. I lapped the ridgeline a few more times, getting deeper snow on every descent, before leaving Wolf Creek for Telluride.
It was a gorgeous drive through the rugged San Juan Mountains over several mountain passes with deep valleys and frozen rivers below and epic backcountry terrain in every direction. It snowed off and on the whole time. On Molas Pass just before the mountain enclave of Silverton I helped a cool girl from Crested Butte named Sunny change a flat tire. Now I'm planning a trip to ski Crested Butte with Sunny, possibly next week. Four hours after leaving Wolf Creek I arrived in Telluride and met up with my friend Andrew who lives in town. His girlfriend Anna had prepared a wonderful dinner, and after eating we went to a pub for a few beers to cap off a killer day.
The next morning Andrew and I caught the Oak Street chair at the edge of town and proceeded to explore the mountain. Telluride hadn't received much snow from the storm, and the pistes were chopped up from the previous day although the groomers were exquisite. I can see how Telluride would be a great place to ski on a big powder day, especially in the open bowls off of the Revelation chair and on Palmyra Peak (which exceeds 4,000 meters in elevation) and Black Iron Bowl.
Telluride has abundant hike-to terrain. I'd definitely like to return to explore this mountain more thoroughly. Later in the day we did find some fresh, deep powder in the Prospect Bowl area, and a burst of afternoon snowfall freshened things up. We made a few descents in that area then called it a day and headed to the base for apres ski.
What a roadtrip: I drove 1,200 kilometers, skied two of Colorado's best ski areas, had my best day of skiing this season at Wolf Creek, spent a quality day at Telluride with my good friend Andrew, met a new friend from Crested Butte, and enjoyed stunning scenery the whole time. The San Juan Mountains are getting hammered with snow again as I write this, so I may just have to head back down to Wolf Creek very soon.... [Ed: how about this weekend, Josh? Wolf has just reported 121cm of snow in the latest storm, in the 48hrs up to the morning of January 22.] Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Click here for our Telluride resort report. Click here to find out more about Wolf Creek. Hard-packed corduroy and dodgy knees - 18/1/2010 17:47by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - January 18, 2010 Storms have passed to the North and South of Colorado over the last 10 days leaving Breckenridge high and dry. With no new snow except for a surprise 7cm last night, the pistes are a combination of hard-packed corduroy, ice and boilerplate. Heavily-used steeps are covered in scary-looking ice-moguls that can be seen from town. I've had to sit out on Injured Reserve since my last update on 10/1 due to a sore ACL, an old soccer injury that sometimes gives me a little trouble when I ski hard. Friends tell me I haven't missed anything during this dry phase but now my knee is feeling better, I'm chomping at the bit to ski again. A series of storms will push through Colorado over the next week. The primary energy from these storms will stay Southwest of Breckenridge meaning resorts like Silverton, Telluride and Wolf Creek will get hammered with snow and resorts including Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek will get less. Still, any fresh snow will help alleviate the poor piste conditions, and if the storm track shifts favourably for Summit County then maybe, just maybe, we may be skiing powder by the end of the week. Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Half a metre of new snow in Breckenridge - 10/1/2010 08:09by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - January 10, 2010
Breckenridge received 27-37cm of snow accumulation over the last storm cycle. The snowfall had ended by early Thursday morning, and the sun emerged for a bluebird powder day. My priority on Thursday was first descent in Imperial Bowl. At the base of Imperial chair a lift operator informed the few of us waiting that it "might be hours" before they opened the chair. Here's a hint: never listen to the lifties. A few minutes later a patroller arrived and informed us we were "in the right place at the right time," and 10 minutes later I was speeding up Imperial chair with the lucky few who had the patience to wait.
Typically, the majority of people ski Imperial Bowl directly from the top, taking exactly the same line straight down the gut of the bowl. I don't like to ski the same line that the majority ski. From the chair I could see icy patches where numerous people had scraped their way down the bowl the previous day, so I skied down the ridgeline a few hundred yards before dropping into the southeast-facing side of the bowl. There, the snow was deeeep and creamy: bottomless wind-blown powder that hadn't had a chance to condense. It was simply gorgeous, the exact descent that I wait for and dream about.
After one more pristine descent in Imperial Bowl, the lift-line had grown long with people waiting to mop up the remaining fresh powder, so I decided to go check out an area over on Peak 9 that I had been eyeing for weeks: Billy's Bowl, a Breckenridge gem that few ever ski. Billy's Bowl is above treeline on the southside of Peak 9 and is accessible via The Back 9 hike. If you go be warned that Billy's Bowl is capped with a highly-volatile cornice, and the bowl itself is avalanche-prone and very dangerous. Do not even approach the edge of the cornice to take a peek. The main bowl is usually not safe to ski until spring when the base has compacted enough to not be as susceptible to sliding. Until then, it is safe to ski down the ridgeline, keeping a safe distance from the cornice, and drop into the left section of the bowl. The skier's left side of Billy's Bowl is one of my favourite slices of mountain at Breckenridge. Although short, and requiring a hike, it rarely disappoints. Once again I was not disappointed as I found lovely untouched fresh powder to tear up. It's a short and sweet descent, and I will happily hike 20 minutes any day for it.
We're in waiting mode for snow again. Colorado is now in an inter-storm period with dreaded high pressure fully-entrenched, blocking moisture but keeping temperatures chilly. The next chance for snow comes next Wednesday, but no significant accumulations are expected. In the meantime, the Ullr Fest kicks off Sunday, January 10th. Hopefully Breckenridge's annual festival celebrating the Norse god of skiing will result in a return to snowy weather. Anything we can do to coax Ullr to send us snow, including burning skis and drinking litres of beer, will be done.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Arctic temperatures and new snow - 6/1/2010 20:58by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - January 6, 2010
A storm intensified over Breck during the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning and by early afternoon about 15 - 20cm of new snow had accumulated. Moderate to heavy snowfall continues this evening; the storm should taper off after midnight, and tomorrow should be another powder day under partly sunny skies. However, the temperatures will be frigid with Arctic air firmly entrenched over much of Colorado. Clearing skies will only make it colder with radiative cooling. (Ok, I confess I had to look this up. Apparently it's the process by which long-wave (infra red) radiation is emitted to balance the absorption of short-wave (visible) energy from the sun. So now you know - Ed) Bundle up if you're skiing in the Rocky Mountains over the next few days.
Wednesday was one of my best days skiing Breckenridge this season. After a couple of warm-up runs - one on Peak 10 and one on Peak 9 - I rode the Superconnect chair to Peak 8 then hopped on 6-Chair right after it opened. From the top of 6-Chair I skied smooth untracked wind-blown powder on Upper Four O'Clock then rode 6-Chair again.
At the top of 6-Chair I rolled up to the Imperial chair which hadn't opened yet, but after a two-minute wait I boarded the first chair of the day with a few other lucky fellows. Imperial Bowl is still thin in areas, but the bowl's concave lanes have filled in nicely. I made three quick laps in the wide-open bowl taking a slightly different line each time in fresh and condensed yet soft wind-blown pow-dah. Definitely some of the best turns of the season were had in Imperial Bowl today.
After those three fantastic lines in Imperial Bowl I transferred back to Peak 9 via E-Chair for a quick round on The Back 9. The wind blew steadily from the West, so I had a feeling the North-facing Twin Chutes would be collecting copious snow: I was right. I skied East Twin Chutes and was rewarded for the hike with a steep, knee-deep line-Twin Chutes rarely disappoints. Following the excursion out to The Back 9 I traversed back to 6-Chair.
After a brief rest in the warming hut at the top of 6-Chair I rode Imperial again to 3,900 meters. This time I skied the ridgeline all the way down to the top of Horseshoe Bowl, then descended to Cucumber Bowl to scope its coverage. Cucumber was a bit skied-out and choppy, but the coverage was good, and future snow will only make Cucumber better and better.
Breck now has 75 percent of its terrain open. We're now anticipating the opening of the vast open bowls and ridgelines on Peak 7, the steep and technical lines in Lake Chutes and Snow White terrain (accessed via the summit hike at the top of Imperial chair), and Southside terrain on Peak 10 including local favorites Appaloosa and Mustang. No big storms are on the horizon following this current storm, but Breck may get a little snow this weekend. It appears a pattern shift may have occurred, with storms streaming into Colorado from the West-Northwest instead of South-Southwest, judging from the past few systems. Hopefully this pattern holds. Storms that track from the West-Northwest usually favor the Central Mountains and Summit County. Snowfall hasn't tapered off yet this evening meaning even more powder awaits us tomorrow on the mountain.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Powder powder powder! - 1/1/2010 11:15by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge and Beaver Creek - January 1, 2010
Breckenridge had another 7-12cm of fresh snow from 29/12 to 30/12 continuing the slow base-building process. I skied Falcon chair on Peak 10 early on Wednesday morning. A fresh layer of wind-blown powder provided excellent floaty turns on Cimarron and Doublejack for a few runs. Later on Wednesday a friend and I found some goodies on the now open 6-Chair on the Southside of Peak 8. After navigating thinly-covered terrain on the upper pistes of 6-Chair we found a field of fresh powder lower down to satiate our powder cravings at least a little bit. With big holiday crowds the rest of the mountain was skied-out.
From 30/12 to 31/12 Breck again had up to 12cm of fresh snow...but Breckenridge's cousin Beaver Creek reported 33cm: so some friends and I headed West to Eagle County. We arrived at Beaver Creek by first chair. On dropping into some of our favorite Aspen glades we discovered knee-to-thigh deep fluffy powder! Apparently nobody had skied these particular glades the day before. It was the deepest snow of the season thus far.
It appears another snowy pattern is setting up for the weekend and into next week in the Central Rocky Mountains. Again it looks like accumulations will be on the light side for Breck, with areas West of us getting more snow. However with Breck's base firmly established the skiing should still be good especially in areas where wind blows fresh snow to create deeper pockets such as those found in the Windows area. Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Click here for our Beaver Creek resort report. Playing the Back 9 - 27/12/2009 21:14by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 27, 2009
The Back 9 terrain on the North side of Peak 9, aka "Windows," is open! On Saturday morning I made the 20 minute traverse out to Twin Chutes to check out the snow conditions. The Windows hike is somewhat strenuous, which deters many people from experiencing some of Breck's most-enjoyable expert terrain and the stunning views of peaks 8 and 9. Windows is also a great place to escape from crowds on busy days and enjoy a mini-backcountry experience.
My first Windows day of the season was good. After the hiking segment I traversed far skier's left along the fenceline and chose West Twin Chutes for my descent. I was one of the first, aside from patrol, to ski Twin Chutes this season. The powder was slightly denser than it would be during or right after a storm, but it was still DEEP and floaty. The descent was one of the best of the year so far. Now we have the Windows option available at Breckenridge any day we go skiing.
Last week the resort also opened Falcon chair on Peak 10. I was the first rider of the season on Falcon and was rewarded with about 10cm of fresh 'n' fluffy powder on top of smooth corduroy. Peak 10 terrain has a consistently steeper fall-line with gladed pistes on the North side called The Burn and also on the South side of the peak. On a powder day I usually ski Peak 10 first but Cimarron is my favourite for blazing speed. Breckenridge now has 71 percent of its terrain open including 6-Chair as of Sunday morning. Now we're eyeing Lake Chutes and Snow White terrain and salivating, but it will take a good snow event for the resort to open Imperial chair, North America's highest chairlift.
Breckenridge received 20-28cm of snow since last Tuesday night. Wind continues to move snow around the mountain creating deeper areas like those I skied in Twin Chutes. Thus far, Breck hasn't had a massive snowfall event but the base is solid. Off-piste is still risky with rocks and logs not quite covered. Avalanche danger is high out-of-bounds. Snow is back in the forecast starting this Wednesday/Thursday. However, sooner or later Breckenridge will get hit hard and it will be spectacular.
The temperature was so frigid last week when I skied Falcon chair that it drained the battery on my camera and I wasn't able to get photos during the last storm. Oh well, bring on the next big powder day!
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. New heights at the Dew Tour in Breckenridge - 20/12/2009 21:00by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the latest tweaks, grabs and frontside 1200s from the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge - December 20, 2009
This week, the elite athletes of freeskiing and snowboarding descended on Breckenridge to spin, flip, cork, grab and stomp in slopestyle and halfpipe in the second edition of the Winter Dew Tour. Our man in Breckenridge, Josh Cooley was on hand to scope out the competition and bring us the latest results.
On Saturday at the Freeway halfpipe on Peak 8, Danny Davis set a new score-record of 96.50 for his first run. No other rider could match his prowess, and Davis claimed victory in the snowboard halfpipe finals of the Totino's Open in Breckenridge. It was the first of three events in the 2010 Winter Dew Tour. That's two wins in a row for Davis as he also won the halfpipe finals last year in the tour's inaugural event here.
On his record-setting run Davis did a cab 1080 double-cork off the first vert with tremendous speed and height, followed by a frontside 1080 and a duo of smooth 720s. Davis's first, nearly flawless run was historical and stands as one of the best ever seen in competition. A 1080 double-cork - three spins with two off-axis rotations - is hard enough to imagine, let alone do it! At the awards ceremony I asked him what one word summed up his victory. He smiled and said simply: "Sunny!" Indeed the weather was perfect with deep blue Colorado skies, no wind, and the pipe was in perfect condition enabling riders to really focus on their runs, rather than the conditions.
Rider Louri Podlachikov, nicknamed 'Ipod' by the scoring judges, pulled off the 1080 double-cork beautifully, but didn't match the overall amplitude and style of Davis and came in second. Breckenridge's own JJ Thomas, a former Olympian, snagged third place with a run featuring smooth 1080s. He definitely had the biggest air of the day with a height of about five meters above the coping.
Snowboard halfpipe has mutated again. Suddenly the 1080 double-cork has become an essential skill and an absolute necessity to make it to the podium in snowboarding competitions. By the end of this Winter season the double-cork will be a standard element in snowboarding halfpipe competitions, and we're sure to see it in the Olympics. The question now is how long until someone busts out a triple-cork?
In the women's snowboard halfpipe finals, Queralt Castellet, a former Olympian from Spain, stole the show and scored victory over second-place rider Sarah Conrad of Halifax, Canada and Kjersti Ostgaard Buaas from Trondheim, Norway in third-place. Castellet stomped a series of big, clean 900s in both of her runs. Top-qualifier and favourite Elena Hight was in second-place after the first round, but a crash on her second run eliminated her from podium contention, and she finished in fifth. The women have continued to advance right alongside the men and I can't wait to see the first female rider perform a double-cork.
In the freeski halfpipe finals, a raucous crowd and a live television audience witnessed the continuing evolution of freeskiing as the athletes flipped and corked at heights up to 6 meters above the coping (23 meters above the flat). Canada's Mike Riddle took the victory with a stellar second run which featured a monster double flip, two 900s, and an Alley Oop flatspin with massive height on each hit and smooth transitions. It was definitely the best run of the night. Jossi Wells of New Zealand took second place with a run nearly as good as Riddle's but with slight point deductions for technical errors. Xavier Bertoni of France, the current X Games freeski champ, let loose with a couple of phenomenal runs but finished in third place. Unfortunately, crowd favourite Simon Dumont had difficulties which took him out of podium contention and he eventually finished in sixth place.
On Sunday the Winter Dew Tour ends in Breckenridge with the slopestyle finals. It will cap off a phenomenal competition, where the world's best snowboarders and freeskiers demonstrated they won't be satisfied with straight 1080s or a single flip off the vert. These are the world's top winter sports athletes and it's clear they will continue to push the boundaries of freeride, flying higher, spinning faster and making us wonder how on earth they do it.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Fluffy goodness on top of fresh corduroy in Breck - 20/12/2009 07:02by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 20, 2009
It never ceases to amaze me how Breckenridge gets better and better as the season progresses. It's geographical location means that the resort generally receives less snowfall than Colorado resorts to the West and South. By the time storms have crossed the country they've gone over several mountain ranges including the Sierra Nevada, Cascades, Tetons, Wasatch and Colorado's numerous ranges, so much of the moisture is depleted. Breckenridge's snow is downright arid. However, by about this time of the season the base is deep and dense enough that anything that falls on top makes conditions good (unless it's on a steeper, scoured, heavily-skied piste), and wind-blown snow can create much deeper powder.
Two days ago the resort opened Volunteer and Peerless on Peak 9 for the first time this season. I arrived there early and found 6-10cm of super-dry fluffy goodness on top of fresh corduroy, with up to 30cm of fresh powder chilling on the sides. Not an epic deep powder day by any means, but the skiing was fantastic. Breckenridge now has about half of its terrain open (453 hectares), including most of the lower terrain on Peaks 7, 8 and 9, and limited above-treeline terrain off of the T-Bar. Peak 10 will likely open very soon, possibly even Sunday. We're waiting for additional snow to pad the base on terrain accessible via 6-Chair on the Southside of Peak 9, the Imperial chair which whisks riders to 3,914 meters above sea level, and Peak 7's upper terrain including "Whale's Tail."
Snow looks probable next Tuesday through to Thursday, but how much remains to be seen. It appears that upcoming snowfall will favour the central mountains of Colorado, which is good news for Breck if it transpires. In the meantime, holiday crowds are a bit dense, so if you are skiing Breck, it's best to arrive early and start your day at either Beaver Run or the QuickSilver chair at the base of Peak 9.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. The Dew Tour rolls into Breck - 17/12/2009 20:17by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 17, 2009
The Winter Dew Tour's Breckenridge event (The Totino's Open), launched on Wednesday with action in the halfpipe open qualifying rounds. I was on the deck of the pipe watching snowboarders try to land a top-nine score to move on to the halfpipe preliminaries on Friday. Local man Zach Black, who briefly gave Shaun White a scare at last week's Snowboarding Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, and long-time pro snowboarder, Andy Finch, rode in the qualifying round and both secured placement in Friday's preliminary rounds.
One big bummer: Shaun White, Louie Vito, Danny Kass and Gretchen Bleiler won't be competing in the Winter Dew Tour at Breck. Apparently Breck's super pipe isn't super enough for them. It measures 18 feet (5.5m) high while Olympic pipes are now a standard 22 feet (6.7m) high. White, Vito, Kass and Bleiler have decided to skip any event without an Olympic-sized pipe.
Just last year, 18-foot pipes were the industry standard, but things change quickly in the pro snowboarding world. Hopefully, Breck will build a 22-foot pipe next season to ensure that all the elite snowboarders come here to compete if the Dew Tour returns to Breck. We'll miss watching those heavy hitters, but the snowboarding rosta is still loaded with enough talent on both the men's and women's side to keep everyone mesmerized by the high-amplitude aerial manoeuvres. Some of these athletes are fully capable ofbecoming the next Olympic or X Games champs.
The pool of talent on the skiers side remains deep and wide. Perhaps when the Olympics have events for freestyle skiers in halfpipe, we'll see athletes opting out of an event because a pipe is too small. Until then, most of the world's best freestyle skiers will ply their trade on Friday in the preliminary rounds. However, only male skiers are competing in ski slopestyle and ski halfpipe competitions at the Dew Tour. Events on Friday include preliminaries for men and women snowboard halfpipe, snowboard slopestyle, and ski halfpipe. I'll be there watching events unfold and capturing all the images for you.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Talk about devotion to the cause! - 15/12/2009 22:05by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 15, 2009
Today we skied Contest Bowl on Peak 8 again. The powder was a bit denser than it was yesterday during the storm, but still really good. Blue skies and warmer temperatures made the skiing enjoyable. Later, while skiing on Peak 9, we came upon an open gate: so my friend Danny and I were two of the first non-patrollers to ski Devil's Crotch (DC) on the North side of Peak 9 this season! In DC the powder was still deep and fresh since the piste spends the majority of its day sheltered in the shade. Nobody was skiing DC - apparently it had only been open for a brief time when we stumbled upon it. At this time of the season you never know what you might find open as you probe the mountain.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. T-Bar bliss - 15/12/2009 10:04by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 14, 2009
Breckenridge cranked up its T-Bar surface lift Monday morning. The lift pulls you 300 meters up a ridgeline on Peak 8 to an altitude of about 3,000 meters above sea level, and it provides access to some of Breck's best advanced terrain. Today, the resort opened the delicious Contest Bowl, skiers' right of T-Bar, and Pika, Ptarmigan, White Crown and Forget-Me-Not, all skiers' left of T-Bar. Finally, we can break free of the lower pistes and get above the treeline!
First run off T-Bar I cut far skiers' left to Forget-Me-Not and found dry and powdery shin-to-knee deep powder interspersed with thicker wind-blown powder and some thinner rock-exposed areas. Next run I dropped into Contest Bowl for my steepest and deepest line of the season thus far. The wind had blown fresh snow into the bowl creating soft knee-deep snow. Everyone was ecstatic to finally ski the upper mountain, and we should thank Breck Ski Patrol for their weeks of hard work preparing Contest Bowl for us to enjoy safely. Now we wait for more snow to help fill things in and get more terrain open off T-Bar. I've seen T-Bar open both later and earlier than it did this season, so overall I'd say terrain is opening right on schedule. It appears another good round of snow will enable Breck to open Horseshoe and Cucumber Bowls, and we're casting glances higher up the mountain to Imperial Bowl, Lake Chutes and Peak 7's killer bowls. The next chance for snow is late this week but accumulations are expected to be light. In addition to T-Bar Breck is now also running the Independence chair on Peak 7 with four intermediate cruisers open, and the resort has opened additional terrain on Peaks 8 and 9. Meanwhile, Peak 10's terrain is looking good and we're eagerly anticipating the opening of Falcon chair. Breck now reports it has 32 percent of its terrain open, with 14 of 31 lifts spinning on three of its four peaks. Breck just keeps getting better and better as the season progresses. Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. At last - snow! - 13/12/2009 19:48by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 13, 2009
As of Sunday morning, it's snowing in Breck. The resort reported 2.5cm overnight, and we're expecting another 12-25cm by Monday morning. This current storm is going to dump the bulk of the snow mostly to the West and South of Summit County. Crested Butte, Silverton, Wolf Creek, Telluride and Aspen should get the deepest accumulations. Yet Breck is hanging in there, still ahead of schedule as far as open terrain and quality of the pistes is concerned. The resort opened Peak 7's Independence Chair on Friday with three intermediate cruisers available, and Breck now has 506 of 2,358 acres open. Falcon Chair on Peak 10 looks to be the next objective along with more terrain on Peak 7. Give Breck credit for excellent slope maintenance and grooming. Great corduory is the next best thing to powder. But it's true we're still waiting for a big storm to enable Breck to open terrain on the upper mountain. It looks like we'll be waiting for awhile with no snow in the forecast for at least a week following this weekend's storm.
Meanwhile, the Freeway Park and Pipe on Peak 8 has materialized, and crews are erecting scaffolding and towers for the Mountain Dew Tour which begins next Thursday. Many of the snowboarders who'll compete in the Dew Tour competed in the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Copper Mountain the last few days. The Grand Prix at Copper was the first of five Olympic qualification events. Shaun White took first, Louie Vito second, and Breckenridge local Zack Black took third. Kelly Clark was the top female competitor, with Gretchen Bleiler taking second and Spain's Quera Castellet took third. Zack Black, 19, made history at the event; he landed a switch-backside 1080, the first ever in a competition. However, Vito and White stomped double-cork 1080s, one of the newest and most difficult tricks. White's technique was a fraction better than Vito's, and he won the competition as a result, but Vito is really beginning to pressurise him. It'll be amazing to watch these two battle at the Dew Tour next week in Breck.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Fabulous freshies in Breck - 4/12/2009 22:00by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - December 4, 2009
On Friday morning I caught first chair on Peak 9's Quicksilver lift at 9am then rode the Mercury chair to the top. After a fast cruiser on untouched corduroy down Columbia I transferred to Peak 8 via the SuperConnect chair. I skied soft wind-blown snow on the sides of Four O'Clock and nice corduroy down lower. At the base of Peak 8 I hopped on 5-Chair to get a good look at the progress of the Freeway Terrain Park & Pipe.
The pipe is nearly ready to be shaped and contoured to its final form. With the Dew Tour here in less than two weeks the resort's focusing on getting Freeway finished. After checking out Freeway I cut back over to Peak 9 and rode the Beaver Run chair. At the top I visited the Peak 9 Restaurant - my favourite on-mountain restaurant at Breck - to warm up with some coffee before taking a final speed run to the base.
The skiing's good for early December, and although Breckenridge reports that it has only 16 percent of its 2,358 acres open, the resort should open more terrain this weekend. Expect more openings next week with snowstorms moving through Summit. You never know - they might open Falcon chair on Peak 10 or even *GASP* 6-Chair on Peak 8 if enough snow falls. One thing's certain: it'll be frigid, so dress for brutal windchills.
Snow should begin falling across the Northern tier of Colorado on late Saturday night and into Sunday morning. Breck probably won't get massive accumulations from the first round though. By Sunday night the snow should taper off, but another burst is expected Monday/Tuesday with snowfall diminishing by Wednesday. The Central mountains which contain Breck should fare well during the second round, but it appears the Southern mountains of Colorado, especially the San Juans, will get the deepest accumulation out of the Monday/Tuesday storm. Another storm may be in the works for next Thursday, but it's too far out to know where it might track. Things are definitely getting more interesting by the day here in Breck though. Of course, I'll be on the mountain daily looking for freshies and new terrain...
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Ah Breckenridge, it just gets better and better - 25/11/2009 21:38by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - November 25, 2009 Here are some pics I took today for the opening of the Beaver Run Superchair on Peak 9.
I snagged first chair along with three local snowboarders ahead of about 50 people and bombed the first run with nothing but pure soft corduroy ahead of me. I'm starting my fifth season in Breck and this is one of the best openings on Peak 9 I've seen yet as far as coverage and quality of snow. The resort should be opening more lifts and terrain on Peak 9 daily. A couple of low pressure systems still in the Pacific Ocean will move onshore by Friday, and it appears at least one of them will be affecting Summit County by Saturday morning. It may strengthen and produce some good accumulation but it's still too soon to know for sure.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Explosive powder in the upper bowls - 24/11/2009 16:11by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - November 23, 2009 And don't forget you can win a week's skiing in Breckenridge in our latest competition. Having fed meters of snow to Washington State and British Columbia recently, Mother Nature has finally decided to throw the Colorado Rockies some scraps. Breckenridge reported 8cm of new snow by 5:30am on Monday morning and another seven or so centimeters accumulated by 10:00am. The upper mountain received a little more, prompting Breckenridge Ski Patrol to detonate explosives in the upper bowls again.
Today's fall has definitely freshened the runs. Blown snow has created deeper pockets along the sides, for nice stretches of soft and extremely dry-powder turns. The snow's lost much of its moisture on the journey from the Pacific Ocean and the wind will blow much of the new snow off the trees which should add a bit more depth to the base. The wind-chill was about -30ºC this morning at the top of the Rocky Mountain chair, portending things to come during the winter months. However clear skies and warmer temperatures are expected tomorrow and the next chance for snow in Breckenridge comes this weekend.
The new snowfall on top of the persistent snowmaking will enable Breckenridge to open Peak 9 this week. The Quicksilver and Beaver Run chairlifts will start delivering skiers to the top starting from 9:00am on Wednesday morning. The Peak 8 SuperConnect and the Mercury chair may also be spinning with a slew of runs hopefully open to alleviate Thanksgiving holiday congestion and spread people out over two peaks. I'll be there Wednesday morning to check things out.
The resort continues to blow snow in the Freeway Terrain Park & Pipe where some of the world's best skiers and snowboarders will compete in this season's Winter Dew Tour. Freeway's features should open within two weeks, I'm guessing, based on current progress. I'll be covering the Dew Tour and will provide more details as we get closer. In the meantime we're hoping Mother Nature decides to spread the wealth and deliver more snow to Summit.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Corduroy cruising - 20/11/2009 12:52by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow from Breckenridge - November 19, 2009
Breckenridge opened the Rocky Mountain SuperChair on Thursday morning and now has 10 runs open as well as the triple jump line in Park Lane on Peak 8. I was one of the first to ride the Rocky Mountain chair and found exquisitely groomed and fast pitches on Northstar and Duke's Run, both skiers' left of the chairlift.
While groomers are nice, we're in a kind of winter purgatory right now waiting for snow and salivating over the photos coming out of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. One good storm cycle would enable Breckenridge to open a lot of terrain across their peaks. Nevertheless, they're likely to open multiple lifts and runs on Peak 9 sometime between this weekend and Thanksgiving next Thursday, due to snowmaking efforts and chilly temperatures.
Meanwhile, we're waiting for the jet-stream to shift south and return the moisture-stream to Colorado. The next chance for precipitation is sometime after Saturday. Looks like the Northern Colorado Rockies including Steamboat will likely get the most out of any system that sinks into Colorado. The waiting game is on. We're taking what we can get, which is an expanding collection of corduroy cruisers.
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Breckenridge's base layer is settling in nicely - 16/11/2009 20:00by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on snow conditions in Breckenridge - Monday, November 16, 2000
A really good day on the slopes today. The upper bowls are looking promising: Breck Patrol ski cut Contest Bowl - skiing zig-zags across it and checking its avalanche potential - then bombed Horseshoe Bowl triggering some minor shallow slides indicating the base is setting up well. I can't wait to get up there!
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Loadsa snow and fresh paw prints - 15/11/2009 17:33by Josh Cooley Josh Cooley reports on the snow conditions in Breckenridge - November 15, 2000 Breckenridge was coated with another 13-17cm of snow Saturday night to freshen up the runs on Sunday. We've now received 26-34cm of new snow on the lower mountain since Friday.
On Sunday morning the open runs were groomed and soft with a few centimeters of fresh snow on top, and like Saturday morning the sides of the runs were left un-groomed making a series of linked turns in ankle-deep fresh powder possible. Any freshies this early are nice, and this was the light and dry continental variety typical of Breckenridge.
This last storm cycle gets Breckenridge closer to opening more terrain. As of Sunday Breckenridge is still running three lifts on Peak 8 but opened another run (Middle 4 O'Clock) for a total of five runs available as well as the triple jump line in upper Park Lane. The snow has tapered off after another little burst on Sunday afternoon and the clouds are moving out. The first half of the week will be mostly sunny but not warming up too much with highs around 4ºC and lows dipping down to around -10ºC at 2,900 meters. Nothing's melting. The next chance for snow in Breckenridge is Thursday.
I took the dog with me on Sunday afternoon and did recon on Peak 9 at Breckenridge where the resort is busy blowing machine-generated snow. Everything's filling in nicely especially for mid-November. It looks like Breckenridge may be able to open new terrain by next weekend or possibly even sooner. The town is eagerly anticipating more terrain openings and the next snow."
Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. Breckenridge kicks off its 2009-10 season - 12/11/2009 20:48by Josh Cooley Our new Snogger Josh Cooley reports on the snow from Breckenridge - November 11, 2009 With pancakes, blue sky and corduroy snow, Breckenridge launched its 2009/2010 season Thursday morning. The resort opened with the Colorado SuperChair, 5 Chair, and the former Chair 7 now called Rip's Ride, all on Peak 8. A crowd of a few hundred came out early grinning and exuberant. Four runs, Springmeier, Spruce, Trygve's and lower Crescendo, provided 108 acres to carve up, and those seeking a freestyle fix headed to the triple jump line in upper Park Lane.
Just in time for the first weekend of the season, snow is in the forecast, with a system moving through the region starting Thursday and persisting through Sunday night which will help freshen up the slopes following the shredding they took on opening day. Moderate snow is expected. I'll be monitoring the situation and will let you know how much we get!
Breck's current snow base on its four open runs is composed of a mix of natural and machine-generated snow and is well consolidated with no twigs or rocks showing. Breckenridge just had its sixth-snowiest October with 57 centimeters. That along with cold temperatures enabled Breck's snowmaking efforts to pay off well. The result? Long, wide corduroy cruisers to test the sharpness of your edges and enjoy the side-cuts of your skis at high speeds.
Breck's upper mountain has a decent base established courtesy of late October/early November storms. Upper terrain like Horseshoe Bowl, Whale's Tail and Imperial Bowl are filling in nicely. The slopes became wind-loaded enough to warrant avalanche control by the Breckenridge Ski Patrol last week. Explosives triggered a couple shallow slides in the bowls. It was wonderful to hear the reverberations of the bombs, a reminder of things to come as the snow piles up in the coming months.
Terrain on Peak 9 and Peak 10 is looking good too, especially north-facing, shaded slopes which have retained their snow. Breck's E-Chair terrain has good coverage for early season. Someone's already skied lines in the vaunted Mine Shaft and Devil's Crotch runs.
The Breckenridge season is shaping up nicely thus far with a great opening day, a good base on the open runs, and snow in the immediate future. But as always, we'll be craving more and bigger storms here in Summit... Click here for our Breckenridge resort report. | ||
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