2010.01.03 VAIL'S BLUE SKY BASIN

Last weekend, I celebrated the opening of Vail's back bowls and Blue Sky Basin. Despite some limited openings, the skiing was spectacular as friends and I layed the first tracks of the year down sections of Red Square, Iron Mask and Pete's Bowl. Although the pictures below are from a not-so-secret out-of-bounds stash at Vail they accurately reflect the weekend's conditions: Blue skies and blower snow!

(Photos - Joel G):

Today, January 6th, Vail celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Blue Sky Basin expansion. These north-facing slopes which require mutliple chairlifts and excessive traversing to reach have been the sight of many quality memories over the past few years including:

1) Big hits off the Lover's Leap cornice (Photo - Jesse H):

2) Megan and J's engagement in 2007:

and 3) one of the funnier stories of last year's ski season:

2009.12.22-23 WOLF CREEK

Powder Fever (pou-der fee-ver):

-noun

1. an affliction causing one to abandon all responsibility and possibly travel long distances to satisfy their desire for deep snow

With Wolf Creek ski resort already receiving 10+ feet of snow on the year and another storm on the way, Ryan and I headed to southern Colorado in hopes of escaping the subpar conditions of Eagle/Summit counties for a few days before the holidays. The storm didn't pan out as expected and a mere six inches was reported over the course of the two days we visited. However, plenty of deep, untracked snow was found in the trees that helped alleviate our powder fever for a few days.

Ryan teles down a spine off the ridge:

Who says Wolf Creek is flat? Finding a cure in Keith's glade (Photo - Ryan A):

Ryan's turn:

I left with a great impression of Wolf Creek after my first visit. Despite hearing complaints from others about the flatness or slow lifts, I thought there was plenty of challenging terrain to keep things interesting and the complete absence of lift lines makes up for any limits in uphill capacity. I found Wolf Creek a refreshing change of pace from the corporate-stuffiness often encountered at other resorts throughout Colorado. Some tips for anyone planning a trip in the future: 1) you'll need to refuel after hiking laps on the knife-edge ridge. So bring only two slices of bread for lunch and a fulfilling vegetarian sandwich can be made from the vast assortment of quality toppings at the condiment bar in the base lodge. And 2) arrive early on a powder day! Despite the advertised 8:30 am opening, we caught the day's first chair at 8:06 am on Wednesday.