 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm going to be in Winter Park Colorado, next week, for a few days on the back of a business trip.
Any snowheads likely to be there between 12th and 15th January?
Anyone interested in meeting up for a few turns and a few beers, PM me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yeah, i've read loads on the epicski forums, huge amount of info there, and great bunch of mad-keen skiers! Thats where I found good info on where to book accommodation, lift tickets (managed to save plenty), and all other things from resort info to rental info to road info (any closures etc)
Joe:)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Time for the requested trip report then - now that I've found the original post in the rejigged index (I was planning to post a day-by-day update, but had connectivity problems with the hotel wi-fi: no problems accessing my e-mail at work  , but just couldn't raise the forum  ).
Flew in from southern California on Sunday afternoon. T-shirt weather when I left the golden state, snowing in Colorado. I guess I timed it just about right, because as the shuttle drove me out along I-70, there was a nose-to-tail of traffic in the opposite direction, as Denver went back home. I'm also glad I took the shuttle rather than hiring a car, because as we started up Berthoud Pass it became clear that the drive wasn't for the faint-hearted. A lot of snow on the road, and a crawl up to the top and down to Winter Park. Things looked good for Monday morning.
Day 1. We have a powder day. Jet lag helps me get up bright and early to catch the first lift. Get over to Mary Jane as fast as I can to see if the lift to the top has opened. It hasn't. It's too windy, and it will stay that way until Wednesday. Still, plenty of freshies to have fun in, the snow's about ankle deep: nothing spectacular, but quite nice, and the mountain is comparatively deserted. Those locals I meet on the lift compalin abouty the cold. The wind doesn't help, but to an old Canada hand, it really isn't anything to complain about. Also, it keeps snowing all day, so maybe tomorrow will be just as good....
Day 2. The groomers have been out, but it's snowed since their passage over the mountain, and there's just an inch or two of powder covering the corduroy. This makes for really nice smooth skiing, early on. After a few warm-up laps on the WP side, it's over to MJ again, where there are some pockets still tucked away on difficult-to access trails. Following some tracks through the trees leads me on to Arrowhead Loop. Because the lift that usually services this trail isn't running, it's almost pristine. - I spend a lot of time on this for the rest iof my stay. A nice mixture of big bumps at the top, leading ito a fast cruiser at the bottom.
Day 3. They finally open the lifts to the top. These are new since my last trip (see my 2005 trip report). The old slow double Timberline chair has gone and been replaced with the 6-pack Panoramic express up to the top of Parsenn bowl, and the Eagle Wind chair underneatk Vasqez cirque (which stays closed the whole time). I get one of the first chairs up to the top, and it looks like 2 days of wind has scoured the bowl free of snow. It looks like hard wind-pack. However, turn left off the chair and you battle the wind for a few hundred metres until you can dive down into the glades. This was the best run of the trip. Only one other pair of tracks in sight, and 3 days of accumulation to play in. This is WHY WE SKI. WooooooHoooooooo. It's straight up to the top for another. It's still pretty windy, and the lift keeps slowing and stopping. Apparently, this is automatic - the speed of the chair responds to the wind velocity. It's a safety feature. Tell that to the poor bloody sods dangling 50 metres from the top for several minutes. Not much fun - and neither is the second run. - Oh, it's still good, but just anticlimactic. This is the basic problem with your high-capacity lift. It delivers more skiers in a shorter time, and even now, the snow's getting tracked out. I don't take a third ride, but make my way over to the Eagle Wind, to access the bowl from the other side. Just getting to this lift is an adventure. You have to follow a narrow track through the trees, which takes you through some intricate treed bumps. It's worth it on arrival, though, because this is a slower lift, with fewer passengers, and it accesses a sheltered side of the bowl, where some of the wind-drift has accumulated. This again, gives me one good run down a deeply covered convex slope, before running out into the trees.
Last day. Sunshine. The proverbial bluebird day. A mixture of high-speed charges down the groomers, and knee-busting exertion on the bumps, before calling it a day, sinking a few beers and heading back to pack. Four days was about enough to ski out pretty much all of the hill, If I'd been here on a "proper" holiday, I'd be thinking about visiting some of the other hills in the locality. As it is, it's better than working.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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TangoFiver,
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Did you notice any effects from the altitude?
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Only that I had to stop halfway down each bump run to gasp in lungfuls of air for an inordinately long time.
Of course, this could just be old age. - Otherwise, no problems sleeping (apart from the fact that in an effort to ensure I was fully hydrated, I had to get up for a pee in the middle of the night. Come to think of it, that could just be old age, too).
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FAQ
So i'll be expecting a trip report on your return! 
