A-Basin and other late-season skiing

[bounceswoosh]

I haven't been to A-Basin yet this year, and only spent a little time in Montezuma Bowl last year. Haven't ever skied either of the other places.

Anyway, the front side at least of A-Basin does have a few easier runs, but if you're not a fan of bumps and steeps, it doesn't have a ton of variety; just a few runs that funnel into the same channel pretty quickly. We tend to stay at the upper lifts to avoid crowds, which further limits the gentle terrain quite a bit.

Because of A-Basin's location, while snow does tend to blow off the mountain, it also doesn't tend to melt as readily, so in the spring you're less likely (than at other Colorado resorts) to have to deal with rock-hard "snow" in the morning that was slush the day before. Also, A-Basin tends to be a big ol' party in the spring, lots of crazy costumes, beer and pot consumption, and dogs running around the parking lot, so depending on your preferences, that may be a pro or con.

One thing to note about A-Basin - there's no lodging and not much of anything right at the ski hill. Keystone is maybe 10 minutes away and Frisco a little more, but if you're looking for night life - A-Basin doesn't offer that.

Just my two cents, and I'd love to hear corrections so I can learn more about my local hills =)

 

[bounceswoosh]

Oh, one other thing - A-Basin is at a very high altitude. So it may require more acclimatization than other places; if altitude affects you at all, it may not be a great choice for a short trip.

 

[KatyPerrey]

Phew!

Maybe catch you in a few weeks.

A-BASIN on the 15th??

 

[Christy]

You guys are putting ideas in my head again. I see Whistler has a few more weeks of the Dave Murray Camp I've been wanting to do, and there are fantastic condo/hotel deals for early April--there are studio condos in good locations for less than $100/night. Hmmm. Hmmm. Hmmm.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

jenny, we are thinking alike!! I just checked out a-basin for april 19-23, but like others are saying, 41" base is scary. Snowbird and Alta look promising. When are you looking at going, I would love to ski with you guys again

 

[floridakeysskibum]

whistler sounds good, but believe it or not, I have yet to https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/images/smilies/noidea.gifget a passport

 

[ScottishGirlie]

A-BASIN on the 15th??

Would love to pop along and meet you all there!!

 

[marzNC]

jenny, we are thinking alike!! I just checked out a-basin for april 19-23, but like others are saying, 41" base is scary. Snowbird and Alta look promising. When are you looking at going, I would love to ski with you guys again

Alta closes on April 18, which is before the dates that Jenny was thinking about. Alta dates are pre-determined by the agreement with the Forest Service, so has nothing to do with how much snow is on the slopes.

 

[Jenny]

jenny, we are thinking alike!! I just checked out a-basin for april 19-23, but like others are saying, 41" base is scary. Snowbird and Alta look promising. When are you looking at going, I would love to ski with you guys again

We'd travel out on Thursday (4-22) ski Friday-Sunday, and have to fly back on Monday (4-26).

Jenny, forget about skiing groomers at Snowbird, basically there are few. Snowbird is an advanced mountain. If you're looking for groomers and a variety of blue terrain, I would head to Whistler/Blackcomb.

Current airfare says Denver, but . . .

Snow, altitude, and travel time/distance all say Snowbird is the place. I need to look at the trail map, but I don't mind steep slopes, as long as they're not loaded with moguls, real narrow, etc. I don't really need tons of runs to have fun, either - in fact, I like the familiarity of knowing what line I want to take, where the icy spots are, where the rock might be, etc.

I haven't really explored lodging yet, but if we can stay inexpensively nearby and use shuttles that would be nice.

This requires more thought and more internet time!

 

[marzNC]

For learning about skiing out west, I've had a lot of fun with a book called "the Unofficial Guide to Skiing & Snowboarding in the West" by Lito Tejada-Flores, Seth Masia, Claire Walter, Kurt Repanshek & Bob Sehlinger. It's from 2003, but most of the ski areas haven't changed that much. I found it on eBay pretty cheap.

The focus of the descriptions is on the slopes, not so much about lodging and apres ski. For each area, there are tips about which slopes are best for beginners, intermediates, or experts. Also includes tips about skiing technique.

 

[marzNC]

We'd travel out on Thursday (4-22) ski Friday-Sunday, and have to fly back on Monday (4-26).

Current airfare says Denver, but . . .

Snow, altitude, and travel time/distance all say Snowbird is the place. I need to look at the trail map, but I don't mind steep slopes, as long as they're not loaded with moguls, real narrow, etc. I don't really need tons of runs to have fun, either - in fact, I like the familiarity of knowing what line I want to take, where the icy spots are, where the rock might be, etc.

I haven't really explored lodging yet, but if we can stay inexpensively nearby and use shuttles that would be nice.

This requires more thought and more internet time!

Check your PM.

 

[marzNC]

We'd travel out on Thursday (4-22) ski Friday-Sunday, and have to fly back on Monday (4-26).

Alta is getting a foot of new snow this week! Alta will be OPEN the weekend of April 23-25, with lift tickets for $49. So if you go to SLC,
you can check out Alta. It's my favorite SLC ski area.

 

[Jenny]

I just saw this in the other thread - exciting news! I really hope we can make this work.

 

[wahineskisk2]

Well, we are getting snow here in Summit County! (Gee, I've been waiting all winter...) A-Basin just opened Montezuma Bowl recently, so there is hope for late Spring skiing yet!

If any of you Divas decide on A-Basin, you're welcome to stay at my house. I live about 6 miles from A-Basin on Hwy 6. I've got a spare bedroom & bathroom. I do have 3 English Bulldogs though, which aren't a problem unless you have allergies...

 

[ScottishGirlie]

Snow! Yay!!!

All good news for my visit in two weeks!!

Hopefully get some turns with you wahineskisk2!! Would love to say hello to your dogs too!!

 

[astridhj]

I wish I could come as well. Would love to go back to Summit County to ski. Never happened this winter.

Now I am waiting for the glacier to open and hopefully we will get some good powder days there in May.

 

[ScottishGirlie]

I wish I could come as well. Would love to go back to Summit County to ski. Never happened this winter.

Now I am waiting for the glacier to open and hopefully we will get some good powder days there in May.

That would have been cool if you had come over too. Another year maybe.

I'm there from 12/04-19/04 if you change your mind!!

 

[astridhj]

Not sure if my boss would like it if I suddenly took a week off when starting a new job on the 4th... Next year then. Much snow left in Scotland? Seems like you have had a wonderful season over there this year.

 

[ScottishGirlie]

Not sure if my boss would like it if I suddenly took a week off when starting a new job on the 4th... Next year then. Much snow left in Scotland? Seems like you have had a wonderful season over there this year.

Yup, your new boss might not be too pleased if you headed to Colorado in April! Good luck with the new job though!

Had a bit of a thaw in Scotland the last couple of weeks but still quite a lot of snow in some resorts. We're forecasted for a big dump of snow this week though! :D

 

[Jenny]

Not sure if my boss would like it if I suddenly took a week off when starting a new job on the 4th... Next year then. Much snow left in Scotland? Seems like you have had a wonderful season over there this year.

New job? Congrats!