First off, a huge thanks to @mustski for laying out a great "entry plan" for us on the mountain. I'm always a little nervous when I go to new places, and worried about getting myself in over my head, but her post here was really helpful. We followed this plan almost to a T on our first day (though we never made it to the Solitude lift).
A few high-level thoughts (in no particular order):
1. The mountain has some really cool and unique terrain!
2. There are a lot people who don't know or don't care about skier etiquette and the code of responsibility. So many people who cut in line, cut off other skiers, ski way too close, etc. This was mostly on the groomers, but not exclusive to it. It was the most off-putting part of the mountain!
3. I saw very few trail signs at the entrance to the actual trail. The mountain is very open, so that makes it harder, and they did seem to mark the double black terrain pretty well, but more signage would be helpful to folks like me.
Now some details:
We there was some new snow (~4") on our first day, and everything was skiing really nicely. After warming up on the Gold Coast lift and then Siberia, we headed over to the Shirley Lake & Granite Chief area. My 15-year-old (who is a great skier and the most adventurous of our crew) LOVED the Granite Chief area because there were so many cliffs he could huck himself off of! As it turned out, the rest of us really liked that area too (we could easily avoid said cliffs). It felt like it had the most variety and options, and the snow there always seemed to be some of the best on the mountain. Also, everything off that lift was within our skiing ability, so I was never worried about making a "wrong turn."
On Day 2 there was even more snow (~9"), and we started the day on KT22 (like MANY others). I skied a few runs in the bowls under and to the left of the lift (as you riding up). The snow must have collected in there, because I was skiing through powder up to my knees! It was fun, but SO much work on my 82mm skis (ha!). It was mostly tracked out by lunchtime.
I don't think the Headwall lift opened until our Day 3, but that was another fun area. Again, here, the cliffs were well-marked, and I felt everything not marked as double black was all within my ability. We headed over to Alpine on Day 3 as well, and skied off the Summit, Treeline Cirque, and Sherwood lifts. It was good, but we liked the terrain at Palisades more.
By Day 4 we felt ready to explore some of the double black terrain off of KT22, and skied Moseley's, Chute 75, and Alt 75. I started off here by skiing the Saddle and then dropping into the area past Dead Tree. Once the Saddle really turns downhill it becomes unpleasant with inexperienced skiers, so I avoided it by staying on the ungroomed terrain and traversing to the stuff below the cliffs on Dead Tree and Rock Garden (highly recommend!).
Day 5 we planned to spend at Alpine, but the snow was rough in the morning. Day 4 was warm, and it took a while for things to soften up. Nothing at Alpine was very soft, so we went back to Palisades, where the north-facing slopes off KT22 and Headwall were in pretty good shape, so we skied there for the rest of the day (after taking a break to watch some of the World Cup).
Day 6 was our last day, and much like Day 5, it took some time for the snow to soften up. Granite Chief always seemed to be in good shape, so we spent the morning there, and then went over to KT22 for most of the afternoon.
We skied open to close almost every day! My legs were tired by the end of each day, but we were having so much fun we didn't want to stop. I'd be happy to answer any questions folks might have about our trip!
A few high-level thoughts (in no particular order):
1. The mountain has some really cool and unique terrain!
2. There are a lot people who don't know or don't care about skier etiquette and the code of responsibility. So many people who cut in line, cut off other skiers, ski way too close, etc. This was mostly on the groomers, but not exclusive to it. It was the most off-putting part of the mountain!
3. I saw very few trail signs at the entrance to the actual trail. The mountain is very open, so that makes it harder, and they did seem to mark the double black terrain pretty well, but more signage would be helpful to folks like me.
Now some details:
We there was some new snow (~4") on our first day, and everything was skiing really nicely. After warming up on the Gold Coast lift and then Siberia, we headed over to the Shirley Lake & Granite Chief area. My 15-year-old (who is a great skier and the most adventurous of our crew) LOVED the Granite Chief area because there were so many cliffs he could huck himself off of! As it turned out, the rest of us really liked that area too (we could easily avoid said cliffs). It felt like it had the most variety and options, and the snow there always seemed to be some of the best on the mountain. Also, everything off that lift was within our skiing ability, so I was never worried about making a "wrong turn."
On Day 2 there was even more snow (~9"), and we started the day on KT22 (like MANY others). I skied a few runs in the bowls under and to the left of the lift (as you riding up). The snow must have collected in there, because I was skiing through powder up to my knees! It was fun, but SO much work on my 82mm skis (ha!). It was mostly tracked out by lunchtime.
I don't think the Headwall lift opened until our Day 3, but that was another fun area. Again, here, the cliffs were well-marked, and I felt everything not marked as double black was all within my ability. We headed over to Alpine on Day 3 as well, and skied off the Summit, Treeline Cirque, and Sherwood lifts. It was good, but we liked the terrain at Palisades more.
By Day 4 we felt ready to explore some of the double black terrain off of KT22, and skied Moseley's, Chute 75, and Alt 75. I started off here by skiing the Saddle and then dropping into the area past Dead Tree. Once the Saddle really turns downhill it becomes unpleasant with inexperienced skiers, so I avoided it by staying on the ungroomed terrain and traversing to the stuff below the cliffs on Dead Tree and Rock Garden (highly recommend!).
Day 5 we planned to spend at Alpine, but the snow was rough in the morning. Day 4 was warm, and it took a while for things to soften up. Nothing at Alpine was very soft, so we went back to Palisades, where the north-facing slopes off KT22 and Headwall were in pretty good shape, so we skied there for the rest of the day (after taking a break to watch some of the World Cup).
Day 6 was our last day, and much like Day 5, it took some time for the snow to soften up. Granite Chief always seemed to be in good shape, so we spent the morning there, and then went over to KT22 for most of the afternoon.
We skied open to close almost every day! My legs were tired by the end of each day, but we were having so much fun we didn't want to stop. I'd be happy to answer any questions folks might have about our trip!
