So Jealous!!! OMG I miss WC and living out there (Dulce, NM just south of Pagosa Sprgs) w/ real skiing! So disturbed by everyone calling these crappy eastern conditions, "Great skiing"........It's only "Great" if I need a snorkel! Have fun!
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2016-2017 Four Corners (AZ, NM, S.CO) Weather & Conditions
- Thread starter Core2
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So Jealous!!! OMG I miss WC and living out there (Dulce, NM just south of Pagosa Sprgs) w/ real skiing! So disturbed by everyone calling these crappy eastern conditions, "Great skiing"........It's only "Great" if I need a snorkel! Have fun!
Ski Santa Fe has some of the best grooming of any mountain I've been to.
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A friend got up on the north face of Fremont and got some sweet pow turns right after that last little pulse, Saturday or Sunday? It was really good he said. I'll post up a pick in a little bit. Overall though it's super thin, Fremont is one of those spots you can hit early, it's dead north facing and loads every storm. It also slides full track every normal year. We have had some snow sitting around on those upper north facing aspects now for some time, the nights have been cold and the sun is low so I imagine there is some significant facet development going on. Two years ago was the worst long lasting unstable snowpack I had ever seen here in my 14 years. That's when things went HUGE after the two big February/March dumps. That was also we think from a rain crust layer that probably collapsed under all of that weight. Remember that heavy storm that had a shit ton of precip in early December but was too warm to snow, it rained up to 12k on that one!
So basically we are on a holding pattern, even if we get a little snow and there are a few pockets worth hitting the travel up and over the ridges sucks! It can be real tough going when it's thin like this.
Pretty darn good conditions. Woods still boney in most places and not the usual WC December depth. But snow buttery and soft with some blown in and 4 inches overnight made Wednesday very nice.
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This was up on Fremont last weekend. Not my photo.
Glading
Glading
@raisingarizona Hopefully you get some goods.
I think I have ridden the North shot on Fremont if it's the peak East of Agassiz.
I think I have ridden the North shot on Fremont if it's the peak East of Agassiz.
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That's the one Spooky Marcus. If you look closely at this pic you can see the crown of the avalanche on Core ridge from two seasons ago. This is only a small fraction of the area that slid.
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The entire front face is open at Purg as of today, along with most cruisers under 3. Lots of fun today and soft snow.
There are things open today that weren't open last year with almost 3x the base at this time. The combination of Coleman and the new ski area manager being a Mountain Creek, NJ transplant have been a game changer in terms of aggressively opening terrain. Plenty of stuff open today had a very Wolf Creek vibe.
I'm also noting a move towards less grooming. Pandemonium hasn't been groomed yet this year. All in all, Purg is rocking and you can find a lot of really good, really thin skiing.
There are things open today that weren't open last year with almost 3x the base at this time. The combination of Coleman and the new ski area manager being a Mountain Creek, NJ transplant have been a game changer in terms of aggressively opening terrain. Plenty of stuff open today had a very Wolf Creek vibe.
I'm also noting a move towards less grooming. Pandemonium hasn't been groomed yet this year. All in all, Purg is rocking and you can find a lot of really good, really thin skiing.
Sounds like you chose the right year to switch Jeff.
Joel is calling for 30+ inches to fall Thursday to Saturday at WC. Will have to mosey on up!
Sorry my new skis won't make the trip though.
Sorry my new skis won't make the trip though.
Where is the best place to stay near Wolf Creek?
I'm coming to the area in February with the kids. Staying in Bayfield at my Moms. Will be following this thread closely soon!
Pagosa Springs is your best bet. I'd say most or all of the hotels there are mediocre at best but you don't stay there for the hotel. There is nothing like a pow day at Wolf Creek then going back to town for a nice meal and a soak in those springs.
Pagosa is nicest, but if speaking specific to this upcoming Friday storm, stay on the South Fork side. 3 feet of snow is being discussed which is enough to see the West side close for avalanche reduction.
The East side does not typically close.
For power pass holders, find a way to use your Powder Mountain days. Worth the trip.
A few years back some folks on Epic told me not to bother and that they wouldn't ski there for free (Altabird gets more snow, lifts are slow and oddly laid out, bad terrain was the beta).
Terrain isn't super gnar but doesn't suck. Reminds me of (a really huge) Monarch. Takes longer to track out than Wolfie, and a super friendly vibe. Will be coming back.
A few years back some folks on Epic told me not to bother and that they wouldn't ski there for free (Altabird gets more snow, lifts are slow and oddly laid out, bad terrain was the beta).
Terrain isn't super gnar but doesn't suck. Reminds me of (a really huge) Monarch. Takes longer to track out than Wolfie, and a super friendly vibe. Will be coming back.
Powder is the one place I really want to get to this season. I've never skied UT before and I'd like to hit that place and Brianhead and maybe Alta in one road trip. I know you aren't a ski area snob so I am glad to hear you say Powder is a cool place and a lot like Monarch which is my favorite ski area in CO.
Paradise opened today at Powmow. There is some nasty terrain right under the lift line. If powmow is flat, so is Silverton. Ok, it doesn't run for huge amounts of vert and I didn't see anything over 45*, but lots of chutes and cliffs and stuff way over my head. Thousands of acres of (Mellow) glade and bowl skiing with maybe as many people skiing as a busy day at Sipapu.
If what you want to do is Ski powder, outside of Japan this is probably the best place to do it. Wolf Creek is a powder hour place by comparison. It is that good.
If what you want to do is Ski powder, outside of Japan this is probably the best place to do it. Wolf Creek is a powder hour place by comparison. It is that good.