Anyone flying to SLC or Denver before mid-Dec?

[marzski]

Opening dates are starting to be announced out west. Here are some for Colorado and Utah. Most of the locations are part of Ikon/MCP or Epic.

I expect Snowbird to be open for Thanksgiving week. What's different for 2019-20 is that A-Basin is no longer on Epic. It's on the MCP and Ikon for the first time. Vail Resorts keeps adding snowmaking to Keystone and Breck is order to open as early as possible.

There will be resorts open by Thanksgiving around Tahoe too.

COLORADO EARLY OPENINGS

Arapahoe Basin: Mid-October
Loveland: Mid-October
Keystone: October TBD
Wolf Creek: Nov. 1
Breckenridge: Nov. 8
Copper Mountain: Nov. 8
Winter Park: Nov. 14
Vail: Nov. 15

Monarch: Nov. 22
Purgatory: Nov. 23
Steamboat: Nov. 23
Crested Butte: Nov. 27
Beaver Creek: Nov. 27
Aspen Mountain: Nov. 28
Snowmass: Nov. 28
Telluride: Nov. 28
Aspen Highlands: Dec. 7
Buttermilk: Dec. 7
Ski Cooper: Dec. 7

UTAH EARLY OPENINGS

Park City Mountain : November 22, 2019
Alta : November 23, 2019
Solitude : November 23, 2019
Snowbasin : November 27, 2019
Brighton: TBD
Snowbird : TBD
Deer Valley : December 7, 2019

[johnmelton]

I would love to catch an early season storm at Wolf Creek! I try and avoid Epic/Ikon resorts on powder days due to the crowds. I would love to go back to Taos. That place has some of the driest powder on this continent. Two week old powder can ski like two day old. And I want to check out the recently expanded terrain. Have fun!

[marzski]

I would love to catch an early season storm at Wolf Creek! I try and avoid Epic/Ikon resorts on powder days due to the crowds. I would love to go back to Taos. That place has some of the driest powder on this continent. Two week old powder can ski like two day old. And I want to check out the recently expanded terrain. Have fun!

How does Wolf Creek compare to Crested Butte? I remember a while back a bunch of SkiSE guys talked about a trip to CB.

This will be my fourth season going to Taos. Went twice last season to meet up with two different groups of friends. I've found the Taos Ski Week to be addictive. Even when there isn't much snow, which was the case in 2018. Hopefully 2020 will be like 2019, or better yet 2017 when Kachina was open most of the week I was at TSV.

Lift 1 being a high speed lift is nice for spreading people out quicker in the morning. But I think you'd find that Taos is far more known than 5-10 years ago. 2017 was the first year on MCP. Now on MCP and Ikon.

[marzski]

Grand Targhee is opening on Nov. 22, 2019. Quite possible to drive up to Driggs on the same day flying into SLC. One of the most snow sure places for early season snow.

Jackson Hole plans on opening on Nov. 28, 2019. An hour from Driggs when Teton Pass is open.

[johnmelton]

It has been a long time since I skied Crested Butte, I have not skied Wolf Creek but I have studied it and the terrain looks good. I would expect Crested Butte has more terrain and more vertical but gets some of the lowest annual snowfall in CO. I picked Wolf Creek because they average 10% to 100% more annual snowfall, 430-480" depending on your source, than anywhere in Colorado and can get great early season snow storms. I Grand Targhee would be a great choice for catching an early season storm as well. The main knock against Grand Targhee is steep terrain, but then again we are talking about early season conditions. I expect to be at Sugar, NC and Loveland, CO in mid November for the WROD unless there is a big storm anywhere in the Rockies the week of my annual drive across the country to Cali. I always try and time a storm passing through the Rockies but tornadoes and hail in the plains on the approach have slowed me up a few trips.

[marzski]

It has been a long time since I skied Crested Butte, I have not skied Wolf Creek but I have studied it and the terrain looks good. I would expect Crested Butte has more terrain and more vertical but gets some of the lowest annual snowfall in CO. I picked Wolf Creek because they average 10% to 100% more annual snowfall, 430-480" depending on your source, than anywhere in Colorado and can get great early season snow storms. I Grand Targhee would be a great choice for catching an early season storm as well. The main knock against Grand Targhee is steep terrain, but then again we are talking about early season conditions. I expect to be at Sugar, NC and Loveland, CO in mid November for the WROD unless there is a big storm anywhere in the Rockies the week of my annual drive across the country to Cali. I always try and time a storm passing through the Rockies but tornadoes and hail in the plains on the approach have slowed me up a few trips.

I'd rather go to Targhee before Christmas than deal with the drive from Denver to Wolf Creek. The drive from SLC to Driggs isn't bad unless there is a lot of blowing snow. Also the higher altitude in Colorado is tough for me.

For me, GT is plenty steep enough. The issue for more people is that fog and clouds mean low visibility is common. Not that many trees to use as a guide off the lift to the top.

My ski buddy and I lucked out last Feb. Not only had two days of deep fluffy powder at GT, there was blue sky most of the time. I found untracked thigh-deep snow even on our second day. Although he got caught in the afternoon in total clouds over on the Blackfoot side. Now that they replaced the old Blackfoot double, it's a lot more fun to lap that section. What was also note worthy is that we were there Pres. Day weekend. Longest wait was 10 min for the base lift, and that only happened a couple times.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index ... 019.23650/