fmpden

It you want to know what improvements have been make to Colorado ski areas, go to today's Denver Post article. Labor Day has passed, Snigrab is in full swing, leaves are turning, -- Life is Good.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingne...nowmaking-2013

fmpden

PS. Meant to include -

The road to Mt Even's summit was closed today. Winter is beginning to sneak in.

Christina

I think I'm going to Aspen this year, doesn't say anything about them but I had no issue with them anyway when I was there a couple years ago.

It is sad that these areas are investing in snowmaking equipment, I hate that stuff and don't even like skiing at my local areas because they use that. I guess that's global warming for you. I really hate it when it is going during the day while you are skiing.

fmpden

I think it is great. Not sure what your complaint is about snowmaking. You rarely ski on it. It is just for laying down a base so that an early snow is then very skiable. In the past you had waited for several good snow falls to get packed down to a skiable base. Now we can ski much earlier with better conditions.

Aspen (Ajax) mountain has very little snowmaking ability. Many areas too steep. But Snowmass has a lot of areas for snowmaking. When snowmaking is running during the day it is just in one or two small areas and you avoid those areas.

amwosu

Can't wait!
Ann Marie

Nelson

I'm not a skier so will mourn the passing of the backpacking / hiking season. But there are still a couple of backpacks and peak bags in this year. I do see a welcome 15 degree drop in temperature shaping up for next week. I'll be camped above 10,000 feet, so it could get nippy at night.

In any case, hope you guys get some great snow this year, and a lot of it!

Christina

My complaint about snowmaking is that you do ski on it in many places where I ski back home. It isn't the same kind of ski as natural, really, and it is easily blown aside by snowboarders, also. But aside from that, when it is running while you are skiing, it is blowing at you and is kind of like being in a blizzard, it is extremely unpleasant. So maybe you have never been in a place where you ski on it, but a lot of local places around where I live have that situation (in southern Pennsylvania).

fmpden

That maybe your experience in PA but not the experience in CO. When the snowmaking equipment is running the area is roped off so that you cannot go through it. Snowmaking is heavily used during November into Dec and a few times after that but once into winter it is not needed. And snowmaking is restricted mostly to the green areas and lower slopes.

My experience with eastern skiing is that you do spend a lot of time skiing on hard pack and ice. I can generally recognize eastern skiers by the way that they set edges. Western slope skiers, self included, are very sloppy at setting edges because we don't have to very often. We complain bitterly if we run into a patch of ice or even hard pack prior to season end.

Certainly southern PA would be much different than CO.

malbec

Had a dream about skiing last night- anyone have ski experience in the alps?

abram

Just rented a place in Frisco, Colorado for 6 weeks this winter and ordered our Epic passes. Let it snow!!

Tabernash2

At Winter Park, they only make snow at night, too.

historytraveler

Have skied several different places in the Alps. The Rocky Mountains are so much better. No comparison.