Skiing Is Really Coming Around

I spent a couple hours wandering around the Upper Mountain this morning. The skiing is really coming around. We had a very generous 3 inches of new snow today. I found great turns in Lenawee Parks, Cornice Run, Norway, West Wall and Grizzly Road.

The Ski Patrol has been very actively doing some limited openings, spreading people around the hill. A-Basin skiers have been enjoying all the places I mentioned above. On top of that, the Patrol opened Slalom Slope for a bit this afternoon. I didn't get to ski it, but the reports were excellent.

Assuming all goes well with cat drivers tonight, we should open Powerline with an excellent groomed and tilled surface tomorrow.

Enjoy the pictures. It was a stunning morning.

Snowmaking - Bottom Pallavicini

This week the snowmakers re-fired up a couple of fan guns down near the bottom of Pali. There was one gun running between the bottom of Molly and the bottom of Pali targeting the travel lane to Pali and the Pali Maze. There was another fan gun up on the Void which is the connection from Ramrod over to the bottom of Pali.

It is snowing right now and there is lots of unsettled weather in the forecast. We have had some limited hiking and skiing on GrizzlyRoad. Who  knows - with a little help from Mother Nature - we may be close to getting some more fun stuff open in that zone.

Disrupting Pali

The Disruption Roller was out on Pali the last couple of days. This is a wheeled implement that is lowered down steep trails by the winch cat. The objective is to pack and impact snow by disrupting potential propagation pathways within the snowpack. The roller is an avalanche mitigation tool and it is also a tool that helps improve ski quality. It is most effective when there is about 2 feet of snow on the ground. The project is a joint effort by the Snowcat Crew and the Snow Safety Team.

Sunset Towards Town

Another beautiful sunset the other evening, looking down the valley towards Dillon. The view here is always nice. Extra nice after a full day of skiing.

Thankful

I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving with friends and family. I have to say that I’m very thankful for the best staff a ski area could ask for. I have spent more than 30 years and countless holidays with some of them. Every year Chef Rybak and his team makes sure that everyone who works at A-Basin has the opportunity to have the full turkey and gravy extravaganza with all the extras. So many groups of close friends and even families have evolved out of meeting and working at the Basin over the decades. Really nice to see those traditions grow year after year.

The skiing was pretty great, too. Bluebird skies all day yesterday and now more snow is on the way. Check out our Black Friday pass special on the website. Today is also Slide into the Weekend with $20 lift tickets from 2-4 PM.

Mountain Update

We are trying a few new things this year with the placement of our snow guns on the upper mountain - so far our snowmakers are pleased. No matter where the wind blows, the snow is ending up somewhere useful. We have been making snow on Powerline now for three days and it’s looking very good.

Ski Patrol and members of Team Summit helped sidestep Powerline and Norway this past weekend and did a great job compacting the snow (they are still closed for now). If you visit us Friday-Sunday, you won't see us making snow because we are letting our snowmaking reservoir fill back up.

Our snowcat drivers (operators) also got into The Beavers this week. They have made it halfway down Loafer and Davis so far and should finish that project today or tomorrow. The Cats are also track-packing the main corridors of Montezuma Bowl. This work helps set up the snowpack, ensuring big wind events won’t carry our most precious resource Eastward. It's also important to establish a consistent base so that we are ready to go once we get a real storm with good snow.

One big storm and we'll be able to open a lot more. West Wall, Grizzly Road, so much terrain is so close.............. We might get more snow Friday and this weekend.

It is a beautiful day out there. From all of us up at The Legend, Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family, and your friends.

Rise and Shine

This morning was the second of our Rise and Shine uphill rando races. Congrats to the 42 participants who braved the early morning cold and wind. It amazes me how hearty and quick these folks are. There are still four more races in the series through the end of January. You can find details on the website.

We got 2 inches of new snow overnight and are hoping for another 2 or 3 inches during the day today. We anticipate more on Thanksgiving and into the weekend. We are still making snow on the upper mountain and looking forward to Mother Nature giving us a hand as we work toward opening more terrain.

Uphill Access Hours This Week

A lot of people have been enjoying Uphill Access this season. Sometimes we have to close it for snowmaking, grooming, or avalanche work. This will be one of those weeks. Uphill Access will have temporary closures November 25-28. Our snowmakers need to string water hoses to the upper mountain.

Uphill Access will be closed during lift hours and afternoons, evenings, and overnight for a few days. It will be open only on these days and times:

Sunday 4:00 p.m. to Monday before 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Thursday from 7:00 – 8:30 a.m., open again at 4:00 p.m.

Our plan is to return to our normal Uphill Access hours on Thursday the 28th at 4 p.m. Uphill Access will still be closed when the lifts are turning for now. This will not affect the uphill Rando Race on Tuesday, November 26.

Current info on Uphill Access can be found on the Terrain Status page of our website. As always, I encourage uphill users to use extra caution keeping an eye out for snowmaking equipment, snowmobiles and snowcats. Don't forget your Uphill Access pass and orange armband.