A Lull Before The Next One

Today is another beautiful day for skiing at The Basin. I had a great morning wandering around this cool place. The snow is excellent everywhere. The sun has been popping out off and on. There was a wedding on the BML deck. All the forecasts agree that this next storm should treat us nicely, especially THE EAST WALL !!!!  Life is good.

Kids Center Open House

It looks like the Kids Center will open to the public Tuesday or Wednesday. We have received our Certificate of Occupancy from the County Building Department. Right now we are getting moved in and getting all of the systems operating. The kitchen is being put together and the finishing touches are being placed on the Kids Menu. The sign in, point of sales and DIN rental computers are getting hooked up. It is all very close to being ready.

This weekend we will host a few "Open Houses" encouraging people to come in and take a look. Stop by and visit Saturday from 12:30 - 1:30, 3:00 - 4:00 or Sunday from noon - 2:00. I think you will like what you see.

Good Skiing All Around

I had a fantastic ski tour all around the mountain this morning. These ongoing storms have been very kind to us. Everywhere I skied was really good. The Spine, of course, was fantastic. Lenawee Parks and Norway were superb. The Lower Mountain Groomers could not be better. The East side of Montezuma Bowl was creamy. Even Southeast facing Max was pretty darn good, a little crunchy in the choke of the chute, but excellent above and below that spot.

We have had several avalanche work crews out on the East Wall today. Over the next several days we are going to be talking about the East Wall A LOT !!!!

Counting Animal Tracks

Last week I spent a morning wandering the very lowest part of the proposed Beavers expansion. I was with three Forest Service employees. Throughout the winter they have been conducting regular monitoring missions to determine just what kind of and how many animals are down that way. We saw plenty of tracks including those of snowshoe hare, marten, weasel, squirrels and more.

Kachina Lift Is Open

The new Kachina Lift at Taos is now open. This will be a wonderful addition to the already fantastic Taos experience. Skiing off Kachina Peak is something you will never forget. I encourage you A-Basin pass-holders to head on down that way and enjoy your 3 days at Taos. I will be heading there soon.

Reading Snow Reports

There are people out there that look at the daily snow reports for all areas and go to the area that reports the most snow. Sometimes you get great skiing when you do that. Sometimes you miss so much. There is a fine art to reading and understanding the snow and weather reports. The most is not always the best. Enjoy these Dave Camara photos from yesterday when we reported 2" new.

Elephant's Trunk

Well, we didn't quite get as much snow as some of the other guys did, but the skiing is still excellent. Our total with this storm is 8" with another wave coming in Wednesday and Thursday. Elephant's Trunk opened up and, as the pictures show, it was in fine shape

The Old Snow Plume Refuge

Here is a little nostalgia. This is a 1985 photo of the old Ski Patrol Headquarters and Snow Plume Refuge. It was a cool old building, especially if you didn't mind cold, drafty places with plenty of critters. Prior to 1978, the building was actually the lift operator station for the Drummond Lift, Norway's predecessor. The new Snow Plume Refuge was built during the summer and fall of 2004.

It Is Dumping……….

It is dumping………..and the forecast just keeps getting better.

More Cool Stuff On The North Side

We are having just another absolutely, incredibly beautiful day. The skiing on the North Side continues to be excellent. Today is about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday. Check out the A-Basin forecast for Friday and Saturday on opensnow.com. Keep your fingers crossed because this looks pretty good.

Sunny Afternoon On The North Side

This day started cold with plenty of blowing snow. We even had a wind hold on Lenawee and Zuma Lifts. Slowly, the wind eased up a bit. All the lifts opened up. The sun worked its way out and the skiing became extra special. The Spine, The Face, Slalom Slope, and Lenawee Parks were soft and smooth. Bierstadt, back in Montezuma Bowl, was really fun. Where else can you get images like these?

 

Final Push

3" new and still a chance for a few more. Not bad for a Front Range storm.

The Kids Center is in its final push. The carpet is in. All of the plumbing fixtures are in. The electrical work is almost done. The furniture has arrived. That junky looking fencing and trailers should be gone this week. The final county and fire department inspections should be this week. Once the county gives us our CO (Certificate of Occupancy), it will takes us about a week to move everything in and get set up.

How Much Will It Snow

It has been snowing for a couple of hours now. The forecasts are all over the place. We could see anywhere from 3" - 14" the next couple of days. Sounds like the storm will likely favor the East Side of the Divide, but we are right on the edge of it. Sometimes these kind of storms spill over nicely on us. I will be watching this one closely.

East Wall Tour

Ski Patrollers Dom Vellone and Jake Ziemski took me for a tour out the East Wall Traverse. Opening The Wall is certainly getting closer. We found some good snow under TJ's Cornice and squiggled out some fun turns. Let's hope this little storm Monday turns into something bigger. A bit of good snow and good wind and it won't be long.

Beautiful Day And Evening And An Insider Tip

First off, shame on me for not taking any pictures today. It was a brilliant, late winter kind of sunny bluebird ski day. Kay and I just skinned up to the Summit and enjoyed a starry night and an early Valentine's Day with some good bread, brie, fig spread, and chocolate in Snow Plume Refuge.

This weekend will likely be very busy. Even on the busiest days, our lift lines rarely get too painful. As many of you know, parking can be the pinch. On a holiday Saturday and Sunday, the toughest time to park is approximately from 11 AM to 1 PM. I strongly encourage you to arrive before 11 to snag an early parking spot. If the early arrival is challenging, wait until after 1. Many people ski only in the mornings and it is almost always easy to pick up a close in afternoon spot. Tomorrow will be a fantastic ski day (just like today), but please choose your arrival time wisely. Avoid the mid-day parking crunch. Friends don't let friends show up at noon on a Saturday.

Lower Mountain View

Beacon Bowl - Success For CAIC

The Beacon Bowl was another big hit this past Saturday. We had many competitors. Lots of people watched the dog drills and took part in the clinics. Breckenridge born and raised ski patroller, Kyle Ahern of the Breckenridge Ski Patrol smoked the beacon competition in the Pro Division. The party was great fun and Tony C, again, excelled as the MC and auctioneer. Aaron Carlson, Executive Director of the Friends of CAIC, was on hand sharing his goods. All and all, another very fun time.

Most importantly, we raised over $13,000 for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Thanks to everyone that contributed and thanks to the CAIC staff for doing what they do.

More Dave Camara Images