What a weekend

This weekend was the perfect summer skiing weekend.   It was full of sunshine, live music, yoga, and some great summer skiing.  I even saw a lot of goats hanging out by the Zuma chairlift.   We will be closed for the next three days and open again for July 4th and closing day.  See you on Thursday!

Lake Reveal

Someone sent me this really cool shot of them going through Lake Reveal. It has been really fun being open into summer. 

4th of July Skiing

The snow is good. People want to ski and ride and we will be skiing at The Basin on the 4th of July.  We will open this weekend for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 28, 29, and 30th.  We will then re-open for July 4th from 8:30am - 2:30pm.  Do break out the red, white and blue and enjoy an Independence Day you will never forget.  July 4th will be closing day.

These photos are from 2011 the last time we were open for July 4th in 2011.

Summer Activities and Skiing

This upcoming weekend we will really get to enjoy the benefits of a good season.   Not only will we be open for skiing Friday - Sunday but our summer activities begin.   We will be offering yoga every Friday and Sunday for the entire summer.  This weekend might not be the most serene yoga but you could take a few runs, do yoga on The Perch and then grab lunch.  Seems like a pretty good summer day.  

More Snow in June

I took a few runs this morning, and the conditions were some of the best I have ever seen for late June.   They were so good I forgot to take pictures so here is one from our webcams.  There is just a little bit of snow, and it's still snowing quite hard.  If you are not here yet, hurry up and get here for your June powder day.   

June Pow Day

I was sort of teasing the June powder day but Mother Nature came through.  We reported two new inches and it looks like there is more snow in the forecast for tonight.  Enjoy the new snow.

Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice.  I hope you are enjoying the long days of sunshine.  Right now it feels a little like summer but winter is coming back tonight.  It looks like we have a few inches forecasted over the weekend.  Maybe we could see a June powder day.   

At Least June 30

With more snow in the forecast, we have decided to extend another weekend!  It really is a summer full of skiing.  We will now be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 28-30. 

The upper mountain is looking great and Lake Reveal is finally revealing itself.   We still do not know about the 4th of July but stay tuned.  We hope to celebrate the holiday with skiing.

See you for some summer skiing.

Views from Above

Look at these views from above.   If you look closely on the far right of this photo you can even see Loafer in the Beavers.  It might not be skiable anymore but pretty impressive to see how big the ski area is now.   

Another Great Weekend of Skiing

We just had another weekend of great skiing.  People are loving all of the great coverage on the upper mountain.  I love this time of year.

Michael Franti In Dillon

Saturday night was another reason we are all lucky to be able to spend time in the Colorado mountain communities. Michael Franti and Spearhead performed in the recently remodeled Dillon Amphitheater. It was a near perfect early Summer night (only one light down jacket required). The setting is about as idyllic as it gets. Lake Dillon is in the foreground, the Gore Range runs to the right and the Ten Mile Range runs to the left. The peaks are still deeply snow packed. The place was crawling with people having a great time. And the music was awesome.

The Basin re-opens tomorrow for another Friday, Saturday, Sunday stint. See you on the hill.

Working Runoff

The streams and rivers are flowing high. The Snake River is cranking and the Colorado River in Westwater Canyon on the Utah/Colorado border is flowing in the 30,000+ cubic feet per second range. While we still have a lot of snow on the ground, it is melting.

Our cat drivers are hard at work this week. The snowpack can act as a dam at times. Where water starts to pool up, the drivers are pushing snow around so water can drain properly into the streams instead of washing out the snow on our trails. They are also consolidating snow onto some of our most heavily used trails. This is called "working runoff."

We are going to be open for at least two more weekends. I am still looking for Lake Reveal.

From Nordic Mountain Wisconsin

This past weekend some friends from Nordic Mountain Wisconsin came out to enjoy some summer skiing at The Basin. I think they managed to have a little bit of fun. Those Wisconsin guys always do. Hard not to.

This Year Compared To Last

For comparison, I took the top photo June 9, 2018. I took the bottom photo June 8, 2019.

No Sign Of Lake Reveal

The snow is showing a little wear and tear down low. Most of the Front Side still has great coverage and is skiing well. I have spotted a little bit of moving water, but there is absolutely no sign of Lake Reveal.

A Fine Summer Day

What a fine summer day. The sun was out. The sky was blue. The snow was soft. I took a few very nice runs first thing this morning. There were all kinds of mountain goats on Little Lenawee Peak. Chef Rybak and the Denver Beer Company were serving all kinds of goodies in the base area. People seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

And we are going to do it again tomorrow.

Colorado Ski Country Awards

I spent the last day and a half in Denver for our state trade association's, Colorado Ski Country USA, annual meeting. We had a variety of presentations and work group sessions on a wide range of topics including communications, news, climate change, artificial intelligence, safety, attracting skiers and parking. The meeting is always valuable and educational and it is always fun catching up with our peers from other resorts.

The highlight of the event is the closing reception and Double Diamond Award ceremony for top industry staff. We were honored to have two employees receive awards. Mary Corrigan was awarded the Food and Beverage Professional of the Year and Scott Bickel was awarded the  Ski Patroller of the Year. Congratulations to those two. We are very lucky to work with such fine people.

......And the skiing is especially good this morning.

Time To Go Skiing

Alright, we have all had a few day break. Time to get the skis and snowboards out again. We will be turning the Lenawee Mountain, Black Mountain Express and Molly Hogan chairlifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The cat drivers tell me the snow is still in excellent condition. 

One of our Ski Patrol Supervisors took this photo of a mountain goat on the Summit this morning.  I think they are attracted to chairlifts.

Thoughts on Snowpack, Streamflow and Weather

Check out the top diagram prepared by Joel Gratz at Opensnow. There is a lot you can read into it. The snowpack is 290% of normal for June 2. It doesn't mean the snowpack is huge, it means it hasn't really started melting yet.

The second diagram from USGS shows our nearby Snake River is well below its long term median. Over the last few days, its flow is really starting to jump. Rising streamflows equals increased melting of the snowpack.

The last diagram is our NOAA forecast for the next few days. Each day we should see high temperatures in the upper 50's  (I suspect maybe higher). The Snake River flow will continue to rise and, before too long, will be well above its long term median.

I am ecstatic that Pali, Beavers and Zuma Lifts were all still open today, June 2. That is much later than I ever would have guessed. Looking at these diagrams, I think our timing for consolidating operations to 3 days a week with Black Mountain Express and Lenawee Mountain Lifts is pretty good.

See you Friday. I'll keep my eye out for Lake Reveal.

Summer Skiing - 3 Days A Week

After Sunday, June 2, Summer Skiing begins (I know it is not technically Summer, but it is Summer for us). We will be closed Monday thru Thursday and then will re-open for the long weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That pattern will continue through at least June 23. 

Many people have asked why we are closing those four days. We really try and match operations to business levels. While folks still skiing and riding are incredibly passionate about this sport, there are not quite as many of them still making turns in June. Many of our employees are moving on to their Summer jobs. With fewer visitors in Summer, we have found that by consolidating our business into those three days it works out better for both the business and the employees. I certainly appreciate that many of you wish we were skiing seven days a week.

During the closed days, our snowcat crew will be quite busy. We anticipate water to really start flowing in places. The snowcats will be opening water bars and managing the snow. We will have the snow very torn up for a few days and then will put it back together again by Friday.

As a result, uphill access will be closed Monday through Thursday. If conditions are still good, uphill access will re-open Friday.