Rio - Tough Night on the River

Pali and North Glade

The Pali and North Glade gates were closed this morning. Will they be closed for the season? Maybe. Is there a chance they will re-open? Maybe.

Every Spring, our Snow Safety Team spends a great deal of time tracking water movement in the snow. They do this in indirect ways like tracking the rising air temperature. They also pay attention to the rising level of our local stream, the Snake River (its flow is rising rapidly). Most importantly, they look directly at the snow, digging snow pits searching for water. We have instruments buried within the snow that indicate when water is present. When it is clear that water is on the move, we shut these areas due to concerns for wet slab avalanches. There is plenty of snow to ski. Our concern is avalanches.

Sometimes, we get a cold snap with new snow that stops or retards this process for a short period. Some years we have briefly re-opened these areas when conditions permit. Managing snow this time of year is a process of diligence, patience and perseverance.

Loveland

Loveland shut down this past weekend after a fine season. The Sunday before last Loveland GM, Rob Goodell, hosted a gang of old friends for a ski and a fajita lunch. Kay and I had a really nice day over there. The Spring skiing was excellent. We rode the Ridge Cat for the first time, hiked North to Golden Bear and skied that big chute. Very fun. We topped the day off with a big lunch at the Ginny Lee Cabin off of Chair 8. Beautiful deck and building. Great fun with great neighbors. I even snuck in a view of The Basin here and there. Thanks Rob.

From The Air

Periodically, people send me photos of The Basin that they took as they flew over. Below is an exceptionally good one. Joel Gratz emailed me this photo his wife, Lauren Alweis, captured Sunday. I love it.

This week we are enjoying some particularly stunning, sunny, warm, bluebird weather. That can only mean one thing. I think there might be another storm brewing for the weekend.............

Sha Miklas

Most of you know that Sha Miklas is our Senior Manager for Guest Services and Sustainability. Over the weekend, the National Ski Areas Association and Ski Magazine recognized Sha with the "Golden Eagle Award as a Hero of Sustainability." Sha's leadership, tenacity and wisdom in environmental affairs have guided us to better and better performances in sustainability issues. Congratulations Sha. We are very proud of you and very honored to work with you.

Winter In May

Winter in May. The last couple of days, the powder seekers were rewarded. Conditions had really shifted to Spring. At A-Basin, however, Winter tends to return. We had some fine powder skiing, particularly out in The Beavers and on the East Wall. Today the sun will be back out and the temperatures will rise. Spring conditions will return. I am not sure everything will be open, but what we will have will be very nice. Thanks to everyone that made this storm so much fun. And here's to some extraordinary A-Basin Spring skiing.

Deep

The snow is deep out there. Some called it "bottomless." And it is good.

May Snow

WOW. Here we go. We reported 6 inches of new snow this morning. We may get that much more again by tomorrow morning. We may get more. Despite The Basin having lots of beautiful, warm Spring days, Old Man Winter keeps returning. We usually get a few more big snows in May. Sometimes we get them in June. Some of the best powder days happen in May. Very cool.