I70 a bust... Driving to Wolf Creek from Denver? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdiddy 

HUH?  Jackson hole, yes nothing like Jackson hole, but Alta?    If I had a free ticket to ski Alta or Winterpark/MaryJane I would pick the Jane for sure.  The bumps alone are world class, not to mention the steep trees between all the bump runs.  Alta has some great runs but a lot of traversing and hiking to hit the really good stuff. That is my opinion

 

This is the best laugh I've gotten all day thanks for that

..

There might be 4-6 places in the country I'd choose over Alta and 1 or 2 of them would be in Colorado but the Jane ain't one of them.  Nice little hill but not even in the top 5 hills in CO

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mom 

Heloooo. I said "different' not worse or better. sheesh. Agree with you about how they are different by the way. not everyone is a bump connoiseur.

 

sorry mom,  :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGASkiDawg 

 

 

 

This is the best laugh I've gotten all day thanks for that

 

..

 

There might be 4-6 places in the country I'd choose over Alta and 1 or 2 of them would be in Colorado but the Jane ain't one of them.  Nice little hill but not even in the top 5 hills in CO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice little hill?   

Alta Vertical feet and skiable acres,   2020 vertical feet, and 2200 acres

Winterpark/maryjane                         2600 Vertical feet and 3060 acres

So, unless I made an error (which is possible because I did this real quick),  Alta is actually smaller than WP/MJ..... 

But thats not why I like Winterpark more than Alta,   Every time I ski alta I feel like the runs are short and I'm back at the lift, when I ski at the Jane I feel like I get longer runs.  sooo,  I looked it up and here is what I found. 

Now I did this real quick so I could of made an error but it appears Alta has only 1 lift that services over 1360  vertical feet (collins, main lift 1854), and total of only 2 over that service over 1220 vertical feet (Collins again and Sugarloaf 1351),    

WP/MJ has 5 lifts that service over 1400 vertical feet, 4 of which service over 1600 vertical feet each.   So you do get longer runs at WP and if you are on the Jane side they are WORLD class bump runs, top to bottom, 1600 vertical of non stop bumps.  

Have you been to WP/MJ in the past 10 years?    That being said I never said Alta was a "bad" resort but I would/do choose other resorts in Utah when I go there each year.   It's just too cut up, but they do get the snow.     

What is the expert terrain like at Winter Park?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdiddy 

Nice little hill?   

Alta Vertical feet and skiable acres,   2020 vertical feet, and 2200 acres

Winterpark/maryjane                         2600 Vertical feet and 3060 acres

So, unless I made an error (which is possible because I did this real quick),  Alta is actually smaller than WP/MJ..... 

But thats not why I like Winterpark more than Alta,   Every time I ski alta I feel like the runs are short and I'm back at the lift, when I ski at the Jane I feel like I get longer runs.  sooo,  I looked it up and here is what I found. 

Now I did this real quick so I could of made an error but it appears Alta has only 1 lift that services over 1360  vertical feet (collins, main lift 1854), and total of only 2 over that service over 1220 vertical feet (Collins again and Sugarloaf 1351),    

WP/MJ has 5 lifts that service over 1400 vertical feet, 4 of which service over 1600 vertical feet each.   So you do get longer runs at WP and if you are on the Jane side they are WORLD class bump runs, top to bottom, 1600 vertical of non stop bumps.  

Have you been to WP/MJ in the past 10 years?    That being said I never said Alta was a "bad" resort but I would/do choose other resorts in Utah when I go there each year.   It's just too cut up, but they do get the snow.     

 
 

 

I have a Super Pass Plus so yes I have been there lately....I like Copper and/or Steamboat better than WP/MJ as the entire WP side can be ignored as not worth skiing assuming you are past the early intermediate stage.  The Chutes and trees at the Jane can be fun if there is enough and fresh snow.   Bumps are bumps and the ones at WP don't seem any different than any others to me but to each their own.  If bumps are what you after then just about anywhere has lots of them.  I'd rather spend all day traversing out to High Rustler (much steeper and consistently steep than anything at the Jane....maybe Jeffs or Hole in the wall for very a short distance) and doing laps than ski anything at MJ and that doesn't even count all the other stuff that can be accessed of the Traverse or the Wildcat lift or back in Supreme.  It also doesn't begin to take into account what's next door at Snowbird as opposed to what's next door at MJ (i.e. Winter Park).  

Again I like MJ and ski there sometimes but to pick it over ALTA unless someone is a beginner or intermediate level skier seems....

The town of Winter Park is much better than little Cottonwood Canyon or Sandy/SLC from a vacation lodging/eating/drinking standpoint though

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGASkiDawg 

 

I have a Super Pass Plus so yes I have been there lately....I like Copper and/or Steamboat better than WP/MJ as the entire WP side can be ignored as not worth skiing assuming you are past the early intermediate stage.  The Chutes and trees at the Jane can be fun if there is enough and fresh snow.   Bumps are bumps and the ones at WP don't seem any different than any others to me but to each their own.  If bumps are what you after then just about anywhere has lots of them.  I'd rather spend all day traversing out to High Rustler (much steeper and consistently steep than anything at the Jane....maybe Jeffs or Hole in the wall for very a short distance) and doing laps than ski anything at MJ and that doesn't even count all the other stuff that can be accessed of the Traverse or the Wildcat lift or back in Supreme.  It also doesn't begin to take into account what's next door at Snowbird as opposed to what's next door at MJ (i.e. Winter Park).  

 

Again I like MJ and ski there sometimes but to pick it over ALTA unless someone is a beginner or intermediate level skier seems....

 

The town of Winter Park is much better than little Cottonwood Canyon or Sandy/SLC from a vacation lodging/eating/drinking standpoint though

 

 

I can't think of any resort off hand that has a collection of long steep bump runs like MJ,  As far as steeps, I spent over a decade skiing the 100's, No Name, Vasquez ridge, The Choke to 7 mile,  at Berthoud pass, not to mention everything at Loveland pass, Mt Evans, Bierstadt, Bethel etc...   So I got my fix of steeps and hiking out in the BC and don't really like hiking or traversing at resorts because that's what I do/or did in the BC. (not sure if that makes sense).      

Last time I was at alta I pretty much camped out at wildcat and maybe it's just been bad luck for me but every single time I have been to alta Supreme is closed..  Is it closed often, or do I  just have bad luck?     I remember hiking over to Devils castle, traversing here and traversing there.   I dunno, just thought it was okay.   And you know how you find that special stash, I had a bunch of tree runs at MJ that were steep and long.  Ever ski the trees between drunken FM and outhouse or trees off cannonball or derailer?  We use to ski the trees and Johnstone junct, back when the bowl was only serviced by a double, NICE.   Anyhow, to each his own.  
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by spe777 

What is the expert terrain like at Winter Park?

If you like long steep bumps and killer trees, then WP is the place.  As far as 45 to 50 degree plus steeps, they have some out back at Vasquez but its kind of a pain to get to, the double blacks off of MJ (baldy Awe chute) are steep and hit and miss if they are open, (get rocked out).   

skidawg,  Do you like Copper more than Brek or Vail?  Telluride? Crested butte? 

Now that I have a family, Winter Park ends up being my destination of choice. Good snow, great variety of terrain. Laid-back, friendly base village. Great bang-for-buck accomodations. It never feels crowded during the week. It can get croweded on weekends when they get better snow than summit county but that's to be expected. It's just a place that has a great vibe and I keep coming back to it.

Never been, but only heard good things about WP

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdiddy 

skidawg,  Do you like Copper more than Brek or Vail?  Telluride? Crested butte? 

Breck - Yes 100 times over  the only place worse than Breck in CO is Keystone....way too crowded....far too much crappy terrain between the good stuff

Vail - depends on the day ...Copper is much less crowded  but Vail gets more snow and the terrain is comparable but much more of it at Vail but that also means much more useless terrain to skip over

Telluride - much better terrain than Copper or MJ but snow is the question

CB - best terrain in the state besides Silverton but the snow generally is missing....

All of the Aspen mtns are better than MJ except Buttermilk

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGASkiDawg 

 

Breck - Yes 100 times over  the only place worse than Breck in CO is Keystone....way too crowded....far too much crappy terrain between the good stuff

Vail - depends on the day ...Copper is much less crowded  but Vail gets more snow and the terrain is comparable but much more of it at Vail but that also means much more useless terrain to skip over

Telluride - much better terrain than Copper or MJ but snow is the question

CB - best terrain in the state besides Silverton but the snow generally is missing....

All of the Aspen mtns are better than MJ except Buttermilk

 

 

 

 

Then clearly you are like me, you have your fav mtn,   When I lived in Westminster Copper just wasn't worth the drive and if I went the extra I just went a bit further and hit Vail.     Tell you what, next trip I will go to copper but you have to go to MJ.    But for gods sake don't go to Cooper!!!   Holy crap I got a free ticket to that place and IT WASN"T worth a free ticket by the time I drove all the way out there. 

Just returned from 5 days in Aspen.  Yep, a fair amount of terrain is closed.  But there is a fair amount of terrain open.  Today, I skied a couple of the dumps on Aspen Mountain as well as sections of Gentlemen's ridge, Back of the Bell, and Ruthies Ridge.  They had some nice loose snow.  They also had "terrain features" that you needed to dodge.  Was it stellar skiing?  No.  Was it pretty decent skiing? Yes.

Yesterday, I skied a bunch of terrain at Highlands.  I didn't hike the bowl: it was very cold and windy, and the cat wasn't running, so that adds a couple of hundred vertical feet.  We skied Mushroom, Canopy Cruiser, South Castle, and some stuff down low.  Runs that have sections in the 40 degree range.  Yep, there was a lot of dodging to do and one or two sections where it was impossible to miss organic and or mineral matter, but there was also sections that were stellar and steep as hell.

It is forecast to snow next week starting Monday, with the whole state receiving snow and the greatest accumulations being from Aspen south to Wolf Creek.  You've got time, don't panic, and take what you can.  There is decent skiing out there.

Mike