Blue skies above

No one complained during their commutes to work, but those of us who enjoy a good day of skiing on our local backcountry 14er looked painfully upon barren Pikes Peak.  After a glimpse of spring in early March that had me excited for warm days of climbing, the snow and rain hit hard.  From the end of March through most of May the Front Range went from a drought to above average levels of precipitation.

Long after I had decided that it was time to pack away the skis for the summer, my roommate Josh, floated the idea of a ski day ‘the Peak’. After a few phone calls it was set, and I committed to the trip so long as the weather wasn’t more conducive to rock climbing.  I woke up on May 15 to rain and really wanted to stay in bed. Josh told me there was enough new snow on Pikes Peak that the road was not currently open far enough for us to get any decent skiing. The ranger advised us that they were working on getting the road open to the summit and it was currently sunny with no wind. Skeptically I continued to get my things together hoping for any news that would let me return to my pillow.

Weather down below

One thing you should know about my friends and me is we don’t do things halfway. So I hit the road to grab the pop-up tent, table, grill, cooler and a host of bar-be-que supplies.  The burgers were made, the beer was cold, and thank God the ranger was right.  After driving though clouds we hit 10,000 ft. and saw the sun for the first time that day.  With palpable excitement we set up camp in no time, piled in the pick-up, picked up some fellow skiing hitch-hikers, and headed upwards.  Although there is an old ski area with a few runs cut into the trees that can be accessed from the road, we spent our day riding what most people consider to be the better terrain.

Glen Cove offers something for everyone.  There is a nice run that is easy to reach less than 50 yards downhill from a pull-off on the side of the toll road.  There is also more technical terrain to descend, like the W’s, and wider shoots like Little Italy, which offer a nice mix of open terrain and narrow shoots.  It allows you plenty of area to turn out of the fall line but is still reasonably steep with enough consequences to keep your attention.

Hero Snow on Pikes Peak

It was the kind of day that keeps the smiles coming and makes for great ‘you missed it’ talk at the bar later. I can’t say enough about the snow.  True hero snow. It was soft enough to let your edges dig in, but firm enough to let you rip.  That day in May we were all better skiers.  The endless number of tourists made us feel like better skiers as well.  Questions like “are you going to ski that?” poured out of car windows. And the people forced to pull over with overheated brakes near to our base camp further reassured us of our awesomeness.

After a handful of runs we broke for lunch. Unbelievably the majority of the conversation that day wasn’t about how great the snow was.  It was about how we still could not believe the weather. From the top of Glen Cove to our base camp at the bottom, the usually visible Colorado Springs was amazingly obscured — buried under thick clouds.  Our smiles grew as we donned some more sunscreen and thought of all of our friends stuck in the rain.  In town it was the kind of day you could only enjoy if you were miserably hungover. It was dreary and you wouldn’t feel bad about staying at home and watching ski movies all day. We were living it.

Since that day in May, Pike’s Peak has gotten more snow and I can happily report that my skis are still out and ready to hit ‘the Peak’ again.  Just waiting for another rainy day… At least for those who stay in town.

CJ Sidebottom

About CJ Sidebottom

C.J. Grew up a long way from anything resembling the Front Range of Colorado where he now calls home.  He was closer to the highest point in Kansas that the red sandstone towers of the Garden of the Gods.  C.J. left cow-tipping country and headed to the big city for college.  He stumbled upon a couple of climber while in college and quickly developed a passion for the sport.  Working as the climbing coordinator for the college and as a guide for the Front Range Climbing Company during the summer his skills and love for the sport grew rapidly.  While in college C.J. took the opportunity to dabble in white water kayaking, mt. biking, backpacking, and some backcountry skiing.  Today C.J. spends almost all of his free time pulling on rock across the western US.  He retires a lot of ropes falling on cams, nuts, bolts, old scary pins, crash pads and the occasional ice screw all within the given year.

For many years my roommates and I had passes to Ski Cooper, near Leadville, Colorado. Cooper is one of the smallest ski areas in Colorado, but it’s extremely family friendly. The lifts are slower, the runs are shorter, and it’s generally a more relaxing atmosphere than larger resorts.

After we married, Angie and I decided to take advantage of the Liberty Pass offered by Vail resorts. This special pass for military members offers unlimited skiing at Keystone and Arapahoe Basin for less than half of a full price season pass. I had been to Keystone and other large resorts before, so I knew what to expect. That year we hit Keystone 5 or 6 times, including one multi-day trip when we stayed in Silverthorne. We also boarded a day or two up at A-Basin, which is a really great place but has become very crowded over the past few years. Overall though, we didn’t really care for Keystone as much as other resorts, and couldn’t handle the crowds up the road at A-Basin.

Last year we bit the bullet and bought the full price Colorado Pass which included Breckenridge, A-Basin, and Keystone. We only went to Breck since we’re not big fans of the other two any more. The pass is pretty pricey (I think we paid $450 each), but if you get enough days in it can be worth it. What we realized about halfway through the season is that we really don’t like crowds. Since we can usually only hit the slopes on weekends, and we like to sleep in a little, by the time we arrive on a Saturday morning, the entire resort is usually packed.

In addition to the lift lines and crowded slopes, we really don’t like being so far from our FJ Cruiser. We like to go back to the FJ at lunch time for a sandwich, some great tunes, and a little relaxation. That’s very difficult to do at a large resort. At Breck, that entails taking a gondola, and usually a bus to get to a large parking lot and finally back to the car. It’s really not worth it. What ends up happening is that we’re stuck eating an overpriced chicken sandwich at a VERY crowded mountainside venue. In addition to our passes, we were dropping another $60-70 every time we went (gas, parking, food, etc). Our snowboarding hobby got expensive very quickly.

That’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy ourselves. The snow is usually pretty good, and the runs are nice and long. For great terrain and lots of variety, Breckenridge is hard to beat. Also, on the rare occasion that we were able to hit the slopes during the week, the resort was generally pretty quiet. With the large crowds removed, some of the other drawbacks are easily overlooked. I highly recommend a larger resort like Breck for those coming to Colorado on vacation.

This year, since Angie isn’t able to board, I chose to grab a military pass at Monarch again. The smaller resort with far less people is much better for my tastes, especially on the weekend. I’ve been able to get to the slopes very early in the morning and get some great turns before any lift lines form. Looking forward, with the new addition to our family on the way, I think we’ll be sticking with either Monarch or Ski Cooper for the foreseeable future. I don’t like the thought of teaching our little one to ski/board on a crowded resort mountain.

What are your thoughts on large resorts versus smaller ski areas? Do you prefer the ultra fast lifts and multi-mountain terrain, or smaller areas that are more cost effective and convenient? We’d love to hear about your favorite small ski areas, next season is just around the corner and we’re looking for places to check out!

Okemo Mountain

Saturday I took a day trip to Okemo Mountain in Vermont without having to drive a single mile.  The latest way to get to the slopes from Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Ski Bus.  Departing from Park Slope at 5am most Friday, Saturday, and Sundays, the Brooklyn Ski Bus will take you to many ski resorts in the area while you relax and sleep it off. The bus deposits you back at the pick-up point about 8pm.  With prices ranging from $89 to $109 including transportation, lift ticket, and snacks and drinks (non-alcoholic) the Brooklyn Ski Bus is a good value and certainly saves a headache or two.

Check out http://www.brooklynskibus.com/ for more information and a calender of trips.