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Utah and Colorado Skiing

Yaaaaaassssss!!!
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WP was awesome this weekend; we were cutting fresh tracks in knee deep powder all day long. Definitely a day to remember!
 
Everywhere out west still getting pounded. Have some friends at Alta who were in "interlodge" mode last night due to avalanche danger being so high after 27 inches.

Got back Monday from Aspen/Snowmass with 22 inches the day before I got there, 7 my first day, and 16 my 2nd day. Just absurdly deep. Also, the skiing itself at Aspen tends to get overlooked because of the glitz of the city, but Snowmass and Aspen Highlands are incredible (and very difficult) mountains.
 
So I'm looking to take the family (wife plus 3 teenagers) on a trip next Christmas break. What's my best bet for dependable snow that early? Thanks.
 
Fun place to ski. Not crowded because no lodging. I mainly would ski off of Strawberry Gondola and John Paul Express.

Both times I have been we had a great kitchen so we did a lot of cooking and just hanging out at night. Downtown Ogden has a cool vibe with plenty of good eats.

They recently went with Epic pass.

Snowbasin was awesome. Strawberry and John Paul were the place to be, but overall, the ability to bounce out of groomed runs into trees was just fantastic. The lodges/dining were amazing and the fact that there were no lift lines was incredible.
 
So I'm looking to take the family (wife plus 3 teenagers) on a trip next Christmas break. What's my best bet for dependable snow that early? Thanks.

We had friends that hit Wyoming over xmas and said it was very good. Think they hit Gand Targhee or Jackson Hole. Hard to get to though.
 
I don't think anywhere is going to be that dependable that early, and prices are going to be by far the highest of the season (typically). If you can, I'd wait until late November (maybe even early December), and gauge who's getting the most early season snow, as well as who may have the best Christmas "deals".

Jackson has indeed been getting the most consistent snow the last several years, although I still might go with Utah for the safest bet (and far easier to get to). If you want a cool/different trip that most non-west coasters never do (usually great snow too), check out Mammoth in CA.
 
Everywhere out west still getting pounded. Have some friends at Alta who were in "interlodge" mode last night due to avalanche danger being so high after 27 inches.

Got back Monday from Aspen/Snowmass with 22 inches the day before I got there, 7 my first day, and 16 my 2nd day. Just absurdly deep. Also, the skiing itself at Aspen tends to get overlooked because of the glitz of the city, but Snowmass and Aspen Highlands are incredible (and very difficult) mountains.

Did you hike the bowl at Highlands, tigerswood?
 
Did you hike the bowl at Highlands, tigerswood?

Not this trip. We skinned a bit and traversed into it. The hike was packed, we were pretty gassed from the deep pow, and my dad is 65. The lift line at the bottom of Temerity was 30+ minutes because of all the bowl hikers emptying out. Crazy.

The burnt mountain glades hike at Snowmass is short and opens up some awesome terrain. And the Cirque J Bar/short hike is sweet.
 
Snowbasin was awesome. Strawberry and John Paul were the place to be, but overall, the ability to bounce out of groomed runs into trees was just fantastic. The lodges/dining were amazing and the fact that there were no lift lines was incredible.

Sweet
 
Heading to Keystone on Sunday and have a 4-day pass that includes both ABasin and Keystone. Skiing with the family at Keystone most of the time, but hoping to sneak over one morning to ABasin with some other dads on the trip. Any thoughts on either mountain would be appreciated.
 
Heading to Keystone on Sunday and have a 4-day pass that includes both ABasin and Keystone. Skiing with the family at Keystone most of the time, but hoping to sneak over one morning to ABasin with some other dads on the trip. Any thoughts on either mountain would be appreciated.

A-Basin is steep and has some awesome terrain. Keystone is a nice mountain, but it's a big resort and can get crowded. DPS is on spring break now, so you'll likely miss a lot of that crowd - being there during the week won't hurt. Parking at A Basin can get crowded quickly, so look into the shuttles that will take you between Keystone and A-Basin.
 
Heading to Keystone on Sunday and have a 4-day pass that includes both ABasin and Keystone. Skiing with the family at Keystone most of the time, but hoping to sneak over one morning to ABasin with some other dads on the trip. Any thoughts on either mountain would be appreciated.

Stay up high on the mountains. Looks like the mountain bases may get some rain during your time there, but should be snow up top. Can always ride the gondolas up/down to avoid the rain. A-basin is also significantly higher than Keystone and should be more/all snow.
 
Skied Mon-Wed last week at Keystone. Conditions were great - temps in the 30s & 40s, snow overnight and dusting during a couple days, and absolutely no lift lines. Enjoyed the mountain - some good tree skiing and difficult enough for me, but not too hard for the family.
 
Just finished one of the best weeks of my life. Skied Breckenridge with my oldest daughter. (18, senior in HS) She loves skiing to the exclusion of every other sport. We skied everything that didn’t require a hike. She was fearless and by the last day my old legs couldn’t keep up. Couldn’t have been prouder. Conditions were perfect for Spring. A bit slow when the temps rose in late afternoon but that is to be expected.
 
Spent 3 days in Tahoe - skied Heavenly Fri and Sun, did Kirkwood on Sat. Started raining (snow pellets up top, but really wet) on Sat, so only got in a half day at Kirkwood, but had a great time the whole trip. I don’t think there’s a more scenic place to ski than Tahoe. The lake and the mountains are breathtakingly beautiful.
 
Bumping back for a new season - I am at Copper Mountain this week with the fam and it's fantastic. about 3/4 of the mountain is open, great weather, snow is in good condition. My three teenagers are now hooked!
 
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