backcountry skiing

[joelbettner]

so, i live in colorado. i'm thinking about moving to the PNW, only i'm worried that the season i live for (i.e. ski season) might be less spectacular there. anybody have any input? let me know

JB

[AJScott]

Yea, it never really snows here, and when it does its usually so wet its impossible to ski. I would probably just stay in colorado, its the mecca y0.

[DONNY1125]

so i use to live in colorado (granby) and i am having trouble adjusting i have only been riding once and i was soaked after an hour or less but everybody says this place will grow on you so im sure the bc snow is better at home and if you enjoy the 300 days of sunshine kiss it GOODBYE if you move up here however the landscape does compare in beauty to colorado so good luck

[crazy_t]

I moved here after 10 yrs in CO including seasons in the Butte and Aspen. It's different, can't say better or worse. The weather here is definitely funkier, but on the plus side that's why there are glaciers here- a lot of snow. NW positives: Here we tend to get more snow over the year, and due to the amount and higher water content, there tends to be a lot more skiable BC terrain (you can ski stuff you wouldn't think of doing mid-season most Colorado winters: steeper etc) The snow here sticks to things too: trees, rocks etc. making for interesting terrain and safer drops. Check out some of the trip reports on this site for some pics of some very sweet and steep descents made here this winter, stuff you'd only be skiing in CO during corn season generally. On the down side: we are lower elevation (although the alpine here starts a lot lower, you'll be surprised) so subject to warmer, wetter conditions. A lot less "easy" road access (think Loveland Pass, Berthoud, etc in winter and RMNP, Independence Pass etc in summer). More work getting in in winter in general, starting sometimes in heavy stuff. Lift accessed BC here is pretty good, including Alpental which is only 45 mins or so from Seattle. One big bonus here: Whistler/Blackcomb. Awesome area, huge BC accessed easily by lifts and higher than most areas here, so gets generally better snow. 4 1/2 hours from Seattle by car, and B.Columbia is a lot of fun. My first year here we had a record snow year; almost 100' of fresh recorded at Mount Baker resort. I only skied 30 days during the season but averaged 1 1/2' fresh each of those days! Last year (2004/5) we had a shite season. Usually it's pretty good here, with lots of large dumps, and less of the rat-race vibe on a powder day that you can sometimes get in CO. Mid-week here is generally reliably slow at the areas and in the BC, unlike in CO where the destination resort reality and workers with more flexible schedules gets people out regardless of the day, especially during a good snow cycle. Summer time there's great skiing on glaciers with better weather. So, in all, it's different. I miss Colorado for the weather, the high peaks and awesome access, but the glaciers here are pretty special and the more stable, deep snowpack with lots of dumps makes it sweet here too. Get a copy of Martin Volken's book "Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass" for a good look at a local area, with tasty tours and good local information. They should have it at Neptune's if you just wanted to browse it. Hope this all helps. I'm going skiing tomorrow in the BC here, should be pretty good.

Edited April 29, 2006 by crazy_t

[cj001f]

It's better in Boulder