Day 15 - Breckenridge

Out 11:30 to 4:15 with just a bathroom break; on and off light snow all day with temps in the mid-twenties and absolutely no wind; 21 runs; 27,932 vertical; skied the Blizzard Bonafides again; the light snow overnight and today made any loose snow or piles much less sugary - still lots of ice and plenty of thin spots though; big Friday crowd that thinned quickly at 3:00; a little tired today but I stuck it out and was the last person up the chair; amazed at the variability of the weather today given the total lack of wind - snow on and off, clouds up and down, sun in and out.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 14 - Breckenridge

Out 10:15 to 3:00 with lunch in the Vista Haus; mixed clouds and sun with temps around 40° and a little wind - snow blowing in from the southwest at 3:00; 20 runs; 25,326 vertical; skied the Blizzard Bonafides; sugary and scratchy with several thin spots; quite a few people on the hill, but no liftlines; new friend Ladd is a Beaver Creek instructor - we made 5 or 6 before lunch; skiing okay; not quite the right ski today - needed one of my carvers.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 13 - Vail

Out 9:15 to 2:00 with lunch at Mid-Vail; sunny with temps rising into the low forties and no wind; 27 runs; 30,139 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; soft, carvable groomers; plenty of people, but plenty of space - no real liftline other than loading the Gondi first thing; goggle tan coming along nicely; Nattress stood me up this morning; beautiful views of the Gore Range from the Summit Express chair; best day of my season so far.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 12 - Keystone

Out 9:00 to 1:45 with a coffee break; sunny with temps rising through the thirties and little to no wind; 17 runs, 32,098 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; firm groomer; big crowd, especially for Tuesday;

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Day 11 - Copper

Out 9:00 to 1:30 with coffee in the Aerie; snow - FINALLY - with temps in the twenties and very little wind - 3" overnight with another couple this morning; 20 runs; 27,984 vertical; skied the Volkl M5 Mantras; crowded as hell on the hill, but amazingly not much of a liftline; scary out there today - way too many people going way too fast - I can't wait for the White Ribbon of Death Season to be over.

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Day 10 - Breckenridge

Out 9:00 to 1:30 with a coffee break in the Vista Haus; sunny, warm and windy again - 71° in downtown Breckenridge when I stopped at A Racer's Edge to schedule some boot work; 22 runs; 29,322 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; the intense sunlight quickly softened today's surface; plenty of people, but never a lift line; I must be skiing okay because I got two seperate compliments from strangers today - a guy tapped me on the shoulder in the lift line and another guy riding on the chair in front of me turned around and yelled back at me.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 9 - Copper

Out 9:00 to 1:15 with lunch in the Aerie lodge; sunny, warm and windy again; 19 runs; 27,992 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; this morning's crunchy groomer softened a little more than yesterday as the sun was very strong today; light crowd early, but the straightliners were out in force by noon; my legs and back are feeling good, but all the runs on firm snow have my right shin a little sore.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 8 - Copper

Out 9:00 to 12:45 with a bathroom break - I would have had coffee, but I forgot that I can't pay with the Ikon Pass and didn't have my wallet; sunny, warm and windy again; 18 runs; 25,003 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; this morning's groomer turned firm and icy quickly; lots of people; skied with Tanya Meuller this morning - I got on the bus from the parking lot and sat down right next to her totally by chance; took my first fall of the season today - just got lazy, fell over and slid quite a ways, but no harm no foul; found out A-Basin will not count days toward the Ikon Base Pass (you get 5) until after Dec 19.

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Day 7 - Breckenridge

On the hill 9:00 to 2:00 with a lunch break; sunny, warm and windy; 23 runs, 30,577 vertical; skied the Volkl M5 Mantras; firm early, but softened all day; no lift lines, but lots of people.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 6 - Breckenridge

On the hill 9:30 to 2:00 with a coffee break; high, thin overcast with temps rising into the forties; 20 runs; 24,473 vertical; skied the Volkl M5 Mantras; great snow; some people, but not too crowded on the hill; I know I raved about the Enforcers a few days ago, but these skis worked even better today; patrol opened 4 O'Clock at noon and skier's right was marvelously soft in the afternoon sun; much more laid back clientele here - not a straightliner in sight; late to the hill today when I had to reconfigure things this morning when I found 3 huge grease spots on the back of the coat I was using.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 5 - Keystone

Out 9:00 to 1:30 with a lunch break up top; cloudy with temps rising through the twenties and a little bit of wind; 16 runs, 28,213 vertical; skied the Volkl Kendos; fairly crowded; firm, firm, firm; a little suprised with the size of the crowd given that Breck and Copper opened today; totally wrong choice of skis; skied hard enough this first week that all the bumps on my right ankle and shin from past breaks and surgeries are sore and raw.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 4 - Keystone

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a break for coffee; cool, overcast and windy with temps around freezing on the hill; 14 runs; 26,806 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; they did a deep till overnight with the groomers to break up the building hard pack so things were a little sugary today; fairly large crowd for a Thursday; still feeling strong given all the vert to start the season; boots were much better today; you've got to ski these GS Cheaters from the front seat.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 3 - Keystone

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with lunch at the top; clear and warm again with little to no wind; 17 runs; 30,448 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; conditions were pretty good, but there are a couple of really chewed up spots; not much of a crowd; skiing pretty well; physically everything feels pretty good except my right foot - boot issues; the walk in and out to the Gondi here sucks horribly.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 2 - Keystone

On the hill 9:00 to 1:15 with a break for lunch; high, thick overcast with warm temps and very little wind - 64° in the parking lot when I left; 14 runs; 24,744 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; snow was good up top - dry, soft and carvable - but did get a little sticky and wet below the Montezuma Chair; some people but not really crowded at all; first time on these skis since I ran over them in the parking lot at Greek Peak the year before last - I forgot just how great they are; I need to remember to save a lit bit for the looooooong walk back to the parking lot here; no pictures worthy of posting yet.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 1 - Keystone

I let the Sunday crowd 'thin' before starting at 2:00; skied right to last chair without a break; 60° and sunny with very little wind; skied the Volkl Kendos; 9 runs; 15,633 vertical; firm snow with some small bumps; lots of people on the hill till very near closing; sun screen, sweat pants and spring gloves; blackout lens made the last two runs pretty dark; started slow, but cranked it up by run four.

#justgivemeagroomer    

vertica