All it takes is a little work to find the great snow.
Putting in the Effort
Colorado is an amazing place. If you ride at Wolf Creek or other southern areas, you might agree with me this year. If you ride anywhere north of Aspen, you might disagree with this statement (at least for this season). But here’s the catch – all it takes is a little work and creativity to find the good snow, regardless of where you ride. And this is the beauty of Colorado: plenty of options to find your fun!
According to Tony Crocker’s www.Bestsnow.net, areas from Aspen on south have about 100-150% of normal snowfall this season. Areas north of Aspen and along I-70 have only 60-70% of normal snowfall this season. But even in the north, all it takes is some backcountry savvy or the knowledge of a compass to find some deep, soft snow. If you head to the backcountry, expect some great turns (see below) but ensure you have solid avalanche education under your belt. If you are skiing just a few inches of fresh snow (resort or backcountry), try to stay away from south-facing slopes where the sun makes the underlying surface pretty crunchy.
My tracks through 12" of fluff in the Indian Peaks backcountry on Monday, February 8th.
Learn more in Aspen on Friday
If you’re in the Aspen area, come check out this Powder to the People event at 6:30pm on Friday, February 12th. I’ll be talking weather (what else) and how to forecast your next powder day rather than relying on the typical “30% chance of snow showers” forecast. Also, avalanche expect Brian McCall will be there to chat about local backcountry conditions.
Check in more often
I send out a maximum of two emails per week (if you’re not on the email list, sign up now on the upper-right area of the page), however, I usually provide new forecasts more frequently than twice a week, so check back here on the www’s more often. And coming up this week? The first in a series of video forecasts!
Forecast
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny and dry.
- Wednesday: Increasing clouds, but the main storm stays south. If we’re lucky, Colorado might see a random inch or two overnight on Wednesday, but don’t stay up late waiting to see the flakes.
- Thursday: Clouds break and most of the state should see sun. The exception could be along and north of I-70 (especially Steamboat, Winter Park) where more clouds and a bit of light snow might hang on.
- Friday: Mostly sunny with a low chance of continued flurries or light snow around Steamboat.
- Saturday: Clouds increase with the next storm and snow begins falls by midday and lasts overnight. This storm will target areas from Aspen and north (including the I-70 mountains) and could produce around 6″. Stay tuned for more details.
- Sunday: The clouds and snow move away leaving sunny skies.
Storm History
The last storm came through in pieces, and much like the storms earlier in the season, these pieces favored the southern, central, and eastern mountains. My forecast was a little low in the central and eastern mountains, and I’m always happy to see more snow rather than less!
| RESORT | TOTAL |
| Wolf Creek | 19.0 |
| Durango | 13.0 |
| Monarch | 12.5 |
| Crested Butte | 12.0 |
| Eldora | 12.0 |
| Powderhorn | 12.0 |
| Echo | 11.0 |
| Telluride | 11.0 |
| Silverton | 10.0 |
| Cooper | 9.0 |
| Sunlight | 7.5 |
| Breckenridge | 7.0 |
| Beaver Creek | 6.0 |
| Snowmass | 6.0 |
| Winter Park | 6.0 |
| Aspen Highlands | 5.0 |
| Copper | 5.0 |
| Steamboat | 4.3 |
| Loveland | 3.5 |
| Aspen Mountain | 3.0 |
| Buttermilk | 3.0 |
| Vail | 3.0 |
| Abasin | 1.0 |
| Keystone | 1.0 |
Eldora’s in the top 5? Is hell freezing over!?
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No, Keystone is still dead last, so hell hasn’t frozen over yet.
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Hey Joel,
Hows it looking for Saturday/Sunday in the San Juans around Silverton? Trying to get a big, snowmobile and possibly sled ski ride in this weekend, but its not really worth it up there unless the skies are clear. What are your thoughts?
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Kestrel – looks like you could get it the southern trip this weekend. There is a storm coming Saturday into Saturday night, and this storm could drop far enough south to bring some snow to the area. The computer models are showing that the best chance for snow and clouds should be north of the San Juans, but it would only take a little southern jog for the storm to muck up your weekend. Stay tuned…another update on Thursday.
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5 inches!?! ELDORA!?! wow!!!!!!!!!!!
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Joel,
Any predictions for the weekend of the 20th? Hoping this split weather pattern will move out? Ive read there are storms coming across California favoring the north, Any truth to that?
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John G – this coming weekend looks to favor the north, but we’ll see. It doesn’t take much change in direction for a storm that should clip the northern areas to miss us entirely. I’m not pessimistic, just holding off on making promises:-) It appears that the split pattern may finally relent by about the 20-25th (ish).
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Thanks for the candid reports, much more realistic.
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Joel,
As a long time Wolf fan, I’m not at all surprised by the pounding they’ve been getting (another 8″ yesterday – where did that come from?) but am a little bummed that with all the attention it’s been getting lately it’s status as a secret powder haven is quickly disappearing. Like you, I’ve taken to exploring the backcountry up north when the resorts aren’t getting it – I’m partial to Berthoud Pass myself – check out this report from last week (http://www.glutenfreesnowboarder.com) if you’re curious about what conditions were like then. Am very much enjoying your site – it’s quite helpful to have a rider’s perspective on storms coming in – please keep up the fine work!
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Joel, just got turned on to your site here. awesome job. Any hope for any kind of precipitation in the mountains along I-70 this next week? Will be my first time out West and would love to see some snow fall. Unfortunately I’m gonna be stuck in summit county for most of the trip.
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Gluten Free Snowboarder – great report from Berthoud Pass! Some moisture hung in over the very southern areas yesterday (Tuesday), and I thought it might just be some flurries or light snow, but 8″ is yet again another surprise over Wolf Creek.
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Matt L. – best chance for snow along the I-70 mountains will be this weekend. Might hang on to some flurries for next week, but that’s about it.
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I’m coming up to Winter Park March 7th for a week and was wondering if the Jet stream consolidates will that increase the chances to get some good snow for March?
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“But here’s the catch – all it takes is a little work and creativity to find the good snow, regardless of where you ride. And this is the beauty of Colorado: plenty of options to find your fun!”
Amen to that sentiment. When people start griping about snow conditions I always ask…”Have you been up lately” the answer is usually no. Those who seek…shall find the goods. I have had some great powder days this year…Berthoud, Vail, Monarch, Silverton, Red Mt and some really good ski days with no pow. One morning we showed up at Berthoud to find a foot of fresh, what a surprise! If we had “pre-bailed” I am quite sure we wouldn’t get any.
Your site is cool and useful. Thanks
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kazebeer – yes, if the Jet Stream stops splitting, storms will generally drop more snow over Colorado. However, March 7th is pretty far away at this point. Stay tuned!
Mark Caldwell – thanks for your thoughts and the compliment!
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any idea what part of the I-70 mountains might do the best this weekend? Loveland v. breck v. vail/beaver creek?
(and keep up the good work)
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Nick – excellent question. I think Vail will do better than Beaver Creek. Breckenridge could also do pretty well, as could Winter Park. Loveland should also do well. My pick for highest totals along I-70 are Winter Park, Loveland, Breck, and Vail. Tough to pick a winner at this point, but it does look windy Fri/Sat, so finding some more protected areas will be key.
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kestrel-
A few of us are heading upto Silverton tonight, and will be touring fri-sun. What areas are you going to be touring in? Maybe ill see you in Silverton.
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Joel, nice pic from Indian Peaks. Never toured that area, where do you recommend parking to find the goods?
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Chris Miko – almost any drainage that has a trailhead is a good place to start. Anywhere from Allenspark south to Rollinsville and James Peak. Most areas have pretty long approaches, but there are usually few people around.
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