So this year we moved from Summit County to Carbondale, near Aspen/Snowmass. I was curious what the skiing would be like over here compared to Summit where absent the PMTS gang the skiing is pretty abysmal. Early season the only choices were Ajax with limited terrain and download or Snowmass. Snowmass had top to bottom skiing so we chose to go there for the first couple of weeks. Things were very uncrowded, a welcome change. Quickly I discovered my first difference. Usually at a Vail resort if a trail is open it's pretty well covered. Not guaranteed perfect but more or less ok. Not true with SkiCo. Here open means if you ski this trail there will be a running lift to take you back up. That's all. I've seen 8" of unpacked snow on dirt and rocks as open. The bushes are sticking out to knee high. Skier beware. Even runs with some snowmaking and much better coverage were somewhat rocky. I've turned my pristine $100 ski swap find Supershapes into rock skis in a week. Early season grooming at Snowmass is marginal as well. Trails marked groomed might not have been touched for a couple of days. Trying to carve rough, bumpy snow on early season legs provided a glimpse into my lack of ski fitness.
Early season means lots of ski school clinics. SM was full of ski school groups, often outnumbering the paying customers. Nothing special to report here, the same sort of ski school skiing I was used to seeing in Summit. Some folks in SS jackets were truly bad skiers. Wedge entries, lots of rotation, inside ski, you know the drill.
After some more new snow we decided to try the other areas. First up was Ajax (the mountain in Aspen). First off grooming was light years better. Very nice snow. Still lots of ski school clinics but now these people seem to have a clue. I see groups doing one footed drills and what appeared to be counteracting drills. Ok, maybe SM is where they dump the low level instructors.
Next day we get a late start so we decide to try Buttermilk . Supposed to be the beginner mountain but we find 2k vertical of perfect soft groomers with a foot of day old near untracked on the edges. For you Keystone skiers imagine 2k of Hoodoo. Arrive at 11:30 and park 50 feet from the front. I like this. Some lessons on the hill again showing focus on what might be considered PMTS skills. I even got a callout from an instructor teaching a private pointing and telling his student to watch.
Highlands next. Sign says parking M-F $12, S-S free. I still can't get used to this weekends are the least crowded thing. That's just wrong. If BM is 2k of Hoodoo Highlands is 2k of Rictor. Stop to watch a ski school clinic and the leader is yelling at the students to stay flexed during transition. He demonstrates and he can ski. Nothing like I saw at SM.
So is the Roaring Fork Valley PMTS heaven? No not really, but the skiing here is better than Summit from my PMTS eyes. Very few here on 100+ rockered skis either. Most people seem to ski something 85-95 with at least some traditional camber. Of course the holiday tourists haven't hit yet and when you name a run the Dallas Expressway one might guess what's coming.