A season in a week

We took the boys to Copper Mtn for their first Rocky Mountain snowboard trip ever. We had been planning this trip since they were tiny little snowboarding nuggets.   Now they are 17 & 14x2.  They are threatening to grow up and move on to college and other real-world pursuits. So we figured it better happen now.

As fortuitous luck and climate change would have it we are in uncompassionate El Niño year where New England is continuously taunted by snow storms that we know will never materialize. El Niño has abusive tendencies. As he punishes he Northeast he whispers love in the ear of the Sierras. And they are oh so willing to accept it.  They forgot what love is.  They've suffered. And not just the silly skiers...the farmers,  And the gardens,  A the pools, And fire departments,  and the thirsty, and the trees. The niño will kiss it and make it better. And the Rockies, they won't complain.  They get the scraps, and these scraps are mostly fat.

The preparation was a process of days,  weeks,  months, years. Testing skills on icy Cannon Mountain, gearing up at Lahouts in Lincoln, assembling the crew in Marshfield,  then off to Colorado.

L- and I had worked at Copper 20+ years ago and have been back a few times since. So even though the mega-resort-village was new to us the terrain wasn't and were able to move around the mountain efficiently and hit all the old stashes at the right times. Our AirB&B condo was about 30yrds from the Super Bee high speed 6-pack, so we were easily able to be in line for opening bell each day and making fresh turns 10 minutes.

With only 4 days of riding available you always hope for the best and that's what we got. We were able to show the kids a microcosm of a Colorado ski season in only 4 days.....

We got in late Saturday night to reports of no recent snow but possibly a few inches on the horizon. Sunday morning we caught one of the first chairs and headed straight up. I was a little disappointed that the sky was socked in and the kids weren't getting the epic Rocky Mountain views I'd been hoping to show them. Conditions were firm but edgeable groomers. The woods were crusty and mostly out of play. It was basically Nov-Dec conditions. Still fun but nothing special. By noon it started to snow and everything changed in an hour. 1-2" made all of the difference and it turned into a playful, frontside day. By the end of the day the kids were stoked by the huge Colorado runs and I knew they had a lot more in store.  The Super Bee gets you 2,225 vertical feet FAST. We lapped that thing about 5 times with fresh lines every trip. It was a full on late January powder day! Avalanche work was going on in all the bowls and the kids were totally in awe of the big BOOMS. Resolution Bowl was loading up with the blowing snow and was the hit of the day.

Monday morning we were standing at the lift 15 minutes before opening staring up at ~6" of overnight snow on top of the 2" from the previous day. And it was still coming down! We didn't do pushups while waiting,  But some people did.....








Tuesday morning we were again in at the lift before opening. The sun was coming out and it was already 30 degrees. Total snowfall from the past 2 days was 10-12" with heaving loading in the back bowls. It was turning into a classic late February bluebird powder day. We headed straight into Resolution were we had left off the day before. Runs like Drain Pipe were deep, soft, and heavenly!

After some early avy work, Spaulding bowl opened up and we headed straight for it. This had been where I worked and it was always my favorite. It's the steepest part of Copper and it was loaded up with some amazing snow. Considering that the kids had never seen something like this terrain I was happy and impressed that they attacked it like old pros with no hesitation. Copper Bowl, Union Bowl, and everything else were equally good that day.

Wednesday was blazing sun and hit the high 40s. It was full on late March Spring conditions!

North facing runs in the trees and shade were still soft fluffy pow shots. South facing back bowls were luscious spring bumps. We went coast to coast from Far East under the A-Lift to the Far West on Union Meadows and the deep woods at the western boundary.

It perfect 4 days of western riding. On Day 5 we went up to Leadville to hang out with my family there and give the kids a taste of real (non-resort) Colorado.