Crested Butte 12/7/07

Crested Butte has free lift tickets until 12/15

I went with an old Mammoth friend to check it out.  We drove over Monument Pass just after midnight on Friday (12/7) morning in a bit of a snowstorm.  Several cars off the road, they closed it later in the day.

Lots of fresh snow on Friday and it continued to snow all day.  The open terrain was limited but there were no lift lines.  We met a cool local who showed us around and enhanced the mood when we took a break during a tree run.  They ended up with three feet of snow for the day, which was an inch short of their 24-hour record.

Saturday was a little clearer with better visibility but more people.  Another cool local told us that Monument (weak black diamond) was about to open.  We got there just as the patroller dropped the rope and I put down my only extended set of fresh tracks of the trip.

By now, they've received some more snow and it's still falling.  I'd still be there if it wasn't for work.  Most of their black diamond runs are open, none of their double-diamonds are open yet.

So... thanks to Crested Butte for the free runs, and thanks to the cool locals, too.  And thanks also to my new Mission Santiagos, a great ski that can even make ME look good.

Thanks for the TR. I needed something to get me through these rather lean snow days until it starts snowing again. I have seen the free ads by Crested Butte earlier in the season.

Did you stop by Monarch Pass ski area ? I've had some great days there and at Wolf Creek Pass.

I really wanted to ski at Monarch Pass. Tickets were only $27 and the base area's over 11,000 ft, it sure sounded good. If we'd been there when they opened we'd have had a few hours to ski there, but I couldn't motivate my friend to get moving early enough.

Too bad, because it was their second day in operation and I know there were freshies to be had.