March 2-3, 2008 Monarch Pass, CO

After skiing Crested Butte, we had a beautiful sunny drive to Monarch Pass. We arrived just as the lifts closed and it appeared they had spring conditions. We parked in the employee parking area and hoped the storm would arrive by morning. We were surprised that we felt and slept quite well at 10,700’. At 7am we woke to about 3” of new snow and partly sunny skies. Where’s the Blizzard ? We again used a Phillips gas 2 for 1 coupon and saved $49. All 5 fixed grip lifts were running and we were on the first chair up Garfield. We made 3 untracked runs before the locals arrived. Within an hour of opening, the snow started to fall and the temperature dropped. The powder was like feathers and on the ungroomed terrain you could feel yesterday’s spring skiing crust. About 11am we went into the RV to warm-up, make some hot chocolate and put on more clothes. 45 minutes later we opened the door and there was another 3” on the doorstep. The wind was howling, the crowds were leaving, earlier tracks were filled in, and yeah the Blizzard was here. The lifts kept turning and we kept skiing untracked powder. The wind was blowing so hard there were “whiteout warnings” posted at the lifts. There were upslope winds so slope selection became the name of the game. It was fantastic until I thought “Shagnasty” would be worth investigating – WRONG. The ridge winds were brutal and Jill fought her way off the ridgeline. “You’re right Jill, that was crazy. Let’s go back to the lower tree runs.” There were only a few diehards skiing when we finally stopped at 2pm. We decided to drive down to Salida and return on Monday when sunny conditions were forecast. The drive down from Monarch was interesting.

March 3 was a brilliant sunny day. The ski report was 4” of new and the temperature was -3 F. It was an “if you own it, you wear it” kind of day. Our expectations were high. The winds were moderate, but it was obvious that yesterday’s upslope winds had hammered most slopes. The treed runs off the Garfield chair were only slightly affected, and we enjoyed 4 untracked runs before the locals arrived. We found most slopes were wind hammered and the groomers were the most enjoyable. After a few hours, we decided to head towards our friend’s home near Breckenridge and recharge our bodies in their hot tub. Monarch is a small area with great terrain and great grooming. This is the second year in a row that we have visited with a storm day followed by a sunny day. Good karma.

Thanks for the report, Zap.

I like sunshine as much as the next guy, but that first photo looks like my kind of skiing!

Hey Zap are you out there somewhere? Get to Cali. yet?