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New2

Out on the slopes
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Spokane
Yea I agree with the Alfred E Neuman sentiments.(What, me worry?) The below was taken from liftopia.com blog rgarding snowfall amounts down in the westand substantially higher in the east during that winter. Thought I saw 309" on the GT site closing weekend. Don't remember for sure but doremember it as very sunny, warm, and sticky.
Northern Rockies
Wyoming, Montana and Idaho fared much like Colorado. Grand Targhee in Wyoming is about as reliable for snowfall as any U.S. resort. The ski area received a healthy 301 inches. Of course, it averages 500 inches, so 2014-15 was a down season by its high standards.

Utah
Like Grand Targhee, Utah resorts have huge annual snowfall averages. The 2014-15 season did not meet their high standards, but Alta Ski Area still tallied 324 inches. However, snowfall during the three months of January, February and March added up to just 98 inches. (Alta usually receives about that amount in each of those months.)

Since OpenSnow's only reporting November-April snow, it could well be that Targhee got 66-74 inches in October and May, so both sets of numbers might be accurate. Alta definitely followed their stellar April with more snow in May that season.
 

Jnelly

Booting up
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Aug 11, 2017
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Madison WI
Seeking a few recommendations to add to my travel list.

Appreciates: laid-back, low-key spots. RV lots. Anything remotely similar to Baker or Whitewater. Beer served by the pitcher. Uncertainty whether the resort owns grooming equipment. A noticeable absence of GoPros on blue runs. Touchy cell phone service. Touchy plumbing. Slow fixed doubles. Very high population of old people and young children who ski very, very well. Great slackcountry terrain. Locals who ski said slack terrain with extremely heavy frame bindings and tele gear but are still wayyyy too fast to follow them out to the best goods. I've also got a particularly soft spot for Canada.

Tries to avoid: Nightlife. Shopping. Spas. Limitless blue groomers that all ski like groundhogs day. Bogner. Celebrity sightings. Social currency stemming from how expensive your kit is. Places reminiscent of Beaver Creek (with the exception of Cookie Time. 100% support for that).

Bridger's on the docket for March. Targhee and Alta pretty high on the list. We also loved little community hills like Loup Loup and Hoodoo. What other spots should be on our list?

Mind if I also use this descriptive when describing what I am looking for ? This is freaking beautiful! I love it.
 

wyowindrunner

Getting off the lift
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Since OpenSnow's only reporting November-April snow, it could well be that Targhee got 66-74 inches in October and May, so both sets of numbers might be accurate. Alta definitely followed their stellar April with more snow in May that season.
Think you are correct. Targhee's reporting 40" so far with a 23" base. Generally open around Thanksgiving.
 

TonyPlush

Getting off the lift
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Reviving this thread...

I just returned from an awesome trip to Whitewater, and I think I might be a converted dirtbag skier. (10 inches of fresh sure helped...)

How do a lot of these dirtbag resorts compare to Whitewater? I was surprised how much I enjoyed its Silver King lift... all 800 vertical feet of it. With that as the standard, it seems like all of these dirtbag mountains could provide a similar experience, assuming there's fresh snow?
 

Tom K.

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Yeah, old thread, so maybe previously covered, but I'd nominate Lost Trails, on the MT/ID border.

With a high-for-MT base elevation of 7,050' it gets quality snow, and patience is required to exhaust the powder, since there are zero high-speed lifts.

I would die to have that base elevation at my home area of Big Mountain MT.
 

DanoT

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Reviving this thread...

I just returned from an awesome trip to Whitewater, and I think I might be a converted dirtbag skier. (10 inches of fresh sure helped...)

How do a lot of these dirtbag resorts compare to Whitewater? I was surprised how much I enjoyed its Silver King lift... all 800 vertical feet of it. With that as the standard, it seems like all of these dirtbag mountains could provide a similar experience, assuming there's fresh snow?
The Silver King lift at Whitewater is where you go the day after a storm. The locals for the most part don't ski there and so it is not hard to find untracked turns on the sides of the runs or in the trees between the runs.
 

David Chaus

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Yeah, old thread, so maybe previously covered, but I'd nominate Lost Trails, on the MT/ID border.

With a high-for-MT base elevation of 7,050' it gets quality snow, and patience is required to exhaust the powder, since there are zero high-speed lifts.

I would die to have that base elevation at my home area of Big Mountain MT.

Just did a trip report. It seems to me more of a family-friendly local’s mountain as opposed to “dirtbag”.

 

Tom K.

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Just did a trip report. It seems to me more of a family-friendly local’s mountain as opposed to “dirtbag”.

Crazy! We saw you skiing there -- not really -- when we were driving by Lost Trail on our way back home from Sun Valley on that same Saturday.

Small world!
 
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TonyPlush

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The Silver King lift at Whitewater is where you go the day after a storm. The locals for the most part don't ski there and so it is not hard to find untracked turns on the sides of the runs or in the trees between the runs.
Yep, that’s basically what I did. Skied it all afternoon after a powder morning. Found mostly untouched turns at 3:50 PM on the sides and in the trees.

How does it compare to places like Lookout Pass, Silver Mountain, Lost Trail, Mt. Baker, etc.?
 

Snowfan

aka Eric Nelson
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Here and there.
I rode the chair yesterday at Taos with a guy who lives in Jackson hole but does not ski there because of the crowds and goes to Lost Trails. He said they're only open Thursday through Sunday so old timers show up on Thursday for fresh tracks. He really likes the place.
 

crgildart

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Anyone mention Tucks yet? :huh: Never made it there but up til about 2-3 years ago I was interested in the climb.. They should open a cat skiing operation there for us older, out of shape geezers..
 

Doug Briggs

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Anyone mention Tucks yet? :huh: Never made it there but up til about 2-3 years ago I was interested in the climb.. They should open a cat skiing operation there for us older, out of shape geezers..
No they shouldn't. That is what the auto-road is for. :rolleyes:

There was a heli service to the summit for a brief time, believe it or not.
 

dbostedo

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No they shouldn't. That is what the auto-road is for. :rolleyes:

There was a heli service to the summit for a brief time, believe it or not.
I've never been there, but I've also heard stories about it being too crowded already on nice spring days... lots of people willing to hike and climb up it...

1678306948679.png
 

Doug Briggs

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@dbostedo, it can get crowded on spring weekends for sure. Most locals will avoid it at those times and ski other terrain in the area.
 

TonyPlush

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Better snow and better food at Whitewater.
Interesting. But confusing to me… most of those places have similar or more snowfall totals than Whitewater. (Lookout Pass supposedly gets 100+ more inches.) Does Whitewater’s elevation make that much of a difference?
 

DanoT

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Interesting. But confusing to me… most of those places have similar or more snowfall totals than Whitewater. (Lookout Pass supposedly gets 100+ more inches.) Does Whitewater’s elevation make that much of a difference?
Not this season, but most winters Whitewater gets 39ft of snow. That's tied with Whistler but without WB rain or wet snow. No 7 day a week resort gets more snow than that in Canada. In the USA, Targhee gets more snow than Whitewater but Lookout Pass according to Google, does not.
 

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