Destination: Snowbird + A Basin

firecrotchI can help a bit for the bird. not sure about car camping in the parking lot, definitely not if theres new snow, probably not any other time but as I said, not sure. we just got 16 inches last night and more coming tonight, so the skiings going to be pretty good for a while. unfortunately, the tram and the whole peruvian side of the mountain are closed because they are replacing the tram cable, which limits terrain. mineral basin is still open which is the most fun for spring skiing, if you get some real sunny days would reccomend spending a lot of time there. you can find lines with at least 5-7 solid jumps+ cliffs per lap. also, you gotta time it. if you get there first thing it will be ice, late afternoon and it'll be total slush. if you have a touring setup I would recommend main chute at Alta and/or a tour up grizzly gulch for the view, depending on your timeframe.

hope that helps a bit!

gavinrudyMay skiing at the Basin is some of my favorite skiing, very sunny, soft, and fast. People typically recommend skiing the Pali (Pallavicini) Lift but I often find there are more fun hits on Lenawee if you know where to look. Snowpack will be great for all of may so you don't have to worry about skiing conditions. You won't be able to sleep in your car in the lot but I see parked cars and campers along Loveland Pass between A Basin and Keystone (5mi stretch of highway) where people sleep all the time.

Z-JuiceA-Basin will have the majority of their terrain open through May. I think the first area to close is typically Palli which has steeper trees and moguls. After that would probably be the East Wall and Montezuma Bowl. Again, I think they won't shut down any of these areas until late May at the earliest.

There should be a few rails up all the way through closing day. Some good spots are the East Wall, the gulley just outside the East Wall boundary, the cornice on the western wall, zuma cornice, and Palli if there is new snow. Following a day with decent sunshine and melting/overnight freezing, most of the mountain won't get soft until 11 or so.

FunkmasterFleckPlenty of snow at A-Bay right now. What is your home mountain? Never heard of a mountain closing due to bears waking up from hibernation haha.

csteezyHell yes, im super stoked. Whats the morning commute like into A Basin? I can crash with a buddy in fort collins or golden and google says there is an hour difference. Think there'd be much traffic?

gavinrudyFrom Golden it's pretty casual, you could make it in about an hour. Fort Collins is pushing it if you're bouncing back and forth, like 2/2.5 hours I think. Definitely not any traffic at this time of year, nor will you run into bad weather. Might get a foot of powder one day, though, there seem to be plenty of freak snowstorms mid May.

mooseman077Its dumping at the basin right now. We are supposed to get a foot or two between today and tomorrow!

OutoftownerI'm sure you can find a really cheap hotel within 20 min of Snowbird. There's really nothing on the road up to it. Not worth sleeping in the car IMO.

gr4if youre set on sleeping in the car you could park in/next to the parking structure next to the cliff lodge, poach their hot tubs, and then do shot and beers at the tram club until last call. that would make for a pretty fun night. but SLC is close enough it's probably worth checking out there too.

adorsA Basin is 100% open right now and everything is in great shape. Pali and the the lower east wall have some fun hits, also the chutes on the west side of Zuma bowl are a lot of fun when they soften up. Golden is a pretty easy commute but I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to come from Fort Collins.

Also if you stay in Golden i would recommend doing the Coors Brewery tour.

gavinrudyMay skiing at the Basin is some of my favorite skiing, very sunny, soft, and fast. People typically recommend skiing the Pali (Pallavicini) Lift but I often find there are more fun hits on Lenawee if you know where to look. Snowpack will be great for all of may so you don't have to worry about skiing conditions. You won't be able to sleep in your car in the lot but I see parked cars and campers along Loveland Pass between A Basin and Keystone (5mi stretch of highway) where people sleep all the time.