The O. Zone

Vail, Beaver Creek pounded with snow; more on the way for the weekend

Vail and Beaver Creek got an amazing pasting of snow Thursday, with the final totals coming in at more than foot for both mountains.

David O. Williams

When I got up at 7 a.m., there was just a dusting on my deck in West Vail but it was absolutely pounding. By about 9 a.m. we had more than five inches and it just kept coming during the day. Reports from the mountain were that it was one of those days where your tracks fill in after each run.

For the record, Vail reported 12 new, which brings the season total to 334 inches – just 16 shy of the seasonal average of 350, with more than two months of ski season left. Beaver Creek has been playing catch-up lately, recording 14 new and a season-to-date total of 241.

Both resorts will add to those totals this weekend, with forecasters calling for another couple of inches today and Saturday. But then another significant storm moves through, with another 4-6 inches expected Saturday night and another 2-4 during the day Sunday.

It will be crowded, given it's the President's Day Weekend, but conditions should be great – just not on the highways. Be sure to consult CDOT for road alerts before heading up.

Also don't forget that most season pass products are restricted Saturday and Sunday, meaning that if you just spin through the lift line and you have resort charge on your pass, you will get hit with the discounted day ticket rate. You can also hit the ticket office and get whatever discount day rate applies depending on the type of pass you have.

The good news is you'll be able to ski longer, with the resorts shifting to spring operation hours today, which mostly means another half hour is added to all the lifts. So the Back Bowls, which have been closing at 3 p.m., will now stay open till 3:30, and most front side lifts are now open until 4.

For more information, call the Vail Mountain Activities & Information Center at (970) SKI-VAIL (754-8245) or the Beaver Creek Information Center at (970) 754-4636.