Andrew Johnson
On the search for powder days.
After a few season living the ski bum life…. you become a bit of a powder snob (100% guilty). There is no shortage of incredible places to get your turns in around the globe. But the reality is– you can have an incredible location but if mother nature does not cooperate– groomers and ice are just not much fun. Especially when you consider all the money spent on travel and lift tickets – you can have serious buyers remorse when the snow doesn’t cooperate.
Candidly I’ve had blast freezing my tail off night skiing (extra cold burr) in mid February in central Wisco when sky was puking dry fluffy pow (rare @ https://www.skigranitepeak.com/)! FYI Midwest is not known for outstanding vertical offerings. Moral of the STORY – the key to good ski trips is finding the snow!
There lies the question – but where do I go as every year is different as far as accumulation. First…. Avoid the crowded spots (ie Summit County, CO – Mammoth, CA) and explore the smaller venues that get more snow and less people. Now I’m not here to share all the secrets but one spot that consistently gets the heavier amounts of snow…. Monarch Mountain (https://skimonarch.com/) Nestled behind the collegiate peaks of Buena Vista (pronounced Boo-nah) and about 30-ish minutes west of Salida this hidden gem awaits.
Enjoy and be careful as some of those tree-wells are NASTY!!! I know from personal experience 😊 You’ll see me posting on Teamates – Snowmates section for this coming season – come JOIN!!