Wait continues for Extremes to open thanks to high winds

Pray for more snow

Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) is reporting 110 inches of snowfall this winter, but high winds have done a number on the snowpack in the Extremes. Skiers waiting for the advanced terrain to open will have to wait a little longer.

“The high-wind event that occurred just before Christmas was quite damaging to the snowpack,” said ski patrol director Bill Dowell. “It stripped away a lot of snow in the exposed areas—Upper Headwall, High Notch, Phoenix and Spellbound—and created significant windslab issues in lower, more protected areas that now rest on top of weak, unsupportive layers from early in the season.”
The snow stake at the High Lift had settled in at 39 inches of snow, but Dowell says it continued to drop to about 36 inches by Tuesday, January 6 as the snow continued to settle and shrink. And while the bootpacking crew is working on breaking up weak layers in the snowpack, coverage is spotty everywhere. One spot might have decent coverage while ten feet to the left, it’s rocky and exposed.
“The biggest issue is that we could really use a foot of snow and there’s nothing in the forecast for about a month,” Dowell said. “We’re trying to be as creative as we can and think outside the box as to how we open things up and keep people skiing. It’s a tricky call for us because when we open up terrain people tend to ski it like there’s eight feet of snow.”
With a lot of burly terrain, including rocks and downed trees, Dowell says, ski patrol needs to consider more than skiing and riding conditions—if people get hurt, his team needs to be able to access the area to assist them.
“When things start to open up, it is likely that the configuration of what is open and closed will be different from what has occurred in the past, “ Dowell said. For example, Teo Bowl has some decent snow but the Upper Headwall is stripped out. One scenario might see riders and skiers who go to the top of the High Lift funneled into Teo, with ropes closing off the Headwall. Or, they might have to unload at the midway and traverse to lower Headwall. But those decisions are still being made as ski patrol assesses the snow pack.
“Hopefully, people can be patient and realize that we want to get it open as badly as anybody else,” Dowell said. He’s advising people to watch the status boards for updates because things can change quickly. And to pray for snow. “Luckily, we didn’t get the rain they got north of I-70 [Monday night], but it’s super warm right now, which is pretty unseasonable.”