Vail and Beaver Creek know how to create their own snow!

According to John Garnsey, President of Vail, this is the first time in 30 years that the Back Bowls of Vail have not been opened by New Years Day. There is no question that this is the least amount of snow that this writer has seen in my 35 years of skiing in Vail. Having said that, the good news is that both mountains have been able to make snow on a lot of the trails we love to ski. Beaver Creek has 800 acres of snowmaking and Vail has 461 acres. Both mountains have dispelled the rumor that the Forest Service has a deadline on water and both mountains are still allowed to make snow at night(when the temperatures are most conducive). Their only restriction is that they can not allow streams to drop below their minimums. When that happens Vail Resorts are allowed to pull water from their reservoirs. Don Dressler with the Forest Service states that 75% of the water made into snow returns to the basins when the snow melts.

The bad news is that the forecasters from Accuweather.com show no precipitation for the next two weeks. They are calling this weather cycle a weak to moderate LaNina, which could mean weak to moderate precipitation this winter. Some people are saying that we may be getting a 'payback' from all the snow we had last year - the record breaking snow fall of 524 inches. The entire Northwest has had below normal snow and even ski areas in Utah are suffering like Colorado. Don Rogers in the Vail Daily mentioned today that the entire country has only 22% snow cover this year compared to 48% this time last year. 

Some of the good news is that Joel Gratz from Opensnow.com predicts a turnaround by January 15, and Vail Resorts said the company 'will continue to make snow as long as it needs to'. They also have started running ads on how to enjoy the mountain with new activities such as snowshoeing, cross country ski touring or telemark lessons. The Vail Nordic Center in Golden Peak offers lessons and trails, and some of the best snowshoeing is at the top of the Strawberry Park lift in McCoy Park at Beaver Creek.

The bottom line to this story is that, while the locals are so spoiled they all think this is horrible, as a 20 year local at a ski area back in Vermont, I believe these conditions are just fine for anyone who comes out here from the East. The World Cup races in France were cancelled for lack of snow in December, but we were able to hold them on the Birds of Prey.

So come on out and enjoy our blue sky days and our fantastic Real Estate prices, I would love to give you a tour!!