Featured Image: Andrew Maguire | Skier: Seamus Slattery
If you’re anything like me, no matter what time of year it may be, skiing cold powder weighs heavily on your mind. Of course, in the middle of winter, when the temps are cold, the usual haunts like Hokkaiddo, Vail, Alta, Jackson, Engelberg and Revelstoke are safe bets to score some blower turns.
But when spring rolls around, especially late spring, it’s more important than ever to have a firm grasp on the delicate balance between terrain and weather patterns to line yourself up a few of those rare late-season face shots.
For those who aren’t ready to give into the warm weather quite yet, I put together a few pointers that could help you make the most of your extended ski season.
Ride a Chairlift
Although most ski resorts shut down in the early part of April, there are a few lifts that stay open quite a bit later, including Loveland (closing day May 11) and Arapahoe Basin (no closing day scheduled yet) in Colorado, the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, France (operates year round), Mammoth and Snowbird (both scheduled to close May 26). Even Jackson Hole reopens its tram for summer use right around Memorial Day, although skiing inside the resort boundary is not permitted.
Keep your eye on the forecast and you might just be able to score some lift accessed pow turns. Pay close attention to temperatures and snow levels though, I’ve been fooled before when I thought I was going to be in for a powder day but it turned out to be some sort of “mixed precipitation” situation.
Check out FREESKIER’s complete list of resort closing dates across North America
Drive a Truck
That’s right, the higher the better. Finding those high-elevation roadways is super key if you want to get some cold smoke later on in the season. Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, for example, have an extensive network of 4×4 roads that actually get plowed as early as April.
By utilizing roads in San Juan County, skiers are able to time weather patterns to line up easy access spring pow laps. Just be careful, you don’t want to get your truck (and yourself) stuck at the top of a high mountain pass during a major storm, then attempt to descend a technical jeep road through deep snow drifts.
Beartooth Pass is another high mountain road that remains unplowed until late spring or early summer. This road, which travels south from Red Lodge, Montana, across the Wyoming border, is home to the summer skiing bastion known as Beartooth Basin Ski Area, which will open on May 26th this year. One June afternoon a number of years ago, I drove up the Pass’s many switchbacks in a blizzard. Yes, that’s right—fresh snow in June!
Fly Away
Alaska; have you heard of it? If your social media newsfeed hasn’t clued you in yet, it snows a lot in AK. Almost every time of year there is a chance to ski pow in the Last Frontier.
When late spring arrives, it sure is nice to bypass glacial travel and quickly access the higher terrain with the help of a helicopter or bush plane. Many high mountain cirques are known to deliver cold snow into May or June.
Interior British Columbia is another place where helis love to play, and are oftentimes utilized to transport ski groups to backcountry huts. If there are any last-minute openings on a hut trip (the further north, the better), you should probably take advantage of the opportunity. Who knows, you just might end up breaking trail on a skintrack through fresh snow, then skiing blower powder back down to the hut.
Although these pointers may come in handy, there are certainly no guarantees when it comes to this type of powder detective work. As we’ve been reminded many times, Mother Nature can be a fickle she-devil, but don’t let her get the best of you.
Keep a keen eye on those weather forecasts, have your ski gear close at hand and don’t be afraid to roll the dice on a moment’s notice if it looks like conditions are going to line up. Late season pow transitions to a sloppy mess quickly, so be ready to go get it before it does. I hope to see you out there.
