Ski Powderhorn - Ski Loveland

Matt and I took a trip to Powderhorn on January 4, 2009. I had not skied Powderhorn for over 10 years and hadn't skied period for about as long. The new shaped skis made it easy to transition back from my snowboard. Things haven't changed much at Powderhorn in the past 10 years. I showed Matt all the nice jumps on Dude, Lower Dude (photo 1), and Snowcloud. Photo 2 is from the top of Wonderbump.

The binding on my rental skis broke on the first run. I had to walk down to midway and catch a ride down to the lodge to rent another set. I'm used to Copper Mountains high-speed lifts and long runs. The slow lifts and short runs of Powderhorn have at best a nostalgic quality. Not having to fight I-70 traffic makes Powderhorn great on the other hand.

On January 24th I took my first trip to Loveland. The slog up I-70 was a brutal 2 hours from Aurora. It was a windy snowy day, but lots of powder. I like the way the mountain is laid out: it is easy to move from one end to the other. Again, the lifts are not high speed and the runs seem short. To avoid the slow ride on lift 2, take lift 1 first then hop on 2 at midway.

I enjoyed the runs on lift 1 most (photo 3), but it is a lot less crowded on lifts 4&8 (photo 4). The wind chill above treeline was brutal. The shortcut under I-70 back to the lodge is quirky and cool.