Best April Snowboarding spot

[Tick]

Some buddies of mine and I are planning an April trip out west based around my pal's Spring Break (he's a teacher). This year we're looking at April 5-12th.

I've been to Colorado and Utah that time period with less than ideal results (I know that time of year is prone to periodic thaws), and Banff last year (rode Nakiska with 10" new snow). I'm debating Mt. Bachelor or Mt. Hood, or maybe one of the smaller Idaho resorts. Anyone have suggestions? I know we're not likely to get big powder day, but what places might have good snow, grooming, etc. that time of year? Thanks in advance! :)

Tick

[noschoolrider]

I strongly recommend Bachelor, Mammoth (if they have a lot of snow), and Whistler/Blackcomb.

[nekdut]

Come to Mammoth. We're usually open until June and plenty of camps are training through that time. The snow typically stays in good shape through May if the temps stay reasonable.

[LeeW]

Mammoth, hands down. Mt Hood/Mt Bachelor -- a gamble.

[D-Sub]

+1 for mammoth IF it's been a good snow year. Even slush days are a farking BLAST there when coverage is good.

[Tick]

Thanks for the replies gang! William, I had not thought before about going over the big pond, and checking airline tix today, it might bust the budget for us. Something for us to keep in mind for the future though...

I was hoping to hear from some guys like DSub mores specifically about Bachelor, because it looks like it could be prone to spring rains rather than snow, like Whistler is sometimes. Maybe nooschool could chime in?

[Coldrider]

I've has good results with Skyauction.com if you are looking for international airfare deals.

<img src="http://i7.tinypic.com/6k8cgg8.jpg" border="0" alt="Hiking above Lake Wanaka, NZ">

Go global--your adventures on a snowboard are as big as your imagination.

.02

COLDrider

[Snowman]

Arapahoe Basin. April is always spectacular for plate riders and you are gaurenteed bountiful snow in that month also. If you can hang and bang and roll top to bottoms all day you are deserving of the title MOUNTAIN MAN. The high elevation ensures late season quality when most other resorts are dealing with marginal conditions and impending closing dates.

Think Snow

[carvedog]

Thanks for the replies gang! William, I had not thought before about going over the big pond, and checking airline tix today, it might bust the budget for us. Something for us to keep in mind for the future though...

I was hoping to hear from some guys like DSub mores specifically about Bachelor, because it looks like it could be prone to spring rains rather than snow, like Whistler is sometimes. Maybe nooschool could chime in?

About crossing over. don't forget that with the relatively weak dollar vs the euro, you would put yourself at a disadvantage unless you have already socked some away in a swiss bank in euros.

For April you need to think about going North. And going high elevation unless you want to lock yourself into slush fest 2008. I personally prefer cold dry snow to slush. Nothing against the Oregon resorts, but they all seem to be relatively lower elevation. Mammoth is higher, but if you do get snow you are in the land of "Sierra Cement".

With a base that varies from 6,800 to 7,500 feet I would think about Big Sky in MT. Fernie in Canada gets hella snow but tops out at 7K ft, Whitefish goes up to around 8k, but they shut down a little earlier than some due to the hibernating Grizzly bear issue.

With "global" warming at least being a partial issue I would not even look at the southern resorts ( ie most of CO, sure there is A-Basin with some high elevation but haven't been there so can't comment further.

Schweitzer, Brundage and Silver Mtn are all under rated Idaho resorts but also fairly low elevations on all. With snowpack we are getting I expect them to be open into April.

And then there is Sun Valley. We stayed open until May 5th one year. Typical closing is third week of April. Can be spring conditions as early as March, but we do get some late season storms that can be awesome. Two years ago the mtn was full spring and around the first week of April, temps dropped, it snowed and the whole mtn went back to mid-winter dry, carvy chalk until the close.

If anyone is annoyed at my synopsis of your area - too bad. I love winter snow and view spring snow as unfortunate part of the cycle of life and death my precious winter snow.

[b0ardski]

Slush bumps in t-shirts & Beers in sun pit on top, beats the golf course any day.

The Inland NW snow pack is shaping up to be good coverage into June, "epic" spring conditions on the radar:biggthump

[Tick]

Carvedog, I was actually putting Brundage on a shoty "maybe" list. Would this be a good choice? From what I can tell about Sun Valley, it's a pricey place. Not sure that would work.

[Rob Stevens]

Sunshine Village in Banff.

Open until May 27th.

Out of the last 5 years, 3 of them haven't even seen spring conditions. It was mid winter right up to closing. The Slush Cup was ****house at minus 5, but the snow was sick. Thats what a 2000m base elevation will do for you.

Most of the mountain is very carve freindly. It's wide open in many places, not super steep so you can really hold it in the fall line and once spring hits, there's usually nobody around.

The Swiss angle seems good, too. I looked into Zinal for ECS and it's $610 return from Calgary! Not bad. Once you're there it might be spendy, but likely no worse than what we're used to. The culture alone would make it worth the trip. The only downside I could see with going there personally is the jet lag, but you could party all night like a coked-up vampire bat.

[RDY_2_Carve]

I would setup camp in the Leadville, CO area and ride the biggest and best conditions possible, but I can only speak for CO and NM. Most NM resorts are closed by early to mid April and the spring conditions start sometime in March.

[Allee]

I can second Rob on Sunshine. The conditions there are consistently stellar when all the other resorts have closed - the weekend of spring break is the closing for most of them. Kimberley, Castle, Panorama and Nakiska will be shut, Lake Louise will be as icy and/or slushy as hell, and Fernie is a total roll of the dice. IF we have a good year you might get a couple of good days at Louise, but don't hold your breath.

What are Big White/Silver Star/Whitewater/Apex like in spring? Any locals? If they're holding up, you could have a great road trip around that area ...

[carvedog]

Carvedog, I was actually putting Brundage on a shoty "maybe" list. Would this be a good choice? From what I can tell about Sun Valley, it's a pricey place. Not sure that would work.

Brundage is an awesome little resort. Way friendly vibe, usually more snow than SV. Lift tickets are about $25 per day less, lodging about 25% less as well. Which can add up. While there is some pretty good grooming there. I don't think of this as a carving hill. Glades, trees and some steeps. It's got a little bit of everything good. Not a ton of anything, but lots of tasty morsels.

I was there on a powder day in April doing a clinic after we finished at 3, we went back up on got untracked right down the middle of one of the main groomers.

[John Gilmour]

You would never believe it... But Sugarloaf USA in Maine gets as much snow after April 1 as it gets the entire rest of the season.

I've ridden there April 27th in 18 inches of fresh powder. Early April is a sure thing.

They have really cheap lodging deals in April if you are on a budget. Its not Western riding- but they do have snowfields which sometimes are open.. and the trails are wide by east coast standards and long. Most everything is at least 50% off in April.

I would love to go to Europe but the dollar is so pathetically weak there now. Two bowls of pho, 2 juices and a beer cost me $68 USD for lunch. Even in Latvia the Lat can buy two dollars..... that's pathetic that a former soviet block country that used to have the worthless ruble can crush our currency. The Czech republic is better.

If I went I'd probably try Hintertux in Austria. I've snowboarded their Glaciers in late June. It might be cheaper....but I have not been there in over a decade. I would think Zermatt in Swiss Alps would be hideously expensive by comparison.

Too bad you can't ski South Africa the US dollar is 7 to one over the Rand- you can buy a nice farmhouse for about $7000 USD.

And since you are in Virginia... you could drive to Sugarloaf sans traffic in about 11 hours.

________

Jailbroken

[noschoolrider]

I was hoping to hear from some guys like DSub mores specifically about Bachelor, because it looks like it could be prone to spring rains rather than snow, like Whistler is sometimes. Maybe nooschool could chime in?

The base elevation at Bachelor is 6,300' which is high enough so that it will usually snow instead of rain (if there is any precipitation April). However, in May it is more like a 50/50 chance of it raining if there is any precipitation.

[mellowjonny]

Brundage is an awesome little resort. Way friendly vibe, usually more snow than SV. Lift tickets are about $25 per day less, lodging about 25% less as well. Which can add up. While there is some pretty good grooming there. I don't think of this as a carving hill. Glades, trees and some steeps. It's got a little bit of everything good. Not a ton of anything, but lots of tasty morsels.

I was there on a powder day in April doing a clinic after we finished at 3, we went back up on got untracked right down the middle of one of the main groomers.

I ride Brundage most often and it's a great mountain, especially in the spring. Right now we have tons of snow pack so springs gonna be epic. There's also Tamarack resort 35 minutes down the road which would be good for a few days during your trip. Now-- if i was spending the money and coming all the way to the west it would be craze not to go to Sun Valley--the place was made for carving. Runs that are 3240 verticle feet of uninterupted, groomed,chalky, dry, untouched narvana. Just my opinion---I'll ride with you. :)

[carvedog]

I LOVE Baldy....

She is so nice right now too.

http://sunvalley.com/SunValley/info/mtn.cams.aspx

Go to the bottom and check out the vid for Jan 9th to see the conditions of the hill. all south slopes are open, lower bowls, the OB while still a little sketch is off the hook right now.