On 19 Mar 2007 00:13:39 -0700, Andrew wrote:

On Mar 18, 11:36 pm, adie wrote:
On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 18:47:08 -0700, Mike T wrote:
Can anyone reccomend some resorts that have good snow and lots of runs for
beginners that are still suitable in april.

im based in europe, but will travel to the US/Canada if required.

I would recommend against travelling across the pond for late-season riding
because you never know what you'll get weather wise... unless, that is, can
you book a last-minute trip.

Most USA resorts close in April - some ones that have notably good
conditions late season are Arapahoe Basin, Mammoth, Squaw Valley, Mt
Bachelor, Mt Hood Meadows, Timberline, and Whistler. I am a Bachelor local
and typically ride as many days in April and May as I do in the middle of
winter.

As far as beginner terrain Squaw and Timberline have tons of it which is
open for late-season. Bachelor's closes about 3rd week in April.

Hi there, thanks for the info. Been looking at Whistler, like the idea of
the enormous greenrun from top of mountain and large area.

Any major downsides with whistler? will look at timberline and squaw too
:-)

I was at Whistler a week and a half ago. At the time, the snow was
fairly good from about a third of the way up the mountain to the peak,
but slushy and disgusting at the bottom. I even downloaded in the
gondola once - it was that bad. Of course, you never have to ride
that part.

I spent more of the trip on my skis because they don't do a great job
of grooming the groomers, so if you want to do some high-speed
carving, it's hard to find a suitable run. However, on the fresh snow
days I had a blast on my board. The other problem, though, is that
when there's some weather, there's frequently a lot of fog. The
visibility can get so bad that they have sign posts installed on the
traverses and intermediate runs that are the easiest way down from the
lift or that access the bowls and chutes. You stay between them until
you can see enough to drop into something more interesting. For
beginners, these might not be great runs because they're frequently
crowded by fast skiers and riders on their way to something else.
There are some good beginner lifts on the mountain as well, and some
are high enough to be in what was good snow a week and a half ago.
Emerald on the Whistler side and Jersey Cream on the Blackcomb side
come to mind. Look at some weather reports when you're deciding if
you want to go to Whistler.

So crappy weather and slush being the downside. Budget wise i can afford
the best resort, so it just a matter of finding the right combination. Good
snow, good beginners/intm runs, decent weather in april. want to have 14
days, so should also need to be big enough with some variation... And of
course decent off-piste fun.