by Greetings and happy Friday my friends. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. The holiday season has begun and snow season is off to an amazing start. Shall we call it Snowmageden? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but this could be some season. The weather reports and snow headlines that keep coming out have been very inspiring. Here is what they are saying:
The powder party will continue
I like it.
California is on the storm train with two storms through the weekend
Nothing like winning a snow lottery.
Multiple Storms & 1-3 Feet for West
Wow. Really encouraging. It’s not too late to book a trip.
The Rockies have a lot of terrain open thanks to multiple storms during November. Good news all around!
Yes that is good news. More terrain is still opening daily.
I am back from a quick trip to Breck, Keystone & Vail. Breckenridge conditions are excellent with a tremendous amount of the mountain open. Everything from steeps and bowls to the nice blue groomers are in great shape. Breck has almost everything but Peak 10 & 6 open. Keystone had the least open, but still really good early season coverage. I had an amazing hike on some really fresh snow on the South Bowl. Conditions were very good in that area. I look forward to some more hikes in The Outback. I finished my three day jaunt with awe-inspiring Vail. Vail has the most terrain open in the country. Pretty much the whole mountain is open. I got lucky! I caught a five inch powder day after a 10 inch storm the previous day. Yea, it was pretty epic. It was cold, but the snow quality was fabulous. Wish you could have been there with me.
Anyway, here are some pics for your entertainment. Enjoy…
BRECKENRIDGE
Taking the Gondola up
Kinda hard to see when the sun is glaring in your eyes.
Peak 8 in the background. Horseshoe bowl to the left back.
Full balaclava on those frigid days.
Blue groomers in really nice shape.
Still some freshie to be had in Ore’s bucket with a nice size Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree – too bad I left my ornaments at home!
Some rollers through the glades.
Flat blue groomer.
KEYSTONE
Look into our eyes.
Trees freshly covered after a little dump.
Perfect day for a hike above tree line. These are for experts only. Always go with a buddy.
I see we now have some company. Always happens . . .
How’s it going there? Do you see what I see?
Fresh pow pow awaits our arrival. YES YES YES
VAIL
Views from the gondola heading up. Looking good.
Wow, is it gonna be one of those days?
Yup looks like my kinda day. Let the fun begin.
Trees holding onto the goods.
Sun rising over the tree line.
Colorado blue bird day – right after a dumping, love it! . . . 
Yes, it usually means its pretty deep
Unreal views every which way you looked today. It was just one of those days. EPIC pretty much in every way. One of the days that you dream of and makes you say – I will be back. VAIL, there is no place on earth like it.
READER FEEDBACK, COMMENTS & PICS
FEEDBACK
Thanks friends, skiers/riders and readers tremendous amount of feedback you sent us. Your feedback continues to blow us away. It’s really awesome. So don’t stop. Keep sending us anything. We really do appreciate it. Something is better than nothing. Seriously though, reading this blog is a choice. Thanks for reading and continuing to support this blog. We continue to try and bring original entertaining content. So here’s what some of you had to say since our last post:
From one reader:
Too cool
Guess you can never be too cool. Still love this one:
Awesome
He must have been seeing what another reader saw
Fresh lines I saw
Yes, got some freshie for sure. . . someone else could tell
Happy you are enjoying the ride
Riding on the POW is something special or as one reader put it
It is f’ing magnificent.
You’re not alone, many people feel that way . . .think this reader feels the same
Any luck in finding me an available closet for rent?
Only you can make a dream a reality friend. But like Warren Miller used to say
Do it now or you will just be one year older when you do.
This guy gets it
It is a fun atmosphere
It sure is. Add some fresh pow to the fun atmosphere and the conversation really takes off. People literally go gaga over the fresh stuff. As one guy put it
HOLY POWDER
And when they see it
Oh my looks like fresh powder.
Yes, yes it is. And whomever sent this was spot on
Wow conditions look amazing
Well they don’t suck . . . that’s fa sure. And people do ask this, when you don’t know you don’t know . . .
Do you ski in powder that deep?
Every chance I get.
Again, thanks for everything. You guys rock.
COMMENTS
SNOW CONDITIONS
12/4/2018 Vail, CO
Resorts are open and ready to take your money. The beginning of the 2018/2019 winter season is fast underway. The early season snow gods have been very generous. Conditions are really good; really good. Fresh powder keeps falling. Snow-vember was incredible, filthy if you know what I’m saying. Resort snow bases are continuing to get bigger. More and more terrain is opening daily. It should only continue to get better. My friends, here’s to continued fresh powder and many more blue bird days. It’s been an amazing early season for some of you. Get out there and enjoy it. It’s really good right now. THE THRILL OF THE MOUNTAIN AWAITS YOU. #POWDER2THEPEOPLE
SEASON PASSES
I believe you still can buy Ikon and/or Mountain Collective. If you can, I would do it now. Epic has stopped sales for season passes, but you can still buy discounted advanced sales directly at their website. I heard they are also doing something where they credit a portion of a days pass toward next years ski pass. Also, many season ticket holders get pass benefits for friends and family; i.e. ski with a friend or buddy passes. Now is a good time to barter for those. It’s time to ski and ride my friends.
LODGING
If you need help with lodging, especially last-minute, reach out to us at:
ThrilloftheMountain@gmail.com
We know people. And we may be able to help you.
RESORT GUIDING
Resort Guiding
We are offering all-inclusive resort guiding for you and your family at a discounted rate. Our guides can handle from 1 to 6 people. The day will be customized and tailored to your group and groups needs. A fun day is in store. If this is something you have an interest in? Please reach out, we’ll make it happen. Some feedback we received from recent tours:
Had an amazing time!!
and this one
It really was an amazing ski vacation!
Thank you. I had a blast. I look forward to it again next year. This always makes me feel good:
Great day on the mountain. Thank you for being so very patient.
as well as this gem:
Thanks for the pics. They are awesome. Thanks for capturing those precious moments.
Glad I could help in making special memories. Received this in my inbox:
We had the best time ever!! Thank you for navigating the mountain for us, for the snow shoe tour, for teaching us how to ski better and for being so wonderful and patient and welcoming to our entire crew!!
We love writing about the mountains and mountain activities, but even more, we love sharing it with everyone-with all of you. Want to find out what it’s all about? It’s not to late to book for this season. Dates are filling up. Need your whole trip planned from soup to nuts??? Is this you? We can help you to. Whether we just spend a day with you or we plan your whole trip, we are happy to do what we do. We have all of your winter adventures covered. We promise you and your family will have a great time
Good looking group from 11/15/2018
This was a fun group for sure. See you all soon.
MERCH
We have t-shirts, long sleeve shirts and stickers for sale. Shirts come in Large and X-Large sizes only. If you or anyone you know wants a Trill of the Mountain shirt or sticker they can be ordered here:
A portion of all sales will go to charitable causes. Current charitable donations go to:
- Kahn Academy
- Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA / Guardian ad Litem GAL
- Chidamoyo Christian Hospital
PICS
Good news. Love me some snow.
Hey there buddy
Feels like -4. That’s cold!!!
Looks steep with rocks abound.
Whatcha thinking about bud? I can see a Colorado blue bird day in your eyes.
Fierce and very cat like, if I don’t say so myself.
Long time no see man . . . but where is everybody? You have the mountain all to yourself.
Looking a little cold there Momma. Awesome to see you on da slopes.
Beautiful smile lady. I see they brought out the welcoming bear for you.
Nice night for a walk in downtown.
And a new day begins.
Riding that POW.
12/4/2018 Vail, CO. – In the deep stuff. Fun times.
Tanks again for reading this blog. I hope you all have a great weekend. Until next time, love one another and be kind to each other. Get out there, The Thrill of the Mountain is waiting for you. Ski on / Ride on.
CMM
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