Brush Creek (we think) pouring mud into Roaring Fork this morning...

Quiet, brown and warm Friday eve. Snow and AH manana.

One more weekend in the land of giant wrapping walls of snow.

Tracks in the bowl set early by a hardy few. Now it is glue.

Fresh snow greeted early arrivals, now it is dripping off the trees.

Marg Man pouring for all hikers on bonus sunshine Sunday.

Two-stroke margarita brilliance at Bowl Top.

Up the ridge early, snow was like thick silk under fog. AH in full winter mode.

If you are left in town you are here...

Deep in the Bowl today

Photo courtesy of Aspen Skiing Co.

Dumping hard here

Three to seven inches this afternoon. Three to five tonight. Snow is coming out of the fire hose today. Word from the Highlands powder posse was that it was, as expected, sick, epic, fat and bottomless in the Bowl. Patrollers were thanking those in attendance for coming up and encouraging them to take two laps in the Bowl. Wow. Great day for those who could get out and the weekend skiing and riding should be super-fantastico.

Theory: the more you want to be on the beach, the more it snows.

Powder morning in Aspen, Colorado. And the posse has its way at AH.

Highlands Powder Posse

SkiCo is inviting qualified folks to come skiing a day early at Aspen Highlands, which will be open for a late-season weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Here's the text of the SkiCo press release: "Aspen Highlands invites skiers and riders to join the Powder Posse tomorrow, Friday, April 17. Skiers and riders are needed to prepare the mountain for the general public for this weekend’s extended season. Those interested need to be at the base of Highlands at 10 a.m. and come no later than 10:30 a.m. when the Exhibition lift closes for the day. The Posse will ski/ride part of Highland Bowl and Steeplechase. Attendees can leave the mountain at any time and should bring a lunch and water as there will be no food service on the mountain. No beacons are needed. No passes are needed but skiers/riders will be asked to sign a waiver. For more information, please call 970/925-1220." And you know, it might just qualify for public service hours ... and the forecast is calling for up to seven inches by the morning.

Wintry Highlands with one nice set of turns down Golden Horn and T-Bowl.

Hey, I'm trying to work on my tan here, but nooo.

Reflections Monday night of a red sunset over a dark river.

Sliding into off-season

It was a fairly nice day in Aspen, although the sight of the dust-covered mountain looming over town seemed like a giant billboard for a trip to a tropical clime.
The weather forecast is doing its part to produce travel-related economic stimulus. Rain-then-snow showers expected tonight with one-to-two inches overnight. Another two-to-four inches on Thursday, another one-to-three inches on Thursday night, and another one-to-two inches on Friday. That’s up to ten inches by Friday afternoon. Hmmm. Okay, it is good for backcountry skiers but the lounging lift lizards will only be frustrated. There is lots of off-season activity underway, including a resurfacing of the North of Nell building. But so far, the immediate construction pace doesn’t seem quite as frenzied as in years past. Which, depending on where you stand, can either be a good thing or a bad thing. But it is for certain more of a quiet thing.

Fruits of off-season labors, somewhere in Western Colorado.

Closing day ... Already heading west toward sun, warmth, rock, sand and river. It was a solid ski season.

Snow, rain, and wind

Hard spring storm sweeping the valley and flushing most off of Aspen Mountain and Snowmass today. Nasty and gray. Kind of nice, though, in a deeply refreshing sort of way. Or a dark beer and hot food kind of way. Two to four inches of snow in the forecast overnight. Could mean the last regular day of the season is a powder day. Would be nice to get some fresh snow on top of the "snirt" layers.

Cinnamon snow in the sunshine on Friday. Rain and snow today, though.

The final days are upon us, with wind, sun and dust the prevailing themes

Sneaky's catching some flakes. View from the Smokehouse.

The Aspen is blowing in the dust

Nice spring day, today, with a slightly apocalyptic forecast from the National Weather Service: “Today: Areas of blowing dust after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Breezy, with a south southwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.” Yes, “areas of blowing dust.” It’s believable. Town and the mountains are still covered in the second thick layer of mud/dust that fell last week. Locals are still talking about the orange glowing sunset that night — dustset? — and how the sky was full of falling dust, dirt or mud and then how it quickly turned to snow. (You can see why Aspen was so popular in the ‘70s). It is expected to be relatively cool here through the week with the potential for several inches of snow on Thursday. Early next week, which marks the first day of summer vacation for Aspenites, looks like it will be spring-like across the Western Slope. Five more days for Ajax and Snowmass, counting today …

Late PM view of Bell Mountain from the Wheeler.

Crisp sunny day to start last full week

Ah yes, such a bittersweet week. Highlands and Buttermilk have closed (save for two more bonus weekends at Highlands later this month). And so Aspen Mountain and Snowmass remain open. On the one had, it is a relief when the ski season ends because one can turn to other pursuits without worrying about what is happening up on the hill. But it is also a time when you feel compelled to get out all day every day to finish the season with style, especially since coverage is so good right now. And now the sun is out in a big way. And the forecast is calling for temps in the 60s tomorrow. As usual, there is only one solution: go sliding.

Bell Mountain is truly the heart of Ajax. Getting hot and sticky now.

Miner Billy Zaugg's summer home. You can see why he lived in Paris in the winter, spending his hard-earned silver.

Tracks through snow at bottom of Walsh's.

Snowladen trees at the of Kristi.

Clouds swirling around the Pass...

After you over the snowy edge.

Highland Bowl in fine form on last day of regular season.

Crisp morning with a fresh coat of snow and cosmic ethereal clouds swirling.

The dirt is like cinnamon stirred into the snow. Still plenty white on top though.

Been snowing hard since about 4:30 p.m. in town. Forecast calling for another one to two tonight, but given how much it has snowed since the lifts closed, it should a fine closing day for Highlands and Buttermilk both. Yes, the season draws to close for two of the four, except Highlands will be open again on April 18-19 and 25-26. Should be plenty of snow up high in the Bowl those weekends. Sure been a nice finish to the season.

Been snowing steadily on top since noon.

Gondy running slow through the full misty effect.

Snowing and blowing hard on Mt Ajax now, and the top is full of snow

Wet, dusty, thick, soft, and deep under foggy skies with light snow falling.

More brown snow falls on to Aspen in the 2nd mud shower of the year. It is mixed with snow, though, so we go.

Lonely snow at the top of Spar at about 10:45. Snowing hard in town an hour later...

Huge giant flakes pounding down on downtown Aspen as we approach the noon whistle. Looks like late laps will be quite productive. The snowboarding was excellent this morning on the groomed trails. About half a foot in some spots, which just made for pleasant riding. Simple. Joyous. The steeps had a slightly menacing bumpy crunch underneath them but folks probably found plenty of soft sections. Now the St. Mary's church bells are ringing under a heavy wet spring blizzard and the tracks made earlier are filling in up on the mountain. Gondy at 2:15 the current goal...

On the way to Spar Gulch where it was low tide, five-foot, glassy and reeling right down the reef with no one out. We'll always have that run, that wave, we will. A sublime mix of careful grooming and five inches of whipped heavy cream.

Where does that gap in the trees lead through the powder?

Frosty glades on a wet, snowy and warm morning with over 3 new.

Brisk pause in the action

A brisk spring day in Aspen today with a mix of sunshine, high clouds and windiness. Ajax reported 4 this morning and Highlands 5 inches. Most of that came yesterday morning but the Bowl was glistening this morning so perhaps some also fell late last night or early this morning. Snow is in the forecast for Friday and Friday night with a potential of 4 to 8 inches by Saturday morning.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has kicked the local avi danger to “considerable.” The Center’s Simon Trautman wrote that “a few storms during the last week and a half have dropped 3-4 feet of snow on the Aspen zone. Occasional strong winds from many different directions have loaded a variety of aspects near and above treeline.

“Observers have noted that these slabs were anywhere from 1cm to 1 ft thick and quite variable depending on your location. A few clear days and some breaks of sun between storms resulted in crusts on all but the northerly aspects.

“That is a lot of layers and a lot of variability to keep track of, so you will want to evaluate the upper snowpack often as you move around to different aspects and elevations during your backcountry tour. Watch for changes in stability over short distances and don’t get surprised by crossloaded slabs, convex rolls, and areas of unstable snow.”

Don't get surprised, indeed.

Layers of snow continue to pile up in Aspen.

Bonus Weekends at Highlands

The SkiCo announced today that Aspen Highlands will stay open for four extra days across two April weekends with lift tickets at $19 for season pass holder from anywhere in the country. Highlands will close on Sunday, April 5 and then re-open Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19 and April 25-26. The Exhibition, Loge and Deep Temerity lifts will be open along with Highland Bowl. The lifts may close as early as 2 p.m. if temps get too hot. Adult lift tickets will be $39 a day and youth and seniors will pay $29. Children under six ski free. Last year was the first time SkiCo had offered bonus weekends at Highlands and did so because of construction on the gondola plaza on Aspen Mountain. The weekends proved popular, and fun, so SkiCo decided to do it again.

Morning snow showers

An empty gondola greeted one skier at five before 9 a.m. this morning. Snow was falling steadily and being blown in hard from the northwest. The moguls have shrunk and flattened out this week but there is still the occasional firm survivor. Three to four inches on top of Ajax as of 11 a.m., with some slight clearing brightening up the day. Cold and windy first thing this morning with snow sweeping across the top of Ajax. It is starting to get soft and three to five inches are in the forecast for this afternoon and another inch tonight. Well worth getting out. And very quiet on the hill. Should be good throughout the day and if more snow comes in, late laps might be a nice call. (No foolin').