We absolutely love it when the forecasters get snowfall numbers wrong – on the low side. That is exactly what happened today. We rose this morning to find less than an inch of snow in the valley and to be honest, didn’t even get out on the hill until after 10:30am. By the time we arrived at the top of the lift though, the snow really started to fly.

Just a few hours later, we were finding 6 inch plus powder stashes in the back bowls and were giggling like school children.

Visibility was quite poor early, so the trick was to stick close to the trees to get some definition, though after the heaviest of the snow fell, the light became much better and there was no problems skiing the open bowls.

Today, we were also reminded of one of the oldest tricks in the book at Vail and that is that when the wind is blowing, to ski on the side of the hill that the wind is helping the snow land on. For example, with the wind blowing more so from the west today, the more easterly facing bowls had significantly more snow that those facing directly into the wind.

The forecast for tomorrow remains the same, with 2-4 inches expected during the day, so it might just be a superb day on the hill. We expect it to be cold once again, so rug up and with the snow falling throughout the day, visibility may once again be a factor.

Presidents Day weekend is also upon us, so we expect some serious crowds this weekend. Your best bet is to get a huge day in tomorrow and sit tight for the next storm to roll through at the end of the weekend.

Looking ahead, the storms look to be backing up for the first time since December, so if you are thinking of a trip to Colorado, the time is now!

With colder temperatures staying on the negative side of freezing, the snow is in excellent condition at Vail.

To be honest, we were pleasantly surprised with conditions today right across the resort. Not to suggest we didn’t think it would be good, though the snow was in brilliant spec following the recent snow and continued cold temperatures – a combination of details that have been recently lacking.

The groomers, back bowls and blue sky basin were all superb today and we struggled to find anything that wasn’t tasty and delicious. The only thing to watch was that there was still a crust in some very rare cases underneath the fluff and some of the groomed areas tended to get slick, especially in the late afternoon after the sun and high traffic had done its work.

Now, we look forward to a shift in this weather pattern and jet stream which favors much more snowy weather from Tahoe to Utah and across to Colorado. Not that we can pin point details at the moment, though we certainly expect some more active weather commencing this week.

Some forecasters are suggesting a nice top up on Thursday, though at this stage, I am going to call this a crap shoot. If nothing is delivered here, I am not going to get upset, as the weather shift is the most exciting thing to happen long term since an active December.

Let’s keep our eyes on the situation and we’ll keep you posted. For now, it looks great for this week and punters should enjoy a brilliant Presidents Day weekend.