r/COsnow•
climberskier

If you are coming from the Icecoast, it really is that bad. You should cancel if you can.

Snow Conditions

Just finished a non-refundable vacation from the IceCoast to CO. Did 6 total days at Keystone, Vail, Beaver, Winter Park, Copper.

All of these had conditions that are worse than the east coast is typically (and this is before out current outstanding season out east). And I am saying this as someone who typically skis rocks and dirt in Vermont. The difference is, in Vermont, the rocks of the Appalachian mountains are older and less sharp. The runs in Vermont are basically grass, with no pine trees underneath, so it does not require as much snow to be skiable and is less likely to destroy your skis.

In Colorado, more snow is needed to cover all the sharp rocks and medium-sized trees. Call me an east-coaster, but my mind could not comprehend how much normally gets covered even in "average" seasons in Colorado.

Also as an east coaster I really come out to Colorado to do bowl skiing and above the treeline skiing, as out east we have insane amounts of trees. No bowls are open to the point of being worth skiing.

Tip: For those who have a non-refundable trip, stick to the resorts in Summit County if you can. Vail and Beaver were so much worse due to lower elevation.

Posted Feb 15, 2026, 3:11 AM UTC

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