Anybody been on Rabbit Ears/Buff. Pass

[HOTRODREDNECK]

Looking for an honest answer on what the snow conditions are at RE/Buff Pass. Supposed to be coming out on New Years and need to reschedule by tomorrow to avoid extra charges.
Some people say the snow is good others say it sucks, lodges say they are getting reports of good snow up top.
I don't want to waste 4 days of vacation and 12 hours driving to be dissapointed. So just looking for a true report of what the conditions are.

Thanks in advance!

ive ridden up there 6 or 7 days so far this season. i'm not going back till it snows, and i only have a 3hr drive. save the$$$ for a little later in the season. 1-2 good storms and its on. hope this helps

 

[XFIRE800]

We got back the 21st and had a great time. Found good untracked snow all 3 days, just had to get off the beaten trail and find it! Found a new honey hole too that was ALMOST rock and stump free with over the hood pow. I would say you could definitely go out there and have fun. We drove 14 hours to get there and I would say it was worth it for December. We stayed at the North Park Inn in Walden.

 

[Boston Racing]

Saw that CB is running his tours up there, no surprise. Also saw more outta-state plates in the lots than Colorado.

His permit covers WC as well?

 

[nytro-r6]

Thanks for the updates guys, very much appreciated! I think we are going to push our trip back a few weeks in hopes for better snow. I never know how much you can trust the snotel sites, they always seem to be jacked up.

I guess we will be going with plan B

http://www.powerandlightdistrict.com/index.cfm?page=new-years-eve

 

[PJ-Hunter]

His permit covers WC as well?

Not that I know of, it's a different national forest. If only two permits are isssued for RE/Buff then I'd expect only one being issued for the WC area. And I think that is owned by that older fellow that sits and advertises on the roadside in that big Red/White 5th wheel. The only permit that has been publicly advertised is the BV operation. When I was driving through there last weekend guys were riding dirtbikes. If he's not legal on WC that's his business, but if I were in his shoes there is no way in Hell I'd take the chance and risk losing everything and hurting my family.

I don't know much about WC, but from what I rode and saw, it seemed like a smaller area than RE/Buff and having that many tours running during the week tearing it up sure isn't gonna make the locals very happy. There were quite a few peeps from around here that weren't happy about having to work all week and head out Saturday thinking there were gonna be fresh turns only to find out that the great honey holes had already been destroyed.

 

[Zachcreek]

His permit covers WC as well?

No it does not, I asked him about that and he said that he is not charging for the ride if they go to WC. Does not want to get in trouble with his current permits.

 

[Boston Racing]

That's good to know, The conditions are surely making it hard to run that type of business. Burandt being successful is good for all the surrounding cities.

What we need is for Burandt to run his operation out of the Thunder Mountain lodge

 

[black swan]

After asking locals at WC and GM.......the general consensus is NO THANK YOU!

 

[PJ-Hunter]

No it does not, I asked him about that and he said that he is not charging for the ride if they go to WC. Does not want to get in trouble with his current permits.

That makes sense. Still too small of an area for a backcountry operation of that scale. Now the meadow mashing rental tours, it's fine.

I'm also with PP, Wss and Bushy. I'm glad to see that the operation moved off of RE/BUFF.

I feel for the BV locals once that area gets rideable snow. It stinks to see fresh snow all week, get excited about riding Friday morning and finding out that the good chit is already mashed by the operation.