RE Report 12/18

[m8vohkman]

Rode all day from Muddy Creek to Buff Pass. Decent snow, about 8 inches of fresh. Still rocks, but you do seem to skip over the top and not bang into them. I would say 1 or 2 decent snow falls and it will be good to go. Still sketchy for this time of year. If you are coming to town for x-mas, be careful! Lots of holes, water showing, and bumps in snow can be rocks and stumps. Deep snow seems to be in tress, back by Buff Pass and even South of Highway seems to have better snow. Be careful out there.
If you are thinking of going to Wolf Creek, that snow has gone sour also, so mine as well go to Vail Pass; that's for you Matt E. Keep the video's comin!

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Rode all day from Muddy Creek to Buff Pass. Decent snow, about 8 inches of fresh. Still rocks, but you do seem to skip over the top and not bang into them. I would say 1 or 2 decent snow falls and it will be good to go. Still sketchy for this time of year. If you are coming to town for x-mas, be careful! Lots of holes, water showing, and bumps in snow can be rocks and stumps. Deep snow seems to be in tress, back by Buff Pass and even South of Highway seems to have better snow. Be careful out there.
If you are thinking of going to Wolf Creek, that snow has gone sour also, so mine as well go to Vail Pass; that's for you Matt E. Keep the video's comin!

I don't see 8" of fresh considering that their has been no significant snowfall in close to 5 weeks.

And Wolf Creek wasn't bad. The snow is tracked up pretty bad but you can find fresh lines climbing through the trees. Yesterday was warm and the snow settled more and got hard but it will make an excellant base. Most places can't brage about having a 50+ inch base in preparation for the next snowfall.

 

[HOTRODREDNECK]

I don't see 8" of fresh considering that their has been no significant snowfall in close to 5 weeks.

And Wolf Creek wasn't bad. The snow is tracked up pretty bad but you can find fresh lines climbing through the trees. Yesterday was warm and the snow settled more and got hard but it will make an excellant base. Most places can't brage about having a 50+ inch base in preparation for the next snowfall.

pretty impressive that you know soooo much about an area you havent been to yet this year

 

[crashnbash]

I was there yesterday and I think pj's view is pretty good. I tapped several rocks and stumps, and could easily see tracks in the trees from a week ago. In some places I could even find my own tracks from 2 weeks ago. Needs some big storms.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

pretty impressive that you know soooo much about an area you havent been to yet this year

I have been up there, just not ridden it. And the fact that I see sled after sled coming down with busted crap just confirms it. Forecast for the area looks better. I also live here and I know the guy that runs the rental op up there so I trust his updates. He also helps out with grooming and says it's pretty sketchy.

It may be ok for a Front Ranger to make a daytrip, but lets be honest here. Would you really spend your saved up vacation time and money, make the 8 or more hour drive from the flatlands to ride 18" of snow, bust up your sled and then be out vacation time/money and have to fix a broken sled? I know I wouldn't and I'd be pissed if I did, all because somebody gave a less than honest report. That is what these folks are looking for. Sure Buff has 3.5' of snow. That isn't going to protect you from 48" rocks, 36" stumps lurking an inch or two beneath the snow surface or the fallen snag that letters the terrain from Buffalo Park to Buffalo Pass.

I'm not trying to keep peeps out of RE/Buff just to protect the snow from out of staters, I'm trying to save them from anger and financial distress. Save your vacation time and money and wait for better conditions.

 

[idareyou]

PJ Is right about the conditions up there. I have been up once a week and the snow is not good. A lot of bent sleds up there. Call either of the dealers in town and ask them about a arm sales. To take days off work, drive for hours, spend money on lodging and food its not worth it in my opinion. You can ride up there but it is risky. I have been riding with my boys 10 and 12 so it is family time for me. There was not 8" of fresh up there this weekend. You can find 8" of snow you sink into in the trees, but the little snow in the meadows is hard enough you can walk on it. The picture is from 12/17. The more people that come here to ride the better for my business in the long run, but I would be pissed if I came here from out of state to ride expecting powder.

 

[msglav]

We rode all day on Saturday and hit a few rocks and a fence post, but had a great day. Didn't break anything except egos. The snow was 8-10" deep closer to Buff Pass and found several meadows untouched. The trees were tons of fun. As always a day to day condition, I was asked if I would go back on Sunday and I said no. By the end of the day it was hard to find good snow. SO the first report was correct from my point of view. It was just a viewpoint and we were both there.