Spring Break Is Fantastic: Spring Skiing Tips

The weather here in Crested Butte has been absolutely fantastic this week. Warm, sunny days with cold nights keeping the snow nice. The day time temperatures have been warm enough to allow skiing in just a few light layers (or t-shirts for the bold and warm blooded!) and sunglasses. Its the time of year when you have to make sure you wear sun block, or you’ll be headed back home to your day job with a nice goggle tan. Sure, the goggle tan is a mark of honor among ski bums (and you may see a few on the Black Tie Ski Rental guys), but not so good if you are headed back to Houston or Oklahoma City. So be sure to wear lots of sunscreen! If you need some, we do carry sunblock in our vans and at our base area locker room.

When you are spring skiing in Crested Butte, the trick is to take your time in the morning, enjoy your coffee and breakfast, get the kids to ski school and head out a bit later in the morning when the temperatures have warmed up enough to start to soften the snow from its overnight freeze. Start the day wearing a few light layers of clothing that are easy to remove and put in a pocket or backpack, and then, as the day goes on, remove the layers as needed. If you start your day skiing the parts of the mountain that receive morning snow you’ll find good soft snow, and follow the sun as it moves across the mountain. Once the afternoon starts and shadows start to form, you’ll want to watch out for firmer snow in the shadows, so seek out sun all day and find the soft stuff!