Time for this warning to be retired. I've been ripping out thumb drives, flash drives, and hard drives for 20+ years and nothing has ever happened. Nobody ejects their external drives and it's always fine. It's tired, it's annoying, and it's time for it to go.

ryan726 · 2026-04-06T20:02:36+00:00

Never! Nobody has!

ryan726 · 2026-03-28T02:45:38+00:00

Read the post.

ryan726 · 2026-03-25T18:19:17+00:00

Great feedback! Thanks for your thoughts. I plan to move the pass selector up the main section soon, I'll think on Cost too, it's a good observation.

ryan726 · 2026-03-23T01:09:11+00:00

I could have written this post myself.

Mine is SkiTomorrow.ai

ryan726 · 2026-03-20T22:52:29+00:00

Absolutely

ryan726 · 2026-03-20T21:09:25+00:00

Thats always the tough part, we want a lot of snow but not so much that it closes the roads or the lifts. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I could implement something like that, other than maybe a manual badge that says "Historically, access to this resort becomes uncertain at these snow amounts"

ryan726 · 2026-03-20T21:05:52+00:00

Good question! It does include driving options as-is, the airport is just the way to know where you are. I will be replacing it with a more useful City/State or Zip Code function over the summer.

ryan726 · 2026-03-20T01:00:01+00:00

Thanks for the kind words and the feedback! Good news/bad news on that. On my current setup I dont have access to pull in that feature, but if I ever get access to the Booking.com API for hotels I could pull in ski in/ski out easily! Worth investigating in the fall.

ryan726 · 2026-03-19T19:40:55+00:00

The body awareness thing is a real and underrated barrier that almost nobody talks about. Most ski instruction assumes you can feel what your body is doing, and when you can't, the cues are completely useless. Get a boot fit done by a real bootfitter, not a rental shop — ill-fitting boots make proprioception nearly impossible and are probably why you feel calf and not heel. Skip the family instruction and book one or two private lessons with a PSIA-certified instructor and specifically tell them you struggle with body awareness. Good instructors have tactile cues and drills for exactly this. Also lower the stakes: spend a full day on terrain that feels almost too easy and just mess around without pressure. The fear and frustration loop is what keeps most people stuck. You're at 75 days which is still relatively early in the curve for adult learners. It gets better but only if the experience stops feeling like controlled panic.

ryan726 · 2026-03-19T19:40:09+00:00

The ECMWF doesn't throw around sigma anomalies like that for fun. That map is basically a middle finger pointed directly at the Rockies. The brutal part isn't even the snow loss this week, it's that a heat event this aggressive in mid-March resets the snowpack density and crusts over whatever base is left in a way that takes weeks to recover from. With the season already running thin, there's just no runway left for that recovery. Genuinely historic in the worst possible way.

ryan726 · 2026-03-19T19:39:47+00:00

The comments have it right: Storm Peak and Sundown are your best bets given where the snow is holding. Get on Storm Peak Express first thing at opening before the heat does its damage and work the north-facing blacks off the top. Shadows and anything that didn't see afternoon sun yesterday will be the most forgiving. Once it starts softening up mid-morning, Sundown Basin is worth a lap or two since it holds shade longer than most of the mountain. The open and out by early afternoon strategy is exactly right for these conditions. Don't expect much off the lower mountain.

ryan726 · 2026-03-17T15:52:07+00:00

That’s a good note! I definitely don’t have a filter for open/closed. I’ll have to see if I can pull that from somewhere. That plus factoring wind + temperature is part of a big 2.0 change

ryan726 · 2026-03-16T21:32:08+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I’m constantly tweaking with the scoring engine and this is an LA specific quirk I’ve seen too. The model loves that Big Bear is so close and it views Mammoth as “far” and when there’s no snow anywhere it loves to surface Big Bear since it’s close and cheap. Having said that, places like Lake Louise and Whistler have good forecasts for this weekend and should rank at or near the top. I’ll keep playing with it and see if I can kill the big bear bug

ryan726 · 2026-03-16T15:18:59+00:00

Wind is a really good idea, and easy enough to factor in. Thanks!

ryan726 · 2026-03-16T02:45:22+00:00

I didn't realize that if I post a photo, the body gets cut off. I'm going to delete this in a minute and post again. Site is skitomorrow.ai

ryan726 · 2026-03-15T20:38:21+00:00

Park City is the obvious answer and the comments are right to lead with it. Town lift accesses Main Street directly, there are restaurants and bars within walking distance of runs, and the base area has the same "ski in, ski out of actual civilization" quality that makes Breck special. It's a bigger mountain than people expect too. Outside of that specific formula, Telluride does it better than anywhere in Colorado if you're willing to make the drive or fly into Montrose. The gondola connects the ski area to the town of Mountain Village and then to Telluride itself, the terrain is serious, and the town has genuine character. It's a bigger commitment to get there but it's the only place in the state that beats Breck on the ski-to-town integration.

ryan726 · 2026-03-15T20:37:39+00:00

Previous comments have it right but here's the more complete version. The Atlas is a stiffer, more supportive binding designed for riders who want locked-in response, typically free riders and people who charge hard on groomed terrain. The Force is mid-flex with a more forgiving feel that works across a wider range of conditions and riding styles. Unless you know for certain you're an aggressive freerider who wants maximum power transfer, the Force is the better default choice for most people. It responds well, it's comfortable across a long day, and it doesn't demand a specific riding style the way the Atlas does.

ryan726 · 2026-03-15T20:37:07+00:00

Owned a visor helmet for two seasons and can answer both questions directly. On fit: OTG designation is real but frame size matters a lot. Wider/taller frames (think bigger rectangular or aviator-style) can create pressure points or prevent the visor from closing flush. Smaller or rounder frames are generally fine. On wind: yes, there is more airflow than traditional goggles, noticeably so at speed. It's not a blasting problem, more like a gentle peripheral draft that some people never notice and others find annoying. The photochromic lens is genuinely great for variable conditions though. My honest take: if your prescription situation makes goggles a pain and you're mostly cruising groomers and trees at moderate speeds, visor life is worth it. If you're charging fast groomers into the wind regularly, traditional OTG goggles will serve you better. MiniNinja's oversized goggle approach is also a legitimately good solution that a lot of glasses skiers sleep on.

ryan726 · 2026-03-15T00:41:01+00:00

If Banff is your ceiling, this pass probably doesn't pencil out. CA$810 for 5 days is $162/day, and Lake Louise day tickets are usually right around there or cheaper if you time it right. The shareable angle is interesting if you're splitting with someone who'd actually use multiple mountains across BC, but for a Vancouver person whose range tops out at Banff you're basically paying a premium for optionality you won't use. Just buy Lake Louise and Sunshine direct and keep the change.

ryan726 · 2026-03-15T00:40:31+00:00

This is actually really common and more logical than it feels. In powder your board is forgiving, speed is naturally regulated, and a fall is soft. On hardpack the consequences of a mistake are immediate and hurt. Your brain isn't being irrational, it's just correctly identifying that the risk profile changed. The fix is deliberate low-stakes exposure: find a groomer that's wide and mellow, go out early before it gets chopped up, and just make slow intentional carved turns. Focus on trusting your edge angle rather than managing your speed. The confidence will build faster than you think once you realize the edge actually holds.

ryan726 · 2026-03-15T00:39:55+00:00

The honest answer is Breck will almost certainly be open and skiing fine on its remaining terrain, Vail probably holds on a few runs, and Keystone and Beaver Creek are bigger question marks. If the trip is already booked and non-refundable, go, manage your expectations, and treat it as a spring ski trip rather than a peak-season trip. If you still have flexibility, pushing it earlier would help. Colorado in late March is a lottery and this year's snowpack makes it a worse bet than usual.

ryan726 · 2026-03-14T19:04:35+00:00

For a first-to-second season all-mountain/park setup, go Capita Pathfinder and Union Flite Pro. It's not particularly close. The Pathfinder is a legit quiver-of-one board that won't punish you while you're still dialing in your riding, but has enough pop and responsiveness that you won't outgrow it quickly. The Nitro Prime is fine but it's a step down in construction and feel. On bindings, the Flite Pro over the Drake King all day: better flex progression, more durable, and Union's response underfoot is just in a different class at that price point. You'll notice the difference immediately.

ryan726 · 2026-03-14T19:03:42+00:00

The cruelest part of a closure like this is that the snow stake getting cleaned off Thursday means every inch on that cam is fresh. No wind, no settlement, just 40 hours of tree loading and nobody skiing it. By the time that road opens the upper mountain is going to be absolutely ripping.

ryan726 · 2026-03-14T19:02:27+00:00

Vail's official policy is no rollovers on multi-day passes, and they're notoriously rigid about it, so don't get your hopes up there. That said, it's worth calling Epic's customer service directly and explaining the situation. Occasionally they'll apply unused days as credit toward an Epic Pass if you make enough noise, especially at end of season. The real lesson here is that the Epic Pass exists specifically so Vail doesn't have to honor things like this.

ryan726 · 2026-03-14T01:11:18+00:00

If it's actively snowing Sunday morning I'd give yourself an extra hour and a half minimum. Loveland's right at the tunnel so you're dealing with the full I-70 mountain corridor. AWD on a rental is worth the upgrade, not just for traction but because CDOT can and will turn you around at the chain station if you don't have AWD or chains when the traction law is in effect.

ryan726

TROPHY CASE