Proud husband and dad · Bills Mafia · Comeback skier & ex-instructor · I write Beacon and Probe, a Wasatch ski report from DC 👇
DC, SWFL or the Mountains
Joined January 2016
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Same canyon, two very different forecasts. Alta's NWS grid says 8–15 in. through Wednesday, and Snowbird's got cut to 2–7. In an early storm the snow line is the forecast, not the storm total.
Today's Beacon and Probe, from a skier planning Utah from DC 👇
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Yesterday morning A-Basin chief Al Henceroth wrote four words in his blog that I put in this morning's Beacon and Probe: "I am getting excited."
Now I know why. Arapahoe Basin just announced lifts spin TODAY at 11:00 AM MT on High Noon for its 80th season.
The Legend takes back the crown from Keystone as the first outdoor chairlift open in North America for 2026–27, with 80th-anniversary Wednesday ticket specials all season and no parking reservations needed today.
Full story + live cams: savagemountaincollective.com…
Woke up at 4:00 AM with a giant Yeti of iced coffee, annoyed my two old, gassy Labs, and watched @PaulaMoltzan win her first career World Cup race at Sölden by 0.01 seconds on Van Deer skis. Then @RiverRadamus charged from 15th to 4th this morning.
Sunday's Beacon and Probe is live:
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Also inside today's issue:
- Meteorologist Chris Tomer's early-November pattern shift putting feet of snow on the board in the West (plus my live Mountain Weather Desk at savagemountaincollective.com…)
- The dated 2026 to 2027 U.S. Opening-Day Countdown, from Oct 30 in Colorado to Dec 5 at Deer Valley
Plus a personal note on Toggenburg reopening in Fabius, NY and Erik Mogensen's fight for independent skiing at Black Mountain, NH, and why I just jumped on the 60% off onX Backcountry deal for its 3D in-bounds resort maps.
Check your beacon, point 'em downhill, and drop in:
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Ski season officially starts in a movie theater. Family night at the Arlington Drafthouse for @TetonGravity's 'Actually, It Is Rocket Science.' Kids in ear protection, Jackson Hole on the big screen, and winter's officially close. 🎿
Snow guns are firing at A-Basin and Loveland. Ski season's close, so fix your algorithm before first chair. Here are the 25 accounts I follow first. savagemountaincollective.sub…
Plus Nicole of The Ski Moms @Momtrends, and Mountain Gazette, Indy Pass and Chris Tomer, who aren't on X. Read the whole thing: savagemountaincollective.sub…
The snow stakes are reading real numbers. Colorado's lifts got their first snow, my closet is staging a comeback, and 30 days is the countdown. Today's Beacon and Probe: savagemountaincollective.sub…
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The Cottonwoods have snow. Alta just logged its first measurable snow, the storm is drifting south, and Hidden Peak still adds about 6–12 in. before it clears. Here's what the forecast blink means for opening day. 👇
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It's winter above 9,000 feet in the Wasatch, and it's still raining in the valley. That snow line decides opening day. Here's how I read it from 2,000 miles away, and when I'd start watching fares. 👇
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New on Savage Mountain Collective: Beacon and Probe, Sunday Oct 11. Early-season snow watch, gear news, and TGR's Actually, It Is Rocket Science at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse this Thu and Sat. Check your beacon, point 'em downhill, and drop in. 🎿 savagemountaincollective.sub…
Last winter at the Blister Summit, I skied a pair of DPS skis that stopped me cold. Not because they were the fastest or the lightest — because they were just… better. More fun. More alive underfoot.
I came home, thought about it all off season, and today pulled the trigger.
The full review drops soon — and I don’t say this lightly, but there are a lot of skis that change the way you ski… these carbon sticks change the skier.
Stay tuned. Less than 30 days till the lifts spin!
Ten moves that protect the winter: play at home, warmth first, tiny goals, beginner area with pride, right time of day, games, keep it short, breaks before meltdown, film less / cheer more, protect the long game.
Full essay → savagemountaincollective.sub…
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