OCCS. GROOMED
Blue Ox starts off pretty flat for the first couple of pitches but then gets much steeper. This can be groomed or moguled and the difference is substantial. When groomed this is an hard black with a fun roller coaster type of a feel. It is at it’s best when first groomed, as it get scraped off as the day goes along. It gets pretty solid as the snowmaking base shows it’s face! Many have a hard time with the steepness and throw them sideways, meaning they slide the nice snow into clumps atop the rolls. Alway watch out because there can be people sitting down on the other side of the rolls. When bumped, this can be a long, arduous battle with the bumps. There is no easier way out so if you don’t like moguls, and the grooming report doesn’t say Blue Ox was groomed, don’t go down this! There are great views here of Vail and the surrounding Gore Range here also...Careful, this can get icy and slid off as bad snowriders skid.... This is definitely one of those trails people brag about doing at Vail, even if it takes them half the day... although that part of the story isn’t the one being told at the bar at the end of the day!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Named for the lumberjack’s folklore hero Paul
Bunyan, whose ox Babe turned Blue during the
“Winter of Blue Snow”.