Finally, some snow, just  in time for the first big weekend of the year.

Here’s a couple shots from around the slopes:

Breck, with 5 inches of new snow in two days:

A-Basin, with 3 inches:

Monarch, with 3.5 inches, which opens Wednesday:

Sad story out of Breckenridge today:

A 14-year-old Colorado Springs girl has died after an accident on an intermediate trail at Breckenridge Ski Resort, the first on-the-slopes fatality in Colorado this ski season.

Haley Rose Gans was on a day ski trip Friday, when, at 11:48 a.m. she hit a tree on the Spruce trail. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

She was wearing a helmet, but Summit County Coroner Joanne Richardson said she was seen skiing very fast before the accident.The coroner said the victim was home-schooled, and died from chest injuries.

A mountain employee said Friday snow conditions have been icy from the freeze-thaw cycle, with little new snow.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said only that it is being investigated as an accident.

Breckenridge opened for the season Nov. 12.

(Photo from the Durango Herald)

Apparently the First Amendment doesn’t apply at Durango Mountain Resort.

There’s a story from the Durango Herald, which went out on the AP wires this afternoon, about a skier who complained about the resort changing its schedule in an article in the tiny newspaper. Apparently they are only opening Friday through Sunday in early and late season, and some who have weekday only passes are upset.

So the resort, in a move that defies logic, decided to yank her pass, and refunded her $539. Here’s their letter, as reported by the Herald:

“While we have never met, I understand from your calls to The Durango Herald and your conversation with our general manager that you are most unhappy with the approach that Durango Mountain Resort takes in trying to meet the skiing and riding needs of both our local and out-of-town customers. Our general manager tried very hard to explain our early/late additional weekend days, but it is evident that the offering and services we provide are not meeting your expectations.

“Accordingly, we held a meeting with our management team and determined that it would be best if we part ways and refund you the all-season pass you purchased so you can find another place to ski/ride that better meets your expectations,” the letter reads. “We have refunded your credit card $539 and we have discontinued your pass privileges.

“On behalf of our 800-plus employees, we wish you well and want you to know that we will continue to do our very best to meet or exceed the expectations of all our customers, regardless of where they live,” the letter concludes.

Um - you would think a massive ski resort could afford a single public relations person. Nearby Telluride can, and they shrewdly offered the woman a pass.

(An architect’s rendering of a new Helen Hunt Falls Visitor Center)

Check out today’s story on the conundrum facing supporters of North Cheyenne Canon Park in the Springs. The Friends of Cheyenne Canon and Bristol Brewing Co. have raised about $50,000 for a new visitors center at Helen Hunt Falls, but because of city budget cuts, there may be nobody to staff it, casting doubt on the whole endeavor.

They’re now trying to raise a total of $100,000 to build it and help the city staff it.

So how can you help?

Have a beer. Bristol donates all proceeds from the sale of its Cheyenne Canon Ale, a nutty brew made with pinon nuts, to the park .It won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival and is sold in 22-ounce “bombers.”

Also visit the Friends’ Web site here.

From the Denver Post:

Canada’s Intrawest, a pillar in the ski resort development industry and host to next year’s Winter Olympics in Whistler, is selling Summit County’s Copper Mountain to Utah-based Powdr Corp.

The deal, announced today, is expected to close in December, pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service.

In a statement released today, company officials said the deal will have no impact on Copper operations, including its pass products and vacation reservations.

Read the entire story here.

It sounds like passes will work the same this year, but you have to wonder if the Winter Park- Copper pass, which is the only real competition for Vail Resorts’ Colorado Pass on the Front Range, will be offered next year. Here’s a prediction: If not, your Colorado Pass will cost you a heck of a lot more next year.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, I should have mentioned, Winter Park, one of the resorts Intrawest still operates in Colorado, opens Wednesday, with two trails and 33 acres. Have, um, fun…..

(The summit of Pikes Peak Tuesday morning, still a winter wonderland)

Remember Saturday, when the smarter among us were huddling for warmth and shelter? Well, people were still apparently climbing Pikes Peak. A post on 14ers.com by some guys who climbed it Saturday from The Crags  talks about deep and blowing snow, no visibility and a shuttered Summit House. But it apparently didn’t stop them from reaching the top….

I know Pikes has a reputation among  fourteeners as a mountain people climb all year, but I guess I’m a fair-weather-fan.

Monarch Pass as of 1:25 p.m. Friday. Nice.

OK, now it’s hitting Summit County. Here’s Breck:

I suppose this falls more under “in there” than “out there,” but hey, if you can’t take topical liberties on a blog, where can you?

The Colorado Springs Business Journal reports that the owners of a rock climbing gym in Monument plan to open a 17,000-square-foot gym and office complex in the building at the southeast corner of Kiowa and Nevada. Read the whole thing here.

It sounds like the gym, which will have a 45-foot-high climbing wall, according to the article, would be a nice addition to the churches, restaurants, boutiques and bars that make up our downtown. Let’s just hope they don’t decide to cash in on the post-Rumbay foot traffic like King’s Chef across the street.

Claiming to have “more skiable terrain than any other resort in Summit County” - which isn’t saying much, considering how dry this fall has been, Breckenridge opened Thursday.

On an 18-inch base of man-made snow, they have 108 acres on 4 runs including Springmeier, Spruce, Trygve’s and lower Crescendo. Among the other slim pickin’s in Summit County, Keystone had 5 runs on 81 acres, A-Basin has 5 runs on 85 acres and Copper Mountain has 4 runs on 59.5 acres.

Snow is expected this weekend, 4 to 8 inches Friday night and again Saturday night, but it begs the question, how long does it take for 5 runs to get skied out on a powder day?

(above: A shot in the Lizard Head Wilderness last summer during the one hour of non-rainy weather we got all weekend)

U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennett announced Tuesday they introduced a bill to expand wilderness in one of Colorado’s most stunning locations, the northern San Juan Mountains.

The bill would add protect 61,000 acres, by adding 33,383 to existing wilderness, creating a special management area for 21,697 and withdrawing another 6,500 from mineral leasing. Vehicles, bikes, road-building and mining are generally not allowed in wilderness areas.

Here’s a map, courtesy  of the San Juans Citizens Alliance:

Odds are, if you haven’t bought a ski pass by now, you probably aren’t planning to buy one, but just in case, let this be the last reminder that pass sales are disappearing quicker than 3 inches of overnight freshies on a blue run.

Vail Resorts’ Colorado Pass, with unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin and 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek for $459 is probably the most popular. It will be sold through Nov. 15 at Colorado Ski and Golf and REI in Colorado Springs. Click here for more details. The Epic Pass and Summit Pass will be sold through Nov. 22.

Meanwhile, Intrawest’s pass for Copper Mountain and Winter Park for $399, the Rocky Mountain Super pass, is on sale through Nov. 22 at Christy Sports. Details here.

If you like the local feel of Monarch a whole lot, you missed the chance to score a pass for $319 when prices went up Sunday, but they are still available for $419. Details here.

Two very different pictures of how the ski resorts fared out of this storm.

First, here’s a web shot of A-Basin, which reported a dismal 2 inches as of this morning (and still half of Denver went there for their ’snow day’ off work):

And here’s Monarch, which opens Nov. 25 (COME ON GUYS, OPEN EARLY!)

Wolf Creek, which opens Oct. 31, is reporting 2 feet in 2 days from the storm. Yipee!

No, I’m not talking about the NHL team off to an amazing start.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center says, with all the early-season snowfall in the mountains, there have already been five human-triggered slides since Oct. 5, in Rocky Mountain National park and off Jones Pass, Independence Pass and Loveland Pass.

Nobody was seriously hurt, but in four of the slides, back-country skiers were swept downhill.

“Because of the early snow, there’s a better chance that a thick weak layer will form at the bottom of the snowpack,” director Ethan Greene said. “We haven’t seen conditions like this in the last four or five years, so people who have learned avalanche awareness during this period may not appreciate that things which were appropriate last year may not be safe this year. This could be a different and potentially more dangerous year than they’re used to.”

And the really bad news: Since it’s early season, in a slide, you’re more likely to meet rocks and trees that would be snow-covered later in the season.

As Dave’s post below shows (welcome back, BTW), ski season will soon be here in earnest. Let me be the first to urge all the weekend warriors out there to get in shape now, or suffer later.

Check out this week’s Out There story on ways to get in shape for skiing and riding. I know skiers and riders may scoff at the notion of having to physically prepare for going down a mountain, but many of us forget - at least I do - in the long off-season, just how much an exercise this stuff is.

The Summit Daily News reports sheriff’s deputies have been busting early-season skiers at A-Basin for smoking pot in the parking lot.

“If you’re going to flaunt it in our face and do stupid things while we’re on foot patrol, you sometimes get caught,” Sheriff John Minor said Tuesday. Six people have been ticketed since skiing began Oct. 9.

Maybe they can start ticketing snowboarders coming down the mountain swilling PBR tall boys and cutting me off instead?

BTW, after a long dry spell since the earliest opening of ski season in decades, the mountains are finally getting a little snow today. Here’s a web shot of A-Basin:

Monarch skiers, fret not. They’re finally getting some snow there too:

Writer Bill McKeown picked this up yesterday since I, like 19 percent of the country, was out sick yesterday:

Rampart Range shooting range could reopen, with conditions, Forest Service says

Comments 14 | Recommend 1

From the AP:

People who have never seen snow or built a snowman are getting a chance to do it in Colorado, in a big way.
The Colorado Tourism Office launched a contest Monday to give three snow virgins an expenses-paid, three-month trip to Colorado, January through March. With help from local instructors and guides, contest winners will sample winter activities like snowmobiling, skiing, snowshoeing, dogsledding, the all-important apres ski cocktail hour, maybe even ice climbing — then Facebook, YouTube and Twitter about it.
Winners also will visit Colorado restaurants, hot springs and spas.
Applicants are asked to submit videos to http://www.snowatfirstsight.com explaining why they should win. People can visit the Web site to vote, and 10 finalists will get trips to Colorado to audition.
The Colorado Tourism Office is spending about $150,000 on the contest. That’s less than the $250,000 it spent on a promotion last year to erect a virtual ski hill and “bring Colorado” to New York City.
The office’s budget was cut from $20 million last year to $15 million this year as the state tried to close a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. Tourism officials hope the new contest builds buzz for Colorado on social media networks, with contest winners posting daily updates.
The idea is to show Colorado through the contest winners’ fresh eyes, whether they’re from the U.S. or not, tourism office director Kim McNulty said.
Contest organizers figure entrants might be students, job seekers, retirees or those who can arrange for time off work — basically the crowd that might go on a reality TV show.
The winners will stay at spots around the state. Exact locations were still being confirmed.

WORST. TOURISM PROMOTION. EVER.

For anyone out there keeping score, A-Basin opens today, two days after Loveland. And it’s an, um, powder day, with 2 fresh inches of snow overnight for the white ribbon of death. And from the web cam shot, it looks like people are waiting a long time to do it. Funny, when Loveland opened Wednesday there was practically no line. I guess that’s the difference of a mountain where you can use your Vail Resorts ski pass……

It certainly feels like skiing weather down here in town, but these clouds are low and lazy and the weather isn’t hitting the high country. Here’s Woodland Park this morning:

Here’s Monarch Pass tonight:

There’s a chance for more snow in the mountains every day Thursday through Monday. Suh-weet!

Kindly ignore my amateur photography skills.