The folks who know are calling for big snow in the next few days. The Pikes Peak region above 11,000 is expected to get 11 to 17 inches.  Colorado Springs is calling for 2 to 7 inches by tomorrow morning. Arapahoe Basin is already reporting five new inches. Wolf Creek is calling for 10 to 15 inches.

But what about the rest of the winter? NOAA weather expert Klaus Wolter told the Associated Press last week that El Nino is setting up in the Pacific, which usually means big snow in southern Colorado and sparse conditions in northern Colorado. I.E. Don’t pay for the extra days at Steamboat on your Copper Pass, but start planning a trip to Taos or Wolf Creek now.

Telluride continues this year on an unprecedented run of terrain expansion, opening Gold Hill Chutes 2-5 for the 2009-10 winter season. The terrain is all serious stuff, as you can see. And it is part of a bigger trend.

The expansion comes on top of last year’s Revelation Bowl, along with Gold Hill 1. Palmyra Peak, Black Iron Bowl and Gold Hill 6-10 opened in 2007-08 . All told, the resort has expanded by more than 400 acres over the past three seasons. That’s a 25% increase. And, the tony resort is looking to expand even more, into Bear Creek.

Assuming the resort doesn’t become mired in the debt of it’s own ambitions, it seems to have its eyes on joining the big guys.

Vail Resorts today announced that next year the company will require all employees to wear helmets when skiing  on the job, and the protective lids will be part of their standard uniform.

“At Vail Resorts, the safety of our employees and guests is a top priority and we believe the time has come for usto take our commitment to safety to the next level. Our employees will set the example next year for all who enjoy skiing and riding our slopes,” said John Garnsey, co-president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division and chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Resort.

May we recommend the Bogner Gold Bricker, er, I mean Gold Rush, helmet (above)?  Only $500 at Gorsuch.

Silverton Mountain may be the only ski area that offers gender specific getaways for both women AND men. It’s not that hard to find women-only clinics, retreats, etc. And Silverton is sort of a guy fest anyway, but the super steep mountain also offers “man camp” along side its “Silverton Sisters” retreat (though not at the same time.)

Here are the differences:

Silverton Sisters includes skiing, of course, followed by spa treatments, yoga classes, networking, inspiration, and education for women.

Man Camp, at least when I was there, included a cold tent with a keg in it and grill-your-own steaks while watching the Broncos.

Pikes Peak is finally white, for the first time this winter, and more snow is on the way this weekend. Yesterday in the newsroom, we were talking about if Pikes Peak is skiable now.

I’m thinking no.  The snow sensor at Glen Cove says there is about a foot of snow on the Peak’s west side.

With the rocky, windswept character of the peak, several feet are needed for a good run.

Skiing the east face, which is only possible in the very best of snow years, is out of the question.

Skiing at Glen Cove may be possible after these storms, as wind tends to dump snow into the couloirs. If the peak clears today, the Devil’s Playground Cam will offer a look at the ski slopes.  I have a feeling, though, that this snow is too little too late.

On the other hand, what is the harm in taking a closer look. The worst that can happen is you take a hike on the peak instead of a ski.

As a story in today’s Denver Post notes, “Forty years ago, Breckenridge had 548 residents, one paved road and a single ski slope.” Now it is the busiest ski resort in the country, and locals are battling resort interests to keep it real, or at least as real as a prohibitively expensive town that relies on seasonal workers and unpredictable weather can be.

If the locals really wanted to keep it real they’d start dredge mining the creek again.

Friends in the mountains have been reporting “East Coast conditions” of late, but finally, snow has wallopped the western ski areas. Beaver Creek, Aspen, Silverton and Snowmass are all reporting about a foot. Summit County is getting hit too.

This one crossed skiers paths at Steamboat.

Bridal Veil Falls above Telluride, which has been closed to climbers for the better part of the last two decades, reopened Dec. 5, 2008 thanks to Trust for Public Land.

The Idarado Mining Company owns the land beneath Bridal Veil Falls . In 2004, TPL purchased 2,400 acres of mining claims overlooking Telluride from Idarado. TPL then held portions of the property until numerous environmental, planning and other issues could be worked out, including a license for access to the falls.
On September 30, 2008, the transaction was completed and ownership of the final parcels was transferred to the Town of Telluride and San Miguel County. The county completed in December all the arrangements necessary to enable public access to the falls. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday’s Out There has a trail write-up on the Bemrose Ski Circus at the top of Hoosier Pass.  Here is a map for intrepid skiers. Click here for a larger image.

In downtown C Springs it’s just wind-scoured ice, but in the southern mountains, big snow.

Silverton got 18″

Wolf Creek 12″

Monarch 11″

Telluride 14″

Summit County is reporting between 0 and 5″

Pikes Peak (above) is reporting wind blasted ice, as usual.

Colorado Springs got a few inches of snow Thursday, but it looks like Pikes Peak was above the fray. Friday morning the forests above 9,000 feet were clearly undusted.

Meanwhile, Colorado ski areas are reveling in new snow.  Breckendridge is going to try to open Imperial Bowl today and Vail expects to open some of its back bowls Saturday.  Bring your rock skis.

It happens every year. We journos ask the resorts how much a lift ticket will cost, and they won’t tell. They don’t want to tip their hand to the competition. I’m not sure why. If Aspen announces it’s charging $92, will Vail then charge $90? And will a few bucks make any difference when the cost of a lift ticket is just the tip of the ski vacation iceberg? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Anyway, it hasn’t stopped them. No one is saying how much a one-day ticket during Christmas week will be in 2008.

Last year Aspen, which announced its price first, charged $87. Vail then charged $92. So much for concerns about the competition undercutting your price.

What will it be this year? If the DOW wasn’t so beat up, I would wager $100+, but I don’t think they’ll go there.

This will be the first big day for skiing, but how big?

The economy has people pinching pennies and the traffic through the Eisenhower Tunnel is down a miraculous 12 percent this month.

A big reason may be that resorts are thin on snow. Those that rely on natural snow are still closed. Others are relying on a growing collection of man-made runs. But skiers are getting a weather system they can be thankful for.

Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Telluride and Steamboat opened Thursday and have received a few new inches overnight.

Beaver Creek is reporting 4 inches.

Summit County is reporting between 1 and 3 inches. Wolf Creek has 4.

This is a good outcome of the economic downturn. Breckenridge, which typically opens its lifts at 8:30 a.m. has pushed it back to 9 a.m., at least until peak season.  That saves money on employee hours, but it also allows savvy powder hounds to sleep in another 30 minutes.  After all, the best skiing is always first thing in the morning, especially at Summit County resorts that get mobbed by season pass holders from the Front Range.  I usually aim to get first chair and be done by noon unless it is a really phenomenal day.

Now I can do that and sleep a bit more.

Let’s hope this year is like last year. In 2007 there was a scary warm, dry start to the ski season. Grass was showing all over at thanks giving and I was mountain biking in Summit County.  Then the storms started walloping and never really stopped.  Monarch got something like six feet in two days.

Right now, we have a similar situation: warm sunny weather in the mountains with no snow anywhere in the forecast. Resorts operating on a minimal foundation of man-made snow. The big resorts, like Vail and Winter Park, are all opening with only a few narrow runs. Even Wolf Creek is a little dry. Pretty bleak.

But it can change in a weekend.

Just not this weekend.

The three Colorado Intrawest resorts (Copper, Winter Park and Steamboat) on Monday unveiled the new Patriot Pass and Patriot Pass Plus to compete with the super-cheap pass military folks can get at Keystone.

For $199 for adults and $109 for children, the Patriot Pass provides unlimited skiing and riding for the 2008-09 winter season at Winter Park and Copper Mountain for active and retired military and their immediate family members. For an additional $20, passes can be upgraded to the Patriot Pass Plus, which includes six days at Steamboat.