Out There

The snow ahead

Dave Philipps — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:07:44 +0000

Much of the Western Slope is under a winter weather advisory for 24 hours as another storm hits the mountains, according to the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction.

Up to 7 inches of new snow could hit much of the northern and central mountains.

This is the magic week in which most ski areas will open for the season. Monarch, Crested Butte and Steamboat open Wednesday. Aspen Mountain, Snowmass and Telluride open Thursday. Purgatory opens Friday.

That just leaves a few hold-outs in the Aspen family, and good ol’ Ski Cooper, which relies on natural snow fall, and expects to open Dec. 4.

Beautiful, fluffy flakes but no significant accumulation are expected along the Front Range today.

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Ski resorts have something to be thankful for

scott rappold — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:50:13 +0000

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:

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First ski fatality of the season is Springs girl

scott rappold — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:31:13 +0000

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.

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Vail opens Friday.

Dave Philipps — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:06:27 +0000

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Uncle Sam says listen to nature

Dave Philipps — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:33:53 +0000

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced an extensive public service radio campaign urging Americans to connect with nature and visit a National Wildlife Refuge.

The public service radio campaign consists of eight 60-second spots extolling the sights and sounds of refuges and their efforts to preserve some of these species. Listen to them here.

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Free speech - everywhere but at Durango Mountain

scott rappold — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:00:14 +0000

(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.

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Happy 70th Monarch!

Dave Philipps — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:43:17 +0000

Mountain opens the day before Thanksgiving for its 70th season. Read the ski area history Monarch has received 60 inches of snow so far this season and currently has a 36 inch mid-mountain base. The forecast is calling for snow showers this weekend. The area will have 3 chairlifts; Pioneer, Panorama & Tumbelina and the Children’s Ski School carpet lifts in operation. Garfield and Breezeway chairs will open the following Saturday.

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Ski fads? We got ‘em

Andrew Wineke — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:23:33 +0000

In addition to my story in today’s Out There on ski trends, we also had a sider from Scott on great ski fads that have come and gone.

When we first talked about that story, we were all, “Ski fads, hi-larious.” But when it came time to actually think of fads… it was a little harder to pin them down. Monoskis? Sure. But were stretch pants really a fad? I dunno. The hot pink accents I had on my boots in the ’80s were certainly a fashion faux pas, but I’m not sure they were a fad.

Scott’s actual list was monoskis, bota bags (?), ski blades (which I still see at Keystone all the time), speed skiing (which was probably more of a novelty than a fad, per se), skiing in blue jeans, and the two-person chairlift (which was more a technological waypoint, right? I mean, were 8-tracks a fad, or just a dead-end?).

So can you guys think of faddier fads than what Scotty came up with? Is reverse-camber a fad? Soft-shell boots? Groomer skis with 105mm waists? Racing poles? Swallowtails? Weigh in.

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City parks, now what?

Dave Philipps — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:14:54 +0000

The Trails and Open Space Coalition looks at this question at their annual meeting taking place tonight:

Thursday, November 19th at 7 p.m.

Penrose Library, Carnegie Reading Room, 20 N. Cascade Ave.

Top members of the Colorado Springs Park staff and TOSC will brief the public on the proposed budget-cuts and how those will negatively impact the city’s parks, trails and open space – and offer sustainable solutions.

There will also be an opportunity to find out how volunteers can step in and help minimize the damage.

Everyone is invited.

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No Joke, skiing with the stars.

Dave Philipps — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:42:08 +0000

I’m not even going to rewrite this press release in an ironic way because it is just so silly all by itself:

Utah’s Deer Valley Resort kicks off its winter ski season again with its annual Deer Valley Celebrity SkiFest, Dec. 5-6. The invitational ski event pairs former Olympic ski legends with television and film celebrities.

The Deer Valley Celebrity SkiFest will include giant slalom races on both Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6 on Deer Valley’s Birdseye ski run. The competition will be televised by CBS on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. EST following the NFL.

Celebrities scheduled to attend at this time include: Cheryl Tiegs, Larry David, Bobby Kennedy, Jr., Max Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, Cheryl Hines, Gloria Rueben, Rob Morrow, Neil Patrick Harris, Dylan Bruno and David Conrad.

While I am willing to admit that child surgeon Dougie Howzer may also have mad ski skills, I pitty the Olympian who gets stuck with Larry David.

Who will be the three snarky judges at the bottom who critique the stars’ turns? And who will win?

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