Kittens and the warrior

Here's that cool, winning Chinese team sculpture from the snow sculpting competition up in Breckenridge. (Silly me for getting those lights in the frame!) It really is awesome. Even more impressive is that it's the work of two guys.

And here's the kitties! You can't see in this shot, but the eyes are clear ice, with the slit pupils marked in them, and there's a clear, icy charm hanging from the upper kitten's collar. The stringlike snow in the foreground is a bit of yarn, dropping from a spool the kittens are playing with. The sculpture was called Spoolin' Around.

Anyone been up to Breck since the weekend? Are these chilly artworks just puddles of icy water now?

Another use for snow

The colder weather may mean the sculptures at the International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge last through the weekend. I drove up Saturday with my mom to check them out. Un-freaking-believable.



These guys are about 10-12 feet tall, and just as wide/deep. The detail is unreal.


It was crowded, but worth finding a parking place (the toughest part of the day) and walking around. A great apres ski activity, or a reason for a nonskier to make the trip with you.

You can see photos of the sculpting process here.

Snowboarder dies attempting trick

It appears the 33-year-old snowboarder who died at Breckenridge yesterday was attempting a trick at the Park Lake Terrain Park.

Denver news stations and newspapers say James McLean, a podiatrist from Leawood, Kansas, died after landing on his head just before 2 p.m. He was wearing a helmet. The coroner said he died of a fractured neck.

Here's an UPDATE to this post. McLean was starting a career in physical medicine and rehabilitation, not podiatry, as previously noted.

Peace be with James and his family and friends. Man, you just never know when it will happen.

Park Lane Terrain Park opens at Breck

Breckenridge opened the first of its new "Park Progression System," Park Lane Terrain Park. Check out Breck's interactive park maps here.

It's an intermediate park on Peak 8, with 6 medium-sized jumps including a double and triple line. Rails and boxes will be added.

Next up are Trygve’s Terrain Park (beginners) and Freeway Terrain Park. (That's Freeway in the photo, by Aaron Dodds of Vail Resorts.)

The idea is you can progress park to park as you gain experience, and watch the pros at the same time.

Breck also has beginner and intermediate parks Country Boy and Eldorado on Peak 9. They're already oepn.

Coloradan No. 1

(photo courtesy of US Ski Team)

Coloradan Gretchen Bleiler took top honors in the women's contest today, at the US Snowboarding Grand Prix in Breckenridge. Gold medalists Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter came in second and third.

Shaun White took the men's competition, just ahead of Coloradan Steve Fisher. Elijah Teter took third place.

You can watch the Grand Prix on Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. on NBC.

Dumping on our playgrounds

Attention, fellow Front Rangers:

Folks at Vail sent these photos and word they woke up to 4 inches of snow in town - and more on the mountain.

(Vail Village at 9 this morning / Vail Resort)

(Beaver Creek at 8 this morning. / Beaver Creek Resort)

They're expecting more snow through Friday morning with another storm predicted to start Saturday night.

They're making snow at Keystone and Breckenridge, getting ready for a Nov. 9 opening. Vail kicks off Nov. 16 and Beaver Creek, Nov. 21.

Everyone's touting new equipment and terrain and lodging/skiing/boarding packages. We'll take a look in an upcoming Out There section of The Gazette, or you can poke around the resort Web sites for details.

4 1/2 months til ski season!

As it approaches an estimated 90 degrees today, Breckenridge shares this news:

Breck will open for the 2007-08 season on Nov. 9 -- with terrain and lifts open on Peak 9.