Skiing in short sleeves

(Photo from Breck's Bump Buffet, 2007, snagged from Colorado Ski Country USA.)

Ready to hit fresh snow under sunny skies? Luckily, Colorado's the place. Seven ski areas are still open, but Breck, our largest, is closing Sunday.

Here are the closing dates for resorts that remain open:
Arapahoe Basin - June 8
Aspen Highlands - this weekend and next; closing day April 27
Breckenridge - Sunday
Echo Mountain - May 4
Loveland - May 4
Silverton - April 27
Wolf Creek -this weekend and next: closing day April 27

Here are some reasons - other than snow - to make the drive to the mountains:

A-Basin: The Beach

Aspen Highlands: Been working at a ski resort that has already closed for the season? Head to the Highlands and show a current season picture pass and pay just $12 for a lift ticket.

Breckenridge: Sunday's closing day brings the annual Spring Massive party and the 29th Bump Buffet, in which telemark skiers shred the bumps dressed in all sorts of crazy costumes.

Echo Mountain: This is college weekend, and you can get lift tickets for $20, there'll be trick contests, a live DJ, free food, demo tents, bar specials and prizes.
Next weekend is Last Park Standing, a finale season party with $12,000 in cash and $4,000 in prizes, an amateur rail jam and pro slopestyle competition, live music, a sponsor village and more. To register for the competition, go here.

Loveland: April 26 is the Corn Harvest Benefit Ski Party, which helps raise cash for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Silverton: What more do you need? It's Silverton.



Wolf Creek: Lift tickets will be $27 for adults and $16 for children and seniors, no ID required! Lifts will be operating from 9am-4pm.

So much snow and so much work

I can attest to the great snow at Snowmass. I'm up here working at the Winter Sports Clinic for disabled vets. Vets are learning to ski downhill and cross country, climb, scuba dive, fly fish, play sled hockey and, of course, curl. That's what I'm doing. We've had about 30 vets come through the curling clinic in 2 days, plus all of their aides.

I got caught in the aftermath of that pileup Monday afternoon. It took hours upon hours to drive the loop through Leadville and Minturn to get past that crash. I left the Highlands Ranch area about 3 p.m. and arrived in Snowmass about 10:15. Ugh.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to ride yesterday. But I hope to get up for some turns later in the week.

(The photo is the view from our room in the village.) Come on up and ride!

BASE jumper skier on Mount Hood

Did you see this footage of the skier BASE jumping 7200 feet off Mount Hood?

Checkit.

Daredevil on Skis
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6762436

Skier dies at Winter Park

A 39-year-old woman was killed this morning on lower Mary Jane trail after hitting a tree at Winter Park.

Doctors pronounced the woman dead at about 9:30 a.m. The woman was the 10th skier killed on Colorado slopes so far this season.

Our thoughts go out to her family and friends. Weather forecasters say we'll get snow tonight. Be careful out there.

Far Out ski fashions

Dave's out skiing today. Probably testing out gear he'll break out at Saturday's Retro Ski Day at Eldora.
Check this ensemble:



That could be Dave as a boy - he's prone to Day-Glo outfits, even now - but I can't see his mom ever pulling on that getup.

Head on up to Eldora Saturday and rock it old school - '70s and '80s - all day. There's a kids costume contest at 12:30 -- grooviest, most far out and coolest.

There's an adult apres ski costume contest at 3:30 with "live, funky music." A little Parliament, anyone?

If you've got pix of yourself in great old ski gear, send 'em in. We'll have a little contest of our own. dena.rosenberry@gazette.com

Skier sues skier

A woman who says she needed knee surgery after another skier collided with her has filed a lawsuit against the skier, reports the Aspen Daily News.

Christine Wheeler claims Lindsay Osbon struck her from behind in February 2006 on a trail on Aspen Mountain. The lawsuit said Wheeler was stopped on the side of a trail in plain view in clear weather when Osbon skied recklessly into her, going too fast and not looking out for skiers downhill from him.

Wheeler’s lawsuit seeks costs of medical treatment, transportation, loss of earnings and earning capacity, risk of future arthritis, and pain and suffering.

In 5 days of snowboarding, I haven't had anyone smack me that hard, but I've been run into by 1 little kid snowboarder and 3 adult skiers (older than me). All were people losing control (one would presume) near lift lines.

Am I right to believe this type of collision - with injury - is rare?

Steep opens at Tinseltown

If you missed it in today's Go! section,"Steep," the big mountain skiing documentary that includes footage of Colorado ski legends Lou Dawson and Chris Davenport opens its local run today.

It follows the history of extreme skiing and includes what Gazette writer Andy Wineke says is awesome scenes of, well, steeps. And shots of skiers riding out an avalanche that are mind boggling.

Read Andy's story about filmmaker Mark Obenhaus here.

Read his review of the movie here.

Link to showtimes here.

Scroll down a bit and watch Andrew McLean, who survived that avalance, talk to Steve Colbert on The Colbert Report.

Powder and No Crowds

Here's a weekend ski report from Out There friend and Biz editor Joanna Bean:

I skiied Winter Park/Mary Jane on Sunday after a years-long hiatus (too long of a day trip for me from Colorado Springs). I'd heard and read about some of the changes there, particularly the condo development around the base.

I was pleasantly surprised that Winter Park still "feels" like it used to, for the most part.

I didn't ski Jane as much as I would have liked (had the kids with me) but we found plenty to keep us busy at Winter Park. (And I snuck in a few trips through the bumps on Retta's Run and Outrigger.)

If you're an intermediate skier, head over to the Pioneer Express lift, on the Vasquez Ridge of Winter Park. We found plenty of powder and no crowds. Views were great, too.

Also new this year off Jane's Parsenn Bowl is what they're calling North America's highest six-person chairlift, along with new glade terrain. That's high on my list for my next no-kids ski day.

Looking for deals?

Our friends in The Gazette's marketing department created their second Snow Ride Guide mini mag of the season. It's in today's newspaper. There are some useful coupons inside if you're looking for gear or a place to stay on a multi-day mountain trip.

And check out today's Business section for Bill Radford's story about Jon Easdon, who recently opened the area's newest ski/board shop, Blindside. We mentioned it here on the blog before he opened, and Dave checked out some gear in his annual December gear guide.

Jon as worked at various ski shops around town and for a board maker. His goal is to give everyone who comes in individual attention. We could all use a bit more of that when renting and buying gear, for sure.

Blindside is in the giant Angler's Covey building at Highway 24/Cimarron and 21st Street. Don't be afraid to pop in and say hi. You may recognize an ol' slopeside bud.

New look at Snowmass

Think you know all about Snowmass? Check out the area's new Web site, which highlights the parks, backcountry terrain and freeriding available at this huge ski resort.

You can look at photos and post your own, read about different areas of the resort and locate them on a panoramic photo, and check in on the local pros, too.

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.

Monarch finally getting the white stuff

Doesn't look like the dumping at Silverton, but check out the webcams here: www.skimonarch.com/webcams.asp.

(I'll hyperlink if I get into the office today. Can't do it from home on my Mac.)

Monarch relies on Mother Nature, and has had to delay opening. Same with Ski Cooper. Leadville is reporting 32 degrees and mist, with a couple of inches possible today and tonight. We'll keep checking in to see if these Gems look like they can open anytime soon.

Send us slope reports

I'm just getting over a bout of viral pneumonia - nasty stuff - so I won't be headed up with my board till at least next weekend.

But that shouldn't stop you. If you get up to the powder today, tomorrow, Monday instead of work... send us a report. Add a comment to a post here or e-mail me at dena.rosenberry@gazette.com or add a post to our other winter web site: snowrideguide.com

We talking inches or feet?

Well, I left Monument to head south at midnight and an arctic wind made me believe I'd wake up to a frosty, if not wintry white, Manitou Springs.

Barely a frost.

But what's happening elsewhere? Weather reports still say the high country will see snow all day. Almost every report reported snow overnight with snow continuing to fall. Hmm, something tells me I may not see Dave till Wednesday...

Larry Walrod, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Pueblo, told The Gazette: "As time went on with this system, it looked more and more like it was going to pound the mountains and less and less like it would hit the Eastern Plains."

Parts of the San Juan range above 10,000 feet have seen as much as three feet of snow and that total could rise to four feet by the time the storm ebbs Sunday, Walrod said. Western Chaffee and Lake counties have gotten a 1- to 2-foot dump around the Continental Divide, and Leadville has seen about 8 inches, he added.

Here's what ski areas and ski towns are reporting"

Silverton through Telluride: up to 9 inches today with 100% chance of snow today and 80% tonight.

Wolf Creek is reporting 4 inches in 24 hours. Aspen Mountain, 5. Snowmass: 10. Weather reports show another 5 inches or so falling in Aspen today and another 2-4 tonight.

Crested Butte, where it's been bare, got 9. Remember, free skiing at CB through Dec. 15.

Closer to us, Breck and A-Basin are reporting 1 inch. Copper, 4. Keystone, where more terrain and the terrain park are opening today, got 1 inch. The area is expecting 2-4 inches today and another 1-3 tonight. But be ready for blowing snow today.

Loveland's reporting 2.

For a full report, check: www.coloradoski.com/SnowReport

For city by city weather forecasts: www.crh.noaa.gov/gjt/

If it looks good, shoot it

A commercial shoot to promote the X Games has moved to A-Basin because there's so little snow in Aspen. That's a shot today at Snowmass, above.

What ya gonna do?

Surely by the time the X Games hit Aspen (Jan. 24-27) there'll be plenty of the white stuff.

At least we kept it in state. And let's hope this week's storm dumps what the weather watchers say it will.

Ski passes going, going...

I don't recall when sales of Vail Resorts various passes were supposed to end, but Vail says they're extending sales through Sunday.

Here's a quick rundown:
The Summit Pass (formerly The Buddy Pass) gives you unlimited access at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. $409 for adults, $319 for teens and $209 for children.

The Colorado Pass - for another $40 for adults ($20 for teens and $10 for kids), you get the access of the Summit Pass plus 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek (restricted Nov. 23-24, Dec. 27-31, 2007 and Feb. 16-17).

The Colorado Pass PLUS gives you all the benefits of the Colorado Pass, but six of the Vail and Beaver Creek days are unrestricted. $549 for adults, $409 for teens and $289 for children.

Pass holders also get:

-Half-price lift tickets at Heavenly Mountain Resort, the highest-rated resort at Lake Tahoe, Calif./Nev.
-Six Ski With A Friend tickets, available at a discounted daily rate
-Free Summer 2008 lift access at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone

Pass renewals are available at coloradopass.com.

New passes are on sale through Sunday at Colorado Ski and Golf and Friday through Sunday at REI.

More details? Check www.coloradopass.com

The scene at Copper

That shot was just before 2 p.m. today at Copper. Check out the web cams. Snow and sunshine = a kickin afternoon.

Copper folks hoped to open top-to-bottom with five lifts. If you went, send us a report.

Keystone opening day

Photos by Leisa Gibson. Keystone

Keystone opened a week early with more than 2 feet of snow - the real stuff, too - and, as you can see, boarders hit the A51 terrain park. 20 features are ready, so... quit reading and hit it.

What's open? Lift access from the River Run Village base area for Spring Dipper (intermediate run) and Kokomo (mountaintop beginner learning area). And, of course, A51.

Plan ahead and hit the mountain next Friday and you can ski 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

If you head over there before that, you may see the U.S. Ski Team, which begins training there tomorrow.

Warren Miller 3 days in a row!

Even if you have tickets to the Friday or Saturday showings of the new Warren Miller film "Playground," you might want to check out a free Miller moment tonight:

Get your snow gear on and watch "Off the Grid" and "Higher Ground" - FREE - outdoors at The Faricy Boys, 4950 New Car Drive. (just west of Powers on Woodmen)

The movies start at 7 p.m. BYOC - bring your own chair

There'll be prizes - lift tickets, lodging, skis, bindings - entertainment and refreshments hot chocolate and popcorn.

(What's up with the photo? That's Jon Olsson, shot by Mattias Fredriksson - part of the "Playground" promo photos.)

Work where you play

Taking a semester off? Tired of working for the man? Need a second career?

Monarch Mountain is hiring full and part time staff for the 2007-08 season, and there's a job fair 9 a.m.-4 p.m. tomorrow at the Chaffee County Fair Grounds.

Sign on to work Ski School, Building Maintenance, Lift Operations, Food & Beverage, Guest Services, Ski Patrol, Rental Shop, Ticket Office, Sport Shop, and Slope Maintenance.

You get a paycheck AND ski pass for yourself and family, among other perks.