A cold beer after a day on the slopes has been a tradition for a long, long time at ski and snowboard resorts. Now, with brewers brewing near most resorts, the connection has strengthened and produced a plethora of personalized “mug clubs” at resort bars.
The Denver-to-Winter Park ski train has become more than just a nod to the past: It's now a viable transportation option for Denverites headed to the hills.
Upgrades abound for a quartet of Colorado ski and snowboard resorts that swing open their doors in mid-November, as the new season gets into full-bore boogie mode for the 2018-2019 season.
Glad to have you back, SnoCast readers! We can't wait to give you an early edge on when to catch the best snow of the season as we bring you forecasts each week through the season.
A lack of space at Winter Park has forced the 79-year-old Eskimo Ski Club to cease a program that has brought thousands of Denver-area youngsters onto the slopes of the Colorado mountain.
Willy Booker, head of Burke Mountain Academy which hones some of America’s finest ski racers, bemoans that kids are less active and athletic today and don’t get outdoors enough.
One way to remedy that is to have fun at a mountain resort this summer.
Colorado ski and snowboard resorts took a short break after winter, but they quickly turned their attention to the burgeoning summer season – full of hikes and bikes and thrills of all kinds.
The cold may push back closing dates. (Squaw|Alpine/Twitter)
Winter weather will be hanging on for the first week of April in many areas, especially to the north.
Bowls galore for cornice jumping. (Winter Park/Facebook)
Winter Park typically stays open longer than all but two Colorado resorts. This season, closing is set for April 22, rivaled only by Arapahoe Basin and Loveland.
Cinco de Mayo atop Snowbird. (Snowbird/Facebook)
This time of year, the snow is melting and bare ground begins to show. But the spring ritual of skiing and riding under a warm sun and on moist, soft snow is a fitting close to any ski and snowboarding season.
More carving at Winter Park with new gondola. (Winter Park/Facebook)
Winter Park Resort has announced that it will replace the mountain’s workhorse Zephyr Express chairlift with a gondola – a move aimed to upgrade the mountain’s infrastructure and to shorten weekend and holiday lines.
Copper to cut season pass price for next season. (Copper Mountain/Facebook)
The season pass battles are officially on for 2018-2019, and Copper Mountain has fired its salvo with an early-season pass priced about 25 percent lower than this season's top price.
Flyin' high over city of Denver. (Ruby Hill Railyard/Facebook)
For the 12th year, the nation’s best-known urban terrain park has opened at Ruby Hill Park in downtown Denver.
Deer Valley is Alterra Mountain Company's Utah destination. (Alterra Mountain Company)
The joint venture of affiliates of KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Company that brought together Intrawest Resorts holdings, Mammoth Mountain, Deer Valley and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, now has a name: Alterra Mountain Company.
Ski train rolls up into the mountains every weekend. (Winter Park/Facebook)
North America’s only slopeside railroad service resumes this week with Amtrak’s weekend service to Colorado’s Winter Park Resort.
Easier to get around Purgatory this year. (Purgatory/Facebook)
Each ski and snowboard season brings upgrades, improvements and just plain new stuff at Colorado resorts, where the competition for visitors is fierce.
Selected days at Wolfie mean deep stuff on the cheap. (Wolf Creek Ski Area)
Going to college has many benefits for one’s future, but one perk for the present is a discount on season passes at Colorado ski resorts.
Wound Warrior, Ryan Major participates in the ASF's Warriors in Motion cycling program. (ASF)
After Kirk Bauer lost his leg from a grenade explosion in Vietnam in 1969, he experienced the thrill of skiing as part of his rehabilitation through Disabled Sports USA. “There was a demand from vets to get involved in sports so DSUSA began as a ski organization in 1967,” Bauer said.
Tremblant has new owner. (Tremblant/Facebook)
Consolidation in the winter resort industry continues as a partnership between a newly formed entity in Aspen and a private equity firm announced the pending purchase of Intrawest and its six ski and snowboard resorts.
Included in the deal, which is expected to be closed by next fall, are Steamboat, Winter Park, Snowshoe, Stratton, Mont Tremblant and Blue Mountain. They will join with Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows, a property of partner KSL Capital Partnership, under the new corporate entity. Aspen SkiCo's Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands are not in the deal and will continue to operate independently.
Season tickets purchased for 2017-2018 at each resort will be honored, and the benefits of multi-resort passes Rocky Mountain Super Pass, the M.A.X. Pass and Mountain Collective will also continue through next season, according to a press release. No information has been given yet about consolidation of ticketing.
Skiers and snowboarders shouldn’t expect to see any major changes at any of the resorts this next season, as the deal won’t be signed and sealed until the third quarter of 2017. However, statements from Aspen Skiing Corp. and KSL Capital Partners indicate that the new corporation is ready to “help realize the collective potential of Intrawest’s portfolio of resorts.”
The deal comes as the latest in a trend toward consolidation in the ski and snowboard business. Vail Resorts expanded into the Eastern market with the recent purchase of Stowe, giving it a across-the-nation portfolio of resorts. Others owning multiple resorts include Boyne USA, Peak Resorts and Powdr Corp.
Hit Mary Jane up for more spring. (Winter Park/Facebook)
Just when Colorado resorts prepare to shut down winter operations, snow storms roll into the Rockies -- and forcing a trio of mountains to keep their lifts running longer than scheduled.
Vail, Aspen and Mary Jane portion of Winter Park will stay in operation for at least a week longer than expected because of recent snow.
Resorts still open in the Centennial State report more than a foot of snow since the beginning of April – with some adding two feet or more. While temps warmed unseasonably in March, they cooled significantly once April arrived to not only produce new snow but also slow the annual slushing-up during the spring skiing period.
Vail has announced it will a week longer to April 17, due to two feet that have fallen in recent days. The majority of the front side of the mountain – plus Sun Up and Sun Down Bowls – will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ski school will run private lessons only.
Over the hill at Aspen Mountain, diminishing snowfall in March – 30 inches total – made the scheduled closing date of April 16 realistic; however, another 17 inches in the first week of the month pushed the shutdown to April 23.
Operating hours will shift to 10 a.m.-5 p.m. to take allow slopes to warm up in the morning and to take advantage of longer days – unless a powder day shows up and lifts crank up at 9 a.m.
Top-to-bottom skiing will be served by Silver Queen Gondola, Ajax Express, FIS and Ruthie's lifts.
While the bulk of Winter Park closes on April 23, the bumps of Mary Jane will be ready for spring skiing and riding until April 30.
