Club Colorado  

In Europe, they ski as a means to eat. That is, you arrive early to the chairlift not because you want fresh tracks, but because you want the best table at the restaurant. Having skied (OK, eaten) at a handful of Swiss and Austrian resorts recently, I can personally attest to the fact that one looks forward to opening the menu as much as they do the trail map.

Here in the States? We’ll cram our jacket pockets full of PB&J’s if it means another lap on a powder day. Lunch? Not if there’s skiing to be done. For many, on-mountain dining carries about as much appeal and sophistication as the plastic tray on which it’s served. But that is all changing, and the American “Ski to Eat” movement is now taking reservations at Telluride.

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Crested Butte has a reputation for steep, challenging terrain, plentiful snow, and a down-home atmosphere that core skiers love.  But I wouldn’t know, because I can’t seem to bring myself to actually go skiing.

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Kids. Sure, they look innocent, but they’ll turn on you. I’m about two hours in to a day skiing with a couple of kids at Echo Mountain Resort, and I’m in trouble. I shot myself in the foot by failing to share my Hershey’s Kisses on the chairlift. As I swallow the last of my tasty chocolate morsels, I can feel the morale plummeting. I worry they can smell the my fear… (continue reading…)

When you purchase your lift ticket at Copper Mountain, you’ll have to decide between a full-day, or a half-day ticket. Obviously you go with the full day (you couldn’t even scratch the surface of Copper in a half), but the whole question itself is misleading. You see, the team at Copper works around the clock, so even if you ski from open to close you’re really only skiing a half day in the eyes of those who work behind the scenes. For my most recent adventure in Colorado Ski Country, I tagged along with one of these everyday heroes, a man named Curt Bender, a Level-3 Operator on the Copper Slope Maintenance team.

Some folks call him "The Blademaster", but I just call him sir.

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Last week Colorado Ski Country USA was at the Nexus of the winter sports universe as the SIA Snow Show took place in Denver, the On Snow Demo happened at Winter Park, and X-Games 14 went down in Aspen/Snowmass with record attendance.
The show was closed to the public so if you who didn’t have the opportunity to explore the show room floor, we put together a little vignette of the products that were at the show. For those of us with product addictions, being on the floor of SIA was like being a 22 year old medicinal marijuana user who just moved to Denver.
To put things into perspective, 800 brands were shown, 1.3 million lbs of stuff was brought into the convention center, 14 acres of carpet was laid down, and somewhere between 15,000 and 19,000 people attended (the number changes depending on your sources).
Look for these 2010-11 product lines in stores this fall – until then – feel free to indulge your addictions.

Article written by and shared with the permission of: Amber Johnson

The only bad thing about Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort is the long haul to get there.

That’s also why it is so great.

Make the seven-hour drive from Denver to Durango’s remote enclave in southwestern Colorado and you’ll feel like you’re in the frosty equivalent of Shangri-La. With 1,325 acres of snow-dusted terrain, the San Juan Mountains are arguably Colorado’s most beautiful range.

I skied Purgatory 10 years ago and my only memory is a jarring wipe-out that had me seeing snow.

And a lot of stars.

Much has changed at this premier family-friendly resort since then. If you look at Purgatory’s marketing materials, there is a common theme: new. The new Purgatory Village base facilities include a new village plaza, gorgeous new Purgatory Lodge, new and improved retail shops and a new mountain Activities Center. (continue reading…)

Article written by and shared with the permission of: Aimee

Over MLK day weekend, my family and I were lucky enough to be hosted by Winter Park resort,
as part of a group effort from Colorado
Ski Country USA to show off how families can have fun at resorts all over Colorado.

From the get-go I was honest with them about my lack-luster skiing abilities. I mean, seriously – have you SEEN the Terror On The Mountain video? Grace, agility + snow are not words meant to be in my vocabulary. (continue reading…)