Club Colorado  

One-point-two seconds. That is the time it takes for me to see a fur coat after stepping out of my rusty Subaru. I’m parked semi-legally in front of the Sky Hotel in Aspen, Colorado. I’m here on a holiday weekend with one goal: to see if it’s possible for the average skier to ski Aspen on the cheap. Here goes…

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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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Sometimes, even Mountain Correspondents miss snow days. Yes, I missed the last powder day at Durango Mountain Resort, so my goal for today is to be the cruddiest skier on the mountain. I’m going to search high and low for crud, scour the slopes, and enlist the help of a highly trained professional in order to find the stuff. It’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be glamorous, but I’m going to do everything I can to find Purgatory’s crud.

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Crested Butte by Chris Segal

January 17, 2012 – An impressive snow storm moved into Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) Monday leaving double digit snow totals at many resorts. The Central and Southwest mountains witnessed the bulk of the storm with Silverton Mountain as the major benefactor reaping 19 inches, and Wolf Creek 18 inches, both in a 48 hour period.

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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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By Kristen Lummis, Brave Ski Mom

Aspen Mountain, December 22, 2011.

I think La Niña must be a 12 year-old girl. Last year, we were BFFs and she shared her snow with skiers in everywhere. This year, I don’t know what happened. Was it something we said? Maybe she didn’t like the way we took her for granted, skiing right on through the summer and expecting her to return in October. Maybe we didn’t wear the right clothes, or worse yet, she suspects we might have feelings for El Niño (we don’t, really!). Whatever happened, she’s dumped us and gone up to play elsewhere. She’s cutting us, and it hurts. (continue reading…)

It’s dark, cold, and the chairlifts aren’t running. Let’s go skiing.

I’m at Arapahoe Basin on a chilly December evening, putting on my boots in the parking lot by headlamp. Somewhere up on the dark monolith before me lies the Black Mountain Lodge, and in it, a decadent feast. So while I wonder what’s wrong with this group of people gathering around me, I’m motivated to beat them to the grub.

We’re here at the Moonlight Dinner Series’ Swiss Night, a creation of renowned Chef Rybak. The full moon we’ve been promised has not shown its face yet, but if it’s anything like me it’ll come running once it hears the dinner bell. Sufficiently layered and lit with headlamps, we begin our trek.

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