Club Colorado  

Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) acknowledged outstanding industry professionals at its fourth annual Double Diamond Awards Reception yesterday evening. The ceremony marked the conclusion to a milestone 50^th Annual Meeting for the Colorado ski industry’s trade association. The Double Diamond Awards are CSCUSA’s hallmark event that allows industry professionals to come together and honor snow maintenance professionals, athletes, instructors, patrollers and industry legends. This year’s honorees ranged from a 14 yr-old straight-A student to a United States Senator. Bestowing the honors upon the winners, and presenting alongside President and CEO of CSCUSA, Melanie Mills, was longtime Colorado ski icon Billy Kidd of Steamboat Springs. Kidd was the first male athlete to win a medal at the Olympics in downhill skiing. Plenty of other industry representatives were on hand at the History Colorado Center to celebrate the 2012-13 season, and witness the best in Colorado’s ski industry be acclaimed.

from left to right, Storm Klomhaus, Jen Rokala, State Director representing U.S. Senator Mark Udall, Ken Kowynia, Ashley Sifers, Chris Whitson, Tucker Roberts, Melanie Mills, Steve Fischer, Alan Henceroth Chief Operating Officer of Arapahoe Basin representing Jake Ziemski, Billy Kidd

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Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced today at its 50^th Annual Meeting that statewide skier visits totaled an estimated 11,445,000 in 2012/13. This estimation shows Colorado being up 3.95 percent compared to last season. Colorado Ski Country’s 21 member resorts hosted an estimated 6.4 million skier visits during the 2012-13 ski season. This represents an increase of 3.8 percent, or approximately 235,000 skier visits, over the previous season. Colorado resorts bested the estimated 1.9 percent uptick in visits in the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S., while falling short of the national overall increase of 11 percent. (continue reading…)

One of Wolf Creek Ski Area’s Ski Patrollers has some particularly bad breath. I’ve just watched Rico execute a rescue of a buried avalanche victim in a training drill put on by Wolf Creek, and as I congratulate him on a job well done, Rico’s halitosis washes over me and I’m struggling for fresh air, much like the simulated avalanche victim he just rescued. I can’t help but wonder what he had for breakfast.

Having smelled Rico’s breath, my guess would be dog food. And I’d be right, because Rico is one of Wolf Creek Ski Area’s avalanche dogs.

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As the season winds down and the weather begins to slowly warm up, resorts are beginning to close throughout Colorado Ski Country. Loveland and Arapahoe Basin will remain open into May as usual, continuing the tradition of Colorado having one of the longest seasons in the nation, but many others will start to close in the next couple of weeks. Check out the list below so you know where to head before the 2013-14 season is in the books.

Crested Butte Spring Splash

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I hop on the 8 o’clock chair with a few Ski Patrollers at Durango Mountain Resort (DMR). I ask one of the patrollers what he thought of a recent article that seemed to suggest Ski Patrollers across the state lack in training.

“That article made us sound like a bunch of un-trained monkeys!” exclaimed TJ, a veteran patroller at DMR. “I resent that. We’re highly trained monkeys.”

The vibe here is relaxed, even on dawn-patrol. The snow has already begun to soften up on this late-March day. Festivities at the base area, known to locals as “the Beach” will include snow bowling, a pig roast, and of course, beer. Did I mention it’s college day?

“That’ll bring the rabble out for sure.” remarks Scott Clements, director of the Patrol at DMR. I’ve seen closing day at DMR before. It usually means costumes, antics, and lots of fun, so I know it’s going to be a good day to shadow the patrollers.

It takes hard work and dedication to work for Patrol. And a sweet one-piece.

Despite the chucklings about the laid-back vibe of spring skiing in Colorado, Ski Patrol is diligent about their job. It’s business-as-usual in the Patrol Shack. The morning meeting begins with grooming reports, station assignments, and the typical razzing of the rookie. The only think significantly different today is sitting on a table in front of me… (continue reading…)

A quick bit of math: Take all the awesome ski and snowboard spots in Colorado, then find all the sweet terrain parks, halfpipes, and superpipes in Colorado. Add all the parks, pipes, superpipes, and jibs togehter. What do you get? About a jillion ways to catch air in the highest state in the union. Here are some highlights from one of ‘em:

OK, so I’ll admit that I didn’t get the job of Mountain Correspondent because of math skills, but hear me out…

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This blog comes to Colorado Ski Country from Amber Johnson, editor of MileHighMamas.

As a mom, I have a lot of discussions with my peers about teaching my kids to ski. My fellow skiers understand the benefits (health, fun, active lifestyle) and even my non-skiing friends don’t question these and instead cite drawback reasons like “it’s too difficult or expensive.”

But never once have I been asked, “Don’t you think it’s too dangerous?”

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