Club Colorado  

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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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…)

Skiing is inherently silly. As stated by Dexter Rutecki in Aspen Extreme: “We’re not curing cancer here, we’re sliding down a mountain with sticks on our feet.” Skiing is fun, it’s silly, and it’s not to be taken too seriously.

Unless you’re a member of Colorado’s Ski Patrol.

For Ski Patrollers, skiing isn’t just a fun activity; it’s their job. Colorado’s Ski Patrol represent one of the most comprehensively trained groups in all of outdoor recreation. Medical training, mountain travel, search and rescue, evacuation, incident response and evidence gathering – you name it, the Ski Patrol is trained for it and ready to respond.

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Desert Island question: If you had to pick just one mountain, just one spot to ski or board for the rest of time, which one would it be?

It’s a tough question, and thankfully it’s one you can completely ignore because in Colorado, you simply don’t have that problem. Colorado has a mountain for everyone. With tons of resorts and ski areas, there’s something here for everyone – which begs the question: what’s your thing?

Are you a powder-hound? Park-rat? Mogul-gopher? Aprés-aardvark? We tried to cram as much of our glorious state as we could in to a 30-second video. So take a look: see if your thing made the cut:

Didn’t see your thing here? Then hop on our facebook page or tweet us (@ColoradoSkiUSA) and let us know. We’ll make sure your favorite thing to do in Colorado Ski Country shows up in the next video.

-Mountain Correspondent

Skiing with kids can be tough.

As a recovering ski instructor who seemed to always get stuck instructing about thirteen four-year-olds, I can tell you that skiing with kids can make the days stretch on forever, and not in a good way. And skiing with adults ain’t easy for the kids either, especially when they’re learning. Dad wants to rip turns, grom wants to chill on the magic carpet. So what do you do?

The smiles say it all

You head to a place where everyone can get their fix; you head to Monarch Mountain. (continue reading…)

It’s Colorado Ski Country USA Photo Quiz time. Test your ski cred and see if you can ace the quiz. Winners get bragging rights on Colorado’s greatest skiing Facebook page, and never-ending glory.

Ready for the quiz? Here goes:

QUESTION: What is going on in this picture:

What's going on in this photo?

Multiple choices below:

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For decades, the mere utterance of the word “Telluride” has conjured up visions of jagged peaks, crusty miners, an authentic western main street, and the mystique of some of the best skiing in Southwest Colorado.  And the myth holds up: even an average day at Telluride is anything but, well, average:

How was my day? Eh, the usual.

The totally average Telluride experience continues…

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