Nov 28, 2009 Copper Opens 22 foot Superpipe

Nov 28, 2009, Sat - Copper Mountain opens the first 22 foot superpipe in North America. The US Snowboard Team will be using the Superpipe daily for 1 1/2 - 2 hours during designated training hours. This training will occur through the USSA Grand Prix at Copper Dec 10-12.

Nov 26, 2009 Keystone Opens More Terrain, Lifts, Tubing Hill, Night Skiing

Nov 26, 2009, Thu - Keystone has now expanded their skiing to 186 skiable acres. It has 11 lifts and 12 trails open. The Mozart Trail is now open allowing skiers to ski the back of Dercum Mountain to the Ruby lift.

Lower Schoolmarm and Discovery trails are now open. The Peru Lift from the Mountain House Base Area is open this weekend and on weekends until Dec 18 when it will be open all week.

Night skiing is open until 9pm Thu through Saturday this weekend and 6pm on Sunday. Night skiing will be offered Fridays and Saturdays until 8pm through Dec 18. Then night skiing will be offered nightly until Jan 3. The tubing hill on Dercum Mountain and Adventure Point and will operate the same dates as night skiing.

Nov 25, 2006 Keystone Has Night Skiing and Tubing Hill Operating

Nov 25, 2006, Wed - Keystone is offering night skiing until 8pm through this Saturday and until 6pm this Sunday. It will be offered on Fri and Sat until 8pm through Dec18.

The tubing hill at the top of Dercum Mountain is open and will be operating the same dates as the night skiing.

Nov 19, 2009 Copper Mountain Sold to Ski Operation Based Company

Nov 19, 2009, Thu - Copper Mountain owner IntraWest announced it has reached an agreement to sell its Copper Mountain interests to Powdr Corp. The new owners are in the business of operating ski areas rather than developing the real estate at ski areas.

All ski passes already sold for multiple mountains Copper, Steamboat and Winter Park will be honored this season. It is unknown if these will still be offered in future seasons as the resort interests will be owned by separate companies.

Powdr Corp is based in Park City, Utah and is privately held and details of the transaction probably won't be made public. The price was estimated in the $100 million dollar range which would be 9 or 10 times the annual net operating income. Intrawest is also privately held and based out of Vancouver but more into resort and real estate development firm than operations. Some commercial properties used by IntraWest at Copper Mountain are actually owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties and leased back to Copper Mountain for day-to-day operations.

Powdr Corp owns and operates seven resorts: Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah, Killington Resort and Pico Resort in Killington, Vermont, Mt Bachelor in Bend, Oregon, Boreal Resort and Soda Springs Resort, both in Donner Summit, California, and Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

In a letter to Copper property owners, Copper president and chief operating officer Gary Rodgers said the sale will be a positive for the resort and the wider community. “We believe this transaction represents a positive outcome for Copper Mountain and it will provide numerous benefits to Summit County,” Rodgers wrote. “Powdr Corp operates several ski resorts throughout North America and Copper will be an important addition to their resort family and their first resort property in Colorado.”

At least one long-time Copper business owner is cheered by the sale. “I'm delighted they found a buyer that's a resort operator and not a real estate developer,” said Tom Malmgren, who owns Carbonate Real Estate at Copper Mountain.
Malmgren, who tussled with Intrawest about the company's plans for base area development, said he hopes the new owner takes the time to get to know the resort before making new plans or big changes.

The era of full-tilt real estate development may be over, at least for now. Companies like Intrawest and Vail Resorts can no longer depend on steady sales of slopeside condos to bolster the bottom line. Instead, the resorts have to carefully look at how they can maximize revenues from mountain-related operations, including skier services like ski schools and resort restaurants.

More information about Powdr Corp is online at www.powdr.com.

Nov 13, 2009 Breckenridge Opens Today for the Season

Nov 13, 2009, Fri - Breckenridge Opens Today for the Ski Season. Two lifts and 108 acres are open in Breckenridge today and free pancakes are being served for opening day. Now all four of Summit County's ski areas are open!

Nov 12, 2009 Frisco Nordic Center Information`

Nov 12, 2009, Thu - With more than 46 kilometers of trails for skiers of all abilities, the Frisco Nordic Center is considered one of the best in Colorado. Located at the Peninsula Recreation Area, the Nordic Center is at once convenient and authentic, offering a first-class facility for skating, classic skiing and even snowshoeing, all in a true Rocky Mountain setting.

A variety of lesson programs are offered, along with rental and demo equipment, and each season the Nordic Center hosts several races for all types of competitors. The Nordic Center is typically open from mid-November to early April. Call the Nordic Center directly at (970)668-0866.

In the evening, Two Below Zero Dinner Sleigh Rides are a perfect end to a perfect day, offering a relaxing time with great food, music and company. For sleigh rides, call 1-800-571-MULE.

Season passes to Gold Run, Breckenridge and Frisco Nordic centers are available for purchase online for the 2009-2010 season and are available now at “Early Bird” rates. until Nov. 22. All passes are available for online purchase at http://www.breckenridgerecreation.com.

Nov 11, 2009 Gold Run Nordic Center Scheduled to Open and Pass Information

Nov 11, 2009, Wed - The Gold Run Nordic Center in Breckenridge is scheduled to open December 4th. They will the first Nordic center to open in Summit County this season. Gold Run Nordic Center will be open daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will continue to be operated by the Breckenridge Recreation Department.

Day passes, valid at all three centers (Gold Run Nordic, Breckenridge Nordic, Frisco Nordic), are $17 for adults, $12 for youth and seniors. Punch passes are also available.

The Gold Run Nordic Center is located at the Breckenridge Golf Course and was opened by the Town in 2001. Gold Run offers 22 kilometers of groomed classic and skate ski trails and more than 10 kilometers of snowshoe trails. The trail system winds across and up the historic Delaware Flats and Gold Run Valley areas, at the mouth of the Swan River north of Breckenridge. The trail system offers a fun mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced trails for skiers and snowshoers. Ski and snowshoe rentals are available, as well as full-service instruction. A clubhouse provides a comfortable and relaxing apres-ski facility.

Season passes to Gold Run, Breckenridge and Frisco Nordic centers are available for purchase online for the 2009-2010 season. Season passes to Breckenridge, Gold Run and Frisco Nordic centers are on sale now at “Early Bird” rates. Passes are available for Breckenridge/Gold Run or Frisco Nordic centers, as well as a joint pass for all three centers. These rates apply for the biggest savings and will end Nov. 22. Regular season pass rates apply after Nov. 22. All passes are available for online purchase at http://www.breckenridgerecreation.com.

Nov 9, 2009 October Snowfall Totals

Nov 10, 2009, Mon - The National Weather Service weather station in Breckenridge indicated 22.9 inches of snow occurred in piled up at the base of Breckenridge during October. This October was the sixth wettest since record keeping began in 1893. This is 85 percent above the historic average of 12.3 inches and melted to 2.3 inches of water which is about 77 percent above average. The weather service observer there looked at historical patterns and heavy snow in October is not a good forecast of snowfall level over the entire Winter.

November on average brings about 20.9 inches of snow with 1.5 invches of water content. November is normally the fourth driest month and the range of snowfall is from 2 inches to 59 inches. A strengthening El Niño could influence the Winter weather patterns and snowfall. El Niño brings warmer-than-average ocean surface temperatures and tend to shift the flow of storms into the West Coast and the effect on weather in Colorado is not clear.

At Summit County's second National Weather Service station, October precipitation was below normal. At the Dillon site, observers tallied only 5.5 (.84 inches of precipitation) inches of snow. the historic average is 7.7 inches (1.07 inches). The average maximum temperature reading for the month, 47 degrees, was a full 8.3 degrees lower than the historic average, based on records going back to 1909. The average monthly low was 19.2 degrees, slightly below the average 20 degree reading. Daytime temperatures climbed into the sixties only a handful of days. Oct. 19 was the warmest day, at 64 degrees. Lows dropped below freezing every single night except Oct. 15. The coldest reading for the month was Oct. 26, at minus 2 degrees.

Even more snow fell on the Front Range, where it quickly melted and topped off reservoirs in Denver Water's system. Enough moisture was added to the system that Denver Water officials aren't sure whether they'll even turn on the Roberts Tunnel this winter. At last word, no final decision had been made, but a resource manager with Denver Water said that, because of the impending winter, they have to make the call soon.

Nov 7, 2009 Arapahoe Basin Has Top to Bottom Skiing

Nov 7, 2009, Sat - Arapahoe Basin will open for top to bottom skiing this Saturday. Norway lift will open at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday to service the upper mountain intermediate runs of Lenawee Face and Dercum's Gulch.

The Molly Hogan teaching area plans to open Saturday, November 14. Beginner and intermediate lessons will be available at that time.

Nov 6, 2009 Copper Mountain Open for Skiing/Riding Today

Nov 6, 2009, Sat - Copper Mountain opened for the ski season today with an 18" mid-mountain base. Three lifts are opeen with 60 acres and 4 trails. They are the forth ski area to open in the Summit County vvicinity with Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and Loveland also now open.

Nov 5, 2009 Keystone Open Top to Bottom for Skiing/Riding Today

Nov 5, 2009, Thu - Keystone opens at 9am with the River Run Gondola. Keystone has top to bottom skiing open. Also, Keystone has a new wider bridge this year that replaces the old bridge at the bottom of the gondola. Condo rentals are available at Colorado Summit Condo in Dillon

Nov 2, 2009 Keystone and Copper Mountain to Open This Week, Breckenridge Next Week

Nov 2, 2009, Mon, Keystone Ski Resort will be opening on Thursday Nov 5 which is a day earlier than planned.
Copper Mountain will also be open this week on Friday, Nov 6. Breckenridge will open next week on Thursday, Nov 12.