What to Do on Colorado's Ski Slopes in March 2016

Talk about the white stuff: A snowy season in the high country means there will be plenty of great skiing throughout the state in March, and plenty of great events to go along with that snow. Keep reading for our calendar of events: It's all downhill from here!

March 4-6: USASA Boardercross & Skiercross, Crested Butte. USA Snowboard and Freeskiing Association will make another stop in Crested Butte this season to cater to the ski and snowboard racers, as they charge their way through the cross course located below the Paradise Lift (swcoloradoseries.com).

March 5: Crafted Tasting, Crested Butte. Visit Mt. Crested Butte in early March and enjoy spring skiing and CRAFTED, a tasting featuring Colorado’s best craft brews, spirits and local fare. The event will be held in the Event Tent at the base area of Crested Butte Mountain Resort from 2 to 6 p.m. Enjoy delicious libations and tasty treats with live music and views of the West Elk Mountains; $25 advance/online (6 tasting tickets), $30 day of event (6 tasting tickets), $5 entry under 21 (cbchamber.com>events>crafted).

March 5-13: Springtacular, Purgatory. Spring Break at Purgatory Resort is a nonstop party for the whole family! We’ll have special activities every day for kids and adults, and live music throughout the week (purgatoryresort.com).

March 5: Free Family Race Day, Loveland. Join us as the Loveland Race Club hosts a free Family Race Day. The race will take place off Chair 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities. Come out and race each other for fun and bragging rights! The race is free and open to everyone. Just sign up the morning of the race on the Basin Patio or at the top of the course (skiloveland.com).

March 6: Kids’ Fest, Monarch. Bring the kids up for games and crafts, avalanche dog meet-and-greet and to check out our kids’ snow equipment (skimonarch.com).

March 11-13: IFSA Junior Nationals Freeskiing Competition, Crested Butte. The International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association was established in 1996 by freeskiing pioneer Shane McConkey. The Junior Big Mountain Freeskiing and Snowboarding system comprises regional events, national events, and one rotating North American Championship. Crested Butte Mountain Resort will host Nationals on
March 11-13, where junior competitors ages 12-18 will compete in the famed Crested Butte Extreme Limits terrain (skicb.com).

March 12: Alpenglow Ascents Rando Challenge, Arapahoe Basin. This third annual springtime event will start and finish in the Base Area while summiting near 12,472’ (arapahoebasin.com)!

March 12-13: Burton Experience Snowboard Tour, Keystone. Are you new to the sport of snowboarding or looking to progress your riding? Join Keystone Resort for the Burton Experience Snowboard Tour, featuring free snowboard clinics for adults and kids, free product demos from Burton, deeply discounted rates on lift tickets and lodging, and entertainment including a scavenger hunt and live DJs (keystoneresort.com).

Keep reading for more events on the mountains in March.

March 12: St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, Winter Park. Wear your green and head over to The Village after a day on the slopes to enjoy live music and food and drink specials to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Winter Park (winterparkresort.com).

March 19: Moonlight Dinner Series: A Night in Spain, Arapahoe Basin. Travel along the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees for unique, bold flavors of Spain. Live music will be provided by Amanda and Harold from Seattle with Spanish guitar-themed influences. This is a lift-served event. Guests are also welcome to hike or snowshoe to and from mid-mountain. Cost: $88 plus tax (arapahoebasin.com).

March 19: 3 p.m. Skitown Breakdown, Crested Butte. Crested Butte Mountain Resort will host its sixth annual spring concert, Skitown Breakdown. Formerly known as Festevol, this event brings in national talent at an affordable rate, engaging both locals and visiting guests to celebrate spring with live music. FREE (skicb.com).

March 20: 10 a.m. Al Johnson Telemark Race. This Colorado costume event is as much fun to watch as it is to participate in. In tribute to a rugged 19th-century mailman, competitors in wacky costumes climb 660 vertical feet, then descend 1,200 feet down double-black diamond steeps. Prizes for best times, best costumes and best fall. The race can be tag-team or individual, or enjoyed as a spectator, with access to the venue by an intermediate run (skicb.com).

March 25: GORE-TEX Grand Traverse, Crested Butte to Aspen. This extraordinary 40-mile backcountry ski race between the towns of Crested Butte and Aspen is a fundraiser for the CB Nordic Council. Coinciding with the Grand Traverse, KBUT community radio hosts a fundraising part called “Soul Train” at Butte 66. The party starts at 9 p.m. and runs until 2 a.m. So bring your dancing shoes and costume, and watch the Grand Traverse athletes take off from the Butte 66 deck around midnight (skicb.com).

March 26: 8th annual Save Our Snow celebration, Arapahoe Basin. All proceeds from this event will benefit the High Country Conservation Center, Summit County’s local resource center that provides awareness, education, appreciation and preservation of our environment. Meet our Green Team and representatives from the HC3 and learn about A-Basin’s sustainability initiatives, while elevating your green eperience at Arapahoe Basin. To celebrate the day and the “Power to Save the Powder,” we will have a tent village in the Base Area with some Colorado friends who practice sustainability in their businesses and products (arapahoebasin.com).

March 27: World’s Largest Easter Egg Hunt, Copper Mountain. Copper’s Easter Egg Hunt has increased from 50,000 to 65,000 eggs! New this year, 15,000 eggs are plant-based biodegradable. As part of the reduce, reuse, recycle movement, Copper encourages participants to turn empty eggs back in to be reloaded for reuse in future years. Hallmark will provide a small prize to the first 400 kids who recycle their eggs. There are different hunts for kids of all ages, from 3 and under in Copper’s Center Village to adults in an on-mountain hunt to include the resort’s Sherpa app (coppercolorado.com).

March 27: 10:30 a.m. Beach’N Egg Hunt, Arapahoe Basin. The Easter Bunny visits A-Basin for an egg hunt that both skiing and non-skiing kids can enjoy! Search for 5,000 eggs on the mountain. Kids on skis will head to Wrangler, one of our green (beginner) trails to search for eggs, and those who wish to hunt on foot will search in our learning spaces near the Base Area (arapahoebasin.com).

March 27: Golden Bunny Classic Candy Hunt & Fun Race, Winter Park. Winter Park Willie and the Easter Bunny deliver holiday fun with an on-mountain candy hunt in Discovery Park as well as a base-area egg hunt for children under 5. The ‘Bunny Race’ has been an Easter tradition for more than 38 years for children ages 10 and under (winterparkresort.com).

March 30-April 2: Taste of Vail (tasteofvail.com).