Just Dew It! Women's Superpipe semifinals for the Winter Dew Tour's Nike Open at Breckenridge get underway today at 9:15 a.m., followed by semifinals for Men's Freeski Slopestyle, Men's Snowboard Superpipe, Men's Freeski Superpipe, and Men's Snowboard Slopestyle. Tonight also happens to be Breck's 50th birthday bash, so get up there ready to party. Finals start on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and Sunday at 9:30 a.m., and you'll have plenty of hometown heroes to root for, like Breck local Eric Willett, who offers his perspective on the slopestyle course (above). Can't make it up to Breck? NBC will be airing its coverage from the event on Saturday from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.
DIY! There's no shortage of made-in-Colorado brands to support this ski season, but Rocky Mountain Underground thinks you can go one better and build your own. They're setting up shop tonight at 7 p.m. at Neptune Mountaineering (633 South Broadway in Boulder) for a Ski Builders Clinic to prove it to you, "covering every aspect of ski building, from Core Profiles and Flex Patterns, to building your own ski press!" And it turns out they know what they're talking about: This year the brand got nods in Powder Magazine's Skier's Choice 2012, the 2012 Telemark Skier Awards, and Freeskier Magazine's Editor's Choice 2011-2012. Not too shabby! "Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn." If you got hooked on downhill action after watching all that World Cup racing at Aspen Mountain and Beaver Creek earlier this month, check out the Smartwool Ski Cup races at Winter Park on Saturday and Sunday, which will pit Slalom and Giant Slalom racers from age 13 and up against the reigning 2011 NCAA National Champion team from the University of Colorado. Oh, and we thought about keeping this one to ourselves, but -- just in case you need a better excuse to head over Berthoud Pass -- Mary Jane opened this morning. Go deeper! If you're craving more powder than the nearest ski areas have to offer this weekend, it just might be time for a little roadtrip: Powderhorn Mountain Resort opened yesterday with 13 inches of fresh snow, Silverton Mountain has reported 19 inches of new snow this week. Bring a video camera, because the deadline to submit amateur films for The Beating Ski & Snowboard Film Fest is December 26, and prizes on the line for the January 7 festival include Contour HD cameras and a free heli drop at Silverton.For insider tips from the rest of Colorado's ski areas, don't miss "The Edge," Westword's Winter Activity Guide.
