This Weekend in Stoke: Make the most of Denver's dump

To make the most of your snow day today, believe it or not, you're going to want to stay fairly close to home: Denver got more snow than most of the ski areas, and you might find more powder at your local sledding hill than at your favorite ski resort...

By Colin Bane

February 3, 2012

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To make the most of your snow day today, believe it or not, you're going to want to stay fairly close to home: Denver got more snow than most of the ski areas, and you might find more powder at your local sledding hill than at your favorite ski resort. This morning's Facebook post from Loveland Ski Area, where they got just two inches over night, sums it up succinctly: "Mother nature, you're mean." But it also means you can spare yourself some time on I-70 today: Echo Mountain got more snow than any other ski area in Colorado, reporting 24 inches this morning and with another 6-10 inches in the forecast today, according to our friends at OpenSnow.com, just in time for this weekend's Rail Jam and Winter Festival at Evergreen Lake and the SnowDash Extreme 5K at Echo Mountain on Saturday. And Eldora Mountain Resort -- motto: "Friends don't let friends drive I-70" -- is reporting 18 inches this morning, with another 5-9 inches on the way. If you're avoiding the roads altogether, today's a great day to check out the Art of Winter exhibits downtown before they come down on Monday, and to put your bid in on a piece of art by one of 20 local artists who painted recycled skis and snowboards for the show. We like Troy Derose's nod to one of our favorite lines from the John Cusack classic Better off Dead (pictured at left). Snowboard Colorado is celebrating its February 2012 magazine release with a dubstep party tonight at Casselman's Bar & Venue, 2620 Walnut Street, featuring Ana Sia, Coult 45, Luni Toons, and E.V.S. ($15 at the door), with giveaways and drink specials all night and, we imagine, crews heading out from there for urban jib missions.

Headed for the hills after all? Here's what's up:

Keystone's Winter Bluegrass Festival kicked off on Thursday, and the February Kidtopia party is in full swing.

Winter Park hosts a United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USASA) sanctioned slopestyle and superpipe competition on Saturday and Sunday in the Dark Territory jump line and Rail Yard terrain park.

And the Backcountry Babes are hosting a full-day women's telemark clinic ($160) at Loveland on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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