On the way to Crested Butte to cover this week’s Telemark Extremes Competition, I stopped at Monarch to get some turns in. After all, it’s on the way, and how can you resist stopping for a driving break for some turns on a perfect bluebird day. Pulling into the parking…
As if you needed another excuse to support the three companies making excellent snowboards right here in Colorado, The Burlington Free Press reports today that snowboard giant Burton is closing shop on its Vermont manufacturing facilities in South Burlington, cutting 43 US jobs and moving the last of its US…
Three Colorado ski legends will be inducted into the United States National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame next month at Beaver Creek’s Gerald R. Ford Hall on April 9:Jack Benedick (Golden, CO) lost both legs in the Vietnam War and went on to help develop the sport of adaptive…
Old Man Winter is about to croak. Daylight savings time is toast. Squirrels and birds are working their way onward and upward on our ski mountains. The vernal equinox is on March 20; in one week and one day, this winter is technically one for the books.So, the top 5…
If you’ve always dreamed of sending killer routes up rock faces but aren’t so down with the “outdoors” thing, your prayers have been answered: Vaguely-named game producer Human Soft plans to bring a climbing video game to the Wii. Called (gag) Hardgrip, the game will reportedly allow users to “experience…
She may not have nabbed all five Olympic medals like she hoped, but Lindsey Vonn still gets to be the most decorated American skier of all time: She just captured her third straight World Cup overall title after winning the super G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. That brings her total to…
On Wednesday, Colorado suffered its fourth avalanche fatality of 2010 when a snowboarder riding in backcountry terrain was caught in a slide and carried down Steep Gully #1. None of the riders in the party carried avalanche rescue gear. However, while having rescue gear is important, ultimately, education is the…
The Colorado Department of Transportation reopened the stretch of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon yesterday afternoon, with one lane of traffic in each direction, less than a week after a rock slide with boulders as big as 10 feet in diameter damaged and blocked the road on Monday. That’s good news…
The first edition of the Denver Snow Show ended a month ago, but SnowSports Industries America (SIA) has just reported that the move from its longtime home of Las Vegas reversed an ongoing downward trend by setting a six-year high-water mark for attendance. From the release:…
If you fancy yourself a mountain hardman or hardwoman just waiting for your moment of athletic glory, get ready: Registration for the Teva Mountain Games in Vail is now open. Both amateurs and pros can sign up to compete in kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, road cycling, amateur climbing, World Cup…
As much as I like my Ween, I hate wearing earbuds when I’m cruising down a slope or riding my cruiser in Denver. I want to hear the skiers and ‘boarders on the slopes as well as the bikes and — most importantly — cars and trucks on the road…
A 20 year-old snowboarder died in an avalanche yesterday afternoon in the sidecountry terrain known as The Beavers, just West of Arapahoe Basin, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). For those of you familiar with the terrain, the slide and fatality occurred in The Beavers’ Gully #1 (they’re…
Yesterday we reported on the rock slide that has turned I-70 into a disaster zone, closed the Glenwood Canyon stretch of the highway indefinitely, and forced motorists onto alternate routes including a 200-mile detour loop on US 40. The bad news doesn’t end there: This morning a woman was killed…
While deep powder lines beckon many skiers in Colorado, when venturing into the backcountry, those lines have the potential to be exceptionally dangerous to the unaware. The unfortunate truth is that avalanche hazard is highest on slopes that are most attractive to skiers, in terms of the steepness. However, there…
Have you ever wished you could convince your friends and family to buy you a lift ticket and not come off like a dirtball in the process? Now’s your chance: Not only can you get a free lift ticket, but a free lunch and other free schwag like a $25…
Whoever first thought up that old t-shirt slogan “Life’s a Mountain Not a Beach” must have spent one unfortunate Spring Break in Miami Beach, as skiers and snowboarders from around the world know that the real party is right here in Colorado. If you’re staying close to home this year,…
In Crested Butte, both the pro- and anti-development forces await word on the future of Snodgrass Mountain from the U.S. Forest Service’s Region 5 Deputy Regional Forester Jim Peña, the Crested Butte News reports. After local U.S.F.S. honcho Charlie Richmond kiboshed the resort’s proposed expansion onto Snodgrass Mountain last fall…
After four years of skiing an average of 30 days a season, my poor ski boots were becoming looser and looser on my feet, as the liner boot was completely packed out. This required me to buckle the boots tighter and tighter to maintain some level of control while skiing…
Vail Valley’s Lindsey Vonn crashed and burned in everything but the Downhill (Gold) and Super G (Bronze), but that hasn’t stopped the post-Olympics marketing bonanza: A gold medal is a gold medal, after all. Last week General Mills unveiled its Lindsey Vonn “Breakfast of Champions” Wheaties box art, making her…
Legendary Telluride ski bum “Captain Jack” Carey passed away on Lizard Head Pass last summer after a truck hit his bike. The New Hampshire transplant and Ophir resident was an world-class hang-glider, skier, biker, and hiker, and beloved by the community he’d been a big, smiling part of for over…
On Wednesday, I wrote about Her Day, a night riding event at Echo Mountain on the first Thursday of every month. Her Day is designed to introduce women to playing on features in the terrain park in an encouraging and relaxed atmosphere.Though I’ve skied on and off for 30 years,…
Ready to live out those Dew Tour dreams and X Games fantasies and begin your Olympic odyssey? Your journey begins here: The United States Snowboard Association brings its 23rd annual Rocky Mountain Series to Copper Mountain this weekend, March 6-7, for the final event of the series before next month’s…
