Not ready to stop resort skiing? Go uphill

Not ready for ski season to end, but balking at dropping large for a final weekend on crap snow? You don’t have to–not if you’re prepared to ski uphill. (Yeah, yeah–backcountry skiers do this all year, but this is an elegant solution if you don’t want to worry about wearing…

Tracks out of town: skiing Snowbird

After several trips through Colorado for skiing this winter, it was time to journey out of state. Sometimes, it’s all about timing. So it was Tuesday night, when I got to Snowbird the day after a foot of snow hit the mountain. Luckily, some of the terrain wasn’t opened on…

Bones Wheels skateboard team demo at Denver Skatepark on Friday

There should be some prime skating, spectating and people watching at the Denver Skatepark this Friday when the Bones Wheels team rolls into town.Pro skaters on the trip include Jake Duncombe, and Danny Cerezini, with ams Boo Johnson, Felipe Gustavo, Nick Tucker, Kevin Romar, Matt Berger, and Nathan Fantasia is…

Classic Climb: East Slab of the Dome

As you head into Boulder Canyon, the first series of rocks you pass on the right includes the Elephant Buttresses and the Dome. The Dome is one of the most popular formations in Boulder, with excellent moderate climbs on smooth granite. On the right side of the formation is one…

Hanging Lake Trail to close for summer rebuild

Summer is not only road-work season in the Rockies, it’s also trail-work season. In the latter category’s equivalent of a T-REX project, Hanging Lake Trail east of Glenwood Springs is shutting down from mid-May to mid-September for a major rebuild.From an Aspen Times story by Dale Shrull: The closure is…

Last big weekend for Front Range resorts: six more closings

For many skiers, April 18 marks the end of the ski season. It’s the last big weekend of resort closings. After Sunday, only three more resorts, Echo Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, and Loveland, will be open regularly, with Aspen Mountain opening for two more days the following weekend. Six resorts will…

Classic Descent: Mount Sopris

Mount Sopris, at 12,965 feet high, dominates the view as you drive south to Aspen from Glenwood Springs. The twin-summited peak rises over 6,000 feet above the valley, making it look taller than it actually is. Lou Dawson, one of the godfathers of ski mountaineering in the U.S., writes of…

A Basin hosts Save Our Snow Event

The last week or so not withstanding, given the challenges the Front Range resorts have had with snowfall this season, it seems appropriate that Arapahoe Basin is promoting environmental consciousness. This Saturday, the Basin will host its second Save Our Snow celebration, a fundraiser for the High Country Conservation Center…

How not to ride: Utah rope tow wedgie

Oh, Utah: A skier at Alta captured footage of a fellow skier in front of him who was vastly unfamiliar with the concept of riding a rope tow. Normally, this might result in just a sloppy fall and a bruised ego, but this guy managed to  straddle the Poma in…

Talking green biz with Aspen Skiing Co. Director of Sustainability

In November we reported that Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, and Aspen Highlands nabbed the three highest scores in Colorado in the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition environmental report card rankings, with Aspen Mountain and Buttermilk taking two of the top three spots out of all U.S. resorts (just behind Squaw Valley).This week…

TransWorld Snowboarding 2011 Resort Poll is live now

Here’s your chance to represent for your favorite mountain: The annual TransWorld Snowboarding Resort Poll just went online, asking riders to rate their three favorite resorts for 2011 in categories including Parks & Pipes, Grooming & Upkeep, Variety, Challenge, and Overall (Jumps, Rails, Boxes, Pipe).Colorado resorts dominated last year’s poll,…

Aarn Bodypacks: Gear you want but don’t need

Traditional backpacks plop all of the weight you’re carrying on your back and aim to distribute it via an ever-more-complex series of straps and buckles. New Zealand’s Aarn Tate saw a better way: Why not start by distributing the weight more evenly? Your front is just as good as your…

Snake-like developer sinks fangs into Telluride backcountry

Developer Tom Chapman has a parcel of land in Telluride’s backcountry and now he’s blocking skiers from traversing old guided routes that cross it. Chapman paid $246,000 for old mining claims in the Uncompahgre National Forest and probably is hatching a plan to build a luxury home there. Or at…

Peak 2.0 software identifies mountains with your iPhone

If you’re a mountain lover like us, you’ve probably looked toward a mountain-studded horizon and wished you could know the names of all the peaks instantly. Now you can, sort of: Software developer Augmented Outdoors just released Peaks 2.0 for iPhone.The premise is simple. You hold your phone up to…

Copper Mountain hosts USA Snowboard Association Nationals April 3-10

The United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) will hold its premier amateur snowboarding event this week, April 3-10 at Copper Mountain with the USASA National Championships, bringing nearly 1,500 competitors from across the country to Summit County for the amateur championships in slopestyle, superpipe, boardercross, slalom, and giant slalom…

Loveland and New Belgium Brewery team up to host scavenger hunt

When warm weather hits the ski resorts, thoughts turn to crazy costumes. Whether it’s a Retro Day or a costumed race, the longer days, warmer weather, and approaching closing dates bring a sense of frivolity to the hill. This weekend, Loveland and New Belgium Brewery are co-hosting an event like…