Top five offseason resort improvements

Recession or not, Colorado’s ski resorts were plenty busy this off-season. The cranes that went idle in Dubai and Vegas were still running in high gear at many of the base villages, and the list of on-mountain improvements is long. In my estimation, the top five improvements at Colorado resorts…

Morning Dew: On mountains high

A momentarily abandoned mountain bike somewhere over the Tennessee Valley. Photo courtesy of jaydoubleyougee’s Flickr page. To have your photos featured in Morning Dew, send them to edge@westword.com or post them to the Westword Flickr pool…

Backcountry snow car beats skinning any day

Have you ever skinned your way up a hidden backcountry stash, only to wipe the stinging sweat from your eyes and think to yourself, “There’s GOT to be a better way!”Um, there is: Ken Block’s Subaru WRX-based Trax ST1 is probably the fastest snow cat ever built, and roaring along…

Arapahoe Basin opens upper mountain

[jump] On Saturday, the Basin opened the Norway lift, offering top-to-bottom skiing via Lenawaee Face and Dercum’s Gulch on the upper mountain, and Ramrod and High Noon on the lower mountain. All of the trails are intermediate runs. Skiers raced to be the first ones to get up Norway on…

Covered in white and plenty green: Aspen, other resorts called eco-friendly

Heads up, tree-hugging tree skiers: Aspen Mountain Ski Resort ranked number one out of all western ski resorts on the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition annual environmental impact report cards for the 2008-2009 ski season. Three other Colorado resorts — Buttermilk Mountain, Aspen Highlands, and Telluride — made the Coalition’s top…

Photos: Opening Day at Copper Mountain

Copper opened on November 6, and photographer Soren McCarty — who also shot Keystone’s Opening Day — was there to capture the snowy goodness. See more photos after the jump…

Photos: Opening Day at Keystone

Keystone opened for the season on Thursday, and photographer Soren McCarty was there. We’re a little jealous, are you? See more photos after the jump…

Know when you can make a snow cat/hip cat pun? The ’70s.

Via Visit Colorado’s YouTube channel comes this segment from Ski Scene, hosted by Johnny Morris. It’s basically a promo video for Steamboat from forty years ago. Highlights include: Cowboy hats, full body jumpsuits, harmony, more bad puns, some shockingly inane conversation and a mildly creepy ski commercial. Noticeably absent: Snowboards,…

Why won’t you open, Ruby Hill Rail Yard? Why?!

Here’s the best thing about living in Denver in the winter: Snowy and cold up in the mountains, sunny and warm down in the city. Snow/Sun … Wet/Dry … see how that works? Then, in 2007, Winter Park and the City of Denver’s parks department had to go and come…

Three to Ski: Now with options!

Each week, we’ll tell you which three resorts should win your weekend. Last week, it was also the only three running lifts. This week, however, we had to actually make a decision or two to bring you the choicest mountains. Spoiler alert: you’re looking at one of them. 1. Copper…

Secret stashes: A look at Colorado’s ‘lost’ resorts

Forget the traffic on I-70 and the hours-long liftlines at Keystone. Head out for a long weekend this winter to poach the secret stashes at Colorado’s small-time mom-and-pop resorts. There’s Cooper (not Copper!), Monarch, Sunlight, the bad-boys down by Telluride and more. Everybody would love to ski Aspen — there’s…

Tonight: Snowshoeing 101 at REI Denver

Snowshoeing allegedly has merits of its own — REI calls it “one of the fastest growing sports in Colorado” and my folks are nuts for it — but for me its real value has always been as a stepping stone.I grew up snowshoeing/snowboarding in the Colorado backcountry alongside a few…

Morning Dew: Get me out of this cubicle

A great shot of A-Basin, which is making the beige of Officeland even less palatable. Photo from Josh Gray’s Flickr. To have your photos featured in Morning Dew, send them to edge@westword.com or post them to the Westword Flickr pool…

Video: Red Bull unveils Shaun White’s private half-pipe

Judging by the video above, Shaun White woke up one day and said, “I would like a private, giant half-pipe in the San Juan Mountains, accessible only by helicopter.” And Red Bull said, “How giant would you like it?” More dramatic foreplay can be found on the Project X website…

At Keystone, one week and a foot of snow in 19 seconds

Keystone’s Dercum Mountain got 8 inches of snow in last week’s storm, and it’s been cold enough to get the snow machines cranking. Which means the resort will be opening on Thursday, November 5. You can preview the product above in this hyperactive clip from the summit, taken from October…