Outdoors & Rec

Somewhere, someone is resting. And she probably earned it. Photo courtesy of weiglen’s photostream. To have your photos featured in Morning Dew, send them to edge@westword.com or post them to the Westword Flickr pool…

The Winter Dew Tour doubles back to Breckenridge to kick off its second season in December with the Totino’s Open, and we just got hold of a roster of the first round of pre-qualified athletes confirmed for the competition:Last year snowboarder Danny Davis won the Superpipe Finals at the Breck…

Just in time for Veterans’ Day, Intrawest announced this week that they’ll offer discounted season passes for both active military and vets. That means if you’re serving or you’ve previously served, you can shred Winter Park, Copper Mountain, or Steamboat for a cool $219. To be fair, most resorts already…

It was so nice Wednesday that I bagged work after lunch and headed down south to Palmer Lake for a hike up to the reservoirs above town. I met a buddy for the trek up to the second reservoir — about 1.5 miles with a fairly abrupt 600-foot gain –…

You pick up produce at your local farmer’s market, support your local arts and crafts fairs, shop exclusively at local indie books and records stores, and generally buy local whenever you can. So why are you riding a snowboard made in China when some of the best boards in the…

Each weekend, we’ll tell you the which mountains most deserve your attention. We’re up to six resorts open now, and most of them offer top-to-bottom skiing at this point. Still, after that massive storm a couple of weeks ago, the weather has been decidedly uncooperative…

See more photos below. Skiers flocked to Breckenridge today for opening day, enjoying four runs with three operating lifts, soft snow, clear skies and temps in the 50s.The day began as any good day should: with free pancakes. The pancake/waffle breakfast at the Bergenhof, at the bottom of the Colorado…

A hike through the Wheeler Geographic Area in Rio Grande Natioal Forest. Photo courtesy of taoboy49’s Flickr feed. To have your photos featured in Morning Dew, send them to edge@westword.com or post them to the Westword Flickr pool…

As that flaky white stuff starts to pile up on roofs and in back yards, Denverites turn their heads toward the hills, sniffing out winter adventures while they wax their skis and boards in anticipation. The Edge, Westword’s annual winter activity guide, is here to help. Whether you’re returning to…

Below you’ll find a blizzard of the season’s best activities and events. For more information on individual ski areas and resorts, see The Edge, our annual winter guide. November Aspen Shortsfest 2010: Accepting submissions of live-action, documentary and animation short films and videos for the 19th annual international competition in…

I happened upon ColoradoSkiHistory.com on the intertubes last night and found it pretty addictive. I got especially hooked on the comprehensive ski lift database, with stats on every lift in the state, and the “Lost Resorts” coverage. Random stuff I learned: Defunct Colorado resorts outnumber operating ones 145 to 30,…

In this week’s Westword, I wrote about the Adventure Film Festival in Boulder this weekend (and the tragic death of AFF founder Jonny Copp in an avalanche earlier this year). The AFF has a full schedule of great films this weekend — including First Ascent: Point of No Return, a…

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…

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…

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…

As we anxiously wait for the winter snow, it’s important to remember the building block of a blizzard — the humble snowflake — is not necessarily a unique individual.Scientists now believe that of the million billion cubic feet of snow that annually falls on the planet, some might well be…

Keystone opened last week, and the above video should have you jonesing even more to make it there this winter…

[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…

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…

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…

The view from Chataqua Park in Boulder, courtesy of erunder’s Flickr feed. To have your photos featured in Morning Dew, send them to edge@westword.com or post them to the Westword Flickr pool…

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…