Ski Independence Blog
Posts Tagged ‘colorado’
The Breckenridge Dream
July 29th, 2011Last Autumn Duncan Newbury was the lucky winner of an all expenses paid ski holiday to Breckenridge, thanks to Vail Resorts at the screening of “Light The Wick”, the new Teton Gravity Research film. Here’s how he got on…
I got hooked on Teton Gravity Research (TGR) ski and snowboard films back in 2005 when I first saw Tangerine Dream. So, when I heard that their latest release, Light The Wick, was going to be premiered at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire last Autumn I grabbed a ticket straight away.
I genuinely couldn’t believe it when I was lucky enough to win a competition at the film screening for a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, thanks to Vail Resorts and Ski Independence. The chance for my girlfriend and I to head out on an all expenses paid trip to some of the places I had seen in many a TGR movie was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Duncan enjoying a blue bird day in Breckenridge
The Ski Independence team were fantastic at getting everything sorted for us and in early April we were heading out on a very comfortable British Airways flight to Denver and then on with the Colorado Mountain Express transfer service to The Great Divide Lodge, just a few metres from the Breckenridge lifts. Having left mid-morning, and with the time difference in our favour, we got to the lodge the same evening and, after a hearty breakfast, were ready to head up the mountain on the first lift the next day.
Top Tip – Free Cookies in Beaver Creek
July 26th, 2011The friendly folk in Beaver Creek want to make your ski holiday as enjoyable as possible. They know that a way to the heart is through the stomach, and this particularly true with children!
So, after a day on the slopes in Beaver Creek make sure you head to the Centennial Chairlift (Chair #6) at 3pm where you’ll find resort staff handing out hot, chocolate chip cookies. But don’t worry they are for adults too!
Beaver Creek Cookie Chef. Photo: MountainYahoo
If you’d like to see more of what goes on in Beaver Creek, check out this video:
Moguls move uphill – who knew?
July 5th, 2011Scientists studying the formation of moguls in Winter Park, Colorado (we want their job!) have found that over time moguls actually move uphill.
It sounds illogical, but the science behind it is that as skiers and snowboarders turn the snow is pushed downhill and into piles, causing the start of bump formations. Each time a skier scrapes snow off the downhill side of a bump, it simultaneously collects on the uphill side of the bump below. Each mogul therefore is scraped away on the downhill side, but collects new snow on the uphill part of the bump…the result being bumps moving uphill. Just watch the time-lapse video below filmed over the course of several weeks to see the proof!
Mary Jane, one of Winter Park’s three connected mountain peaks, has the reputation of being home to some of the best mogul skiing in Colorado. Mary Jane remains, on the most part, ungroomed so that you can ski fantastic moguls almost all season long – that thought will either fill you with pleasure or dread!
If you’re heading to Winter Park and want to try these bumps out for yourself, you can access Mary Jane via three different chairlifts. We recommend the Super Gauge Express, a 6 person chairlift which will whisk you to the top of Mary Jane in 7 minutes. Enjoy!
Mary Jane Trail Map - Winter Park
First Tracks in Steamboat
January 25th, 2011When you book Steamboat First Tracks three weeks out to coincide with a client visit, you certainly hope for either a fat Champagne Powder® snow day or a sunny corduroy dawn, but today exceeded all expectations.
My very charming and punctual guests showed up at 7:45am and we immediately boarded the Gondola and headed up the mountain under grey skies and a tolerable 15F/-9C with a report of 1”/2.5cm of new snow. From the top of the Gondola, we rode down Spur Run to Huffmans to the Sundown Express lift, where we claimed chairs #1 and #2 of the day, and as we climbed out of the Sunshine basin, we popped through the clouds into a brilliantly sunny daybreak. Sunbeams peaked through the snow-covered aspens and illuminated the snow surface with a diamond-like sparkle, and the whole world warmed.
Our first plan was High Noon top to bottom, and it was a fast and effortless descent on a smooth as glass surface with enough fluff on top to generate some serious face shots. As I neared the turn to Lower High Noon at Rendezvous Saddle, I recalled that steeper Westside was groomed overnight and would be untouched by other riders, so I lead my posse that way instead. Good choice –very fast and very fun! Next we hit Tomahawk. Yes, it’s a gentle blue Wally World run, but untouched and pristine with the sun coming up and frosted with new powder – oh boy! – we did it twice.
Untouched, pristine powder in Steamboat
Then our private mountain opened up to the general public, so we made a move across the top to Storm Peak Face to Triangle Trees to Cyclone to Vortex – all steep black runs groomed overnight and riding beautifully. The Burgess Creek lift then took us back up to Thunderhead for warm beverages and breakfast at the Stoker Bar. Once rested and refueled, it was time to fulfill a request for some tree skiing. From my favorite munchkin forest to the right of Buddy’s Run (not on the trail map – come and see me and I’ll take you there!) to the Sideburn side of Shadows, we were marveling at the depth and lightness and softness of the snow.
Then alas it was time to get on down and back to the desk, though I could have gone on snowboarding all day, as the turns were so free and easy. This was day #22 for me this season, and it definitely goes down as one of the top five so far! I also heard a couple of “best day evers” from my riding partners.
Steamboat stats for today, 24 January:
- 250”/635cm total snowfall to date
- Midmountain base of 72”/183cm
- 96”/244cm at the top (I must remember to get a picture by the Buddy Werner statue at Storm Peak – I’m now taller than him, and he stands 14 feet /427cm high in summertime!)
Fantastic first tracks in Steamboat
Ultimate Convenience For Ski Rentals
December 7th, 2010What could be better than having someone come directly to your hotel room to fit your skis & boots? Well here is your answer for many of our North American resorts.
Black Tie Ski Rentals provide a delivery service for ski and snowboard rentals that is second to none. All you need to do is provide your requirements and we will arrange for Black Tie to deliver your rentals to you at your accommodation at a time convenient to you – usually the morning of your first ski day.
Black Tie service is the perfect compliment for your Aspen ski holiday
North America Snow Update
November 19th, 2010North America’s 2010-11 ski season is off to a great start with many areas opening early and reporting healthy snow falls.
Among the resorts already open are Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper Mountain Colorado; Snowbird in Utah, Killington on the East Coast in Vermont and north of the border Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta. Whistler has announced it will open nearly a week early, later today, thanks to the great pre-season conditions there.
In California, Mammoth is the latest to open (On Thursday 11th November) with more than 2,000 people arriving to enjoy skiing and boarding down from the 11,053 foot summit via Cornice Bowl. Six lifts were operational and 2,000 vertical feet (about 650 metres) of vertical terrain were open on a base of 18 to 36 inches (45 to 90cm).
First Chair 2010 - Mammoth Mountain
Breckenridge Opening Day
November 13th, 2010Breckenridge Ski Resort opened yesterday for it’s 49th season . The sun was shining brightly and the snow was incredible, with a nice soft layer of powder on top of the groomed runs. Pat Barratt from Vail Resorts was in town for the special day:
The Colorado Super Chair on Peak 8 was running, as was Chair 5, carrying loads of happy skiers and snowboarders up to the more than 290 skiable acres that were open, including hike-to terrain on the Horseshoe and Contest Bowls!
Top 5 expert runs in North America
November 9th, 2010We had a heated argument in the pub the other night about the top 5 epic expert ski runs in North America. The debate was fierce – what makes a ski run ‘epic’ – pitch, scale, snow, exposure, elevation, scary terrain features, fear factor, what?
Pitch can be conquered with bullet-proof technique. Scale means stamina. Runs always change their character in different snow conditions, weather, light and time of day. Exposure makes you feel alive. Elevation – no pain, no gain. Scary terrain features? I laugh in the face of ‘mandatory air’! Fear factor – beats the crap out of the X-factor. What should be included, and what criteria should we use? Does Snowbird have better terrain than Kicking Horse? Is the snow depth and quality in Fernie better than Crested Butte? Who can say, but in my opinion a truly epic ski run needs five qualities – (1) a degree of difficulty that keeps you thinking and working hard the whole way down. (2) a fear factor. (3) a tick-the-box factor. (4) an aura. (5) a scale that’s off the dial.
On The Edge in Steamboat
January 28th, 2010Today I was riding on the edge! That would be on the edge of some otherwise lovely groomed runs that my companion was enjoying, but I was in the mood for some deeper, fluffier messier snow. And fortunately for both of us and all of you, too, in Steamboat there’s no need to compromise!
The noontime view from my south-facing office window showed colorless sky with just a bit of sun brightening the horizon, but when we got out to the Gondola, we found a bluebird day over our mountain. We started out down Rudi’s to Blizzard to the Storm Peak Express, and just as I suspected from my two driveway shovels in the last 24 hours, the snow was just right. It’s soft and loose, but it has just enough weight to it to offer some resistance to my sharp snowboard, and it’s a really fun ride.
On the edge!
Once up at 3000m on Storm Peak, I bounced my way over the loving and giving bumps in the steep Triangle 3 Trees and down through the meadow above Cyclone, and finally down skier’s right on Cyclone itself to catch some more of those overgrown push piles. We then rode up Bar UE and crossed over to Sunshine Peak to cut down through the top of Three O’clock and then sneak over High Noon through the trees to Sunshine Lift Line and down through the Wally World trees just off Flintlock. Just gorgeous! Then it was back up Southpeak and down precipitous Rolex, and although it was rolled last night, the generous groomers left me a roller coaster ride line down my favorite side of the run.
What a day!
Finally, we rode Elkhead back out of Sunshine and then found our way down Valley View from top to bottom, with me carving up the messy edge and my friend making rhythmic telemark turns down the smoothly groomed piste. I could have done this all day, but duty called, and there’s more snow in the forecast for the coming days. Come and see for yourself – you’ll like it!
Very best regards-
Jenny
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