Keystone and Copper Mountain Ski Resorts are Opening Tomorrow! It’s a November 1 opening, just as God intended. What better way to start November, ushering in the winter season? Copper Mountain has the “E” open as well: The Excelerator lift. Oh, and the Loot Lift looks interesting:
This might be the year I ski Keystone a bit too!
It’s just a few weeks until Copper Mountain opens. The official day is November 4, 2011. They usually are making snow in October, just to get the slopes ready. Copper Mountain is one of the best resorts to take new skiers. Most people look at where the challenge is, but I find it fun to get new people excited about skiing. Copper Mountain’s lumberjack lift has a plethora of slopes that help beginners relax and improve skills. The lift can take a while, but gives you a chance to check email, enjoy the scenery, or have a good conversation with your newfound ski buddies. Can’t wait!
Copper Mountain has announced their opening weekend will be November 5 (Friday) through November 7 (Sunday). There is more information on their website. But because you are too lazy to click that link, and/or you want to get all of your ski opening weekend info directly from the Chicken, here it is copied and pasted for your perusal:
Fri Nov 5 – Sun Nov 7
Copper Mountain celebrates Lift Off presented by Sprint, the resort’s 6th annual opening weekend festival. Copper starts the season off right with ski & snowboard movies, demos, après parties and late night music. Past Lift Off music performances include Blackalicious, the Beatnuts and Rahzel from the Roots.
Schedule of Events
Friday, November 5th
1st Après Party of the season along with prizes & giveaways
Coors Tap the Rockies Party: Jack’s 4pm – 6pm
$2 Coors / Coors Light. Win a pair of Liberty Skis plus other great prizes!
Lift Off Movie Tour: Jack’s – 6:30pm
Poor Boyz Productions: Revolver
MSP’s: The Way I See It
Saturday, November 6
Lift Off Movie Tour: Woodward Barn – 6pm
Pirate Movie Production: Hooked
Red Bull: Off the Planet
Level 1: Eye Trip
Lift Off Concert featuring: Lyrics Born & MURS
Copper Conference Center Doors Open 8pm
Tickets $12 at the door or available now at Guest Services.
Sunday, November 7
Lift Off Movie Tour: Woodward Barn – 6:30pm
4 Real Media: DubReel
The new Special Blend, Forum and Foursquare video
Copper Mountain opens in less than a Month! Many of the web searches we receive every year ask “When does copper Mountain open for the 2009 season?” Well, there’s your answer.
It looks like they have a big party weekend planned: Their opening weekend festival is called “Lift Off,” and includes a free movie tour and concert. they usually have some pretty great entertainment at these things, so I hope to see you there!
Copper Mountain is usually one of the first Colorado ski resorts to open, and Nov 14 is a respectable opening date. I was kind of hoping they would open on October 14, but I guess life isn’t always fair.
Tonight I will perform my snow dance, as I think we are all ready for it to start snowing. And who knows? Maybe “Winter season starts Nov. 14, 2008” is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule!
Get up to Copper Mountain ASAP if you want to take advantage of this last batch of snow. Copper Mountain Ski resort is closing on April 13, 2008! The snow will probably be great. The weather will be great. And yes, the beer will be great (I know you were concerned).
Copper’s April is off to a great start. While the Temperatures are warming, there was just enough wind yesterday to keep the snow in PERFECT packed powder conditions.
Skiing on a Tuesday means smaller lift lines, but yesterday was a little different. Copper was hosting the USASA, and had a few lines closed over on the American Flyer lift. The combination meant a bit of a wait, but the Timberline lift (over beside the T-REX cafe) had almost no one there! Once I was on the mountain, it was run after run. The slopes didn’t feel crowded, and the snow was amazing. I might need to ski every Tuesday, just to experience it. Hopefully nothing will warm up too quickly.
I followed the day up with a Copper Bowl Brown Ale and Empenadas at Endos. Yes, they were out of Guinness.
I frequently end up on the slopes Copper Mountain just two hours or so before they close. Why would anyone want to ski for just two hours? Well first off, sometimes it’s all I can do. I’ve found the perfect ski day to be too elusive. But work until noon, then make the drive? Much simpler. I also don’t have to wait for the perfect roads, perfect weather, etc. Just 2 hours – maybe 5 if you could driving roundtrip from Denver – is all it takes. Some other reasons you might want to try the 2 hour ski:
1. A 2 hour ski makes you thankful. Every twist and turn of your skis / snowboard are so very precious. For every run you take, you might consider whether you’ll have time – or sacrifice the time – to come back through. Each run takes on new meaning. There are no second chances.
2. Everyone is already enjoying Apre Ski, or just worn out. Less crowded hills and lift lines make it feel like the mountain is all yours.
I plan another 2 or 3 hour trip next week. I might ski loveland just to have another hour more or so on the slopes. I’ll let you know how it goes!
This morning I saw an article about “Snow Rage” happening up in Quebec, Canada: That’s right, the French speaking ones. People sometimes get so busy trying to get from home to work and work to home, that they forget how wonderful snow is. We at skichicken central headquarters have devised a 4 step plan to help our readers respond to feeling of snow rage in appropriate ways:
1. Launch your body into the air toward a snow drift
It will lighten your mood and remind you of the thrill of being airborn. Snow was actually invented just to be a slippery cushion of fun. It’s in the Bible: Look it up. It’s somewhere in the front.
2. Go skiing or snowboarding in Colorado
Colorado has the freshest air, and the best snow for skiing and snowboarding. Your feelings of snow rage are actually from breathing city air and taking your life too seriously. It’s time to get back to nature. It’s time to purify your body, starting with crisp, clean mountain air. You need breathtaking views, slippery snowy goodness, and the experience that IS Colorado ski country. Find some remote part of Copper Mountain Ski Resort, or Snowmass, and just ENJOY.
3. Snow dance
Hey – you’re not going anywhere any time soon. Might as well enjoy yourself. Dance to celebrate the snow, or it’s melting. What you are snow dancing for is up to you – just break out in a snow dance and let it improve everyone’s mood!
4. Chill
Stand there. Slow down – no one expects you to be on time with that storm. Take your time, examine a few snowflakes if you need to. They’ll be gone before they know it, and so will you.
A reader recently found our website by searching Google for an answer to one of the most important questions a skichicken reader can ask: “What time do the slopes close at copper mountain?” Too Damn Early, that’s what time.
The upper lifts close at 3:30pm, the lower lifts at 4pm. Reader, if you are still out there wondering, there’s still time. But leave now!
Just a side note: I was up on Copper Mountain yesterday, and it was dreamy. The snow was perfect, the weather was perfect. It was somewhat busy for a Monday, but those little hidden mountain places were still so quit, and so beautiful.
As I approached the American flyer lift for my final run, I thought “If you don’t keep getting on the lift until 4:01pm, it’s just another form of self hatred.”