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I did end up getting season passes at Eldora for the 2013-2014 season. Their opening day is November 22, but considering it is probably snowing there right now… it could be earlier. Some quick notes:
– Since Kids 5 and under ski free, I only ended up getting season passes for my 7 year old and myself. The family pass would have been nice though: It’s a great option.

– This area of Nederland was hard hit in the recent flood. Hopefully skiing Eldora will help that community in some small way.

– With the recent Colorado flood, I was worried the road to Eldora would be closed. But it looks to be opened by mid-October. Plenty of time. And hopefully no delays due to the federal government shutdown.

– RTD actually has daily bus service to Eldora! I’m excited by that possibility, and emailed the schedule to my phone.

For further information, visit: www.RTD-Denver.com / call 303-299-6000. CU students ride FREE! Fare for Routes N & B is $5.00 one way. If you need to continue your trip on another route, please ask the driver for a transfer when you board.

It’s snowing on May Day(typical). And if you are a Colorado Ski Resort that has already closed for the year, you should probably be ashamed. Hang your head low, then suddenly get over it and open back up for the weekend. I’m taking a close look at getting Eldora Season Ski Pass. I’ll likely get the family pass, too. We’ve got some family friends that ski Eldora, and next year is the year we join them! My one question is how much of a nailbiter that road up to Eldora is in the winter… I am afterall a bit of a chicken.

First off, a snow storm is coming to Colorado! It’s been a pretty bleak year for snow in Colorado. It sounds like we might get an actual snowstorm this week though! I was going to take my kids skiing at Loveland again today, but decided instead to take them to an indoor playground. My conversation with Loveland ski school reservations was brief but informative: There was already a waiting list for the 4-5 year old ski school today. We almost didn’t get in last time, so I thought we’d just push the “easy button” for the day. This afternoon, we’ll get their season ski rentals at Larson ski and sport. They have excellent prices on season rentals:
Kid’s Pkg
(5 yrs. and under) $69.95
Standard Kid’s Package $99.95

I think having their season’s skis will help keep them excited for next time – hopefully next weekend!!

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!

Does it feel like ski season yet? I recommend you ponder that slopeside, with a song in your heart and powder blowing upon your face. Yeah, I said powder. Apparently, Wolf Creek has received 36 inches of snow in the last 24 hours and they are opening for the weekend. They will be open 9am to 4pm with 3 out of 5 lifts operating. Powder is specifically mentioned in this article over at westword.com. Lift tickets are $33/adult, $19/children & seniors.

I won’t make it over there this weekend, so I sure hope you’ll go. And please collect a little baggie of snow for my collection!

For an excellent list of other ski resort openings, see the list over at Colorado Ski.

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!

Snowmass Village Spring skiing is amazing. I arrived at 2pm and found free parking in the C lot, allowing me a short ski down to the lift.

We switched lifts to the Elk Camp Goldola and rode up the Elk Camp lift. Our first run down wasn’t on Gunner’s View(one of my favorite runs), but it was still a GREAT run. We then made our way over to Alpine Springs and made a run down “Naked Lady”.

Naked lady is such a pleasant run, I was giggling while I skiied. It’s such a great reminder of the ski fervor Snowmass gives me. I hadn’t skiied for 11 years, then skiied Snowmass in 2001. It changed my life. Snowmass is just that great. Smooth slopes and plenty of room. It just makes skiing some much fun! Have you ever giggled while you skiied? If not, get your butt over to Snowmass!

Naked Lady is a curvy little run, and there are a few unexpected bumps. In fact, I had my first big crash in years due to a bump that caught me a little offguard. Jason witnessed it, and thinks maybe I flew off the side of a nipple on Naked Lady. To me it felt a little more like a belly button. I lost both skies(Something Jason said even he had never seen) and skidded down the hill 40 or 50 feet head first on my stomach. Another great reason to have a helmet. My Goggles were full of snow and down around my neck by the time I stopped. I tasted the snow and IT WAS GOOD! A little salty perhaps.

Of course, I am fine. Thanks to the sweet spring powdery goodness of Snowmass, which lovingly held me. I was brought to a safe stop in the caressing embrace of it’s sweet snow cleavage.

The Classic Pass from Aspen Snowmass is a wonderful little pass – you get 4 or 7 days at reduced rates to any of their four mountains, including Highlands, Buttermilk, Aspen Mountain, and my beloved Snowmass. On top of that, they sometimes offer amazing deals on lodging, etc.

My contacts in Snowmass tell me the snow is still AMAZING, and I will soon begin one of my pilgrimages to lovely Snowmass Village. The deals they emailed me can be found at:
Aspen Snowmass Classic Pass Lodging Deals. While they didn’t say anything too touchy-feely in their (automated) email to me, I’d like to think they were saying “We love you, too skichicken. Big hugs.”

This isn’t one of those blogs that follows what ski instructors tell you. I don’t know if you’ve caught onto that by now, but I just thought I’d let you – the reader – know. There’s a reason I’m not a better skier: Listening skills. Learning ability. And some other stuff I wan’t paying attention to. Today’s post flies in the face of all of the good advice I’ve ever gotten. Why the heck do we skiers need ski poles?

1. Feelers
It’s fun to drag your pole as you are turning. It tells you how far down the ground is, and allows you to adjust. Will you be in the Olympics using this technique? Well, probably not. But really, you should stop fooling yourself about that anyway – there’s a couple other reasons you won’t won’t be bringing home the gold any time soon. So drag your poles a little and have fun!

2. Self defense against marauding snow ninjas
Ever been attacked by marauding snow ninjas? No, of course not. why? Because you had your poles with you. Snow ninjas, while they love marauding, absolutely HATE to be poked. Poles are an effective self defense implement. When I first started skiing as a child, skiers would sometimes buzz too close. My Uncle Bob taught me to flail my limbs when I heard someone about to buzz me. Poof – magically no more close calls. This technique of flailing serves me well, even today, as it has become my main method of dancing at clubs.

3. Annoys purists
There is still much snobbery among the ski culture elite, and using poles just bugs the heck out of them. Purists are fun to annoy. I think that’s why they were created -for us to have a little fun with them. What are they going to do – be offended? They would be anyway!

4. It’s a crutch
Many a ski instructor has probably said “Don’t use your poles – it’s a crutch”. Well, duh. Of course it’s a crutch! that’s why you should use them! Would you tell an injured person not to use their crutch, simply because it’s a crutch?! No way. Crutches are helpful, and we use them when we need help.

And no one need more help on the slopes than me.

Whoops – that’s only four. What are you, a purist?

We are starting a new service here at SkiChicken Central: It’s called Ask SkiChicken. We already have a few questions rolling in via our visitor logs, including this query: “Map of ski resorts near denver airport”. Now, we’re Ski Chickens here, not mappers. But here goes:
Loveland is closest to the Denver Airport: Maybe 1.5 to 2 hours drive. It’s right on the continental divide, and you can ski over the top of the Eisenhower Tunnel! But it is stormy, and does not itself have overnight accomodations. If you choose Loveland, it is possible to get 1 hour more ski time. Also, it takes less time to get back to Denver. However, you may have snow blowing in your face at tremendous speeds.

Breckenridge, A-Basin, Keystone, Vail, Beaver Creek, and my beloved Copper Mountain Resort are not far behind (And usually have less wind in the high season. They also have places to sleep). I recommend Copper Mountain, just 30 minutes past Loveland. It has a great mix of terrain, and I haven’t had a bad ski day there yet. Once my buddy Mike and I let our toes approach frostbite, rather than leave the mountain! But it was 5 below that day – before the sun went down – and usually isn’t that cold.

This hasn’t been scientifically mapped, measured or manhandled, but those are my initial thoughts. And if you need a shuttle, see my previous post about this new Denver Airport Shuttle Service.

Feel free to send your questions to us at: ask ski chicken at ski chicken dot com. It’s a free service, with questions answered in no particular order. We aren’t relationship experts or anything, but we’ll even take a crack at that if one or both of you ski or ride.