Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Blog Outlook

As we gear up for the ski season, which can't get here soon enough, we're putting together a lot of interactive ideas. For example, starting this season we will be uploading video as well as picture on the site. We have a Shoot Out contest coming up where you have a chance to win tons of prizes by uploading pictures of you and your friends at PH. Details coming soon.

I'm also laying out some of the major events and things that will be covered on the blog along with the usual behind-the-scenes look at Powderhorn and industry news. I'm sure the occasional goofy video will be thrown in. But what I really want to know is what would you like to see on the blog? Have a question you want answered? Let me know by either leaving a comment or sending an email to ski@powderhorn.com

Special posts you'll see in the blog this season:
- Coverage of all Powderhorn events. We like to showcase our guests having a good time and contest winners.
- 2008 US Open (Copper)
- Winter X Games 11 (Aspen)
- Aspen/Snowmass Open (Aspen)
- 2008 SIA Tradeshow (Las Vegas)- We're supporting 2 of our locals who are national finalists for the DNA rail jam tour. You'll also get to be the first to see all the 2009 ski/snowboard gear.
- Athlete interviews

Let us know what you want to see!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Let's Make a Deal

Everyone likes a good deal right? Well we have plenty of deal opportunities headed your way in the next two weeks.

Saturday, Nov. 3
Ski Swap- Two Rivers Convention Center
7am-3pm
Deals: ski & snowboard gear, get a Powderhorn Plus Card, season passes are still 10% off, Warren Miller's Playground @ 8:00- FREE lift ticket on every movie ticket stub! Don't forget, the ski swap is also the last place in Junction to get your season pass photo taken.

For the Denver folks...
Nov. 9-11
Ski & Snowboard Expo @ Colorado Convention Center
Deals: Powderhorn will have a great BOGO deal! Get 2 lift tickets for only $49. NO BLACKOUTS, TOTALLY TRANSFERABLE! Check out all the great deals from all the Gems resorts that weekend. There will also be loads of free stickers at our booth and giveaways on the main stage all weekend.

Also, anyone can sign up for our text deals and powder alerts! Sign up at www.powderhorn.com or text Deals to 95495. We'll have a sweet lift ticket deal for the texters at the beginning of the season!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Moving Day

It's total chaos at the mountain today. We are all playing musical chairs with our offices. In order to make room for more employees and to get everyone in more logical locations, almost all of us are moving. You never realize just how much stuff you've accumulated until you have to move it! So far I've found the stapler I'd been looking for for about a year. Now I feel bad because I had blamed just about everyone for taking it. Hmmm quite similar to Office Space.

One of the biggest reasons we needed to make this shift was because the Alpine Trader has so much stuff they can't even store it all in the original location! You should see some of the stuff they have coming in for winter. It's really good stuff. The store is seriously (no marketing fluff) going to be better than ever. Make sure to check it out this season!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Season Events Schedule

After much haggling, writing, erasing, and banging our head against the wall...the 07-08 Events Calendar is finally set! It's amazing how many factors come into play when scheduling a season full of different events. I'm posting these events with descriptions on the Events Calendar right now so check it out if you want details. It's at www.powderhorn.com

December 6- Opening Day
December 31- New Year's Eve Rail Jam/ Torchlight Parade & Fireworks
January 12- Guest Appreciation Day ($25 lift tickets!!)
January 19- Slopestyle Competition
January 19- 3rd Annual TeleFest
February 2 & 3- 2nd Annual Thunder Mtn. Freestyle Fest
February 16- American Cancer Society Vertical Rally
February 23- Colorado Discover Ability Ski Challenge
February 23- Terrain Park Challenge
March 5-12- Women's Week
March 8- Mtn Dew Vertical Challenge & Sobe Rail Jam
March 29- March Mad Cap: SlushSprocket Bike Race
March 30- March Mad Cap: Throwback Day/ Closing Day

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Late Report

Sorry for the delay again in blog posts. This time I was in San Diego for a show. We travel to a few key shows around the country to book group travel each season. This year's schedule includes Dallas, San Diego, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, and Denver. If you've seen the news the last couple days, yes, the fires are as bad as it looks. There were too many evacuations to even keep track of but we hope that everyone makes it out in time. Our hearts go out to them.

But while the wind and hot weather was the story in SoCal...it was all about snow here! There's still about 3 inches in the shade around the base area and that's after some melting yesterday.
This was taken on Wednesday last week. First Powderhorn snowman of the season!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Gold & White

It snowed again last night! The mountain looks beautiful right now. The bottom half is blanketed with gold and orange leaves while the top half is frosty white. Here are a couple pictures from about 8:30 this morning. We've been experiencing all four seasons today. Currently it's snowing but I can hear thunder as well. The third picture was just taken.



If you cannot see the pictures right now I apologize. Blogger is having issues today and there isn't anything I can do about it. Throwing my mouse across the room didn't seem to help.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

ROCKtober

You can easily tell which employees stayed up last night to watch the Rockies game and celebrate. We're the ones with the circles under our eyes. It was well worth it though! This is the first year ever that you can ski and watch the Rockies in the postseason. How great is that? There are 2 Colorado resorts now open- A Basin and Loveland. We won't be too far behind if the temperatures cool off a little more and the storms start rolling in consistently (which it is forecast to do). Start those snow dances!



This Saturday we'll be at Gene Taylor's from 10am-3pm taking pass photos and selling Plus Cards. Make sure to stop by and pick up your Rockies gear along with your season pass.

Monday, October 15, 2007

We Got Snowed

Snowed on that is. And there is a chance for more snow the middle of this week. It's good to see the white stuff again.


Friday, October 12, 2007

Shout Out!

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to the blog reader from New Jersey who will be visiting us this winter. Thanks for your order and for your suggestion. He would like to see total season snow accumulation numbers updated on our snow report regularly. I track this on my own spreadsheet each year but we will do a better job to make this information public durng the season. Let's start those snow dances and look forward to a snowy winter!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Summit Canyon

Just a reminder...

Summit Canyon Mountaineering
Saturday, Oct. 13
10am-3pm
Season pass photos and plus card sales
Check out their new winter gear from Moutain Hardware, the North Face, and tons of other great brands.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Are You Kidding?

We thought it was a rumor but A Basin's website confirms it....they are opening tomorrow! They will be the first mountain open in all of North America. So if you've got ski fever really bad, you could ditch work and ski tomorrow.

Going Big

In case you didn't see this clip last season, this is Jamie Pierre jumping off a 245 foot cliff. No he doesn't have a parachute on.



This touched off a huge debate last season. He didn't wear a helmet, he didn't ski away...and was it worth it? Is "pushing the envelope" getting too dangerous? Well the debate is sparked again as a couple people have come out with plans to break his record this year. So what do you think? Is it all just the normal progression of the sport? Or is this out of control?

Monday, October 08, 2007

Snowmaking

It's finally gotten a little cooler around here so it's time to start talking about snowmaking. The guys are gearing up and watching both short and long term forecasts. Temperatures need to be in at least the low 20s for most favorable snowmaking. The lows at night have been around 30 degrees so we're getting there. We're hoping to fire up the guns around the week of November 12.

Approximately 35 acres at Powderhorn are covered by snowmaking. This is focused on our base and beginner areas since they see the most traffic in the winter. Snow made by our snowmaking efforts is very hard and dense making it a good base builder. It even lasts longer in the spring than natural snowfall.

To give you an idea of what we can produce, at 10 degrees using 8 guns, we use 450 gallons of water per minute. Our fan gun alone can add 120-250 GPM (gallons per minute) depending on the temperature. The gallons per minute used increases as the temperature drops. Maximum water use occurs at temperatures below zero. The guns blow the snow into large piles and then our cat crew moves this snow to create even coverage.

Our water comes from a pond on top of the Grand Mesa so our snowmaking system is gravity-fed. No pumps are used. The pond drains in about 6-8 hours at 450 GPM depending on the amount of water coming in and if the water plant is running at the time. We use no additives in our water.

Let's all hope for it to get plenty cold in the next month! A snow dance every now and then can't hurt either.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Update on Biff

For those of you that are regular blog readers, you've met Biff, the giant man-eating spider that's been living just outside our Sales Manager's office. Well there have been developments. 1) Biff felt that it needed to relocate and build a home just outside my windows 2) Turns out Biff is an inappropriate name. It is in fact a female that has laid eggs.

This is making my workday far more complicated then it needs to be. Each time I see Biff move I have an uncontrollable urge to run. This has created a highly unproductive work day for me. Why this thing has to chosen to live near the ONLY person on staff that is terrified of spiders is just beyond me. The idea that, at some point, a nest of a bajillion spiders is going to hatch 6 feet away from me is almost enough to make me pass out.

On a totally unrelated topic- Go Rockies! Game 2 is at 1:00 today. We've found one TV on the mountain that has the game. Most of us will be working only on commercial breaks (just kidding Steve).

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Shape Up

It's a good time to start training for skiing and snowboarding. Tweaking your exercise routine could pay off on opening day. You don't want your legs turning to jello after 2 runs! Here are some helpful tips. This article can be read in its entirety at http://fitlist.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/02/392498.aspx

*Cycling -- This is a great endurance exercise that builds cardiovascular fitness and strengthens the quads, glutes and hamstrings. While the weather is still good, get out your bike and start putting on some miles. At the gym, hit the stationary cycling machines.

*Jumps -- Place a foot-long piece of masking tape on the floor. Then stand on one foot and hop across the tape, back and forth, for 30 seconds. Switch feet and repeat. Finish up with both feet locked together and hop from side to side for 1 minute.

*Skiing, at the gym -- Cardio machines that mimic the moves of cross-country or downhill skiing are great to train on because they move like you do in the snow.

*Isometrics -- For strength and balance, pull up an imaginary chair and sit against the wall. Start by standing with your back to the wall. Then slide down until your knees are in line with your hips. Keep your shoulders back against the wall. Hold for 1 to 3 minutes.

Personally I really recommend the "wall sits." It's something you can do while watching TV. Just remember, the pain means it's working...at least that's what I'm told.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

There's a New Cat on the Hill

The new snowcat has arrived. The second this thing pulled into the parking lot the guys lit up the radios with excitement. It's their big shiny new red toy. Powderhorn owns 3 snowcats and has at least 2 in operation each night. This new cat will help get more terrain groomed faster and better.


The cat arrives in large pieces and has to be assembled by our Fleet Maintenance crew.

Monday, October 01, 2007

October

How did we get to October already? Let's hope time keeps going by this fast. Only 66 days until opening day!

If you need to get your season pass photo taken, we have several shows in Grand Junction this month where you can get everything wrapped up. You can also purchase your Plus Card if you haven't done this yet. Here's the full schedule-

Oct. 13
Summit Canyon Mountaineering (Main St.)
10am-3pm

Oct. 20
Gene Taylor's
10am-3pm

Oct. 27
Sports Authority
10am-3pm

Nov. 3
Ski Swap- Two Rivers Convention Center
7am-4pm