Thursday, January 31, 2008

Coming Home

I was just checking out the snow report and the webcam....wow! I'm packing up right away and heading back. Can't believe I'm missing all that powder! However I won't be skiing for a few days what with the blisters on my feet, ugh.

See you back on the slopes!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

SIA Day 2

It's day 2 of the SIA trade show and we're going strong with the help of Red Bull. If you'll be looking for new gear next year, you're going to have some really good stuff to choose from. We've seen almost everything now and everyone's lines look really good.
Aside from working, we're all having a good time experiencing as much of Vegas as possible. Tonight the Grand Junction group (made up of Powderhorn, Traz, and Gene Taylors employees) is hitting the New York New York roller coaster and the Stratosphere. We're also competing to see who can spot the most celebrities. So far we've seen Glen Plake, Jake Burton, Peter Olenick, Mark Franc Montoya, Dolly Parton (yes the real one), and Doogie Howser (no one knows that actor's real name).

RED Helmets

686


Coal


NEFF
Drop gloves
Rome snowboards
Practice at the DNA rail park. Good luck to Micah and Natasha!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

SIA

SIA 08 is underway and my feet have noticed. I've retreated to my hotel room for a little break from all the glitz and glamour. Here are some pictures from the show so far.

Dynastar Skis


Line Skis


4FRNT skis


Volkl Skis


Bern Helmets

K2 bike


Gnu Snowboards
Me & Glen Plake
K2 Snowboards

Viva Las Vegas

It's 2 a.m. and I'm blogging from Las Vegas and the SIA show. Having never been here, I've quickly decided this town is crazy! Everything is off to a great start though. We attended the SIA Snow Fashion Show tonight and saw some of the outerwear trends for the next year. There's some really exciting stuff coming out. On a side note- it was pretty funny watching models try to do their runway strut in ski boots!

Tomorrow the actual show begins. I'll have pictures from the show....after I sleep in and swing by a Starbucks!





Sunday, January 27, 2008

Powder in Your Future

Looking into my crystal ball here....and I see powder in your future. If you look at the high end (and I always look at the high end) of what is forecasted for the Grand Mesa, we could have 27" of snow by Tuesday.

Snow Report: 970-268-5300
If you're in our text club, we'll notify you in the morning if it dumps

I'm off to Las Vegas for SIA tomorrow. I'll be blogging from the show giving you a sneak peak at all next year's skis, snowboards, and outerwear.

X Games

Many of us are back at work this morning after taking in the action at the Winter X Games. Due to the fact that none of us are professional photographers, we don't have any good pictures to show you. Every skier we took a picture of from the Big Air competition just looks like a blur of colors. The games wrap up today with ski slopestyle and snowboard superpipe finals. Here are the results of each competition so far:

Men's Ski Superpipe
1. Tanner Hall
2. Simon Dumont
3. Colby West

Women's Ski Superpipe
1. Sarah Burke
2. Mirjam Jaegar
3. Jen Hudak

Women's SB Superpipe
1. Gretchen Bleiler
2. Torah Bright
3. Kelly Clark

Ski Big Air
Winner: Jon Olsson

Men's SB Slopestyle
1. Andreas Wiig
2. Kevin Pearce
3. Shaun White (yep that's a 3rd in front of his name)

Women's SB Slopestyle
1. Jamie Anderson
2. Claudia Fliri
3. Spencer O'Brien

SB Big Air
Winner: Torstein Horgmo

Friday, January 25, 2008

January 25 Friday Feed

In this week's podcast we give you the season snow update, terrain parks update, and info on upcoming events and the SIA show in Las Vegas.

Check it out!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Safety Week

It's currently Safety Week at every ski resort in the U.S. That means it's time for a reminder that skiing and snowboarding can be dangerous. If you've never read through the Skier's Responsibility Code, now is a good time. Check it out here.

In honor of Safety Week we are shooting our very own saftey video based on the code. Well, we are at least as soon as we get some good light. The Moose 100.7 mascot himself will be starring in the video. We've worked everything out with his agent so as long as he has a room with Evian water and only blue M&Ms we're good to go.

We'll let you know as soon as the video is done and on the site!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Moonlight Skiing

Although it was a little cloudy, last night was a beautiful full moon. Since tonight may be a little more clear, many of us are taking the opportunity to get some moonlight skiing in. If you've never been I encourage you to grab some friends and do it sometime! It's quiet and gives you a unique peaceful experience.

West Bench and Skyway trails are perfect for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Enjoy!

Details:
Sunset is around 5:30pm
Low tonight is forecasted at 5 degrees (but it will be warmer the earlier you go)
It is perfectly clear right now and is forecasted to be only partly cloudy tonight

In case you miss out this month, the next full moons are:
February 21
March 21

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

What a Beautiful Morning

Sorry for the absence of posts over the weekend. I was out skiing "the competition." We arrived at work this morning to a beautiful view in the valley and 4" of new snow. Of the 26 Colorado resorts, there are only 9 with a better base than Powderhorn. Go skiing!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Avalanche Awareness

I recently got the opportunity to go cat-skiing for the first time. There was 4 feet of totally untracked powder just waiting for us to dive into. It was so exciting that I almost forgot we would need to be very aware of the avalanche danger. It was my first real experience in the backcountry, thus my first time wearing a beacon and wondering about the snow stability under my feet. Skiing and riding in the backcountry is a beautiful thing, but it takes planning and proper precautions. As the recent incidents at the Canyons and Vail have proven, avalanches don't just happen outside ski area boundaries.

When in the backcountry, here are some things to keep in mind:

Most avalanches occur on slopes between 35 and 45 degrees.

Slopes covered with windblown snow and more dangerous.

Look for collapsing snow. Listen for a "whomp" sound. This sound means that snow is extremely unsafe. Move out of the area immediately, and stay off of steep slopes.

Watch for rapid changes in weather.

Look for cracks in snow. The longer the crack the higher the danger.

Use slope cuts.

Travel one at at time.

If you get caught in an avalanche:

Try and swim before you start to sink. This will help keep you above as much snow as possible. As the avy starts to slow and before it comes to a rest, try to clear as much space around your head for an air pocket. Push a hand upward to try and have a visual marker. Once settled, the snow will become like concrete. Try to stay calm and slow your breathing. And struggling at this point is generally fruitless. Wait and listen for rescuers.

It's very rare that avalanches occur in bounds but it's always a good idea to be educated. Stay smart and have fun!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

3rd Annual TeleFest

We're getting ready all this week to let the freeheelers of the area take over Powderhorn. The TeleFest is this Saturday and features an uphill/downhill race, Poker run, professional clinics, free demos, costume contest, and an after party at the Bear's Den.

What is the uphill/downhill race you say? Well, the crazies...I mean competitors... have to skin up Wonderbump from the bottom, turn at a checkpoint, and then ski down. I could probably make it to the top after about an hour of hiking, but my legs would be Jello and skiing down impossible. Last year the winner did the whole thing in about 30 minutes!

Telemark skiing has seen a recent climb in popularity. Many people that have alpine skied their whole lives are learning to tele. I even have friends that have switched from snowboarding to tele. If you're interested in trying it out for yourself, we have monthly tele clinics. The next one (after TeleFest) is February 23.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Win Lift Tickets

Good conditions + FREE skiing = Best Day Ever! We have a few different promotions and contests going on where you could win a free lift ticket or two. I decided it might be easier for me to just list them all for you here.

11 Shreddin
KKCO 11 News is starting up the 11 Shreddin weekly segment this week. It will air every Wednesday and will answer viewer questions. Email your ski or snowboard questions to Sam Farnsworth at sam.farnsworth@nbc11news.com. If they use your question you'll win a lift ticket!

Friday Feed
Have you checked out the latest addition to the Powderhorn website yet? These weekly podcasts answer your questions and keep you up-to-date on the action on the mountain. For next week's Friday Feed we'd like to hear your favorite skiing/snowboarding stories. They could be about your best day ever, an amazing crash you had, or you could embarrass your friend. Send in your stories to ski@powderhorn.com. We'll pick our favorite and use it on next week's edition of the FF and you'll win a lift ticket! For an example of a funny story, listen to the January 11 Friday Feed here

Shoot Out Contest
Send us pictures or video of you and/or friends and family having fun at Powderhorn. We'll pick a winner each month who will win a pair of lift tickets. The grand prize winner at the end of the season will win a season pass for next year! Send your stuff to ski@powderhorn.com. We'll load it on our website for all the world to see.

And finally, listen to Magic 93.1, Colorado 92.3, Moose 100.7, and KSTR 96.1 for chances to win lift tickets all season long!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Whoa

We knew today (Guest Appreciation Day) would be big but we didn't know it would shatter our previous single-day attendance record!

Over 2,300 people were at Powderhorn today. The previous record was 2,200. If you were here, you probably aren't suprised.




Thank you to everyone who came up today. We hope you had a great time. And congratulations to the two that won season passes for the 08-09 season! In case you were wondering, the treasure chests with the passes were on Whistle Pig and Looky Looky.

Friday, January 11, 2008

January 11 Friday Feed

In this week's podcast we give you the latest snow statistics and announce a new way to win a free day of skiing.
Check it out!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Piles of Snow

We have so much snow we almost don't know what to do with it. The piles, actually mountains, of snow in our parking lot are getting so big they'll be their very own black diamond runs soon. We've had 176" of snow so far this season; records being shattered left and right.

Since the kids are back in school, mid-week traffic has certainly died down. This means you should take a half day off at least and come get fresh tracks all day. Have fun!

Monday, January 07, 2008

Guided Tours

Guest Services just began offering a cool new program. We're now offering free guided tours every weekend and holiday. The tour includes stops at scenic overlooks, informative facts and trivia about Powderhorn and the surrounding area.

Sign in from 8:30-10am and 1-2pm in the lodge. Tour lasts about 1 hour.

Enjoy the snow, it's gooooood!

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Here It Comes

This storm is sure making a grand entrance. It is pretty windy up here but at least the winds are supposed to die off after today. It's currently about 32 degrees here at the base area. The high end of the accumulation forecast would leave us with 35+ inches of snow this weekend. If you look at any satellite image, this thing is going to be right on top of us so we're pretty excited! We'll post updates here and on the website. Anytime we have significant snow report updates we'll record a new message on the snow phone (970-268-5300).

Happy riding!

Friday, January 04, 2008

1/4 Friday Feed

In this week's Friday Feed we cover snow updates, cell service at the mountain, details on Guest Appreciation Day and answer the question "Were the fireworks supposed to do that?"

Listen here

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Cell Service

Ok so the cat is out of the bag....you all know that cell service is on it's way to Powderhorn. I wasn't supposed to talk about it until it was ready to go....but I think the big tower in the 3rd parking lot tipped you all off.

We had a question regarding when this will be available. It's a third-party company that is setting up the tower and will be providing the service here at the mountain. We basically provide the space to set up the tower. The most recent update is that the equipment is all in place and ready however the electronic end of it has hit a snag. From what I understand there is a lot of software that needs to be upgraded by the phone company and it could take some time.

We'll keep you posted!