Grooming

A reader wrote in on the last post asking a question regarding our grooming schedule. I'll try my best to explain what we've been up to.

At the end of the day, ski patrol puts together a list of what they'd like groomed and meets with our slope maintenance crew as they are coming on their shift. The runs are inspected every day as conditions change every day. With the warm temperatures lately we have to be very careful with what we choose to groom. Obviously, the green runs will always be groomed every night. There are some locations on the mountain that you don't want to groom every night, especially when it's warm because this can actually do more harm than good to the snow.

You've probably noticed we've been grooming only half of Bill's Run on weekdays this season. This is mainly to try and keep everyone happy. We get guests comments that request us to stop grooming so much and then the very next comment is asking us to groom much more. Some people like bumps, some like groomed, some want a little of both. We try to please as many people as possible while putting out the best product possible.

As always, we do listen to what you have to say. Leave a comment and tell us what you think. Do we groom too much, not enough, or is it juuuuust right?

February 29 Friday Feed

Putting it out there a little early this week.....this leap year stuff can sure get confusing!

In this week's podcast you'll find our March deals information and more summer news...Click here

A Whirlwind of Deals

I know I've been talking about deals on here a little too much lately, but we keep coming up with new stuff to throw at you in March! So to keep it simple, check out this page on our site for the complete list of deals. Check back later...we may add more!

Women's Week

It's all about the estrogen March 5-12 at Powderhorn. Here are all the details on Women's Week:

- Lift tickets 2 for $66 for the ladies all week
- A portion of tickets sold this week will benefit Women's Wellness Connection
- Women's clinics offered the 5th, 8th and 12th
- Special women's Telemark clinic
- Apres parties, sponsored by Barefoot Wine, every day
- Pamper center in the Evergreen Room
- Live music on March 8 by Cheryl B. Engelhardt
- March 12, gourmet 5-course wine sampling dinner at Wildewood Restaurant (reservations call 970-268-5170)
- Weekend rooms at the Inn at Wildewood just $69/night
- 50% off ski and snowboard rentals

Whew! Sounds like a good time!

Guys: Before you cry foul....don't worry...testosterone week (Men's Week) is March 24-30

Snow Update

The total snowfall for the season to-date is 277 inches! Hopefully March will produce the snowfall it typically does (unlike last year). This should help you make your projection on what our total season snowfall will be. We're taking projections on the poll at www.powderhorn.com

March Madness

We have TONS of good deals and fun events coming your way in March. First off, lift ticket deals:

Women's Week is March 5-12. Lift tickets are 2 for $66 for the ladies.
Men's Week is March 24-30. Lift tickets are also 2 for $66 just for the guys.
(Each of these events have a lot to offer. For all the details check out the events calendar at www.powderhorn.com)
We'll also offer a text message deal at some point in March. If you aren't signed up, it's free! Just text 'DEALS' to 95495.

We're doing something new this year by selling season pass for next year at huge deals.

New Pass Holders:
Beginning March 1st, you can purchase a season pass for the rest of this season and ALL of next season! Adult- $435, Student/Senior- $365

Returning Pass Holders:
Beginning March 1st, you can lock in this year's rate! Get your 08-09 season pass taken care of now for: Adult- $335, Student/Senior- $265. This is the best rate you'll find for next year.

Anyone who takes advantage of either offer will be entered to win 2 rountrip tickets on American Airlines! Good for anywhere in the continental U.S. Starting in April, American Airlines will be offering direct service from Grand Junction to Dallas.

Details: These season passes must be purchased here at the resort. Please see the ticket office to make your purchase. Orders will not be taken by phone. These passes do include all season pass benefits. You are the first to hear about it, so tell your friends!

February 22 Friday Feed

This week's podcast is the first place to hear about the big season pass deals for March!

Check it out!

Colorado Ski License Plate

There's a proposal for a new CO license plate design out there that would represent skiing and snowboarding. To formally ask the state to produce the license plate, there needs to be an application with 3,000 names of people interested in the plate. If you'd like to add your name to the list go to http://www.coloradoskiplate.com/. Putting your name on the list does not commit you to purchasing the plate.

Sample Design

TMFF Video

Video from the 2nd Annual Thunder Mtn Freestyle Fest last weekend

Cell Service

Most of you probably know this already....but for those who don't, cell service is now available at Powderhorn! It started last week however we wanted to make sure there were no bugs before letting everyone know. It provides full service for almost all carriers all over the slopes. Now when you and your friends get split up, it will be much easier to find each other.

While we're talking about cell phones...
If you aren't on the text message list yet you'll want to be for March! Just text DEALS to 95495. It's free and we won't spam you. You'll receive powder alerts when it dumps and a special deal every now and then.

Modified Day Care

Sometimes parents just really need some time together

Gettin the Shot

Today we begin sorting through all the pictures we took this weekend. We have over 1,000 to go through! We do almost all of our own photography throughout the season in order to have shots for next year's brochures, website, advertising, etc. Our shot list includes- ski & snowboard action (trees, groomers, powder, jumps), ski & snowboard lessons, lifestyle (i.e. hanging out on the deck), groups, lodging, terrain park, and lots of smiles. It's not uncommon to take 500 pictures and get 5 you will actually use.

We also hosted a professional photo shoot last week in which we'll have a few hundred pictures to whittle down to 20 useables. If you were here on Friday, you got to see the incredible view of the valley full of clouds. It was perfectly sunny on top of the mountain and it looked like you were in an airplane. I'v never seen it so thick and stay for so long. It was perfect for some of the shots we needed.

For those of you that competed in the Freestyle Fest this weekend, we hope to have at least one picture of each of you in the Photo Gallery at www.powderhorn.com soon. Just give us a minute to get through all the photos. We will also put together a video this week that will include everyone. More about that when it's ready...

Doesn't Get Any Better

Bluebird skies, warm temps, good snow, 3-day weekend....doesn't get better! The Thunder Mtn Freestyle Fest continues today with a rail jam at 10am. Then we're all skiing the rest of the day together with the Jibij team. We're going to show them how good the tree skiing is here. You can still get free demos today from Nitro Snowboards and Nordica Skis. Check out the Grand Junction Subaru tent too and watch some ski and snowboard videos.

Oh and wear sunblock!

2/15 Friday Feed

Sorry it's taken awhile to get this up today. It's been really hectic. In this week's podcast we discuss all the events this weekend as well as what we're working on for this summer.

Check it out!

Photo Shoots

Photo shoots can be very complicated when you are dealing with the weather. We have a photographer here from Durango who will be shooting for the next couple days. These pictures will be used in Powderhorn and Colorado Ski Country marketing materials for the next 2 years. It was supposed to snow 6" last night but unfortunately it huffed....and it puffed....and did absolutely nothing. We were hoping for a little new snow to get some of the shots we wanted today and then get some shots in the sun tomorrow. Oh well, I'm sure we'll still find plenty of good spots to snag some photos.

When you see a ski picture in a magazine it usually looks like it just happened that way. Not so. Photo shoots involve finding models, choosing their clothing, scoping out spots, finding the right light and angles. In those powder shots, it looks like the skier is just having a wonderful day skiing line after line of powder. Usually a powder shot involves the model making 1 to 4 turns in a specific area so the photographer can shoot it. It's a lot of starting and stopping.

But at the end of the day, nothing compares to the excitement when you know you've gotten the shot!

Ski the 14ers

Many people like to hike the 14,000 foot peaks of Colorado in the summer. Some have hiked all 54. Fewer have hiked them all in the winter. Some have skied from the summits. And only one person has skied all the 14ers in just one year. Aspen local Chris Davenport takes that title. He has a new book coming out about his adventures. Here is a video about his project.

2nd Annual Thunder Mtn Freestyle Fest

The biggest terrain park event of the season is happening this weekend!

February 16-17

Saturday- Slopestyle
8:30am- Registration begins
10:00am- Competition begins
Noon- Break, free food, Mtn Dew & G2
1:00pm- Competition resumes
3:30pm- Awards on sundeck

Judging the the Jibij Pro Team

Sunday- Rail Jam
9:00am- Registration begins
10:00am- Competition begins
1:00pm- Awards on sundeck

FREE demos by Nordica Freeskis all weekend!
Sponsors: Grand Junction Subaru, Nordica Skis, Nitro Snowboards, Traz, Jibij Pro Shop, Mountain Dew, Flow, and Chick-fil-A

February 8 Friday Feed

In this week's podcast we discuss the (good) problems that come with so much snow as well as the Higher Love campaign.

Check it out!

Stress Relief

When things get stressful at work....just jump out the window.

Powderhorn on CBS Denver

Our thanks to CBS reporter Doug Whitehead who did a fantastic story on Powderhorn recently for CBS4 of Denver. Click here to watch the video (right side of page). Kudos to Ski Patrol for representing Powderhorn!

Priceless

Snow Day

It's an official snow day! District 51 schools are closed due to all the snow. Unfortunately the CDOT site is also showing that Highway 65 is also closed. They are not specifying at what mile marker though. As soon as we have more information we'll get it out.

UPDATE: Highway 65 is closed on top of the mesa. You can still reach Powderhorn via the town of Mesa. Roads are snowpacked but no problem if you drive slowly. There's a TON of snow up here!

Valentine's Packages

FYI- Valentine's Day is coming up soon! Here's an idea (guys) if you're stumped.

Inn at Wildewood Romance Packages
$155 + tax
Includes one night stay, $30 gift certificate to Saturday dinner, Sunday brunch for two, and a gift basket full of romance. Also comes with half price lift tickets for the next day.

Dude, Where's My Car?

If you're driving into the resort this morning...that little blue Subaru in the snow bank is mine. How embarassing. I slid right around the curve and directly into a huge snow bank. But I thought, "Hey no problem. This is a Subaru. I can drive right out." Well that theory just dug my car in deeper so I eventually gave up and stood on the side of the road until a nice gentleman picked me up.

I haven't seen this much snow stacked up around here in a long time. It's great! We've had 234" so far this season and could have another foot by tomorrow night. Enjoy the face shots!

p.s. Those 3 cars that just drove past me smiling and waving....well...you were probably going for first tracks so I guess I can't blame you.

February 1 Friday Feed

In this week's podcast we give you the snow update, Super Bowl at Powderhorn info, Las Vegas recap, and a funny story from one of our listeners.

Check it out!