Answer Desk

For today's post, I'd just like to answer a few questions that have come in.

What are ticket prices going to be the next few days?
Lift tickets will remain at $30 until we open the West End lift.

When are some rails going to be put in?
The terrain park crew is waiting for more snow before it's safe to set rails. Up to another foot of snow is expected in the next 36 hours. I'll keep you posted on terrain park developments.

Will Powderhorn be laying off employees?
We have absolutely no plans to lay off any employees. We're doing well right now considering the economic situation. Our pre-season sales were up about 3% over last year which was a record. Snow is a must though!

When will you update on terrain openings?
As soon as more terrain is opened, Ski Patrol calls me and I post it on the snow report. I'll also update the blog each time until all runs are open.

How does the snow reporting work?
Ahhh the most important part of the day! Our groomers and snowmakers get done between 4 and 5am. They leave us a voicemail with all the details on new snowfall, base, and what was groomed. There are two snow reporters and we rotate days. We roll out of bed and pick up the message . We change our website, Colorado Ski Country website, and record the message for the snow line. Which, by the way, is 970-268-5300. If it's snowing throughout the day, we'll post updates as we get them from Ski Patrol.

Have another question? Something random you just want to know? Drop it in the comment section and we'll reply!

UPDATE: 11:30am Dude is now open

Another question came in...

How do you decide when certain terrain is ready to open?
I called up Bill Bruchak, our Ski Patrol Director for an answer to this. He said they are take each run on a case-by-case basis. They think about things like- snow depths, what's under that snow, forecast, density of the snow, how many people we expect on that run, how will it hold up, and most importantly the safety factor. Next time you ski a ski patroller, give them a big hug because they do a lot of work to get a run open. Most runs get ski packed which means they spend hours just side-stepping in their skis to build a base on the run. This helps it ski well all season long.