More openings!

I don't have any pictures to upload right now, as I have not had time to go take any recently. I did want to update you on openings for the season, though.

We had a big weekend here in Summit County just this past weekend. Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone all opened for the season on Friday, November 7th. They join Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, which have been open since Oct. 15th. This means that all of my local ski areas are now open for the season!

We have been having a bunch of little storms (typically around 6" or so...), but no huge storms just yet. Don't worry if you hear reports of no snow in Denver--they have not gotten any yet, but we have had plenty already! The mountains do funny things to weather patterns out here.....

In addition to the continual smaller storms we are getting (expecting 3"-6" more tonight), it has been getting REALLY COOOOOOOOLD at night! We have already had several nights with lows in the single digits, and tomorrow night I believe our forecast low is 7 above. The snowmaking crews can do miracles at those temperatures, and once formed into a base, that snow is actually more durable than natural snow. This means that any snow that DOES fall naturally will stick right away.

I will try to post more photos as soon as I have some new ones. Keep checking back for updates on our local conditions as well.

Just a reminder, many of our resorts are starting to fill during peak weeks of the winter--remember to get your reservations in ASAP! Some resorts are offering GREAT discounts for late bookings this year, so call us or go online to www.ColoradoToursLtd.com right away to book your winter ski group!

THINK SNOW!

Steve

SKI SEASON OPENS TODAY!!!!!!!

This year, there was a tie in the annual race to see who would open first. Both Arapahoe Basin (http://www.arapahoebasin.com/) and Loveland (http://www.skiloveland.com/) ski areas opened this morning for the 2008-2009 season. We have had a little natural snow, but in the last couple of weeks it has really started getting cold at night--which is perfect for making man-made snow. Man-made snow is also more durable as a base, so it is a great start for the season because this base will hold up much better once the natural snow starts falling more heavily.

I have not verified this, but I heard both resorts opened up 3 runs with an 18 inch base of primarily man-made snow. No pictures of actual skiing yet, but the shots on this page are a few of the late fall and early snowfalls up here in the Summit County (mostly Breckenridge) area.

The fall colors were spectacular this year--but they changed REALLY quickly (thus, not too many photos from me--I just did not have enough time to get out there!). After the rough winter we had last year (lots of snow and unusually cloudy and cold), I guess part of me could use a few more weeks of summer, but it is definitely time for winter to hit at this point.

Oh well........

In any case, it looks like it is going to be another EPIC season up here, so make sure to get your group reservations in now! We still have availability, but the prime dates are filling up fast!

THINK SNOW!!!!

Steve

Global.....WARMING????????

Well, it's highly unusual to get this much snow in the middle of August, but it is not unheard of...These pictures were taken after the snowstorm of August 16, 2008. Above shows the fresh snow at the top of the Breckenridge ski area. Some areas received as much as 6", and CDOT had to put up chain controls on I-70 to the Eisenhower Tunnel--NOT normal in August.















Our summers are GORGEOUS, but very short....







Ski season starts in 2 months! Make your reservations now to ensure the best choice of rates and resorts for this season!

Steve

I've heard of the DOG days of summer, but......

I had a "little" visitor on Saturday morning--this is the second time he has come to see me. My hummingbird feeder is now officially toast......

Some parts of the country deal with hurricanes, some with earthquakes, and some with tornadoes, but we only have to deal with wildfires and the true "locals"! The last time he came to visit, he just looked in my living room window (sorry for the glare on the picture, but when you are running for your camera, you don't have too much time to set up a perfect shot....):



Basically, he just wandered around a bit (after tearing down the hummingbird feeder, of course....) and then wandered off down the street.














I love having the wildlife around, but the problem with bears is that they are destructive. If I knew he would not do any damage, I would be fine with him here. My fear, though, is that he will break through one of my windows. I don't think I would ever call animal control on them, though, as in Colorado we have a "2 strikes and you're out" policy for bears. If they are caught once interacting with humans, they are tagged and relocated. If they are caught a second time, they are killed. I would hate to see that happen because of me, since I am the one who moved into bear country--not the other way around.

In any case, one reason the bears are so active right now is that there is definitely a noticeable change in the air. We are having a lot more afternoon storms, with low clouds hanging over the mountains--the first signs of fall's approach. I have even seen a FEW trees with a bit of color in the leaves, and most of the aspens seem to be turning a little bit lighter in preparation for their big show. Within about 5 weeks, we will probably be at the peak of our fall colors.

Summers can be VERY short up here--but at least it means ski season is not that far away.

I'll keep you posted!

Steve

Summer is here......

Well, I haven't been too good about posting during the busy season, so I apologize for the gap here. Regular ski season ended with the closing of Arapahoe Basin on June 8 (they opened on October 10th, so we can expect them to start the 08-09 season in about 4 months!). Of course, immediately following A-basin's announcement that they were closing, Aspen announced they would reopen the top of their mountain for a few hours of skiing on the weekend of June 13-15. Normally, Aspen opens up their gondola for summer operations (hiking, scenic views, etc.) around the middle of June, but this year they had over 3 feet of snow still on the ground that weekend. It's a bit tough to view wildflowers when they are buried under snow, so they also opened a chairlift to allow for skiing.

At my house, I got about 14 inches of snow on May 15th. Here is a picture of my front deck that day:

I had shovelled almost ALL of the snow off my deck before this storm came in (sigh....)......

The good news is that summer is now in full swing up here! If you have never experienced a Rocky Mountain summer, you really need to make plans today! The saying among those of us who live up here is that we came here for the winters, but stay for the summers. Imagine waking up every day to crystal clear, sunny blue skies with almost no humidity (20%-30% on a VERY damp day), and temperatures in the mid 70s! It's almost like having the outdoors air conditioned. Nights are cool, with lows in the 40s (and sometimes the upper 30s), so even on the "warmer" days (I think the all time high temperature in Breckenridge is something like 84), the nights are cool and refreshing.

Plus, of course, you get to enjoy scenery like this:

Summer also brings festival season to all of the small mountain towns, so every weekend there are a lot of different activities to choose from. Never a dull moment up here!

What is so nice about the seasons up here is that each season is just about the perfect length. Just about the time you start getting tired of the current season and start looking forward to the next, they change!

Of course, this is also the time to start thinking about next year's ski trips as well--ESPECIALLY if you are interested in any of the holidays or Spring Break! Group dates fill up very quickly, so please contact us ASAP if you are interested in booking for next year!

I'll try to post occasionally during the summer if anything interesting happens, otherwise, enjoy your summer and we look forward to seeing you again next season!

Steve

When it snows--make Snow Sculptures!

We may not have been making the national news lately (unless it snows in Denver, they tend to ignore our storms....), but we have been getting a TON of snow recently! A pattern has set up that brings us upwards of a foot of snow just about every other day. The statewide snowpack is at something like 125% of average right now, but in Southwestern Colorado, it is closer to 175% of average.

There has been so much snow this year that the state Division of Wildlife has resorted to feeding the wild deer and elk in the Gunnison area, because they were afraid that up to 30% of the herd would have starved to death since they are unable to reach their natural food sources through the deep snow! Here a few pictures that I took in Crested Butte when I was down there on Jan. 15th:







Yes--that is a barn buried under all that snow!






In many places, the houses are almost completely buried under snow:







This is the Three Seasons complex that we use for many of our groups. It's a good thing this is a 3 story building, because last week the first floor was completely buried!













In Breckenridge, we make good use of all that snow with our annual Snow Sculpture competition every year in late January. Piles of snow are packed into 14 foot tall blocks, and then teams from around the world come out and turn those blocks into spectacular works of art. Here are a few of this years' entries:




It is almost sad to see such amazing works of art simply melt or get blown over by the storms, but I guess that is part of the allure of the contest.

The bottom line is that if you are thinking about a group trip to Breckenridge next January, think about trying to come out here at the end of the month so you can see these in person!

For this year, with this much snow around, March should be absolutely LEGENDARY for skiing! If you haven't made your plans yet--GET ON IT! Availability is now VERY limited!

THINK SNOW!

Steve

The snow continues.....

Well--I think we all survived the holiday crush, although road conditions did leave a few problems for us. Last weekend (the weekend between Christmas and New Year...) found a major wind/snow storm that caused I-70 to be closed for about 27 hours on Sunday--right when most of the holiday crowds were coming and going! Last night we had anywhere from 1 to 3 feet of snow in parts of western Colorado, so although they didn't have to close the highway completely (the high winds last weekend made avalanches a threat, so they had to clear the chutes before they could let traffic through again), it was slow going down to Denver at times today.

The good news is that this means we have a LOT of snow now! December of 2007 will go into the record books as the 7th snowiest December in history for Summit County (Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain). When all was said and done, 126 inches of snow (that's 10-1/2 FEET!) fell in Steamboat during the month of December!

In other words, there should be NO more worries on anyone's part about the quality of skiing this year! Arapahoe Basin is getting ready to open their back bowl expansion (increasing their skiable terrain by 80% this year!), and everyone is reporting EXCELLENT conditions--SO GET OUT HERE AND SKI/SNOWBOARD!

I would have posted some pictures, but we have had so much snow that I just haven't had a chance on the few nicer days to go out and take any. That is not to say that the weather has been horrible, it's just that on the nicer days I have been tied up with the groups that were arriving for the holidays. Hopefully I will get some new shots posted soon.

In the meantime, I guess we can never have too much of a good thing, so please continue to THINK SNOW!

Steve