Quick News
January 26, 2010
# There are a ton of parties, events, and concerts coming to Denver this week as the snowsports industry descends on Denver, Colorado. The 2010 SIA Snow Show trade expo will be taking over downtown. Even if you’re not attending the show, you should be downtown this week as there will be plenty of fun to be had. Check out the Apres Ski website for the comprehensive list of events: http://www.denver.org/apresski/home.aspx
I’ll be downtown all week at various parties and events. If you’re around and would like to meet up, feel free to follow Colorado Snow on twitter or send an email to devin@cosnow.com.
January 20, 2010
# Here we are half-way through January 2010 and most of Colorado’s most popular resorts are at 20-30″ bases. Most resorts don’t have enough snow to open up expert (non-man-made snow) terrain such as the Montezuma Bowl at Arapahoe Basin. So, it’s with even one or two inches that we get excited. It’s not much to get excited for, but it’s something. Given the state of things, every little bit helps. Joel Gratz has more information on the wave of storms moving through Colorado this week. Expect some good snow by this weekend!
January 15, 2010
# Congratulations to Lindsey Vonn, alpine ski racer, U.S. Ski Team member, and Vail celebrity. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame named her the 2009 Athlete of the Year. This year she re-claimed the overall World Cup champion title and became the first American woman to win the world Super-G title. You can follow Lindsey on her blog at lindseyvonn.com, and is active on twitter at @lindseyvonn.
January 13, 2010
# If you hadn’t heard, Arapahoe Basin is losing it’s “hard core” exterior and becoming “resortized” by Vail Resorts. With the parking upgrades and Montezuma Bowl lift, it’s hard to argue the resort isn’t trying to stay competitive with the major resorts. So, this summer A-Basin will be adding a high-speed quad lift to replace Exhibition at the bottom of the mountain. Suggestions for the name of the lift are being accepted at alanh@a-basin.net with the winner reciving a 2010-11 Arapahoe Basin Season Pass or $300 gift certificate to Arapahoe Sports. (via DenverPost)
January 12, 2010
# It’s going to be a busy weekend January 28 – January 31, not only with the SIA Snow Show be in Denver, but the Winter X Games will be in Aspen. Winter X Games 14 will be broadcast on ESPN and online coverage can be found on their Snowboarding blog and Freeskiing blog.
# If you’re a Vail Resorts season pass holder (Summit Pass, Colorado Pass, Epic Pass), keep in mind you have 6 “Ski With A Friend” passes to use this season. This entitles you to discounted lift tickets at the window. We recently visited Beaver Creek where a $97 adult ticket became $65 with the discount. For pricing details (as it varies during the season) visit snow.com or call 888-215-3867.
Updated: As Nicole pointed out, ‘buddy passes’ are different than ’ski with a friend’ passes and prices are posted online. Thanks!
Colorado’s newest mountain, Echo Mountain, boasts being the “newest, closest, cheapest” mountain. Of course, you can almost tally the number of runs on your hands. Near Idaho Springs, Echo Mountain is easily the closest mountain to Denver at a mere 35 miles. A full-day pass is $39 and they are selling a season pass for $279. Loveland, by comparison, is the next closest at 53 miles west of Denver, season passes for $359 and at least a thousand more acres of terrain. I’ve never visited Echo Mountain so if you have, let us know how it stacks up by leaving a comment.
Echo’s deal is the $129 season pass. Nothing else is close. It has a nice intermediate hill that’s great for improving riders and skiers. No real green runs or true extreme areas but some trees. If you live close and don’t have a season pass elsewhere it’s the best deal by far. They have lights and are open up till 9 p.m. So for the price of two lift tickets else where you can take off early from work and get in some runs before dinner or take the family up after school for a nice evening on the snow. FYI, even though it’s only 40 miles from Denver because the last 12 are up Hwy 103, it takes about as long to get there as it does to get to Loveland assuming no traffic delays on I70.
Hey David, thanks for all the great information. I agree, the season pass is a good deal (the site now says $149) and perhaps I discounted the slope a bit too soon. Thanks for the comment!
[...] Denver’s closest parks. But, the mountain recently discounted its season pass. From reader, David: “Echo’s deal is the [$149] season pass. Nothing else is close. It has a nice intermediate [...]
I went on Echo today – it was my first time snowboarding, and while the price is definitely right (equipment, lift-ticket and lessons were $55 for my first time), I have to say it doesn’t really have any beginner runs. We went straight from the bunny hill to an intermediate run in less than an hour and I think it would have been better to learn at a place that actually had green hills. It may not be the best place for beginners.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Ann. We’ll keep that in mind!
I realise this story is form last season, but I work at Echo and I would like to take a second to shamelessly promote it. Every season we have been working very hard to improve our services for all of our customer demographics. It is true that we don’t have a lot of free riding terrain or even a green run, but if you are a beginner we have two smaller learning areas with gentler slopes and small lifts to offer you a convenient place to work on your skills. We also have a great ski & ride staff to provide lessons. If you want to free ride, you can do that at Echo but to be honest you will be left longing for the longer runs of larger resorts. However, if you love to hit the park we have it all. This year we have a lot of great features already, many boxes and rails of all shapes and sizes from great sponsors like Neff, Sims, Monster, Burton and Never Summer. We just finally got enough snow to make two 15 foot jumps in our jump line with at least a few more to follow as the snow continues to gather. Given enough snow we will try to do a half pipe as well. If you are a first timer or someone who loves the park, Echo is a great option because of its location and pricing. If you just want to take a huge epic free ride you may want to go somewhere else. But either way you you simply will never beat the convenience or the price of riding at Echo!
Thanks for offering your perspective. I keep wanting to give Echo a shot and see what its all about. Perhaps we’ll make our way up there in the near future…