My younger brother tried snowboarding for the first time yesterday, and I took him up to Loveland. The mountain is incredibly friendly for beginners who are just starting, and I highly recommend it for the following reasons: The area for beginners (Loveland Valley) is distinctive from the other areas of the mountain (Loveland Basin). The bunny hill has a dedicated lift leading to two short, easy green runs. Because just about everyone using this lift is new to the sport, the intimidation factor is low. Newcomers need not be embarassed as they work their way up the learning curve because everyone ...

From 106.7 KBPI: "It's time to get you on the hills for just $10.67. KBPI and Breckenridge are teaming up for Humpday Hooky again and our next trip is on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009. It's real easy to take part in this bargain: Just click on the link below, enter your All Access information, and print out the coupon on the next page. Bring it to the Breckenridge Box office with $10.67 on January 14th, and they'll hook you up with a full day of skiing on some of the best snow in Colorado. Need ...

Did you realize you can get a season pass that includes your gear rental? A great option for beginners, check out the three equipment rental passes offered by Vail Resorts: Unlimited Sport Equipment ($359 beginner to intermediate), Unlimited Demo Equipment ($459 intermediate to expert), Unlimited Junior Equipment ($199 for 12 and under). These passes and rentals are good at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly Sports locations. I might consider the demo pass myself next year as I continue to turn my new skis into a pair of rock skis.

If you don't have a season pass this year (or you're holding the Colorado Pass) then Intrawest has a great deal: $99 for a day pass to Copper, Winter Park, and Steamboat. Let's make this clear: that's $33 per day. Frankly, this is worth the day at Steamboat alone. Check out the Pow Pow Platter. (via Winter Park on Twitter)

This weekend has been great for the mountains. Most resorts saw at least half a foot and Breckenridge was one of them. There are plenty of bare spots all over the mountain but if you search hard enough you could find some great, untouched snow over on Peak 8. We found that most people stuck around at Peak 8 which meant crowds. That's always been the case, though, with two high-speed chairs at the bottom of the mountain. So, we hung out at Beaver Run (Peak 9) and never saw a line more than a few minutes long. In fact, most of ...