It has been snowing up in the Colorado Rockies the past few days, providing skiers with fresh snow and new terrain. Vail, Copper, Keystone and Telluride have are all opening new terrain as we speak, opening up more and more of the mountain for adventure. So here’s a quick update on whats going on:

 

Vail: 24 hr: 4in.  72 hr: 6in.

With 6 inches in the last few days, Vail has now opened up Chair 10 (Highline Express Lift), Chair 26 (Pride Express Lift) and Chair 14 (Sourdough Express Lift). These lifts have opened up runs from the far west side all the way to the far east side of the mountain.

 

Copper: 24 hr: 2in. 72 hr: 2in.

The new Union Creek High Speed Quad chairlift opened today in Copper, giving riders access to new terrain on the western side of the front of the mountain.

 

Keystone: 24 hr: 2in. 72 hr: 2in.

This Friday, December 16, 2011, Keystone will open up night skiing every night until January 1st. This is a great opportunity to extend your day and have runs all to yourself (but dress warm, because when the sun goes down it gets chilly). Night skiing is great because your ticket to Breckenridge or Keystone is valid for night skiing! Spend your day skiing in Breckenridge, then swing over to Keystone around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and ski for a few more hours.

 

Breckenridge: 24 hr: 3in. 72 hr: 3in.

Even with the Dew Tour and official celebration of Breckenridge’s 50th birthday, they are still continuing to open more parts of the mountain. Tomorrow (Friday, Dec 16) Breckenridge will open its C Chair, providing access to Gold King, Sundown, and Lower Peerless runs. The lift is in between Peak 8 and Peak 9, so be sure to get over there early and get some fresh snow.

 

Telluride: 24 hr: 2in. 72 hr: 8in.

Telluride has been getting some good snow over the last week, resulting in the opening of Chair 6 (Apex Lift), Chair 12 (Prospect Bowl Express), Chair 14 (Gold Hill Express) and lastly Chair 15 (Revelation Lift) providing access to Revelation Bowl. This opens up more advanced slopes further up the mountain, giving skiers some great new terrain.

 

It looks as if things are starting to pick up for the season, and more snow is on the way. So  get up to the Colorado Rockies and find out more about how our team of Friendly. Knowledgeable. Locals.^® can help you plan your customized winter ski vacation in any of our fun-filled destinations.

 

Mountains’ terrain is constantly changing, especially at the beginning of the season. So here’s a quick look at whats going on in the Colorado Rockies this weekend.

Aspen/Snowmass

This weekend, Aspen Highlands will open parts of Highland Bowl, Steeplechase and Temerity. Buttermilk will start its season by opening its Tiehack Express lift on Saturday. This now means that top-to-bottom skiing will be available at the 4 Aspen/Snowmass mountains. This is great news for the area, as the year has gotten off to a slow start. Also, the remodeled Merry-Go-Round on-mountain restaurant will open today at Aspen Highlands **show up from 1-3 for an opening day party!

Breckenridge

Peak 7 opened today at Breckenridge, expanding their terrain to 420 acres out of the available 2,358. While there is still much to be opened at Breckenridge, the opening of Peak 7 is great improvement to the mountain.

Vail

Parts of Game Creek Bowl are set to open today, giving skiers even more access to Vail. While the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin are still some time away from opening, expanding access to Game Creek Bowl with the Game Creek Express Lift marks the start of a great winter.

Keystone

Keystone’s Main Street Jump Line is set to open this weekend, which often deemed as some of the best jumps in the nation. Pro ski and snowboard teams come to Keystone every year to film and train on these jumps.

Beaver Creek

There are big things going on in Beaver Creek this weekend with the opening of 4 new lifts. Rose Bowl is opening up with a new high speed quad, Upper and Lower Beaver Creek Express will be running. and finally the Riverfront Gondola will be opening. These changes will all take place on Saturday, just in time for a great weekend in the mountains.

 

So come visit the Colorado Rockies this winter and be sure to find out more about how our team of Friendly. Knowledgeable. Locals.^® can help you plan your customized ski vacation in any of our fun-filled destinations.

Have you been waking up each morning with excitement? Immediately going to the window to see if snow has fallen overnight? Or religiously checking your computer for the snow report, hoping you somehow slept for a month and all the resorts have suddenly opened? Well if you have, you are not alone. I have been impatiently waiting for the beginning of ski season, even though it was only three months ago that I was taking runs at Arapahoe Basin on the 4^th of July.

It was a great day to end a wonderful season, complete with friends and a grill in the parking lot. But as I look out my office window at Vail, I look forward to the coming season, and pray that this year will be as fulfilling as the last.

While Vail is not open yet, the ski season in Colorado has already begun! On October 7^th, 2011, Wolf Creek opened, recording the earliest opening day in Colorado’s history. Arapahoe Basin followed soon after on October 11^th, this past weekend Copper and Keystone Opened! So get out your calendars, put a big red “X” on the following dates, and start the countdown to what is predicted to be another La Nina winter!

 

• ·        Keystone: November 4^th
  
• ·        Copper Mountain: November 4^th
  
• ·        Breckenridge: November 11^th
• ·        Vail: November 18^th
• ·        ***Snowmass: Now December 10^th
•          Beaver Creek: November 23^rd
• ·        Crested Butte: November 23^rd
  
• ·        Aspen Mountain: November 24^th
• ·        Telluride: November 24^th
• ·        Buttermilk: December 10^th
• ·        Aspen Highlands: December 10^th
  

 

Whether you‘re coming to ski on opening day or sometime mid-season  be sure to find out more about how our team of Friendly. Knowledgeable. Locals.^® can help you plan your customized summer or winter vacation in any of our fun-filled destinations.

 

 

“EPIC Mix – Capture. Connect. Share.” What a slogan! Who else to come up with such a slogan, such a campaign, other than Vail Resorts, owners of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly resorts in Colorado and California. True, this EPIC day announces yet another EPIC breakthrough in technology, specifically in the world of social media. The “EPIC Mix” is what Vail Resorts is calling it, and a truly epic mix it is, of all things new in interactive social media. The Epic Mix is the Foursquare and Nike+ of the mountain, and has updates for both Twitter and Facebook.

Vail Resorts kept the EPIC Mix a secret until they debuted the mobile and web-based application today at a press event at the Ace Hotel in Manhattan. But then, out of nowhere, they unleashed the “EPIC Mix” to the world, announcing that the skiing and snowboarding would be so much more social this season, because of their innovative location-based gaming application.

[Credit: EPIC Mix]

So what does the EPIC Mix do? The EPIC Mix is somewhat like Foursquare, but instead of unlocking Foursquare “badges”, you unlock EPIC Mix “pins.” Everything from tracking your vertical drop, to how many runs, or how many days on the mountain. This is a game of multiple location-based programs all rolled into one.

The key to letting the EPIC Mix become a reality is the RFID chip that is inside the card that you get when you purchase your season pass. The cool thing about this is that you don’t have to be on your phone checking in. Your RFID chip gets scanned at the lift, and automatically put into the “EPIC Mix” of things, if you like the pun.

What I would have really enjoyed to see was a summary of what I did last year. Yeah, I know I got 50 days on the mountain, but I would have liked to have relived it somehow. The EPIC Mix will give me what I’ve always wanted, and more. I can log in to the website, check my stats, see my scores, view my friends, and so much more.

What else can the EPIC Mix do? The EPIC Mix links to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, letting you compare your pins with friends, see who’s got the most days on the mountain, or vertical feet passed, or even WHERE your friends are!

Vail Resorts is always open to new ideas, new trends, and new methods of interaction. Their EPIC Mix is the next best thing out there, fellas! I’m definitely downloading the app on my android after I buy the EPIC Pass, and racing all my friends for the most pins, most days, and most vertical feet.

Congrats to Vail Resorts for providing me with an EPIC Mix of social media interaction, and giving me the drive I’ve needed to get back out on the mountain!

The Annual Bluegrass & Beer Festival in Keystone is coming back in its 14^th year and plans to be even better than before. Not only are they having over 20 attending breweries, but also offering delicious down-home cooking, 6 different bluegrass bands, fun activities for the kids, and much more.

Some of the attending breweries are Breckenridge Brewery, Grand Teton Brewing Company, Odell Brewing Company, Palisade Brewery, Silverton Brewing Company, AC Golden Brewing Company, The Grand Lake Brewing Company, Wynkoop Brewery, and many more.

There is no entrance fee for the festival and it is only $30 per person for unlimited beer samples. Parking is free at the River Run Lots, which is located off of Gondola Road. The festival kicks off at noon on Saturday, July 31^st and continues throughout Sunday until 5 p.m. For more information on the festival, visit their website here.

If you are looking for a place to stay in Keystone for the weekend, contact Rocky Mountain Vacation Rentals by visiting their website or by calling at 1-888-364-7596.