It was the annual trek to the mountains as the boys, my son's, have off from school for the holiday and we use it as the perfect excuse to get out and enjoy a weekday skiing early in November to kick off the season. While it was the boys first day, I had gotten out a few weeks ago to make sure October was a ski month. Check out the photo gallery at MyMountainSportsClub.com.
Part of the obligation of living in Colorado and working in this industry. October skiing has become a ritual much like Veterans day and the days up till Thanksgiving.
It was a great day to be on the hill skiing and riding. Keystone Resort is always a good early season choice as they tend to have longer vertical and great long cruising runs. These are ideal to help get the legs back into ski shape. I know I need some days of long cruisers to get ready for the full days of skiing with fresh soft snow. As we left Boulder it was overcast but no precipitation. The weather reports had been of snow the last several days continuing today in the mountains.
We encountered snow as we passed Silverplume, just past Georgetown on I 70. It was light snow but enough to slow down the traffic. The ride up was easy with moderate traffic. Roads were snow packed as we approached Loveland and went over Loveland Pass, past Arapahoe Basin and down valley to Keystone.
The Gondola was the only lift open and is now accessed right at the base of the River Run area. This is a slight move form where it was previously and makes much better sense and is easier to access. New this year is also midway, er 3/4 way, station so one did not have to go all the way back down. The Gondola, now enables downloading at a location that enables you to ski more of the mountain before downloading in spring.
Skiing was very good for this time of year. Yes, it is all relative, in January I would grimace at snow this hard, but with a couple inches of fresh snow there was soft carving snow. The terrain park at the top was full, especially for a Tuesday. Based upon my observation of the crowd, the local economy was thriving. We'll see what happens during the holidays and peak season.
Looking for Keystone lift ticket discounts, make sure to register now for a Mountain Sports Club membership and save on pre purchased multi day lift tickets at the MSC Travel desk.
Other resort related news and tidbits. Wild Mountain in Minnesota reopened and reported snow. Ski Brule opened yesterday.
A couple of nice sweepstakes to consider entering:
Just saw an announcement for a really cool sweepstakes from the folks at Cloudveil, "Win a Spot on the first Tram at Jackson" to celebrate the new tram at Jackson Hole.
Sign up to win a spot on the FIRST TRAM in Jackson Hole on the Opening Day of the NEW Aerial Tram. Winner and a guest will receive a 4-day trip to Jackson Hole or a full season pass for winter 2008-09.
Prize package:
- 2 spots (winner plus a guest) on a FIRST TRAM in Jackson Hole on the Opening Day of the NEW Aerial Tram.
-Two airline tickets to Jackson Hole, WY on airline of JHMR’s choice.
- Four nights lodging in Teton Village condominium through Jackson Hole Resort Lodging (blackout dates do apply).
- Two 4-day adult lift tickets at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
- Two VIP passes to Aerial Tram launch festivities.
Sn Valley Chamber also is now promoting "Everything under the sun". Sun Valley is one of the great and more famous resorts many have not been visited. Now your chance to win a free trip to Sun Valley.
Look pretty sweet to me.
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