Discount Lodging for Keystone, Save 20% and more

With the 2010/2011 ski and snowboard season right around the corner, now is a great time to book your lodging at discounted rates and savings even for peak weeks like Christmas. Summit Cove, with a large selection of condos and homes right in River Run and throughout the Keystone area is offering 20% off on bookings made now using the Mountain Sports Club promotion code. Join now and book your next trip to Keystone for this winter and save on lodging with Summit Cove.

Discount lift tickets at Killington, Buy now for $55 a day

Killington in Vermont's Green Mountains is offering for a limited time significantly discounted non peak lift tickets with their K55 tickets sold online only through Oct. 15 for $55 apiece. This represents a savings of up to $29 off the single day window lift ticket rate.

To make this work you need to visit Killington 4 times during the non peak periods.

For example, K55 tickets cost $55 midweek, compared with $79 midweek window rates for adults. K55 tickets cost $55 weekends, compared with $84 for adult weekend window rates. This represents a $29  savings over non peak window prices.

For more details on these and season passes and other programs be sure to visit Killington online.

Details - K55 tickets are not valid Dec. 24-Jan. 2; Jan. 15-17; and Feb. 19-27. K55 tickets can only be purchased online. K55 ticket purchases are limited to 10 tickets per online order. Caveats: There are no refunds or exchanges allowed with K55 tickets.

Early Season Skiing and Snowboarding

While we bask in record breaking warmth here at the base of the Rockies, most everyone I know is looking forward to cooler temps, snow and the upcoming ski and snowboard season.

I for one look forward to October turns and I am counting the days to see whether Loveland Ski Area, or Arapahoe Basin opens first this season in Colorado. Here are a few early season start and preparation updates for coming 2010.11 ski and snowboard season.

Loveland Ski Area in Colorado, has started snowmaking operations in the last week and there have been reports of early snows at the top of the pass and area. An October opening is pretty much a given.

This coming weekend sees Timberline Ski Area in Oregon reopening for weekends starting this Friday, Oct. 1. The plan is to operate the Magic Mile and Palmer chairs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through October.

Recently we were in Sunday River, Maine for a trade show and they look for any window to make snow and get open in October as well if possible. If you are heading in this direction make sure to check out the great deals available at The Bethel Inn and enjoy classic New England charm and comfort at  a great value.

Ski Cooper in Colorado Daily Lift Ticket Discounts and 2 for 1 Coupons

Once again Mountain Sports Club members will enjoy significant savings and discounts on lift tickets at Ski Cooper in Colorado. Located just outside of Leadville, Colorado, Ski Cooper remains a favorite of families and powder hounds on a budget. The high elevation ensures an abundance of light powder. Discount coupons on lift tickets this 2010/11 ski and snowboard season will range from save $10 on an adult full day lift ticket on weekends to 2 for 1 lift ticket coupons for midweek skiing and snowboarding at Ski Cooper.

Use your membership once and it is paid for. Use your membership often and save hundreds. Savvy skiers and snowboarders use the Mountain Sports Club to save on lift tickets, gear, rentals, lodging, travel and much more. Join now and save with early bird savings. Use promotion code fall10 and join for only $7.95, regular priced at $29.95 for the year.

Season Pass Roundup Buy Now and Save on Skiing and Snowboarding for 2010.11

Fall is here as summer has officially ended. While some of the early season pass sales may have ended there are still many great deals and values on season passes. Check these great deals out:

- Camelback Mountain Resort in PA - From as low as $279.00.
- Vail Resorts - Keystone, Breckenridge, Heavenly Valley, Vail, Beaver Creek and Arapahoe Basin offer a range of passes from the Epic to the Colorado Pass.
- Wildcat Mountain, New Hampshire has several great options. Next increase in price is October 15. Visit the Wildcat Mountain Season Pass page for details.
- Mountain High - Outside of Los Angeles in Southern California this popular ski and snowboard destination is including extra lift tickets for passes bought now. Season pass sales now are as low as $299 through October 31st.

We will keep posting pass deals as they come in. 

Ski and Snowboard Rental Discount and Delivered to your Condo or Hotel

Ski Butlers.com offers high quality ski and snowboard rentals delivered to your door at top ski and snowboard resorts in the western United States and Canada. Book online and in advance and save with newly posted discount coupons for Mountain Sports Club members.

Ski Butlers serves the following ski resorts: Aspen, Snowmass, Highlands, Buttermilk, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper, A-Basin, Telluride, Vail, Beaver Creek, Arrowhead, Park City, Deer Valley, The Canyons, Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Salt Lake City, Jackson Hole, South Lake Tahoe, Heavenly, Sierra-At-Tahoe, Kirkwood, Whistler, and Blackcomb. Book now and save 15% off with discount coupons and savings.

Discounts on Lodging and Ski Packages at Winter Park

The nights sure are cooler as the leaves change in the Colorado Mountains. With attention turning to the coming winter there is still great fall mountain biking and Winter Park is truly one of the best riding choices in Colorado and the country. Ranging from lift serviced terrain to miles and miles of trail in the Frasier Valley. Now is a great time to get away and enjoy before snow covers the mountains.

Mountain Sports Club members save up to 33% on lodging stays and all inclusive packages, now and during the winter. Check out all the savings and deals on the Winter Park - Deals, Coupons and Discount page and save big now and all winter.

Curt Gowdy State Park - camping and wide variety of Mountain Biking

We recently made short trek to Curt Gowdy State Park just outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Departing from Boulder Colorado the Friday before Labor Day, the drive proved to be just about 2 hours. While there was a little weekend traffic on Highway 25 north bound it was pretty mild. The actual mileage was just over 115 miles from town and signs marked the route from the highway.

The camping facilities were nice with spacious campsites easy for 2 families and up to 10 persons. We had booked 2 sites and there were other families from Boulder at other camp site locations as well. Everyone enjoyed being away from the city lights in the crisp mountain air and a spectacular sky full of stars and constellations. Always a great stargazing time in front of the roaring fire with smores and roasted marshmallows each evening. It was nice to enjoy the cool evenings given we were on the water at an elevation over 6,000 feet. The days were warm and making sure you have shade trees at your camp site on summer days would be advised. At night everyone bundled up to stay warm.

There is plenty of water in the park as there are three reservoirs - Granite Springs, Crystal and Upper Crow North. Fishing and boating permits are required and available at the park. Park Headquarters can be reached via phone at 307.632.7946.

Activities from hiking, bouldering, fishing, boating and lots of great single track abound. The fishing was good with a variety of trout in the lake/reservoir. A couple of the boys caught several trout that were served up over the fire and thoroughly enjoyed.

One of the highlights was the riding for our group. Our group enjoyed taking a wide range of ages for a mountain bike tour around the Granite Springs Reservoir and over to nearby Crystal Reservoir. It was nice intermediate single track that meandered around the lake. A great plan in theory but after a short while we came to find out a bit too tecnical of a ride in sections for the 7, 8 and 9 years olds in the group. We were seeing tight, rocky switchbacks that were not standard fare intermediate riding. The young ones had fun and were spirited but walked more than they had planned. We ended up shuttling them back in the van on the return. There was a more gentler return option but a strong head wind quickly changed our minds for the sake of avoiding meltdowns and revolts.

Here is a detail of the single track and mountain bike riding available in the area from IMBA. Another source we checked out in advance were the rider reviews from MTB Review as well. I do know we will be back and spend more time here riding and fishing.

Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month Effort Unveiled

As the weather turns cooler and winter is sneaking up on us ski resorts and associations in the US are preparing for another winter ski and snowboard season. Currently I am attending the New England Ski Areas winter trade show. A key part of today's program is dedicated to the national effort to grow skiing and snowboarding.

This Thursday morning NSAA President Mike Berry presented on the topic of the Model for Growth. He spent key time making sure to focus on the learn to ski and ride effort as a critical part of sustaining our ski industry. The urgency of trial and introduction has never been more critical. The industry is at an all time low for introductory lessons.

Certain areas the areas are at capacity up to about 15 days a year when it used to be maybe 5 days. Resorts in the Southeast and near urban areas are impacted most by this. Core numbers is relatively stable while some reactivation on the lapsed skiers. Industry issue is introducing and creating new skiers. We will work closely with groups and resorts to promote participation in our winter sports.

It is still the case that the best way to get new skiers is to get an existing skier or boarder to bring a friend. The ski and snowboard industry is solidly organizing behind January being Learn to Ski and Snowboard month – www.skiandsnowboardmonth.org. State associations are driving this initiative nationwide.


What is Learn to Ski & Snowboard Month? It is a national effort that empowers states organizations to get out and promote in a manner that works best for them. The message consistency is – “Humans were never meant to hibernate”. It embodies the concept of think globally and act locally. This campaign is being supported by all facets of the ski and snowboard industry. The goal is to encourage adults and children to take introductory ski and snowboard lessons. The industry wants to get more people from all walks of life involved. The campaign will go beyond first time skiers and appeal to individuals to take lessons to get better enabling them to enjoy the sport even more. We as an industry want skiers and snowboarders for life.

The goal and messaging to the public will be focused on highlighting lessons to learn the sport and to improve. There will be valuable promotional offers to encourage this participation. Look for deals on the national web site – www.skiandsnowboardmonth.org . This site will also have information on learning the sport and targeting the beginner and intermediate skier and snowboarder. Programs and promotions will vary by region and resort. One interesting part of this promotional effort is the building of terrain parks in urban areas to promote these campaigns. One example is he association for Maine ski areas – Ski Maine is expanding an effort started last winter in downtown Portland.

One of the spokesperson for this national effort is Glen Plake. More details will be forthcoming as resorts and state regions announce the promotional efforts.