Copper Colorado Condos: All Season Mountain Vacation Rentals

Los Lonely Boys will light up the stage at Copper's Sunsation in April.

Red Bull 1976 Games and College Slopestyle Championships also part of the spring fun at Copper Mountain

SUMMIT COUNTY — Copper Mountain’s Sunsation, a spring fling with music and much more, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with Pepper, Los Lonely Boys, Perpetual Groove and some reggae from Pato Banton.

Copper Condos still has plenty of lodging available for Sunsation, including several platinum-rated units at The Cirque and a sweet, spacious Copper Junction 2-bedroom overlooking all the action the Burning Stones Plaza.

Pepper, in their first Sunsation appearance, will headline Saturday, April 10 bringing their melodic and accessible blend of alternative pop/rock, punk, and reggae to the Sunsation stage. The fun continues April 11, and then the following weekend, April 17 and April 18 with music and much more, including the Red Bull Games.

Here’s the rundown:

Check out the The Alt Games April 10 when the country’s best collegiate skiers and riders will be throwing down for the College Slopestyle Championships Saturday, April 10 in Catalyst Terrain Park. The Alt Games, going into its fifth consecutive year, is a one-of-a-kind event showcasing college action sports championships in sports like skiing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, flowboarding, kayaking, and beach volleyball. More than 500 competitors from 45 different colleges and universities nationwide are expected to compete in 2010. The Championship competitions will air on the CBS College Sports Network.

The Red Bull 1976 Games, April 16 and 17, is a tongue-in-cheek homage to 1976, when Denver and Colorado were supposed to host the Olympics but decided to pass. Competitions include Snowbladecross and Old School Air, plus, an award for most outrageous costume and team mojo.

While the ’76 Games go on, Perpetual Groove will grace the Sunsation stage. PGroove has built a reputation on intense, emotional music.  The Athens, GA-based band’s riveting live performances have catapulted them into the “must-see” category of live rock bands. With a funky blend of jazz-rock, neo-psychedelia, R&B, trance electronica, progressive rock and anthemic arena rock, the Bonnaroo veterans have conquered the festival circuit and continue to tour relentlessly. Check out a PGroove YouTube video here.

Grammy nominated Pato Banton & The Reggae Revolution will appear on Sunday, April 18, promising to spread their positive vibe and infectious sounds to the entire Sunsation crowd. Get a taste of Paton Banton’s reggae groove with this YouTube video.

Los Lonely Boys will help close out another winter season at Copper, as the final act of Sunsation 2010. Consisting of three brothers, guitarist Henry Garza, bassist JoJo Garza, and drummer Ringo Garza Jr., Los Lonely Boys continue to entertain crowds with their contagious mix of sounds. Here’s a YouTube sample from Los Lonely Boys.

Get more information and a detailed schedule online at Copper Sunsation.

Big storms in the San Juans have helped spur business at ski areas in the southwestern part of Colorado. PHOTO COURTESY COLORADO SKI COUNTRY USA.

State ski group reports 1 percent increase in skier visits for early season; group and international business helped resorts

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Not counting skier visits at Vail Resorts’ four mountains, the 22 members  of Colorado Ski Country USA reported a 1 percent increase in business from last year during the first part of the season, between Oct. 7 and Dec. 31, 2009.

Colorado ski areas were especially busy during New Years week, according to the trade group, which said that skier visits were up by 1 percent compared to the similar period last year.

The preliminary tally is good news for the state ski industry, still feeling the pinch of the ongoing recession, as well as the effects of spotty snowfall so far this season.

“It’s a solid start,” said CSCUSA president and CEO Melanie Mills. “However, we still have a long way to go with a lot of season left. For now, we’re glad to see a little momentum in the way of increased visitation and are hopeful it will continue.” Continue reading ‘Skier visits holding steady at Colorado ski areas’

Winters melting away?

Congressman Jared Polis enlists ski movie makers, snowboarders and outdoor companies in the fight for a strong climate bill

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — As researchers get closer to pinpointing climate change impacts to the ski industry — at least in New England — one Colorado politician has enlisted some ski luminaries in the fight against global warming.

Read some of the University of New Hampshire studies here.

Congressman Jared Polis last week said that passing a strong climate bill will help protect jobs in Colorado mountain towns and small towns around the country.

To raise awareness about climate change impacts, Polis teamed up with Teton Gravity Research, The North Face, and Clif Bar to bring snowboarding star Jeremy Jones and adventure sports filmmaker Steve Jones  for a Washington, D.C. screening of a documentary film that shows the impact of climate change in a very personal way.

Continue reading ‘Ski industry feeling the heat from global warming’

This week's mountain news roundup includes a link to a story about the long-running battle over molydenum mining on Mount Emmons, also known as Red Lady, near Crested Butte. PHOTO COURTESY THE HIGH COUNTRY CITIZENS ALLIANCE. Click on the image for more information.

Intrawest auction, Telluride avalanche, Steamboat Winter Carnival and more in this week’s mountain news roundup

Compiled by Bob Berwyn

Intrawest could avoid mid-Olympics auction

Whistler Pique magazine reported more on the financial travails of Intrawest (former owner of Copper Mountain), with details on how a bankruptcy filing could help the company avoid a planned Feb. 19 auction during which stakes in the company would be sold to the highest bidder.

The auction was set after Fortress Investment Group, the investment company that owns Intrawest, held unsuccessful talks with its lenders to try and repay a debt of $1.5 billion. The company previously missed payment of a $524 million installment that was due on Oct. 23.

The Pique article quotes a professor of finance as saying that an auction is unlikely because of current economic conditions and a lack of buyers. A bankruptcy filing would put a stay on the company’s underlying assets. Read the full story here.

Continue reading ‘Mountain news roundup: ‘Extreme’ hugging at the X-Games’

A Summit County sixth-grader enjoys turns at Loveland.

$99 ski pass covers four days of skiing at each of Colorado Ski Country USA’s 21 member resorts

Time is running out to purchase the 6th Grade Passport! Since your child participated in the 5th Grade Passport Program last year, they have access to this opportunity. For just $99, your child will get 4 days of skiing or snowboarding at each of the 21 participating Colorado Ski Country USA resorts. With less than 2 days of use, the pass will pay for itself. Deadline to purchase the 6th Grade Passport is January 31, 2010, click here to begin registration.

Not only is January the last chance to purchase the 6th Grade Passport, but January is also Learn to Ski & Ride Month in Colorado. So, with access to 21 ski areas with the Passport and Learn to Ski & Ride specials, there are no more excuses. Check out the Colorado Ski Country USA Learn to Ski & Ride Month website – and be sure to send the link to your friend who’s been missing out – for Learn to Ski & Ride deals from Colorado resorts, the basics of getting started, and some ever-important safety tips.

Copper Mountain will celebrate ski safety week with activities around the resort and on the mountain.

Prizes, avy dog demos and more at Copper’s ski safety fest, starting this weekend

Copper is proud to recognize and support the National Ski Area Association’s Safety Awareness Week with Copper’s Safety Fest, featuring three days of safe ski and riding education, demonstrations, and prizes & giveaways worth more than $4,000. Make sure to check out the daily avalanche dog demos at 12:45 p.m., as well as the Flight For Life Helicopter Tour at Patrol Headquarters on Sat., Jan. 16, starting at 10 a.m.*

Copper’s Burning Stones Plaza in the Village at Copper will host Safety Fest, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Jan 16 – 18, and each day guests can visit Copper’s Safety tents to learn about safety, earn a chance for daily prize drawings and watch the avalanche dog demonstration.

This year’s Safety Fest participants include:

• Summit County Rescue Group – Backcountry awareness
• Woodward at Copper – Terrain park and pipe safety
• St. Anthony’s Medical Center – Helmet safety and general injury prevention
• Copper Mountain Fire Department – General fire safety
• Copper Mountain Ski Patrol – General on-mountain safety practices, Skier’s Responsibility Code, Know your Space, hydration, sunscreen usage, and Emergency Contact Cards laminated at the tent
• Smith Optics (Saturday only) – Eyewear safety topics and helmet safety

Safety Fest tents are open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.*, and those guests who visit all of the booths and get their safety awareness cards punched at each station will be entered into a drawing. The prize drawing will be held at 1 p.m. each day, featuring items such as: lift tickets, lodging certificates, parking passes, Athletic Club memberships and passes, Woodward at Copper One Hit Wonder Sessions, hats, down vests, helmets, ski/ride lessons, childcare at Belly Button Bakery, free rounds of golf at Copper Creek, free orthopedic screenings at Avalanche Physical Therapy, a half day Snowcat trip, gift cards, safety gear and much more. Must be present to win!

One of the highlights of Safety Fest is the Flight For Life Helicopter Tour starting at 10 a.m. on Sat., Jan. 16*, at the top of Copper’s Excelerator and Super Bee lifts. Guests can tour the helicopter and talk to the flight nurse and pilot. Flight For Life is a nonprofit, hospital-based, community service providing critical care transport for a nine state region, with the industry’s most current technology and experienced, knowledgeable staff.

Another great Safety Fest event, the kids especially won’t want to miss, is the daily avalanche dog demos at 12:45 p.m. in Burning Stones Plaza. Typically, a volunteer will “get buried” in an avalanche-type scenario and the Copper Ski Patrol Dog (yes, the dogs are actually members of the Copper Ski Patrol) will use their heightened sense of smell to find the “buried volunteers.”

Safety Tip of the Week:

Skier’s Responsibility Code

• Always stay in control and be able to stop or avoid objects.
• People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.
• Do not stop where you obstruct the trail or are not visible from above.
• Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, yield to others.
• Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
• Observe all posted signs and warnings.
• Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.
• Prior to using any lift, you must know how to load, ride and unload safely.

Knowing “The Code” is everyone’s responsibility!

Sunrise on Buffalo Mountain and the Tenmile Range.

New floating and boating laws, Euro-style skiing in Telluride and a controversy over sled dogs in Aspen all covered in our weekly mountain news roundup

Compiled by Bob Berwyn

Jackson Hole patroller dies from avalanche injuries

Jackson Hole ski patroller Mark “Big Wolly” Wolling died of injuries he suffered when he was caught in avalanche at Jackson Hole ski area last week. Read more about the accident and the popular local patroller at www.jhunderground. Wolling is the fourth Jackson Hole ski patroller to be killed by avalanches while on duty at the ski area. The Jackson Hole News & Guide also has details on the memorial services set for Jan. 13 outside the Mangy Moose Saloon.

Big bucks for bottled water

The Salida Citizen reports that Nestle paid almost $5 million dollars for three properties where it plans to bottle and ship water from the Salida area. According to the post on the community news web site, the company wants to pump about 65 million gallons of water per year to its bottling facility. Read more about Nestle’s plans for bottling Salida water here.

Dog kennel controversy in Aspen

The Aspen Daily News is reporting on efforts by local animal rights advocates to improve the treatment of sled dogs at the Krabloonik restaurant and kennel. According to the story, the group will lobby state officials to change a law that allows working dogs to be chained up for unlimited amounts of time.

The director of the Aspen Animal Shelter  a former musher, who called for more humane treatment of Krabloonik’s dogs. He tried to buy the kennel and started a rehabilitation program for former Krabloonik dogs after a public outcry over the shooting and killing of old and weak dogs at Krabloonik. The shelter staff retrains the working dogs as house pets.

Telluride ski area thinking big

A long-range vision for skiing in Telluride includes ideas about lift-served connections extended from the current ski area to Silverton, Ophir and even Red Mountain Pass, according to a story in the Telluride Daily Planet. More immediately, the open house visioning session also focused on the possibility of new lifts in the Bear Creek drainage and on Palmyra Mountain. All the talks were part of the preparations for preparing a new ski area master plan, the Daily Planet reported.

Night skiing close to the village core is also on the table, as are an alpine coaster and other expanded recreational opportunities for both summer and winter. Ski company executives also discussed how ecotourism and enviro-sustainability are part of the future of Telluride, possibly including small hydropower facilities and even grow-domes to grow fresh produce for local restaurants.

Crackdown on Animas River tubers?

A story in the Durango Herald about new rules for floaters on the Animas River drew a slew of comments from readers. The Herald reported that town officials want to crack down on alcohol and possibly even require life jackets for private citizens floating the river on inner tubes. According to the story, police in Durango made numerous arrests associated with raucous and rowdy behavior at put-in points.

New Colorado river law eyed

In other river news, the Colorado Independent reported on a new bill that could end disputes between rafters and landowners along Colorado Rivers. According to the story by Dave Williams, State. Rep. Kathleen Curry, of Gunnison, wants to introduce a measure that would define incidental contacts and portaging. Under existing law, boaters can be subject to trespassing charges if they touch private land on either side of a stream, or even the river bottom, in some cases.

Buffalo Mountain rendered in black and white by the light of dawn. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN. If you like our daily weather picture, click on the photo to visit an online gallery where you can browse and buy framed prints and greeting cards with Summit County images. It's a great way to support Summit Voice and independent journalism.

Snowpack, streamflows down, but not disastrous, spring storms could boost water supply, experts say

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Snowfall continued to lag in December, with both local observation sites for the National Weather Service reporting totals well below the historic average.

The larger weather pattern has been dominated by a strong El Niño, as warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific have shifted the storm track, causing stronger weather systems to move north and south of Summit County.

Weather experts said they’re not expecting any big change in January. But past El Niño winters have delivered significant snow late in winter and spring.

In Dillon, where Denver Water officials track precipitation and temperatures for the National Weather Service, only 10 inches of snow fell in December, compared to the average 17.5 inches. For the calendar year, average snowfall at the Dillon site is 127.5 inches. In 2009, the total was just 80.5 inches. Read more »

Colorado's north-central mountains have seen up to a foot of new snow in the past week, with good powder skiing on the higher slopes like Norway Face at Arapahoe Basin.

Big snow slides hit the Alps, Swiss rescue worker killed by secondary avalanche, Steamboat hits 1oo inches and Whistler recaps the year

Compiled by Bob Berwyn

Steamboat snowfall hits 100 inches
Steamboat today reported that the local ski area hit the 100-inch mark for snowfall as of Jan. 3. The ski area provided a detailed list of annual snowfall totals that show comparisons between this and previous seasons.

Last season, Steamboat had picked up 140 inches by the last day of December. Looking back at the list, 2005-2006 marked the snowiest start for the northern Colorado ski area in 10 years, with 203 inches through Dec. 31. In that season, Steamboat ended up with 432 inches total. The snowiest winter on record for the last 10 seasons was 2007-2008, with an astounding 489 inches of trademark Champagne powder.

It would be nice to see the Summit County ski areas offer similar snowfall stat comparisons on their web sites. See the Steamboat story here.

Avalanches kill 15 in the Alps
The Planet Ski web site reported that avalanche season has started in earnest in the Alps, with five deaths in Switzerland, three in France and seven in Italy, all in the past few weeks. The Swiss deaths included a rescuer who was part of a group hit by a secondary slide while they were on their way to the site of an accident. It is, according to Planet Ski, the first time that a member of the Swiss Air Rescue Service has died while trying to rescue people. For details on the French avalanche deaths, click here.
More details and links are available at the Planet Ski site.

Taxable sales drop in Salida
Feeling the pinch of the recession, Salida saw a 5 percent drop in taxable sales in 2009, according to a story in the Salida Citizen. Total tax revenues for the year were up by about $840,000 because of a 1 percent sales tax increase, but failed to meet budget expectations. Read the story here.

Telluride: Recession to resurgence
The Telluride Daily Planet took a thoughtful look at the past year, focusing on the impacts of the global recession. Among other things, the Daily Planet reported that the town took a 70 percent hit to its real estate transfer tax revenues, resulting in service and staff cuts, and scaling back on capital projects. The review story also looks at a potential upsurge in uranium mining in southwest Colorado, as well as plans for the Telluride airport. Read the story here.

Near-record foreclosures in Pitkin County
The Aspen Daily News reported that there were 104 foreclosures in Pitkin County during 2009 — the most since the early 80s, when banks across the country were failing. Although it was a high number for Pitkin County, the area is holding up well compared to other parts of Colorado and the rest of the country. Even a handful of employee housing units were at some stage of foreclosure, though none had gone to sale yet. Read the Aspen Daily News story here.

‘Secret’ immigration detention camps?
Based in a story first published in The Nation, the Colorado Independent looked into reports that immigration authorities may be holding detainees in sub-field offices where their civil rights can’t be ensured. Immigration officials took issue with the terminology of the story, saying that there aren’t any “secret” facilities, so the story may be partially about semantics. But advocates for immigrant rights said the detentions raise concerns about due process. Read the story here.

Eventful year in Whistler
The Whistler Pique, a weekly news magazine, opened its year in review story with the election of President Barack Obama. The recap goes on to touch on Olympic preparations, H1N1, and the economy, winding up with a look at Whistler’s best-of, 2009, Read the entertaining piece here.

Mammoth recap
The Mammoth Times also took a look back at 2009, including the revival of the Village at Mammoth, a base area development that had been deemed a “ghost town” at the start of 2009. The real estate at the village is controlled by CNL ( a real estate investment trust that also owns base area property at Copper), and some locals thought the rents for commercial properties were too high. But the community pulled together to renegotiate a favorable long-term lease. Read the Mammoth Times story here.