Moonlight Snowshoe and Cross Country Ski at Pole Creek

Winter Park, CO  Snow Shoe & Country Cross Ski

The second moonlight cross country ski and snow shoe is to be held next Saturday night February 27th at Pole Creek Golf Club.  We were able to attend the first edition and it was a fantastic time.  The moon is so bright that the trails are well lit and halfway through there is a bonfire with hot chocolate and schnapps being served.  Stay for dinner after the hike or ski at Bistro 28 they are serving up some great grub at reasonable prices.

Here is the full description from the Winter Park/Fraser Chamber of Commerce:

FULL MOON SNOWSHOE CROSS COUNTRY SKI AT POLE CREEK GOLF CLUB

TRAIL WILL BE WELL LIT WITH TIKI TORCHES
HOT CHOCOLATE AND SCHNAPPS AT THE BONFIRE!

DINNER AFTER AT “BISTRO 28”
FEATURING HOMEMADE PASTAS PLUS FANTASTIC MENU SELECTIONS
STARTING AT $8.
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED FOR DINNER
PLEASE CALL 970-887-9797
Dinner every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at Bistro 28
Burger and a beer/wine – Prime rib and Pasta specials

Don’t miss a fun way to get some exercise and enjoy the Grand County outdoors under the moonlight.

Winter Park, CO Snow Sports Industries Convention

Winter Park, CO SnowSports Industries Convention

There were around 3,400 people  for the on-snow demo at Winter Park Ski Resort Monday, part of the SnowSports Industries America’s (SIA) annual snow show. The show was held for the first time in Denver after a 37 years of wild times in Las Vegas.

A small village was set up at the base of Winter Park. Manufactures, retailers and media in the snowsports industry cruised displays of skis and snowboards, boots, bindings, goggles, helmets, poles, gadgets and just about every other piece of ski gear that somebody needs to enjoy the sport of skiing.  There were people out demoing the latest and greatest that the ski industry is bringing out for next year.

What were the hits of the show?  What are the can’t live withouts for the ski addicted masses?

Well according to the ski press here are some of the favorites that were at the ski show in both Denver and on the slopes of Winter Park Resort.

Liberty Skis

Co-founder Jim Satloff launched the firm in 2003 with $30,000 won during an incredibly lucky three-hour run at a Vegas craps table.  Today, Avon-based Liberty has a national reputation as a high-performance ski maker.  Liberty is the first manufacturer to use bamboo cores in all its lines, offering lighter weight and improved responsiveness.
Prototypes are developed at the Avon headquarters, but most manufacturing takes place in China. Low import duties allow Liberty to sell at competitive prices to retailers, where the skis carry list prices of $529 to $769.

Point6 Socks

If you would like to find socks that will keep your feet comfortable, dry, blister-free in every activity you participate in – - – look no further. POINT6 is your solution.

* ski and snowboard socks

* hiking and trekking socks

* cycling socks

* casual lifestyle socks

* golf, running and fitness socks

With precise, anatomical fit point6 socks are truly the best socks you will ever wear.

Arc’teryx Alpha SV Gore-Tex Glove

Is any glove worth $275? Arc’teryx believes the Alpha SV, the first glove made with Gore Pro Shell, fits the bill. The typical Gore-Tex glove has a somewhat bulky, cartoonish-looking baggie sandwiched between the liner and outer shell. Pro Shell is a three-layer, super-breathable product in which the shell, Gore-Tex membrane and liner are laminated into a single piece of fabric. It brings down weight and bulk and improves breathability and durability. It’s Gore’s premium product for jackets, but it’s hard to make into a glove because of all the seam sealing required.

Anyway, the Alpha SV overcomes those issues with clever engineering and design. There’s a waterproof leather layer on the fingers and palm and a removable fleece liner. In all, the glove is lightweight, extremely dextrous and easily the coolest pair of ski and mountaineering gloves I’ve ever seen. As for the price, a lot of pros—helicopter skiing guides and such—will probably wear it. If you use the gloves 100 days a year for 10 years, you’ll end up investing around 28 cents a day on hand warmth. Probably a good deal. For the rest of us, it’s a friggin’ expensive glove.

Loki Gear

This innovative Grand Junction outerwear-maker is now making kick-ass headwear and kick-ass jackets with all sorts of shape shifting features, like built-in mittens and facemasks and the ability to transform into a backpack.

Ski Logic

Some of the coolest looking skis out there.  Based in Breckenridge and making skis for over ten years these skis will definitely get some questions from fellow lift riders. And yes these are also manufactured in China, but man they are really cool looking.

WhoooHoooo! Lets hope the SIA makes it back to Winter Park next year for an encore performance.  The two days here were great exposure for Winter Park Resort and it was nice to see the base bustleing with ski industry people.

Winter Park Wells Fargo Cup

Winter Park Colorado Wells Fargo Cup

The Wells Fargo Cup ski weekend benefiting the National Sports Center for the Disabled makes its 35th appearance at the Winter Park Resort from February 19th to 21st, 2010.  This event brings together world-class disabled ski racers, Denver celebrities, Broncos alumni along with amateur skiers and snowboarders of all abilities for a weekend of activities to benefit the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD).  The Celebrity Challenge is one of the most entertaining events of the weekend as celebrities and former football stars make their way down a racecourse.  There will also be a silent auction that usually brings interest from big spenders to the most frugal.

National Sports Center for the Disabled

Founded in 1970, the National Sports Center for the Disabled’s mission is to positively impact the lives of people with any physical or mental challenge through quality adaptive recreation programs in over 20 sports. The NSCD’s impact on lives is direct, immediate and visible. Over 20,000 lessons were provided in 2007 alone.

The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) is one of the largest outdoor therapeutic recreation agencies of its kind in the world.  For 40 years, children and adults with disabilities have looked to the organization for hope and encouragement.  Each year, they take to the ski slopes, rivers, mountain trails and athletic fields to learn more about sports and themselves. With specially trained instructors and its own adapted equipment lab, the NSCD can accommodate individuals with almost any physical or mental diagnosis.

The Wells Fargo Cup is a great weekend of skiing benefiting  truly one of the best causes that I know.   It is also one of the most popular weekends to be in Winter Park.  So make your plans now and help out a great cause and have some fun on the Winter Park/Mary Jane slopes.

Mardi Gras in Winter Park, Colorado

Winter Park Resort Mardi Gras 2010

You don’t have to be in New Orleans or Rio de Janiero to celebrate Mardi Gras.  We here up in Winter Park, CO have our own little celebration up on the ski slopes.  The Winter Park Resort employees are usually all decked out and there are lots and lots of beads.  You my even see some topless celebratants latter in the day if the sun is out and the booze is flowing.

The Winter Park/ Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce will be putting on a Mardi Gras Festival for the kids and family at the Hideaway Park in Town of Winter Park from 1PM to 4PM on Feb 13th.  The sledding hill will be open and there will be games and treats for the kids.

Sol Vista will be putting on a Mardi Gras Snow fest.  SolVista Basin resort family celebrations: Fun Events for kids of all ages; music; food, beverage and retail specials. Kids Snow Play Park, Sledding Hill, and Cross Country Skiing always free.

And there will be lots of celebrating on the slopes with beads a flying and everyone trying to have some fun on the slopes of Mary Jane/Winter Park Resort.

It’s Mardi Gras, show us your……… ??