Powder Addiction Snow Cat Skiing Winter Park, CO

Powder Addiction Skiing on Jones Pass

We had day number two with Powder Addiction on Jones pass this week.  It was supposed to be day number four but a good bout of pink eye and an avalanche on US Highway 40 has postponed the other two trips.  The group that went up this time was full of Winter Park locals, a father-son WP second home team and a video and still camera professional.

What a senational day.  Temps were in the high 30’s and there were a few inches of fluffy white powder.  The above photos of Ed Reagner were shot later in the day as we were attempting a south facing wall that had baked all day and gotten a nice crusty layer on top that all us skiers had a little trouble with.

Mr. Scott Hefel was the professional photog along for the day and he took some spectacular pictures.  Check out Scott Hefel Photography to see the photos.  Click on Powder Addiction (bottom right) and use password: 3.15.10

We also had “T” from RSN Winter Park Channel 18 filming for an upcoming RSN sking special.  Maybe all us will be back-country skiing stars someday?  I am not holding my breath or quitting the day job though.

On the trip was a father and son team and for a 15 year old Chase could really rip it up.  I do wish I was skiing this terrain when I was 15 years old.  Anywho, it was a great day skiing.  I would like to thank, Jamie, Waldo and Scott for the expert guiding and safety provided.

If you have any desire to do some cat skiing Powder Addiction can not be beat.  It is reasonably priced, especially compared to other snow cat skiing operations, and the terrain and snow is fantastic.  Jones Pass is a short ride from Powder Addiction headquarters in the Winter Park Village with snow that drops from all storms coming through Central Colorado.  At the end of the day you get to enjoy a couple free Steamworks Brewery beers.

The snow is still coming and it’s not too late to get your cat skiing in this year.  Now is the time to sign up and take a snow cat skiing trip with Powder Addiction.

How Much Snow for Winter Park Resort 2009/2010 Ski Season?

Winter Park Resort Snow Total Contest

How much snow will Winter Park Resort receive for the 2009/2010 ski season ending on April 19th, 2010?  That is the question that we  skiers ponder up here in Winter Park, Colorado.  Kinda of like mulling over the lint in your belly button but much more fun.  We here at Winter Park Lodging Company thought we could make this snow forecasting bit more fun if we had a contest.  So here is the contest:

Guess how much snow Winter Park Resort will receive by April 18th, 2010, as reported on the Winter Park Resort website, for a chance to win dinner and drinks for two at one of our fine restaurants here in WP.  Use the comment section below for your official entry and all guesses need to be in by April 1st ( yes April fools, you fool).  He/She that is closest to the snow total wins.  We will post a winner by April 20, 2010 on this blog.

We had a slow snow start to this ski season but the ski gods have been pretty kind to us the last month or so with a couple of doozy storms that dropped as much as 16″ of fluffy white on our beloved Winter Park.  A couple of these storms also sent avalanches crashing down on US Highway 40 to give us Winter park folk the better part of the day to enjoy Mary Jane/Winter Park by ourselves (and those fortunate enough to already be here).

The snow report and total for today March13th, 2010 look like this:

Winter Park Resort  averages 350″ inches of snow per year so we should be getting some big storms the rest of March and April this year.  Here is some historical info on snow totals at Winter Park Resort for the last year and the ten previous years:

Plenty of info to base your guesses on but please research away.  I will put my guess in first and may the best man win.  We all actually win with the more snow we get though!

Winter Park Resort: Fourth Best Ski Cafeteria Food

Moffat Market at Winter Park Resort

Winter Park Resort just seems to be racking up the awards of late.  Skiing magazine just named Winter Park’s Moffat Market as the fourth best Ski-Resort Cafeteria.  That is not bad as the building it operates in is quite old compared to the others on Skiing Magazines top ten list.

The Moffat Market was the highest ranked Colorado ski cafeteria and Vail’s Two Elks Lodge was the only other Colorado cafeteria ranked and they came in at number six.

Here is what Skiing Magazine had to say about the Winter Park Moffat Market:

Moffat Market, a railroad-themed food court (named after the Moffat Tunnel, a 6.2.-mile-long railroad tunnel that has its west end at Winter Park ski resort), offers food from around the world. There’s New York-style pizza at Grand Central Station, Tex-Mex at Santa Fe Station, and Asian noodle bowls at the Umami Station. We recently tried a veggie coconut curry bowl with rice noodles here—and were blown away by how spicy and delicious it was.

We recently had a chicken burrito at the Moffat Market and I have to say it was a huge burrito and very tasty.  Cost was a little pricey but food at ski resorts is never cheap.

Serving breakfast and lunch, the Moffat Market food court has a railroad theme and offers fresh cuisine and specialties that reflect the different regions of the country and the world. Storefronts and names identify the different food stations with options such as: New York-style pizza at Grand Central Station; Tex-Mex at the Santa Fe Station; enjoy Asian noodle bowls at our newly revamped “Umami” station; and hearty soups at the Shortline. Moffat Market also features an Einstein’s Bagels kiosk for fresh breakfast bagels, and lunch specialties. New this season is a totally revamped breakfast menu at the Moffat Market. Stop by for their specialty, “Eggs Delphia.”

Of course, you go to a ski resort for the good snow and terrain. But you’ve got to eat while you’re there, right? Skiing Magazine has done their research—eating at ski areas all over the country—and have selected the 10 best on-mountain restaurants in ski country.  And to call the Moffat Market a cafeteria simply doesn’t do it justice.

Over Two Feet of New Snow in Winter Park

New Snow at  Winter Park/Mary Jane Resorts Colorado

Snow snow and more snow in Winter Park.  That’s right we have been getting crushed with snow here in Winter Park.  27 inches is the total in  the last week with more on the way.   Here are our snow totals for the last few days and for the year as of Feb 23, 2010:

Winter Park/Mary Jane averages around 350 inches for the year so we can expect to just get blasted the next eight weeks that the resort is open.  Here is what our friends over at SnowForecast.com are calling for for the next month or so here in Winter Park:

–We may see lingering snow flurries next Monday, mixed with sun and clouds, then next Tuesday high pressure ridging is possible. Mid next week (3rd of March) begins a series of storms, some moving more southerly, some northerly, but frequent, for frequent light to moderate or even heavy snow. This unsettled pattern over the west should keep the slopes fresh through mid March at least. The rest of March and most of April still look potentially snowy.

Snow in December, January and the first part of February was below average with most of the Colorado storms hitting the resorts located in the southern part of the state.  It looks as though that these storms should start taking a more northern route and it is looking really good for Mary Jane and Winter Park.

March and April are by far the best months to ski in Colorado.  The weather is a little warmer, the snow a little deeper and the beers taste a little better.

Spring Skiing in the Colorado Rockies – heaven on earth!

Winter Park Shopping | Silver Creek

Ah, shopping!

Silver Creek at the Winter Park Resort Base

I was hanging out at the base area during the Wells Fargo Cup this weekend and popped into the Silver Creek shop, located in the Zephyr Mountain Lodge.   Not sure why I never had gone in there before (maybe it has something to do with always having ski gear on not in the mood to try on clothes).  Well, what a nice surprise it was.  I thought I had to go to Denver to shop for cute stuff!

I quickly found a True Grit vest that is now my favorite piece in the closet.  And my friend and I both bought Xob baseball-style hats made out of recycled sweaters.  We think we’re adorable.  Marc, the owner, said no one ever tries the hats on and doesn’t buy one.

Silver Creek is open every day, 9 – 7 Friday and Saturday, and 9 – 6 Sunday thru Thursday.  The True Grit clothing line is really fun mountain-chic and the Home line of jewelry is all around for picking and choosing some great accessories for your cowboy style.

Phone number: 970.726.5424.

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, CO. Winter

Winter Time in Winter Park, CO

Well, it is winter time here in Winter Park, Colorado.  Lots of snow on the ground and pretty darn chilly each morning.  Now is when the skiing gets good and the crowds are small until we hit the March spring break crowds (besides the pack of skiers here for Presidents weekend).

So far the snowfall in Winter Park has been somewhat short of the average but the forecast is calling for big storms thru the first part of February.  Bring on the snow!

Now is the time to get out to Devil’s  Thumb Ranch to do some cross country skiing or out the back door to take a nice snow shoe hike.  Looking for something a little different, head out and take a dog sled ride at Winter Park Dog Sled Rides.  Want to soak the cold from your bones, Hot Sulpher Springs Mineral Baths has hot pools to warm your cold bones.  If you are looking for a little summer in Winter Park head to the new Grand Park Rec Center.  The hot tub , steam room, sauna and water slide may fool you into thinking you are in Winter Park, FL not Winter Park, CO.

But why are most of us here in Winter Park?  It is the skiing.  Yes it may be a little cold but now is when you can get out and hit the slopes and you can find your own little sanctuary on the hill.  Fresh tracks, runs with only you and your shadow is what this time of winter is about.

So, lets do our snow dance and hope the storms keep on hitting us and that we may get clobbered by that 20′ storm that is always just over the horizon.

Intrawest Goes Into Foreclosure

Winter Park Resort Management Company, Intrawest, is Foreclosed on by Creditors

WOW!  I saw it coming but I didn’t think that it would happen in the middle of a ski season and only weeks before their jewel property, Whistler, was to be host to the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Intrawest was taken into receivership today by the banks that funded the purchase of Intrawest by Fortress Investments.  Banks have seized Intrawest Holdings, the owner of the Whistler ski resort that’s hosting the Olympic downhill races next month, after the resort operator missed a big debt payment, and now plan to auction the company off right in the middle of the games.

The lenders, which include Lehman Brothers and Davidson Kempner, plan to auction off ownership of Intrawest on Feb. 19, according to a notice published in major newspapers. The first events of the Olympic games are scheduled for Feb. 12 and the closing ceremony is set for Feb. 28.

Well what does this mean for Winter Park Resort?  What will be auctioned off at Winter Park Ski Area?  Will Winter Park Resort management be changing?

Winter Park Resort is owned by the city of Denver so most likely there will be no changes at Winter Park Resort.  Intrawest over two years ago disbanded their resort development team, Placemaking, so they were not going to be doing anymore development at the base in the near future anyway.  As for what could be auctioned off I don’t think there is anything to auction other than land and condos that Intrawest already has up for sale.

The foreclosure notice stated: “Each qualified bidder must be a financial institution or other entity that has the financial wherewithal to purchase the membership interests in immediately available funds on the closing date”.

The sale includes more than a dozen resort properties including Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado and Squaw Valley in California.

So, I guess my $5,000 offer and promise to do better than Fortress isn’t going to get me anywhere with an offer for Intrawest.

In addition to Intrawest, buyers will get stakes in four resorts in Colorado, as well as properties in California, Florida and Vermont. But with the Olympic Games only weeks away, the focus is on Whistler.

Intrawest chief executive officer Bill Jensen said that the company is in talks with its lenders, and in the meantime “it’s business as usual.”

I’m thinking business as usual would be very interesting at Intrwest headquarters today!

Anywho, lets get excited about the Winter Park snow forecast of 20′ of snow in the next 6 days!

Is Winter Park the Next Vail?

Winter Park to become Vail?

A friend of ours was flying back home to Boston and found this interesting article about Winter Park Resort becoming the next Vail in the inflight magazine.  The article title is “A Mountain of Opportunity”.  I would like to think that Winter Park will be the next Vail and I wouldn’t mind if Winter Park got some of the attention Vail does but I don’t think this is going to happen tomorrow.

It is a pretty good read of an article, however, the author got a couple things wrong.  The Winter Park Village actually is at the base of Winter Park Resort but the Town of Winter Park, which Google is now calling Hideaway Park, is 2 miles down US Highway 40.

My favorite part of the article is the part about the new Winter Park lofts:

“MODERATE: The nicest offerings at Intrawest’s new base area are the slopeside Lofts of Winter Park Village, luxury condos above the retail storefronts and restaurants. Finished with hardwood floors, granite counters, stainless-steel appliances, large balconies and fireplaces, the units are first rate but relatively affordable. A two-level, three-bedroom, 1,070-square-foot unit runs about $700,000.”

The lofts are fantastic.  Right above the Winter Park Village and just steps from the Zephyr lift.  Very very convenient location for ski lodging.  When Winter Park Resort starts doing summer music at the base again the lofts will be the best place to stay I’m thinking.

Anywho, Winter Park Lodging Company offers two Winter Park Village lofts and if you are looking for lodging at the Winter Park/Mary Jane Base, the lofts can not be beat.

So, here is to Winter Park moving towards the likes of Vail but we really don’t want to be Vail.

Winter Park- Lots of Snow and Ready to Go!

One of our inside sources (who also happens to be a snowmaker at the ski area), has good news for all of us chomping at the bit for the lifts to open. Last weeks huge storm and more snow forecasted for this week has helped create a substantial base – at least twice as much now compared to this time last year- in the highcountry. This early season accumulation has aided the snowmaking crews in mixing the natural with the man made white stuff. Another bonus is that they’re now making snow on 50% more trails than this time last year. If this keeps up (and we hope it does!), we can look forward to a stellar opening day.

We heard a little something about the possibility of cloud seeding this year in WP. We recently learned that it is official. Denver Water and Winter Park Resort are teaming up to help clouds produce greater amounts of snowfall for the 09′-10′ ski season. So get your flight, book your lodging with Winter Park Lodging Company, and come join us for an Epic Season!