"Celebrate a Record Breaking Season at Steamboat"

This weekend marks the end of the 2007/2008 ski season at Steamboat Ski Resort. Racking in at a groundbreaking 486 inches, Steamboat has had a champaign powder season. They will close the season with their first Springalicious Festival taking place April 5 and April 6.

The festival will include the 28th Annual Cardboard Classic, and new this year is the Splashdown pond skimming competition. Thee bands will also be featured throughout the two day festival; American Relay, The Radiators, and Susan Tedeschi.

What exactly is the Cardboard Classic you ask? Well it involves homemade cardboard crafts racing to the finish line. I would imagine that one might see some hilarious crashes which might make it worthwhile. There will be 50 crafts and the proceeds will be donated to Yampa Valley Recycles.

If you haven’t seen a pond skimming competition, you haven’t lived! From my experience watching pond skimming at Vail, I saw some of the craziest costumes including topless ladies. I think it would be awful skiing down the mountain half naked to then fall into a 30 degree pond, but for everyone else it’s one of the most entertaining ways that you can spend your weekend. Don’t miss the last weekend celebration at Steamboat Ski Resort.

"Don't be a 'Gaper'...Make Fun of Them"

Zip up your one piece bright pink ski suit and head to the mountains, because today is Breckenridge’s annual Gaper Day! What exactly is Gaper Day you ask? Well, local and employees deal with “gapers” every day. Basically they are the tourists that come around during the high season that are recognizable from a mile away. It’s a day for locals to poke a little fun at the tourists and it’s a day that locals look forward to all season.

I feel bad for any tourists that happens to be visiting Breckenridge during Gaper Day. Imagine standing at the top of the terrain park when a gang of people on mini skis wearing neon colored suits and hats, and rear-entry boots come whizzing by doing ridiculous jumps through the half-pipe, and falling over on the rails. Now that would be a frightening sight to see if you weren’t aware of the tradition.

For most people, Gaper Day is chance to get drunk and laugh at all the crazy outfits people come up with. One of the classic outfits include jeans, a mullet, a cowboy hat, and an obnoxious sweatshirt. This video explains everything you need to know about Gaper Day.

"Out-of-Control Children: A Parent's Worst Nightmare"

In my opinion, one of the coolest things that you can see while skiing is a little kid that is going faster then a speeding bullet down the mountain, making better turns that you, or even mastering tele-skiing at the age of ten. It is amazing how effortless it is for a little kid to get the hang of skiing. All it takes is a little pizza and french fry; at least that’s what the instructors always told me when I was learning to ski.

I remember one of the first times my family took my sister and I to the mountains. I never worried about getting out of control. In fact, I enjoyed getting out of control because most of the time that meant I was going fast. One of the funniest memories I have from that trip is flying down the mountain, being unable to turn to avoid the orange plastic fence that kept kids like me from crashing into a tree. Luckily, I didn’t weigh enough to break though the fence. It acted as a sling shot and flung me back onto the run. The look on my mothers face was priceless. All I can say is that I feel bad for parents who have to ski with children whose favorite part of skiing is getting out of control.

Children are beginning to ski when they can walk. Resorts offer ski school programs for kids as young as three years old. It is important to prepare for the weather and wear a helmet for safety reasons. Also, make sure that you start at a resort that has a wide variety of beginner terrain. You don’t want to get caught on a black diamond run your first day out with the family.

"Spring Ski on New Terrain"

Over Spring break, I had the chance to check out Arapahoe Basin’s new terrain. Montezuma Bowl opened in mid-January and is located on the backside of A-Basin. Unfortunately I have not been able to get out there until later in the season, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t great skiing. After a long winter every skier looks forward to that first spring day where they can wear light layers and come home with a goggle tan.

Montezuma bowl has increased A-Basin’s terrain by 80 percent and is the nation’s largest terrain expansion for the 2007-2008 ski season. The great thing about the new bowl is that it expands terrain for intermediate and expert skiers. Runs include blues, blacks, and double blacks and skiers and boarders can ride groomed trails or adventure to the cornices, chutes, glades and open bowls.

For many local skiers, A-Basin is their home away from home. Because the terrain is more difficult that most other resorts in the area, tourists are less likely to ski A-Basin. Lucky for me and my fellow skiers who don’t mind a ski area that is a little smaller, but has plenty of options now that the Montezuma Bowl is open. Make sure to check out the Basin’s new terrain before the snow stops falling.

"Highers Prices, Higher Quality"

Why is it that even when Vail Ski Resort raises their lift ticket prices to $92; the highest in the nation, people still continue to come back? I remember when I used to ski with my family several years back and prices were $20 to $30 cheaper, and we still thought that was pretty outrageous. Today taking your family on a ski trip is one of the most expensive vacations you could possibly take.

Many Colorado residents who buy seasons passes and live near the mountains take for granted the fact that they have gotten their money’s worth within a month. Then again, many people who live in the mountains only ski for a couple hours at a time.

Vail Mountain was recently ranked the second-best ski resort in North America and ski-industry analyst, Nolan Rosall, feels that the skiers are getting higher quality and the price reflects that. I can agree with his feelings towards Vail Mountain. If I just can out to Colorado to ski once a year, I would choose to spend the extra money to be sure that I’m going to have the best experience possible.

"Tree Wells Cause Deaths At Steamboat"

As more and more snow continues to fall in the mountains, skiers need to be warned of the dangers of tree wells. The unstable holes that form around the base of trees create snow pack around the trunk. Skiers and snowboarders have died from falling into tree wells and suffocating. There have been six deaths at Steamboat Ski Resort since 2000, four have been caused by suffocation.

Ski areas are beginning to post signs explaining tree wells and warning skiers about areas that could be dangerous. The problem is that most ski resorts are too large and just posting signs might not efficiently reach people. There are so many trees between runs and in out of bounds areas.

It is scary to think that it is possible to fall into the snow and not be able to unbury yourself. Jared Daniel fell into a tree well at Steamboat and it took about 15 minutes before his friend and others who came to help were able to free Daniel from the snow.

"All It Takes Is A Couple Of Bamboo Sticks"

Colorado ski areas have been at the center of major cases dealing with ski safety. People get injured every day on the mountain and the resort officials must deal with unhappy skiers. Most of the time, the mountain is not going to be liable for accidents because ski law forces them to mark the trails, boundaries, and the difficulty level of the trails and slopes.

Last week my boyfriend was injured at Copper Mountain after skiing over a rock mound covered in powder. Although there was a sign at the top of the run warning skiers that it was an expert only run with unmarked obstacles, I was a little shocked that they wouldn’t take more precaution to ensure skiers safety.

When the ski patrol reached him, they said, “well didn’t you see the unmarked obstacle sign at the top of the run?”

He didn’t happen to see it because he cut in halfway down the run, but I don’t think that sign would stop an experienced skier from venturing down it. Having a sign at the top protects the mountain, but shouldn’t they take it a step farther and make sure their guests make it off the mountain safely? All it takes is a couple of bamboo sticks.