from First Tracks:
Keystone, CO - Keystone Resort welcomes the New Year with a torchlight parade, fireworks and a comedy show at the Colorado Front Range ski and snowboard resort. The 13th Annual Chocolate Village will also continue to be on display in the lobby of the Keystone Lodge.On New Year's Eve, the evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with the Lake Dillon Theatre Company and Las Vegas comedy-magician Mac King at the Keystone Conference Center. King has performed a regular show at Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas since 2000, and The Mac King comedy show has earned a number of accolades including the Hollywood Magic Castle’s prestigious “Magician of the Year” award in 2007. The Lake Dillon Theatre Company’s live Children’s Theatre Season will open the evening with puppets and actors of Rudyard Kipling’s "Rikki Tikki Tavi". General seating costs $30, and children under five are $10.
At 9 p.m. be sure to watch the torchlight parade, presented by instructors from Keystone’s Ski and Ride School who stream down the River Run trail into the village, creating a wave of light. The parade culminates with a fireworks display in River Run Village.The 13th Annual Chocolate Village is on display in the lobby of the Keystone Lodge throughout the holidays. Made entirely of 2,500 pounds of chocolate and featuring a cascading chocolate waterfall, working chocolate gondola, and chocolate train, Chef Ned Archibald’s fanciful Chocolate Village continues to delight chocolate lovers of all ages.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Ski In the New Year with Sweets, Lights and Laughs at Keystone
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Keystone to Add 8-person Gondola
Keystone ski resort will replace its 24-year-old six-passenger gondola at River Run with a new eight-passenger gondola slated to lift off next ski and snowboard season, the resort announced Friday.
In doing so, Keystone will move the base of the gondola terminal closer to River Run Village.
Currently, skiers have to walk over the River Run bridge just outside River Run Village to get to the base of the six-passenger gondola.
The new plans will move the base of the gondola into the village. It will follow the same alignment as the current one. The bottom terminal is going to be where the Rentskis.com and restrooms are currently.
Construction and installation of the state-of-the-art gondola will start next April.
"We are going to tear down the current ski rental shop, and house the ski shop and restrooms in temporary facilities," said Kelly Ladyga, spokeswoman for Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) which owns Keystone. "Basically what we're going to do is reconfigure the area to enhance skier services. Everything will be within close proximity."
The new layout of the base area will put Vail Resorts' real estate developments closer to the River Run gondola.
"We're making a deliberate decision to upgrade the guest experience by significantly shortening the walk to the new gondola from the village or parking lot, improving access to the mountain and increasing the capacity of the gondola," Pat Campbell, COO for Keystone, said in a statement. "Keystone plans to purchase a state-of-the-art gondola from Doppelmayr that utilizes the latest drive technology and is expected to be 30 to 40 percent more energy efficient than other modern ski chair lifts or gondolas."
Vail Resorts Inc. did not break out the cost of the project from its $50 million to 90 million capital improvement fund that is divided among its five resorts: Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Heavenly, which is near the California-Nevada border.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
More Snow At Keystone!
The snow continues to fall at Keystone! Thanks to Mother Nature's white gold, we've been able to open more terrain: we're now up to more than 1700 total acres.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Power Day At Keystone
It's a POWDER DAY at Keystone! We received 9 inches of snow by 5 am on Thursday, December 6, and there's more on the way. Snow is predicted to continue through the weekend. Get here and get yourself some fresh tracks!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Snow Alert
Big Snow is here, and there's more in the forecast.
Powder Alert for December 3, 2007: A winter storm dropped 2 1/2 FEET (30 inches!) of snow on Beaver Creek in 7 days (as of 12/3/07) with 24 inches at Breckenridge, 23 inches at Vail and 11 inches at Keystone.
Weather Alert for December 6, 2007: 9 inches of new snow overnight (as of today, 12/6/07) at Keystone with 7 inches at Breckenridge! The National Weather Service in Grand Junction has issued a winter storm warning through 6pm Saturday night with 1-2 feet possible by late Saturday night.
There's nothing like Keystone...
Under a winter sky, one last run of the day at Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colo. The area opened Nov. 2 for the new season. (Photo / Byron Hetzler / Colorado Tourism Office)
Weekend snow in the forecast
National Weather Service says storm could pummel mountains
from http://www.summitdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771205007
SUMMIT COUNTY — A major winter storm is forecast to blow into western Colorado beginning Thursday night. Two to three feet of snow is expected in some favored mountain areas by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
A winter storm watch is in effect through the period, with widespread snow expected. The forecast area will be pummeled by snow in a prolonged precipitation event, the weather service said in its latest bulletin. Heavy and prolonged snow is possible near the Continental Divide Thursday night through Friday night.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is also calling for significant snow across all of Colorado’s mountains, with the potential for increased avalanche danger over the weekend.
The avalanche danger is already rated as “considerable” in the Vail and Summit County zone, with the potential for triggered and natural releases on northwest through southeast aspects. Human-triggered avalanches are probable on steeper, wind-loaded slopes above tree line, especially in areas where slabs are sitting atop rotten base layers.
With a westerly flow, temperatures won’t be particularly cold, so the weather service is predicting the snow level will be at about 9,000 feet initially, dropping to 8,000 feet Thursday night.
The medium-term forecast includes a continued chance of snow through early next week.
Check in with the avalanche center for updated forecasts and avalanche bulletins at http://avalanche.state.co.us/ or by calling (970) 668-0600.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Storm Dumps Snow at Ski Resorts Across West
Silverton, CO - Potent winter storms dropped snow this weekend on ski and snowboard resorts across the western U.S., with the jackpot centered on southwestern Colorado's San Juan Mountains, where up to four feet of new snow was reported.
Workers had to clear up to four feet of snow from Silverton Mountain's ski lift on Saturday. |
Silverton had hoped to open its ski season on Saturday, but county snow plows had a tough time navigating the road to the ski area, with several vehicles getting stuck. Rope lines used to delineate open and closed ski runs were buried.
Nearby, Wolf Creek Ski Area near Pagosa Springs, Colo. reported 31 inches of new snow in 24 hours from the storm, allowing the ski area to progress to 100 percent operation. Mid-mountain snow depth at Wolf Creek is now reported at 28 inches.
Snow depths were more modest but nonetheless welcome in other parts of the state. Sunday morning’s mid-mountain measurements showed 15 inches of new snow at Beaver Creek, with 11 inches falling at Vail and Breckenridge and seven inches at Keystone over the course of the weekend. The new snow snarled the Charles Schwab Birds of Prey World Cup ski races in Beaver Creek, forcing a postponement of Saturday's Super G to today, but also allowed central Colorado ski resorts to expand terrain open to the public. Beaver Creek’s Rose Bowl opens today and Breckenridge will open Peak 8 on Saturday. North Peak, Keystone's second mountain, will be ready for skiers and snowboarders by next weekend, resort officials indicate.
The powerful storm originated in the southwestern U.S., striking Utah before moving into Colorado. The new snow arrived just in time for opening weekend at Alta Ski Area high above Salt Lake City, where a 14-inch storm total brought settled snow depths at mid-mountain to 32 inches. In the Wasatch Back, Park City Mountain Resort reported a total of 10 inches from the storm, augmenting base depths and improving surfaces on the ski area's four open trails. It was Park City’s first big snowfall of the season, and skiers, snowboarders, and local residents welcomed the new snow and the positive impact had on conditions at the town's three ski resorts.
A separate low pressure system swept off the Pacific Ocean into the Pacific Northwest, dropping 19 inches of snow on Washington's Crystal Mountain Resort, where four lifts opened Saturday for 2,000 skiers and riders anxious to start their season. While base depths reached 40 inches, the freezing line moved significantly higher overnight Sunday night, and Crystal has again closed until further notice, to reopen as soon as conditions allow.
from: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3359
Monday, December 3, 2007
Copper gets 4 inches and opens new terrain
Copper received 4 inches of fresh snow overnight and it continues to snow throughout the morning. Copper currently offers 228 acres of skiing and riding with 6 lifts and 13 trails.
The Super Bee lift and Andy’s Encore trail opened this morning, marking the opening of Copper’s East Village for the winter season. Additional terrain, including advanced trails CDL and Mine Dump, will be available to skiers and riders on a delayed opening.
Read more about all the Summit ski areas at Ski Resort Central:
www.summitdaily.com/SRC
from Summit Daily News: http://www.summitdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771201003
