Utah Skier Online

Idaho Ski Resorts Complete Major Upgrades for the 2009-2010 Season

Idaho’s winter hit quickly, foreshadowing a powder-filled season with ski areas seeing snow before falling leaves. Ski Idaho, the state’s voice for the Idaho skiing and snowboarding experience, has the overview of what awaits skiers and riders for the 2009/ 2010 season, from additional snowmaking capabilities to brand new ski lodges and terrain parks.

Brundage Mountain Resort remodeled their base lodge with sustainability in mind. The lodge has a new roof, new windows, fresh paint, and a new layout for Smoky’s Pub. On the mountain, the run Engen now connects with 45th Parallel directly, eliminating traversing on any cat tracks.

Lookout Pass focused on safety during the summer, adding a new ski patrol and first aid lodge at the base area. For visitors’ convenience, Lookout Pass also added an additional acre of parking and a new 500 square-foot outside patio.

Keystone Resort To Open For Skiing On Nov. 5

KEYSTONE, Colo. - Mother Nature’s trick of delivering a pre-Halloween fall snowstorm to Colorado is resulting in a massive treat for skiers and snowboarders.

Keystone Resort announced it will open earlier than planned, on Thursday, Nov. 5, thanks to fresh snow on the mountain and a spate of cold temperatures that provided ideal conditions for Keystone’s snowmaking team.

The resort plans to open with top-to-bottom skiing and exceptional early-season snow surface conditions. Keystone is set to open with two jumps and more than 20 features from its A51 Terrain Park, the No. 2 ranked terrain park in North America by Transworld Snowboarding Magazine.

Keystone’s sister resorts, Breckenridge, Vail, and Beaver Creek are planning to open soon: Nov. 12 for Breckenridge, Nov. 20 for Vail and Nov. 25 for Beaver Creek.

Park City Mountain Resort Attempts "Thriller" World Record Today

PARK CITY, Utah - Do you want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records? Then join Park City Mountain Resort in celebrating snow, the recent winter temperatures, Michael Jackson and Halloween in a traditional "Thriller" Snow Dance performance.

The folks at PCMR will teach participants the dance steps in an attempt to break the world "Thriller" dance record. The world record attempt will begin at the Town Lift Plaza, located on Park City's lower Main Street, today at 3pm.

Tanya Taylor, Performing Arts Director at Park City Academy, will teach the dance moves from 3 - 5pm. Filming will begin at 5pm. Season passes and PCMR day tickets will be raffled off after the performance.

Halloween costumes or ski and snowboard attire along with ski or snowboard boots are also encouraged. The current "Thriller" Dance record (not on snow) is held by a group of 242.

Marker Völkl USA And Gibson Guitars To Produce Custom Guitar Editions

LEBANON, N.H. - Marker Völkl USA, distributor of Völkl skis and Marker bindings, has partnered with Gibson Guitar Corporation to produce a series of unique electric guitars. Marker and Völkl themed guitars will be produced in Gibson’s Custom Shop in Nashville,Tenn.

The Völkl guitar is a black Les Paul Custom featuring graphical elements from Völkl’s newly redesigned Gotama ski model. The new Gotama is a “rockered” ski that combines incredible performance in powder snow with everyday versatility.

The Marker guitar is a Flying V model displaying Marker’s “Rule the Mountain” logo. The aggressive design of the Flying V fits well with Marker’s popularity in the youth & freeride binding markets.

California's Mountain High Ski Area First To Open For 13th Year In A Row

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. - Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood will open today to the public, making this the 13th year in a row the ski resort has been the first resort to open in Southern California with top to bottom riding.  This also marks the resort’s earliest opening ever on machine made snow.

Says Karl Kapuscinski, “This has the feel of a great season.  With our early opening, El Nino looming, and the economy recovering, we feel very positive about the upcoming winter.”

Early season prices are $25 for children ages 7 to 12, $30 for Night tickets from 5pm to 10pm, $35 for a 4-Hour ticket, and $40 for an 8-Hour ticket.  Prices are subject to change without notice.

Operating hours will be 9am to 5pm on Thursday, 8:30am to 10pm on Friday, 8am to 10pm on Saturday, and 8am to 4pm on Sunday.

"The Standard Snowboard Show" Returns for Season 6 on Fuel TV

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - FUEL TV, the action sports lifestyle network, and Standard Films announced the premiere of season 6 of “The Standard Snowboard Show” on Nov. 17 at 8pm ET/PT during the Snow Pack programming block.

“This season of ‘The Standard Snowboard Show’ has the same outstanding footage but features new riders and locations,” says Mike Hatchett, Standard Films founder and owner. “Having new riders keeps the show fresh and brings excitement to the season.  Working with Mike McEntire and adding a new freestyle segment to each episode is also a great way to show even more awesome shredding.”

Episodes will also be available for download from iTunes, and can be watched on www.fuel.tv and www.hulu.com.

Shuttle Service from Boise Airport to Sun Valley Ski Resort Increased

SUN VALLEY, Idaho - Beginning Dec. 19, Sun Valley Stages will increase its shuttle service between Sun Valley and Boise, ID. The schedule will offer three daily trips, departing from the Sun Valley Lodge at 6 am, 9 am and noon. 

The shuttle will depart the Boise Airport at noon, 4 pm, and 6:45 pm. Destinations will be Sun Valley Lodge and the Wood River Inn in Hailey. Fares will be $50 one-way for adults and $10 for children (3-10). Youngsters under three travel for free. 

Special charter service may be arranged. For reservations please call 800-574-8661 or visit www.sunvalleystages.com. 

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California's Mountain High Ski Area Receives National Safety Award

WRIGHTWOOD. CALIF. - Mountain High ski area received the National Ski Area Association’s 2009 Safety Award for Employee Involvement and Education.  

The Safety Brigade, an initiative implemented in 2007, tours the mountain daily promoting helmet use, rewarding guests with good safety habits, and handing out pertinent information.  Mountain High also instituted an education program last year that requires all 12,000 season pass holders and 1,100 employees to review the points of Smart Style, Your Responsibility Code, and the ATML terrain park methodology before receiving their passes.  These programs cover on-hill safety issues, tips for having a successful terrain park experience, and proper mountain etiquette.

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Snow falling on Loveland Ski Area, Opens Chair 6 Today

GEORGETOWN, Colo. - With snow falling today and consistently cold temperatures across The Continental Divide that has made ideal snowmaking conditions in Colorado, Loveland Ski Area will open Chair 6 for the season today. 

Loveland Ski Area opened their terrain park, Love Park, on Oct. 23.  Love Park, located on Tempest, is currently home to 6 terrain park features and more features will be added when snowmaking is completed. With the addition of Roulette, Loveland Ski Area is now operating 2 lifts, serving 5 trails and 99 acres of terrain.  Last season Chair 6 opened on Oct. 31

"Our snowmaking system has been running great and we have been able to make snow around the clock for the past week or so," said Eric Johnstone, Snowmaking and Trail Maintenance Manager.  "We have laid down a deep base of manmade snow on Roulette and it's ready for skiers and riders."

The North Face Launches New Snow Report 2.0 iPhone App

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - Outdoor apparel company The North Face has launched Snow Report 2.0, a free iPhone weather application for skiers and snowboarders that aggregates resort-specific Twitter updates and weather and snow condition feeds.

The North Face Snow Report 2.0 features weather updates and detailed daily forecasts for the most popular domestic and international resorts. Utilizing an innovative new format, The North Face Snow Report 2.0 is the first to aggregate topical information and Twitter news feeds into one application, allowing users to access instant peer-to-peer feedback about snow conditions and tweet their own updates directly from the application.

U.S. Ski Team To Wear “Slippery” Race Suit in Vancouver

BOULDER, CO - Ski apparel company Spyder announced today the debut of a completely re-engineered speed suit for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics to be worn by the U.S. and Canadian teams.

The new race suit system incorporates three key innovations that will improve the suit’s aerodynamics and result in significant time savings for North American athletes. It will be available for consumer purchase in 2011.

“The focus of Spyder’s research during the last few years has been about how we can make our speed suits more slippery against air,” says Spyder Product Director Phil Shettig, “Our goal is to manipulate airflow properties to make all of our suits faster against the competition.”

Olympic Champion Ted Ligety Finishes 2nd at FIS World Cup Opener

SOELDEN, AU - Olympic champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) kicked off the 2010 Olympic season in a huge way as he shredded his way to a second-place podium finish during the Audi FIS World Cup opener in Soelden today. It marked the third year in a row Ligety has finished on the podium in Soelden. (Source: U.S. Ski Team)

Vonn Finishes 9th At FIS Alpine World Cup Opener

SOELDEN, AU - Two-time World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), kicked off the Olympic season in Austria Saturday matching her previous year's results in Soelden with a solid ninth place GS finish in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup opener.

Finnish racer Tanja Poutianen won the race just .01 seconds ahead of Austrian Kathrin Zettel. Denise Karbon of Italy was third.

With over 5,000 fans at the glacier cheering her on, Vonn, who had finished eighth in the first run, skied consistently and was happy to match her Soelden finish from last season.

California Ski Area Releasing iPhone App With Long List of Features

WRIGHTWOOD, CA – California's Mountain High Ski Area is releasing an iPhone app designed to improve visitors' on-mountain experience.  The program will provide current mountain information such as snow conditions and trail openings, plus it lists ticket prices and gives users the ability to purchase tickets right from their phones.

To help plan your vacation, there is information on lodging, lessons, and upcoming weather.  Plus, if you sign up for the Powder Alert, you can receive emails or text messages notifying you of new snow, ticket deals, and upcoming events.  Beyond that, the app utilizes the features that make the iPhone revolutionary.  Skiers and snowboarders can access GPS guided directions, utilize automatic dialing features, get Google maps, and more.

The application is just $1.99 and can be purchased through Mountain High’s website at mthigh.com or Apple’s App store beginning Nov 15.

Squaw Valley Announces Bevy of Ski Resort Deals

SQUAW VALLEY, USA  – As Lake Tahoe's iconic ski resort nears opening day of its 60th ski season on Nov. 21, Squaw Valley is announcing a bevy of hot deals on ski-n-stay packages.

1. Early Season Ski –N- Stay at the Village at Squaw Valley USA with a FREE LESSON starting at $102 per person, per night. Stay 3 weekday nights at the Village at Squaw and ski 3 days with 1 FREE LESSON, per person with this offer. *The above offer is based on a studio unit valid November 21, 2009 thru December 17, 2009, must arrive on a Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Weekend discounts available at a higher rate. Per person per night based on double occupancy. Taxes & applicable fees not included. Some restrictions apply.

2. Ski 4 days at Squaw Valley USA -N- STAY at the Squaw Valley Lodge (ski-in/ski-out) for $124 per person, per night – Sunday or Monday arrival.  This lodging/lift ticket package includes 4 nights stay at the Squaw Valley Lodge and 4 days of skiing (four-day lift ticket/per person) for two people. *The above offer is valid opening day thru May 15, 2010, non-holiday, must arrive on a Sunday or Monday. Per person per night based on double occupancy. Taxes & applicable fees not included. Some restrictions apply.

Mt. Hood Meadows Group Season Pass Deals End Oct. 31

MT. HOOD, OR - Time is running out to get the best deal possible on a Mt. Hood Meadows unlimited season pass. Meadows’ popular group pass deals, which allow friends to buddy up to get the best savings, end Oct. 31.

“There is no better deal on a season pass on Mt. Hood or in Oregon,” claims Mt. Hood Meadows Executive Director Dave Tragethon. “When you combine the terrain we offer, the hospitality experience and the length of season, an unlimited season pass at these prices is an exceptional bargain. Everyone who is planning on recreating this winter should take advantage of it.”

Snowbird Offers Free Tram Ride With Food Donation For Utah Food Bank

SNOWBIRD, UT - Halloween and November bring two weekends of free Aerial Tram rides at Snowbird with a donation to the Utah Food Bank. Snowbird Customer Appreciation Days will take place Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, and Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7-8, weather permitting. Guests are encouraged to come dressed in costume over Halloween weekend and “trick or treat” on the Tram ride to Snowbird’s 11,000 foot Hidden Peak.

One can of food equals one free Tram ride per person during Customer Appreciation Days. In lieu of food, a $2 donation may be made for a Tram ride. All food donations benefit the Utah Food Bank and monetary donations benefit the Wasatch Adaptive Sports program.

Copper Mountain Kicks Off Ski Season with Weekend Festival Nov. 6-8

COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO - Only 16 days until Copper Mountain opens for the winter season on Friday, Nov. 6.  Copper kicks off the season with Lift Off, their 5th annual opening weekend festival.

Visitors can enjoy the latest 2010 ski & snowboard movies, including the Copper premier of TGR’s new film: Re:Session, with net proceeds benefiting Team Summit. The weekend will also include demos from top brands, après specials, giveaways, a movie at The Woodward at Copper Barn and new this year, Lift Off Late Night.

Make plans to check out the Lift Off concert on Saturday night - past performances include Blackalicious, the Beatnuts, and Rahzel from the Roots.

Montana Ski Resort Makes List of Top 10 Values for Skiers and Riders

WHITEFISH, MT - Whitefish Mountain Resort has announced a new Ski and Stay package and a new 2-day, $69 learn-to-ski/ride program to strengthen its hand after this year's inclusion in SKI Magazine's Reader Survey as one of the top 10 values in the ski and snowboarding industry.

Whitefish was voted #7 in value, #6 in scenery, and #19 overall in the annual survey, which asks readers of SKI Magazine to rank ski resorts in several categories.

"When this year's SKI Magazine Reader's Survey rankings came out, we were excited to be recognized as a top 20 resort, and especially as a great value," said Public Relations Manager Donnie Clapp. "But 7th best just isn't good enough for us, so we've decided to do some things about it."

Utah Fall Ski Swap Season Begins This Weekend

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - For Utah skiers and riders, fall ski swaps are a staple tradition in preparation for winter, enabling them to sell used gear and stock-up on new equipment. Most participants save huge sums of money compared to full retail prices and many leave swaps with a bit of extra cash.

"Ski swaps are one of the best ways to keep skiing and snowboarding affordable," said Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. "Snow is certainly around the corner and now is the time for locals to gear-up and get ready for another amazing Utah winter."

The fall ski swap season in Utah includes events throughout the region for those looking to upgrade their ski or snowboard gear.