Hello fellow snow-lovers!

On The Hill

What makes a perfect weekend of skiing? Run after run of powder? Skiing in trees? Sunny weather? No lift lines? Really good friends? Skiing well enough to feel prideful about it - even if the mogul runs are really soft and easy?

I had all that and more at Mary Jane. What a great, great place! The snow conditions are so far better than anywhere else I've been this season. There's simply no comparison. Going from hard packed man-made groomer runs to wide open all natural tree skiing is like waking up in heaven. Mary Jane had her earliest opening ever this year and it was just incredible.

One warning - take your rock skis and watch out! At this point actually, I would wait for the next dump to freshen things up again. I have to apologize for making a mess of the snow, but I really couldn't help myself.

I wasn't able to see Warren Miller's new Ride movie, but I know a couple of guys who went on Friday night to the Paramount. Very cool venue. The movie lived up to expectations, with Warren Miller and his son Kurt each doing part of the dialog. This is the 51st annual ski movie done by Warren Miller (www.warrenmiller.com). It gives me confidence that I'll be skiing and having fun on the mountain for many years to come. On the younger side, Barrett Christy, snowboarder girl extraordinaire, was filmed on a heli-trip in the North Cascades. The Windows area at Keystone was also filmed. I have looked at the trail map repeatedly and ridden over that area in the gondola so many times and have yet to ski it. It seems to be gated off every time I try, but this year I'll get in there.

Favorite Person of the Week

My favorite person of the week is my weatherman, excuse me, meteorologist, John Henz. He sets himself above the rest in a couple of ways. First of all, he explains the weather to me in words that I can understand and enjoy. Second, he actually sticks his neck out and makes snow forecasts for five days in advance. Better yet, he splits his forecasts up into separate areas for northern, central, and southern Colorado. I promise you'll love his website: http://www.hmsweather.com/Snowcast1.htm.

Chatter – Snowfall

First it was La Nina. Then it was El Nino. Hopefully we are on to El Primo and La Prima (cousins) now. The snow is looking really good this year. It gets me wondering though, if not what to expect, what is the average? And the incredible difference between the ski areas right now makes me wonder how each of them ranks in terms of snowfall. Here's the list, ranked by average annual snowfall:

Berthoud Pass 500"
Wolf Creek 465"
Loveland 392"
Arapahoe Basin 360"
Monarch 350"
Winter Park 355"
Vail 335"
Beaver Creek 330"
Aspen Highlands 300"
Ajax 300"
Eldora 300"
Snowmass 300"
Steamboat Springs 300"
Telluride 300"
Crested Butte 298"
Copper Mountain 280"
Durango 260"
Breckenridge 255"
Cuchara 254"
Ski Cooper 250"
Keystone 230"
Powderhorn 220"
Buttermilk 200"
Silver Creek 180"

News & Real Deals

I like my ski report best. But maybe I'm a little biased, hey? There are other people writing about skiing in Colorado out there and you might enjoy them as well. The Denver Post has an article you might want to check out: http://www.denverpost.com/skisnow/skibest1119.htm. I don't agree with a lot of what John Meyer has to say, and I sure don't like him trash-talking Texans, but that's just me. I'm probably just jealous because someone's actually paying the guy to ski and then talk about it. Tough duty!

Caroline Lalive, the very same girl I talked to last week at Loveland, is also contributing to the Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/skisnow/ski1117b.htm. She talks about doing a lot of time in the weight room, but I'm telling you, she's a skinny girl. Maybe she should get on a Zone Diet and try that stuff that Mark McGwire takes, creatine. Anyway Caroline, you've got a huge fan right here!

Berthoud Pass opens today - lift served area only and the ticket costs $22.00. I'd wait for the next dump though.

Women's World Cup Super G and Slalom is this Friday and Saturday at Ajax Mountain (Aspen). If you got the Aspen Classic Pass you should have gotten lift tickets for these two days in the envelope.

Next Day Out

Due to a close encounter with a chair lift, I can't really say when I'll be out next. Probably with the next fresh snow.

As always, all of you are welcome to join us anytime for fun on the hill. Also, if you would like to stop receiving this email - just drop me a line. If you know anyone else that might want to get this report just send me their email and I'll add them to the list.

Miriam

...See you on the slopes...

Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this report. What do you like? What don't you like?

Ski Areas

Arapahoe Basin Http://www.arapahoebasin.com/inside.php3
Sat, Dec 2

Aspen Highlands
Http://www.skiaspen.com/
Sat, Dec 16

Ajax
Http://www.skiaspen.com/
Open

Beaver Creek
Http://www.beavercreek.com/
Open

Breckenridge (1)
Http://www.breckenridge.com/
Open

Berthoud Pass
Http://www.berthoudpass.com/main.html
Open

Buttermilk
Http://www.skiaspen.com/
Sat, Dec 16

Copper Mountain (1)
http://www.ski-copper.com/Home.html
Open

Loveland (1)
Http://www.skiloveland.com/
Open

Keystone (2)
Http://www.keystoneresort.com/
Open

Snowmass
Http://www.skiaspen.com/
Open

Vail
Http://www.vail.com/
Open

Winter Park/Mary Jane (2)
Http://www.skiwinterpark.com/
Open

Wolf Creek
http://www.wolfcreekski.com/welcome.html
Open


Colorado Ski & Golf

(303) 337-1734 2680 S Havana Street
Aurora

(303) 420-0885
6530 Wadsworth Bypass # 130
Arvada


Gart Sports

(303) 741-9621
9000 E Peakview Avenue
Englewood near Arapahoe Rd & I25

(303) 220-9933
2690 E County Line Road
Littleton

(303) 692-0121
2496 S Colorado Boulevard
Denver

(303) 340-3524
14401 E Exposition Avenue
Aurora

(303) 341-4305
14200 E Alameda Avenue
Aurora

(303) 333-4123
3000 E 1st Avenue # 123
Denver

(303) 333-1933
233 Milwaukee St
Denver

(303) 933-9005
8055 W Bowles Avenue # 4
Littleton

(303) 972-0350
8501 W Bowles Avenue
Littleton

(303) 861-1122
1001 Lincoln Street
Denver (Sports Castle)

(303) 922-5549
7200 W Alameda Avenue
Lakewood

(303) 431-8537
7400 W 52nd Avenue # A
Arvada

(303) 920-2226
251 W 104th Avenue
Denver


Christy Sports

(303) 708-8535 9609 E County Line Road # A
Englewood

(303) 740-7055
5926 S Holly Street
Englewood

(303) 321-3885
201 University Boulevard
Denver

(303) 972-0432
8176 W Bowles Avenue
Littleton

(303) 237-6321
875 Parfet St
Lakewood

(303) 271-0155
14371 W Colfax Avenue
Golden