Filed under: A-Basin, Colorado, Snowboarding | Tags: A-Basin, arapahoe basin, Colorado, Snowboarding, winter
Last week I got my Epic Pass in the mail and I think that’s when it hit me: summer is over, fall will soon be here, and A-Basin opens in a month and a half.
Sure, attempting to ride the man-made, icy, “white ribbon of death” that only ascends halfway up Arapahoe Basin’s scenic front side comes with it’s fair share of hazards. The conditions are obviously less than ideal, half the front range tries to descend onto one run, and the legs are not fully conditioned to make split second turns at a moment’s notice. Add this to the usual festivities in the parking lot that A-Basin is known for, and one would be tempted just to wait until the “big boys” open a month later.
However, it is the idea that early season at A-Basin represents that drives excitement. The season is almost here. Winter, our White Knight, is imminent. Even when half the mountain is still brown and rocky, you get images in your head of endless powder days. Even when the lift lines are packed, you think of solo weekday runs when you own the mountain. Even when some of your friends decline your offer at early season turns, you remember the camaraderie and experiences shared on the mountain slopes.
It is the idea of what can be attained and what is possible that makes early season so exciting. It is the idea of feeling free while sliding the snow. It is that pure ecstasy that rushes the senses when gravity pulls you downhill. It is the awe that strikes us after every steep line that is attempted.
Early season at Arapahoe Basin is not about the conditions, it is about getting reaquainted with an old friend. And I for one, can’t wait to make up for lost time.
Dave and Nancy Bergen on the slopes of their new home mountain, Keystone Colorado 2/18/07
Had a fabulous President’s weekend with my parents and Missy in Keystone and Dillon. We came up Friday night after several travel delays, and hit the slopes on Sunday. We looked at a lot of condos, had some great food and beer, and good times all around. My dad and I ended up having some beer at 3 of the 5 breweries in Summit County (in case you are wondering, Backcountry Brewery in Frisco, Pug Ryans in Dillon and Wolf Rock Brewery in Keystone). At some point in this blog, I think I will try my hand at rating beers and breweries. Now will not be the time, and they were all good.
The highlight of the weekend probably came on the drive to the airport, when my dad got the call from his realtor that his offer on a townhouse in Keystone had been accepted. We decided to celebrate, so Missy and I joined my parents for drinks in the Sam Adams bar at DIA before they went through security.
The new part time Summit County residents have a lot to look forward in their mountain setting and I’m excited for them. Of course, to be honest, I’m pretty excited myself. I’m looking forward to exploring more of Keystone’s three mountains, the nightlife at The Snake River Saloon and The Goat, as well as notching more night riding runs. Most of all, I’m looking forward to being able to see my parents more frequently.
Congrats Mom and Dad, you’re going to love it up here.
After my big day at Beaver Creek on Saturday and the Bears game Sunday, I was looking forward to a nice, leisurely day at Breckenridge. And quite honestly, so were my muscles. I was still sore from all the powder on Saturday, and groomers appeared to be my best option and best friend.
Chris and Chloe picked me up at 6:30 and we made great time to the mountain. We decided to take the new BreckConnect Gondola to the base of Peak 8 for the first time. The new gondola is equipped with very spacious cabins and covers a decent amount of ground in a short time. Of course, the views were spectacular. The parking was still $10 though, which would’ve been fine if the gondola started early, but it didn’t start until 8:30, meaning we didn’t get to the base until 8:45. This would’ve made a big deal on a normally busy day, but on this day, it made no difference.
Despite the holiday and school closings for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Breckenridge was surprisingly desolate. I mean, it literally felt abandoned at times. My hypothesis as to the reason for this bizarre phenomenon was the bitter cold. I think the warmest it got all day was only a few degrees above zero, and was definitely below zero when we arrived. We all prepared well and braved the cold and had a spectacular day. Chris and I had some great runs on Frosty’s Freeway, Gold King, Cashier, and Briar Rose. In fact, on a few runs on Cashier and Briar Rose, we had the whole run of groomed corduroy all to ourselves.
Considering the forecasted cold and anticipated crowds for the holiday, Breckenridge was fantastic. There was no new snow, but my legs actually thanked me for that. Instead, I got to work on my turns on groomed terrain while carrying some pretty exciting speed and share a terrific day with friends. Definitely a top five day for the year.
Can you say 16″? For my first day at “The Beav” this season and 17th overall, I could.
At first when I looked at the morning snow report, I thought it was an error. How could Keystone get one inch, Vail seven inches, and Beaver Creek sixteen? Since Missy and I had spent the night in Frisco, it was only going to be about a forty minute drive to the Bear Lot at Beaver Creek. We packed up quickly after waking and got on the road.
The weather in Frisco was amazingly clear, but it seemed as soon as we passed into Eagle County, the snow started coming down. By the time we were descending down Vail Pass, you could start to see how B.C. got so much snow. After hitting Avon, we drove toward the Bear Lot when we discovered the enormous line waiting to get in. It seemed so much snow came down, they didn’t have enough time to plow all the snow our of the parking lot, so it was filling up quicker than expected. I heard a few days later that they actually closed the parking lots and wouldn’t let anyone else in. The backup was so great, the buses that take you from Bear Lot to Beaver Creek Village were running behind, so we decided to walk the short distance to Lower Beaver Creek Mountain Express Lift.
Immediately after touching down from the lift, I wanted to jump into the powder. You could just see it all around you, untouched, pristine powder. I sat down, strapped in my back foot into my binding, and plowed ahead. During my first run, I could hear screams of delight all around me as my fellow riders hollered their pleasure out loud. And with good reason. All day, I was consistently riding through knee deep fluff. It got crowded semi-early and the most obvious powder in the middle of the runs were skied out by ten. At that time, huge mounds of snow moguls began to appear all over the mountain. I rode one or two runs through those snow moguls, expecting more wide open terrain. At that time, I realized a little creativity could go a long way.
I jumped into the trees on the east side of Gold Dust around 10:30am and had my best run of the day. The trees were spread out enough to keep speed without having to make dramatic, speed killing turns, while tight enough to keep out the novices. It was a completely virgin stash. By the end of the run, I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I actually found and experienced that run.
Some other highlights of the day included: Latigo, Centennial, Raven Ridge and Harrier.
Snow-wise, it was the best day of the season…by far. Finding the stashes took a little bit of creativity, but by no means was it difficult. In fact, I am no longer comparing it to other days this season. I’m comparing it to the top ride days of my entire life.
Saturday was my second day at Vail this season and my fifteenth overall. The snow has been falling in Colorado and Vail certainly benefited from the weather. On Saturday, Jeff, Kevin, Mike, Josh and myself drove up to Vail after spending the night in Frisco. We awoke to reports of five new inches in the last 24 hours and a foot in the last 48. We arrived in time to grab third chair. Not too shabby.
Right way I could tell the snow was sticky. At first, I think everyone, including myself, kind of doubted that assessment. We would find out later. We immediately headed for the back bowls. Our first run was spent weaving in between The Slot and Headwall in Sun Up Bowl. Right away we could tell the powder was plentiful, and we were in a popular area. We could always head to less popular areas of the mountain for hidden powder. But it seemed for the time being, we wouldn’t have to do that much searching. Easily plowing through deeps up to the tops of my boots and knowing it was only the beginning gave me goosebumps.
Kevin, as we had just previously found out, hadn’t skied in around 6 years. Since both those runs that we were black diamonds, it proved rather difficult. He gave us the go ahead to leave him behind so he could adjust, so we hopped onto Sun Up Lift and traveled to China Bowl.
On our way to the Orient Express Lift, we again weaved between Genghis Khan, Dragons Teeth and Jade Glade. The powder was a bit deeper and we knew we had to get to Siberia Bowl as quickly as possible. The Orient Express always takes awhile and your anticipation really has a chance to rise during that time. By the time we reached the top, I couldn’t wait to traverse to Siberia.
Except only the snow was too sticky for any snowboarders to make the long catwalk all the way to Siberia Bowl. Mike and I, the two boarders, unstrapped and had to skate the whole distance. By the time we slid into the very edge of Siberia at Gorky Park, all I wanted to do was lie down and breath. I couldn’t rest for long, especially since all the skiers had been patiently waiting for the two of us, and we knew incredible powder was before us. I strapped me left foot back onto my board we took off down the mountain.
The snow was fantastic. I was easily making fresh tracks in knee deep powder. Occasionally, I ever stumbled into some snow almost up to my hips. I had been anticipating and dreaming of this moment all week. I am completely addicted to back bowl powder. All four of us were shouting, hooting and hollering our way through the snow, and when we would take breaks to breath, we would just smile at each other. “Incredible.” “Awesome.” “Unbelievable.” “Amazing.”
I tried to get enough speed to get back to the lift in one shot so I wouldn’t have to skate some more, so I rode down into Rasputin’s Revengebut I still couldn’t do it. At that chairlift, Mike and I decided that even though the powder in Siberia Bowl was completely amazing, the snow was was too sticky and we didn’t have the energy to consistently make the trip there and back. Jeff and Josh understood, and besides, there was plenty of powder in China Bowl with easy chairlift access.
We did two more runs in China Bowl before heading over to Blue Sky for two runs. By that time, it was completely skied out, and you couldn’t go anywhere without running into moguls. When we went back to the back bowls, the crowds had arrived, and the powder was gone. By this point, our legs were pretty much gone, so we finished off with one more run down Riva Ridge on the front side and called it a day.
Overall, defintely in the top three overall this season, but because the snow was so sticky, I hesitate to give it number one status. Otherwise, the snow really was that good.
Oh, the joys of homeownership. Especially when your house is about to turn 66 years old. Gone are the days of calling a landlord or the “maintenance guy” for small or large home/apartment repairs. Now, it is my responsibility to shoulder those charges as they incur, and they can add up. So as I’m waiting for a plumber to arrive to find a the cause of my upstairs bathroom sink leaking through the ceiling of my downstairs guest bedroom closet, I can’t help but again revisit my dreams of moving into the mountains.
In high school I used to always say/kid that someday I’d move to the bottom of a mountain in a trailer and make a living giving snowboard lessons. Everybody used to always laugh it off, including myself. Nowadays, that insane idea doesn’t sound too bad, except for the trailer part.
One of these days, and who knows, it may not be long, I’m going to pack my bags and head to the mountains where my imagination can run free with my new-found muse. The opportunities and options available would be directly in tune to my goals, hobbies and aspirations. Besides being able to snowboard significantly more than I can right now, maybe I’d be inspired to complete other goals of mine. Maybe I’ll start climbing all the 14ers in the state. Maybe I’ll finally be able to write my first novel.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the mountains a lot. I really don’t think there’s any place I’d rather be. Don’t get me wrong, I love my house in Denver and I truly love the “city life”, with it’s many convieniences including downtown bars, sporting events, concerts and festivals. But it isn’t the city that makes me salivate. My dreams originate in the mountains, and it may be time to bring them home.
My alarm shattered my slumber with it’s piercing pulse around 4am on Saturday morning. I shut it off, shifted out of bed without disturbing Missy too much and started walking around the house. Pacing from the family room to the kitchen and back again, I kept contemplating the same question; should I go back to sleep?
I looked out the kitchen window and starred at the impenetrable darkness surrounding me. Four A.M.? Am I crazy? Aside from my body craving a few more hours of rest and the fog of a few beers from the night before still clouding my mind, I was now battling a war on another front, apathy. It’s going to be about 20 degrees below zero. I have extra layers. I’m tired. I already brewed coffee. It’s not going to be worth it. Are you kidding me? You’re a wimp, we’re going snowboarding whether you like it or not. Fine.
This crazy scheme came to me at about nine thirty the night before. While watching movies at home and drinking the aforementioned beers, I decided since Keystone was going to be open all night for their annual 36 Hours of Keystone, I might as well get there early and watch the sunrise from the top of the mountain. I proposed the idea to Missy, but with the temperatures projected to be very cold and the wake up time coming very early, she decided to pass this time. It would be a solo mission. By the time I committed to my idea, I knew I only had about 6 hours until it was time to get up, so I chugged the rest of my beer and forced myself to sleep.
Six hours and forty five minutes later, I’m pulling out of my driveway, sipping on coffee, and firing up moe.’s “Wormwood” on the CD player. By the time I hit the highway ten minutes later, there is no more regret or uncertainty. There is no more apathy. There is only sheer excitement. I’m going snowboarding earlier than I ever have before in my entire life.
I arrive in Keystone at about 6:20am. It’s still dark but you can see the light trying to creep up the mountains on the horizon. The ground remains it’s unique blend of purple, navy and black while the mountains, still dark, begin to show faint yellow in the valleys between the peaks. I know I have to hurry. The weather forecast called for negative degrees, with the wind chill reaching -20F, quite possibly the coldest I’ve ever been riding in. Fortunately for me, I did my research, and I came prepared. Head: Hat, goggles, scarf, hood on jacket Torso: long sleeve t-shirt, two full fleeces, jacket. Legs: Two pairs of pajama pants, snow pants, wool socks. Yep, I was bundled up a bit like Ralphie’s brother in “A Christmas Story.” I unlatch my board from the top of the car and walk to the gondola. The clock reads 6:40am.
I march through the cold to the lift line, which is surprisingly near empty. And then I realize why: it’s 6:45 in the morning and it’s really cold. I climb into my gondola car with three other snowboarders from Steamboat and we start our 11 minute ascent to the top of Dercum Mountain. When we finally unload at the top at about 6:55, I realize the show has already begun. The snow covered mountains to the west had turned a soothing pink speckled purple with a beautifully subtle orange sky floating like a halo above.
Since I had a couple of extra minutes before the sun rose because of my altitude, I decided I’d take a quick run facing west and stare at the beautiful scene being painted before me. Gliding down the hill amoungst the sun tipped pine trees and majestic peaks conjured a smile as big as the mountain itself.
I caught the Montezuma Express back to the top just in time to watch the sun spill over the peaks to the west and onto the slopes.
Looking back to the west, you could see the slopes of Breckenridge and the massive peak behind it starting to be illuminated.
I spent the majority of my day on Wild Irishman. 
My first time adventuring through, the slow crunch of packed snow was quickly replaced by the deafening silent hum of loose powder. I came to the top of a hill and stopped to look beneath me. A beautiful stash of trees wide open enough for interpretation that hadn’t been touched yet. Unbelievable. Before long I was taking sidewinder turns through the snow draped woods with a racing heart and soaring spirit.
Sitting on a log in an isolated forest 
of Keystone without another person to be heard or tracks to be seen, it was easy to take a deep breath and feel free. My first sunrise ride was a success.
I am very disappointed that Frontier decided to cancel Zoah’s flight into Denver from Chicago today because of the adverse weather conditions in the Windy City.
36 Hours of Keystone is tonight (Keystone stays open for 36 straight hours, with lots of concerts, parties, and of course, skiing), and we’ve been getting a lot of snow up in the mountains. Fortunatley, Zoah gets to apply his ticket to another time, so we’ll see him out for New Years.
What the hell, Chicago only got 6 inches and is supposed to clear before the flight was supposed to take off. Oh well. Sorry Zoah, see you soon.
Filed under: A-Basin, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Colorado, Keystone, Snowboarding, Vail
I officially have myself a boarder babe.
On Saturday, McNeill and I taught Chloe and Missy how to snowboard at Breckenridge. It was a trying, frustrating experience, but we kept our patience, and the girls thrived and really enjoyed it. Missy enjoyed it so well, she decided she liked it better than skiing, which she’s been doing for two years since we moved out here. Personally, I’m ecstatic. I’ve always dreamed of being able to go riding through the snow with the gal I love. Chloe also enjoyed her time on the mountain, meaning our new mountain crew is a gang of snowboarders. Now we just have to get Missy new equipment….
While not thrashing it on the mountain, Missy has done a great job compilling the mountain of information I’ve thrown at her and put together a terrific Ski & Snowboard Section to www.daveandmissy.com. This wealth of information can be used as a resource for vacation planning and research. We have included a snow report and snow forecast, as well as current Colorado highway conditions. On top of that, we have mountain stats for our five main mountains, A-Basin, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Vail. Each mountain we profile includes a link to it’s official snow report, web cam, and terrain status.
We’ll try to update the mountains we profile as quickly as possible. I could do a write up on Crested Butte and Monarch since I only visited them last year, but too much time has passed since I’ve visited mountains such as Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Streamboat for my write-up to be relevant. As I keep notching more of the 26 resorts in Colorado off my list, the more info we’ll supply. Keep checking back for updates, and I will reference major updates here in Chicalorado.
Think Snow!
I awoke this morning to a pleasant surprise. When the weatherman said snow was heading our way, I expected a light dusting in Denver. I was wrong.
Today was the first day of the season where the weather created adverse driving conditions around the city. My usual 20 minute commute turned into 40 as I allowed 50 yards distance between cars for braking as I slid on occassional ice patches. The visibility at times was two cars in front of you. Not exactly ideal.
Sitting at my desk surrounded by windows, how could I not think about the weekend? Of course I had to check the snow report for all the ski resorts. A-Basin reported 12 inches while Loveland reported 22. Unfortunatley, my five mountain pass isn’t valid at Loveland, but I’m not complaining. Twelve inches at A-Basin will be just fine. Think it’s not snowing that hard? Take a look at A-Basin’s Web Cam (as of 10am 10/26/06). 
I started thinking about the early risers and locals riding through the fluff at A-Basin right now. Their exuberant faces and plastered smiles shining like a beacon while they weave effortlessly and gracefully through the snowy fields of white. Jealous isn’t a correct term, bitter hits the nail on the head.
How can I be expected to concentrate when the main reason I dreamed of moving to Colorado for is falling all around me outside my window? How can I work when the only thing I can think of is gliding through waist deep powder with the urgency of a feather in the wind? I can hear the deafening silence of falling flake and the slow crunch under my board. I can close my eyes right now and imagine that feeling, that weightless buzz, that childhood giddyness, that startling freedom, that sensation you can only get from surfing the angelic cold.
Last year, I can only remember riding once in the month of October. This year, I’ll probably get three sessions in, with two of them being powder days. This season has gotten off to a quick start like none other. It’s gonna be a great winter. I can’t wait. Oh yeah, it’s here.
