Posted inClimate, News

Can Copper Mountain do something about climate change using its own slopes? 

Ski area officials in the West know they will lose up to 25% more of their snowpack between now and 2050, after suffering through 20% losses already in a decadeslong drought.  Through snowmaking from local river water and isolated geographic luck, Colorado ski areas have managed so far to avoid devastating impacts from climate change […]

Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider

Colorado’s high-flying skiers, snowboarders dominating as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics close in

Colorado’s top freeskiers and snowboarders had a busy December as they dominated contests that served as qualifiers for the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. The three events this month — Big Air at Steamboat, U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain and the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain — were among the first steps to […]

Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors

Teenage Summit County ski mountaineer breaks North American record for most vertical feet climbed in 24 hours

Grace Staberg said she was “pretty tired” as the first rays of sun hit the slopes of Copper Mountain Tuesday morning.  “I felt like slowing down,” said the 19-year-old, a few hours after setting a North American women’s record by skinning 56,153 vertical feet in 24 hours. “It was really helpful to have people who […]

Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, News, Outdoors

How Aspen Snowmass hosted six major contests in a season when resorts worldwide canceled events

When just about every other resort in the world nixed contests for the 2020-21 winter, Aspen Snowmass hosted its busiest competition season ever. “It was monumental,” said Eric Webster, the director of events for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, or USSA.  Going into the 2020-21 season, USSA had no events on the calendar in […]

Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, News, Outdoors

Colorado mountain, resort communities are rebounding — and then some — from coronavirus-scarred 2020

 John Norton, Gunnison County’s tourism czar, was talking to his board last April. The ski resort had closed abruptly. Lodging and restaurants were closed. Visitors were being told to leave. The pandemic was triggering a panic in tourist-based economies across the country.  A board member asked how much the Gunnison River Valley tourism community could […]

Posted inNews, Outdoors

Copper Mountain, Eldora will host next-generation Woodward terrain parks with aim toward teaching the masses

Powdr, the adventure lifestyle company that counts Copper Mountain and Eldora ski areas among its empire of resorts, heli-skiing and river-rafting operators, is betting on its Woodward action sport camp model as a new way to teach skiing and grow the sport.  While the heavyweights Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Co. battle for vacationers and […]