As opening day approaches, Colorado prepares for another exhilarating Ski Season.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
With countless preparations and pre-season sales, it is no doubt that Colorado’s hype for the 2010-2011 Ski season is one that distinguishes itself with the expansion of Ski resorts and the ever-growing skiing and snowboarding community.
The days become shorter, a chilly fall breeze is rolling in, and people in the Colorado community become eager to get their hands on new merchandise and products. A major movement in the line of snowboards being made today is called the “rocker revolution.” Snowboards are now being made with reverse camber technology (rocker technology) instead of the original camber technology in skis. What this provides is more contact points between your feet, your board, and the snow, thus giving the athlete the ultimate control on the mountain. Snowboarders all over Colorado are eager to get “rocker” boards such as the K2 World Wide Weapon or the Rome Artifact.
“It’s awesome to see all of these sales and new merchandise coming in because all the hype for the season is being built up early on; it’s awesome for the Colorado community,” said TJ Senior and Snowboarding Enthusiast Zach Salas. Salas’ father is an allocator of licensed product for Sports Authority. This has allowed Salas to have an insider’s opinion on special offers and new merchandise coming into the market for Sports Authority. Companies such as Colorado Ski & Golf and Sports Authority dedicate this time of year to provide Coloradans with the opportunity to purchase countless amounts of gear and other necessities for the ski season.
Sports Authority holds a pre-season sale called Sniagrab (bargains spelled backwards) in which season passes and other resort ticket packages, as well as new merchandise, is being sold. “With all the pre-season deals it makes everything easier because you can get those errands done early on before the season starts. You can really take advantage of things like Sniagrab,” said Salas. Although Sniagrab has already taken place (over Labor Day weekend), Many Coloradans left the sale pleased with innumerable merchandise that was on promotion for up to 75% off.
In Colorado, there are two main passes to choose from: the Epic Pass which includes unlimited riding at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly (Lake Tahoe), and Arapahoe Basin. Next is the Super Pass, which allows individuals to ride at Winter Park, Copper Mountain, and Steamboat. Depending on the preference of riding, Colorado skiers and snowboarders have a good amount of choices and resorts to choose from for the season.
At Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort, this past summer of 2010 a new four-seat chair lift was constructed to benefit the needs of Colorado skiers at Arapahoe Basin. “The construction of this lift seems like a campaign for A-Bay (Arapahoe Basin). It’s like they want to keep developing to bring more excitement from skiers and boarders and it seems like it’s going to be a successful season because of these efforts. I really can’t wait to hit the runs at Arapahoe Basin,” said TJ student and snowboarding enthusiast, Michael Canady.
Along with the construction of a new quad-lift, Arapahoe Basin plans on being one of the first resorts to open in Colorado. “I love how A-Bay opens so early in the season. It provides Colorado with so much enthusiasm to take part in these great activities on the snow that not very many people get to do,” said Canady.
Arapahoe Basin has always held its reputation of opening early in the season. In the 2009-10 season, lifts were up and running as early as October 7th. This has Colorado very eager and excited as the time nears towards opening day for snowboarding and skiing in the Rocky Mountains.
