Monday, April 20, 2015

Breckenridge, Copper Mountain festivities bring ski season to a close

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Tripp Fay / Copper Mountain Resort

Skiers and snowboarders decked out in tutus, dresses and funky sweaters celebrated the end of Breckenridge Ski Resort’s season Sunday. A surprise storm brought 15 inches of new snow over the weekend to the mountain, with the resort reporting 10 inches on Friday morning alone, making for fresh powder turns as flurries continued to tumble from the sky.
“It’s been a fun weekend for us with all of the snow we’ve had,” Breckenridge public relations manager Kristen Petitt Stewart said. “The snow and the music together are an absolute great combination for closing the season.”
Pond skimming has never been a spring tradition for Breckenridge; instead, the resort has featured live music for its Spring Fever festival for the past five years. This year was no exception, as the Infamous Stringdusters serenaded crowds with their own take on bluegrass.
While closing weekend mainly brought locals and Front Rangers, a few out-of-staters made the trek out for the festivities.
“We’ve been doing this for the last six or seven years,” said John Janowiak, of Chicago, Illinois. “The snow’s great. It’s unbelievable. I just let loose because I haven’t injured myself all season.”
Colin Niebur made the drive up from Denver for the third year in a row. Donning a floral, knitted vest worthy of an ugly Christmas sweater party, his closing day tradition was to “wear something stupid, drink and show up really late.”
Still, most who were on the mountain Sunday simply showed up for the snow. Dan Marin, of Colorado Springs, said he and his wife always ski at Breckenridge and Vail Mountain.
“We just came up here because the snow was good,” Marin said. “I tried not to break my legs.”
As Breckenridge, Vail, Copper Mountain Resort and Aspen Mountain all closed this weekend, the only remaining mountains open in and around Summit County are Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and Loveland Ski Area.
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.