Your guide to winter driving in the Colorado High Country

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News

We've all been there.

Snow is swirling, visibility is limited, windshield wiper fluid is running on empty and suddenly the most relevant thing ahead is a pair of ominous red lights.

Brakes grind, tires fly over snow-packed pavement and what might have been an avoidable collision becomes inevitable.

Back up a few days, 30 minutes or even 15 crucial seconds and there are a number of precautions drivers can take to keep weather-induced accidents from ruining a powder day.

Winter driving - particularly in the mountains and even more so in a resort community where roads are populated by drivers from somewhere else - is a dangerous and unpredictable sport in which slower speeds, snow tires and timing can make all the difference.

"The biggest problem is people going too fast for conditions," Summit County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Tracy LeClair said. "We want people to slow down and give plenty of space to the car in front of them."

Weather-appropriate tires are also important. In Colorado, drivers can be ticketed after an accident for having bald or improper tires.

Still, no one should assume other vehicles are equipped with winter tires, particularly in a resort destination like Summit County, where many people on the road are not driving cars equipped for the local winter environment.

"What you need to think about is stopping distances," Bridgestone Winter Driving School instructor Kurt Spitzner said. "In the winter, it's all about the tire. So when you're on public roads with people from literally everywhere, you're going to be dealing with a whole bunch of different available traction per vehicle."

Experts also recommend looking and planning ahead on icy roads, which provides a longer grace period to react to unexpected problems and obstacles.

"If you find yourself creeping up on the steering wheel, push yourself back in the seat, pick your head up and make yourself look ahead," Spitzner said. "You want to be able to see as far into the future as you can so you can always respond to what's coming up."

On downhill slopes, experts say the best technique is to downshift, to avoid reducing control over the vehicle by riding the brakes.

In the High Country, winter weather can be unpredictable and can change rapidly over short distances. When in doubt, drivers are advised to avoid the road altogether or to wait out the weather if the conditions seem too challenging.

"If you're getting ready to start your journey and things are already not good, perhaps you need to reconsider," Spitzner said.

With heavy traffic and steep grades, Interstate 70 between Denver and Summit County can be a difficult drive even with dry roads. Add in winter weather conditions and the trip becomes even more challenging.

The Colorado Department of Transportation operates 20 maintenance trucks in the western segment of the I-70 mountain corridor alone during snowstorms. Snowplows are out on the roads in 12-hour shifts, and they're the one commercial vehicle on the road drivers shouldn't mind being stuck behind.

"One of the safest places to be in bad weather is right behind the snowplow," CDOT spokesman Bob Wilson said. "That's where you'll find the clearest roads and the best traction."

Transportation officials also advise drivers planning to travel the I-70 corridor to be prepared with a shovel, ice scraper, warm clothes, water, non-perishable food, a flashlight, jumper cables and a full tank of gas in case the car gets stuck.

"If you get stranded, we always say, don't leave your vehicle unless you absolutely have to," Wilson said. "If you do get stranded, you should run your vehicle every few minutes at a time to stay warm."

Drivers can check road conditions on I-70 by calling 511 or online at CoTrip.org.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge Ski Resort to open for the winter season Friday

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Courtesy Breckenridge Ski Resort

With fresh snow on the ground, Breckenridge Ski Resort announced Tuesday that the resort will open Friday, Nov. 14, for the winter ski season.

After unseasonably warm temperatures caused the resort to delay its opening, originally set for Nov. 7, a strong cold front Monday brought snow and much colder temperatures to Colorado that will allow the resort’s snowmaking team to work around the clock for the rescheduled opening.

The recently upgraded Colorado SuperChair will start turning at 9 a.m., but skiers and riders are invited to get to Peak 8 earlier for opening day festivities.

The first several hundred guests will be given free treats, including handmade donuts from the Ski Hill Grill, and other prizes courtesy of Breckenridge’s official partners.

There will be a special ribbon cutting of the Colorado SuperChair, which this summer was upgraded from a four-passenger express to a six-passenger express and will provide a 30 percent increase in capacity for Peak 8’s most used lift. Breckenridge now has four six-passenger chairlifts across its five peaks.

More festivities will include special tributes to honor U.S. service men and women for this week’s Veterans Day as well as local ski legend CJ Mueller, who recently was elected to the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame.

For the full opening day schedule and updates on terrain, as well as to purchase the lowest-priced lift tickets, visit Breckenridge.com.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge’s C.J. Mueller reflects on career and Hall of Fame induction

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

After an appearance in the 1992 Winter Olympics as a demonstration sport, speed skiing all but disappeared from the mainstream winter sports realm. Why hurtling straight down a hill at well over 100 mph — the current record is 156.8 mph — didn’t stick around when that year’s other demonstration sport, curling, did is up for debate. Athlete deaths certainly may have made for a compelling argument to drop it, or it could simply have been a popularity issue.

While the International Ski Federation (FIS) still sanctions speed skiing as a World Cup-level discipline, the limited number of events are primarily in Europe, with a few in Canada. The United States no longer has a team or domestic competition.

However, for more than 20 years during what was the sport’s peak — leading up to the 1992 Olympics — one Breckenridge resident was continually at the top of the list of the world’s fastest men on skis.

Today, he’s the guy who annually leads the Breckenridge Fourth of July parade dressed as George Washington, but in the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s C.J. Mueller was breaking world records — eventually topping out at 137 mph on skis — and was continually among the top five in international and later World Cup races.

“It was just a great feeling going fast.”
C.J. Mueller

ONLY U.S. SPEED SQUAD

His feats earned him a spot on the U.S. Ski Team’s only Olympic speed team squad, and more recently a place in the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Three times he broke world records. He also finished 10th in the 1992 Olympics, in Albertville, France, and yet the quiet 63-year-old describes himself as having never been much of a risk taker. He said skiing at those speeds was actually very safe, if you knew what you were doing.

His friends, who dubbed him “Crazy John” in the early ’70s, might offer a different take on his approach to the sport.

“Everyone had a nickname,” Mueller said of his early time in Breckenridge, when most of the town’s roads were still dirt. “The guys decided I was ‘Crazy John’ and it stuck.”

Mueller told the Daily he earned the name from the days when he and his friends would borrow shovels from the lift operators and build jumps on Peak 8, back before terrain on Peaks 6, 7, 9 or 10 existed.

When Mueller moved to Breckenridge in 1970 there were only four chairlifts on Peak 8.

“I really miss the camaraderie of skiing back then,” he said. “For the most part everybody knew each other, and if you didn’t know people, you met them.”

Looking back at the ’70s and ’80s, he said it was also common to find fresh lines as much as a week after a storm.

While appreciating the past, he welcomes skiing’s evolution over the years, with faster chairlifts and much more terrain to cover.

After starting his career in local downhill races, where he and his friends wore old baseball uniforms, Mueller got into speed skiing almost by chance in 1981 while visiting friends in Val d’Isere, France. His first time out he said he reached 100 mph and was hooked.

“I don’t know what it was about skiing and going fast,” he said, looking back. “I just really enjoyed being in a tuck and going fast.”

At his home outside of town, Mueller proudly pulled out one of the nearly 8-foot-long skis that he used to become the first skier to crack 130 mph. It still sits in his ski closet in the house’s entryway with a quiver of more modern models.

Trophies from any number of races are prominently displayed down in his study.

And just the thought of his racing days still brings a smile to his face, as he demonstrates a tuck position with his custom aerodynamic poles.

As to what goes through your mind at those speeds, the answer was simple. Absolutely nothing. You tense up and point downhill. He likened the feeling to being a stone skipping across a pond.

“Developing the mental capacity to do that was the big key,” he said. “It’s being so focused that you don’t have a conscious thought. That was the really satisfying part of it, the mental training.”

Muller said he was humbled by his recent induction into the Colorado Hall of Fame. He said he was most proud that both his 88-year-old father and 90-year-old mother could attend his ceremony.

“Speed skiing is just not very well known. I didn’t think it was a big enough deal that I’d ever be elected,” he said, adding that he was speechless when the news came.

But for him the sport was never about accolades anyway. It was just the joy of skiing, and most who participated were more concerned about personal bests than overall wins.

“It was just a great feeling going fast. That was the big draw for a lot of people. Most of the people weren’t there to win. There were guys just trying to go faster than they’ve ever been before.”

RETIREMENT PLANS

These days Mueller is just another man around town, in a town full of athletes — except that he’s got County Commissioner Dan Gibbs planning surprises for him at parties in his honor.

Mueller also said he still gets plenty of days on the mountain; they’re just shorter than they used to be and not quite as fast. Perhaps more than anything he’s looking forward to taking advantage of the lifetime Colorado ski pass that comes with entrance to the hall.

A trip to Telluride is one of the first items on his bucket list. Because, while he’s skied and competed across the globe, he’s never skied the San Miguel County resort that’s just a few hours away

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Highway 9 wildlife safety project moves forward with contractor bidding

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

File photo - Summit Daily News

Someone has died on a stretch of Highway 9 north of Silverthorne almost every winter for the last 20 years.

The two-lane highway in this part of the Lower Blue River Valley is notorious for wildlife collisions because it separates prime winter range for animals on the east side of the road from the Blue River on the west side.

The animals cross the highway daily, especially at times when they’re harder for drivers to see.

“When I travel that corridor I try very hard not to travel at all at dawn or dusk,” said Summit County Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier. “It’s super, super dangerous.”

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 550 animals have died after being hit by cars and trucks in the last nine winter seasons, or about 61 a year.

More than 90 percent of those deaths are mule deer, said CPW wildlife biologist Michelle Cowardin, and those records don’t include the injured animals that later die off the road.

Three years ago, a private donor started the push toward a first-of-its-kind CDOT project that will improve safety and protect wildlife along the road. In 2013, a grassroots campaign helped raise the rest of the funds needed to fast-track the project.

Now the project has reached another milestone.

CDOT will start accepting contractor bids next Thursday, and resident engineer Grant Anderson said preliminary work, like relocating utility lines, has already begun.

Construction will start in earnest as soon as weather allows in the spring.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

The project involves building two wildlife overpasses and five underpasses in just over 10 miles of the road between mile markers 126 and 137.

Though only about a mile of the project lies in Summit, county government pledged to contribute $250,000 to the project over the next two years.

“It’s our workforce and our residents as well as the traveling public that we want to see safe,” Stiegelmeier said.

She added that the project especially hits home for those in the Summit community who remember the 2011 death of a high school student who swerved to avoid a large animal on Highway 9. The county wants to prevent similar tragedies.

In addition to the structures that will help keep wildlife off the highway, the project will also add 8-foot-wide paved shoulders to the highway that will better prevent collisions with cyclists and accommodate emergency responders.

Winter conditions will always cause some problems, Kremmling Mayor Thomas Clark said. But now, “when there is an accident, where do the first responders go?”

According to CPW data, documented animal-vehicle crashes account for 36 percent of the accidents between 1993 and 2012.

Because of the road’s hazardous track record, employees at Blue Valley Ranch, a private livestock and conservation operation along the highway, started counting animal deaths in 2006.

The ranch, owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul T. Jones II, has largely funded the current effort to make that stretch of Highway 9 safer.

In 2011, the ranch donated $805,000, as well as right-of-way land worth $140,000, to fund planning and design work for when government funding became available.

CDOT estimates the total cost of the project will be between $46 and $50 million.

Last year, an opportunity to fast-track the project arose through a state program called RAMP, or Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships, but to qualify, local governments must raise 20 percent of the project’s cost.

The ranch stepped forward once again and pledged $4 million if the remaining $4.3 million required could be raised.

A committee called Citizens for a Safe Highway 9 formed, led by Grand County resident Mike Ritschard, and successfully raised the funds by deadline, with pledges ranging from $10 to $100,000. The project was approved last fall.

“This project is getting a lot of interest and support because of the partnerships,” Cowardin said, which include state agencies, numerous individuals, businesses and local governments.

At Blue Valley Ranch, manager Sher Steuben said Thursday, “We can’t wait for it to really get underway and get finished.”

ANIMAL TRACKING

Drivers won’t notice impacts from construction likely for another six months.

In the meantime, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will add 20 more radio collars to mule deer in the area and set up cameras where the overpasses and underpasses will be built to track the animal movements.

About 15,000 mule deer live in the Middle Park area, said CPW wildlife biologist Kirk Oldham, including about 6,000 to 7,000 in the Lower Blue River Valley around the project.

Cowardin helped design the height and width of the overpasses and underpasses as well as extra wildlife protection features like fences, escape ramps and deer guards.

The underpasses, 15 feet high and 42 feet wide, had to be open enough, she said. “You don’t want a long, dark tunnel.”

The overpasses will be much larger, about 75 to 100 feet wide, and lined with berms and 8-foot high fences to keep the animals from jumping onto the road.

Cowardin said Blue Valley Ranch employees have continued to help track the number of animals killed, and the data shows the wildlife are hit all along the stretch not clustered in specific spots.

The partners will continue to monitor the animal behavior during construction and for a few years after with funding from CDOT and grants provided by the Grand Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Muley Fanatic Foundation and Woodcock Foundation.

Everyone hopes the number of animals struck will go down.

For more information about the project, visit coloradodot.info/projects/sh9wildlife.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Copper Mountain and Keystone resorts to have top to bottom access

#Summit County, Colorado.

Keystone Resort

Officials with Keystone Resort announced Thursday they will have 50 acres of skiable terrain available for Friday’s opening day. Visitors will have access to top-to-bottom skiing and riding via the gondola at the River Run Village base area.

The Montezuma chair at midmountain will also be running to access early season conditions on Spring Dipper. The upper mountain beginner area will also be open with uphill access via the Ranger lift. The River Run trail will also be open, providing base area access.

Although unseasonably warm conditions stalled snowmaking efforts for much of October, the resort operations staff were able to take advantage of near ideal snowmaking conditions overnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Strong production during the early part of the week made Friday’s opening possible.

Keystone’s A51 Terrain Park crew decided to delay the opening of its early season park because of limited snow. The staff will take advantage of ongoing snowmaking efforts and will make features available as soon as possible. Skiers and riders can stay up to date on the terrain park’s progress through Keystone’s blog and the A51 Facebook page.

Keystone will also host a number of base area activities this weekend to celebrate the beginning of their winter season. Skiers and riders waiting on first chair, scheduled for 9 a.m., will have the chance to take home some prizes and enjoy free coffee, hot chocolate and donut treats from Keystone executive pastry chef Ned Archibald. The resort will also host a number of free children’s activities in the gondola plaza base area, including a bungee trampoline, climbing wall and bounce house. The family friendly activities will be available 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Resort officials said Keystone’s mountain operations teams will continue to work towards expanding terrain as quickly as possible. Long-term forecasts are calling for a return to more seasonable temperatures early next week.

Copper Mountain Resort will also kick off their season Friday at 9 a.m. They will have top-to-bottom mountain access from the resort’s Center Village via the American Eagle and Excelerator chairlifts.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge Resort delays opening day, originally set for Nov. 7

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Skiers and snowboarders hoping to carve up the slopes at Breckenridge this weekend will have to wait. Officials with the resort announced Wednesday that they will delay their opening day, originally scheduled for Friday, Nov. 7.

No new date has been set for opening. An updated opening day schedule is expected to be announced early next week.

In a news release sent out Wednesday morning, Breck officials cited the unseasonably warm weather experienced throughout the region last month as the reason for the delay.

“While we have been very optimistic about snowmaking efforts for Friday, warmer temperatures this week have slowed our efforts. As with all our resorts, our top priority is to provide our guests with a superior early-season product,” Gary Shimanowitz, Breckenridge vice president of mountain operations, said. “Breck has one of the longest ski seasons in the country, and we want to make sure the experience is fun and safe from the start.”

The resort will continue to provide daily updates via its website and social media outlets.

Both Copper Mountain and Keystone resorts will open on Friday, joining Arapahoe Basin and Loveland ski areas.

Copper and Keystone had initially planned to start operations Friday, Oct. 31, but also cited mild weather for delaying their openings.

Vail Mountain is currently scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 21, with Beaver Creek to follow on Wednesday, Nov. 26.

ANNUAL ‘WAKE UP BRECK’ STILL A GO

On Thursday, Nov. 6, Breckenridge Ski Resort will host its annual “Wake Up Breck” season kickoff event throughout the downtown Breckenridge. Town and ski area management staff will be on hand to provide complimentary coffee and exclusive commemorative Breck mugs at a number of local coffee shops throughout town. The giveaway begins at 7 a.m. and continues while supplies last. A list of participating coffee shops is available at Breckenridge.com

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

The Whole Foods effect: Frisco notes large sales tax revenue increases in its 2015 budget

#Frisco, Colorado.

After years of putting off projects during the Great Recession, the town of Frisco has seen huge gains in its main funding sources.

The town’s budget for 2015, adopted by the town council at a regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, allots for about $14.1 million in revenues and $18 million in expenses.

The budget will be balanced, as required, because the roughly $4 million gap will be filled using the $12.8 million fund balance carried over from the previous year. The town also plans to add to its revenues by about $773,000 with the sale of assets including a house, some vehicles and equipment.

In the end, the town will have $10.3 million leftover in the fund balance to be carried over to the next year.

Residents and visitors will see no changes in tax rates.

The town plans to spend more money in 2015 on infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, including Phases II and III of the Step Up Main Street project as well as building a new well for the water system.

About two-thirds of the overall budget comes from sales taxes, and that reliance on a volatile source of funding can be a challenge for the town during economic downturns. This year, however, the town hosted droves of visitors and reaped the benefits in revenues.

“The economy has turned around, and we’ve seen it in our sales tax,” said Bonnie Moinet, the town’s finance director.

The arrival of more retail businesses, including a few marijuana shops and grocery giant Whole Foods Market, also didn’t hurt.

Sales tax revenues from January through July grew by more than 13 percent compared to the same six-month time period in 2013. Lodging tax revenues grew by about 20 percent, and real estate investment fee revenues grew by about 23 percent.

Revenues from the Frisco Bay Marina, Frisco Adventure Park, community development and recreation have also shown significant increases in 2014 over 2013.

“We budget fairly conservatively,” Moinet said, and town employees have been happily surprised by all the revenue growth. “We’re just extremely pleased with the economy.”

The town expects the sales and lodging tax revenues to continue growing in 2015 though not by as much.

The Frisco Adventure Park, which completed its fourth season this year, brings in the second-most amount of revenue to the town’s general fund. After that, most revenue sources come from fees people pay for their water services or to use the marina.

The town plans to spend more money in 2015 on infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, including Phases II and III of the Step Up Main Street project as well as building a new well for the water system.

“We deferred a lot of projects over the years,” Moinet said.

In terms of labor costs, the town will add two full-time positions and three positions will be changed from part-time or seasonal to full-time.

The town instated a performance merit policy, in an effort to attract and retain employees, that allows individual staff members to earn a pay increase of up to 5.5 percent based on their performances.

Some physical goods the town will lease include two vans, a snowmobile, a snow fan gun and a cat loader.

Moinet said the 2015 budget, which will be posted on FriscoGov.com, was approved without any questions or comments from the town council members or the general public. In recent years, she said, Frisco has been trying to discuss government operations with residents through its online platform EngageFrisco.com without much success.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Summit Choral Society returns to Carnegie Hall in New York this spring

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Special to the Daily

It’s an honor to be invited to sing at Carnegie Hallin New York City, but as a small community choir, to be invited twice in three years is cause for celebration.

The Summit Choral Society, a local nonprofit choir under the direction of Jill Schroeder-Dorn, will return to the iconic venue over Memorial Day weekend to join forces with choirs from all over the country in a performance under renowned British composer and choral director John Rutter.

THE SAME, BUT DIFFERENT

Rutter was also at the helm when the Summit Choral Society performed Brahms’ Requiem in German with the combined choir in 2013, but this year’s visit to New York will be different because the director will be working with his own compositions, Schroeder-Dorn said.

“We did this a few years ago, and it was really so special to be there and to have John Rutter, who is a big name in choral music, to have him as a director,” Schroeder-Dorn said. “It’s going to be with him again, but this time performing his own music, so it will be not only the experience of being at Carnegie Hall but the experience of working with a composer who is also conducting his own music.”

The concert will be Rutter’s final performance as director for the annual program, which gives amateur singers the opportunity to appear in a professional atmosphere.

“There’s a lot of interest surrounding it,” Schroeder-Dorn said. “There will be about 250 singers from around the country, including I think we have 30 going, which is a good size. We’ve had a lot of interest in this trip.”

When the invitation was announced, Bill Kyrioglou, of Summit Cove, who traveled with the choir on its last excursion, was again one of the first to sign up for the trip. Kyrioglou said he studied music in college, and though he didn’t pursue it as a profession, he’s been performing in community bands and church choirs his entire life.

“To have the opportunity to perform under a high-level, world-renowned conductor in a world-famous hall is really pretty special,” he said. “My profession is engineering, and that has a lot less glamour than performing in a major music hall.”

Kyrioglou said there would be a certain level of familiarity with the performance hall and rehearsal spaces the second time around, and possibly a little less anxiety about being on stage, but that doesn’t make the trip any less exciting.

The choir will spend several days in New York prior to the performance rehearsing with Rutter before the concert on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25. Works to be performed at the concert include Rutter’s “Gloria” “Te Deum” and another New York premiere work for chorus, orchestra and soloists accompanied by the New England Symphony.

“The rehearsals were really fun,” Kyrioglou said, adding that they were also very intense and focused. “There’s a group of about 200 people, maybe a little bit more, from different choirs from around the country that are coming together who have never met and working together on the same goal. They studied their music at home and are now coming together under the direction of the conductor, John Rutter.”

NEW EXPERIENCE

A range of singers from the Summit Choral Society will be going on the trip, from those like Kyrioglou who have already experienced the lights of Carnegie Hall to New York newbies. Beth Seeley falls somewhere in between.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” she said. “I think it will be a total thrill to be able to sing in Carnegie Hall. I’ve never been in Carnegie Hall. We have some cousins in New York that we’d love to have come and hear us. I’m from Boston, so I hope friends will come down and see us.”

Seeley said she has no idea what to expect, but she is looking forward to traveling with the group and stepping onto that iconic stage.

“I just joined a year ago, right about this time, and I’ve gotten to know a few of the people, but other than a few friends that I knew beforehand and a few that I’ve gotten to know well in the last year, I feel like there are many more that I don’t know well,” she said. “When you do something like this, you’re off together for several days and it gives you an opportunity to get to know people better, and I think that will be a lot of fun.

Kyrioglou said being invited back to New York is a reflection of how well prepared the choir was the last time it performed there, and Seeley said working with Schroeder-Dorn has been outstanding and the choir really appreciates her leadership. Schroeder-Dorn gave credit back to the members of the choir.

“It’s a group of people who are very dedicated to learning music and to learning it well,” she said. “I did this two years ago, and my hope is we have the same experience. It was a difficult piece of music, and every week I would have a learning schedule: Come to rehearsal next week, know the fist movement, the second week, the second movement, and with such a strong group of people, they did that. They took the initiative to learn it on their own, so when we put it all together, we could really rehearse the music, rather than trying to figure out the right notes.”

The choir will spend the next month preparing for its annual holiday concert and then will break into practicing Rutter’s music in earnest, preparing to shine on one of the most famous stages in the world.

“I’m not an accomplished singer,” Seeley said. “I joined (the choir) because I haven’t sung in years and it gave me an opportunity to try something that’s a creative outlet and a lot of fun, so to say we’re going to Carnegie Hall is just — I’m speechless and excited.”

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Loveland joins A Basin as only ski areas open in North America

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Sebastian Foltz / sfoltz@summitdaily.com

It’s been more than 20 years since Loveland Ski Area kicked off winter operations this late in the year. But the year that happened — the 1992-93 season — it also recorded 514 inches of snow — close to 100 inches more than its annual average.

If that’s not a compelling enough number to ease the concern over a late start to ski season, then the numbers for the ski area’s 2011-12 season should do it. That year was Loveland’s fourth-latest start, Oct. 24, and it went on to get a record 574 inches of snow.

So while Saturday’s, Nov. 1, opening day might not be the early opening Loveland director of business operations Rob Goodell had hoped for, there’s plenty to smile about with the start of a new season.

“Even with this delayed opening there’s still a lot of excitement. ... It’s like the first day of school,” Goodell told the Daily Saturday morning, shortly after first chair was loaded up. “We wish we’d been opening the last two weeks, but it just wasn’t going happen.”

He credited Arapahoe Basin’s increased snowmaking efforts for the neighboring ski area’s victory in their annual competition to be first to open.

Watching the first chairs load up, Goodell was joined by an old friend in A-Basin COO Alan Henceroth, who made the morning trek over the pass to congratulate his neighbor for getting the season started.

“I wanted to say hi to Rob,” Henceroth said of his visit. The two used to work together as raft guides long before taking over at their respective ski areas, and they’ve been friends ever since.

“I couldn’t let him go another weekend,” Goodell later joked about the friendly rivalry between the two mountains.

EARLY START

While no one camped overnight before opening, eager skiers and riders arrived early to get at Loveland’s 8:30 a.m. first chair.

Two weeks removed from camping out for first chair at A-Basin, Silverthorne’s “Trailer” Tom Miller, 37, was at it again — this time on a solo mission without his regular first-chair crowd.

Miller was at Loveland at 4 a.m. to claim his ride on first chair, a tradition he’s kept since he was a teenager.

It was a relatively intimate affair Saturday compared with the spectacle on the other side of the Divide a few weeks earlier.

After the initial wait, the few hundred skiers and riders at Loveland had to wait just a few minutes for their second, third and fourth laps.

“It’s definitely more laid back,” Miller said comparing the two openings.

And Goodell likely wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We feel we have a niche,” he said, describing Loveland’s locals’ mountain feel. “We know our season-pass holders, they’re like old friends,” he said describing the privately owned mountain.

Still, while Loveland might attract smaller crowds throughout the season than their several neighbors on the other side of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Goodell said the ski area’s numbers have been growing steadily for each of the last seven years.

Whether that’s a credit to the ever-increasing congestion on Interstate 70 or simply Loveland’s lower prices, Goodell couldn’t say. But he’d like to think the ski area has won over a number of guests who decided to give Loveland a try over the last few years.

“I believe they’ve liked what they’ve tested,” he said over coffee, explaining that he finds that guests seem to be continually surprised by the amount of terrain the mountain has to offer.

WHO’S NEXT?

Both Copper Mountain and Keystone resorts had initially hoped to get their seasons rolling Friday, Oct. 31. But the two resorts both announced that they would have to push back their opening days. Copper officials have said they plan to open Friday, Nov. 7 — the same day as Breckenridge.

Keystone has yet to announce when it will kick off the new season.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

CAIC avalanche forecasters say late snow could mean more stable snowpack

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Sebastian Foltz / sfoltz@summitday | Summit Dail

While a mild fall may have led to a slow start to ski season for area resorts, Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecasters said it could actually be good news for backcountry travel this season.

“What you want it do is start snowing and not stop,” CAIC director Ethan Greene said. “Having snow-free mountains right now is not a bad thing for us.”

Deputy director Brian Lazaar agreed. “From my perspective, we’d rather see a delayed start.”

In each of the last two seasons, Colorado has seen early snows followed by longer dry spells, the result being a weak base layer in the snowpack that made slopes vulnerable to large, less predictable deep-slab avalanches later in the winter.

When snow is followed by a longer dryer spell it will create a similar weak layer. Then any snow that piles on top of it will be increasingly susceptible to a slide. Having that layer at the very bottom of the snowpack can create trouble throughout a season as it did the past two winters. A lack of early-season snow, therefore, could mean a more stable snowpack later in the season.

While there may not be a direct correlation, Colorado exceeded its season average of six avalanche fatalities in each of the last two winters. The state reported eight last season and 11 the previous year. Colorado also annually accounts for one-third of avalanche fatalities nationwide.

Greene and deputy director Brian Lazaar both said that deep-slab avalanches are less predictable than any avalanche risk created by a standard storm cycle.

The snowpack in a storm-related avalanche cycle tends to settle a few days after a storm, whereas a weak layer deep in the snowpack will continue to be a risk.

“With a storm cycle, you can see it,” Greene explained. “With a deep-slab cycle it doesn’t care what the weather is doing.”

And while deep-slab avalanches are harder to trigger, they are more likely to be deadly when they do release because of the sheer volume of snow involved.

“My favorite seasons are when it starts snowing and doesn’t stop,” Greene said, because it makes for a more consistent snowpack.

While there has not been much snow so far this season, both Greene and Lazaar recommended paying attention to the snow that has lingered on north-facing slopes.

“The slopes that have snow on them now could end up being the most problematic,” Lazaar said.

Greene recommended that avid backcountry travelers take advantage of current conditions to get up to higher elevations and scout areas they might want to ski when the snow does come.

“It’s a good time to get out in the mountains and see that,” he said of checking areas that could become problems later in the season.

Proper precautions are always important, and he suggested putting long-term backcountry goals over single-season ones. If a skier is considering a backcountry bucket list, slope conditions might delay that accomplishment beyond a single season.

“There may be certain years that those slopes won’t be safe all year,” he said.

Above all, both forecasters emphasized the importance of education with regard to backcountry travel and the old “know before you go” mentality. With more skiers seeking out backcountry lines, a proper knowledge base is increasingly important.

ANNUAL FUNDRAISER DINNER

The Friends of CAIC will host its seventh annual CAIC Benefit Bash dinner, raffle and silent auction Saturday, Nov. 8. Tickets for the event are $40 and include dinner, beer and access to a gear raffle and silent auction, as well as live music from Shakedown Street — a Grateful Dead cover band.

“The Benefit Bash is the largest event we have,” Friends of CAIC director Aaron Carlson said. “It’s the winter kickoff party for Colorado in a lot of ways.”

Last year the benefit raised $100,000 for the CAIC. Tickets and more information are available through www.friendsofcaic.org. The event typically sells out early, but $50 day-of tickets might be available.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.