Copper Mountain opens in less than a Month! Many of the web searches we receive every year ask “When does copper Mountain open for the 2009 season?” Well, there’s your answer.
It looks like they have a big party weekend planned: Their opening weekend festival is called “Lift Off,” and includes a free movie tour and concert. they usually have some pretty great entertainment at these things, so I hope to see you there!
Copper Mountain is usually one of the first Colorado ski resorts to open, and Nov 14 is a respectable opening date. I was kind of hoping they would open on October 14, but I guess life isn’t always fair.
Tonight I will perform my snow dance, as I think we are all ready for it to start snowing. And who knows? Maybe “Winter season starts Nov. 14, 2008″ is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule!
Get up to Copper Mountain ASAP if you want to take advantage of this last batch of snow. Copper Mountain Ski resort is closing on April 13, 2008! The snow will probably be great. The weather will be great. And yes, the beer will be great (I know you were concerned).
Copper’s April is off to a great start. While the Temperatures are warming, there was just enough wind yesterday to keep the snow in PERFECT packed powder conditions.
Skiing on a Tuesday means smaller lift lines, but yesterday was a little different. Copper was hosting the USASA, and had a few lines closed over on the American Flyer lift. The combination meant a bit of a wait, but the Timberline lift (over beside the T-REX cafe) had almost no one there! Once I was on the mountain, it was run after run. The slopes didn’t feel crowded, and the snow was amazing. I might need to ski every Tuesday, just to experience it. Hopefully nothing will warm up too quickly.
I followed the day up with a Copper Bowl Brown Ale and Empenadas at Endos. Yes, they were out of Guinness.
I frequently end up on the slopes Copper Mountain just two hours or so before they close. Why would anyone want to ski for just two hours? Well first off, sometimes it’s all I can do. I’ve found the perfect ski day to be too elusive. But work until noon, then make the drive? Much simpler. I also don’t have to wait for the perfect roads, perfect weather, etc. Just 2 hours – maybe 5 if you could driving roundtrip from Denver – is all it takes. Some other reasons you might want to try the 2 hour ski:
1. A 2 hour ski makes you thankful. Every twist and turn of your skis / snowboard are so very precious. For every run you take, you might consider whether you’ll have time – or sacrifice the time – to come back through. Each run takes on new meaning. There are no second chances.
2. Everyone is already enjoying Apre Ski, or just worn out. Less crowded hills and lift lines make it feel like the mountain is all yours.
I plan another 2 or 3 hour trip next week. I might ski loveland just to have another hour more or so on the slopes. I’ll let you know how it goes!
This morning I saw an article about “Snow Rage” happening up in Quebec, Canada: That’s right, the French speaking ones. People sometimes get so busy trying to get from home to work and work to home, that they forget how wonderful snow is. We at skichicken central headquarters have devised a 4 step plan to help our readers respond to feeling of snow rage in appropriate ways:
1. Launch your body into the air toward a snow drift
It will lighten your mood and remind you of the thrill of being airborn. Snow was actually invented just to be a slippery cushion of fun. It’s in the Bible: Look it up. It’s somewhere in the front.
2. Go skiing or snowboarding in Colorado
Colorado has the freshest air, and the best snow for skiing and snowboarding. Your feelings of snow rage are actually from breathing city air and taking your life too seriously. It’s time to get back to nature. It’s time to purify your body, starting with crisp, clean mountain air. You need breathtaking views, slippery snowy goodness, and the experience that IS Colorado ski country. Find some remote part of Copper Mountain Ski Resort, or Snowmass, and just ENJOY.
3. Snow dance
Hey – you’re not going anywhere any time soon. Might as well enjoy yourself. Dance to celebrate the snow, or it’s melting. What you are snow dancing for is up to you – just break out in a snow dance and let it improve everyone’s mood!
4. Chill
Stand there. Slow down – no one expects you to be on time with that storm. Take your time, examine a few snowflakes if you need to. They’ll be gone before they know it, and so will you.
A reader recently found our website by searching Google for an answer to one of the most important questions a skichicken reader can ask: “What time do the slopes close at copper mountain?” Too Damn Early, that’s what time.
The upper lifts close at 3:30pm, the lower lifts at 4pm. Reader, if you are still out there wondering, there’s still time. But leave now!
Just a side note: I was up on Copper Mountain yesterday, and it was dreamy. The snow was perfect, the weather was perfect. It was somewhat busy for a Monday, but those little hidden mountain places were still so quit, and so beautiful.
As I approached the American flyer lift for my final run, I thought “If you don’t keep getting on the lift until 4:01pm, it’s just another form of self hatred.”
I made my daily visit to Copper Mountain’s website this morning, and saw they had a few more trails open. They had a buttload of snow last weekend, so I thought more of the mountain would be open. I do see my sweet “Upper Collage” run is open, so I might just venture up this afternoon. I also saw loverly is open, which made me ask “What the heck is a loverly, and where is it?” The Copper Mountain Trail Map is NO HELP:
http://www.coppercolorado.com/mountain/trail_map/statictrailmap.htm
Jeez, guys – do I have to roll my own?
Well, I didn’t get up to copper until 2pm on Saturday. I missed opening day but made it for opening weekend, and it was sweet. The mountain was emptying out and the bars were filling up. Beginners were tuckered out, leaving the mountain much less terrifying for the rest of us. Not that I’m an expert by any means- I terrified my share of people up on ptarmigan, some of which I know will never be the same. Think about that. Never the same.
I spent 4 runs on the lowest trail they had open, Main Vein. They wrapped the trail around to the east a little this year before the final descent. It seemed much more mellow than the icy frightfest it has been in previous years.
I ended the day with a plate of jalapeno poppers and a pint of guinness at Endos’s cafe. The bar staff was much more responsive compared to the end of last season. Ski season burnout runs rampant at Copper and every other resort near the end of the season, so no hard feelings.
The place next door was horrible a few years ago. We had to wait 45 minutes to be served at the bar. Luckily, we got a table and got served some nachos and beer at a table. It’s much more efficient to serve bar food and drink at the bar, and save the tables for customers wanting a full meal, but that place wasn’t exactly a bastion of efficiency.
Excellent staff here at Endo’s, though -the bartender just offered me water in addition to my beer. She’s good seed.
Oh yeah, the snow. Not melty. The snow was pretty good. I heard it was a little more icy up top yesterday. Today, a light breeze kept a dusting of snow and prevented the snow from getting too melted, then iced up. Many left the slopes early, but I rode the mountain until every lift closed. Because If you don’t ride the mountain until every lift has closed, it’s just sad.
It is a beautiful day over at Copper Mountain, and I’ll be joining them for the opening day festivities later today. I was only able to ski the afternoon last year, but I found the mountain empties out. It is a much better experience having the mountain entirely to yourself, and hearing the music and fun at the base in the background.
In previous years, I tried to get up there early only to get tuckered out at 2pm like everyone else. Now I am going to arrive at noon or 1pm and ski my (chicken) heart out!
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