Freshies for Early Birds, Avy Follow-up in Aspen

By Bob Berwyn, 12-25-06

Here’s a novel idea. Steamboat Ski Area has decided to fire up its lifts a little earlier in the day, at least during the busy holiday season, to help meet the onslaught of vacationing skiers and snowboarders. The Steamboat Pilot & Today reported on the move, intended to help move people out of the base area and up onto the mountain. Some of Steamboat’s lifts will begin running at 8 a.m., giving early risers a chance to beat the crowds to the top of the mountain.

And the Denver Post reports that the Colorado ski industry is seeking to expand its marketing reach in Russia, China and other Asian markets. Julie Dunn wrote about the initiative in a Dec. 16 story, describing how Vail Resorts and the Aspen Skiing Co. sent sales reps to China and Japan recently. Colorado Ski Country USA, the state’s ski industry trade group, is working with the Colorado Tourism Office to try and establish a nonstop airline connection between Tokyo and Denver, seen as a key step in growing that market.

In Aspen, local papers have been following up on the recent avalanche death that occurred in-bounds at the Snowmass Ski Area. The Aspen Times reported that 25-year-old Nicholas Blake Davidson suffocated in the snow slide last week. The story also includes a photo of the avalanche path and fracture line.

There’s also still some debate as to whether the area where Davidson died was in fact posted as closed, as was stated in the first reports about the accident. In an interview with the Aspen Daily News, Davidson’s ski partner claims they thought the run was open, while Aspen Ski Co. officials have said the area was clearly marked as closed. Several other skiers and friends of Davidson said he would never have ducked a rope to enter a closed area, the Daily News reported. In the same story, one skier who was on the scene just minutes after the slide said the ski patrol was slow to respond to the accident.

The Aspen avalanche death spotlights ongoing efforts by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) to forecast slide hazards in Colorado’s notoriously unstable snowpack. Just last week, the CAIC revamped its web site, breaking the forecast down for 10 localized zones to try and better pinpoint hazardous conditions. Previously, the center forecast for just three zones in Colorado. The Summit Daily News interviewed CAIC director Ethan Green, who detailed the reasons for the changes.

Part of the CAIC’s educational outreach program is day-long beacon competition at Arapahoe Basin each winter. The Beacon Bowl begins with clinics on snowpits and beacon use. By the end of the day, participants test themselves and race against each other in a timed trial to find beacons buried in the snow by ski patrollers. Check out a slide show of last year’s Beacon Bowl here.




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