How to Ski for CHEAP!

Skiing / Snowboarding can be very costly with the outrageous prices most resorts are charging now-a-days. Not only that, but it is getting harder and harder to find good deals. Remember when you could go to City Market and buy discounted tickets for half the retail price? Today you would be lucky to find tickets 20% off, let alone half price. $95 to ski one day and another $30 to eat and drink? CRAZY! But there are ways to ski for cheap, if not for free. Here is the 5 Best Ways to go skiing and still have some beer money afterwards…

1) Ski small. This principle is the easiest way to ski for cheap. Many of the smaller, unincorporated resorts have great deals especially at the end of the season. Places like Sunlight Mountain, Monarch Mountain, and SolVista Basin all have one day lift tickets for right around $50. This is about half of what you would pay for any bigger resort in Colorado.

2) Ski multiple Days. Buying 3-day, 4-day, even 10-day can really save you some dough. At Aspen/Snowmass, you can buy an early season 7-pack and save $133 over retail. Buy a 3-day pass at Breckenridge save $45. Buy the 4-day deal from Copper Mountain for only $219 and save $149! You get the idea.

3) Be a ski bum for the day. This concept works best at places like Keystone who offer night riding. Simply wait in the parking lot for the 2-run-and-done tourist done riding at 11 and poach their ticket. You may have to shell out a couple bucks, but it is worth it for 4 – 5 hours of riding! Not only that, but always to remember to bring a sack-lunch. Don’t give into that $15 Bratwurst!

4) Ride (not surf) the Web. There are a ton of websites that sell coupons and discounted lift tickets. Search for discounted tickets at the place you want to go. Or if your too lazy to scan Google listings, go to these websites that do most the work for you; http://www.snospace.com/, http://www.liftopia.com/, and http://www.skicoupons.com/.

5) Hike it. This is the most difficult way to save some money, but it is definitely the cheapest. Go to the resort of your choice and hike up the mountain. This sounds daunting, but can be very rewarding. Places like Sunlight Mtn and Aspen Mtn have cabins open at the top of the mountain. This is a popular thing to do at night, so bring a headlamp and some snacks!

Now that you’ve saved yourself some hard earned cash, go celebrate!

US Snowboarding team will start PGS at Olympics soon

The Parallel Giant Slalom will be held in Vancouver on Friday 2/26 for the women and on saturday for the men. The US team has a great chance of medaling with Chris Klug making a comeback from his bronze back in 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Tyler Jewell from Steamboat Springs will also bring a possible medal to the table for the US.  Check out the US Snowbaord Team website to find out more.

Powder Weekend at Beaver Creek

What a weekend! Finally some real snow has arrived in Northern Colorado.  Beaver Creek got dumped on along with all the other Vail resorts.  Weather Underground has a sweet new weather tracking map where you can check the precipitation, temperature and dewpoint in Avon, Vail and other ski areas.  If you are on the fence about where to ride, this will help you determine which place has snow in the forecast.  Weather Undergound    Keep on Snowing!

Shaun White = Ronald McDonald?

Do I have to say more?

2009 / 2010 K2 Darko Boot with Conda System Review

2009 / 2010 K2 Darko Boot with Conda System


Shopping for boots is not something I like to do very often. Once I find a pair of comfortable boots, I stick with ‘em until they are literally falling apart. So when it was time to replace my trusty Nitro Team boots, I was looking for something similar as far stability and comfort. I wanted a boot that wouldn’t break the bank, but still offered a good balance of performance and durability.

Right off the rack, the K2 Darko Boot gave me the overall feel I was looking for. After trying on several boots, the Darko’s were by far the most comfortable walking around the store. They use “harshmellow” EVA insoles, which are super comfortable. They also use the Boa Conda system to tighten the insole. This makes tightening the insole a breeze and can be done without unlacing the outside of your boots. Overall, these boots felt pretty stiff (which I like) and have some cool features.

After riding with these boots for a month now, I can say they are a good boot with more positives than negatives:

Plus++
They feel great when you are actually riding and not just sitting on the chair
The Conda system makes adjusting the boot quick and easy
The “harshmellow” insoles lessens impact from big landings

Minus---
The boots are softer than first advertised
It takes a while to find the best way to tighten the boots to your liking

Overall
8/10. These are great boots if you are into all mountain freestyle riding.

Check out EternalSnow.com if you want to give the Darko’s a try. Click Here

2010 Winter Olympics: Snowboarding

The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver is the host of the Fourth Olympics for Snowboarding as a sanctioned “sport.” The 33rd Olympics have already proved that how exciting snowboarding really is. With Seth Wescott’s crazy comeback victory for the U.S. and Maelle Ricker’s home turf victory in Snowboarder Cross, snowboarding has become a sport not just for outcasts and crazy kids, but one that everyone can enjoy. Check out Seth Wescott’s victory video by clicking here.


Now to talk about the other snowboarding event at the Olympics. Tonight is the superpipe finals which is an even more popular and well known snowboarding event. Names like Shawn White, Louie Vito and Kevin Pearce have made snowboarding as recognized and talked about as skateboarding was 10 years ago (which I’m not sure is a good thing or not). Can Shawn White win another Gold for USA? If he puts down a run like he did in the X-Games, no one else really has a chance. I personally hope for the sake of competition and entertainment the judges don’t give Shawn unreachable scores just because of his name. Every time they do an interview or a video about him, all that runs through my mind is “Wal-Mart.” Shawn white is Snowboarding’s equivalent of Wal-Mart (or should I say Target). He is the poster child of X-Games, Burton, Oakley, etc. and has made snowboarding the trendiest sport out there. I actually heard a commentator compare Shawn White to Michael Jordan!?! It makes me sick and I am curious if there is anyone out there who agrees with me. Let me know. Check out my other blog at slashsnow.wordpress.com. Later!