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David O. Williams
Headline RSS FeedLoveland offers some worthy turns
October 19, 2007 —
LOVELAND SKI AREA - Day 2 of my 07-08 ski season was another balmy one.
I was expecting howling winds and a bite to the air at 10,600 feet atop the Continental Divide, but when I arrived at Loveland at around 11:30 on Friday (yes, I’m a card-carrying member of the Crack of Noon Ski Club – except on powder days), temps were in the high 30s and low 40s.
It actually had the spring-like effect of softening up the 18 inches of partially manmade, partially natural base. Loveland became the second area in the state to open on Oct. 16, joining Arapahoe Basin, which opened with one partial run on Oct. 10 (see previous O. Report).
Needless to say, with 9 inches of new snow in the last 48 hours, Loveland was considerably better than my opening day A-Basin experience (see Real Sports for a full report). But then, A-Basin has been getting some of the natural stuff, too, including 4 inches over the last two days. Both areas have one lift and a couple of trails up and running.
All of this adds up to limited terrain, and whether doing laps on intermediate runs is worth prices in the $40 range is up to you. All I can tell you is any skiing pre-Halloween is bonus to me, and it sure felt good to get out and turn my skis loose.
People this time of year smirk at my eagerness to get out on the hill, but I’ve decided it really boils down to jealously. They’re just pissed they’re not skiing.
And who knows, with a storm rolling in Saturday night into Sunday, Oct. 20-21, both areas – the only two currently open in the state – may be dropping a lot more ropes and cranking of a few more lifts in coming days. Stay tuned.
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Council debate a big first step in crucial election season
October 18, 2007 —
For those of you who like to log onto realvail.com with a cocktail after work, and I know you’re out there, stop reading right now, get up out of your Lazy-Boy and head over to Donovan Pavilion in Vail for the Vail Chamber and Business Association Vail Town Council candidate’s forum starting at 6 tonight (that’s Thursday, Oct. 18).
If you really can’t make it, check out RealVail’s coverage all over the site, including under Real Estate and Real News. An update of the actual debate will appear on our site sometime tonight or early tomorrow.
Ten people are vying for five seats, so this is an important election on Nov. 6 (aren’t they all), and the new council will decide things like the fate of the Lionshead Parking Structure and Timber Ridge (pictured).
The real reason you want to come out tonight is because RV’s David O. Williams (that’s me) and Tom Boyd (that’s the guy in the blog next door) will be moderating. And if you know us, you know there’s really nothing we do in moderation.
Anyway, hope to see you there; otherwise check out our coverage wherever you are.
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Dan Davis trekkerphoto.com
Risk a relative thing in Colorado's high country
October 17, 2007 —
I refuse to castigate Jacob and Joshua Gately, two brothers from Missouri who made some very nearly fatal mistakes climbing Mount of the Holy Cross last weekend (see story in our Real News section).
First of all, I can’t stand the holier-than-thou superiority that spews from some backcountry enthusiasts, the ones that revel in every opportunity to point out other people’s stupidity while obsessing over gear and preparation to the point that they remove all joy and spontaneity from outdoor sports.
You know the type. They think it’s their god-given right to bark orders at strangers on the trail and save them from their own ignorance of all things woodsy. Personally, I love rolling the dice a bit, bushwhacking instead of sticking to the trail, doing some creative route finding and traveling faster, longer, harder and lighter than is perhaps prudent.
Such risk leads to great reward, and reminds you that you’re alive and that not every moment in life needs to be so damned scripted and not every risk needs to be so damned managed. Also, when I was 23, I was Jacob Gately.
No, I wasn’t bald and I didn’t have a heavy Midwestern drawl. But I was young, foolish and felt myself to be virtually bulletproof. Time, responsibility and a small herd of children have all conspired to change my ways to some degree, but I can relate to Jacob’s attitude on Holy Cross.
In fact, on Labor Day, 1993, I soloed Holy Cross. I was supposed to meet a friend that night in the Minturn ranger station parking lot but he wound up drinking the night away at State Bridge, so I threw on my pack and hiked up to Halfmoon Pass under a full moon.
I camped there that night then threw my full pack into the shrubs and headed up Holy Cross at 5 a.m. with only a daypack. I had been living in Vail a couple of years at that point and was outfitted a little better than Jacob (my tennis shoe days on fourteeners ended in my teens), but I would not have been prepared for an overnighter.
Granted, it was early September and not mid October, but all it would have taken for me to be forced to bivouac at 13,000 feet was a badly sprained ankle. Instead, I safely soloed up the summit and was the only person on the peak at 9 a.m. when a Forest Service employee summited using the Halo Route (he, too, was solo) and was quite surprised to see me.
But he made no judgment about my risky solo bid and seemed to understand the young male need to be tested by the elements. I was undoubtedly lucky, and I’m not advocating foolhardiness, but I am saying a certain amount of risk is a good thing in life.
However, it’s fairly easy to mitigate some of those risks when hiking or climbing by always carrying a pack full of waterproof and warm clothing, extra food, water, a first-aid kit, dry matches, a map and compass. Similarly, don’t head into the backcountry on skis without all the same stuff plus a shovel, beacon and probe (something I was also stupid enough to do when I was Jacob’s age).
And it’s also important to note that, unless you’re Chris Davenport or Lou Dawson (renowned winter mountaineers who’ve skied all of the state’s highest peaks), fourteener season is over, especially since a storm rolled into the Vail Valley Wednesday and promises to hang around through Thursday, with another one on the way Sunday.
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David O. Williams
How many ski areas will be open by the time the Rockies are done?
October 16, 2007 —
With the opening of Loveland Ski Area today at 9 a.m., it’s official: ski season has truly arrived … and the Rockies are still playing.
The unprecedented run by Colorado’s Major League Baseball team coincides with a promising October run-up to ski season. Arapahoe Basin opened Oct. 10, and now Loveland makes it two state resorts offering a limited skiing product. Loveland’s Chair 1, serving three beginner runs, cranks up at 9 a.m.
The last time – in fact the only time – the Rockies made the playoffs, as the NL wild card in 1995, it’s doubtful any ski resorts were open yet. The Blake Street Bombers of that era were bounced by the mighty Atlanta Braves in the divisional series, which typically wraps up the first week of October.
The earliest opening ever for a Colorado resort was Loveland on Oct. 6, 1985, so you do the math. With the Rockies improbably clinching a World Series berth Monday night, there’s now a possibility the Boys of Summer may be playing dangerously close to winter in the Rocky Mountains.
The seventh game of the World Series is set for Nov. 1, and the next two state ski areas scheduled to open – Wolf Creek and Copper Mountain – crank up their lifts the very next day. A weather delay or two, say for a snowstorm Oct. 27-29 in Denver, and fans may be able to make turns at four different resorts during the day before catching a baseball game at night.
Of course, in Game 3 of the NLCS, which I attended Sunday night, a steady and cold drizzle didn’t slow down the action at Coors Field at all. The Rockies won 4-1 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead before finishing off the Arizona Diamondbacks – clearly a fair weather team – on Monday by a score of 6-4.
That storm deposited up to 8 inches of snow in some places in the mountains and gave A-Basin and Loveland a good boost. Now another front is moving through Wednesday into Thursday and should hopefully allow for continued snowmaking and more runs to open at both resorts by the end of the week.
The Rockies, meanwhile, have eight days off before they face the winner of the ALCS – either the Boston Red Sox or the Cleveland Indians. Plenty of time to head up to the high country and take a few runs. Nothing keeps you loose for the World Series like a day on the slopes.
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