SeniorsSkiing Guide: Powderhorn Mountain Resort
The Grand Mesa in western Colorado is the world’s largest flat-topped mountain. Six-thousand feet higher than surrounding terrain. In places, it ascends to 11,000’. You drive through high desert, ranchland, tiny villages. Then you climb to the heights of Powderhorn Mountain Resort.
Powderhorn on Colorado’s Grand Mesa
Many of you have expressed interest in lesser-known ski areas. To those not in the neighborhood, Powderhorn qualifies as “lesser-known,” and it deserves your attention.
Powderhorn’s three chairs provide access to 1600 acres of trails and trees. The day I skied there, snow quality was outstanding, but snow depth prevented extensive exploration. At one point this winter, it should reach its average 250”.
At 1650’, the vertical is adequate. Unlike some other areas with more vert, Powderhorn’s trials offer a nice continuous pitch. Mountain stats claim 50% blue/30% black. The blacks I skied were more blue. Nonetheless, everything I was on provided an interesting skiing experience. Some mountains have that advantage over other more developed places: they’re interesting. Maybe it’s the fall line; maybe the layout. Whatever it is, Powderhorn has it. And on that particular day, through ever-changing clouds, Powderhorn offered up spectacular panoramas of distant desert landscapes.
The base lodge looks more ‘70s suburban bank building than ski lodge, but once inside, there’s a remarkably friendly and old-fashioned vibe. Not a lot of people around that Tuesday, but it seemed like everyone there came up to greet us and ask where we were from.
Instead of on-mountain lodges, Powderhorn opens its patrol shelters to the public. In addition to a few things to nibble and drink, they, too, have an uncommon feeling of gemütlichkeit. I felt like I was time warping into a kinder, gentler, less-commercial ski era.
Every Thursday, the 50+ “Young At Heart” program meets for guided skiing, lunch, and après ski. Regardless of when you visit, for those 75+, lift tickets are $38, season passes $179. The season pass includes benefits at 25 other areas. The under 75 rates also are attractive.
Slopeside lodging is limited. We chose to stay in Palisade, a scenic 28-mile ride. Palisade, adjacent to I-70, is known for wineries and peaches, and Wine Country Inn. For several years we’ve been driving by this attractive hostelry. This time we gave it a try. Our room was modern, spacious, and well appointed. What came as a surprise was the delicious food! We dined in both restaurant and bar. Breakfast, included, was a scrumptious buffet of freshly made everything, even a creative selection of home-baked goodies. We’ll definitely return.
Wine Country Inn
Here’s an idea for seniors seeking a varied ski adventure: Fly into Salt Lake City, ski at a few of those great areas, then head out to Colorado. Assuming the roads are in good shape, you’ll be in Palisade in 4.5 hours. Check in at Wine Country Inn, ski a few days at Powderhorn, then head east toward Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, Loveland, or Arapahoe Basin. Drop off the car at Denver International and be on your way. Other routes will take you to Telluride and Crested Butte, or down to Las Vegas.
Alternatively, if you want a hassle-free, laid back ski vacation, with good prices, uncrowded slopes, outstanding food, and uncompromising friendliness, simply fly into Grand Junction, rent a car, stay at Wine Country Inn, and enjoy the skiing and scenery at Powderhorn. It’s a winning combination.
Click here for Powderhorn trail map
Click here for Powderhorn webcam.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (March 1)
[Editor Note: We thank each reader who offered a donation to help us defray expenses. We are extremely grateful and humbled. We are preparing mailings to our contributors that will begin to go out next week. Thank you so much.]
Something Happening Here, Early Colorado Ski Jumping, Resort Reviews: Wolf Creek, E-Bike Italy, NSAA Meeting Report.
Perhaps you’ve seen this picture of Lake Tahoe’s cumulative snow this season. Awesome, wow.
Credit: Active NorCal
Indeed, something is happening here on Earth that is auspicious and perhaps foreboding. This past week, we have seen consistent and massive snowfalls in the Sierra. We’re talking five feet plus per storm with more coming in from the “atmospheric river” in the Pacific almost weekly. Ski resorts have been closed, the National Weather Service has “highly discouraged” travel in the mountains.
Something you don’t see every season. Credit: National Weather Service
Meanwhile, there are parts of the Rockies that are getting more than their share.
Credit: Joe Durzo
Back in the East, snow depth levels haven’t quite kept pace with what we’re seeing in the West. But, wait a minute, we’re looking at wind speeds on Mt. Washington, NH, that are astonishing. Here’s what is called a Hays Chart of wind speeds at the top for the month of February. There were gusts of up to 171 mph, reaching a new all-time peak for the month of February. Winds averaged 110 mph over the day on Feb. 25th with the highest 0ne-hour average of 138 mph.
Big winds on Mt. Washington. Credit: National Weather Servife
And yet, in Merry England, this week has brought record warm temperatures. Hampton Water Works in Southwest London went to 20.1 C (68.8 F).
We could go on. Australia is burning up, droughts in the western Pacific. Super-typhoons, etc.
We know that weather isn’t climate. And that while this amount of snow is incredibly good news for ski resorts and the whole winter sports industry, we are looking at these extremes as likely symptoms of the greater climate change scenario unfolding across the globe. Put these incidents and others together, and it has become clearer how the climate has changed and will change, that we are entering a new era, and that we have to be aware that every action we can take to abate these changes is not only necessary but vital.
A recent report from the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is explicit. The following is from a Reuters news story.
“Humanity cannot afford to ignore such clear signals,” the U.S.-led team wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change of satellite measurements of rising temperatures over the past 40 years.
They said confidence that human activities were raising the heat at the Earth’s surface had reached a “five-sigma” level, a statistical gauge meaning there is only a one-in-a-million chance that the signal would appear if there was no warming.
The good news is that the snow sports industry and some resorts are embracing sustainable energy, creating awareness, and rallying around organizations like Protect Our Winters.
This Week
We hear a report from SeniorsSkiing.com correspondent Marc Liebman about his presentations and insights about plans to capture senior skiers at the recent NSAA winter meetings.
Our Mystery Glimpse photo this week may be a familiar ski hero to some. Can you guess who he is? Meanwhile, we reveal who our duo ski jumpers were and where they jumped.
We also have a resort review from correspondent John Nelson, on Wolf Creek, CO. From his description, it is the almost perfect senior-friendly resort.
And co-publisher Jon Weisberg writes on e-biking in Umbria and Tuscany available from our advertiser Inspired Italy. Sounds like high-summer fun.
Once again, thank you for your support. And tell your friends, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.
Stickers, Patches, and Hats Will Begin Being Sent To Donors Next Week. Thanks For Your Support.
Short Swings!
Many thanks to those who responded to our February fund-raising campaign. Your decals, patches, and hats are being sent. There are delays in shipments because the patch supplier is behind schedule. Thank you for your support!!!
Once upon a time, stores, malls and restaurants didn’t look the same. Places in different parts of the country looked and felt different, even if their offerings were similar. Today, the mall in Boston might as well be in Boise or Baltimore. To this observer, they seem similar and soulless; commercial palaces selling the same commodified goods.
Is something similar happening to our ski areas?
I hope not. But, despite physical and geographic differences, areas that are part of IKON or EPIC certainly present themselves and their pass offerings with similarity. It’s efficient, and their corporate bosses (most likely) require it.
In the process, local character and culture gets tossed in the blender, and we, the people who may have enjoyed the differences, lose out.
Early last week, Arapahoe Basin announced it was parting ways with Vail Resort’s EPIC Pass. The stated reason is A-Basin’s lack of parking capacity to accommodate increased traffic from it’s EPIC participation. Parking space is a legitimate issue and one of Arapahoe’s biggest challenges.
The official statement from Alan Henceroth ,Arapahoe’s Chief Operating Officer also read, “..the ski area has developed a very special community that feels like home. This decision (to leave EPIC) will allow us to continue to build on this spirit and the experience we have created.”
I don’t think Arapahoe’s decision is the canary in the mine for the rest of the industry. But it highlights the area’s interest in preserving its character and its community. I spent a bluebird day there a few weeks back. It has every type if skiing you’d want: bowl, trees, trails, above tree line. The lodges are lovely; the food, creative, interesting and reasonably priced. The Beavers, new lift-serviced acreage with blacks and blues opened this season. In 2020 the area will be 75.
Arapahoe is not the biggest and it’s not the most glamorous. But it is a wonderful ski area taking steps to preserve its character and its soul.
BRAVO Arapahoe!!!!!
Vail To Acquire Two Aussie Resorts
Vail Resorts will be purchasing two more ski resorts, both in Victoria, Australia. They are Falls Creek Alpine Resort and Hotham Alpine Resort. The purchase price is reported to be $174 million.
New Sun Valley/Snowbasin Pass
The new Sun and Snow Pass from Sun Valley and Snowbasin. Twill offer three days at each resort for $359 for adults and $89 for children. The pass also gives 50% off the window rate for subsequent ticket purchases. The pass has other benefits, as well. The $359 price rises after May 31. Click here for details.
2019-20 IKON Pass Now Available
Both versions of the pass go on sale March 5 for lowest prices of the upcoming season. Click here.
Alf Engen Ski Museum’s Head To Receive ISHA Award
When visiting Park City, the Alf Engen Ski Museum is an important stop. With stationary and interactive exhibits, it is the most entertaining of the nation’s ski museums. Connie Nelson, the museum’s executive director since inception, will be recognized by the International Skiing History Association with its Lifetime Achievement Award when ISHA meets in Park City in early April.
Entering Easily: Getting Into Your Boots
One of the most common complaints about ski boots is the difficulty of getting them on. Over the years, myriad homemade and commercial solutions have been developed. SeniorsSkiing.com advertiser, BOOTSTER, is a ski boot shoe horn that fits in parka pocket, incorporates Teflon-coated Kevlar fabric, and is genuinely effective. It was developed by an older skier who is also a professional engineer. Visit the company website to see how it works and to read user comments. If you’re fed-up with the aggravation of putting on ski boots, this $25 investment will give you many years of productive dividends.
Colorful Spring Fling Video From Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham Mountain Resort
It’s colorful. It’s youthful. It’s fun. Click here.
1920s Winter Sports Film
This compilation from British Pathé includes early skiing, skijoring, skating, etc. One of the weirdest clips has a guy with a parachute. It’s short.
Finally………
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