Mountain Sports Club Blog

Loveland Ski Area in Colorado continues to get pounded with snow. I have had a new snow report everyday in my email from them for the last 7 days running. With over 50 inches of new snow in the last week they just keep opening new terrain daily. A friend called ranting on how great the soft winter snow was yesterday. I have to clear my desk and make some turns there real soon. At $30 for Mountain Sports Club members this is the best deal going. Join now and save all season.

The start of the 2008.09 ski and snowboard season is off and running tomorrow as both Loveland Ski Area and Arapahoe Basin open for skiing and riding. It is often a race and this year the end result will be a tie. For those of us looking for turns without hiking it is nice to have both open.

While this officially kicks off the season it is to be noted there is skiing and snowboarding elsewhere in North America and in Europe. Timberline, Ore., currently offers glacier skiing from Friday to Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of that ski area’s “autumn” season.

Arapahoe and Loveland will both rely on machine-made snow on one intermediate run, served by one chairlift each.

The Basin and Loveland are joining a few other resorts around the world, particularly in Europe, that are currently open for skiing and riding. These include Tignes, France, which features skiing on the Grande Motte glacier; Swiss ski areas Saas Fee and Zermatt; Italian resort Val Senales, Italy (two lifts, seven runs), and the Austrian resorts of Hintertux and Soelden, the latter of which hosts an Alpine World Cup opener on Oct. 25.

Get your boards and skis ready for another winter of skiing and riding. Looking for lift ticket discounts join the Mountain Sports Club now.

Georgetown, Colo., September 25, 2008 – With cooler weather in the high Colorado mountains Loveland Georgetown, Colo., September 25, 2008 – Colorado ski resort Loveland ski area fired up snowmaking operations. The resort fired up the guns last night, making the ski area the first in North America to start snowmaking operations for the 2008-2009 ski season.

Sitting at the continental divide the base of the ski area is at 10,600 feet. This enables an early start in an effort to get the ski and snowboard season started. Resort peaks sit on the Continental Divide at 13,010 feet, already covered with new snow, it was only a matter of time before temperatures at the base were cold enough for snowmaking.

Loveland frequently is one of the first each season to open, with approximately 1,000 vertical feet served by a triple chair available for skiers on opening day. We'll keep you updated as the season opening day gets closer.

Register now for a Mountain Sports Club premium membership and save on lift tickets at resorts nationwide.