Sun Valley Snow Conditions-Early Season
Locals are reporting fun skiing on mostly groomed slopes. Lower College is open and lots of fun. Report show the runs on Seattle Ridge are ready to open. The snow makering continues and groomers are doing a fantastic job getting as much terrain open for the holiday ski season as possible. Early season crowds are lite.
Colorado Snow Conditions-Early Season skiing and snowboarding
The Colorado Rocky Mountains have seen the snow pack build thanks to several early season snowfalls. The resorts areas are in great shape, with many areas reporting over 200% of the normal December snow. All resorts are open; Aspen, Vail and Summit County ski areas are nearing 100% of the lifts open. Winter Park and Steamboat are also reporting good conditions.
Check out some video from early season conditions in Aspen, Colorado
Vail Lift Ticket Prices
Vail, Colorado - Vail Resorts increased the daily price of its high-season, ski lift tickets to the Vail and Beaver Creek ski areas to a whopping $89 a day for a multi-day purchase – a new high for Colorado lift ticket prices. To date the highest ski lift ticket in the state was Aspen, at $82
Vail Resorts has not announced the price point for a single-day, walk-up ticket window purchase. Those prices are traditionally higher at ski resort areas (than multi-day tickets offered for advance sale) and speculation is that the price could approach $100
For a three-out-of-five-day lift ticket at Vail or Beaver Creek between Dec. 23 and Jan. 5, the price is $267, or $89 a day. For a seven-out-of-10-day lift ticket, the price is $623, or $89 a day.
Those prices are listed at the Vail website under the category of “PEAKS discount window rate. “PEAKS” is a program by Vail Resorts’ that is a free membership club and lets members buy tickets online before they arrive at the ski resort, and provides additional member benefits by awarding points, similar to a frequent flyer program.
Vail Resorts offers various ways to buy less expensive lift tickets, at least outside of the Christmas holiday season, and it encourages visitors to seek out lift and lodging packages, discount providers and savings coupons.
Sun Valley Ski Resort Fire
A lighting strike ignited the Castle Rock Fire South-West of Ketchum, Idaho on August 17th. The fire advanced quickly toward homes in the vicinity of Warm Springs and the main Sun Valley Ski Resort situated on Mt. Baldy. In two days the fire grew to over 3200 acres.
The forest service fought the fire on multiple fronts, but the fire continued to advance, fanned by high winds, hot temperatures and low humidity. By August 28th the fire was at the door steps of the resort and portions of the town. A large portion of Ketchum was given a mandatory evacuation order on the 28-29th.
During the Labor Day weekend, visitors and residents watched in awe as it appeared Mt. Baldy was being consumed by the fire. “It looked like a volcano erupting” commented an onlooker. In reality, the huge smoke plume was being produced from the main fire located to the west of the mountain. Minor fire damage was reported in some of the remote back bowls areas as well as some spot fires that had jumped the fire line. All were quickly contained.
There was a collective sigh of relief as the fire reached 100% containment on September 4th, aided by cooler temperatures and calm winds. The fire ravaged almost 49,000 acres of the beautiful Sawtooth Mountain landscape, primarily impacting the Warm Springs area, Adams Gulch, East Fork and the forests located on the back side of Mt. Baldy. Restoration efforts are already under way.
The fire will have no impact on the 2007-2008 Sun Valley Ski and Snowboard Season. Anticipated opening date for this season is November 21 weather permitting. Sun Valley has a state of the art snowmaking system with capabilities that cover ski runs from top to bottom.
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