SNOGS - Snow Blogs
Breckenridge snow report
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To teach ski school is an art - 24/1/2012 21:47by Shawna Mckeown Shawna Mckeown is one of our favourite ski instructors in the Colorado resort of Breckenridge and she's blogging for us this winter on life in Summit County and beyond. Today she was skiing powder with her class.
To teach ski school is an art and I my friends am an artist. For the past week I have been working like crazy as everyone crams in their last family vacation before the children return to classes to finish out their year at school. I love teaching kids at Breckenridge and the best part; I get to teach kids that rip! I have had the same group of Aussie kids over the past two weeks and when I walked into work this morning and Breck reported 5 inches of fresh, Gus walked right up to me and said, "Hey Shawna, are we gonna shred today?" Yes Gus, the answer is yes! Breck was amazing this morning. Not just the snow - but the emptiness of the slopes. There's no better time to ski this mountain. Skiing fresh pow with no lift lines; a train of kids nipping at my heels; snow still falling; hell - just another day at the office...
For more on skiing in Breckenridge, click on the link to read our resort report. Welove2ski judges the Ullr Fest Parade! - 17/1/2012 21:31by Shawna Mckeown Shawna Mckeown is one of our favourite ski instructors in the Colorado resort of Breckenridge and she's blogging for us this winter on life in Summit County and beyond. Last weekend, she was on the judges at the Ullr Fest Parade.
The Ullr Fest Parade is the biggest event in Ullr Fest. It's free to enter the parade and local businesses and groups compete for first prize and a whole year of bragging rights. This year was extra special for me because the town of Breckenridge invited me to be an Ullr Fest Parade Judge! Each float is judged on Creativity, Workmanship, and Theme, and having a float that is out of control with Ullr love - beads flying, music bumping and people screaming - always helps. The parade is a crazy time of floats where anything goes, from girls in fur bikinis to the King and Queen of Ullr Fest waving on to their humble citizens.
As I walked into the judges' grandstand at the Riverwalk plaza, I was greeted with Ullr Horns and an ice cold beer by the Budweiser judges. They have been judging for the past five years and were ready for the festivities. With Budweiser on my left and Snowboard magazine on my right, I was right at home and Welove2ski.com got a huge reaction from the crowd! The Parade was an amazing party, and everyone was there to celebrate the best winter that has to offer, SNOW! The judging was difficult; this was the largest Ullr parade in all of its 49 years, with 35 floats. There were so many things going on at once it was so much fun, I loved drinking it all in, but in the end there were a select few floats that rose above the rest. Here are the official results: 1st Place: Grand Timber Lodge - Disco Dragon 2nd Place: Breckenridge Street Team - Happy Birthday Breck! 3rd Place: Lucha Colorado Cantina - Powder Pirates Honorable Mention: Breckenridge Nordic Center - Girls in Fur Bikinis and Men who Ride Kegs Happy Ullr Everyone! See you next year! ps - we've got fresh snow in Breckenridge! For more on skiing in Breckenridge, click on the link to read our resort report.
We love you Ullr - 11/1/2012 10:13by Shawna McKeown Shawna Mckeown is one of our favourite ski instructors in the Colorado resort of Breckenridge and she's blogging for us this winter on life in Summit County and beyond. Here she pays her respect to the Norse god of winter.
Ullr is the Norse God of Winter, and in ancient mythology he was the son of Sif, the step-son of Thor, and god of all things cold, icy, and covered in snow. So once a year the humble citizens of Breckenridge pay him homage in hope that it will bring lots of SNOW! Ullr Fest is now in its 49th year at Breckenridge, and to top it all off this year's Ullr Fest will be extra special because it marks the 50th year of Breckenridge Ski Resort, first opened on December 16, 1961! Ullr Fest is a week-long festival, and events include the crowning of the Ullr King and Queen, Ullympics, and the much-anticipated Ullr Parade. On Tuesday night, it was the Ullympics, and I was there to catch all the action.
It's free to take part - all you need is a coed team of four and a whacked-out team name. There are three events. First is the Ullr Cross Country Race, where you and your team mates mount larger-than-life Nordic skis and then try to sync-slide around the track. Second is the infamous Frying Pan Toss - in which you must toss four frying pans onto a bulls eye (tip - lob it through the air like a giant lead pancake). Third - well, the third race is a little hard to describe. One of the team gets dressed in vintage ski gear, then sprints to a ski pole; spins around it several times; digs through a big bowl of flour and snow to find a piece of bubble gum (no hands of course); and blows a bubble. To call these events crazy is to understate the bedlam generated. This year, families, locals, and brave visitors all stepped up to the plate, and competed in true Ullr spirit...
For more on skiing in Breckenridge, click on the link to read our resort report. The best breakfast in Colorado? - 1/1/2012 20:20by Shawna McKeown Shawna Mckeown is one of our favourite ski instructors in the Colorado resort of Breckenridge and she's blogging for us this winter on life in Summit County and beyond. Here she introduces us to one of the best breakfasts in the Rockies.
Any great skier or rider knows that big days on the mountain are built on a killer breakfast. This morning I found a new breakfast stop for trips to the resort of Beaver Creek - which lies just beyond Vail. It's called the Avon Bakery & Deli, and is open from 7:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m. This place smells amazing from the moment you pull into the parking lot. Arriving before 8:30 will help you to beat the crowds. That's when a mix of locals and knowledgeable visitors pours in for one of the amazing breakfast sandwiches, on home-made rolls, croissants and bagels - and the queue quickly stretches out of the door. I had an egg, ham, and cheese breakfast sandwich on a roll, with a "small" (not really small at all) cup of Mountain Valley coffee all for about $7. The sandwich was huge: I was definitely full and happy by the end of it. Looking out from the window you can see the steeps of Beaver Creek awaiting your arrival - and the oh-so-familiar swish of everyone's snow pants provides the soundtrack. Not a bad start to the day!
For more on skiing in Breckenridge, click on the link to read our resort report. A little pre-Christmas pow... - 24/12/2011 23:35by Shawna McKeown We have a new Breckenridge blogger! Shawna McKeown is one of our favourite ski instructors in the Colorado resort, and she'll be reporting from Breckenridge this winter. Here, she looks back on her first powder turns of the season - in the neighbouring resort of Vail.
Advertisement  Praying for Powder has finally paid off. We've just had our first commendable storm and there was no question where we were headed - over to Vail, which reported 5 inches of fresh this morning. To get to Vail from Breckenridge, you need to give yourself at least an hour for the drive over Vail pass - which is either easy or treacherous, and very rarely anything in between. We got there just in time for the first chair at 9am. Vail has a lot more terrain open than Breck right now and because it's further away from Denver there's less competition for it, too. It made for a wonderful day trip. The resort celebrated the fresh snow by opening new terrain on the front side slope, toward the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin. We laid down fresh tracks in knee deep powder as a result - lapping the North Rim and First Step glades off of the 11/Northwoods Chair until we'd tracked out the entire area! I love this part of Vail. Everyone I know always races to the Back Bowls, leaving the gladed tree runs on the front side of the ski area completely untouched. It's a gem of a place! Once we'd finished there, we headed back towards Chair 2. Every Vail chair has a great trivia question written on a whiteboard as you load the lift. It's a great way to pass the time in line - and you should always ask the lifties if you got it right. They love it when you can nail it first time. Now that I have had my first taste of Colorado powder for the season I'm foaming at the mouth for more. Time to pay homage to Ullr!
For more on skiing in Breckenridge, click on the link to read our resort report. Make the most of Monday night in Breckenridge. - 21/12/2011 20:10by Shawna McKeown We have a new Breckenridge blogger! Shawna McKeown is one of our favourite ski instructors in the resort, and she'll be reporting from Colorado this winter. Here she starts with the lowdown on Monday nights in the resort...
The best thing about nightlife in a ski town is that you can go out whenever you want to - early or late, there's always something going on, somewhere. Tonight I went down the early route, and since it was Monday that meant starting at Mia Casa and finishing at the Gold Pan. Advertisement Mi Casa Restaurant is down on the south side of town - right across the street from the Village. It has a wonderful happy "hour", which starts at 4pm. and goes till 6pm. They put out free chips and salsa, and if you stay till five, get free house nachos too. The bar is always fun and loud and full of small bar tables, tons of chairs and big booths. If you get there early enough, grab a booth - they are crazy comfy. I go to Mi Casa for the Sangria, which is $4 and absolutely delicious; they go down way too easily...Mi Casa also has $1 tacos, $3 baskets of wings, and $3 PBR pitchers, and $1 off all of their margaritas. Once six o'clock hit, it was time to move down Main St, and head into the Gold Pan. Every Monday the Gold Pan has quarter beers - beer at 25 cents a cup. (Don't get too excited, because the cups are tiny. It takes around three cups to make a full pint.) The Pan is the social epicentre of Breckenridge on Monday nights, and last night was no exception - the place was rammed with locals straight off off the mountain, throwing back the beers. Derek the bartender has the tap on a constant flow, because everyone is ordering drinks in double digits. Quarter beer goes from 6-7pm, so don't be late 'cause it's the only night you can pay for beer with your small change and not feel like a ski bum! For more on skiing in Breckenridge, click on the link to read our resort report. | ||
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