Learn to snowboard at Copper Mountain Ski Resort

by Kraig Becker on

Located a short drive from Denver, Colorado, Copper Mountain Ski Resort is amongst the premiere ski destinations in all of North America. With 125 total runs, spread out across nearly 2500 skiable acres, and an average snowfall of 280 inches per year, Copper Mountain truly is a fantastic winter playground that is set to open for the 2011-2012 season on November 4th.

One of the top attractions at the resort is the Woodward at Copper snowboard training center, which features a 19,400 square foot indoor training facility affectionately known as “The Barn.” Woodward was designed from the ground up to be a place where snowboarders can improve their terrain park and pipe skills, learning new tricks and acrobatic maneuvers, in a safe and supervised environment.

Visitors to the Barn will discover all kinds of unique training tools designed to help them master whatever skills they’re looking to add to their repertoire. For example, the facility features a long jump that lands in a foam pit 55 feet in length, allowing snowboarders to catch big air, pull flashy moves, and still land softly every time. Other features include plenty of boxes and rails to grind, trampolines to help develop acrobatic skills, and several runs that incorporate Snowflex, an artificial surface designed to simulate real snow. Copper hasn’t reserved all the fun for the boarders however, and skiers can hone their skills in the Barn as well.

The Barn is open every day and offers a variety of training programs ranging in length from a few hours to multi-day camps. If you’re a snowboarder or skier looking to improve your skills or learn new tricks, then you’ll want to see what the Woodward can do for you. Check out the video below to get a sense of what the program is all about, and then head over to the website to find a program that suits your needs.

[Photo credit: Roland Zumbuhl via WikiMedia]


Woodward at Copper Ski and Snowboard Camp from Woodward at Copper on Vimeo.

Why early season Colorado snow may spell danger for backcountry skiers

by Kyle Ellison on

Here on Gadling we recently reported that Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin Ski Area officially opened for business on October 13, thereby kicking off the start of the new winter season. As of opening day the resort was reporting 18 inches of powder on the ground, and with yesterday’s massive dump of over a foot of new snow the slopes are surely covered in a lot of the white stuff all over again.

While this undoubtedly puts a smile on the face of skiers and boarders who have been frothing all summer to get back on the slopes, some experts claim that large, early-season dumps such as those experienced thus far can ultimately create unstable conditions that contribute to fatal avalanches.

According to a new post by Unofficial Networks, early season snowfall mixed with cold temperatures can create what are known as “depth hoar crystals” that form an unstable layer of ice beneath the snowpack and aid in triggering avalanches later on in the winter.

Essentially ball-bearings that rest beneath the snow, the longer a thin, early season snowpack sits on the slopes, the greater potential it has to eventually form into the hated depth hoar crystals. While coastal resorts along the Sierra Nevada remain relatively warm after an early season dump, inland locations such as Colorado can see cold temperatures linger long after an early season snow, thereby lengthening the time that early season snow stays on the ground.

This is why, according to Unofficial Networks, Colorado is the leading state for avalanche deaths by nearly double the second leading state (Alaska) over the last 50 years. Should warm temperatures help to melt some of the October snow, however, it helps to create a much more stable base.

It’s important to note, of course, that the large majority of Colorado avalanche deaths occur in backcountry terrain that isn’t professionally groomed by qualified resort staff. Given that these in-bounds runs are monitored by the resorts, the chances of depth hoar crystals affecting your run down the bunny slope are far less than if you’re venturing out of bounds.

So while I’m as stoked as the next guy to get back out onto some powder this winter, it’s worth keeping an eye on how all of this early season Colorado snow is going to effect what experts are predicting could be another winter of epic proportions.

Photo of the day: New Orleans after Katrina

by Elizabeth Seward on


People have been talking about New Orleans differently since Hurricane Katrina. No matter how the city’s name slips into conversation, the disaster named Katrina is typically addressed and typically, it must be. Anyone who knows NOLA will vouch for the tremendous damage caused by this storm and the circumstances surrounding it. But many people who know NOLA will also confess: the city still has life in it; New Orleans is still teeming with an energy exclusive to the city. And as an homage to the trip I’m taking to New Orleans tomorrow, I am posting this photo of New Orleans post-Katrina, taken by Arla Parker.

I’m visiting New Orleans through next week, generally speaking, for Voodoo Festival and Halloween. But a broader reason for my trip is my desire to keep up with the city. I have been visiting the Big Easy regularly since 2005, but my first visit to the city was exactly a month before Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans has gripped me since the first visit and I look forward to exploring the paths this upcoming trip leads me down. Have you been to New Orleans since Katrina? What are your thoughts?

And, as always, if you’d like to submit a photo for Photo of The Day, just upload a photo to the Gadling Flickr Pool.

The Holiday Shops in Bryant Park, New York, open this weekend

by Jessica Festa on

The Holiday Shops in Bryant Park bring holiday cheer to New York City for their 10th season beginning this weekend. From October 27, 2011, through January 8, 2012, visitors can experience this European-inspired open-air market that features artisans selling unique gifts, handicrafts, jewelry, bath and body products, toys, culinary enhancements, and more. An ice skating rink, a giant Christmas tree, and booths selling holiday pastries and hot chocolate add to the merry ambiance.

Some of the vendors (but, not even close to all of them) include:

  • Molton Brown- luxury bath, body, and hair products
  • Max Brenner- unique and fine chocolates by “the bald man”
  • Ooh La La Boutiques- women’s fashion, accessories, and jewelry
  • Momo Glassworks- glass canvas paintings and jewelry
  • Northern Tribe New York- women/men’s fashion and gifts
  • Organic Wares- products such as scarves and string lights made of organic materials

The Holiday Shops are open daily, Monday-Friday 11AM-8PM, Saturday 10AM-9PM, Sunday 10AM-6PM.

The Whistler Sabbatical Project – sign us up

by McLean Robbins on

We’re a sucker for these amazing free trip contests. Year-long diving contracts in Australia? We’ll get SCUBA certified. Photographing wedding locations across Ireland? We’ll find a husband. For this new incentive from Tourism Whistler, we’ll learn to ski on more than just the bunny slopes.

Dubbed the “Whistler Sabbatical Project,” this one-month, all expenses paid trip will include airfare, accommodations, lift passes, ski or snowboard equipment and “extraordinary experiences.”

Sign us up. How do you win? Each Tuesday for the next 15 weeks, the Whistler Sabbatical Project will showcase Whistler experiences online – and ask the question: Would you do it? How contestants respond will set the stage for building an itinerary of adventure.

Potential “experiences” include slicing the tops off magnums of champagne with a sabre (in a 20,000 bottle wine cellar), access to a world-class spa facility to on-mountain adventures, and of course, all the skiing or snowboarding you can handle.

“We’re encouraging people to go to the site every week, think about the question and answer whether or not they’d do that particular activity,” said Kirsten Homeniuk, Tourism Whistler’s senior manager of marketing services.
enter the contest,” she said.

Of course, the contest is also aimed at drawing visitors to Whistler through 45-second videos that highlight not only the planned Whistler Sabbatical but the many activities that make the area a desirable tourist destination.

A sample question? “Would you dance in your ski boots until midnight?” Response options include:
□ I’ll do it
□ Been there, done that
□ I’ll need a little more time with that (and likely some good tequila)

In addition to the Whistler Sabbatical Project, contestants can enter to win each of the highlighted experiences as a weekly prize via Facebook.

The Whistler Sabbatical Project and the weekly prize contests are open to residents in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia only.