As this ski season is winding down with Mary Jane closing April 15th and the whole of Winter Park Resort closing April 22 it may be time to think when the resort will be opening up for summer activities.  Winter Park Resort base activities and attractions include the Zephyr Lift opening with access to favorite attractions such as the Alpine Slide, Amaze’n Human Maze, Leaps & Bounds Bungee, Rock ‘n Roll Gyro, Mountainside Mini Golf and Outdoor Climbing Wall.

Winter Park Resort base activities will be opening June 16th, 2012.  Summer hours of operation are 10am through 5:30pm, 7 days a week, from June 16 through September 3, 2012 (Labor Day) – and the same hours weekends in September. Ticket windows open at 9:30am. The Zephyr Express Chairlift closes at 5pm, while other activities close at 5:30pm.

Trestle Bike Park will be opening by June 16th if not before.  This year new at Trestle will be Cruel and Unusual as well as 2 more new trails near the base. And DO NOT MISS the inaugural Colorado Freeride Festival – July 26-29, 2012 at Trestle Bike Park.  The Colorado Freeride Festival replaces Crankworx Colorado.  Trestle Bike Park passes will be available in early May.

Now is the time to get your Winter Park Resort Lodging to get all the rides you can on Colorado’s longest alpine slide.  Check out all the Winter Park Resort summer activities.  Winter Park Lodging Company provides the best Trestle Bike Park lodging at the Winter Park Resort Base.

Mark it down, Winter Park Resort summer activities open for business June 16th, 2012.

♦ The Last Blast Pass – deal of the season: Of course the biggest and best change for April is the $99 Last Blast pass sale, for unlimited skiing and riding at Winter Park Resort from April 9-22. Yes, unlimited skiing for all of those days for only $99. If you ski every day of that time frame, it’s just under $8 per day. Sweet deal, eh?

♦ New Lift Hours of Operation – starting April 9th: With daylight savings on our side, Winter Park Resort has moved the lift hours of operation one hour forward beginning on April 9th. One more hour to allow the overnight freeze to thaw and one more hour in the afternoon to enjoy the awesome April sunlight. Check out the full details.

♦ Changes to Group Lessons:  Also starting on April 9th, the full-day group lessons at the Winter Park Ski School are no longer available every day. The full-day lessons will still be offered and available for advance booking online on Saturdays and Sundays, but the rest of the week, only the Max-Four lessons are available, which are half-day lessons available only for walk-up reservation. For more details, click here or call 970-726-1564 for the Resort’s info hotline.

♦ Transportation – New Shuttle Schedule:  On April 2nd, the free Lift shuttle buses will be on a different schedule and will change again on April 9th to reflect the later lift operations at the ski resort.

On April 2nd, all buses will be on the hourly pick-up times instead of every 30 minutes, except for the Black line, which will continue to run on the 30-minute schedule, and the Green line, which operates on a continual basis from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Click here to see the schedule online, bearing in mind that only the times shown in bold are the stop times (example: Winter Park Resort  :30 / :00)

On April 9th, all buses will start running one hour later than the start times shown on the schedule to reflect the new lift hours at the ski resort, except for the Black line, which will continue to start at the same time of 7:20am.

♦ Village Cabriolet & Shuttle Changes: More changes? Yes. Also starting on April 2nd, the Village Cabriolet will run from 7:30am to 5:30pm, at which time the Village Night shuttle will do its rounds from 5:30 to 10pm. But after April 9th, we’re not sure how late the Village Night shuttle bus will operate, as that is still to be determined. We’ll let you know or just call 970-726-4163 to talk to the shuttle company.

Photo courtesy of Scott Hefel.

Starting April 9th, Winter Park Resort will have new hours of operation. In order to use Mother Nature to our fullest advantage, the lifts will start and end one hour later in the day, providing the best ski experience possible for the rest of the ski season.

New Winter Park and Mary Jane Lift Operation Hours (effective 4/9/12):
Monday – Friday: Open 10:00 AM and Close 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: Open 9:30 AM and Close 5:00 pm

Why is Winter Park making this change?

Snow Conditions and Guest Experience! Given the range of temperatures between day and night and thaw/freeze conditions, Winter Park is making this shift to allow an extra hour in the morning for snow to soften, and an extra hour in the afternoon when the light is good and snow is softer. By taking advantage of afternoon light provided by daylight savings time, this will  improve the on-snow experience.

Telluride Ski Resort initiated a later start and later close a couple of weeks ago and it has been a very popular decision according to Telluride.

In addition, this will allow us an extra hour to sleep in and enjoy the benefits of daylight savings time – including enjoying a leisurely breakfast and some nice late-day snacks and beverages at one of the many bars with sunny deck seating at Winter Park and Mary Jane!

With new spring hours and great weather you should book your Winter Park ski lodging now for some great spring skiing!  Check out the best Winter Park Vacation Rentals with Winter Park Lodging Company.

Winter Park Resort will be in the national racing spotlight when the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships follow the Nastar National Championship to create The Championships presented by Nature Valley, March 22 – April 1, 2012.

Lindsey Vonn is expected to race in the Alpine National Championships.  The Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships serve as the culmination of a five-month season that crossed continents and countries so America’s best alpine skiers could go head-to-head with the world. Top athletes from over 400 U.S. Ski Team club programs throughout the U.S. and the U.S. Ski Team will converge on Winter Park for the five-day event. Among those expected to compete are four-time World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), three-time World Cup giant slalom champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) and three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) – all of whom are Olympic gold medalists.  This is the best place and time to see the United States gold medal ski racers.

The Championships Event Schedule
March 22-25: The Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships
March 26: Return of the Champions Family Challenge and U.S. Ski Team Reunion
March 27: U.S. Ski Team Pro-Am Team Race
March 28-April 1: Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships

The Alpine Championships will be the grand finally of a great week of skiing and fun at Winter Park Resort.  This is a great way to usher in the spring skiing of April here at Winter Park and Mary Jane.

To get your NASTAR Championship Lodging or Nature Valley US Alpine Championships Lodging make sure to check our primo digs here at Winter Park Lodging Company.

A great week of skiing and ski racing are here at Winter Park/Mary Jane so get up here and enjoy some snow and sun with the likes of Lindsey Vonn, Julie Mancuso and Todd Ligety.

Spring Splash at Winter Park Resort

The Coca Cola® Spring Splash is April 22nd this year celebrating the end of the 72nd ski season at Winter Park Resort.  Spring Splash is a party at both sides of the Resort at Winter Park and Mary Jane.

On the Winter Park side:

Winter Park Resort’s Coca-Cola® Spring Splash is the oldest tradition of its kind and on its 44th year. Athletes begin at noon as spectators watch skiers and riders struggle through obstacles on the Larry Sale trail race course and attempt to skim across an icy pond to reach the finish line and post a time. Live music sets the tone for a closing day party that is fun for everyone! This is a family friendly fun time with music, giveaways with a festival like atmosphere.

On the Mary Jane Side:

It is rockin’ with a center stage and makeshift tail gate parties that lasts from early in the day till past sundown.  Lots of locals sharing their best bbq, adult beverages and celebrating the end to another ski season is what you get at the Challenger lift just up from the base of Mary Jane.  Jane side is not for the faint of heart as you will see all the good and bad of the youthful ski culture of today.

Make sure to get your spot picked out early on either the Winter Park or Mary Jane side as  there is a very large crowd on both sides by 11am.

Looking for Winter Park Spring Splash lodging be sure to book now to get your first choice of accommodations.

Check out some of our photos from last years Winter Park Resort spring splash celebration.  A whooping good time with sun and snow throughout the day.

Photo by Scott Hefel

Spring Skiing Winter Park Mary Jane

The weather is starting to warm up some here Winter Park and we are in our snowiest month of the year, March. This means that the famous Colorado spring skiing is knocking at the door.

With the slow start of the snow falling this year this should can we will be getting great snow from mid March thru the very end of April and probably beyond into May.  Not a great thing to hear for a mountain bike perspective but it should make for some of the best spring skiing conditions in years.

Spring is the best time of year to visit Winter Park Mary Jane Resort.  The skies are blue and there is nothing more fun than Après on the patio of Lunch Rock or Club Car on the Jane side.

Lodging at Winter Park Resort is a great deal come April and most of the crowds are staying down in the lowlands.  For those wanting to get the best skiing of the year spring is the time to head up to Winter Park.

The Winter Park Spring Splash is April 22 this year of 2012 and that is a day not to be missed.  Usually great skiing and some of the best snow of the year should be around if things go as they have the last few years.  March is the snowiest month here in WP and April is usually the third snowiest month of the year so there is always plenty of good skiing come springtime.

Check out the Winter Park Resort Lodging Lodging Deals and book now to get your first pick on your Mary Jane spring skiing vacation lodging digs.

Cat Skiing in Winter Park, CO

Who out there is a skiing junky? We have the fix for you powder junky.  Powder Addiction Backcountry Cat Skiing is the skiing drug you are looking for.  Powder Addiction operates on Jones Pass on the East side of Berthoud Pass and runs daily snowcat skiing trips.

Powder Addiction offers guided snowcat skiing and riding for the powder addict. The terrain consist of high alpine bowls, gladed meadows, rock bands, open chutes and gullies. The high altitude combined with good Northern exposure keeps the snow cold and light. Operating in the Jones Pass area with an operating permit of 2,600 acres, there is the powder, vertical and adventure for an epic powder experience. Holding true to powder addiction trips are run seven days a week.

All Powder Addiction cat ski trips include transportation to and from the Village at Winter Park, powder demo skis, safety gear, lunch, and 2 free beers at the end of the day, compliments of Steamworks Brewery.

The above was a trip of Winter Park locals and a couple of Winter Park Lodging Company staffers playing a day of hooky.  It was a little windy for the ski trip but boy was there some fantastic un-skied powder.  The guides at Powder Addition know how to get un-skied fresh powder shots while offering a safe and fun trip.  In the video above you can see the small avalanche that went before our ski crew hit that slope.

If you have any inclination to do any backcountry skiing you should look into a cat trip with PA.  An amazing ski will be had and it is such a different skiing experience than can be a had at Winter Park/Mary Jane ski resort.

Looking for lodging and a deal on your Powder Addiction trip? Make sure to book your Winter Park ski lodging with Winter Park Lodging Company.  And also book your Powder Addiction trip with WPLCo to get the best deal through our EasySki concierge service.

Check out the Powder Addiction website to get the lowdown.

We have had an odd year of snowfall here in Winter Park, Colorado this 2011/2012 ski season but things are looking on the very bright side now, as this February been one snowy month.  So far this year we have had 126″ of snow and that is low for this time of year.  However, what a blessing this could turn to to be.

Winter Park and Mary Jane has averaged around 340″ of snow the past 11 years (during ski season).  So what does this mean?  Well, I’m reading the tea leaves with the idea that WP is in for some monster late winter and spring snowfalls.  My prediction is that by the scheduled closing of WInter Park Resort on April 22 there will have been one 300″ of new snow at the Mary Jane snow station.  That will be over 175″ of new snow in the next 10 weeks.

So look out! I’m saying we are going to have one of the best late winter anmd spring skiing seasons ever.  We did all the snow dances, put the trail maps in the freezer and we are going to get the fluffy white snow falling all season long.

Here is snow history for last year and the ten years previous:

And here are the previous 10 years of snowfall history at WInter PArk and Mary Jane:

PREVIOUS 10 SKI SEASONS

So there is a silver lining to the slow snowfall start here in Winter Park: we will be getting a bunch of snow in the next two and a half months.  Maybe some of the best ever spring skiing here in Winter Park, Colorado.

So make sure to get your Winter Park Spring Ski Lodging early and have some grate spring skiing fun.

NASTAR Ski Championships Winter Park, CO

The Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships and Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships combined to create The Championships presented by Nature Valley at Winter Park Resort, March 23-April 1.  The NASTAR Championships are now a full week here at Winter Park/Mary Jane.

The NASTAR race course is a dual race course where skiers and riders can race side-by-side against friends and family or against the clock. The course is set on Lower Cranmer, just above Snoasis, making the race course accessible to all skiers and riders at an intermediate level or better. Groups of any size and nearly any skill level can enjoy a fun and spirited competition catered to their needs. Ski clubs and councils, business retreats, family reunions, school ski trips, and other groups should give our NASTAR race course a try. Using a pacesetting system, participants can compare their results to other racers of all ages and abilities from across the country as well as with members of the U.S. Ski Team.

NASTAR Winter Park Schedule of Events

March 23-25        The Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships
March 26             Return of the Champions Family Challenge and U.S. Ski Team reunion
March 27             U.S. Ski Team Pro-Am Team Race
March 28-April 1  Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships

NASTAR racers must qualify for the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships within their age category, division and discipline at any NASTAR resort. There are more than 120 resorts that offer NASTAR racing and a top five rankings as of Feb. 21st at any resort qualifies racers for the Nationals. The overall Champions, fastest male and female, will earn forerunner positions for the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships GS and a trip to a U.S. Ski Team training camp.

Winter Park Lodging Company is offering 5th night free on stays of 5 nights or more or 15% off 2 to 4 night stays.  So, make sure to book your NASTAR Winter Park lodging with WInter Park Lodging Company.

Snowfall at Winter Park Resort

The snow took some time to come this year but it has been falling steady the past week and conditions are fantastic with lots more snow forecast for this coming week.  This week Panorama Express opened with great tree skiing and powder that was waist high.

As of today Winter Park Resort has 19 of 25 lifts open with 111 trails in great skiing condition and all 8 terrain parks ready for all your tricks.  Total skiing acreage open is 1437, that is a lot of space to ski.

The weather outlook for the coming weeks is looking real good with a steady flow of storms dropping some good totals here in WP.  For the year Winter Park Resort has had 101.5″ of snow for the year.  A positive way of looking at the thin snow of December is that we will hit at least 300″ of snow for the year so there will be a whole lot of fluffy white powder being dumped between now and April 22.

Want to follow the Winter Park Resort Snow Forecast? Follow the Open Snow Powder Forecast.

Looking to come hit the snowy Winter Park slopes when there are no crowds and the flakes are flying?  Book with WInter park Lodging Company by January 31st for stays before February 15th and get your third night free.  Check out all of Winter Park Lodging Company’s Vacation Rentals to get your prime Winter Park, Colorado diggs.

The jet stream and storm flow have made a change.  Look for Winter park and Mary Jane to get plenty of snow for some great skiing the next three and a-half months.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.