Winter Park Resort – Top Family Ski Destination/Resort

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Chris

family ski resort winter park co Winter PArk Resort best for family

Top Family Ski Destination Winter Park Ski Resort

The word is getting out not only about what a great ski destination Winter Resort is but also what a great place for families.

OnTheSnow.com has bestowed Winter Park/ Mary Jane the honor of being named the people’s choice award for Best Family Resort. That is right el numero uno! Best family resort in ……. everywhere.

With locals who care about skiing, having fun and caring for guests, Winter Park is a great place for a kid friendly ski vacation. That’s right we here in Winter Park aren’t about the fur coats, look at me aren’t I sooo cool attitude. No we are here to have a great time enjoy the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains and ski and learn to ski.

Nice work OnTheSnow.com and all those that voted. Winter Park is getting the praise it so strongly deserves.

Here is how the OnThe Snow folk describe WInter Park and Mary Jane:

Perfectly positioned next to the Continental Divide, Winter Park has the distinct advantage of being able to catch winter storms from nearly every direction. Western and southern storms get “trapped” by the Divide. Northern and eastern “upslope” storms often spread over the west side of the Divide and add to the snowpack. On average, Winter Park receives 369 inches of snow annually – a factor that has led to its long-held claim of being Denver’s favorite place to ski. Winter Park is actually owned by the city of Denver, but operated by Intrawest. The area is 67 miles from Denver. Though it is completely interconnected by lifts, it has separate base areas: Mary Jane and Winter Park. Mary Jane is where you’ll find the famous bumps and super-steeps. Advanced skiers favor the Zephyr Express on the Winter Park side.

We here at Winter Park Lodging Company know about this family ski business as you can see Mom and the WPLCo twin mascots above learning to ski. The terrain is perfect for kids to learn and dad and the older one’s have Mary Jane to get tucker’d out on. And don’t forget about our snow! We have lots, in fact, the most of any destination resort in all of Colorado and it stays around longer, it’s colder here.

Looking for the best family friendly ski destination, it is Winter Park Resort!

Children Skiing Winter Park Resort, Colorado

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Chris

Learning to Ski Winter Park, CO

Here is out latest ski video here at Winter Park Resort, Colorado’s Favorite. We are highlighting children and the youngsters learning to swoosh down the hill this segment. The above video is staring WPLCo’s very own and my very own twins, Nicholas & Willem. This is Nicholas & Willem’s second year skiing and they are now able to ski from the very top of Winter Park Resort to the very bottom with only a little help from mom and dad.

The Winter Park Ski School and ski teacher Rosie have done great work with these two little tykes this year. The boys took a a series of four ski lessons with Rosie this January that totally turned around the skiing learning curve. They wen’t from heading straight downhill with no interest in slowing, stopping or turning to being able ski freely downhill stopping on command and turning pretty much anywhere they would like to go.

If you have kids or have someone that is learning to ski, Winter Park Ski School is a great investment of your time and money. A couple of days with group or private lessons will turn your skiing/boarding skills around and get you enjoying being on the slopes. As we learned with our twins trying to teach your kids yourself usually is not a good idea time-wise or for family unity. Going skiing with kids let a professional teach them and parents can have a peace of mind that they are being taken care of and being taught the proper way to ski and board.

Check out Nicholas and Willem skiing Winter Park at 2 years of age and look how far the little boogers have progressed.

Presidents Day Skiing at Winter Park and Mark Jane

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Chris

Winter Park Resort Ski Video

The busiest weekend of the year has come and gone but we have some video to commemorate Presidents Day weekend here in Winter Park and Mary Jane. The weather was absolutely fantastic for this years Pres. Day weekend with a bunch of new snow on Wed and Thurs before and blue sky sunny days all weekend long.

We had lots of guests here to enjoy the Winter Park Lodging Company’s digs and we even had some family visiting. Relatives from Minnesota way here to enjoy the three day weekend and they were very happy with the snow/weather conditions. Crowds were not that bad if you know how to travel Winter Park and Mary Jane and steep slopes with threes and boulders seems to keep the crowds down.

The above ski video is shot on Cheshire Cat, Pine Cliffs, and Buckaroo Trees. As you can see most of the skiing is on untracked lines with almost perfect weather. Skiing is done by Michael Allen and Mark Allen of Rochester, Minnesota. Camera work and skiing is by yours truly as is movie production and editing. So if you think the skiing and/or movie isn’t up to snuff leave your thoughts below.

This is our first movie created in Apple’s Final Cut so I’m just getting a handle on the complexity of this technology, almost like putting a machine gun in a toddlers hands. It may be a tad more power than is needed for our purpose but you can really create some cool videos. Music is an old, old favorite – Guadalcanal Diary from Athens, GA.

We have been doing quite a bit of skiing this past week with a Powder Addiction cat ski trip and have taken the Winter Park Lodging Company mascot twins to WP Resort a few time this past week. I will be working on a Powder Addiction video as well as a learning to ski at Winter Park video. I know Y’all are holding your breath. Anywho, stay tuned for some WPLCo skiing action.

And as Warren Miller says get out on the slopes because if you don’t do it this year you will only be another year older when you do.

Winter Park Resort Snow Report

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Chris

winter park snow report Snowfall in Winter Park, Colorado

Boy oh boy, have we had a great year for snow so far this year. This little La Niña weather pattern has been very nice to Winter Park and Mary Jane. Last year the Mary Jane side of the mountain didn’t open until December 24th. This year pretty much the entire mountain is open besides the runs served by the Eagle Wind lift are open over the entire resort.

Here is the snow report for today and the year:

NEW WINTER PARK RESORT SNOW (IN INCHES)
24 HRS	48 HRS	72 HRS	SEASON
2″	7″	8″	95.6″

That is almost 100 inches of snow and it’s not even mid-December. This is setting up to be one of the best snow years in a long while. It seems we are getting a new storm system coming through every two or three days. The La Nina SST pattern (strong) is here for the winter, through possibly the season following (through 2012). This usually means near to just above average snowfall for northern Colorado resorts and near to just below average snowfall for southern Colorado resorts.

Come on up to Winter Park and Mary Jane and ski the Colorado’s number one destination resort for snow. Let the Winter Park Lodging Company take care of all your lodging, Winter Park Resort lift tickets and ski/board rental needs.

You can also follow all the Winter Park, Colorado happenings at:

Winter Park Blog

Winter Park Lodging Blog

Winter Park Lodging Company Facebook Page

Let it snow, let snow, let it snow.

Learning to ski at Winter Park Resort

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Chris

Skiing with Children in Winter Park, CO

Where was the first place that you skied? What was your favorite run as child? Well pretty much all my childhood memories of skiing are right here in Winter Park, Colorado. My oldest brother, David, would take me and my two other older brothers, Matthew & Stephen, and slog us up the hill and try to ski down with me between his legs. David is now up for sainthood. Even though I remember it being very hard and sometimes cold the biggest memory is of how incredibly fun it was to get out on the slopes on snow and shuush down the hill. Probably just a convenient memory because at four I was definitely not shuushing.

Anywho, it is time for me to pay back the teaching. We have been taking our twin boys, Nicholas & Willem, out to the teaching areas at Winter Park and Mary Jane and man what a kick they are getting out it. The above video is of Mom and Nicholas hitting Discovery Park. After a few runs at Mt. Maury we took Nicholas up the Gemini and let him get after some skiing. we then went back down and Nicholas fell in love with the magic carpet and trying to do pizza with his skis. The edgy-wedgy helps a lot with the young kids keeping the skis together.

At the end of the day we met up with Teddy, Niko and Theo for some french fries, PB & J and some nice sunshine. We will be heading out this weekend with both Nicholas & Willem and those two will be rippen’ up the slopes. A couple more trips to Winter Park and Mary Jane and the little tykes will be ready for Winter Park Ski School.

learn to ski winter park colorado skiing with kids at Winter Park mary jane

Winter Park Resort Opening Week Skiing

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Chris

Early Season Skiing Winter Park, CO

What an amazing first week of the ski season we have had here in Winter Park. The Resort opened with top to bottom runs on the very first day at Winter Park, Then there was another six inches of snow and Mary Jane opened three days later. And today Outhouse opened with some great snow and spectacular bump skiing. There should be a few more inches of snow before lifts start up mañana. A great early season for snow and skiing so far and we are looking for this La Niña to keep these powdery storms coming on through. Anywho, I thought that the skiing has been so good that we should take a little video with the new helmut cam to show how good of condition the slopes are already in.

The above little video was filmed Saturday and was the first time I used this helmut cam skiing. I need a little practice to get the angles correct. Iwas skiing with a buddy of mine and we were up pretty early and this was the first run of the day down Balch on the Winter Park side of the resort. Music is Smash Mouth’s You Are My Number One featuring Ranking Roger of The English Beat.

Winter Park and Mary Jane are open for skiing. Six months of glorious, glorious snow, skiing and fun here in the Colorado Rockies. Remember a bad day of skiing is better than a good day at work.

Come up and enjoy the WInter Park and Mary Jane slopes and let Winter Park Lodging Company handle the plans so all you need to be concerned with is the skiing.

Winter Park Resort Opening – What’s New?

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Chris

winter park co ski sign Winter Park and Mary Jane Opening

Opening day is upon us this week and the snow should be the best opening day snow that we have had in years. What does Winter Park and Mary Jane have new this year and what is to be expected from this 72nd ski season here at The Winter Park Resort?

Winter Park is in year two with its joint cloud seeding program with Denver Water. This La Niña year should prove to be more worthwhile than last years cloud seeding and poor snow results.

Are you excited for ski season? Well, here is a top 10 list of why to get excited about Winter Park and Mary Jane this year (from Sky Hi Daily News).

10 Reasons to get pumped about ski season 72 at Winter Park Ski Resort

1. 20 new rail features:
Two propane tanks-jibs,
“Kid” the horse feature who is back ‘from pasture’,
20 single-barrel rails with a variety of configurations of flat, kinked, C-rails and rainbows.

2.Mobile me
Smart phone access to mobile website for live webcams, trail maps and weather and trail conditions.

3.Blog this
Articles highlighting terrain parks, youth programs, events, multimedia, interviews with staff and guests and news at skiwinterpark.com.

4.Learn in Style
Opening Dec. 11, the new private lesson center at the base of Zephyr Express: The center includes complimentary lockers for full day private lessons guests, a full concierge service, private lift line to Zephyr Express Chairlift, snowmobile shuttle to the award-winning Sorensen Park for beginners, customized boot fitting service and a VIP lounge.

5. Improved Parking
Bye-bye mud bog! Over the summer WPR paved 822 marked spaces at The Vintage Hotel parking lot. Jump on the Village Cabriolet without mud on your boots.

6. More tree runs
Winter Park and Denver Water were awarded a grant this summer to improve forest health by decreasing fire hazard, encouraging new tree growth for a healthy, stable watershed and reducing safety hazards to skiers. The end result — more tree runs!

7. Greener WP
The resort has appointed a new employee council tasked with refocusing the resort’s sustainability efforts — including an improved recycling program for guests and employees, composting, and reduction of water waste. Meeting monthly, the council will work on projects such as ‘Zero Waste’ at its mountain top restaurant.

8. Free babysitting (sort of)
Spend $30 eating out in the village on Thursdays from Dec. 16 to April 14 and the babysitting is free. Open to kids 4-12, the night includes games, crafts, movies, dinner and s’mores by the firepit for the kids, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

9. Longer season
Thanks to Jesus, the season will be longer this year. With a later Easter, the season will run through Easter Sunday, April 24.

10. Dilly Dally Alley
An old logging road is now WP’s newest blue run. The 200-yard-long offshoot of lower Lonesome Whistle on Vasquez Ridge will keep young riders giggling with its big rolling waves and “whoop-dee-doos.” Surrounded by large Fur Trees and the East Fork of the Little Vasquez Creek, parents may also be enticed to take a run or two.

Pumped to ski this year…. I am ready to hit the hill early and often and hope to get in 60 days this year.

What is going to be open on opening day ?

Here you go straight from WP Resort:

Opening day news: Limited terrain openings on Wednesday, November 17 – check the snow report on opening day for more info. We will start with a mid-mountain opening Wednesday on the Arrow and Gemini, plus other mid mountain lifts (Endeavour, etc.). Zephyr + others projected to open midday on Wednesday.

There will also be a new restaurant in the Winter Park Village called the Pizza Pedal’r (no typo) serving pizza by the slice.

Opening day is here and for six glorious months we have grand Colorado skiing at our doorstep. Lets thank the snow gods for the white we have so far and may they continue to unleash the powder on the Winter Park hills.

Winter Park Resort Lift Ticket Deals

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Chris

discount Winter Park Resort Lift tickets Discount Winter Park, CO Lift Tickets

Ski season is almost here and the snow is looking very good for early season skiing. Now is the time to figure out your lift ticket and /or season pass sitiuation so you are not paying the walk up window rate which at holiday time can get a little pricey.

The number one way to save on skiing this year at Winter Park and Mary Jane is a season pass. Save with a Season Pass and the perks that come with the pass. Your season pass deal is, you’ll get ten $59 lift ticket coupons for friends & family with each Winter Park Resort season pass you purchase. These coupons can be shared with anyone in your group and, like a season pass, do not have any blackout dates.

Winter Park season passes for the 2010/2011 ski season are currently $389 for adults and $319 for teens 13-17 years old. They’re on the rise and will eventually reach as high at $1000 each. At these sale prices and with the $59 coupons, some groups only have to ski two days to beat the window price.

Another benefit to buying a season pass is that you don’t have to ski on specific dates, you can use the season pass and coupons whenever you’d like, with NO BLACKOUT DATES!

Buy your Winter Park Mary Jane Season Pass Now Before it is to late. Consider the Rocky Mountain Super Pass if you want access to Winter Park/Mary Jane and Copper Mountain. For that, plus six days at Steamboat Springs, there is the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus.

Next best option for cheap WInter Park lift tickets are the Four Passes. The Winter Park Four Pass is the best deal available for four lift tickets, priced at $149. The only catch is that you have to buy it in person in Colorado, since it is a non-transferable ski pass with your photo on it. If you have purchased one before, you can renew it online for an upcoming ski season.

The Winter Park Four Pass is usually available until mid November and can be purchased at the Winter Park Resort season pass office or at two Front Range Christy Sports locations. Blackout dates are December 27th through December 31st.

Plan now to save the most money on lift tickets. Check out all of Winter Park Resort lift ticket deals.

Ski season is here so get your lift tickets now.

First Day of Skiing Ski Season 2010/2011

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Chris

Mary Jane winter park skiing Winter Park Ski Season 2010/2011

We were able to get out of the house and out of WInter Park and the Fraser Valley to get the first day of this ski season in at Loveland Basin.

Loveland received an inch of new snow Sunday night to go on top of the 40 or so they have gotten so far this year. The snow conditions were awesome for November 1st and the weather could not have been better. There was no wind, very un-Loveland like, and the temps were around 35 degrees. Check out the pix above, it was as close to a bluebird day as you can get in early November.

Loveland had about five runs open, two of them were bump runs, and two lifts operating. All in all a great first day of skiing since last April.

There is more skiing to be had in the next couple of weeks. Copper Mountain opens this Friday, November 5th, and we will be trying to head over the pass and through the tunnel to get some early Copper skiing on Friday. If you want to follow Winter Park Lodging Company’s skiing exploits this season follow us on the Winter Park Lodging Company Facebook Page.

More importantly, drum roll please, Winter Park/Mary Jane will be opening in two weeks. That is November 17th so set your watches and calendars because the snow is looking to be great early season this year. La Niña is expected to give us lots of wet, wet snow often this 2010/2011 ski season. So if you haven’t already get your skis tuned, equipment washed up and your season pass ready for some skiing.

Ski Season is here and there is no better feeling than knowing the snow is on its way.

Winter Park, Colorado Top 25 Ski Resorts

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Chris

Top colorado ski resorts winter park Best Colorado Ski Resorts

The new SKI Magazine Ski Resort Rankings for 2010-2011 has hit the shelves. The ski areas are ranked by readers with results in several different categories. The rankings were based on a comprehensive survey of over 20,000 SKI Magazine readers. The SKI Magazine resort rankings are highly thought of in the ski industry and are great exposure to adoring ski enthusiasts.

Colorado as whole did very well with 9 rankings in the top 25. Vail came in at No.2 and Beaver Creek No.3. Steamboat fell out of the top 10 and landed at No. 13 this year. Our beloved Winter Park Resort came in at No. 22, one spot higher than last year.

Here is what SKI Magazine had to say about the Winter Park and Mary Jane ski area:

We’re surprised: After all Winter Park has gone through, with a cool new village and four new lifts—six years and $40 million later—it only moved up one spot this year. No matter. We know it’ll take time for readers to realize there’s now more to this place than 3,078 acres of sweet terrain. (Like restaurants, ski shops, an ice-skating rink, a sledding hill and a brewpub.)

The terrain, though, continues to stand on its own; it has always been enough to keep this Denver-local hill in the top 25. “Mary Jane has the best bumps in North America,” raves a reader. Indeed, The Jane enjoys scores of passionate devotees who hit Railbender, Derailer and Drunken Frenchman, then eat lunch and blast music in the parking lot.

But the resort is attracting new disciples for its sidecountry terrain: “The Vasquez Cirque and Parsenn Backside are my special happy places,” says a reader. If you can get to them—“tough to get from one mountain to another” is a common refrain. And despite the new village, readers complain that the base still lacks what the bigger, more luxurious resorts offer: “No superb restaurants or retail,” a reader says. However, others enjoy this nightly serenity. Next year, thanks to several new restaurants moving in, we predict Winter Park evenings will be a bit less serene—and a lot more fun.

Winter Park again did well in the on mountain side of the rankings and suffered in the apres or nightlife part of the rankings. Here is my take, if you want to ski be it beginner, intermediate and especially expert there is not a better place to visit. The snow is usually the best in all of Colorado and the ski school is one of the best in the country. If you wear a fur coat and as an adult need someone to carry your skis to the lifts then maybe you should head to Deer Valley, Utah or Vail. But if you like to ski and you like snow Winter Park, CO can not be beat. I have skied all the Colorado resorts in this years Ski Magazine top 25 and I will say not a one has anything on skiing at Winter Park and Mary Jane.

Check out the full SKI Magazine resort rankings here.

The above photo is courtesy of Winter Park Resort.