Sign up to receive this newsletter every week. (And get a chance to win free lift tickets!)

Recent issues
Current | 10/14/11 | 09/26/11

Old issues

SOTC Colorado! November 1, 2011! Colorado Continues Stacking Up The POW! Hello Sliders! Colorado Skiers and Riders have already gotten a jump on the 2011-2012 season, and with new snow it just keeps on getting better. We've got the schedule of openings, pass specials and tips on how and when to ride/ski your favorite Colorado Resort! *Need The Best Gear Cheap? Make sure to checkout our favorite warehouse stores, Sports Basement. Not only do they have some of the best prices on ski/ride gear, but SOTC readers GET ANOTHER 10% OFF! Use code SBSLIDE online, or, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, just ask for your Sliding on the Cheap discount at checkout! http://www.sportsbasement.com *Ski/Ride Shows! Big Ski weekend coming up: Keystone & Copper Mtn open Friday and it's the annual Ski Expo in Denver www.bewisports.com The convention is always fun and it's one of the last times you'll see almost every resort in one place this season. Well worth the price of admission as they say. Buy on line and save. *Opening dates and snow totals for other resorts are below. Make sure to check these dates, as they can and often do change! Winter Park – 15 inches. Opens November 16. SolVista Basin – 11 inches. Opens December 14. Sunlight – 10 inches. Opens December 2. Ski Cooper – 9 inches. Opens November 24 - 27, December 2 – 4, December 9 - 11, December 16 for the season Copper Mountain – 7 inches. Opens November 4. Crested Butte – 7 inches. Opens November 23. Steamboat – 5 inches. Opens November 23. *Keystone is getting hit with snow! They are gearing up for Opening Day on November 4th, this year titled 'Dercum Day' as a tribute to the late Max Dercum, founder of Keystone Resort. Get your first tracks of the season in fresh powder! Stay in Keystone with Summit Cove anytime from now until November 30th and take 25% off any stay of 2 nights or more! Some properties not participating, offer good for new reservations only. Check Availability Here! Use promo code 'SOTCearlyPOW' or call one of our Vacation Planners today, (877) 547-5141. We'll see you on the slopes! Additional opening dates: Aspen Highlands - December 10 Aspen Mountain - November 24 Buttermilk - December 10 Echo Mountain - Early December 2011 Eldora - November 18 Howelsen Hill - December 3 Monarch Mountain - November 23 Powderhorn - December 8 Purgatory at DMR - November 25 Silverton Mountain - December 3 Snowmass - November 24 Telluride - November 24 Aspen/Snowmass for 50% off If you ski less than 10 times/year you can save a lot of money by using 4, 5, 7, or 10 day pass packs. The cost per day for these run around $30-$60 per day. A-Basin, Keystone, Loveland, Copper, Winter Park, Crested Butte, and Aspen/Snowmass all offer multi-day passes. Aspen's 4 or 7 day Classic Passes are particularly good deals at $199 and $329. From some cities you can actually fly to Denver, buy the pass, fly home and still save money over the 7 day Aspen window rate. These are only available through mid-November. One planet/One Pass - the world for $339 If you love to travel and ski a variety of places the Monarch Mountain season pass is amazing. At $339 it covers 26 resorts all over the world, including 9 in Colorado. I don't know another pass like it. At least no one else in Colorado is doing anything close. Prices go up November 7th Pass or Pay Up In CO like everywhere lift ticket window rates can be a shock. But season passes are cheap, cheaper than anywhere else in the world, with the exception of maybe Nepal. Kid’s passes run $100-$250 and Adult passes from $200-$600, except for a few 5 Star destination Resorts. There are passes for families, people who ski mid-week, senior’s, military, multiple mountain and single mountain passes, passes with unlimited access and passes with limited access. You can buy pretty much whatever you want and if you ski more than 10 days a year, your best bang for the buck is to buy a pass. But hurry they are only on sale in the fall and the prices go up from Labor Day to Thanksgiving. Resort details are available at www.coloradoski.com or www.snow.com. Plaase note that some passes are only available in person but resorts have softened their on line sales policies this season. So if you're from out of state this may be your year. A pass can pay for it's self in as few as 5 days compared to window rates. In Denver the two most popular mutli-mountain passes are the Epic Local Pass from Vail Resorts, www.snow.com, which covers 5 Colorado resorts; and the Rocky Mountain Super Pass+, www.skicolorado.com, from Intrawest. It covers Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Mary Jane, and Steamboat. Both are good deals at less than $500 and both companies offer other pass products as well. If 5 bills is too steep for your tastes a few of my personal favorite budget passes are the A-Basin, www.arapahoebasin.com, bonus pass for $389. It’s good for unlimited days at A Basin and 5 days to use at Keystone and Breckenridge with one of those days good at Vail or Beaver Creek. Another good bet is the Loveland mid-week pass for $249, www.skiloveland.com. If you hate the weekend crowds this is one of the best values in the state and it includes 3 days at Monarch Mountain. David Reece Bowling Colorado Editor sidingonthecheap.com  Sign Up For Your Free SOTC Newsletter Here!