Skiing's Open Season: Where to Ski This Weekend

If there's one thing that makes cold weather and snow tolerable, it's skiing. You won't find me layered head to toe running on the Lakefront Path very often (I'm a mostly treadmill girl once it dips below 30), but I will bundle up--handwarmers, four shirts and all--to carve turns on the snow. The ski season may have started off slow with Keystone and Breckenridge having to postpone their opening dates, but it's certainly getting into full swing now.

Skiers were treated to epic conditions at Breckenridge, Winter Park and Wolf Creek (we heard Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta, Canada, was pretty good too). You can thank the storm that blanketed ski country with much-needed snow in time for last weekend's resort openings. But lucky for you (and me since I think I'm hitting up one of Colorado's finest on Sunday), the colder weather that stuck around is making this weekend's openings equally as amazing.

Here's where you'll want to make some tracks before the family comes to town for Thanksgiving.

Still More Snow: Get Skiing This Weekend

Ah yes, that was Vail on Sunday after 13" fell.

I'm supposed to be done thinking skiing for a while. That's what I told myself Sunday as we packed our gear into the car after a week up in the Colorado mountains.

Sunday was Vail's final day of the season. I earned my Last Call pin. I dodged the crowd at the summit (or tried: the Chair 4 at 4 party, or whatever it's unofficially called, only got bigger as the day wore on). I lucked into a stash of freebies at the Mountain Plaza base (yes, I'll play plinko and collect raffle tickets until I win). I got on the mountain earlier to ski the fresh pow that likes to drop before closing day (same thing happened in 2011 and 2012). I skied most of the runs I'd want to hit before closing out the year.

But the ski season's not over yet. Sure, I knew I could still ski other Colorado spots like Arapahoe Basin and Winter Park, except usually by mid-April you're looking at slushy conditions, terrain closings, and more tanning than skiing. I already have one crazy looking goggle tan, and I already skied on dry slopes last April when it didn't decide to snow at Vail until April 15.

Next Stop, Ski Country

Put me on the next plane to Denver, Salt Lake City or Reno. Please! I have the powder flu--that itching, burning feeling where you yearn to blow off work, make a beeline for the roads taking you straight into the mountains, click into those ski bindings, and hit the slopes for what sounds like knee-deep powder.  But there's no remedy for this ailment when you're living in the flatlands of Illinois and the Midwest's temperatures have skyrocketed to near record-setting levels--even a trip to Wisconsin on the ski bus is out of the question, at least for this ski snob.

I'm dying here in Chicago, quite literally. It's snowing, nay, dumping, in the mountains, and I'm stuck in the land of wild temperature swings, melting snow, and gale-force winds. Sure, I like swapping out my heavy layers and commuting by bike instead of by foot, but that snow is calling my name. First Lake Tahoe. Then Utah. Then Colorado. I've seen the pictures on Facebook to prove it. And the storms aren't done yet. Take a look at these snow stats:

Lake Tahoe
By Thursday morning, Northstar-at-Tahoe reported 32 inches. On the south side of the lake, Heavenly counted 21 inches. Back to the north side and Squaw Valley USA was also sporting about a three-foot snowfall. I had been taught last winter that a good Lake Tahoe storm meant at least a foot, but I still can't fathom skiing, or seeing, nearly three feet of snow falling in a 24-hour period. And for a place that had been quiet about reporting snowfalls, which tends to mean they're not coming at the levels snow-seekers are used to, this was needed.

Utah
If you don't want to be tempted by the "greatest snow on Earth," don't follow the Ski Utah Yeti. This friendly snow creature only makes the powder flu worse from far away when he tells you it's monster dumping in the mountains or warns of an impending snowfall. This time around resrots from Alta to Brighton to The Canyons sported at least 8 inches of snow with more on the way.

Colorado
Every time there's a snowfall this season, Colorado resorts post pictures, especially Snow.com (here and here). For this girl, who would trade digs in a second with anyone living in this state, those pictures make it even tougher to be stuck in Chicago. I may be heading out west to ski next week but Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Vail are already calling my name. Their storms are only starting but how in the world does it snow three inches an hour at Beaver Creek? If I-70 is open Friday morning, I'm willing to put money on the numbers ditching work for a three-day--or four-day if Monday is already scheduled off--weekend.

Jealous yet? I am. I wish I had a Presidents' Day Weekend out of town--it'd be a good one with all the snow and even better to practice those powder skills. Instead, I'll be waxing and sharpening my skis and doing my snow dance for next weekend.

Who's out there skiing?

Photo of Beaver Creek's three inches an hour grabbed from Snow.com's Facebook page.

Fit-Fact: Trees at Deer Valley

That's skiable--the trees aren't as tight as they look--Centennial at Deer Valley

While I'm really trying to move away from the skiing references--after all I've been back in Chicago for two weeks--I still have skiing on the brain. Of course, it doesn't help that I whine about the weather all the time (and sorry for mentioning it constantly, too), wishing I could trade Chicago flats for Rockies peaks. But as I'm yearning for more ski time and sorting through my pictures from my last trip, it's really difficult to part with thoughts of Deer Valley, Park City and Alta, and all of the interesting things I learned about the areas. That Park City was a mining town and the old structures on the mountain--there's one near the Bonanza lift and another by Thaynes--were used for mining the mountain. That Alta operates snowcat skiing but on a very limited basis. That Deer Valley prunes its tree skiing spots.

Prunes its trees? I thought I was hearing things when Craig McCarthy, Park City Chamber of Commerce Communications Manager, confirmed that Deer Valley picks through its forests each summer to make for pristine tree skiing in the winter. No forays into the forests only to hit a pack of trees so tight you can't pick your way to the bottom. No dead-ends or random branches to hit you. No wonder I like these tree runs--I can actually pick my way through them without tumbling into a tree well or wrapping myself around a trunk (and trust me both have happened). I'm someone who tries to avoid trees at all costs--even if it means skiing a green--yet at Deer Valley the trees seem less intimidating, still challenging, and offer the hope of untracked powder on a snow-less day. My faves: Centennial off the Lady Morgan Express lift and Ontario Bowl. Posted by Kate

Shopping Park City's Main Street

Photo grabbed from c8132 at flickr.com

Right away, you're probably thinking how shopping could possibly relate to Fit-Ink. But while I was in Park City, Utah, over the holidays, I found a connection between Main Street and fitness and not in the typical ski/snowboard rental shop variety.

Main Street is lined with 100-year-old buildings (I learned on this trip that Park City has at least 64 buildings on the National Register of Historic Buildings) with tenants featuring the likes of art galleries, restaurants, shops predominantly selling T-shirts, and specialty retailers ranging from designer boutiques to sportswear. Among specialty retailers, Main Street has a new kid on the block, Rossignol, which follows the company's move from Burlington, Vt., to Park City in 2006. I walked past the Rossignol store the other night on my way to Wahso for dinner (a must-go if you're ever in Park City), taking a second look and asking myself if it had been there the year before.

Alas, Craig McCarthy, Communications Director for the Park City Chamber of Commerce, confirmed that Rossignol was a new addition to historic Main Street (thank goodness I wasn't completely out of it when walking the street last year). And a good addition too, because I have to admit, the skis in the window were calling my name. DC Shoes, another component to the Quiksilver brand that runs Rossignol and Dynastar, set up shop across the street from Rossi with the latest and greatest in the snowboard market.

So now when I'm window shopping there's more to ogle at between the DC-inspired snowboard designs and clothing on one side of the street--577 Main--to the latest in skis, boots and bindings on the other--540 Main. And if the U.S. Ski Team is wearing it, who says I can't too? OK, maybe I need to wait for a demo day for the flashy new rides, but for now I'll bring out my Bandits on powder days.

Wanna read more about Rossignol, the company? Or its move? Posted by Kate

A day-long calorie burner

Right now, to be honest, I'm more skiing-obsessed than I am about running, triathlons or planning my race calendar for the new year. You'll have to bear with me if you see a lot of ski-related material labeled Posted by Kate. When its winter and its cold, I'm busier plotting my next escape to ski country than I am about time in the pool, dragging out the trainer (unlike Liz's new ride, mine sits idly in the front closet because I'm too lazy and space-deprived to have it out all the time) and bundling up for a run.

First of all, skiing is the perfect change of pace from my winter gym routine. Breathing the fresh mountain air, staying hydrated to avoid altitude sickness, wearing the right amount of layers to feel warm on the lift and stay sweat-free racing downhill are just some of the mountain highs I look forward to each trip. A ski adventure wouldn't be complete without great runs and vertical, challenging myself on the bumps and through the trees, reminding myself to lean forward, and the constant praying for a snowfall.

And apparently, the calorie burning effects are nothing to scoff at either. While looking for the weather forecast, I came across a fitness calculator that told me I could burn roughly 350 calories per hour moderately downhill skiing. While it's not much in comparison to spinning or running for an hour--both of which top 600 calories per hour--it adds up during a day. I'm an open-to-close skier, with time for lunch and an occasional bathroom break during the day, so I could potentially burn more than 2,000 calories on the slopes. That's nearly equal to the calories burned during a marathon, provided the 360 minutes I calculated as exercise take into account riding the chair lift. I hope it does because I snacked on a lot of Deer Valley cookies and Park City and Alta brownies to ease my hunger mid-day. Posted by Kate

Fit-Pic: Utah Powder Day

My husband and I always like to say a powder day is a good day. After being spoiled with skiing in Utah for the past week, we finally got our wish: fresh powder. We jumped into Empire Canyon at Deer Valley at first chance to track up the six new inches of snow. Above is me tackling the powder--and at this moment actually looking good doing it--on Solace. Posted by Kate