Colorado Skiing and Snowboarding

I meet people on the chairlift and gondola all the time. We rap about the standard stuff. Where are you from? Come here often? Sometimes it goes deeper and I make a new friend. This usually happens when I realize I am on the chair with locals who can show me parts of the mountain I haven't seen.

If there is a 10 inch base or an 80 inch base, if I am riding a chair lift, things are going well! There are people on this planet that will never have as much fun as I do on any given day at any given resort, so every single one of them is a blessing.

Long lift lines don't have to be in your skiing or snowboarding reality. They aren't in mine and I'm a workaday guy. Weekends are my times to ski and ride, with a few weekday vacation days scattered in here and there. Avoiding long lift lines is all about timing.

With the revelations that one of the world's most admirable athletes is actually a cheater, it occurred to me that it may be time to look away from the mess and to something more positive. How about Colorado's own Jeremy Bloom?

Just about every Colorado mountain town has one. It's the celebration of all things, snow, slippery, cold and fun. Add some games, a parade here or there, a few turns on the slops and maybe a cocktail and the 'every night is a party' atmosphere that already exists in these towns picks it up a notch.

Colorado skiing and snowboarding can become very expensive, very quickly. It is also possible to make round trips to the mountains without spending a dime on much of anything. It is possible to stay in the world of sane, Front Range prices while staycationing uber-expensive mountains.

This fall, I spoke of demo days and trying snowboards before buying. The process worked beautifully, because I couldn't be happier with the snowboard that I now call mine. Plus, since I love to shop, it was like a shopping trip that lasted a few months, because I was continually doing research, making plans for the next demo day and then actually riding the test snowboards.

In one of the most interesting enhancements of guest experience in the skiing world, Steamboat resort offers the chance to ski with a medal winning Olympian for free, almost every day of the ski season.

Paul is all over Colorado all winter long, looking for the best places to ski and snowboard. He brings you the latest updates right from the slopes or the studio!

Even on a day with no fresh powder, freshly groomed trails and slopes offer some of the most enjoyable skiing and riding.

Well, when it comes to the 'best' snow, the term is relative. All the resorts are operating on snow they've blown from their machines. So rather than looking for quality in the snow, it really comes down to who has the most terrain open.

I usually ride on two boards. I skied most of my life, until I moved to Colorado, and then I took a few years to learn to snowboard. Both are incredibly fun. Skiing is my first love, but I have a lot of affection for snowboarding as well.