La Niña. El Niño. Always bickering like some attention-starved kids. If they’d just settle on some steady snow, skiers could stake their season on the slopes.
Eventually, a sibling wins out. And this season, La Niña — a weather pattern that starts with cold sea surfaces and could make for more snow in the Rocky Mountains — has the louder voice.
Just in time for this weekend, the unofficial kickoff to the Colorado ski season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual winter outlook, released last month, predicted Colorado will get above-average snowfall this season — perhaps more even than 2010. Considering the Rocky Mountains saw deep snow last year, this year could be a boon.
“The evolving La Niña will shape this winter,” Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said in a release.
A lot can change before the spring, sure. But Colorado’s mountains are ready for an onslaught of skiers this weekend.
The number of skiable mountains nearly doubled this week with eight new openings, including Aspen Mountain,Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Purgatory, Ski Cooper (weekends only), Snowmass, Steamboat Springs and Telluride.
Those mountains joined those that opened earlier: Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Keystone, Loveland, Vail, Winter Park and Wolf Creek.
Copper Mountain is the site of the sparkling new U.S. Ski Team Speed Center home base, which features a race course nearly 2 miles long with a vertical drop of 2,300 feet. That mountain got its expected 3 inches of new snow in the last 72 hours.
And 3 inches of new snow also graced the slopes at Steamboat, Telluride and Loveland. Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park and Snowmass were just behind, with 2 inches.
And there were 39 inches of powder- packed/powder earlier this week at Wolf Creek.
If snow is what you want, La Niña should come through.
Ski time
An updated list of Colorado ski areas that opened or will open this week and beyond:
Wednesday: Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs
Thursday: Aspen Mountain, Ski Cooper (weekends only), Snowmass, Telluride
Today: Purgatory
Nov. 30: Echo Mountain
Dec. 2: Sunlight
Dec. 3: Howelsen, Silverton
Dec. 10: Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk
Dec. 14: SolVista
Dec. 15: Powderhorn
Dec. 16: Ski Cooper (daily operation)
TBA: Monarch
Already open: Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Eldora, Keystone, Loveland, Vail, Winter Park, Wolf Creek
Stay on the Couch
CBS flies in the “C Team.”
Ian Eagle, now in his 14th season doing play-by-play for NFL games, has a good grasp of the Broncos this season. He watched Tim Tebow’s game-winning run against the Jets from the radio booth.
This week, he’ll be in the TV booth in San Diego with color commentator Dan Fouts for the Broncos’ matchup against the Chargers on KCNC-4. Kickoff is set for 2:15 p.m.
Together, Eagle and Fouts make up CBS’s No. 3 NFL unit, and they are a good choice for a game likely to draw considerable attention around the country.
But should football fans tune in before 4:30 p.m.? In the past six games, Tebow has led the Broncos’ offense on nine scoring drives — in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Get off the couch
Work that turkey off.
If you missed the slew of Turkey Trots along the Front Range this week, don’t fret. There is another today in the foothills and a memorial race Saturday in Aurora that should suffice.
The Easter Seals 5K Turkey Trot will run today at 10:30 a.m. in Empire. The race, organized by the Clear Creek Metro Recreation District, runs through the Easter Seals Rocky Mountain Village. Check for info.
On Saturday, run wild in the Remembering Steve “Flagman” Muniz 5K, which starts at the Aurora Municipal Center at 10 a.m. Muniz was a Vietnam veteran who was well- known as an avid runner before his death. Check for info.
What We’d like to see
Scout the undefeated Buffs.
The Colorado women’s basketball team jumped to a 3-0 start to its season, including a 72-53 trouncing of Colorado State on Sunday. And two of those games came on the road.
So this weekend’s 25th Omni Hotels Classic in Boulder will be a welcome home. CU’s early-season tournament also is a good chance for fans to scout this season’s Buffaloes squad — and see some teams that don’t normally come to town.
Montana State vs. Wisconsin opens the slate tonight at 5 p.m., followed at 7:30 p.m. by CU vs. Valparaiso. The winners play each other in Saturday’s championship at 7:30 p.m., with the consolation at 5 p.m. With a victory over Valparaiso, CU would have its first 4-0 start since 2000-01.
The Buffs so far have four players averaging better than 10 points per game, led by Chucky Jeffery’s 14.7 points and Brittany Wilson’s 13.3 points. And Jeffery’s 5.7 assists per game so far lead the Pac-12.
