Copper Mountain Season Recap – All Time From Open to Close

[sponsored by Copper Mountain]

Copper is one of those mountains that performs well year after year. It’s an awesome place to ski or ride, and runs some of the best events during the winter season. This year was one of their best, with a great opening day and a December/January that absolutely blew people’s minds.

Things kicked off November 18th on opening day and from there pretty much went into snow overdrive. December saw 73 inches of snow and January had 84 inches, which pretty much means it was a two month long powder day. It was fantastic. Nothing like deep turns and face shots for the bulk of the winter season.

Copper is home to 24 lifts and 2600 vertical feet of Rocky Mountain Bliss. It’s one of those resorts that sometimes flies a little under the radar but has as much, if not more to offer than the glitzier resorts around the state. Copper is a local’s mountain and has got a unique flavour and vibe. Its also host to some great events, everything from pre-season training for race teams from around the globe to their world famous events that run throughout the year.

This season, one of the highlights on the social event calendar had to be Copper Uncorked. Held on a Saturday in March, restaurants around Copper participate in a Wine and Wings challenge, pairing some delicious reds and whites with wing flavours like Chipotle, Thai Chili and Tequila. This year was the busiest ever, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Copper Environmental Fund.

One of Copper’s biggest events was the USASA National Championships. This is the largest ski and snowboard event in the world, with over 1800 athletes from around the country competing in slopestyle, halfpipe, Slalom, GS and Skier and Boarder Cross. The United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association is a non-profit grassroots organization with 32 regional divisions nationwide. Each of these divisions support athletes of all ages and abilities in local and regional competitions. These events are held in order to not only garner points to qualify for the National Championships but build life skills meant to last. USASA strives to provide a platform for athletes to progress competitively in an environment that’s encouraging and fun.

The biggest party of the year, though, was the Sunsation with Red Bull Slopesoakers, High Fives Shred-a-Thon and live music from Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys and Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Held over the weekend of April 15-16, these two events and the live music acts made for one of the best parties of the year in the ski world. It was a fun weekend, filled with good food, music, retro ski outfits and one of the best Redbull events of the winter.

Copper is one of those gems of the rockies. It’s got good snow, a great, local vibe and some awesome terrain. Next time you’re in the neighbourhood, drop by and get your shred on.