Summit County, Colo. Oct. 18, 2001--"Boy, it feels great to make turns again," Jim Fields of Evergreen cheered on the first official day of the 2001-02 ski season. "This is the perfect way to get back into shape for skiing."
The upcoming season is here for both Copper Mountain and Loveland. Copper Mountain opened Oct. 17, for two "Red, White and Blue Days," where all the proceeds from ticket sales were donated to the American Red Cross. "The people of Summit County were incredible," said Copper Communications Director Ben Friedland. "Some came just to donate $20-$30 to the fund and did not even ski."
Copper sold lift tickets for $10 to some 900 skiers and raised $12,000 for the victims of the Sept. 11, disasters. Copper will re-open Saturday, Nov. 3, but until then, they will host training for several ski teams, including racers from the U.S., Canada, Slovenia, Austria and Germany. Skiing is located on the upper mountain on the Copperopolis trail off the Excelerator lift, servicing 900 vertical feet of terrain.
Loveland ski area opened Oct. 18, for the 2001-02 season and will remain open. They offer 1,000 vertical feet of skiing on Catwalk, Mambo and Home Run trails off the Number One lift. More than 500 people showed up for opening day, which is not a huge crowd compared to previous openings, but the resort expects more skiers this weekend. Lift tickets for Loveland are $28 for adults and $12 for kids 14 and under.
Copper began making snow on Oct. 3, the first resort in the U.S. to do so while Loveland turned on its guns a day later. Both areas will continue to blow snow until Mother Nature takes care of the rest. For snow reports call 800-736-3754 (Loveland) or 800-458-8386 (Copper).
