Free Republic

First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Aspen on Friday afternoon and is here with her daughters for a ski vacation. Few details about her trip were available. Sources said she is staying at the home of Jim and Paula Crown, owners of the Aspen Skiing Co. She is reportedly skiing at Buttermilk today, where the Crowns, of Chicago, own a home on the Tiehack side. Several people have known about the “low-key” vacation, with the Secret Service in town for the past few days scoping out places for the family to relax and enjoy what the resort has to offer....

Sarah Burke, a top Canadian freestyle skier, died Thursday in Salt Lake City, nine days after crashing and striking her head during a training session within a 22-foot halfpipe in Park City, Utah. She was 29. The cause of her death was hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a condition that occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen, said a statement released Thursday afternoon by Burke’s publicist, Nicole Wool, on behalf of her family.

Mount Washington to open in July for first time everBy Lindsay Chung - Comox Valley Record Updated: June 21, 2011 2:07 PM Thousands of people skied and snowboarded this weekend at Mount Washington — and this wasn't even their last chance. Mount Washington Alpine Resort opened to skiers and boarders in June for the second straight year this Father's Day weekend, and with so much snow still on the hill, the mountain will be opening for skiing and boarding July 1, 2 and 3 — the same time as it opens for summer operations with its Mile High Chairlift rides....

Mrs. Jewbacca likes to ski. Strangely enough, I like to ski, and my daughters love to ski. I've been renting the skis/boots/poles everytime, and would love to catch the end-of-season sales on equipment. This is downhill skiing, we're moderate skiers, nothing crazy, nothing fancy --- typical 'blue diamond' skiers that might occasionaly go black diamond if the powder is there to slow us down, but sometimes just take it easy and take nice long greens --- parallel skiers, not wedge skiers. I want good, low-maintenance, skis and boots that are still cool enough that my daughters won't get embarrassed by...

A Decatur man accused of punching a 14-year-old girl in the face for running into his son on the slopes in Colorado has pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. The Vail Daily reported Tuesday that the plea from 41-year-old Scott Filler, a renowned malaria expert, was for a misdemeanor stemming from the December incident at Beaver Creek Ski Resort. Police reports say Filler thought the teen was skiing carelessly when she bumped into his 4-year-old son. Eagle County sheriff's deputies say that's when he jumped on the girl and hit her with his fist. The girl said she was swerving to...

It has been almost a month and a half since the Obama family returned from 10 days in Oahu. With all the breastfeeding advice she's been giving out lately, an exhausted First Lady is long overdue for some R & R. Relinquishing her role as tireless workaholic, Michelle decided to revisit last year's mother/daughter ski trip to the Ski Liberty Resort in Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania. Only this year, the Obama women have taken to the slopes in Vail, Colorado on a "private family trip" accompanied by "several close friends." When unveiling his budget, Michelle's husband reminded Americans, "Everybody's going to...

Michelle Obama in Vail for weekendRandy Wyrick Friday, February 18, 2011 VAIL, Colorado — First lady Michelle Obama is among the Presidents Day weekend crowd. Obama arrived Friday night for a weekend of skiing in Vail and Beaver Creek, according to local sources. A motorcade of about a dozen vehicles, including 15 state and local law enforcement officers, traveled from the Eagle County Regional Airport to Vail on Friday night, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Roads were temporarily blocked to make way for the motorcade in Eagle. The motorcade entered an underground garage beneath the Sebastian hotel in Vail...

Well, here's something that's going on right now. Apparently Robb Atkinson, and a bunch of other skiers were on Sugarloaf in Maine this morning when the skilift "dropped 20 or 30 feet" and stalled around 10AM. Stuck on a lift in freezing temperatures for hours on end, Mr. Atkinson did what anyone would do in that situation - he called CNN, where they are covering the event live. If you're addicted to live crises, or just sitting in your office this week without much to do, the live video is right below... Prayers up for those injured and/or stranded at...

CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine -- An official at Maine's Sugarloaf ski area says there injuries following a ski lift accident at the Carrabassett Valley resort. Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin calls the accident "a big deal." Austin says one of the resort's ski lifts derailed and five chairs came down.

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- A Georgia man has been charged with misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly punching a 14-year-old girl in the face after she ran into his young son at Colorado's Beaver Creek Ski Resort. Forty-one-year-old Scott Filler of Decatur allegedly hit the girl after she bumped into his 4-year-old son Friday. There was no answer at a telephone number listed for Filler

What's next? Pat-downs at the church confessional? As travelers rightfully fret over excessive groping in airport security lines, it now seems skiers and snowboarders are subject to this growing game of pat-down. New policies at several Colorado ski resorts also are placing uniformed police in visible and active roles to curb excess in the very places that otherwise go out of their way to cater to excess. The most extreme example? Those waiting to board Steamboat Springs' gondola first must submit to police pat-downs, according to 5280 magazine's Kelly Bastone. Skiers and snowboarders "must unzip, de-layer, and turn out their...

But now the Washington Examiner reports that Rick spent $40,000 on a super-posh event in Colorado ski country, around the same time Boucher became the floor manager for an important telecommunications bill. Of course, it's a complete coincidence that Boucher's PAC raised 5 times more money than it ever had from companies like Dish Network, DirecTV, Comcast, GoDaddy, T-Mobile and AT&T - all firms that have a vested interest in legislation before Boucher's subcommittee.

Boucher's leadership PAC, the Committee for Southwest Virginia, has spent something north of $40,000 this cycle for lodging, catering, airfare and car rental for what appear to be late-winter jaunts to the Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa in Avon, Colo. There appear to have been two trips, apparently fundraisers, taken in early 2009 and 2010. (Boucher's campaign spokeswoman did not respond to my inquiries in time for publication.) The combined hotel bill at the Westin is $36,000. Catering from Chef De Cuisine Epicurean Services, the Juniper Restaurant in nearby Edwards, and Vail Catering Concepts, cost $4,100. Politicians use leadership PACs...

Our prayers to Edd and Nina, as well as all the entire Hendee family, on the loss of their son, Edd Jr. A Connecticut man died on Saturday after he hit a tree while skiing on Stratton Mountain, according to the Winhall Police Department. Edd K. Hendee, 33, of Riverside, Conn., was pronounced dead around noon on Saturday, police said. Winhall Police Sgt. Thomas Crowe said Hendee had been on the mountain skiing with a friend. Around 11 a.m., Hendee took the North American Trail. The trail is rated for experts, but Hendee’s family and friends told police he was...

<p>Some ski areas do a snow job on skiers -- exaggerating weekend snowfalls to get schussers to come on down, a study found.</p>

Citing strained food and fuel supplies because of rough weather and tough road conditions, San Bernardino County officials Sunday evening closed visitors' access to the Big Bear Valley. "It's been very difficult, if not impossible, for fuel trucks to get up the mountain and for trucks carrying food to get up to grocery stores," said David Wert, spokesman for San Bernardino County. "The gas stations are running out of gas, and the grocery stores are running out of food." The closure comes at the peak of ski season and is a blow to local businesses and resorts that rely on...

WASHINGTON - The Obama White House rushed Thursday to defend a top counterterror official who went on a ski vacation for six days after an alleged Al Qaeda bomber attempted to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day....Leiter "took six days of annual leave after the event," and did so "only after explicit consultations with both the White House and the Director of National Intelligence"

WASHINGTON - The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned. Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center since 2007, decided not to return to his agency's "bat cave" nerve center in McLean, Va., until several days after Christmas, two U.S. officials said. "People have been grumbling that he didn't let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation," said one of the sources. The NCTC, the post-9/11 clearinghouse for intelligence to detect terror plots against the...

<p>DENVER – The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.</p> <p>Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote.</p>

- Resort Opening Earlier Than Ever Before - The 2009-2010 season at the Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort is underway, the earliest the resort has ever been open. Unseasonably cold nighttime temperatures and aggressive snowmaking efforts have produced snow on Chair Three, Rabbit Peak, the only lift and trail scheduled to open. “There are many skiers and snowboarders who love to jib on our freestyle terrain features, and we expect many families to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn the sport and have fun so early in the season,” said Base Operations Manager Craig Baldwin. * snip...