Fort Collins lights up downtown

Now that Halloween has passed it's inevitable that the entire consumer world will begin gearing up for the next important holiday: Christmas!

Poor Thanksgiving may get a few turkey-related knick-knacks on the shelves in its honor, but we all know the overplayed music, countless shows and thick toy catalogs won't be celebrating the Pilgrims.

If you haven't noticed any local holiday cheer yet, you will tomorrow when the Downtown Business Association hosts the annual "Lighting of Downtown". At 7 p.m. Council Member Kelly Ohlson will flip the switch to the thousands of lights that line Oak Street Plaza and all of College Avenue between Laporte Avenue and Olive Street.

The ceremony will begin at Oak Street Plaza and is free to all. After the lights are on, live music will begin while hot cider and cookies will be offered to everyone. The new lights will create a great ambiance for the First Friday Gallery Walk that will begin shortly after the ceremony.

While the extreme consumerism of the Christmas holiday may irritate me, holiday lights are one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. Come downtown tomorrow night and let the lights amaze you, the cider warm you and the Gallery Walk inspire you.

Many sites offer up-to-date ski and snowboard news

This winter you don't have to rely on TV news to get your weather and snow conditions before heading out to the slopes. Several sites are dedicated to keeping up to date information on conditions and events at resorts across the country and even around the world. Below I've compiled a list of those I consider to be the most helpful:

• On the Snow - this site offers stats on mountains all across the US, Canada, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. It also has a constantly updating list of where the freshest snow can be found.
  
  
• Real Conditions - this site keeps tabs on resorts all over the world including mountains in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, New Zealand and Japan.
  
  
• Transworld - this magazine is one of the best the snowboarding industry has. The website offers tons of sweet videos, resort guides and a rundown of all the upcoming events among its multitude of features.
  
  
• Colorado Ski - this site focuses on all the resorts in Colorado and lets you know about conditions, upcoming events, details about passes and all other local snowboarding news.

Alternative viewing for the World Series

With the World Series now underway and the games at Coors field completely sold out, restaurants, theaters and groups all over town are hosting viewing parties to house the masses of Rockies fans.

For all of you that weren't lucky enough to score tickets, here is a run down of some of your viewing options.

• The Stonehouse Grille
  Throughout the World Series they will be hosting ROCKTOBER parties with drink and food specials. They will have 10 HD Plasma/LCD TVs along with a 100” HD projection. They boast that it is "quite possibly the largest Old Town viewing of the 2007 World Series!"
  
  
• Lyric Cinema Cafe
  This small, homey theater located on mountain avenue in Old Town will be showing all of the games on their 12' by 6' screen. The cinema sells beer, wine and an assortment of snacks and other beverages that can be brought into the theater. The theaters also feature old reclining movie seats and various comfortable couches and chairs in place of formal stadium seating. Lyric cinema urges Rockies fans to come ready to "get tastefully excited about the home team."
  
  
• The Downtown Business Association
  The 3rd game of the World Series will be aired in Old Town Square, free of charge! Pre-game coverage will begin airing at 5 p.m. and the game begins at 6 p.m. The association encourages fans to wear “Rockies” colors and experience the stadium feeling from Old Town Square with bleachers, hotdogs, and the game on a 12 foot screen.
  

Whether you decide to stay home and watch from the comfort of your living room or come out to one of these or other viewing events, be sure to support the Rockies this weekend. The schedule for the remaining games is as follows:

- Game #2 – Thursday, October 25th
- Game #3 – Saturday, October 26th (Home)
- Game#4 – Sunday, October 27th (Home)
- Game#5- Monday, October 28th (Home) if necessary
- Game#6 – Wednesday, October 31 if necessary
- Game#7 - Thursday, November 1st if necessary

Corn Maize frightens all

The last weekend before Halloween is approaching.

With midterms over there is not only plenty of time to work on your killer costume, but also to take a break and check out one of fall's best attractions - The Corn Maize.

For 7 years now the Fritzler Corn Maize has been designing impressive maizes that cover 15 acres of ground and provide over 2 miles of pathways!

You may be thinking, "I haven't been to a corn maize since I was 10 years old," but I assure you, this maize is not just for the kiddies. After dusk the maize becomes especially challenging, and the costumed ghouls harder to anticipate.

This year the Dark Acres portion of the site is also offering a Pitch Black haunted experience inside an inflatable warehouse, and a creepy tour through the insides of an inflatable giant.

Starting tomorrow the maize will be open almost every day until Halloween. Tomorrow and Thursday you can stop by between 5 - 9 p.m., Friday 5 - 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sunday 12 - 8 p.m. and Tuesday and Wednesday 5 - 9 p.m.

The combo admission that gives you access to the corn maize and all of the Dark Acres attractions is $18 for adults.

If you head over this weekend be sure to go early and enjoy the outdoors by bringing a picnic dinner and even your favorite pooch along. Pick up a last minute pumpkin to carve before you try the maize, and don't forget to warm up at the campfire before you leave.

World Series here we come!

If it's possible that anyone in Colorado DIDN'T watch the Rockies game last night, here's your news update: WE WON!

Last night the Rockies propelled themselves into the World Series by sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks and winning the National League Championship four games to none!

The American League series is still going on, with the Indians leading the Red Socks two games to one. They play game four today at 8 p.m. in Cleveland.

Since you're probably wondering "How do I get World Series tickets?!," I've recapped all the important details listed on The Official Site of the Colorado Rockies below.

- Tickets go on sale on Monday, October 22, 2007, 10 a.m. MDT.

- World Series games at Coors Field scheduled for October 27, 28 & 29 (if needed)

- Tickets will go on sale at the following locations:

*Online at www.coloradorockies.com

*In Person at:
Coors Field
Rockies Dugout Stores

- Telephone orders will not be accepted.

- Line lotteries will be used at Coors Field and Rockies Dugout Stores.

- Overnight camping is not permitted at Coors Field; Lot A will open at 7:30 a.m. where the lottery will take place prior to 10 a.m.

- There is a limit of 4 tickets per person per game at all sales locations.

- Single game ticket prices range from: $65 for Rockpile Tickets (401-403) to $250 for the Club Level (214-247) and Infield Box (119-142).

Although normally I might be a little upset that baseball was cutting into the fall season of hiking, beautiful drives and early skiing and riding, this year I'm making an exception.

Because really, this is a historic event we're watching unfold! And what better epitomizes fall than World Series baseball?!

LETS GO ROCKIES!!

The season begins!

Yesterday morning at approximately 9 a.m. Arapahoe Basin officially opened for the 07/08 season!

If it seems a little surprising that it's October 11 and the skiing and riding has already begun for the season, that's because it is. This marks the earliest A-Basin opening in its 61 years of operation! Once again they were the first to open across the nation!

Skiers and riders can look forward to an 18-inch base on the intermediate High Noon run, and access to the High Divided terrain park.

The Montezuma Bowl, the new addition that increased A-Basin's terrain by 80 percent, is expected to open in late December. The new bowl offers 36 new runs that are a mix of blues, blacks and double blacks. Terrain varies from groomed runs to wide-open bowl skiing.

If you're looking to sharpen your skills before the first big snow you should definitely take advantage of early season ticket prices. Until 12/14, tickets will be $45 for adults, $39 for youth 15-19, and $22 for children 6-14. Children under 5 are free and seniors over 70 are $10.

'Swap' coming soon

More opportunities for those lacking funds to pick up some nice new gear are coming up this month.

If you didn't find what you were looking for at SNIAGRAB or other pre-season sales around town, the upcoming gear swaps will give you another chance.

Steamboat, Winter Park and Vail resorts are all hosting gear swap events this month that will give skiers and riders the chance to get rid of their gently used gear and pick up last season's overstock at deep discounts.

Winter Park will be hosting their 23rd annual ski swap this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Because the best deals will go fast, getting into Friday's swap will cost $2/individual, $5/family (proceeds will help fund the Winter Park Competition Center and scholarship fund). The swap will go from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Friday.

The next swap will be hosted by Steamboat on Friday, Oct. 19, and Saturday, Oct. 20. Doors open at 8 p.m. on Friday, and the swap will continue on Saturday from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. No admission charge was listed on their website, but those wishing to sell their gear will need to pick up gear tags at the Howelsen Hill Lodge before 5 p.m. on the 19th.

Vail's 38th annual ski swap, which claims to be the largest of its kind in Colorado, will kick off at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. Early birds shopping from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. will cost $15/person. To shop from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Friday or from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday will cost $5/person. Shopping from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. on Saturday is free.

The Vail swap brags that over 35 local vendors will be at the show, alongside individual sellers, to provide buyers with a great selection of new and used gear.

Seeing as the recent weather has epitomized fall, and breath-taking views of the mountains can be found all along the front range and I-70, the next three weekends would be a perfect time to make the trek to any of these fine mountains. A beautiful drive with the added bonus of sweet deals and new gear? I sure won't miss it.

Burton gets technical

Burton, arguably one of the most successful and popular snowboarding brands, has come out with new designs and models of their boots, bindings, boards and outerwear every year for as long as I have been snowboarding(about 9 years!).

This year, they have truly outdone themselves.
In particular, there are three new products that I think deserve to be highlighted.

The new EST technology, which is a brand new way of attaching you binding to your board, not only offers unlimited easy adjustments of stance, but also offers more cushioning under your feet than any other binding out there.

Although there are only a few boards currently available made with the Infinite Channel system that works with this binding, Burton describes the two used together as letting you "experience the closest, most comfortable connection to ever see snow."

The Speed Zone technology that has already made it easier than ever to lace up and tighten your boots, has now made its way to bindings as well. The new Speed Zone strap technology allows you to loosely clip in the strap and then pull a cord to tighten it down.

What does this mean? No more ratcheting with freezing cold fingers! And as Burton puts it, "Even the drummer from Def Leppard can do it!"

If you were worried that your board was going to pale in comparison to your cool new bindings, you haven't yet heard of the Andy Warhol collection. This new line of boards, bindings and outerwear is bringing some of Warhol's most iconic prints to snow. The gear just became available in August, and will only be available for a limited time.

So there's your breakdown on the newest and coolest gear offered for the snow this year. If you're worried about the money you'll inevitably spend, don't.

Consider it your duty as a veteran shredder to test out the technology for all the newbies. You'll still spend the money, but at least you'll feel better about it.

"Live to Ride"

One of the most popular student organizations on campus, Snowriders, is kicking into high gear this week. The weather is getting colder, its already snowed in the mountains, and with the opening day for A-Basin only 2 weeks away, its definitely not too early to be getting excited for the season.

Snowriders mission as listed on their website is:
"To be the Number one resource for all information about skiing and snowboarding at C.S.U. To extend our knowledge about snow riding to any and all persons interested, and to create an atmosphere that is welcoming and fun for everyone involved."
Their motto: "Live to Ride.."

If that sounds like something you'd love to be a part of don't worry because you're not too late to still join this semester. The club is having their second meeting of the semester today at 7 p.m. in the Lory Student Center room 203-5. To become a member you can drop by their office, located in the bottom of the LSC right next to student media, anytime. Just bring $25 to get your member card, which gives you tons of discounts at local retailers, and your t-shirt.

Once you've signed up, be sure not to miss two great movies showing at the Aggie this month. Matchstick film Seven Sunny Days is playing this Thursday at 7 p.m. and tickets are $10, and on the 14th, Snowriders is hosting the TGR film Lost and Found. Lost and Found also begins at 7 p.m. and tickets are $12.

As always, each Snowriders meeting and event promises to give away free gear and get you pumped for snow riding. Sign up soon so you can get in on all the great events and trips they're planning for the season.