It’s here! Arizona Snowbowl has officially opened for the 2011-2012 snow season. All resort amenities will be open.  Agassiz, Sunset and Hart Prairie chairs and the Little Spruce Conveyor will be operating daily from 9 am to 4 pm. Over 80% of the resort is now open with terrain available for all ability levels. This includes several of the new runs made over the summer! Flagstaff has been getting some unusually cold weather and the town is excited to have a great skiing and snowboarding season at Snowbowl.

Is this your first time to Arizona Snowbowl?

Arizona Snowbowl is located just 14 miles outside of Flagstaff. It takes about 2 1/2 – 3 hours to the top of the mountain if you’re coming from Phoenix. There are plenty of places to rent ski and snowboarding gear around town averaging about $30/day for a complete equipment set up not including clothing. There are several slopes perfect for beginners. In fact, this is one of the more beginner friendly places to learn. This resort has a great team of instructors to learn from if you feel like taking ski or snowboarding lessons at Snowbowl. So just come out, give it a try and have fun!

Arizona Snowbowl Info:

Lifts Operating

• 3 of 6; Agassiz, Sunset & Little Spruce Conveyor

Surface Conditions
Early season; please watch for marked and unmarked obstacles on the slope sunset Terrain Park

• Boxes: 1
• Rails:3
• Hits: –

For Arizona road conditions please visit ADOT’s website

Forecast: Read the National Weather Service forecast for Snowbowl

Rates:

Please remember that lift tickets purchased in advance do not guarantee vacancy at the Arizona Snowbowl. If our maximum occupancy has been reached on any given day, admission may be denied. An early arrival is recommended for those who purchased their lift tickets in advance.

*HOLIDAY DATES

• Thanksgiving: 11/24/11 – 11/27/11
• Christmas: 12/21/11 – 01/01/12
• Martin Luther King Weekend: 01/14/12 – 01/16/12
• President ’s Day Weekend: 02/18/12 – 02/20/12

Military Discount – Anyone with a DOD card is eligible for a $40 All Day Adult Midweek Lift Ticket. That is 25% in savings!
(Discount is valid Monday through Friday, non-holiday and cannot be combined with any other specials)

Military Discount is also offered at the Ski Lift Lodge & Cabins. Present your DOD card at the time of check-in to receive 10% off your accommodation!
(Does not apply towards our Stay & Ski package)

Stay and Ski FREE – 2 Lift Tickets for the price of 1 are available with your stay at the Ski Lift Lodge & Cabins.
This special is available upon check-in. One free ticket per room per night, but additional tickets are available for purchase on the mountain.

Great Discounts for Groups of 10 and more guests.

You can find more discounts like the Peaks Card, which is a five time use lift discount card, or places to rent a ski and snowboard equipment, and other fun stuff on our Peaks Card information page.

Dear Arizona Travel:

I am planning to visit the US in late summer this year and would like to ask where to get some hiking maps of the Flagstaff surrounding area.

Sincerely,
Meinhard

Good day, Meinhard.

• Here is a great resource from which to order National Forest Service hiking maps.
• Also helpful are the trails noted by Arizona Snowbowl, the local ski resort.
• Try Kendrick Mountain Trail; here is a Kendrick trail map and a link to a post and photo gallery my Arizona Travel co-blogger, Chrissy, wrote about her personal experience hiking Kendrick Mountain Trail.

I wish you good, safe hiking! Enjoy.

– ChristinaToo

Flagstaff, Arizona during ski and snowboarding season is a great time to experience a different side of Arizona from what most visitors expect. Flagstaff is one of the few places in Arizona where Christmas, pine trees, scarves, beanies, mittens, sledding, tobogganing, hot cocoa and snowball fights are truly part of the season. Though it’s wonderful to be able to play golf in 68 degree weather in Phoenix in December, there’s something very invigorating about playing in the snow during the winter.  

The slopes at Snowbowl opened on December 17, 2009 this season, and you better believe we were there to test the snow out! As Arizona residents know and accept, Snowbowl is great for a quick snowboarding fix. If driving from Phoenix, it’s a two-hour drive into a Winter Wonderland. For those who are avid boarders or skiers who are used to Colorado or Utah slopes, please realize that Flagstaff is located in a state that is primarily a desert. We’re just happy to have decent slopes.

Having said that, the conditions at the beginning of 2010 are looking great. It’s packed powder; all 4 lifts are in full operation (that means Agassiz to the top!); 9 boxes, 2 rails and 4 hits.  You can check out the current conditions and any updated slope/rate info at ArizonaSnowbowl.com

Over the last few years, we’ve collected a few favorite places to make part of our snowboarding ritual. In addition, we’ve learned a few tricks to make our adventures a little more budget friendly and/or painless.

Peaks Card

For a multiple visit skiers and snowboarders – but not often enough to justify purchasing a season pass:

The Peaks Card is $50, which discounts your lift tickets for five days throughout the season and gives you one of those days for free. Not bad!  Card holders can buy lift tickets Mondays through Fridays for $10 off, while weekend and holiday tickets are available at $5 off. These Peaks Cards are available for adult passes only and can only be used by one person per day.

A full day lift ticket at Snowbowl is $49, so basically, it is a $1 to purchase the ability to have your next four lift tickets discounted. The cards may be purchased online or at the Guest Services office in Hart Prairie Lodge when you visit Snowbowl for the first time. A picture ID is required to purchase the discounted lift tickets with the card.

Mid-Week Discount Coupon

This has specific dates, so just click here on Flagstaff Snowbowl Mid-Week Discount Coupon to see if the dates match up for you.
  

Ski & Snowboard Rentals

Peace Surplus  Tel: 928-779-4521
 14 West Route 66
 Flagstaff, AZ 86001
 Email: info@peacesurplus.com

Snowboard and Ski Rental Packages: $21.00 out the door

Ski Haus
Tel: 928-774-7671
204 West Sullivan (800 Block of North Humphrey’s)
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001

Basic Snowboard Package: $22 +tax
Premium Snowboard Package: $27 + tax (newer demo Burton setups)

Basic Ski Package: $20 + tax Premium Ski Package: $28 + tax (Rossignol Bandits, Head Cybers, Rossignol RocX, or dealer demo)

Best Place to Warm Your Aching Bones: 

Macy’s European Coffeehouse, Bakery & Vegetarian Restaurant 
Tel: (928) 774-2243
14 Beaver Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86001-5502

Best Place to Drink Away Your Sore Behind:

Beaver Street Brewery 
Tel: (928) 779-0079
11 Beaver Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86001-5500

This has been one of the best snow seasons for Arizona in many years. It would be a sin for me not to test out the fresh layers of powder snow blessing the sacred mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona. Sometimes living in Arizona, especially The Valley (Metro Phoenix), can feel a bit monotonous and even look monochromatic without the apparent changes of seasons. But really, Arizona’s best characteristic is its outdoor adventure potential.

A few weeks ago, I was posting the Flagstaff snow report on this blog and noticed that we were expecting another 4-7 inches of fresh snow. All right, for you Utah and Colorado ski elitists, that is nothing. But for us Zonie snowboarders, it means packing up the snowboard and heading up to the mountains immediately. I would have gone that night, except every place I called was completely booked already! When you only live less than a couple of hours away (again, the beauty of Arizona is being only a short road trip away from everything like beaches in Mexico, Las Vegas, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World – Grand Canyon) everyone gets a move on real quick.

A couple of my roommates and I stayed in that Friday night and rested up for the early drive to Flagstaff Saturday morning. The drive was a sight to see; the rain had brought the desert to life with blooming cacti, wild flowers and grass lining the highway. It was strange to see so much color across the horizon leading into the now green hills of the desert. I do love the aromas that come with desert rain. If you are visiting Arizona and happen to be here when it’s raining, don’t curse because your golf game was ruined. Consider yourself lucky to be experiencing something uncommon for the area and enjoy the rare scent the desert exudes just after the rain stops. It truly is unlike any other.

After climbing into the hills on I-17, we reached the scenic stretch that descends into the Cottonwood area, only to find the whole town hidden by a low, ocean of clouds.

Snowboarding at Snowbowl

To be honest, I had a great time snowboarding at Snowbowl. This place gets a lot of mixed reviews, but here are a few things to keep in mind so you know what to expect.

1) Snowbowl is great for families.Big Bear borders will not find the same “hell yeah” music being blasted from the lodge, nor Red Bulls being passed out like nudie fliers in Vegas. There is a college-age population though, being that Northern Arizona University is right there. But for the most part, this place is good family fun.

2)Black slopes are more like blue slopes & blue slopes are short. There are a few really great runs. This is a very good place to take yourself to the next level if you are still learning to snowboard. If you are experienced, you will find yourself at the top portion of the mountain the whole day with not a ton of options. But as snowboarders, I bet you can find a way to entertain yourself.

3) Ski lifts could be better. The green ski lift is a 2-person ride, so the line is slower if you go on a busy weekend. If you can handle it, go to the blue ski lifts. Those are 3-person and they haul ass. If you are going to the black slopes, you have to get off the blue lift and catch a black lift, which means you have to wait in another line. There is no express lift to the top. My suggestion, bring a flask, turn up your i-pod and relax. The sooner you accept the lift issues, the better your experience will be.

4) Training Park is good for beginners. In other words, it’s a pretty sad set up for boarders who have the slightest idea of what they are doing. There are a couple of boxes, no rails if I remember correctly, and maybe a couple of other obstacles. My suggestion, bring a flask and turn up your i-pod.

5) Book your hotel and rent your snowboards right away if there is new snow. Great snowboarding seasons can be rare. So if you hear that there is going to be new snow in Flagstaff, the chances are that everyone else in Arizona has heard the same. Book your Flagstaff hotel right away.

Nice post over on the Arizona Snowbowl blog today about the first snow falling on Flagstaff.  David Smith describes the 14″ to 27″ snowfall at different parts of the mountain and gives an estimate of mid-December for opening of the ski resort.  We’ll keep you updated with the Snow Report.

FYI: Six to twelve inches of new snow  – and more expected this week – was reported on the website for Sunrise Park Resort, located in Arizona’s White Mountains near Greer.  We’ll keep you apprised of their snow report as well.