Ear to the ground

“Oh man, I’ve been stern squirting all day long.”

-A local woman discussing the aftermath of a night of boozing rather than a day of boating

Getting tubed

Move over snowboarding, there’s an even easier snowsport that’s sweeping Colorado – tubing. Durango Mountain Resort and numerous other Colorado ski areas made headlines recently for their snow tubing offerings.The Denver Post reported that a growing number of visitors are seeking out “on-mountain thrill tubing” and even planning their vacations around the “sport.”

“We love it because it’s something we can all do together without getting hurt,” Westminster resident Kathleen Miller, who had just dropped $160 for two hours of Copper Mountain tubing, told the paper.

Sean Tannehill, Telluride’s mountain services manager, commented, “It definitely increases in popularity each year. There are families that literally plan their vacations on whether or not the tubing hill is open.”

The Post went on the report that snow-tubing is actually one of fastest growing sports in the nation. The average number of visits climbed 6.7 percent last year and each resort boasts an average number of 21,675 tubers per season.

Durango Mountain Resort was recognized in the story for offering Colorado’s least expensive tubing. DMR charges a mere $5 for tubing access, compared to a whopping $22 per hour at Copper Mountain and Vail.

Tubing is also becoming an important revenue stream for resorts, according to the story. Tubing hills are inexpensive to build and maintain relative to other mountain operations, and at $22 per hour, many resort registers are ringing up until 8 p.m., when many of the tubing hills close.

Going to Disneyland

Durango is off to the Magic Kingdom. The Durango High School Colours Choir has been selected to perform for Mickey, Donald and Cinderella at Disneyland and the students are currently raising funds for the trip.

Magic Music Days, Disneyland’s educational program for students of the arts, selected Colours as one of 200 school groups in the nation to receive the honor. As a result, Colours will sing at Disneyland Park Plaza Gardens and Disneyland California Adventure Park during the district’s spring break, March 26-31. In order to get a little closer to Anaheim, the choir is hosting a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser this Sun. March 11, at Mutu’s Italian Kitchen from 5 to 8 p.m. The Colours choir will provide entertainment throughout the evening. For more information, call 259-1630, ext. 2101.