SAM on the Road visited Woodward at Copper on a Thursday afternoon in late October, when the rest of the resort was closed up for the offseason. A snowstorm had snarled traffic on Interstate 70 from Kansas to the Continental Divide, and there was more energy and action at Woodward at Copper than just about anywhere else along the highway that day.

Woodward at Copper is an action sport junkie's paradise. All sorts of skiers, riders, and skateboarders were doing their things in the 20,000-square-foot Barn. Snowflex ramps provide a run-in for aerials and a kinked slope for a terrain park; there are trampolines and foam-filled pits for practicing aerials without serious consequences for failure. Skaters and BMX riders have two halfpipes--one small, one larger--and a very large skate bowl, plus a still-unfolding "street" area.

Centerpiece is the 35-foot-tall Big Air drop, with three different size jumps. The foam landing pit is 48 feet long, 27 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. An attendant uses a a long boom and rope to help fish out jumpers, since swimming out of the pit is slow going. The Snowflex job run has a 10-foot box and a 15-foot flat-down rail, and two quarterpipes.

Woodward at Copper offers a variety of programs and day uses. An all-day winter camp session is $200. The One Hit Wonder, a two-hour intro session, is mandatory for general use, and runs $70. With that under one's belt, 90-minute Drop-In sessions cost $30. A one-hour, forty-five minute private lesson runs $100; an all-day, one-on-one, inside and outdoor lesson costs $500. Multiple-use discounts abound. Summer camps scheduled for June and July will run from $600 to $1,800, depending on timing and whether lodging is included. Woodward expects to have about 60 campers per session during the seven-week run.

Skate and BMX sessions are just $10, and take place from 2 to 8 p.m. daily, and provide access to all the skate park features. No intro lesson is required.

For more on Woodward at Copper, watch for a report in the January 2010 issue of SAM.

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