An 'epic' rivalry: Aspen v. Vail

The “Epic” flag isn't expected to wave atop Highland Bowl this ski season.

And it has nothing to do with the scant snowfall in December.

The “epic” tradition that began at Aspen Highlands almost nine years ago quietly came to an end after the 2008/2009 season — when the word became a centerpiece of Vail Resorts' marketing campaigns.

“We all know where the 'original' Epic is from,” Aspen Skiing Co. spokesman Jeff Hanle recently wrote in an email to Real Aspen. “We (Highlands Patrol) invented it, and it was hijacked.”

Back in March 2003, ski patrollers first hoisted a flag with the word “Epic” on the ridge of Highland Bowl as a testament to the unusually deep powder — 22 inches in 24 hours – that graced its slopes.

It soon became a local tradition that whenever ski conditions transcended beyond the usual scope of awesomeness, Highlands patrollers would raise the “Epic” flag to commemorate the day's big bounty.

Then in the spring of 2008, Vail Resorts rolled out the EpicPass — a heavily discounted season pass that today allows access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Northstar.

Vail Resorts followed it up with the launch of EpicMix, which captures on-slope activity so customers can track the number of days and vertical feet they ski, see where they rode, earn points that can be redeemed for special offers and easily access pictures taken by on-mountain photographers.

Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol Director Mac Smith “said this will be the third season they haven't flown the flag,” according to Hanle, adding that an “Epic” Post-it Note did fly at Highlands two seasons ago.

A Vail Resorts spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment, but the company's EpicPass has been widely hailed as the salvation of Vail in the down economy that ensued after its unveiling. Vail's pass can be purchased for roughly half the price as a full-season pass to Aspen's four mountains.

So far this season though, ski conditions at most of Colorado's resorts have been anything but epic.

The state's snowpack is 73 percent of its average and December is among the driest in recent memory.

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	5 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	256	7 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	289	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	114	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	158	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	199	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	296	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	875	5 ft
Below Gypsum	844	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	374	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,410	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,140	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,260	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	1,800	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	3,860	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,270	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	9,740	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	8,190	6 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	1,030	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	61	1 ft
Near Aspen	115	1 ft
Near Emma	593	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,280	4 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	57	2 ft
At Aspen	52	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	110	1 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	773	3 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	60	3 ft
Near Leadville	95	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	159	4 ft
Below Granite	363	4 ft
Near Nathrop	423	4 ft
At Parkdale	444	3 ft