Keystone Springtastic and Pond Skim kicks off season for yearly tradition on Colorado slopes

At Keystone Resort's season-ending pond skim, skiers traded poles for costumes and grace for splashdowns, speeding toward a frigid pool with nothing but momentum and oftentimes a costume -- like a luchador mask -- to carry them across.

"Go fast and hope for the best" is the advice given by the one and only "Sir Drinks-A-Lot," one of the goofy contestants lined up to take on Keystone's costumed pond skim event as the resort closes out the 2024/25 season.

If you haven't seen the event that many of our Colorado mountains host as their seasons wind down, it's worth changing that; skiers and riders line up, hiking up a ski hill to take turns racing down a chute, trying to gather speed as they race towards a makeshift pool, filled with water from fire hoses, and attempt to ski or ride across the surface of the water to the other side. 

"There is a big drop today," Phineas Townsend said, dressed as Kyle from South Park. "It's not like the regular jump, you get some pretty nice speed, really nice out today."

He and his best friend Colton Barritt, dressed as Cartman from South Park, both took on the kids skim, a shorter run, but with the same watery finale.

The event included prizes for those who took on the skim, a DJ, and plenty of excited onlookers waiting for entertaining attempts, whether or not they actually make it across the pond. Many came in costume, like "Buffalo Dirado," who said he normally wears his luchador outfit to University of Colorado games to cheer on the Buffs but repurposed it for Sunday's skim.

"I don't want to reveal too much, but I intend on slighting dragging the hand into a buffalo," the masked snowboarder said, making horns with his fingers on his head.

"I have visualized it many times," he said.

Most mountains have their pond skim work together with their closing days, so if you are looking for more information on when another pond skim in Colorado might happen and how to participate, get a move on, as they will be coming soon.