WINTER
FESTIVALS Ten can’t-miss winter events across the Centennial State
CHRISTMAS EVE TORCHLIGHT PARADE
Sunday, Dec. 24, Mountain Village, Telluride Revel in festive glee as the town of Telluride lights up the mountainside at their annual Christmas Eve Torchlight Parade. Telluride ski school instructors paint the mountain with torchlights, beginning at the top of the mountain and making their way to the heart of the village.
ULLRGRASS FESTIVAL
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 26-28, Parfet Park, 719 10th St., Golden Ullr is the norse god of winter, fittingly, and this coming January marks the 10th year that Golden honors the season with tons of music. Bill Nershi from The String Cheese Incident will be there, along with Todd Sheaffer from Railroad Earth and a full roster of local songwriters performing in the foothills of Golden.
INTERNATIONAL SNOW SCULPTURE CHAMPIONSHIPS
RIO FRIO ICE FESTIVAL
WINTER BREW FEST
Jan. 22-31, Riverwalk Center, 150 W. Adams Ave., Breckenridge For snow sculptors, this is the granddaddy of all contests. Teams from all over the world converge on Breckenridge for 10 days: the first five for sculpting a 25-ton block of snow into art, and the last five for you to bask in their completed work, lining the streets of historic downtown Breckenridge.
OURAY ICE FESTIVAL & COMPETITION
Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 18-21, various locations, Ouray Ouray is referred to by some as the “Switzerland of America,” and it’s tough to dispute as you enter the quaint Western Slope town at nearly 8,000 feet of elevation, surrounded by walls of mountains. Their ice festival is your chance to celebrate with the locals and witness an astonishing display of sculpting all in one weekend.
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 26-28, various locations, Alamosa The main event at Alamosa’s Rio Frio Ice Festival is one of the coolest 5k runs in the country — a fully chip-timed race held entirely on the frozen Rio Grande river. There’s also ice carving, a disc golf tournament and much more, so if you’re looking for some competition this January, make the trip to Alamosa.
Saturday, Jan. 27, Mile High Station, 2027 W. Colfax Ave., Denver Warm your bones with seasonal pours at this annual celebration in Denver. A ticket gets you unlimited craft beverage samples, access to a roster of food trucks and a ’90s-themed party featuring karaoke and prizes. Proceeds from this festival benefit Big Bones Canine Rescue, whose mission is to save dogs from death, illness and misfortune, regardless of the size of the pooch.
PAGOSA SPRINGS WINTERFEST WINTERSKÖL
Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 11-14, various locations, Aspen Aspen’s “toast to winter” is four days of celebrating mountain life. Celebrated annually since 1951, this festival has a slew of on- and off-mountain activities, snow sculptures, a soup contest and a craft beer festival being introduced to Wintersköl for the first time this year. 18
DECEMBER 14, 2023
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 19-21, various locations, Pagosa Springs The schedule of events at Pagosa Springs winter celebration is unlike any other: hot air balloon mass ascensions, sled races, fat bike races, a penguin plunge and, most notably, a BB gun biathlon. To round it all out, if you haul your christmas tree to the festival, they’ll include it in a giant bonfire featuring food, drinks and music.
X GAMES ASPEN
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 26-28, Base of Buttermilk, 38700 CO-82, Aspen No winter event calendar would be complete without the world’s biggest exhibition of winter sport, held right here in Colorado at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen. From knuckle huck to giant slalom, big air and superpipe, revel in the best winter show on earth.
WINTER SCENE 2023–2024
ICE CLIMBS FESTIVAL
Saturday, Feb. 3, Lake City Ice Park, 201 County Road 20, Lake City What’s as cool as sculpting ice, you ask? How about climbing it? No, not you, but if you want to see a professional scale Lake City’s daunting ice wall in roughly a minute, then the Ice Climbs Festival has got your fix. BOULDER WEEKLY
