2023 OutThere Colorado Winter Guide by Colorado Springs Gazette, LLC

WINTER GUIDE 2023/ 2024

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| 3 9/28/23 2:32 PM

OTC WINTER GUIDE

WINTER

101 By Spencer McKee

As snow begins to fall around the state and the hype for winter sports starts to rise, it’s crucial to have a news source that you can trust, created by Coloradans for Coloradans. Let OutThere Colorado keep you informed on weather patterns, traffic news, unique events and much more as you explore the Centennial State. Our team is committed to bringing our readers the best collection of outdoor recreation news they’ll find statewide. From dependable recommendations to stories of our own adventures, there’s no better place to set up your winter trip for success than OutThereColorado.com.

STAY UP TO DATE with Colorado’s outdoor news here

INSIDE

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2021 First Place Best Editorial Special Section Colorado Press Association

Holiday spirit remains alive and well in Denver

PEACE AND QUIET

A different side of Rocky Mountain National Park

FUN FOR THE KIDS

The North Pole has been Santa’s home since 1956

AN EPIC SKI TRIP

Ditch the crowds and embrace the fresh powder

COLORADO’S BEST

These classic ski towns are made for the winter

A GRAND ESCAPE

Plan a winter vacation in scenic Grand Junction

TIME FOR A DRINK

Uncover some history at eight ski country bars

HOME ON THE RANGE

Wildlife an unexpected attraction near Denver

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Nathan Van Dyne Seth Boster Jennifer Mulson

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Timothy Hurst Christian Murdock

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WINTER FESTIVALS NOT TO MISS By Seth Boster

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Ouray Ice Festival. Christian Murdock

Ullr Fest (Dec. 7-8)

Snowdown (Jan. 26-Feb. 4)

Ouray Ice Festival (Jan. 18-21)

Steamboat Winter Carnival (Feb. 7-11)

Ullr is the Norse god of snow. He is the subject of praise in this two-day celebration appropriately timed in the early part of ski season, when hopes are high for snow. A parade shuts down Breckenridge’s Main Street, a world record shotski is attempted and a bonfire caps things off. You don’t have to be an ice climber to enjoy the event that launched in 1996. You’ll be mesmerized watching the international bunch of athletes ascend the set of frozen curtains draping the Uncompahgre Gorge close to town. The festival is usually accompanied by film screenings, gear expos and parties.

Snow Sculpture Championships (Jan. 22-26) Maybe you’ve seen ice carving. But have you seen snow carving? The art of teams from around the world truly must be seen to be believed. Blocks of snow weighing 25 tons are transformed by hand over the span of five days. Sculptures stay up in Breckenridge through Jan. 31.

Durango is set for the 45th edition of this festival. The story is similar to that of the Steamboat Winter Carnival: In 1979, it came time to break cabin fever. How? With a list of shenanigans. Examples from recent years include beer plunges, outhouse stuffings and beard contests.

The five-day affair dates to 1914, when local ranchers decided it was time to stop grumbling about winter. They decided to embrace it. Generations have carried on several traditions, including the Lighted Man, who skis downhill in a suit of Roman candles, rockets and a flashing football helmet.

Frozen Dead Guy Days (typically March)

In 2023, Nederland said so long to “Grandpa,” as the frozen corpse has been known for decades. It was hello to Estes Park, the town that picked up Colorado’s weirdest festival. Frozen Dead Guy Days had outgrown tiny Ned. The party went on in Grandpa’s honor — coffin races, costumes and all.

SKI IVE

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Copper Mountain. Christian Murdock

A TIMELINE OF COLORADO’S SKI INDUSTRY The image of today’s Colorado ski scene is one of extravagance, of designer shopping and fine dining at the base of immaculate, groomed

slopes. The scene of yesterday was much different. Here we glide through the history of the industry that helped define the state:

1860s: Colorado’s first “ski bum” starts to make a name for himself. As mining camps sprout and boom across the mountains, Father John

Dyer is seen preaching by snowshoes and skis. It’s a practical mode of travel over the snowy ranges before the idea for recreation takes off.

Monarch Snowcat Tours. Christian Murdock

OTC WINTER GUIDE

n Colorado’s ski world, there are legends and lesser-known legends. An example of the latter is Tom Szwedko. Szwedko is called Tomski by his friends. As one told us: “There are people who think they are fanatic skiers, but they haven’t met Tom Szwedko.” Midway through his 70s, we found Tomski last winter continuing a streak of skiing every month — year-round — since 1979. In the winter, of course, he skis more than once a month, even if it is simply down the street from his Leadville home. In the heat of summer, the retired engineer looks to shaded, elevated patches he

1911: In northwest Colorado, Hot Sulphur Springs holds a winter carnival that makes skiing fun and includes jumping competitions. A Norwegian immigrant named Carl Howelsen takes notice. 1914: Howelsen forms Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, marking the start

of what would be North America’s longest-continuing ski area.

Wolf Creek Pass. The ski area is called Monarch Mountain.

1939: While locals had been skiing the slopes high beyond Salida for years, they formalize a destination with the addition of a car engine-powered rope tow — a kind of rig also recently built at Pikes Peak, Loveland Basin and

1940: The city and county of Denver welcome Denverites and tourists to Winter Park, the state’s first big ski area. 1942: During World War II, the Army

establishes the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale near Leadville, where men train for duty in Europe requiring ski travel. Some of these men would go on to be instrumental in building the industry as we know it. Within this decade, they set up Ski Cooper back at the old camp as well as Aspen Mountain and Arapahoe Basin.

Arapahoe Basin. Christian Murdock

knows from a lifetime of analysis where he can plop his skis and continue the streak. It’s no wonder he picked Leadville, North America’s highest incorporated town, as his home. For a man whose health is declining, the mission has been somewhat concerning to friends. They also think of the mission as sustaining Tomski. “It’s fun,” Szwedko said. Skiing is fun, yes. And, yes, in Colorado that is an understatement. For this annual winter guide, what better theme than the sport that has come to define us as Coloradans? The importance of skiing could be put in economic terms. Colorado Ski Country USA, the trade group representing 27 of the state’s lift-served ski areas, commissioned a report in the 2013-14 season that found the industry benefiting Colorado’s economy to the tune of $5 billion a year. “Since then, during the last 10 years, we’ve had multiple record years,” said Melanie Mills, Colorado Ski Country’s top executive. “That number is going to be bigger today.” The 2013-14 season was celebrated as a record at the time:

12.6 million visits to the slopes, by Colorado Ski Country’s count. Last season, the trade group reported a record 14.8 million visits. The growth matches a trend across the country, as tracked by National Ski Areas Association. Colorado doesn’t boast the most ski areas — you might be surprised to read New York and Michigan have more — but it certainly has some of the most iconic worldwide, said that association’s Adrienne Saia Isaac. And “Colorado has the most skier visits consistently every year,” she said. But the numbers fall short of putting the importance in perspective. The power of skiing is found in so much that is immeasurable. “It’s the red faces in the lodge. It’s the way cold beer tastes at the end of a ski day,” Mills said. “When you put those boards or board on your feet and let gravity have its way with you in the mountains of Colorado, there’s just nothing that even comes close to it.” It’s the people you meet, she said. She met her husband of

OTC WINTER GUIDE

1948: Billy Mahoney and other enthusiasts around Telluride put together a rope tow. It’s Mahoney’s first move in eventually seeing a ski area come to life. 1955: Stockholders buy Loveland Ski Tow Inc. and a general manager is

named: 10th Mountain Division veteran Pete Seibert. 1957: Seibert and local rancher Earl Eaton purchase 500 acres and continue a dream for a ski area like no other, to be called Vail.

1961: Peak 8 Ski Area, later Breckenridge Resort, opens, while the year also sees an impressive Doppelmayr T-bar run up Mount Crested Butte. 1962: Colorado’s first gondola ferries the first skiers of Vail Mountain.

1963: With a chairlift and a promise for fluffy, sparkly powder, Storm Mountain in Steamboat Springs opens, later to become Steamboat Resort. The project took off the previous decade, headed by a team that included local Buddy Werner, the first American man to win a major downhill race in Europe.

Crested Butte. Christian Murdock

continued from page 9

30-plus years in a lift line. In 1986 at Vail, Curtis Cloutier met his wife. It was the start of a fun life together that ended too soon. She died in 2001. One way Cloutier got back on his feet was by getting back on skis. He joined a Denver-based ski club, Up the Creek, of which he is now president. “I figured out a long time ago that skiers are great people to hang out with,” he said. “We’re very fortunate we live in Colorado and very fortunate we got some of the greatest skiing in the world right here out our doorstep.” In the beginning in Colorado, skiing was deemed more necessary than it was great. For a founding father of the sport in the state, we might look to Father John Dyer. History recalls him as the “itinerant preacher” or the “skiing preacher.” In the 1860s, he

OTC WINTER GUIDE

moved across the Rockies on wooden planks, as necessary, to spread the good word around mining camps. We might call Pete Seibert another founding father. While with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale near Leadville, Seibert trained on skis with other men in preparation for maneuvers in Europe. Along with other soldiers, Seibert went on to shape the industry as we know it; he scouted the back bowls above an old sheep valley to be called Vail. Seibert was a pal of Bill Copper, we heard from the son of Copper. In Leadville, Paul has carried on the ski rental business his dad started more than 75 years ago. It’s now one of Colorado’s oldest shops of its kind. “So many people in Leadville worked in the mine, and (my dad) wanted to get them outside,” Paul told us. “He want-

1967: Eyes were on Aspen the previous decade as Buttermilk and Highlands took shape, but now the first chairlift is loaded at a resort proclaimed to rival Vail and any other across the world: Snowmass. 1970: Long after co-founding A-Basin in the ‘40s, Max Dercum finally realizes another ski area he long envisioned

down the road as Keystone opens. Elsewhere in Summit County, plans are coming along for Copper Mountain, which debuts in 1972. 1972: Colorado wins the bid to host the Winter Olympics, but controversy boils over with citizens concerned about unchecked growth and development in the mountains. The bid is rejected a

year before the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel opens, further spurring traffic on Interstate 70 west of Denver.

its kind. If they weren’t already, resorts everywhere begin to accept the fact snowboards are here to stay.

1980: A grand destination opens off I-70: Beaver Creek, which was initially intended to host the Olympics.

1987: The decade sees ramped-up corporate maneuvering. A merger this year adds Breckenridge and Keystone to Vail Resorts, cementing the company’s dominance ahead of acquiring Beaver Creek and other resorts around the world.

1981: Ski Cooper hosts a snowboarding competition thought to be the first of

Buttermilk. Christian Murdock

ed to get them to enjoy this that we live in, instead of just coming home from work and thinking, ‘Ugh, all that snow I gotta shovel.’ He wanted to get them out and see what skiing was.” It became the way of thinking for old, bitter ranchers around Steamboat Springs. They were helped by a Norwegian immigrant named Carl Howelsen. His ski jumps in 1914 were the start of North America’s longest-going ski area: Howelsen Hill. It’s no wonder then that Steamboat took on the reputation for raising more Olympic skiers than any place in America. Steamboat has been the longtime home of one of the sport’s great pioneers: Billy Kidd, who in 1964 became America’s first man to win an Olympic medal in alpine skiing. We spent an afternoon with Kidd once, watching him take pictures with fans, walking into bars where people raised their glasses to him. “Nice job with the sunshine today,” Kidd said to a liftie, who responded: “All for you, sir.” The sun shines for all of us, whether we’re skiing to be the next Mikaela Shiffrin — the most decorated skier of all time also molded by Colorado — or simply skiing for the feeling. That’s what keeps us returning to the slopes. Indeed, that’s the reason for the record visits across the state. And indeed, nearly four years later, it might seem we are far removed from the onset of the pandemic that froze

chairlifts on a dark, March day we will not soon forget. The effects of the pandemic, though, are still felt across the ski scene, starting with those record visits. “People rediscovered a love for being outside because they didn’t want to be inside,” Mills said. One result: “The season pass market is alive and well,” she said. More Epic Pass and Ikon Pass holders have been met by bigger investments back into resorts, Mills noted. Vail Resorts, for example, approached the 2023-24 season by announcing a capital investment in the neighborhood of $211 million for its global destinations, including faster, higher-capacity lifts at Breckenridge and Keystone. That followed a whopping $320 million announced in 2021, including higher wages for a workforce to meet the growing customer demand. In Breckenridge, Trygve Berge told us it was hard to imagine the resort he co-founded back in the 1960s. “There isn’t powder anymore,” he said. “About 10 minutes after opening, somebody has skied it out.” Still, he chases it. As does a lesser-known legend. One of Tomski’s friends sent us a photo of the man this summer. Tomski was resting at an alpine lake, the mountains around him appearing bald amid the greenery. Of course, he was looking for any patch of white. Looking, longing, like so many of us, for snow.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Snowcast

What El Niño winter could mean for Colorado powder By Seth Boster

Colorado meteorologist Joel Gratz offers one guarantee for the winter. “It’s gonna snow,” he says. How much? That’s the question Gratz inevitably is asked ahead of every ski season. The Boulder resident is the sporting world’s go-to weather watcher, the co-founder and CEO of OpenSnow, the source offering powder hounds the daily forecasts they need. After a banner year for much of ski country, they can only hope the 2023-24 season similarly delivers. Gratz begins his projection with the usual caveat: Weather can be as unpredictable as the wind that blows. “There’s just a lot of factors,” he says. And, no, he doesn’t have a magic snow globe. He has but one indicator for this time of year: the surface temperature of the seas. Approaching fall, the Pacific Ocean was trending warmer than average — suggesting an El Niño winter. That would break three straight La Niña winters, when cooling patterns prevailed across the Pacific. While the state’s last El Niño winter produced “normal to above normal snowfall” by OpenSnow’s account, that means nothing for this winter, Gratz says.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

“No two El Niño years are the same, just like no two La Niña years are the same,” he says. “When we look at a bunch of El Niño years, what we see is that roughly most (ski areas) of Colorado come in ... within about 5% or 10% of either side of average.” One of Gratz’s colleagues, Sam Collentine, did some spot-checking. He looked at snow measurements recorded at seven geographically different ski areas on the same date in seven different El Niño years. For Winter Park and Wolf Creek, five of the seven readings were above normal. For Aspen Snowmass, Crested Butte and Vail, four were above. For Steamboat and Copper Mountain, three were above. What does that suggest for 2023-24? Maybe something, maybe nothing, Gratz says. Further analysis revealed another curious trend in El Niño winters. “The shoulder season tends to bring more snow compared to average than the middle of the winter,” Gratz says. “For instance, October and November would look snowier than average. December, January and February look less snowy than average. Then you wind up with March and April coming in oftentimes snowier than average.”

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Main Street Of The Rockies

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By Seth Boster

WORDS

First, the good news. “Colorado is going to be the home of skiing for a long time, the epicenter for snow sports in the U.S.,” says Keith Musselman, an assistant professor studying mountain snow at University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. Musselman is also a skier and snowboarder. He’s all too aware of the bad news. A warming climate threatens his sport, slowly but surely, according to long-term projections. Those were detailed in a paper he co-authored in 2021, published in the journal Nature. Current models show “substantial snow in the Rocky Mountains by the end of the century,” Musselman says, “but you’re going to start seeing places look more like the Pacific Northwest.” Colorado’s high elevations “essentially buy us time,” Musselman says. While cold temperatures at ski bases above 10,000 feet will continue to meet storms tracking from the coast, turning water into snow, data show lower bases closer to the ocean might not be so fortunate. Instead of powder, slush. “We are a little less vulnerable to warming than some other places, like the Sierra Nevadas or the Cascades,” says Peter Goble, a climatologist at Colorado Climate Center. “We build a cooler snowpack.” Still, he says, that snowpack won’t be totally immune at the current rate of warming.

OF WARNING Climate change poses real threat to future of quality skiing in Colorado

OTC WINTER GUIDE

“Along with warmer winters comes a reduction in overall snowpack, a shorter snow season and more potential for rainon-snow events, particularly at lower elevations,” Goble says. That means an impact on the state’s precious powder, he says. “It’s likely that, especially in the shoulder season — I’m thinking mostly about spring, say April and March — that if the climate warms as it’s expected to warm, we could see a lot more events that are more of the heavy, wet snow variety.” As an industry, Musselman says Colorado officials should be thinking about small ski hills across the Midwest and East Coast. Those are part of the “feeder system,” as he calls it, responsible for instilling a passion and inspiring people to visit or move to bigger mountains. “Those places at lower elevations are likely to not be sustainable,” Musselman says. “That’s a real hit to the ski industry, losing skier numbers.” Skiing far from represents the greater threat of climate change on a global level, Musselman emphasizes. And, the way he sees it, the potential changes to terrain do not represent the greater threat to Colorado’s sporting scene. “If (ski areas) have to close weeks earlier and/or the skier days and visitors are starting to be reduced, that has an impact on the community,” he says. “It’s less about the number of days we’re going to be skiing slush instead of powder. What does it mean for those working at the burrito shop or the pizza shop, or those who make snow for a living or drive snow cats?” And then there’s what scientists see as the most immediate threat to the industry.

In an era of hotter and bigger wildfires, many forested resorts sit in the crosshairs. Sierra at Tahoe served as a warning case last season; the resort opened after the Caldor fire wrecked buildings and destroyed trees that were central to the overall experience. Indeed, a warming climate is “our big, looming issue,” says Adrienne Saia Isaac, marketing and communications director with National Ski Areas Association. She considered the pandemic that forced industry competitors around the world to combine resources and work toward an operating path. “It was the ski industry collaborating to help combat a larger problem,” Isaac says. “We’re going to need to do that again when it comes to climate.” Ultimately, scientists say, it will take political willpower on a global scale to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In the meantime, ski areas are investing in high-powered, automated snowmaking. They’re looking to higher terrain and north-facing slopes where snow has a better chance to hold. The proliferation of season passes with access to several resorts worldwide seems to serve as another “hedge,” Goble says. “Given how variable things are year to year, it’s likely that somewhere on one of those big group passes will have a good year,” he says. “However, one negative that I think might come with that is you may end up with more crowds if this is one of the better places to ski in the middle of the century. I think that’s a potential impact that gets discussed a little less.”

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Mile High Tree. Chancey Bush

Colorado town to love in winter:

DENVER By Seth Boster

During the 1930s in Denver, one could hibernate and fight the winter blues or get out and have fun in the snow. That might’ve been the thinking of George Cranmer, the city parks manager at the time. He’s credited with proposing the nearby playground that is now Winter Park Resort. Yes, long before today’s corporate rule, Winter Park was owned and operated by the city and county of Denver, marketed as a ski retreat for locals and tourists. 16

OTC WINTER GUIDE

To get there this winter, you could buy a ticket and board Amtrak’s Winter Park Express from Union Station in downtown Denver. Otherwise, you must brave Interstate 70 traffic — as you must for many of Colorado’s premier resorts. But who says you have to go anywhere? Who says you can’t beat the winter blues close to home? Besides, Denver’s fun factor has changed drastically since the 1930s.

Denver Christkindlmarket. Timothy Hurst

Downtown delights

You’ll discover unmatched window shopping up and down 16th Street Mall, and restaurants and bars galore. You might start at Union Station, its halls properly decked, and grab a hot chocolate to go. Or perhaps you’d like tea. Perhaps you should make a reservation for tea time at The Brown Palace — a classy tradition in the historic hotel on 17th Street. If not for tea, it’s worth stopping in during the holidays for the decorations. Ice skating memories are made at Skyline Park. The rink is usually ready to go around Thanksgiving. Strands of lights strung across the ice and nearby trees are sure to get you in the spirit. Of course, the greatest tree of all is Mile High Tree. The digital, Technicolor installation towers 110 feet over Civic Center Park, drawing lovebirds and families inside for magical photos. You might time your visit between mid-November through Christmas Eve, when the park also hosts Denver Christkindlmarket.

SAVE THE DATES • Nov. 3-5: Colorado Country Christmas Gift Show: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 3-4, 10 a.m.5 p.m. Nov. 5, Colorado Convention Center, $16 online, $17 at door, free for 13 and younger. coloradochristmasgiftshow. com • Nov. 16-Dec. 24: Winter Wanderland: Shop and eat while taking in a million twinkling lights wrapping more than 600 trees, illuminating the entire neighborhood, Cherry Creek North. cherrycreeknorth.com • Nov. 17-Jan. 6: Blossoms of Light: Immerse yourself in the holiday spirit by wandering through this twinkling winter wonderland, Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St. botanicgardens.org Nov. 24-Dec. 31: Luminova Holidays: Downtown amusement park features dazzling lights, a candy cane tunnel, rides and more, Elitch Gardens, 2000 Elitch Circle. elitchgardens.com

Merry and bright

While most of the greenery will be gone, Denver Botanic Gardens is no less glorious in the winter. Blossoms of Light is a cherished event, when the York Street location transforms into a wonderland aglow. Denver Zoo provides another must-see light show. Last year’s installations were called Electric Jungle, Savannah Sunset and Aurora Borealis, with ice carvings and cozy fires also found along the way. If winter is your season to be inside, then it’s prime time to visit the city’s fabulous museums. Denver Museum of Nature & Science piques the curiosity of adults and kids alike, while Denver Art Museum similarly captivates for the whole afternoon.

Holiday cheers

Denver is synonymous with craft beer. One way to dive in is the Winter Brew Fest, slated for Jan. 27 at Mile High Station. Another way is to visit River North Art District (RiNo). Along Larimer Street, you can hop your way to multiple breweries, including Our Mutual Friend Brewing Co., Ratio Beerworks and an Odell Brewing Co. tasting room. That’s not to mention a tasty cidery, Stem, and several hip hangouts for cocktails, including Improper City and Finn’s Manor. Fill your belly before you start sipping. You’ll spot several fine bites throughout RiNo but most eye-catching is The Denver Central Market. The food hall houses a deli, butcher, fish market and pizzeria.

Denver Botanic Gardens. Timothy Hurst

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Oil Well Flats. Christian Murdock

By Seth Boster

NO SKIS, NO PROBLEM 10 ideas for winter fun on the Front Range

Just because you don’t ski doesn’t mean you can’t have fun come winter. If you’re living on the Front Range, the possibilities are endless. Here are 10 must-dos: 1. Enjoy a beer run in Fort Collins: It’s more than New Belgium Brewing Co. and Odell Brewing Co. This town is saturated with some of the best, most creative breweries in the state. 2. Take a food tour in Denver: On the heels of gaining some of the industry’s highest recognition, that of Michelin inspectors, it’s a great time to explore the city’s culinary scene. Trust guides with Delicious Denver Food Tours to point you in the right direction. 3. Catch a show at Mission Ballroom: While Red Rocks Amphitheatre closes for the season, Denver’s latest concert venue shines. Since opening in 2019 in the RiNo district, Mission Ballroom has wowed with modern amenities and top acts. 18

OTC WINTER GUIDE

ing Co. Chancey

ew New Belgium Br

Bush

4. Grab dinner and see a show in Boulder: BDT Stage pairs global fare with Broadway-type entertainment. A holiday show is set for the weekend of Dec. 4, with “Fiddler on the Roof ” scheduled to run into January. It’s the 45th and final season for Boulder’s Dinner Theatre. 5. Explore a state park: If you think winter is the time to halt your tour of state parks, think again. We love hitting the snowy trails at Golden Gate Canyon outside Golden. Of similar size and variety but often more overlooked is Mueller State Park in Teller County, west of Colorado Springs. 6. Soak and stay at Cliff House Lodge & Hot Tub Cottages: You thought Red Rocks Amphitheatre was Morrison’s only attraction. A few blocks off downtown, this lodge offers a cozy, quirky set of cottages with hot tubs inside and outside — a perfect rendezvous for you and your loved one. 7. See the sights around the Springs: Do as the locals do — go to Garden of the Gods in the winter. Snow adorns the red rocks, and the tourist crowds are greatly thinned. There is much more to see and do beyond Garden of the Gods, from other parks and open spaces; to Cave of the Winds and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo; to shopping in Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs; to dozens of breweries and speakeasies.

othy Hurst

Evergreen Lake. Tim

8. Go ice skating in Evergreen: There are likely rinks closer to where you live. But none can quite match the one at Evergreen Lake, in the mountains west of Denver. For decades, families have made memories at the huge, Zamboni-groomed rink. 9. Hit the trails in Cañon City: If you’re a mountain biking junkie, you already know. If you’re more of a casual type, allow us to fill you in: The gorgeous single-

track networks at Oil Well Flats and Royal Gorge Park are often dry through winter. Check conditions at Fremont Adventure Recreation’s website, joinfar.org. 10. Get a slopper in Pueblo: It’s a quintessential Colorado way to warm up. Scarf down the iconic dish: an open-faced cheeseburger smothered in green chili. Gray’s Coors Tavern is the acclaimed slopper birthplace, but some swear by the iteration at Sunset Inn.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Rocky Mountain National Park. Christian Murdock

By Seth Boster

SPOT FOR SOLITUDE Rocky Mountain National Park looks, sounds and feels different in winter

If you haven’t ever visited in winter, you might not recognize Rocky Mountain National Park. That’s not only because of how it looks: snow covering the once-gray faces of the high peaks; frozen lakes and waterfalls. But you’ll also notice other things. The cold, yes. But also the silence. The lack of cars. The lack of people. Compared with summer, a much smaller portion of the park’s annual 4.5 million visitors come during winter. More solitude for you. And less hassle. The benefits go on from there.

Sledding

Hidden Valley is not so hidden. Since ski area plans were ditched in 1991, families have flocked to the old bunny hill now open to sledding — the only site where it’s allowed in the park. The hill is not far from Estes Park via the Beaver Meadows or Fall River entrances. Without any lift or tow, you’ll have to walk up your sled, saucer or tube. Skiers and snowboarders also share the space. Be prepared for wind.

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing

Those are your modes of travel on the trails, which pile up with snow. It’s generally deeper on the park’s west side, from Grand Lake. While Trail Ridge Road is closed to vehicles over the top, the highway from Grand Lake becomes a go-to for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Others pick trails ranging in difficulty 20

| OTC WINTER GUIDE

across the Kawuneeche Valley. On the east side, areas popular in the summer remain so in the winter: Bear Lake and Wild Basin. The park warns of avalanches and fast-changing conditions that demand proper clothing and gear as well as vehicle preparedness. If you’re new to winter recreation, the park has offered ranger-led, reservation-only snowshoe tours from Estes Park and Grand Lake.

Wildlife watching

Your chances for spotting elk and deer might be even better in the winter, when the animals roam lower elevations closer to roads. According to the park, the season is “an especially good time” to look for snowshoe hare and ptarmigan. The ptarmigan is a particular treat; the bird changes color in the winter to match the snow. Steller’s jays are common,

along with Clark’s nutcrackers and black-billed magpies. The west side is the best side for moose. Grand Lake locals know to keep their eyes out along Grand Avenue.

Stay the night

Moraine Park is the only campground open during the winter, but not for the winter of 2023-24. Construction is slated to keep sites closed through early June. So, if you want to camp, you really want to camp. Backcountry sites are plentiful and available for those who pick up permits at wilderness offices at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center (Estes Park side) or Kawuneeche Visitor Center (Grand Lake side). If camping in the snow isn’t for you, you might book a night at The Stanley, Estes Park’s famed, historic hotel. Rates are cheaper in the winter.

Ice Castles. Chancey Bush

By Seth Boster

A NEW HOME Cripple Creek? Brent Christensen had never heard of the town tucked in the hills west of Colorado Springs. “I didn’t know anything about it until we started checking it out last year,” he said. He and an associate were checking it out as a candidate for the next home of Ice Castles, the seasonal, unforgettable attraction. Christensen was sold. Where miners from around the world once tested their luck at the center of the Pikes Peak gold rush, so Christensen’s company will test the location for a mesmerizing display. On a hilltop in view from Cripple Creek’s main street, crews will wait for freezing nights to run water and build a complex of soaring, cathedral-like walls, tunnels, slides and a fountain. All of the icy structures will be embedded with multi-color, LED lights that twinkle in the eyes of kids and adults who feel like kids again. It’s an experience Coloradans have missed for two years. Ice Castles previously made its home in Summit County, before local angst grew over crowding and other logistics. Since packing up, Christensen said the company has tried hard to return to the state that loves winter more than most. (Ice Castles also is found in Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York.)

Ice Castles is coming back to Colorado after two-year hiatus

“Colorado’s been tough to get,” Christensen said. “There’s not the land or the parking, or some places it’s just too busy.” Apparently, winter has not been busy enough in Cripple Creek. “The city has been working on getting the Ice Castles for over a year,” Klaryssa Murray, the city’s destination marketing coordinator, said. “We courted them.” Reportedly drawing tens of thousands of visitors, she expected the attraction to “change the economy of Cripple Creek.” The economy has leaned on casinos for decades. They lend to a much different scene for Ice Castles, which Christensen started in 2011 in Midway, Utah. Just as the attraction at that location could draw on ski resort traffic, so it could in Summit County. In Cripple Creek, “we may not have the (same) volume,” Christensen said. Also compared with Summit County, crews may not have as cold of nights, he recognized. Freezing temperatures are key to Ice Castles opening by Christmas — always a big “if ” at any location — and staying open for weeks or months. Colorado Springs checks the box for major population center proximity that the attraction seeks. Though, Cripple Creek can’t claim a major thoroughfare, and “it’s definitely one of the smaller towns that we’ve ever been in,” Christensen said. Call it a destination for a destination like no other. “This is a real experience that we can all do together,” Christensen said. “And at the same time, it feels unreal.” OTC WINTER GUIDE

The North Pole. Brandyn Harper

By Jennifer Mulson

BACK IN

TIME

CASCADE • A magical Christmas kingdom lives here amid pine and scrub oak. The North Pole-Santa’s Workshop is an amusement park that time seemingly forgot. It’s a land of perpetual ho ho hos, where Santa is always available for a chat, a 6-foot pole of ice remains frozen on even the hottest days, and guests can ride in an ornament while spinning around a giant, mechanical Christmas tree. When the park opened in 1956, it looked much different than it does now. Then, the $500,000 fairyland village consisted of 11 log cabins designed by a Walt Disney architect. That village was home to various craftsmen — a candlemaker, a photographer, a blacksmith and a glassblower. There were family-friendly puppet shows and a mine ride with donkeys pulling a stagecoach contraption. But that was all. “You couldn’t be here in Christmas time — it was summer only,” park manager Austin Lawhorn says. “It changed and grew as the area grew.” A group of Colorado Springs businessmen, including Lawhorn’s grandfather, George Haggard, are responsible for the niche vintage park. It was an article in Life magazine about Santa’s Workshop near Lake Placid, N.Y., that served as the inspiration. “A theme park was a brand new idea at this time,” Lawhorn says. “They wanted to do something similar but different here.” A decade after opening, carnival rides began to be added to the 28-acre property, including the candy cane-colored Peppermint Slide, acquired from a World’s Fair in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s, and the Antique Car Ride. Later came the 1919 Herschell-Spillman carousel. Of the 8,000 produced, less than 200 remain today. The Ferris wheel, dubbed the highest in the world thanks to the park’s altitude, and the short but hilly Candy Cane Coaster also were added. “We have evolved since 1956, but in a lot of ways we’re still

so focused on the younger set and keeping that magic alive,” Lawhorn says. “We are very aware the more simple things mean more to these kids. They don’t need all the crazy computer virtual reality stuff to be happy. They need memories with their family.” Sprinkled throughout the park are other genial attractions, including a herd of English fallow deer, with their delicately spotted coats. They’ve been around since the park opened but are no longer being bred. Magic shows are offered throughout the day, as are visits from Santa. Cafes serve up sweet treats and meals, and gift shops sell Christmas-themed memorabilia. Management is always adding to, deleting from and refurbishing the lineup of carnival rides. The park features 26 in all, the latest of which, Soaring Eagle Zipline, debuted in 2013. Lawhorn’s father, Tom Haggard, likes to keep tabs on other well-respected and well-maintained vintage amusement parks. And if a ride becomes available, he scoops it up. When a few parks closed in the wake of the pandemic, Haggard acquired a couple of rides, one of which soon will open in the old arcade building. The North Pole is open from mid-May to Dec. 24. Guests are welcome on park grounds free of charge through October, though paid wristbands are required to access rides. November and December are the park’s busiest months, what with the impending holidays. Weekends and the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas are only available with online reservations. “You get a 50-degree day on a Saturday in December, and it’s crazy,” Lawhorn says. It speaks to the nostalgia many harbor for The North Pole, where about 70% of visitors are repeat customers who first came as kids. “Kids these days have a very different world than we did growing up,” Lawhorn says. “This is one place where they can come and get almost the exact same experience their parents or grandparents did.”

OTC WINTER GUIDE

48 Colorado

By Carlotta Olson

WINTER FESTIVALS Oct. 28-29: Deck the Mall: Outdoor shopping experience with holiday cheer and festivities, Pearl Street Mall, Boulder; coloradoevents.org Nov. 3-5: Urban Holiday Market: Unique gifts, specialty foods and more, Wynkoop Plaza at Union Station, Denver; coloradoevents.org Nov. 4-5: Holiday Pottery Sale: Unique, hand-crafted pottery, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., City Park Recreation Center, Westminster; cityofwestminster.us Nov. 11: Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care’s Trees of Life Tree Lighting: 5 p.m., Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St.; pikespeakhospice.org Nov. 11: Gingerbread & Jazz: 5 p.m. VIP dinner, 7 p.m. event, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, 30 W. Dale St., earlyconnections.org Nov. 11: Chili, Booze & Brews: Food and beverage competition featuring craft breweries, small-batch distillers and chefs, Denver; chiliboozeandbrews.com Nov. 11-Dec. 24: Winter Holiday Trains: Featuring Santa and plenty of scenery, Georgetown Loop Railroad, Georgetown; georgetownlooprr.com Nov. 16-Dec. 24: Camp Christmas: It’s everything you love about the holidays, with Santa, cocktails and more, Stanley Marketplace, Aurora; visitaurora.com Nov. 17: Downtown Festival of Lights: With live music, tree lighting, carriage rides, Santa and more, 5-8 p.m., 4th Street, Loveland; visitlovelandco.org Nov. 17-Dec. 31: Santa Express Train and Holiday Rides: Royal Gorge Route Railroad, Cañon City; royalgorgeroute.com Nov. 17-Jan. 1: ICE!: “A Christmas Story,” sculptures by 40 artisans from China; Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Aurora; gaylordrockies.com Nov. 18: Tree Lighting: With carriage rides and more, 3:30-6 p.m., with tree lighting at 5:30 p.m., George Hix Riverside Plaza, Estes Park; visitestespark.com Nov. 18-19: The Gift Spectacular: Music, food trucks and more, noon-8 p.m. Nov. 18, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 19, Denver Sports Castle, Denver; coloradoevents.org Nov. 18-25: Al Kaly Shrine Feztival of Trees: 10 a.m.-7 p.m., closed Thanksgiving Day, Colorado Springs Masonic Center, 1150 Panorama Drive; alkalyshrine.org Nov. 24: Tree Lighting Ceremony: With carols, cookies, hot chocolate and more, 6:30-9 p.m., with lighting of tree at 7 p.m., Grand Lake; gograndlake.com Nov. 24-25: Creede Chocolate Festival: Cast your vote for chocolate specialties created by local business owners and individuals, Creede; creede.com Nov. 24-26: Victorian Christmas Tea: 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., Miramont Castle, 9 Capitol Hill, Manitou Springs, $35-$55; miramontcastle.org Nov. 24-Jan. 1: Trail of Lights: A winding path glistening with lights that illuminate the Colorado countryside, Chatfield Farms, Littleton; botanicgardens.org Nov. 25-Jan. 1: Holiday Headframe Lighting: Headframes of past mining days light up the sky, Cripple Creek and Victor; visitcripplecreek.com Dec. 1-3: Telluride Arts Holiday Bazaar: With locally made arts, crafts and artisan foods, Ah Haa School for the Arts, Telluride; telluride.com Dec. 1-3, Dec. 8-23, Dec. 25-Jan. 1: Electric Safari: Holiday lights and cute animals, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo; cmzoo.org Dec. 2: Holiday in the Ranch: With market, caroling, food and Santa, 2-6 p.m., Highlands Ranch Town Center South, Highlands Ranch; highlandsranch.org Dec. 2: Lighter Side of Christmas Parade: A parade right down U.S. 24, 6 p.m., Woodland Park; woodlandparkchamber.com Dec. 2: Tree Lighting: Kick off the holiday season, Limbach Park, Front Street, Monument; townofmonument.org 24

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Dec. 2: Reindeer Games: Kid-friendly winter-themed activities include sleigh rides, s’mores and more, Philip S. Miller Park, Castle Rock; crgov.com Dec. 2: 9NEWS Parade of Lights: Festive parade in the heart of downtown, Denver; winterindenver.com Dec. 2: Lighting of Breckenridge and Race of the Santas: With 250,000 LED holiday lights, Breckenridge; gobreck.com Dec. 2-3: Tommyknocker Holidays: Holiday bazaar with storytellers, children’s parade, ugly sweater contest and more, Central City; visitcentralcity.com Dec. 7-9: Christmas in the Gold Camps: Winter Wonderland reception, Christmas parade and more, Cripple Creek; visitcripplecreek.com Dec. 7-9: ULLR Fest: Celebration of all things winter and snow, Breckenridge; gobreck.com Dec. 8-10: Holiday Festival: Enjoy twinkling lights, seasonal greenery and beautiful music, Mackey Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder; cupresents.org Dec. 9: Festival of Lights Parade: 5:50 p.m., downtown Colorado Springs; coloradospringsfestivaloflights.com Jan. 5-7: All In Ice Festival: Climbing festival, Ouray Ice Park, Ouray; allinicefest.com Jan. 11-14: Wintersköl Celebration: Annual toast to winter, Aspen; aspenchamber.org Jan. 12-14: First Peoples Festival: A celebration of Indigenous culture, art, music, language and more, Estes Park; estesparkeventscomplex.com Jan. 13: Oatmeal Festival: Family events focusing on a healthy lifestyle, 7:3011:30 a.m., Pioneer Elementary, Lafayette, lafayettecolorado.com Jan. 18-21: Ice Festival: Presentations by climbers, music, food and more, Ouray; ourayicepark.com Jan. 20-22: Winterfest: With Penguin Plunge, sled races, hot air mass ascensions and more, Pagosa Springs; pagosachamber.com Jan. 22-31: International Snow Sculpture Championships: Teams from around the world hand-carve 25-ton blocks of snow, Breckenridge; gobreck.com Jan. 26-28: X Games Aspen: Action sports and music festival, Buttermilk Mountain, Aspen; aspensnowmass.com Jan. 26-Feb. 4: Snowdown: Parade, artwork and more, Durango; snowdown. org Feb. 2-4: High Plains Snow Goose Festival: Tours, speakers and more, Lamar; highplainssnowgoose.com Feb. 7-11: Winter Carnival: Highlighting winter sports traditions, with parade, fireworks and more, Steamboat Springs; steamboatchamber.com Feb. 15-18: Telluride Comedy Festival: Historic Sheridan Opera House, Telluride; telluride.com Feb. 16-18: Midwinter Bluegrass Festival: With some of the best bluegrass in the west, Delta Hotels by Marriott, Northglenn; midwinterbluegrass.com Feb. 17-25: Cripple Creek Ice Festival: Carvers will compete on Bennett Avenue for $1,000 top prize, Cripple Creek; visitcripplecreek.com March 1-3: Ski Joring & Crystal Carnival: Horse and rider will pull skier through a course with gates, jumps and rings, Leadville; leadvilletwinlakes.com March 1-3: WinterWonderGrass: Music, brews and mountains, Steamboat Springs; winterwondergrass.com

CLOSE TO HOME,

A WORLD AWAY.

Unwind and make lasting memories with your loved ones at The Broadmoor with Winter Spectacular rates starting at $299 per night. Play till your heart’s content in our indoor pool or catch a movie in our theatre. Or take on an adventure with some of our Broadmoor experiences such as falconry, zip lining, mountain biking and more. Perhaps a little competition is more your speed with a friendly round of complimentary golf. OFFER INCLUDES:

• Complimentary golf greens fees (cart rental not included) thru April 3, 2024 • Complimentary outdoor tennis and pickleball court time thru April 3, 2024 • Suites available at 25% off of published rates Savor delightful meals in our award-winning restaurants including three-course prix fixe dinners January 1 st through February 29th* at The Broadmoor’s Ristorante del Lago, Golden Bee and La Taverne. Italian-centric Del Lago’s is $59 per person, gastropub Golden Bee is $49 per person, while the steakhouse Taverne’s is $69 per person. All of this coupled with our legendary service are sure to make for a spectacular experience. Visit broadmoor.com for more information today.

Rates and special discounts are based on space availability and are weather permitting for select dates November 2023- April 2024. Not applicable to groups. Rates do not include applicable taxes and fees. Valid for new bookings only. Prix fixe menus are available January 1 - February 29, 2024, excluding February 10-17, 2024. Pricing not inclusive of tax and tip. 844.209.6878

BROADMOOR.COM

OTC WINTER GUIDE

An epic winter

SKITriparound

Ski and snowboard enthusiasts around the world know all about Colorado’s biggest and most commercialized resorts — ultra-popular spots such as Aspen, Steamboat, Telluride, Vail and Breckenridge. But, with more than two dozen ski areas in the state, there are still plenty of places that locals can go to avoid the crowds and the tourists. While these spots tend to be much smaller and a bit off the beaten path, they make up for what they lack with a welcoming culture, relaxed nature and more affordable ticket prices. If you’re looking to “ski like a local,” embark on this epic road trip: 10 ski areas, 739 miles, 16 hours of travel time. 26

OTC WINTER GUIDE

1. ECHO The closest ski area to Denver, Echo Mountain offers a humble landscape of just more than 200 skiable acres. It’s a great spot to get the muscles ready for a skiing road trip around the state and offers a variety of terrain over 13 trails, including several expert-level, forested runs. 2. LOVELAND Heading into the mountains on Interstate 70, it’s impossible to miss this ski area towering above the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel. With a wide range of terrain spread across 1,800 acres, the most unique experience here is the free snowcat skiing along the Continental Divide. 3. ARAPAHOE BASIN In recent years, A-Basin has regained its reputation as a spot for locals, shifting its focus to the skiing experience and away from luring many more guests via major conglomerate passes. With a homey base area bar and space to tailgate at the bottom of runs, A-Basin has it all — stunning views, epic terrain and fun events. 4. COOPER One of the most affordable skiing options in Colorado, this Leadville site is steeped in history, once serving as the training ground for the 10th Mountain Division during World War II. While this spot is considered a top family-friendly destination, it’s worth noting that 34% of the terrain is rated as expert-level.

COLORADO By Spencer McKee

5. MONARCH

9. SUNLIGHT

Situated on picturesque Monarch Pass, this ski area is best known for its glades and its lack of crowds. And don’t forget about the stunning, panoramic ridgeline views or the easy access via the town of Salida.

Another great family-friendly skiing destination that’s located just miles from the iconic slopes of Aspen, Sunlight offers a “no hassles” experience. Stay in nearby Glenwood Springs to soak sore muscles at the riverside Iron Mountain Hot Springs resort.

6. WOLF CREEK

10. HOWELSEN HILL

Typically getting more snow than any other ski area in Colorado — to the tune of 400-plus inches a year — it’s safe to say Wolf Creek is a local’s secret. Don’t expect a wide selection of bustling restaurants and bars for aprés ski, but do expect plenty of powder.

This is the tiniest stop on the road trip, but that doesn’t make it any less notable. It’s the oldest continuously operated ski area in Colorado, dating to 1915, and a visit here is a great excuse to experience winter festivities in Steamboat Springs without paying for a more expensive lift ticket at the city’s namesake resort. Plus, Howelsen usually offers free skiing on Sundays throughout the winter season.

7. PURGATORY Nestled in the majestic San Juans, this is another destination where long lift lines simply don’t exist — despite all of the amenities nearby Durango has to offer. So hit the slopes here, then head into town for great food, hot springs and more. 8. POWDERHORN Found on the side of the world’s largest flattop mountain, Powderhorn is unique in Colorado in that it tops out at 8,200 feet of elevation. A stop here brings skiers to the often-overlooked Western Slope and all of the stunning desert views that come with it.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Ski Broadmoor. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

Ski Broadmoor. Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District

LOST TO TIME A look back at 5 abandoned ski areas in Colorado

By Seth Boster

Colorado ski areas are the products of dreams coming true, of visionaries and investors coming together. Other now-shuttered ski areas are the results of broken dreams. Here’s a look at some of the slopes time forgot: Berthoud Pass: “The Pass,” as it was simply known, enjoyed a long run between 1937 and 2001. The site raised a good portion of Colorado’s early generation of recreational skiers, who also learned to take turns alongside snowboarders here in the 1980s and 1990s. Ski Broadmoor: Along with skiing on Pikes Peak, plenty in Colorado Springs remember pre- and post-work skis at the hill of the famed hotel. Yes, the runs still in view bring back memories. After about 30 years, The Broadmoor sold the operation in 1986 to the city, which then sold to Vail Resorts, which walked away in 1991. Conquistador: A pair of outside investors made a go at the old ski area along the Sangre de Cristo mountains in 1992. They needed only one year to learn why things didn’t work out in a previous 10-year run that started in 1978. The

OTC WINTER GUIDE

ranchers of Westcliffe seemed less than interested, as did Mother Nature. Geneva Basin: It might’ve been doomed from the start in 1963, around the time big money was flowing elsewhere in Colorado ski country, namely Vail. Nonetheless, some of Denver’s population opted to learn on these humble slopes above Georgetown. Gov. Roy Romer was among a variety of owners who swapped hands until Geneva shut down in 1984. Pikes Peak: In 1939, The Gazette-Telegraph reported that 18,700 skiers had rushed to the rope tow at Glen Cove. Local enthusiasts constructed it a few years prior — possibly the first rope tow to run in the state. Development later turned to Elk Park. The ski area met its demise in the 1980s due to a lack of snow and money.

POWDER PRIMER By Seth Boster

Hesperus. Scott DW Smith

A CLOSER LOOK AT COLORADO’S SKI AREAS ARAPAHOE BASIN (est. 1946)

A-Basin is the oldest of Summit County’s four ski areas, beginning with former ski racers and World War II veterans. The decades ushered in a new cast of characters: a scrappy bunch who called themselves Atomic Janitors, cleaning by night, sleeping in an A-Frame attic and skiing by daybreak. Skiable terrain: 1,428 acres Trails: 147 • Lifts: 9

ASPEN HIGHLANDS (est. 1958)

Longtime ski instructor John Moore published a book on the mountain’s colorful history in 2018. “Aspen Highlands: Where Have All the Characters Gone?” went the book’s title. According to Moore, the early characters included a shepherd, who set aflame a coyote stalking his sheep. Skiable terrain: 1,040 acres Trails: 144 • Lifts: 5

ASPEN MOUNTAIN (est. 1946)

It’s also called Ajax, probably for a historic mine nearby. It is otherwise

known as “the mother ship” — the one that altered the course of the town from silver to skiing. Established by Walter Paepcke, Aspen Mountain was the first development of the four ski areas now run by Aspen Skiing Co. Skiable terrain: 675 acres Trails: 76 • Lifts: 8

BEAVER CREEK (est. 1980)

As ski resorts continued to sprout along Interstate 70 in the 1970s, Beaver Creek in Eagle County was envisioned to be a home worthy of the 1976 Winter Olympics. That dream was never meant to be. Another vision prevailed, however: Vail Resorts’ next proud destination. Skiable terrain: 2,082 acres Trails: 167 • Lifts: 24

BRECKENRIDGE (est. 1961)

Peak 8 was the first to open for business. That was thanks to Olympic ski teammates from Norway, Sigurd Rockne and Trygve Berge, who drove a mining road to where they’d put today’s SuperChair. “We didn’t know

how big it was going to get,” Berge is quoted as saying. Skiable terrain: 2,908 acres Trails: 187 • Lifts: 35

BUTTERMILK (est. 1958)

Buttermilk was designed to be the mountain for beginners in Aspen, a counter to the steep slopes visitors found at Ajax. It’s a curious history, considering Buttermilk’s adrenaline-fueled present. It’s the longtime home of the Winter X Games. Skiable terrain: 470 acres Trails: 44 • Lifts: 8

COOPER (est. 1942)

However modest in size, Cooper might be the boldest representation of Colorado’s skiing spirit. It can be called the birthplace of the industry as we know it. During World War II, this is where 10th Mountain Division soldiers trained on skis in preparation for travel in the Alps. Skiable terrain: 480 acres Trails: 64 • Lifts: 5 OTC WINTER GUIDE

Aspen Snowmass. Tomas Zuccareno

COPPER MOUNTAIN (est. 1972)

Keystone’s most celebrated features are Dercum Mountain and Bergman Bowl. Those are named for Max and Edna Dercum and Bill and Jane Bergman. The couples poured their hearts, souls and savings into what is now Summit County’s biggest ski resort. Skiable terrain: 3,149 acres Trails: 130 • Lifts: 20

CRESTED BUTTE (est. 1963)

HESPERUS (est. 1962)

Durango’s local hill turned 60 last season — perhaps proving that there’s always a demand for quick pre- and post-work turns. The name derives from Greek mythology for “evening star,” fitting for when the lights shine bright at night. Skiable terrain: 60 acres Trails: 26 • Lifts: 1

LOVELAND (est. 1936)

J.C. Blickensderfer installed a motorized rope tow that was among Colorado’s earliest to shuttle skiers uphill. Snowmaking was added in 1967. Loveland is believed to be the state’s first major ski area to introduce the technology. Skiable terrain: 1,800 acres Trails: 94 • Lifts: 11

HOWELSEN HILL (est. 1914)

MONARCH (est. 1939)

ECHO MOUNTAIN (est. 1960)

After closing for three decades in 1975, Echo reopened with a focus solely on terrain parks. Years later, it became a private training ground that turned public for a brief time. Now it’s come back to its roots as a ski area to attract Denverites in close proximity. Skiable terrain: 60 acres Trails: 7 • Lifts: 3 |

KEYSTONE (est. 1970)

When Eldora opened, the celebration was surely overshadowed by other grand debuts at the time — the likes of Vail and Steamboat. And yet Boulder County’s local ski area has stood the same test of time with an emphasis on just that: local. Skiable terrain: 680 acres Trails: 53 • Lifts: 12

Crested Butte is credited with Colorado’s second top-to-bottom gondola, following Vail. Yes, however far from Front Range populations, CB has a history of keeping up with the latest and greatest. And keeping it real with a colorful, hippie style closing every year. Skiable terrain: 1,547 acres Trails: 121 • Lifts: 14

ELDORA (est. 1963)

Four years after opening, Copper played host to World Cup ski races. That legacy continues today: During the early weeks of winter, the resort typically welcomes members of the U.S. national team as well as their competitors from around the world for training. Skiable terrain: 2,538 acres Trails: 157 • Lifts: 24

OTC WINTER GUIDE

It’s North America’s longest-operating ski area and the firm foundation for Steamboat Springs’ history of producing Olympic skiers. This is surely just as Norwegian immigrant Carl Howelsen envisioned it. Skiable terrain: 50 acres Trails: 17 • Lifts: 4

When the road high above Salida was being finished, signs were being posted for Vail Pass, the story goes. The name was for the state’s top highway engineer at the time, Charley Vail. Local skiers resisted, however, knowing this to be Monarch, for the resident butterfly. Skiable terrain: 800 acres Trails: 67 • Lifts: 7

POWDERHORN (est. 1966)

SNOWMASS (est. 1967)

You might be thinking snow when you see the name, but it’s actually a reference to the horn of an ox or cow used to store gunpowder. Founders liked the old western nod — and, yes, the imagery of fluff high on the Grand Mesa. Skiable terrain: 1,600 acres Trails: 63 • Lifts: 4

Snowmass captivated the world’s imagination when it opened in Aspen, showcasing the full capabilities of a world-class ski resort. Today, the imagination struggles to comprehend the price of a lift ticket then: $6.50. Skiable terrain: 3,339 acres Trails: 94 • Lifts: 16

PURGATORY (est. 1965)

For decades, locals on Howelsen Hill looked to the mighty shoulders of Storm Mountain. That was the original name of the ski area, which was made a reality with the help of Buddy Werner, a boundary-breaking ski racer. He died in an avalanche a year later. Skiable terrain: 2,965 acres Trails: 171 • Lifts: 21

The Durango area resort was named for the creek running by the base. Where “Purgatory” historically came from is uncertain. In a Durango Herald interview, the ski area’s general manager from the beginning, “Chet” Anderson, recalled the name was “spicier” than other considerations. Skiable terrain: 1,635 acres Trails: 105 • Lifts: 11

SILVERTON (est. 2002)

Silverton served as a ski area for a new century in Colorado — an age of extreme adventure. Visitors from afar come to the remote outpost to drop to the piles of powder from a helicopter. Skiable terrain: 1,819 acres, with 22,000 additional acres for heli-skiing and hike-to terrain Lifts: 1

STEAMBOAT (est. 1963)

SUNLIGHT (est. 1966)

Another natural resource had gained fame many decades before in Glenwood Springs: the healing, geothermal waters of various hot springs. It’s an easy sell for Sunlight: skiing by day, soaking by night. Skiable terrain: 730 acres Trails: 72 • Lifts: 3

TELLURIDE (est. 1972)

The once small, gritty Telluride was never meant to remain in the Wild West. No matter its isolation, the resort was found by the rich and famous,

transforming the town into a luxury getaway — with the wild preserved on the snowy steeps and cirques above. Skiable terrain: 2,000-plus acres Trails: 148 • Lifts: 17

VAIL (est. 1962)

In the ranching valley of Eagle County, Earl Eaton was raised to love skiing. He knew of back bowls that could attract skiers from near and far. After he showed Pete Seibert, the visionary of the 10th Mountain Division, the dream came true. Skiable terrain: 5,317 acres Trails: 195 • Lifts: 32

WINTER PARK (est. 1940)

The mountains filled with snow, but that did not mean Denverites needed to stay home. Far from it. The city and county of Denver joined the state’s ski craze, opening Winter Park to be a playground for residents. Skiable terrain: 3,081 acres Trails: 171 • Lifts: 28

WOLF CREEK (est. 1938)

As Wolf Creek Pass was finished, a truck-driven rope tow appeared on the mountain outside Pagosa Springs. Local control shifted to developers, but the pride in deep, all-natural powder remained. Skiable terrain: 1,600 acres Trails: 77 • Lifts: 10

Telluride. Stephen Martin

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Copper Mountain. Christian Murdock

By Seth Boster

AU NATUREL

The forces at work behind Colorado’s famed powder When you’re deep in powder and sailing down a mountainside in what is a quintessential Colorado moment, you’re paying no mind to whatever science you have to thank for the light, fluffy stuff beneath your skis. It can be good to take a breath and show some love for the forces at work. Here we provide a crash course, courtesy of a couple of experts. Let’s start with geography. For Colorado’s worldwide ski reputation, altitude cannot be overstated. When storms tracking east from the Pacific Ocean reach high, cold elevations, snow is created. (Not to mention snow guns that benefit from ideal snowmaking conditions earlier than anywhere else in 32

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North America, helping to explain why Arapahoe Basin Ski Area — with its base near 10,800 feet — typically opens first.) “The disadvantage is that we don’t get quite as much moisture making it this far inland,” says Peter Goble, a powder hound and climatologist at Colorado Climate Center. So, yes, there’s more moisture in the Pacific Northwest but generally less powder. The likes of California and Washington typically receive a wetter snow. Colorado’s colder, drier air is a key ingredient for success. Key “to what we call higher snow-liquid ratios,” Goble explains. “For instance, in California, if you get an inch of precipitation, as snow that will

likely fall as, say, 10 inches of heavy, wet snow. So a 10-to-1 snow-to-liquid ratio. Whereas in Colorado, oftentimes we’ll see 15- or 20-to-1 snow-to-liquid ratios. One inch of liquid precipitation falls as 20 inches of this fine, powdery snow that compresses under your skis in a really pleasing kind of way.” Joel Gratz is the founding meteorologist of OpenSnow, a go-to source for powder chasers. From analysis, he has identified what he calls a “Goldilocks temperature.” “Roughly between zero and 10 degrees at the mountaintop level where snowflakes are being produced,” Gratz says. “That leads to generally the lightest and fluffiest snow.” But there’s plenty of discussion when it

Crested Butte. Christian Murdock

comes to the best snow in the West. A wet snow might also be called a grippy snow, and Californians might tell you how much they love it for how it allows them to ski steeper pitches more effectively. In Colorado, however, the hotter debate is with Utah. Back to geography: Utah’s elevation and closer proximity to the coast pose powder competition. From the Pacific, “storms will track west to east,” Gratz reminds. “So California first drops precipitation, then Utah with more moisture and precipitation, then Colorado will often have less moisture and less snow to drop. Not always the case, but that’s generally why areas to the west can get a little bit more snow.” Areas, he says, such as Little Cottonwood Canyon, Snowbird and Alta in Utah. Those places are “hard to beat,” Gratz says, “if you define the best as quantity and quality.” He adds: “Obviously, there are variables beyond amount and quality that impact a powder day. Terrain, mountain towns, vibes, blue sky.” While Colorado’s fluffy powder is mostly a blessing for skiers and riders, it can be a curse. “Most avalanches happen during or soon after a big snowstorm, period of strong winds or during a thaw,” according to Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Also contributing

Breckenridge. Christian Murdock

is the variable of slopes; slides can occur on any pitch steeper than 30 degrees. Terrain is a factor in the state’s grim reputation for leading the country in avalanche deaths. The famed powder might be loosely connected. “Avalanche danger tends to be highest when you get one of those Colorado powder-type snows followed in short succession by a more California-style of heavy,

wet snow,” Goble says. “You have this big layer of lighter, finer snow easy to compress right before a layer of heavy snow.” All it takes is someone to trigger the unstable layers. And people, of course, are another key factor in that grim reputation — more people, more triggers. “Part of it is just how many people are skiing in the backcountry in Colorado,” Goble says. OTC WINTER GUIDE

By Seth Boster

Skiing for the first time? Here are some Speaking of saving, here are more tips tips to get you started: that will ensure you don’t break the bank: 1. Know what to wear. Don’t show up in 1. Rent gear wisely. It’s possible you’ll find jeans or sweatpants. Maybe those will a reasonable bundle option that includes keep you warm, but they won’t keep you gear, lesson and lift ticket. It’s also possidry. Invest in ski pants. Layers are good: ble there’s a local shop near you that can something moisture-wicking and someoffer skis and boots for much cheaper. thing such as a pullover or puffy under 2. Again, consider your destination. We a waterproof jacket serving as a shell. A mentioned Ski Cooper. If you’re set on helmet and goggles are as important as saving and less interested in frills and quality socks and gloves. big terrain, that’s one example where the 2. Book a lesson. You can watch all the ticket will be comparatively cheaper. OthYouTube you want, but there’s no teacher examples: Arapahoe Basin, Monarch, er like experience. And there’s no teacher Loveland and Purgatory, the Durango relike instructors who do this for a living, sort that announced lift tickets starting at certified to make you a master of the “piz$29 this season. za” and “french fry” and get you quick3. Single ticket or a pass? If you’re thinkly and safely from the bunny hill to the ing of coming back after the first day, you TIPS FOR STARTING TO SKI greens. could save by looking at options other 3. Consider your destination. Several rethan a one-day ticket. A four-pack, for exIN COLORADO AND SAVING sorts in recent years have poured big ample, might offer four days for the price MONEY WHILE YOU’RE AT IT money into developing areas specifically of two. A season pass for a specific mounfor learning. Beaver Creek is an example tain could make sense as well. with its Signature Parks Collection for families and newbies. 4. Opt for a half-day. Many ski areas sell half-day tickets for a Steamboat’s new Greenhorn Ranch is another example. Cop- reduced price. If you’re just starting out, eight hours of skiing per Mountain is highly regarded for how its terrain is ar- might be daunting anyway. ranged, the green, blue and black runs well separated. A much 5. Check out Colorado Ski Country’s Gems cards. For $48, the smaller ski area that might make sense: Ski Cooper, where Gems Discount Card grants a pair of two-for-one tickets or you’ll also save money on a lift ticket. a pair of 30% off tickets at 11 smaller ski areas. For $199, the 4. Go in January. It’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month. Be Gems Teen Pass gets children ages 12 to 17 two days at each on the lookout as ski areas compete for your business with of those 11 ski areas. One parent can get the equivalent Gems discounted lessons, lift tickets and gear rentals. Parent Pass for $299. 5. Plan ahead. Just as you save money by booking lodging in 6. Ponder Colorado Ski Country’s Kids’ Ski Passport. That’s $65 advance, you also save by buying lift tickets ahead of time. for kids in third through sixth grade to get four days each at Several resorts offer “stay and play” packages that might fit 20 ski areas, plus two free junior rental packages courtesy of your budget. Christy Sports.

SKI AND

SAVE

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Telluride. Christian Murdock

SNOW GLOBES 4 classic ski towns and what to do there By Seth Boster

It’s the natural world that brings us to Colorado’s great ski towns. The steeps, the glades, the bowls, the moguls, the bunnies. And, of course, the views. The state’s skiing pioneers outdid themselves in picking these locales. Folks beneath the slopes finished the job with restaurants, bars, shops and various forms of entertainment. It’s true: We go for nature but stay for other spoils. Here’s a look at four of our favorites:

Breckenridge

Then and now: Breckenridge, as we know it, was built by miners who flocked there after the discovery of gold along Blue River in 1859. Breck, as we really know it, was created by European skiers who saw fun across the Tenmile Range and investors who saw dollar signs. The resort opened in 1961. Skiing: A terrain buffet spreads across five peaks, numbered 6 to 10. If you’re an expert wanting to feast on hike-to chutes and other alpine treasures, Peak 6 is for you. For intermediate cruisers, look to Peak 7. Peak 8, where the resort started, boasts variety and a claim to North America’s highest chairlift, the Imperial Express. Peak 9 is for beginners and families, and Peak 10 is for black-diamond tree skiing. Off the slopes: Sledding? Snowmobiling? Ice skating? Check, check and check. Those are only a few ways to make family memories away from the

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Crested Butte. Christian Murdock

continued from page 35

slopes. The kids will surely love the free, short hike to Isak Heartstone the troll. Shoppers could spend all day on Main Street, not to mention the nearby Outlets at Silverthorne. Apres: Tables are fast to fill for happy hour at Breckenridge Distillery Restaurant, which at last check served a steak melt sandwich and sticky orange chicken. Skiers also rush to happy hour at Aurum Food & Wine, where the French onion burger is a hit. Blue Stag Saloon is a cozy spot to post up for a beer and shared plate. For a classy date night, Hearthstone Restaurant owns a long standard of excellence; see about a reservation.

Crested Butte

Then and now: There’s a colorful history in this town of gritty, leftover miners and new waves of hippies colliding as the 1960s rolled on. The hippies won out. They are largely to thank for CB’s lasting reputations: a birthplace of mountain biking and “the last great ski town.” Skiing: “The last great ski town” benefits from its layout. The town sits far enough away from the resort to maintain its funky, historic vibe. As far as the mountain, it’s all about extreme, rocky terrain. When snow delivers later in the season, it is epic. Plenty of blues and greens are situated just above the base.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Breckenridge. Christian Murdock

Off the slopes: If you’re good with flatter terrain, Crested Butte Nordic will happily hook you up. It calls itself “The Nordic Ski Capital Of Colorado,” with 50 kilometers of scenic, groomed trails to prove it. An outdoor ice rink is next to the center. Check out the lineups at Center for the Arts and Crested Butte Mountain Theatre.

Apres: Secret Stash is the place for pizzas that match the curious atmosphere around town. It’s a similar vibe but rather eclectic tacos and margaritas at BONEZ Tequila Bar & Grill. For fancy, farm-totable fare, make a reservation at The Sunflower. Locals know The Dogwood as the “cocktail cabin,” while another rustic

Strawberry Park Hot Springs. Chancey Bush

gourmet experience awaits at mid-mountain: Uley’s Cabin.

Steamboat Springs

Then and now: At Steamboat Resort’s base, the Billy Kidd statue stands to represent the cowboy skier — the hardworking rancher/fun-loving spirit that put Steamboat on the map. Kidd also represents “Ski Town USA”; he and teammate Jimmie Heuga were the first American men to win Olympic alpine skiing medals in 1964. Downtown, the cowboy heritage lives on at clothier F.M. Light & Sons, while Howelsen Hill continues as North America’s longest-going ski area. Skiing: Steamboat Resort has long classified its massive terrain as more than 40% intermediate. That should give you an idea of the mountain’s character, which might be best felt on the longest run: Why Not, rolling on for 3 miles. Steamboat is nearing the end of a multi-year capital project called Full Steam Ahead, which has seen improvements for beginners. Greenhorn Ranch offers a higher, better mix of progressive trails on which to learn. Up next: about 650 new acres for advanced explorers off Sunshine Peak, making Steamboat second to Vail in skiable terrain. Off the slopes: Steamboat’s next most famous outdoor venue is Strawberry Park Hot Springs. The rustic pools are tucked

in a forest, steaming at the end of a dirt road that requires a four-wheel drive in winter. Another sight to see is Fish Creek Falls, which is no less marvelous in its frozen state. If you’ve wondered about all the buzz around fat biking, this might be the place to find out. Steamboat also calls itself “Bike Town USA.” Apres: Old Town Pub is one favorite among locals and visitors, who order grub and drinks ahead of live music in the historic hotel. Also in a historic nook, Laundry Kitchen & Cocktails is more elevated and similarly fast to fill for happy hour. Everyone knows the drill at Mountain Tap Brewery: wood-fired pizza and craft beer. Kate Rench is a celebrated chef at Cafe Diva, while another, Hannah Hopkins, whips up a seasonal menu at Yampa Valley Kitchen.

Telluride

Then and now: Starting in the 1870s, gold was the most precious resource in town. A century later, it was powder. By 1975, a lift ferried people from town to Mountain Village and the growing ski resort. The ride remains today, a lasting connection between urban spoils on the ground and wild splendors above. Along the way, guest are blessed with a view of some of Mother Nature’s finest work in all of the West.

Skiing: The likes of Vail and Aspen Snowmass might offer more acres. But as far as scenery, it’s hard to beat Telluride and the San Juans. The mountain is closer to Crested Butte in terms of extremes. For serious skiers, Palmyra Peak belongs on the bucket list. For beginners, the resort recommends runs such as Double Cabin, Village Bypass and Galloping Goose, the longest trail at 4.6 miles. Off the slopes: Another unforgettable way to take in the beauty is by horseback. Check in with Telluride Sleighs and Wagons or Telluride Horseback Adventures. For holiday shopping, you’ll find everything you need and more between one-of-a-kind local stores and big designer brands. Telluride Town Park is a winter wonderland, and the stars shine bright at Sheridan Opera House and Michael D. Palm Theatre for the Performing Arts. Apres: Look no further than Gorrono Ranch for the post-ski party. The historic, wooden compound is under Village Express Lift 4 and is known as the “snow beach” with music, burgers and drinks. Another must-do on the mountain near 12,000 feet: Alpino Vino for wine, antipasti and a stellar view. Down in town, people gather for beer, bourbon and barbecue at Oak. That’s not to be confused with 221 South Oak, which is the vision of acclaimed chef Eliza Gavin. OTC WINTER GUIDE

Meier. Jerilee Bennett

COLORADO PROUD 8 manufacturers of gear, apparel By Seth Boster If you’re going to enjoy the Colorado winter, consider getting outfitted by Coloradans who cherish the season the most. Here’s a look at manufacturers around the state: 38

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Akinz: Suzanne Akin started her brand with a logo of wings and a motto to “find your wings.” The brand has flown from wakeboarding in Texas and snowboarding in Steamboat Springs to a happy place on Fort Collins’ Old Town Square. Among other apparel, the beanies are beloved — produced in the shop by vintage, hand-operated knitting machines. Apex: The men behind the Golden company met over beer and pondered the question: “Why can’t we make a ski boot that’s comfortable and warm and walkable like a snowboard boot?” Their answer: a lightweight, cozy snowboard-looking boot that buckles into an open chassis, which clicks into skis. Apex’s confidence is backed by a money-back guarantee. Glade: The Breckenridge-based company’s founder, Curt Nichols, likes to think of himself as being from the same ilk as “the dirtbags, the ski bums and crusty river rats that founded our industry.” Whether he’s plowing through powder or ripping down singletrack, he wants sun-blocking goggles that work. He trusts they’ll work for you too.

Grass Sticks. Chris Morgan

Phunkshun Wear. Courtesy

Apex boots. Courtesy

Grass Sticks: You won’t find bamboo in Colorado. But you will find it in these ski poles built by this Steamboat Springs company. Ski poles are typically made of aluminum, fiberglass or graphite. Just as fly-fishermen know with their poles, Grass Sticks trusts you’ll feel the difference in bamboo. “Featherweight” and “incredibly durable” is the promise. Meier: Since 2009, Meier has become a household name in Colorado. To thank for that is the handmade, environmental approach. At the “craft skiery” near downtown Denver, visitors can book a happy hour tour and see the process for themselves. The skis start with locally harvested trees and are finished with bio-based epoxy and colorful graphics. Melanzana: You’ve seen the two-color sweatshirts throughout ski country, unmistakable for the cinched hoodies covering all but the eyes. The Leadville store is fiercely independent; the

hoodies, socks and hats are made by hand in the same building where they are sold. You can test your luck by walking in, but appointments are encouraged. Phunkshun Wear: The name implies funk and function. That’s the aim of the Denver manufacturer, which makes warm, water-repellent masks and neck tubes, or gaiters. Sustainability is another pillar of the company, which states an average of three recycled water bottles are used in each product. The company also promotes nonprofits. Venture Snowboards: The Silverton factory launched in 1999, around the time Silverton Mountain’s extreme, helicopter-accessed slopes were being established. While hands do the making, it’s that terrain that does the molding. If you’re testing your limits on a snowboard, you can trust Venture. The builders are also riders who do the testing first.

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An insider’s

GUIDE By Seth Boster

Loveland. Flip McCririck

Helpful tips on and off Colorado’s ski slopes Over the years, we’ve checked in with longtime residents and pros based in some of Colorado’s finest ski towns to ask how they approach fun on and off the slopes. After all, don’t we all want to live like a local? Here’s some of what they had to say:

C.J. Mueller

Breckenridge’s “original ski bum,” Hall of Fame downhill career Where he goes: I like the groomers on peaks 9 and 10. Peak 10 is a little steeper, and it’s a little bit faster turnaround on the chairlift. I used to be ashamed to admit this, but I really enjoy skiing Bonanza, which is an intermediate run. ... “Slow” signs all over the place and very flat. But sometimes when my knees are a little sore and I want to make some turns, I really like going there. For later: There’s good pizza at Fatty’s Pizzeria. At Empire Burger, they make the burger the way I like it and they have really good french fries. I like Hearthstone Restaurant. The one thing I tell people you got to have there is the jalapeño-stuffed shrimp. At Briar Rose Chophouse & Saloon, their creamed spinach is awesome and their creme brûlée is the way it should be. The party: It’s at Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub. A lot of locals dress up in retro ski gear and crazy outfits, and the place gets packed. 40

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Kim Casey

Longtime staffer at Copper Mountain Starting out: Get on Woodward Express, go up and take a couple of warmup runs off Timberline Express. From there, you’re high enough where you can get over to the big side of the mountain and go ski long, steeper runs off Super Bee or go explore the backside and get out on Tucker Mountain. Favorite area: Off Sierra Lift. It’s such a fun little pocket. You have bump runs like Revenge and Endeavor. There’s Little Trees, which is kind of steep and always holds good snow. Hidden gem: There’s a really special spot in the springtime at the top of Rendezvous lift. It’s an old patio right in the saddle where you can look out over the Tenmile Range. It’s one of the prettiest views you can get. And it’s great because it has a lot of green terrain off it so all levels can enjoy that spot. Good eats: Come down to JJ’s Rocky Mountain Tavern for lunch. They have a really yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup special. For apres, go to Downhill Duke’s. That’s an outdoor bar and restaurant. Great snacks and fun drinks.

Doug Evans

20 years at Loveland Ski Area’s Sport Shop Pick your ride: Chair 4 probably offers the deepest, most consistent snow on the mountain. Chair 8 is kind of out of the way so once you get over there, you can stay over there with fewer crowds and ski some good, low-angle powder. And then I’ll watch for Chair 9 to get going. You can watch as they open the gates and hop on the Ridge Cat, which runs all the way out to Golden Bear Peak. You can get the full vertical of the ski area, all the way from the top of Golden Bear back to the base. What he digs: The runs off Chet’s Dream lift. I like poking around in the trees and finding the deep spots. It’s a little rocky so you do have to know where you’re going. But you can definitely find some good pockets of snow later in the day if you’re really looking. For later: The Rathskeller at the ski area is a great bar with a lot of character. In Georgetown, Cooper’s on the Creek is a staple, really good cuisine. And then I always recommend Silver Plume. There’s a cool bar there that’s only open on the weekends called Bread. That’s another good after-ski option if you’re headed down Interstate 70 and hit traffic.

Natalie Newberry

Winter Park native On a powder day: I try to get to the Mary Jane side right away — try to get in line super early — because these days, everyone is all about the Mary Jane. It gets hammered fast and hard. I might have to bootpack, might have to side step, but I’m gonna get my classic line out of the way. On the Winter Park side: I’ll go for a few laps off Eskimo Express. If Eagle Wind is open, I love to head over there as well. And if the Cirque is open, that’s what I’m gonna look for. For later: Snoasis on the Winter Park side has a (great) bloody mary. And then after that I like to head into town to get beers and wings at Randi’s Grill & Pub. Grab a beer at Hideaway Park Brewery and then get a hot dog from Fraser Valley Hot Dog and Mixed Grill. Something else: I love cross-country skiing. Go out to Devil’s Thumb Ranch. It’s fun to get in other woods out in Fraser, like the St. Louis Creek area. OTC WINTER GUIDE

Colorado National Monument. Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau

Colorado town to love in winter:

GRAND JUNCTION By Seth Boster

When we think about winter in Colorado, we think about snow and lots of it. We think about powder-packed slopes. We think about Vail and Aspen and Breckenridge, among so many other destinations with big mountains to go with that big snow. We don’t think about Grand Junction. But maybe we should, especially if we’re wanting a break from the bitter cold. Grand Junction averages about 16 inches of snow a year. Denver typically sees about 50 inches more. Welcome to the Grand Valley.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Zesty Moose. Visit Grand Junction

Bin 707 Foodbar. Visit Grand Junction

Outdoor splendor

This could be your rare opportunity to ski and golf in one day. No, Grand Junction can’t be called a ski town, but Powderhorn Mountain Resort is close enough. The slopes get high marks for tree skiing. And when you get back down, you might just find the fairways clear at one of the area’s four public golf courses. The Grand Mesa is indeed your best bet for classic winter recreation. Snowmobiling and ice fishing are popular. But the main draw to Grand Junction is Colorado National Monument, a geologic dreamscape. Chances are good Rim Rock Drive will be snow-free. Or you can hike into the canyons and cathedrals.

Grand flavors

A farm-to-table philosophy prevails in Grand Junction, which makes sense considering the valley’s farmers, growers and winemakers. For lunch, Cafe Sol comes highly recommended. A bright, yellow awning welcomes patrons — a hint at the bright, fresh flavors found inside. The soups, salads and paninis come from local, organic ingredients. Bin 707 Foodbar is a similarly light and airy scene, with a similar approach to food. The seasonal menu is from the mind of Chef Josh Niernberg, who has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation. Taco Party is another concept of his — a fun place to mix and match pulled pork, pork belly, tempura and fried chicken. Pablo’s Pizza is the family hangout. It’s named for Pablo Picasso, who would be proud of the inventiveness here where there’s a new pizza every week. The Food Network series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” hosted by Guy Fieri once featured The Feisty Pint, where gourmet pub grub meets two dozen beers on tap. Two oversized challenges include the Feisty Challenge Burger, with three angus patties coated in a spicy “mash,” and the Roadkill Challenge, with three pounds of tots, bacon, jalapeños, onions, cheese, green chili and a dozen eggs.

Hit the town

Main Street is lined with several hip boutiques and galleries. That includes Pollux Clothing Co., specializing in women’s wear. Among the galleries is Uncanny Valley Art Gallery & Co-Op, with pieces by more than 30 local artists. Test your own creativity at Fat Cat Pottery, where you can play with paint and clay. Score that perfect, thoughtful gift at Zesty Moose, selling homemade spices, olive oils, vinaigrettes and other gourmet blends. You can shop and drink from the in-house winery. More promising finds are waiting at Robin’s Nest, a two-story emporium of antiques, gifts and jewelry that is said to be the biggest store of its kind between Denver and Salt Lake City. The biggest mall between those metros is Mesa Mall, where you’ll find your favorite chain stores and maybe even Santa.

SAVE THE DATES

Grand Mesa. Visit Grand Junction

• Nov. 18: Tree Lighting: 5-7 p.m., Santa will light the downtown tree at 4th and Main along with all the lights on Main Street simultaneously, Grand Junction; downtowngj.org • Dec. 2: Parade of Lights: 5 p.m., Thousands of onlookers will line the streets downtown to take in more than 100 lighted parade entries, Grand Junction; downtowngj.org • Dec. 2: Olde Fashioned Christmas: Enjoy a full day on the Western Slope with Breakfast with Santa, a tree lighting ceremony and a parade of lights, Palisade; palisadecoc. com • Dec. 9: Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Local vendors will sell holiday-themed art, food and more ahead of the town’s annual parade of lights, Fruita; gofruita.com OTC WINTER GUIDE

Paul Copper, left, the owner of Bill’s Ski Rentals. Jerilee Bennett

By Seth Boster

FAMILY RELIC LEADVILLE • The 20-somethings step into the shop several hours late. The traffic from Denver was horrible, they say. They got stuck in snow. “We don’t want to talk about it,” one says. “We’re here. We’re going skiing.” Which is exactly what the owner of Bill’s Ski Rentals likes to hear. Paul Copper flashes a megawatt smile as commanding as his physical presence. He springs up from his seat, a bench made from a meat-cutting table from World War II-era Camp Hale, Army serial number still visible. “OK then!” Copper booms. The guys gear up while the man behind one of Colorado’s oldest family-owned ski shops rattles off some of his usual jokes. So goes another day at the shop started by Paul’s dad nearly 80 years ago. That was Bill Copper, a legend of the ski culture that took off here with the soldiers-turned-industry pioneers of the 10th Mountain Division. Paul carries on his late father’s legacy with aplomb. His wife of four decades, Dee

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Dee, helps on weekends. Customers enter the shop, the walls plastered with generations of family photos, and she tells him the same thing: “You’re up.” “When he’s around people,” Dee Dee says, “it’s almost like a performance.” So a fair warning if you’re stopping en route to the local ski hill or the Interstate 70 resorts farther on: You’ll have to put up with some jokes. Paul Copper is as colorful as the shop itself, red and blue. “You have to know,” he says, “I have a lot of fun in here.” He likes to have fun as his dad did. Bill liked to race with burros — he and Bosco were champions in the 1950s — while Paul prefers skijoring, riding the horse or the skis from behind. Paul also likes mountain biking. He also likes drumming. He also likes scuba diving. But more than anything, Paul likes skiing. He skis pretty much every day. He’ll handle the morning rush at the shop, leave with a sign on the door — “gone skiing, you should be there with me” — and be back for the return rush at the end of the day.

One of Colorado’s oldest ski shops is also its most colorful “If they wanna come back early,” he says, “I give ‘em the combination for the front door, tell ‘em to put the skis against the bench and the boots over there by the rack, and make sure you lock the door when you leave.” That can only happen in such a rare, old-school shop increasingly hard to find in an increasingly saturated, corporatized industry. Dee Dee says she hears it often from customers who’ve rented elsewhere: “This one is totally different.” The equipment is up to date — not the wooden skis and leather boots from the early days — but Bill’s otherwise resembles much of what it was in 1945. With that shiny smile and bevy of jokes, Paul embodies the fun that his father inspired in those family generations captured in photos on the wall. Paul says he’s thought about selling. But he knows how buyers are. “When you’re buying a business, you don’t want to pay what it’s worth,” he says. That’s the problem. To him, this is all priceless.

By Spencer McKee

A BUMPY RIDE Ski Cooper. Parker Seibold

First moguls adventure not one I’ll soon forget The wind was whipping as harsh weather began My skis hit the first mogul so squarely and with to move in above treeline on a frigid day at Brecksuch force that I almost went sailing through the enridge Resort. I hadn’t intended to end up at this air. My arms flailed and my french fry ski stance spot on the snowy peak, and I knew my next trip was ripped apart, but I stayed upright, turning updown the mountain would include the most difficult hill as soon as I could to prevent a fall. terrain I had ever encountered. Another deep breath, and I turned downhill again. I was admittedly outside of my comfort zone, hav- Spencer It wasn’t pretty as I hit the next mogul, but at least ing been separated from friends amid the chaos of McKee I felt more control. Digging my skis over the rough the impending storm. ice, I desperately tried to hold onto my edge. Traction and visibility were extremely limited at this point I stopped again, took another deep breath and then decidin the day. But I inched toward the steep drop that dumped ed to go for it. My skis started crashing over the bumps as I into a bumpy, black diamond ski run. tried to roll with the terrain. A third bump down, and then Sure that my more experienced friends already had found a fourth, and a fifth. their way down the mountain, I knew it was up to me to cap Dropping about 15 feet with each turn, I slowly and with an injury-free ski trip for our pod. Only one obstacle stood in slight uncertainty made my way down the run, the fear of the way: a field of stiff moguls that stretched a steep 200 yards. falling prodding my mind the entire time. Born in the Midwest, I didn’t discover Colorado until my Soon, only three big moguls remained. I visualized my mid-20s, meaning I didn’t have much of a chance to learn line and went sailing off the end of the run and into gentler how to ski while my center of gravity was on my side. In- terrain with speed. Glancing back at the mountain, I could stead, I learned to ski using the “follow me” approach, with hardly believe that I had somehow managed to survive that the me in that equation being a longtime buddy who was no terrain. stranger to extreme terrain. In the years since that first brush with moguls, I’ve lost Once I decided to take on skiing, my buddy gave me a two- most hesitancy with the bumpy sections, but I can’t say I day grace period to learn the sport, kindly teaching me basic enjoy them. Despite many attempts to hone my technique, technique. In the trips to the mountain that followed, he’d my body doesn’t seem to connect with my brain in a way that race around the slopes with me somewhere in tow. lets me tackle bump runs with grace. But at the top of the Breckenridge mogul field, I wasn’t in Perhaps this season will be the one when I finally become tow. Alone, I was left to pick my own line and hope for the competent at moguls. If not, I know the mountain will be best. With a deep breath, I pushed off the edge of the drop. there for years to come. OTC WINTER GUIDE |

By Seth Boster

Take a dive

Kochevar’s Saloon & Gaming Hall. Christian Murdock

8 memorable bars across ski country

Kochevar’s Saloon & Gaming Hall: Jacob Last Dollar Saloon: A blogger on the Kochevar opened the place during website Snow Brains ranked this Crested Butte’s 1880s mining days. Telluride staple as the world’s best While functions have shifted over the “skier dive bar.” Noted was a frosty years — brothel, gaming hall, bowling pint for $3, a price you’d more so alley — the old-time aesthetic has expect around the bar’s 1978 opening. After a day on Colorado’s slopes, it’s highly remained. As has a story: It is said the A renovation in 2018 was careful to bar once kept Butch Cassidy’s gun. likely you’ll be thirsty. Who says you have to keep the original wood floor, brick Woody Creek Tavern: A very different follow the crowds to that bustling, hip, well- walls and tin ceiling. side of Aspen exists on the other side Mint: Between high-rise developof the tracks. This is the watering hole lit scene of apres? ments along Silverthorne’s Blue River Look real hard across the glitz of ski counof the Woody Creatures, as regulars Parkway, the old western facade are known — rebels who made home stands as a symbol of perseverance. try, and you’ll find other places to wet your here as everything else changed whistle (and probably save some cash). These The building has miraculously around them in the 1980s. Among survived three moves since 1862. It them was writer Hunter S. Thompson. are some dives where characters thrive and survives today as a steakhouse, but history lives on: Silver Dollar Saloon: Leadville’s Ski the bar honors the original purpose. Cooper embodies the old way of Goat Soup and Whiskey: After decades skiing in Colorado. The humble hill under Summit County governance produced men of the 10th Mountain Division who went on to since the resort opened in 1970, residents in 2023 voted to make pioneer the industry. The Silver Dollar Saloon, meanwhile, emKeystone its own town. Every town needs its own dive bar. This bodies an even older way of life. They say the ghosts of the Wild might be it, staking its claim over the years with $5 wells, a West lurk there. stained carpet and a list of banned customers. The Minturn Saloon: The Minturn Mile is an ongoing tradition Moose Jaw Food & Spirits: Locals know it as “The Jaw,” a Frisco that has in-the-know Vail skiers veering out of bounds to land staple since 1973. The nearby ski industry was still rising in in the old haven. In more than a century, the saloon’s clientele those days, along with local prices. The Jaw has kept it cheap for has changed from railroaders to powder hounds. Little else has grateful bums who devour burgers and wash them down with a changed, however, including the steak and duck. cold one. “Mama Moose,” the original owner, is still around.

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OTC WINTER GUIDE

A NIGHT OF

LUXURY

Winter is prime time to visit Colorado’s historic hotels By Seth Boster

The Broadmoor. Parker Seibold

The luxury hotels of Colorado ski country receive most of the buzz in winter while some of the state’s finest accommodations at lower elevations often get overlooked. Rates at these iconic, historic destinations tend to be cheaper in the colder months, which means a staycation might be closer to your price range. The Broadmoor: Since 1918, amid Colorado Springs’ mountain splendor, the grande dame of the Rockies has stood as an ultimate pillar of elegance. The resort is legendary for its accommodations, not to mention a couple of other holdings: Seven Falls, touted as “the grandest mile of scenery in Colorado,” and Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, which runs up the 14,115-foot mountain year-round. Also, no other operation in the state can claim The Broadmoor’s lengthy streak of culinary accolades. Several bars and restaurants spot the scenic property, with European flair to match the atmosphere. The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa: Go ahead and lift a pinky at high tea, a daily occasion at this Mile High City staple. Book a massage at the spa. Splurge on something savory or something sweet from the fine in-house restaurants. Live as the rich and famous — including the Beatles — have since 1892. The granite-and-sandstone edifice occupies a corner of 17th Avenue and Broadway in downtown Denver, within easy walking distance of 16th Street Mall. The Cliff House at Pikes Peak: The hotel is said to be the longest-operating in Colorado, with a history dating to 1874. The Cliff House was the Victorian meeting place for visi-

OTC WINTER GUIDE

tors who traveled from afar for Manitou Springs’ healing, mineral-rich waters. “Hippie Mayberry” grew up around the hotel. You’ll get a sense of the vibe out the front door, meeting the penny arcade and several bars where Manitoids boogie at night. For dinner, spoil yourself back at the hotel, choosing from trout, scallops, rib eye and more. The Springs Resort: So you might have to compete with ski traffic from not-so-distant Wolf Creek Ski Area, which, to be sure, is no Vail or Aspen. The Springs Resort, however, aims for the luxury standards of those destinations. The hotel sits at the heart of Pagosa Springs and is home to the famous Mother Spring, regarded as the world’s deepest of its kind. The many pools are sure to soothe your pains and worries, just out the door of your cozy room. The Stanley: It is famously the inspiration for author Stephen King’s “The Shining.” Yes, you might see or hear ghosts that some say have lingered over the hotel’s 100-year history. It is otherwise a place of good cheer during the winter, the place Freelan Oscar Stanley and his wife, Flora, envisioned when they built a high-class marvel for Estes Park to match the society they knew back east. Raise a glass to them, filled with something from the impressive whiskey bar.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Chancey Bush

FROM RUIN TO REFUGE Animals rule year-round preserve east of Denver By Seth Boster

COMMERCE CITY • Everything seems to fade away at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, and even more so in winter. It’s an unlikely oasis between downtown and Denver International Airport, its 15,000 acres home to some 300-plus species, including the iconic likes of bison and bald eagles, which roost in cottonwoods above a chain of lakes. Butterflies flutter beside a flowering habitat arranged for them, near the place arranged for the endangered black-footed ferret, which prey on the resident prairie dogs. Along footpaths or an 11-mile loop road, people keep their eyes out for various mammals or the seasonal array above: great horned owls, great blue herons, Swainson’s hawks, lark buntings and the occasional sandhill crane. The contrast is striking: Denver’s skyline rises not 15 miles away. “We have members of the Denver community who have lived here their whole lives visit (and say), ‘I never knew this was here,’” said Sarah Metzer, the preserve’s visitor services manager. The Arsenal’s name is rooted in the military operation that took hold on this former farmland after Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. Chemical weapons were developed and amassed to combat the Axis powers, including some of the 1,500 tons of napalm that was dropped on Tokyo in a war-turning attack. At the end of World War II, the Arsenal was leased to a company specializing in pesticides and herbicides — the

company would later be Shell Oil — only for the Army to ramp up weapon-building again in a few years. During the Cold War, the Arsenal became known as the free world’s top source for the nerve agent Sarin. The 1960s saw attention turn to rocket fuel. Also that decade, the Army thought it wise to dig a well 12,000 feet deep and pump millions of gallons of waste into it. A series of earthquakes shook Denver around that time. Some experts pointed to that underground strategy. It was only the beginning of scrutiny. The Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970, and regulators swiftly listed the Arsenal a Superfund site. What followed was one of the Army’s largest demilitarization missions ever. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Refuge Act was passed in 1992, paving the way for future conservation. More than 300 structures were demolished in 1998, paving the way for more native grasses to be planted. Nesting eaglets were celebrated in 2001. In 2007, as part of a nationwide reestablishing effort, a small herd of bison arrived. Cleanup was deemed complete in 2010. Still, “a lot of neighbors have a raw feeling of what this place is,” Metzer said. Recent years have been about “turning the page,” she said. “And we’re really hoping that by doing more community outreach, we’re able to reach those community members who may not understand this is a place where they’re welcome and safe to come out and recreate and enjoy.” OTC WINTER GUIDE

By Leslie James

RECREATING RESPONSIBLY

12 TIPS FOR WINTER IN COLORADO 1. Be prepared for the worst.

Winter is a vulnerable time for wildlife. Never follow, feed or disturb wildlife, and be sure to secure all of your food and trash. If you think you’ve spotted a place where an animal might be hibernating, keep your distance.

2. Hike in a sustainable way.

Protect the quality of everyone’s experience. Keep noise levels low, yield to uphill traffic and always be on the look out for downhill traffic in the wintry backcountry. If traveling on foot, stay clear of tracks from skiers.

It’s tempting to take a few steps off-trail during snowmelt season when paths are slushy and muddy. However, Leave No Trace principles require hikers to walk through the mud and slush in order to protect vegetation and to avoid creating new trails.

3. Camp responsibly.

Never camp near an area that has unstable snow. Campsites should be on durable surfaces, such as packed snow, rock or soil. Avoid setting up in tundra and other fragile vegetation areas. Camps should be at least 200 feet from water sources.

4. Pack it in, pack it out.

All trash, including food, toilet paper and human waste, should be packed out of the backcountry. If the snow is too deep, the ground is frozen or regulations don’t allow digging cat holes, pack out solid human waste using a WAG bag.

8. Accommodate other backcountry adventurers.

9. Know the trail.

Be sure to map your route when traveling off designated trails. Be prepared to use a map and compass to know when you might encounter frozen water sources where thin ice could be present. Recognize the signs of unstable snow and avoid it.

10. Pay attention to closures.

Respect trail, road and area closures. Agencies such as Colorado Department of Transportation, U.S. Forest Service and ski patrol might close parts of the backcountry for safety reasons. Do not disregard fences or private property markers.

11. Don’t be a postholer.

5. Leave what you find.

The natural cycles of an ecosystem can be altered severely when rocks, plants, animals or cultural resources are taken from an area. Leave only footprints and let nature have its way in the wilderness.

Microspikes are best suited for ice and not ideal for snow. Use snowshoes when traversing in deep powder to avoid falling through. Postholes can cause foot or leg injury during sudden falls and can ruin trails set by other backcountry users.

6. Minimize campfire impacts.

12. Be smart about parking.

An easier alternative to starting a campfire for food in the backcountry is to use a camp stove. Leaving the sticks and branches alone benefits animals that might use them for food or their habitat. 50

7. Respect wildlife.

Plan your winter route to avoid getting caught in a blizzard or avalanche. Bring a map and compass to eliminate the need for tree markings, cairns or flagging. Carry and learn how to use gear such as an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel.

OTC WINTER GUIDE

Park in clearly designated areas, not along a mountain pass highway where avalanche danger could be high or snowplows are active. You’ll need a backup plan when parking at one location falls through.

OTC WINTER GUIDE