SKI: Winter Park Resort
Colorado skiers always have had a soft, champagne-powder spot in their hearts for Winter Park, but this season is special. Not only can we wish her a happy 30th birthday, which the resort promises to celebrate in an over-the-
top way, but we can toast Mary Jane’s new six-pack chairlift, the Super Gauge Express (bye-bye Summit Express quad), and marvel again at the mountain that consistently gets the most snow in the state, around 30 feet a year.
We also can spend the season wondering if each run is the last time it will be our MJ, the laidback locals’ mountain. Intrawest launches the big 15-year remodel in the spring, and the old girl never may be the same.
Why it’s hot right now: It’s always been about the bumps on Mary Jane, but not everyone (or everyone’s knees) can handle the mogul-a-minute rides. To give all skiers more options, the resort thinned the trees. That means more powder stashes and a healthier mountain.
The locals love: The eateries in Winter Park, including Carver’s Bakery Cafe (93 Cooper Creek Way, 970-726-8202) for homemade croissants that are perfect for tucking into a pocket for later on the mountain, and Fiesta Jalisco for inexpensive, hearty Mexican food (78336 U.S. 40, 970-726-4877).
The powder piles up: In the trees all the time, but also on Outhouse (definitely check the trees there) and Gambler, as well as Cranmer on the Winter Park side, but only if you’re making first tracks. Also check out the easy Swede’s Ridge.
Après ski: Usually everyone’s looking to get away from the mountain to find the drink specials, but because of the birthday bashes planned, this season the scene will be at the Club Car Restaurant, which just received a long-
overdue facelift (the bar is bigger, for starters) and plans live music and tasty after-ski snacks all season long.
SNOWBOARD: Breckenridge Ski Resort
Back when many of the other resorts still were trying to decide if they even wanted ‘boarders to bring those baggy bottoms onto their precious mountains, Breck said bring it on and bring it big.
They still do, which makes it so easy to just turn your ride sideways and point it downhill here without folks getting their baggies in a bunch. Maybe everyone here gets along because there is something for everyone: four mountains’ worth of varied terrain, from cruising corduroy to gnarly bumps, tight trees to gentler glades, and four, yes four, terrain parks.
The beauty of Breckenridge’s parks is that they are set up for advancement. Once you’ve mastered the mellow Trygve’s Terrain Park and Pipe on Peak 8 (off Chair 7), Gold King Terrain Park on Peak 9 is next for medium-to-
large hits and a crowd that’s fairly forgiving of trial-and-error approaches. And then it’s time for the Big Show: Freeway Super Terrain Park on Peak 8, where you might run into a pro rider ripping through a routine.
Go ahead, everyone’s watching.
Why it’s hot right now: The big news is Imperial Express, the new quad that connects Chair 6 to Peak 8 opening this season, ready to dump snowboarders and skiers out at 12,840 feet. It will offer up 400 acres of previously closed terrain, significantly altering Breck’s expert percentages.
Also, the newest, El Dorado Terrain Park & Pipe on Peak 9, might not sound like much to riders used to catching the big air, but for those just starting out, small jumps, rails and fun boxes at snow level are ideal. That’s what this learning terrain park offers for folks longing to try without the hoots and catcalls from the experts looking on, and it’s just another example of how Breck is dedicated to getting more ‘boarders out there.
The locals love: Downstairs at Eric’s (111 S. Main St.; 970-453-1401), consistently named best pizza and beer selection in town; and The Blue Moose (540 S. Main St.; 970-453-4859) for hearty breakfasts that come in between $5-$7.
The powder piles up: Well, it certainly will be there off the Imperial, steeps and deeps that include Imperial Bowl and Peak 7 Bowl. But you still can find untracked stuff in The Burn on Peak 10 in the trees too, and the chutes off Peak 8 early in the morning can have their rewards.
Après ski: With 120 beer options, the ever-hopping Downstairs at Eric’s is always a good choice, but for a quieter scene, check out Crown Cafe & Tavern (215 S. Main St.; 970-453-6022), which sports a fireplace, a patio with ski-area views and a good selection of alcohol-laced coffee drinks and appetizers.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKI:Beaver Creek
A tad younger than Winter Park at the age of 25, Beaver Creek is also primed to party this year, with the world watching the World Cup competition at the beginning of December and the rest of us ready to race across the snow on the resort’s world-class groomed and rustic nordic trails on opening day Dec. 10.
Starting with the Beaver Creek Nordic Sports Center (at Chair 12 in the Strawberry Park building; 970-845-5313), a facility designed with everyone from top-notch athletes to the first-time cross-country skier in mind, the resort is plugged into all things nordic. Rentals are right there, along with classes for beginners to experts, as well as a nature tour to get skiers the most in tune with McCoy Park, a stunning gladed area that offers about 20 miles to play in between Beaver Creek and Bachelor Gulch.
The Nordic Center also offers children’s workshops (equipment is free) and telemarking and snowshoeing lessons too.
Why it’s hot right now: Leave it to the tidy Beaver Creek to come up with a way to get more people on the mountain without having them actually come into the resort area. Beaver Creek Landing is the free parking area located east of the resort’s Tarnes employee housing complex on Prater Lane in Avon, near the resort’s main gated entrance. The new lifts there, which opened last year, shuttle more people in without making the resort more crowded.
In addition, the Larkspur Lift has a new high-speed quad, which means half the time to get into the juicy, wide-open blue-black boulevard and black chutes that make up Larkspur Bowl.
The locals love: Vista Restaurant (48 E. Beaver Creek Blvd.; 970-949-3366) for its friendly, neighborhood feel (when it’s not busy, try to squeeze in at the small bar for a few amazing appetizers and a glass of bubbly) and the killer tequila selection at The Coyote Café (210 Beaver Creek Plaza, 970-949-5001), which is no relation to the famous one in Santa Fe, but does make a mean green chile and great burgers.
The powder piles up: Less here than many resorts because this is one place that prides itself on grooming, grooming, grooming, but you still can find stashes around, such as in Birds of Prey, especially if you tuck into the trees between the downhill World Cup course and Peregrine, or head over to Screech Owl and Raven Ridge on Grouse Mountain.
Après ski: The way Mustang Bar and Grill (0057 Edwards Access Road, 970-926-7806) is set up, revelers can be a few folks deep and still have enough room to mingle at the bar while munching on the tasty (and fiery) shrimp-stuffed rellenos) at this rustic, casual bar and restaurant.
SNOWSHOE: Steamboat Springs
Always an enjoyable destination for skiing and snowboarding, the six peaks of Steamboat Springs command respect for their comfortable bumps, generous treelines and fun, if not overly challenging, steeps.
But Steamboat also has a respectable reputation as a top spot for snowshoeing, partly because of its layout – easy to get around and commanding spectacular views from the heights – and partly because of its isolated quality, which means that the normally quiet activity of snowshoeing is really quiet.
If you don’t mind others around and aren’t familiar with the area, one option is a guided trek up Mount Werner (call Rocky Mountain Ventures; 800-922-2722 or 970-879-0740), with its breathtaking views from the saddle at 9,300 feet, a gourmet lunch and equipment provided, or you can go the backcountry route for a full-day in the Mount Zirkey Wilderness area, Sarvis Creek Wilderness Area or around Rabbit Ears Pass. Or you can pick up a snowshoe trail map from the resort and do a shorter hike around the ski area, such as Chisolm Trail or the easy Roundabout, perfect for first-timers just getting the hang of a big hunk of metal thwacking off the back of your boots.
Why it’s hot right now: With Winter Park poised for renovation and the other resorts feeling so crowded, Denverites are looking to go somewhere that doesn’t feel so, well, used up. Steamboat could be it.
The locals love: Off the Beaten Path (56 Seventh St.; 800-898-6830), a charming coffee shop and wine bar in a bookstore that serves toothsome baked goods, and Antares (57½ Eighth St.; 970-879-9939), a groovy, well-priced New American with a great wine list owned by locals who worked at other Steamboat spots.
The powder piles up: For snowshoers and skiers alike, there’s always powder somewhere here; it simply doesn’t get the tracks you’ll find at the more heavily visited resorts.
Après ski: An historic building, the Old Town Pub (600 Lincoln Ave; 970-879-2101) is the place to go for live music and a late-night burger.
TELEMARK: Arapahoe Basin
Telemark skiing, also known as free-heel or “tele,” where the heels are not attached to the ski and the skier bends at the knees while negotiating tough turns down the mountain, is gaining in popularity, and some resorts are embracing the trend.
Arapahoe Basin, once the site for the Telemark Extreme Skiing Championships, is one, with tele clinics two or three times a month, some women-
only. What makes A-Basin, with its untamed, backcountry ways, wide-open bowls and craggy, wind-swept terrain, so ideal for tele skiing? Exactly that: tele turns are just what skiers need to get into the backcountry, and A-Basin feels like the wilds without all the avalanche dangers.
Why it’s hot right now: The resort is going to put up the first new base area building in 30 years, but don’t let that fool you. This is still a locals place, with the “beach” firmly intact, where beers and barbecues are the order of the day once the skis and ‘boards have come off.
The locals love: To head over to Keystone to eat, because it’s so close. Try the coffee at the Haywood Café (23110 U.S. 6, Keystone; 970-262-9300). And the new Samplings Wine Bar & Restaurant in Frisco (320 Main St.; 970-668-8466) is getting some play too, especially because of the 200-plus wines by the glass, which means one or two and a few starters.
The powder piles up: Near Pallavicini always, and for tele skiers, the Upper East Wall is a super spot for dropping in.
Après ski: If you don’t want to hang on the beach, then hit the Snake River Saloon (23074 U.S. 6; 970-468-2788) in Keystone.
Travel editor Kyle Wagner can be reached at 303-820-1599 or travel@denverpost.com.
