For many Coloradans, winter means skiing as surely as January means stock show. But the state’s barrel of cold-weather fun is hardly capped by what can be seen between ski tips. With an open mind and a free weekend, you can enjoy the mountains in many ways that won’t bind you to the routine of riding up and sliding down. Snow and ice, after all, can make for a pretty inviting playground when they aren’t covering a roadway.
DOG SLEDDING
Dog sled rides, which combine a little Jack London with a lot of Jack Frost, are available through most of the state’s ski resorts, from such husky handlers as Mountain Musher in Beaver Creek, Krabloonik in Snowmass, Good Times Tours in Breckenridge and Dog Sled Rides of Winter Park. The best deal may be the drive-your- own outings offered by Alpine Dogsledding in Leadville, which takes novice mushers out on open terrain south of Tennessee Pass four times a day. Prices for the one-hour trip are $65 per person ages 9 and up, $30 for kids 3-8. The company also offers snowmobile tours around Turquoise Lake. 719-486-9899; alpinesnowmobiles.com
SNOWKITING
Also known as kite skiing, this sport is like kiteboarding on snow rather than water. You catch the wind like a paraglider and use your skis as a rudder, meaning you don’t need a hill. Snowkiters can be seen in action on the south end of Dillon Reservoir almost every weekend, and they’ll be out in force for the annual “Therapy Sessions” March 9-11. Frisco-based Colorado Kite Force will teach you the basics in one day for $249, including the kite, harness and related gear. Anton Rainold, a former sailor and certified instructor who owns the shop, rents demo setups for $100 a day and sells full outfits for $1,000 to $2,000. 970-485- 3300; coloradokiteforce.com
SKIBIKING
You can ride a mountain bike down a trail over hard-packed snow if you want, but it’s more fun to take one tricked out with skis instead of wheels. Vail’s mountaintop “Adventure Ridge” activity center offers guided downhill tours on these slick conveyances each day at 5 p.m. for $62, including headlamp and gondola ride to the starting point. Reservations recommended. 970-476-9090; vail.snow.com/winter
SKIJORING
Being towed on skis by a horse isn’t easy, given the flying snow clods you have to dodge. Add the challenge of going over jumps and spearing rings off poles with a wooden baton, and you’ve got a contest worth stomping about. Get a taste of skijoring, and maybe join in the competition, during the 94th annual Winter Carnival in Steamboat Springs the weekend of Feb. 10-11, or on Skijoring Weekend in Leadville on March 3-4 – when tons of snow are trucked in to cover the main streets in both towns. The Steamboat races are limited to kids aged 6-14; 970-879-0880, steamboat-chamber.com. For the Leadville events: 719-486-3900, leadvilleusa.com.
CURLING
Sliding heavy round stones down an ice rink may look boring on a 3 a.m. airing of the Winter Olympics, but outside in the Colorado mountains it can be pretty exhilarating. Try out the sport – for free – any Wednesday through Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the West Lake in Copper Mountain. There’s no need to sign up; just walk out on the ice and talk to the folks with the brooms.
TUBING
Most ski resorts have set aside places where you can slide down hills without having to clip yourself into special equipment or take long rides on chairlifts. Copper Mountain’s “Copper Tubing” area, for example, offers five groomed lanes of varying steepness. Prices are $22 per hour for riders 13 and up, $18 for 12 and under. (866-841-2481, coppercolorado.com). Vail has a similar area with similar prices, as does Steamboat. A more homey, less expensive option is the tubing hill at Fraser, which charges $17 an hour for adults and $15 for kids 7-15. It’s open from 2 to 9 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 10 to 9 Sundays. Call 970-726-5954. On the Front Range, tubing and sledding are free at the old Hidden Valley ski area in Rocky Mountain National Park, about 7 miles up Trail Ridge Road from either the Beaver Meadows or Fall River entrance. There’s no charge for the warming hut and heated restrooms, but normal park entrance fees apply.
ICE SKATING
As with tubing, outdoor ice rinks – usually offering skate rentals as well – can be found at most ski resorts, including Winter Park, Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Vail (which has a rink at 10,000 feet). On the Front Range, natural and man-made facilities also are available in Fort Collins, Estes Park, Boulder and Nederland (for details go to colorado.com/article233). Perhaps the most popular venue is Evergreen Lake – for its easy accessibility, scenic setting, classy warming house and community ambience. Unfortunately, it’s not always cold enough to twirl on the ice. Call the hotline at 303-512-9300.
ICE FISHING
Hard-water angling, as it’s also known, calls for just as much patience as the regular kind, but you can usually get by without a boat. For a close-up look at this only-in- winter activity, check out the ice- fishing contests Feb. 3 or March 3 at Eleven Mile Reservoir near Lake George. Now in their sixth year, these are team events in which 200 to 300 anglers test their skills against one another, starting as early as 7 a.m. and finishing with a weigh-in and $5 barbecue at 2:30 p.m. Entry fees are $60 per two-person team, with one angler required to be at least 18 years old. Winners can take home over $1,000. Larry Falk, owner of the 11 Mile Marina, says the grandfather of such competitions in Colorado is the Three Lakes contest in Granby Jan. 26-28: “I mean, they give away a car.” 800-325-1661, granbychamber.com. For more on the Park County event: 719-748-0317 or 11milesports.com.
ICE RACING
Ever wondered how your SUV would perform on a truly icy stretch? Find out on frozen Georgetown Lake, where the Our Gang 4 Wheelers Club allows novices to test their skills in supervised, bare-rubber “races” at speeds that sometimes never exceed 4 miles per hour. The events, run on a pylon-marked course with just two drivers on the track at a time, are open only to four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicles, and take place only every other Saturday, with the next race Jan. 27. The cost is $5 for a technical inspection plus $15 per entrant, with drivers 60 and older free. Every other Sunday on the same weekends, the action shifts to the “pro” racers, who run with helmets, roll cages, souped-up engines and tires fitted with three-quarter-inch studs or 1 1/2-inch spikes. 303-331-2886; ourgangiceracing.com
SLEIGH RIDING
Sleigh bells ring regularly in many of the state’s mountain resorts, particularly Steamboat Springs, where at least seven vendors offer rides ranging in price from less than $50 for a daytime jaunt without food to over $100 for a dinner ride with all the fixings. The most unusual may be the dinner-in-a-tepee deal at the Elk River Guest Ranch in Clark, about 20 miles north of Steamboat. For $85 for adults and $60 for kids 12 and under, the ranch hauls guests from its on-site saloon to a backcountry tepee warmed by an open fire, where they dine on steak, salmon, duck or chicken, then go jingling back. Call Steamboat central reservations at 877-237-2628, steamboat.com/winter.
SNOWSHOEING
Free, two-hour snowshoe tours are available daily at Copper Mountain, with shoes and poles provided. Call 970-968-2318, ext. 45678. Vail offers similar outings led by naturalists at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily, leaving from the Nature Discovery Center yurt at Eagles Nest. The fee is $10 for adults and children over 12, with proceeds going to the Gore Range Natural Science School. Call 970-479-4675. In Rocky Mountain National Park, ranger-led snowshoe walks for beginners are offered on winter weekends through March 31 on the east side of the park near Estes Park and through March 11 on the west side near Grand Lake. The programs are free, but normal entrance fees apply. For reservations, call the east side at 970-586- 1223 or the west side at 970-627-3471.
ICE CLIMBING
Safe, spectacular and no experience needed: That’s what the guide service Rocky Mountain Ventures says of the ice-climbing excursions it offers to frozen Fish Creek Falls, a short drive from downtown Steamboat Springs. Morning and afternoon outings are available for $150 per person, or $125 for three or more, including transportation, equipment and professional instruction. Dress warmly and bring ski boots or other crampon-compatible footwear; snowboard boots won’t work. 970-870-8440 or verticalgrip.com
