I found the first blank day on my calendar and penciled in: Maggie? Jane?
After a hectic holiday season, I wasn’t sure which would bring me the most comfort and joy: my therapist or my favorite ski resort.
was my grade-school crush — all I could do was look up at Outhouse in awe and dream of the day I would have skis long enough to ski it (they required 180s back in the day). I raised a glass of Mary Jane Ale to her in the Cable Car when she turned 21. I got married between the two large trees on the north side of the lodge. And when the other Janiacs and I became parents, we set up a babysitting co-op upstairs in the lodge.
Since Winter Park’s “little sister” opened in 1975, Mary Jane has drawn a large, devoted and somewhat obsessive following.
“I think Jane fans have always felt like that area of the mountain is ‘theirs’ and have adopted a kind of ownership of the area,” said Winter Park’s Steve Hurlbert. “Even though it’s part of Winter Park Resort, it has its own base area that feels so separate from the rest of the resort.”
In the ’80s when they unleashed snow cats at Mary Jane, we plastered our cars with bumper stickers that read, “Don’t groom Mary Jane — God.” When the Panoramic high-speed six-pack replaced the rickety old two-seater Timberline Lift we were most unpleased. We’re fine when they open new terrain like Eagle Wind and Vasquez Cirque — as long as it’s still relatively difficult to get to.
But this season, for the first time in our beloved resort’s history, Jane loyalists didn’t raise a ruckus when a change was proposed. The restaurant atop Mary Jane didn’t even attract any picket lines when construction began at the end of last season. I think it’s mostly because those old Lunch Rock bathrooms were just soooo icky.
In addition to lovely new bathrooms at the new 16,000-square-foot (five times larger than the building it replaced) Lunch Rock, Alpine Café has a 150-seat heated deck, a 250-seat restaurant and a dozen craft beers on tap.
What hasn’t changed is the vantage point of James Peak, Parsenn Bowl, the Fraser Valley and the Continental Divide. Now there are just bigger windows to take in the view.
The new Lunch Rock is a glorious cathedral of a building, with stone fireplaces and custom metalwork chandeliers hanging from high ceilings. To incorporate the old Mary Jane with the new, the redesign includes vintage Winter Park pictures on the wall, a bar top made of the floor of a retired box car and a foot rail from the original haul rope of the High Lonesome Express chairlift, which was installed in 1985 to allow visitors easy access to the newly opened restaurant.
With the die-hard skier in mind, a “hydration station” was built to allow quick water refills.
I’m not saying some longtime Jane fans haven’t found things to complain about. When I went there for lunch, a trio of women were grumbling about the $14 bowls of soup — they were used to $6 bowls of chili. My dad (who, like Winter Park, turns 75 this year) was right there with them, until he ordered it.
The 23 ounces of butternut squash soup, topped with a red-green swirl of pumpkin seeds and bright beet powder, was so pretty he took a picture for Facebook. After tasting it, he declared it the best soup he’s ever had.
After every drop was finished, we headed down Golden Spike together and discussed how Jane has changed through the years, and how she hasn’t. We agreed that no matter what changes at the Jane, visiting our favorite resort will always feel like coming home.
Chryss Cada is a freelance writer and journalism instructor at Colorado State University. Visit her at chryss.com.
