Doughnuts in Winter Park, CO

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Chris

Winter Park Doughnuts

We have heard that Winter Park is getting it’s own doughnut shop. Rumor has it that Ziggy and Barbara, owners of Polservice Cleaning Services, are opening a doughnut shop next to Fontenot’s Cajun Cafe in the Kings Crossing shopping center. Go Ziggy go!! We could use some good hot doughnuts up here in Winter Park and not those Safeway ones.

Have not heard of a name or when the store will open but apparently there is a sign on the door of the future space. May we suggest the names Doughnut Bowl or The Powdered Doughnut or The Six Inches of Freshies Doughnut Shop. OK OK I will stop, but I am excited that WP is getting a doughnut shop. We are finally getting a couple of modern mans necessities in Winter Park. First we have the Fraser Rec Center, or whatever the final name ends up being, and the Cosmic Dog Mexican Grill and now our very own doughnut shop. Homer Simpson would be in heaven!

Well, good luck Ziggy and Barbara we here at Winter Park Lodging Company, especially me, will help to make the store a success, as much as my waistline can handle anyways.

Fontenot’s Cajun Cafe

The Cosmic Dog Mexican Grill | Winter Park, CO

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Chris

Cosmic Dog Winter Park Colorado Mexican Food Winter Park, CO

There is another eatery coming to Winter Park and we are very much excited about its arrival. Brought to us by Fernand DeLeon formerly of the Winter Park Sushi Bar and more recently of the Cosmic Dog breakfast burrito/hot dog cart. The Cosmic Dog Mexican Grill will be located next to Rudi’s Deli in Park Plaza on US Highway 40. Check out their Menu Guide to the right. Great graphics, very Winter Parkish. As you can see the pricing looks very reasonable and we’ve been told it will all be served Chipotle style.

This will be a great addition to the quick serve/fast food options we have here in Winter Park. I took alook in the windows today and construction is coming along. From my judgment I would say they are a couple of weeks away from being open.

The Cosmic Dog Mexican Grill catering will also be available. Not sure if they will have beer/wine liquor license or they will be a straight food only Mexican grill.

Their tag line is We Serve Fresh Mex Fast and we here at Winter Park Lodging Company can not wait to find out. We also would like to to congratulate Cosmic Dog on their new store and wish them much success.

Vail Snow Reports To Be Believed?

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Chris

Vail Snow Reports: Fact or Fiction?

We here at the Winter Park Lodging Company blog usually try to write about happenings up here in Winter Park that have to do with Winter Park Resort skiing and Grand County activities. But every once in a while we see something that is a little out of our realm but needs to be commented on. It is especially interesting if it has to do with our Goliath ski neighbor Vail. And even more interesting if there is some controversy involved.

I read a column in The Denver Post about Summit Daily News firing a reporter for taking Vail to task about Vail’s snow reports. Read the linked column as it is pretty juicy. The best part is Vail saying they are closing their offices because of to much snow and not mentioning that their offices are in Broomfield, Colorado over 100 miles away from any of their resorts. Classic Vail shenanigans. Then there is the part of them throwing their weight around to get the reporter fired. Really nothing new here just classic big ski resort behavior.

To give Summit Daily News a fair shake they have issued a response to the reporters firing. Not sure I believe it as they did have an editor look at the story before it was ran but it is now a he said she said story. How we have seen Vail tend to act though I would probably side with the reporters side of the story here.

This makes me think of Vail’s attempt to now offer Vail ski guests a better quality hamburger at the same price because the economy has gone into the dumpster. Blah blah blah. Would have been nice to get that hamburger when the economy wasn’t on the skids huh?

Anywho, all this brings me to is, are Vail’s snow reports to be believed? Hmmmm, I say no. So come up to Winter Park Resort, the David in this David and Goliath relationship, and know the snow that is reported is the snow you will find on the hills.

Exceler8s at Winter Park Ski Resort

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Chris

xclr8s Winter Park Resort

Exceler8s Festival Winter Park

The second annual Excler8s Festival will be held at Winter Park Resort February 24 – 26, 2010. What is the Exceler8s festival? Well, here is from their website:

The Exceler8s Festival seeks to bring the community together in support of The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River Basin Project for a 2 ½-day charity ski event. While giving back to this organization, participants will have the option of having fun on the slopes of Winter Park Resort or experiencing the challenges of Jones Pass with guided back-country and Cat skiing.

The Exceler8s Festival is a fundraiser for the Colorado River Project.

Sounds like a good time for a worthy cause. Ski Jones Pass with Powder Addiction or make some turns at Winter Park Resort in late February? That is just up our alley here at Winter Park Lodging Company. We wish the Ecceler8s team success with their second annual festival and hope they are able to raise lots of dinero for the Colorado River Project.

Good Luck!

Deno’s Mountain Bistro Winter Park, CO

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Chris

Vino at Deno’s Winter Park

I got my first chance since we had the twins to hit the town in Winter Park without the wife and kids. Sarah and the boys were down in Denver visiting the grandparents and doing some Christmas shopping and I was able to paint WP town red.

Met a couple of friends at Deno’s Mountain Bistro for the Vino at Deno’s. This is Deno’s tasting flight of two wines paired with appetizers for the nice price of $10. The wines were a Vouvray paired with an artichoke bruchette and Pinot Noir paired with shrimp on a rosemary skewer. Very very tasty and the presentation was low key and accessible as it should be here in Winter Park. Teddy, Deno’s son and now owner, was the host with the heavy pouring hand and had some very good knowledge of the wines we were enjoying.

After the tasting I had the Chicken Marsala that was awesome! Tender chicken breast in a Marsala wine sauce with mushrooms over a bed of pasta with spinach. Deno’s is now making homemade bread that was also fantastic. Must have come straight from the oven.

Check out Deno’s Facebook page for deals and specials.

We ended the night at Ullr’s the new bar that took the Silver Bucket’s space in the Conoco shopette. That is for another post though.

SolVista Night Skiing and Tubing Winter Park Colorado

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Chris

SolVista Winter Park Colorado SolVista Night Skiing

SolVista Basin at Granby Ranch, formerly known as Silver Creek, is offering night skiing and tubing every Saturday starting Saturday December 26th through the end of ski season from 5pm to 8pm. They will also offer a night skiing and tubing for the holidays on Dec 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th.

The cost for night skiing and tubing is $10 each or $15 combo ticket.

According to Ski Magazine, SolVista Basin at Granby Ranch is perfect for families interested in learning to ski together. “Moderate, short slopes all drop to the base area, and this compact scale makes it easy to keep track of little ones,” Ski Magazine, December 2007.

Here are some of SolVista’s Numbers:

Projected Days Open: 106
Days Open Last Year: 144
Years Open: 26
Average Snowfall: 220 in.

Terrain Type

Beginner Runs: 30%

Intermediate Runs: 50%

Advanced Runs: 20%

Expert Runs: 0%

Lifts

Total # Of Lifts: 6
Gondolas & Trams: N/A

High Speed Sixes: N/A
High Speed Quads: 1

Quad Chairs: 1
Triple Chairs: 1

Double Chairs: 2
Surface Lifts: 1

Elevation

Top: 9202 Ft.
Vertical Drop: 1000 Ft.
Bottom: 8202 Ft.

Longest Run: 0.6 miles
Skiable Terrain: 406 acres
Snow Making: 170 acres

Tommelfest at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Chris

Winter Park Nordic Skiing

Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash is hosting Tommelfest 2009 on December 12th. There will classes, competition, food, music and booze. Sounds like a grand time and they are giving away a free T-Shirt to attendees.

What is a Tommelfest? beats me but it sounds fun. Here is what the WP Chamber of Commerce says about it: “Come celebrate all things Nordic – meatballs, music by Brethren Fast, fun dancing, demos, Grog Garden, BBQ $12, relay races, keg toss, waxing clinic, free lessons from the DU Nordic team, and very probably, meatballs at Tommelfest ’09!”

Devil’s Thumb Ranch Facebook page is where I found the offer for free T-Shirts: “Facebook fans get a FREE t-shirt at Tommelfest! Tell your friends, neighbors, parents, strangers… Let’s Tommelfest Colorado! (and yes, I just turned Tommelfest into a verb…)”

Schedule of events for the day:

10:00am- 11:30am: Classes
11:30am-1:00pm: BBQ and Grog Garden (Heck’s Patio)
12:00pm: Norwegian Keg Toss sponsored by O’Doul’s
12:30pm- 1:30pm: Team Sprints (bib pick up in Broad Axe Barn)
12:30pm- 1:30pm: Wax clinic presented by Swix
1:30pm- 3:00pm: Classes
2:00pm- 3:30pm: Team Sprints, Freestyle, 2x2x.5km
3:45pm: Award Ceremony
4:00pm- 6:00pm: Cocktail Hour for Season Pass Holders (Heck’s Tavern)

Music by BRETHREN FAST 12PM TO 4PM

Call Devil’s Thumb Ranch at 970-726-8231 for more information.

Get up here to Winter Park and get some early skiing in.

Facebook fans get a FREE t-shirt at Tommelfest! Tell your friends, neighbors, parents, strangers… Let’s Tommelfest Colorado! (and yes, I just turned Tommelfest into a verb…)

Snow in Winter Park, Colorado

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Chris

winter park resort snowflake Snow at Winter Park Resort

It is dumping snow today, December 8th2009, in Winter Park. The National Weather Service says between 14 and 28 inches of snow are expected in the north central Colorado mountains through Wednesday morning.

The Winter Park Resort snow report is saying only.5 inches as of this morning but it is dumping outside the window here in Tabernash. So far for the year the resort is saying we have gotten 42 inches of snow. The mid mountain base is 18 inches as of this morning.

The forecast at Snowforecast.com is calling for snow today through this Friday. Bring it on!! Maybe all the snow dances and the seeding of the clouds at Winter Park are working. If we get all the snow that they are calling for we will have some great early December skiing here in Winter Park.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2010 Colorado Pro Ski Patrol Convention Winter Park Resort

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Chris

Colorado Pro Ski Patrol Convention at Winter Park Resort

The Colorado Pro Ski Patrol Convention is making a return to Winter Park Resort. The 2010 convention will be held on April 6th and 7th on the hills of Winter Park and Mary Jane Resort. The convention is two days of events that includes ski and toboggan races and is a end of year celebration for the Rocky Mountain region pro ski patrolers.

The convention was previously held in Winter Park in 1998 and was last year held at Telluride Mountain Resort. The last few years it has been held in Vail and Aspen. This is an honor for the convention to make a return to Winter Park and lets the resort show off the on hill and village improvements that have been made in the last few years.

For more information on times, events and organization see contact info below:

Address:

Steve Eakins

ATTN: Winter Park Ski Patrol

Box 36

Winter Park, CO 80640

Phone:

Steve Eakins-Winter Park Patrol

970-531-1296

Fax:

970-726-1492

E-mail:

Steve Eakins

Winter Park Base Bars Derailer and Doc’s Roadhouse

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Chris

derailer_Winter Park base docs_roadhouse_Winter Park base

Derailer and Doc’s Roadhouse Winter Park Resort

We got out of the house yesterday and spent our second day up on the hill at Winter Park Resort. We still need some snow but what was on the slopes was pretty good and made for a fine early season ski day. We skied with Mr. John Glancy, the unofficial mayor of Winter Park and our ski patrol pro, and Dave, John’s ski patrol buddy. As I said skiing was decent and the day was a good time but my skiing companions got me into a couple of places I would usually shy away from. We visited The Derailer Bar for a quick beer and chips and finished the day at Doc’s Roadhouse. These two Intrawest owned and operated eateries have been around for awhile and reviews are always mixed.

Some people think Derailer and Doc’s are great and others try to avoid at all costs. I recently have been of the later mind and have not visited either watering hole the last few years. My reasoning has been that if Intrawest runs their food operations as they do some of their other operations I definitely didn’t want them mucking around with food and drink that I was going to consume. Well, I was skiing with two Winter Park Resort employees and they actually wanted to go into these establishments then they must not be all that bad. And true to their word we had a grand time and we talked to some great people on both sides of the bar. The beers were cold and on special (but why are the employee discounts different at each bar John asked?) and the food was served with a smile and was tasty.

Intrawest describes Doc’s and Derailer as the following:

Derailer Bar is Winter Park Resort’s most coveted deck-space, offering great grilled fare and daily specials in addition to the best views of the resort. The Derailer Bar is a casual outdoor grill open daily, starting at 11 a.m., with full bar service available on weekends. The whistle blows at 2pm for Happy Hour, which is 2 hours from 2-4pm. Open daily.

With a kid-friendly menu, Doc’s is a great place for the entire family. Located at the base of the Zephyr Express Lift, Doc’s offers delicious breakfast, lunch and dinners. Doc’s also offers carry-out items fresh from the kitchen to take back to your condo. With a full bar, you don’t want to miss Doc’s Happy Hour with discounted beer specials, its famous margaritas and a fabulous bar menu. Open Daily 8am – 11pm. Come n’ get it!

At Deralier we had a few beers and chips with queso dip. Chips were from a bag and dip from a can but they were salty and little spicy and went well with our beer. Our bartender Sally (she is darling) was friendly and let us know when happy hour was and that on Friday’s they have a live music apres ski.

At Doc’s we had cheesy fries, more canned cheese, with crispy waffle fries that weren’t bad. I had a bacon cheddar burger that was above par for ski resort food. Our bartender Trevor, a friend of John’s, gave great service and was very welcoming.

So overall, I have changed my thinking and and in a pinch we will visit Doc’s and Derailer again. They do have two of the better locations on the ski hill and they are staffed with some great folks that do their jobs well.

Here is to a change of heart!