Downhill Mtn. Biking at Trestle Bike Park!

Posted on July 30, 2010 by rachelb

Come get your fix of adrenaline filled fun at the fastest growing Downhill Bike Park in the U.S.! Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park, Colorado has something for everyone. Whether it’s your first time on a downhill bike, you’re looking for some coaching on technique, or you’re a seasoned pro who wants to work on speed alone, there are plenty of options for all.

As mentioned in Chris’s earlier blog, the WPLC crew got together last week for an exciting day of downhilling. After getting suited up in our ‘armor’ (see right) and loading our bikes on the lift, the ladies (Amy, Sarah, and myself) took the Trestle 101 course, which is perfect for those who are beginning or wanting to improve technique. For anyone looking to take the class, we recommend our instructor Ian who was knowedgable and who’s calm demeanor helped 3 crazy girls get down the mountain in one piece! Meanwhile, Chris and Dace were on their own with the helmet cam strapped on and ready to rock. We’ve got part 1 of their roller coaster ride caught on tape for you to check out…

After a few practice rounds and mtn. biking fundamentals, Ian took us girls down a looooong green trail aptly named ‘Green World’. It was a fun winding trail through dense trees, open single track and rolling hills with lots of swooping turns (we liked calling them woop-de- woos). Needless to say, our class and one run on Green World lasted nearly three hours, so we got a great workout and were quite tired at the end. All in all, it was a great day and experience. We had a few spills, but managed to get back on the bikes and keep truckin’. Gotta say the body armor doesn’t just look cool, it definitely cushions the falls! Soon, we’ll have part 2 of the helmet cam video up and running, so keep an eye out…

If you’re thinking about taking a weekend getaway filled with fresh mountain air or getting out of the city heat , Winter Park is where it’s at. Get an unbeatable price on summer lodging with Winter Park Lodging Company, and save big on all kinds of outdoor activities, including Trestle Bike Park and cross country bike rentals (great for the whole family!). We have an exclusive deal for our guests that gets you and your friends geared up for less! When you book your rentals online , you save over 20% off walk in rates and that’s a steal.

Remember, the Crankworx freestyle bike competition starts today and goes through the weekend at Winter Park Resort. Bring the kids and dogs and be amazed at the high flying stunts these guys do - It’s totally free and a wild time. Our instructor Ian will be competing too, so we’re going down to cheer him on and take some video. See you there!

Downhill Mountain Biking in Winter Park

Posted on July 27, 2010 by rachelb

Downhill mountain biking at Trestle Bike Park Winter Park, CO

Winter Park Resort Opening Day Ski Season 2010/2011

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Chris

Winterpark ski season opening 2010 Winter Park Resort Opening Day

Yes, I know it is July and sunny and beautiful here in Winter Park, CO but that is no reason to not be thinking of fluffy white snow and the reason we are all here in WP….. SKI SEASON!

So get ready for the 2010/2011 ski season in Winter Park with opening on November 17th, 2010. It should be another epic year here in the Rockies with some great snow forecast already for this year. They said that last year also didn’t those pesky weatherman? Last year was an El Nino year which bode well for the ski resorts in the southern part of Colorado. This year is being forecast as a La Nina year and here is what snowforecast.com has to say about this years La Nina:

a La Nina SST pattern will likely take over for this coming fall/ winter, through possibly the season following (through 2012). This usually bodes well for northern Colorado resorts, but we will work up some comparisons of analog years this summer to see what we may expect.

So, I’m thinking we will be making up for the sub-par snow year of 2009/2010 and have ourselves a killer year in 2010/2011. so the countdown has begun for ski season opening day for the 2010 ski season. It is Wednesday November 17th, 2010 that we can all strap those boards on our feet and hit the slopes with some of that white gold.

Powder Addiction will also be running for it’s sophomore year of cat skiing up on Jones Pass. If you were not able to go up last year and you like cat-skiing (who skies and wouldn’t like to cat ski I’m not sure) you should take a ride up with Powder Addiction.

Anywho, Winter Park Resort opens November17th 2010 for this coming ski season. Need lodging? Winter Park Lodging Company provides the finest ski homes, cabins, condos, town-homes in the Winter Park and Fraser area with the best discounts on Winter Park lift tickets and ski/board rentals.

Crankworx Colorado at Winter Park Resort

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Chris

Crankworks Colorado

Crankworx is here at Winter Park Resort this week starting Thursday the 29th. This is the premier downhill bike festival in the United States and if you have not had a chance to check it out, you are missing out.

Crankworx Winter Park Colorado

Check out the above link to get an idea of what the downhill course is like at Trestle Bike Park that the athletes will be riding. We here at Winter Park Lodging Company had a chance last week to give Trestle Bike Park a ride and it is a rush and those that are professional in this sport are amazing athletes.

Here is the schedule of events for Crankworks Colorado 2010:

Thursday, July 29

Dual Slalom

Slopestyle Qualifiers

Friday, July 30

Super Downhill

Best Trick

Saturday, July 31

Cross Country

Slopestyle Finals

Sunday, August 1

UCI/PRO GRT Downhill

This is one of the coolest festivals of the year with a great feel, live music, great athletes and Trestle Bike Park is open so you can give the downhill bike a try and see what all the rage is about.

While the temperatures are hitting the high 90′s down in Denver and Boulder here in Winter Park we are in the 70′s and 80′s with nice cool night temps of 50 or so and surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Lots to do up here this time of year. If you have any appreciation of bicycles at all you do not want to miss Crankworx. This is the bike festival of the year!

Winter Park Village Events: The Back Bowl Soup Company Specials & Music

Posted on July 23, 2010 by rachelb

Back Bowl Patio

We wanted to spread the word on the latest Summer special at The Back Bowl Soup Company, located in the heart of the new base village. Starting Thursday, 7/29, Jeremy Farmer will be playing live music on the patio every Tue./Thurs. from 5:30-7:30 pm for the Mountain Employee Happy Hour. Enjoy a frosty beverage or a tasty appetizer, while the little ones play on the new Adventure Train playground. They even have free parking close by, right across the walkway from the Back Bowl. Come out with your friends and family to enjoy good times in the Colorado sunshine, and remember to book your lodging with Winter Park Lodging Company for the best deals and sweetest digs in town. Here’s a quick list of the specials~

Drinks- 2 for 1 draft beers and house wine

Food- 20% off food orders and complimentary animal crackers and pretzels

Mountain Bike Capital USA Winter Park CO

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Chris

Winter Park Colorado mtn Bike USA Winter Park Mountain Bike Capital USA

The Winter Park/Fraser Chamber is getting a new website up and running strictly about mountain biking in and around Winter Park, Colorado. So far there are trails and some other such stuff there and it looks to be a great addition to their main website.

The website is http://www.mountainbikecapitalusa.com/ . It is still under construction but there are a few Winter Park bike trails there. If you would like to contribute photos or video there is a place to do that on the site.

With over 600 miles of trails, it’s no wonder that Winter Park & the Fraser Valley is the Mountain Bike Capital of the United States.

The Winter Park Lodging Co crew took a day this week to hit the Trestle Bike Park for some downhill gravity fed mountain biking and what a day it was. We will post some video of my falls when we get them edited. If you have not downhill mountain biked it is something that should be tried. It is a workout like nine other and quite the rush.

Here are some of the Winter Park/Fraser mountain bike events and races:

Upcoming 2010 Events

* July 24 – Trestle Bike Park Race Series #1 (Downhill) at Winter Park Resort

* July 25 – Trestle Bike Park Race Series #2 (Super D) at Winter Park Resort

* July 25 – Women, Wheels & Wine – Women’s Mountain Bike Day at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

* July 29 – Aug 1 – Crankworx Colorado at Winter Park Resort – one of the largest gravity-fueled mountain bike festivals in the United States!

* July 31 – Epic Singletrack Series #5 (Crankworx CO Cross Country) at Winter Park Resort

* July 31 – Aug 1 Mountain Bike Capital USA™ Weekend at Hideaway Park

* Aug 14 – Epic Singletrack Series #6 (Mary Jane Circuit) at Winter Park Resort

* Aug 15 – Trestle Bike Park Race Series #3 (Downhill Finale) at Winter Park Resort

* Aug 28 – Epic Singletrack Series Finale (King of the Rockies) at Winter Park Resort

* Sept 4-6 – Winter Park Pursuit Mountain States Cup Race (Endurance | Gravity | Super D) at Winter Park Resort

Looking to have some fun on a bike well Winter Park CO is the place to be this summer.

Take a Carriage Ride around Winter Park

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Valarie

Cooper Creek Square has started a new, fun activity for the summer – carriage rides. And guess, what? They’re FREE.

Grab the fam and head down to the Cooper Creek Square outdoor mall in downtown Winter Park on Saturday afternoons from 1-3 pm or from 5:30-7:30pm. Then hop in a buggy for a horse-drawn carriage ride around town.

While you’re waiting for a ride, there will also be face painting, street performers and musicians for a full evening of entertainment.

Of course, there’s also lots of great shops for souveniers – jewelry, Winter Park memorabilia and even women’s fashion clothing. If you get hungry, you can eat at one of the Cooper Creek restaurants, including the Mountain Grind Cafe & Bistro, New Hong Kong Chinese and India Star (with an excellent lunch buffet).

Every Saturday of the summer you can enjoy the free carriage rides and entertainment and every Friday, check out Music on the Mall with great live music on the patio. Have a great summer in Winter Park!

Winter Park Mountain Biking – Vasquez to Blue Sky Trail

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Chris

Amy and I (Sarah) got a morning free to bike last weekend without kids so we took off from the Winter Park Lodging Company office and headed thru downtown to Vasquez. I hadn’t been mountain biking in a year (and would not call myself even an intermediate biker. Amy hadn’t been in 4 years but she used to do it a lot so I made her the tour guide. We had a great ride! Took 1 hour, got the blood pumping, tested the mountain biking skills and had some beautiful scenery. So, thought we’d share our course:

- Bike up Vasquez Road and continue straight. Turns into water board road (about 5 cars and trucks came down as we biked up, but it was a Sunday)

- Continue up and up and eventually, you’ll see the turn off to the LEFT for Blue Sky Trail. At this point, you may be cursing me for giving you this idea. It is all uphill at this point but when you get on the trail, it’s pretty much all back down, so you can give your heart a rest and test your skills on the single track.

- After about 5 minutes from turning left, you’ll see the single track entrance to Blue Sky (again to left). Get clipped in (or in my case, shoved in to open toe holds) and enjoy the ride. Be careful of riders coming up hill. I came 6 inches from a collision. You’ll encounter some roots, some rocky areas, and little bridges. You pass over the rambling river a few times and it makes for great shots.

- The trail ends and spits you out on Arapahoe Road which meets up with Vasquez and back into town – enjoy flying down perfect pavement and roll into Deno’s for a brew on the patio.

I did it, so you can too. And I want to do it again – soon – which says a lot for this ride. Gives you a little bit of everything and builds confidence. See you on the trails!

Winter Park July Recipe of the Month

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Chris

It’s sunny and warm in Grand County this month but most likely a lot cooler than wherever you are if you’re not here. Come on up and stay in one of our properties with big outdoor porches and grill up some marinated flank steak, summer-fresh aspargus, and mashed potatoes with garlic. Here is my mama’s recipe for the flank steak marinade. Probably my favorite thing to eat. Don’t tell ma that I published it on the internet!

Grillin' in WP!

In a bowl, mix:

- 1 & 1/2 cup salad oil

- 3/4 cup soy sauce

- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

- 2 T. dry mustard

2 & 1/4 tsp salt

1 T. course, freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup white or red wine vinegar

1 & 1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes (i skip that sometimes)

2 crushed garlic cloves, if you aren’t a vampire (can leave out if so)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

In a casserole dish, lay out flank steak. cover with the marinade and put in the fridge. Turn at least once so both sides get good and tasty. Best if you leave overnight. My mom says you can reuse the marinade a second time but that sounds a little gross to me.

Now you have to book your lodging so you can grill out without sweating to death. We even had our fleeces on this week after dinner!

Day at Grand Lake, Colorado for $2

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Chris

I took the kids to Grand Lake this week for a day of fun and we spent a whopping $2. If you have toddlers that are entertained by water, sand, and ice cream, give it a try for a day while you are here. Here’s what our day looked like:

9am – departed Winter Park with lunch packed

9:40am – arrived in Grand Lake, parked on main drag across from park

9:40 am – 10:40am – played on big play structures in park with lots of other kids. Four swings – 2 for little guys, 2 for bigger kids.

10:40 – walked down to lake (3 minute walk) and played at “beach”. Nice thing is that water is really cold do you don’t have to worry much about your toddlers jumping right in. They think it’s good enough to get their feet wet and laugh at the dogs jumping in after the ball. Lots of sailboats and motor boats where out. If you wanted to break the $2 budget, you could rent paddleboats (seat 4) for $24/hr for 2 people or $32/hr for 4 people. You can also rent boats right there too but that would probably break the bank.

11:30am – had packed lunch on picnic benches and faced the water so we were entertained with the view. Kids ate

Yum! $1 cones.

more than normal. Guess this strategy worked.

12 noon – packed up lunch, and headed to ice cream. You can go right there by the beach (homemade ice cream, looked good) but we went back up to the ice cream joint in town b/c there were about 30 people in line at the one by the beach. Got a chocolate ice cream – kid size – for each child in sugar cone. $1 each. wow! Sat outside on a bench for little kids and they looked so cute eating their ice cream, a lady stopped and took a picture of them with her camera.

12:30pm – walked the boardwalk a bit and then got in the car and headed back to Winter Park

12:40pm – two boys fast asleep in the car just as the afternoon rain started to fall.