Moose Class in Winter Park, CO

Moose at Winter Park Resort

My sister Anne-Marie and her husband Larry  celebrated their 27^th wedding anniversary with a ‘Moose Class’ through Ecoadventures, using room 2419 at the Zephyr as their home base. Anne took the class for credit for her career as a teacher, Larry opted for non-credit (wouldn’t do him much good as a flight simulator tech).

Using Zephyr Mountain Lodge 2419 as a base of operation was far superior to tent camping in the rain, which is what many of the class participants were doing. While others were slogging around their tents, Anne and Larry were high and dry, enjoying a glass of wine from their balcony.

The moose class taught reams of minutiae about moose and the class was successful in spotting 5 moose. Also, thanks to the tip from the maintenance man with whom Anne and Larry shared an elevator, Anne and Larry kept their eyes open at the base of Berthoud Pass and spotted 2 more moose on the way home!

All in all, a very memorable 27^th wedding anniversary.

Anne and Larry say thanks to Chris and Sarah at Winter Park Lodging Company.

The only regret was not being able to stick around for the CrankWorx bike extravaganza at Winter Park Base that weekend.

Come on up to Winter Park Resort and check out the moose.  Late summer and fall are the best times to see the moose.  In Rendezvous sub-division moose sighting are very very common and one big bull moose over there has been affectionately named Freddy the moose.

Winter Park Beer Festival

Winter Park Beer Festival Pricing

The Winter Park Beer Festival being held at the Winter Park Base Saturday August 14, 2010 has set the beer tasting prices.  See list below.

The WP Beer Fest will be held in Hideaway Park and there will be over 25 breweries sampling there products with live music onstage and vendors vending all that you will need to celebrate a beer festival high in the Rocky Mountains.  The WP Beer Fest benefits the National Sports Center for the Disabled, one of the most worthwhile causes that I know of.

Winter Park Beer Festival tickets:

Unlimited Tasting!
From 12-5pm
Only $25 (Save $5)
Live Music and Fun Included
Pre-Sale Price
Expires 8/12/10 at 5pm
$30 At The Door

VIP Tasting!
Unlimited Tasting From 12-5pm
Only $45 (Save $5)
Includes:
Commemorative Glass Mug,
Private VIP Patio, Private VIP
Seating Near The Stage, Lunch
Buffet and More!
Pre-Sale Price Expires 8/12/2010
$50 At The Door

Click Here to Purchase Winter Park Beer Festival Tickets

Here is hoping that the above three young ladies will be attending and serving some cold suds at the WP Beer Festival.

To get your Beer Festival lodging visit Winter Park Lodging Company.

Crankworx Colorado Bike Festival

Crankworx Winter Park, CO

Crankworx Colorado is again back at Winter Park Resort this year and this is the premier bicycle festival of the year in Colorado.

Crankworx Colorado is one of the largest gravity-fueled mountain bike festivals in the United States. Come up and check out the action for FREE*!! During four intense days, spectators are awed by some of the world’s best mountain bike athletes battling it out for over $35,000 in prizes. Some of the biggest names in mountain biking like Semenuk, Basagoitia, McCaul, and Berrecloth will be on site. Don’t miss the mountain biking event of the summer; make your plans now. You won’t regret it.

Crankworx Colorado is Intrawest’s US version of the Whistler BC’s Kokanee Crankworx. This is the premier downhill biking event in the world.

Last year the all the lodging booked up at the Winter Park Resort base, closest lodging to the Crankworx area, and this year is looking like the same will happen.  Book your lodging now to get the convenient digs for the bike fest.

Schedule of events is as follows:

2010 Crankworx Schedule

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

If you have never seen or heard of Crankworx you are missing out.  There are some amazing athletes and these guys do some crazy stuff on a bicycle.  If you have kids they will surely be able to tell you what this whole Crankworx thing is all about.

Again book your lodging now for a great time and a great festival in the mountains.  Let Winter Park Lodging Company take care of all your Winter Park CO lodging needs so you can Play Hard, Rest Easy.

Winter Park Colorado Fourth of July

4th of July in the Colorado Rockies

Looking for somewhere to spend the fourth of July weekend up in the Colorado mountains? Winter Park is the place to be for fourth of July. Come celebrate summer in Winter Park and the Fraser Valley this 4th of July Weekend.

There are a bunch activities happening, including the long-going Rendezvous Run for Independence, the Hi Country Stampede Rodeo and of course the spectacular fireworks display.  There is also a great fireworks display over in Grand Lake, a short 25 minute drive from the friendly confines of Winter Park and Fraser.

Sunday, July 4th
3:00pm – 10:00pm
Every year, locals and visitors alike bring their families, BBQs and blankets to the Fraser Ball-fields to play & relax out in the gorgeous mountain air for the 4th of July. Kids run & play on the huge grassy fields, live music sounds for listening and dancing, and everyone enjoys the day as we wait for the spectacular fireworks display at nightfall. At the Fraser Ball-fields, just north of the town of Fraser. For more information call the Winter Park & Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce 800-903-7275 or 970-726-4118.

Grand Lake Fireworks
Grand Lake boasts the largest fireworks display in Colorado on the 4th of July, with gorgeous colors exploding over and reflecting in the lakes.

Run for Independence
Saturday, July 3rd
8:00am – whenever the last racer crosses the finish line!
This is a five-mile race course from the base of Winter Park Resort to the Town of Fraser. With an elevation loss of over 600 feet, anyone can enjoy walking or running on the scenic and paved Fraser River Trail to help raise money for the Scott Hughes Endowment Fund. This foundation provides scholarships for children on kidney dialysis to attend Camp Chief Ouray at Snow Mountain Ranch-YMCA of the Rockies. Registration will be available online soon or you can register at the starting line from 8:00am – 9:00am at Winter Park Resort. For more information call the Winter Park & Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce 800-903-7275 or 970-726-4118.

These are only a few of the activities that can be had here in Winter Park for the 4th of July weekend.  Check out Winter Park Lodging Companies full activity schedule for this years Fourth of July in Winter Park Colorado.

Wells Fargo Easter Egg and Candy Hunt Winter Park, CO

Winter Park, CO Easter Candy Hunt

Looking for something fun to do with the kids for this Easter?  Winter Park Resort is hosting the Wells Fargo Easter Egg and Candy Hunt April 4th.   This is a great way to get the kids outside and enjoy some fresf Colorado mountain air.

There is also the long running tradition of the Bunny Race.  Winter Park Willie and the Easter Bunny deliver holiday fun with an on-mountain candy hunt in Discovery Park as well as a base area egg hunt for children under 5. The “Bunny Race” has been an Easter tradition for more than 30 years for children ages 10 and under. For more details, call the Guest Information Hotline at 970.726.1564.

Come out and see the Easter Bunny in his mountain garb.  Will he be hard driving bump skier like the picture above or is he the docile type hanging about the base pretending to be a skiing bunny?

Easter Candy and Egg Hunt Schedule:

11:45am: Younger non-skiing “hunters’ (ages 5 & under only) meet the Easter Bunny in the Zephyr Plaza near the Slopeside Mountain Adventure Center, and wait for the candy hunt to begin.

11:45am: All “skiing candy hunters” head to Porcupine & Bobcat Trails in Discovery Park to assemble and wait for Winter Park Willie. Children must have a valid lift ticket to access hunt.

12pm: The “hunt” begins! Parents may assist younger children to look for candy.

There is also the Golden Bunny Fun Race:

8:30-11am: Race Registration at Guest Services in the Balcony House. Parents must pre-register each child to race before 11am.

12:15-1:30pm: The untimed, FUN RACE begins at the top of Lower Village Way trail. Children will race in no particular order. Racers may take as many runs as they wish until the course closes at 1:30pm. Children must have a valid lift ticket to access race course.

This is a great way to celebrate Easter and get out of the hose and enjoy the Colorado Rockies with the little ones.

Winter Park Colorado Spring Skiing

Colorado Spring Skiing in the Rockies

Not to beat a dead horse, but my favorite time to ski in Colorado and specifically Winter Park and Mary Jane Resort is the awesome months of April and March.  March is Colorado’s snowiest month and April is true spring skiing with a light jacket and sunglasses.  So far this March Winter Park Resort has been getting hit with some very big storms and some great weather.

Here is the snow totals as of March 9, 2010:

Winter Park averages over 350″ a year so we should be getting some great storms the next six weeks.  Here is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about spring sking in Colorado.  So the secret is getting out about the quality of skiing here in the spring.

Did you get a chance to watch the Olympic skiing events?  Want to see how well you stack up next to the pros before the snow melts? Bump (mogul) runs can be tough to navigate midseason – the lack of fresh powder (and hard snow) can wreak havoc on your knees – but spring skiing is a great time to take a few turns and work on being able to ski the whole mountain. Winter Park Resort, located here 95 miles from Denver International Airport, is widely considered one of the best places to ski bumps in North America.

To play on Winter Park’s signature terrain, start early and head up the Zephyr Express. Warm up by heading down Outhouse and Mary Jane before heading up a variety of lifts providing access to tight glade runs, hellacious black diamonds and steep bumps. The mountain, however, isn’t all wild ups and downs. Kids ski school and a variety of intermediate terrain provide skiers of all levels with enough options to fill any vacation.

We also have some great music festivals to go along with the great skiing in March and April.  At the Winter Park Music Festival for the past 20 years, Winter Park has been inviting young musicians to compete in its organized music competition held over two weekends in April. Judged by professional adjudicators, individuals and groups descend upon the town to perform while capturing some end of season ski and snowboard.

What else is there? Great snow, warm weather and music – Spring skiing in the Rockies is what ski dreams are made of.

Winter Park Resort Spring Splash 2010

Winter Park, CO. Spring Splash

The 42nd annual Spring Splash is back at Winter Park/Mary Jane Resort on Sunday April 18th, 2010.  This is the longest running end of the season ski party held in Colorado and maybe the United States.  The Spring Splash is now sponsored by Coca-Cola so it is officially known as the Coca-Cola Spring Splask.

Splash as it is known locally here in Winter Park is actually two parties. The official held at the base of Winter Park Resort is a family fun affair with music, racing and prizes.  The official description is: Winter Park Resort’s Coca-Cola® Spring Splash is the oldest tradition of its kind and on its 42nd year. Athletes begin at 12pm as spectators watch skiers and riders struggle through obstacles on the Larry Sale trail race course and attempt to skim across an icy pond to reach the finish line and post a time. Live music sets the tone for a closing day party that is fun for everyone!

The unofficial party, and not for the younger part of the whole family, is the end of season party held in the Challenger lot of Mary Jane Resort.  Music, BBQ, adult beverages, costumes and a very much party atmosphere pervade the “end of season splash”.  Party gets going early, as on the night before on April 17th, and lasts past sundown on April 18th.  The last few years have seen Winter Park/Fraser Valley Police with drug dogs and a big police presence.  This is a fun time though that Winter Park locals and visitors plan for weeks in advance.  So it is fun for all just make good choices with your drinking and driving and other behaviors.

If you have not been to the official or the unofficial Splash you are missing out.  This is one of the most fun, if not the most fun times in Winter Park, CO all year.

For Spring Splash race registration:  Sunday, April 18, 8-10:30am: Guest Services, Balcony House, base of Winter Park Resort. $20 entry fee; $39 lift and entry fee, $15 employee entry fee. Limited to the first 100 participants. 18 and over, must show proof of age. Day of registration only, no pre-registration is available. You must be present to register.

LIVE MUSIC in the Plaza from 2-6pm

For more race details, contact the Winter Park Resort guest information hotline at 970.726.1564.

Lodging prices are at the lowest of the ski season for Spring Splash, so be safe and stay a few nights and enjoy some great deals on Winter Park CO. Lodging.

More Money Problems for Intrawest

Intrawest Winter Park Resort

Where is Intrawest heading with their money problems?  After a two month extension of a loan payment due in late October of 2009, Intrawest missed the extension date on a payment of $524 million.

Intrawest, which operates four Canadian resorts such as Olympic-skiing venue Whistler Blackcomb, as well as six resorts in the United States, defaulted on the $524-million debt payment in late December and has been trying to work out a deal with lenders.

The company is owned by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, which acquired Intrawest in 2006 for $1.8-billion. Fortress also assumed $950-million in debt in the deal. Fortress paid a 20-per-cent premium over Intrawest’s share price to get its hands on the company, but said in a letter to shareholders in August that it had marked down the value of the investment to 29 cents on the dollar.

Sounds like not a great investment so far for Fortress.  What to make of Intrawest is the question for us here in Winter Park, CO.  Intrawest has sold Copper Mountain Ski Resort and is in the process of selling its Sandestin, Florida beach resort.  Earlier in the year, Intrawest sold two of its resorts in France to holiday company Pierre et Vacances. That price was also not disclosed.  Will Intrawest up and walk away from their management agreement with the City of Denver?  Very unlikely, but in these crazy financial times for resort developers nothing is beyond belief.

This next year will be a very interesting time to see what happens to Intrawest.  They have disbanded the development part of their company, Intrawest Placemaking, and are having a hard time selling the real estate it has already developed.  So their revenue income is now mainly from sales of lift tickets, food, beverage, lodging, and equipment.   A great snow year with  skier visits up and Intrawest may be OK.  With a down year I think they may be selling off their parts.  That may be the case anyway if they can not come to an agreement with their financiers.

Anywho, Winter Park will be celebrating it’s 70th year of continuous operation this January 23rd here in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  And now would be a great time to visit and buy property at Winter Park Resort.

Winter Park Village Lofts

Winter Park Village Lofts

The Winter Park Resort Village lofts are finally completed and owners are now taking possesion.  There are fourteen lofts and only a handful have sold.  Winter Park Lodging Company is now listing one Winter Park Village four bedroom loft and one Winter Park Village three bedroom loft.  These are the most luxurious and convenient of all lodging at Winter Park Resort.  There is your own private parking and you are just steps from the new restaurants and shops in the Winter Park Village.

USA Today did an article on the Winter Park Village and the lofts in this pat Friday’s Living and Travel section.  A great article on second home and lodging options here in WP.

THe Winter Park Village is now home to Cheeky Monk, Lime, The Back Bowl Soup Company, Goody’s Creperie, Shirt Off My Back T-Shirt Shop and soon to be a store front for Grand Adventures/Powder Addiction outdoor adventures.  The Village is starting to come around and there is not a better place to stay than at the base of Winter Park Resort.

Winter Park Ski Resort | Top Two in the USA

I found the UK publication Independent News and Media Limited  “The 50 Best Places to Ski This Winter” list while Googling around and our little humble hill here in Winter Park is the #2 US resort on the list.  Vail, that behemoth, comes in at #9  and the next US resort on the list is Winter Park at #43.  In fact, there are only 4 US resorts on the top 50 list and Winter Park is right there hanging just above Heavenly and a couple before Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Damn, those Europeans know what they are talking about when it comes US skiing.  Check out their little blurb about the Winter Park/Mary Jane Resort:

“Huge snowfalls and plenty of fresh powder make the unpretentious town of Winter Park in Colorado, with its world-class mountains, a magnet for lovers of snow-sports, whether boarding, downhill or cross- country skiing. Cross-country skiers will find plenty of ski areas, all with generally excellent snow and a total of over 125 miles of well groomed trails. Tours into the back-country add to the variety of terrain and for many, Winter Park is an all round world class resort.”

Now that is the press that Winter Park is due.  No we don’t have the disco bars, trinket stores and salt water taffy outlets that some of the more popular big resorts have but we do have the best snow around and skiing that makes your thighs burn.  And lets not forget about the friendly Colorado locals attitude that pervades Winter Park.

The top five in the list goes:

1. Les Gets, France
2. St. Anton, Austria
3. Borovets, Bulgaria
4. Kravec, Slovenia
5. Banff, Canada

I have not been to any of these resorts but they are now on my list.  It is very interesting because US top ski resort lists usually have a #1 and #2 of Vail and Whistler/Blackcolmb.  I guess those Europeans have different way of seeing it.  I’m ready to listen though if they can see through all the sales speak and come up with Winter Park as the #2 US ski resort.