Devil’s Thumb Ranch Full Moon Cross Country Ski

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Chris

Moonlit Cross Country Skiing Winter Park, CO

Looking to get out of the house and see how beautiful the evenings can be here in Winter Park and Grand County? There is not a more fun event than the Full Moon Cross Country ski at Devil’s Thumb Ranch. There are two left this year, Feb 18 and March 19.

Head out to the Thumb and arrive a little before six and you are in for a fun, beautiful workout. Join them for skiing, bonfires, marshmallows and hot chocolate under the full moon! Get your cross country ski on and warm up with the bonfire and hot chocolate.

The event starts at 6PM and goes until 9PM. No need to rush though as you can start pretty much anytime you like but need to be finished around 9PM.

If you haven’t been out to Devil’s Thumb you are missing one of Grand Counties treats! With more than 100km of groomed trails nestled in the pristine and private Ranch Creek valley at the base of the Continental Divide, DTR is the premiere Nordic center for Colorado cross country skiing. Whether you enjoy skate, classic or snowshoeing; there’s something there for everyone.

Novices can start the day with a private or group lesson from one of their friendly instructors. More seasoned Nordic enthusiasts will find their advanced technique clinics helpful. And, of course, a wide variety of quality cross country ski equipment is available for purchase or rental - including infant sleds and skijoring rigs (cross country skiing with dog assistance). They are open seven days a week, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Don’t let the snow season get by without a moonlit night of skiing, head out and enjoy Devil’s Thumb Ranch one of the next full moon evenings.

What to Wear on Your Winter Park, CO Ski Trip

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Valarie

Nothing can ruin a great day on the slopes like being as cold as a freeze-pop. Believe me; I’ve learned the importance of dressing properly, as I’m usually hard to keep warm even when I’m not snowboarding. Jeans and cotton clothing are no longer part of the equation; plus, if you caught wearing jeans on the slopes these days, you may fall victim to snickering from the locals. Take a look at some some tips on what to wear on your ski trip to Winter Park.

Brrrrrrr. Stay warm to ski all day long.

HEAD, HANDS & FEET

Keep in mind that the biggest areas of the body that drain heat are the head, the hands and the feet. Keeping these areas warm is your biggest priority. For your head, wear a helmet. Wearing a helmet not only protects you from injury, but it keeps your body’s furnace nice and toasty.

WICKING AWAY FOR WARMTH

Probably the most important tip for staying warm is staying dry. Wicking materials such as wool and synthetic blends (like Under Armour) will keep moisture away from your skin, whereas cotton soaks up moisture that may eventually turn to ice on your body. Wicking materials keep you dryer, and therefore, much warmer. I personally love a great pair of thick wool socks or two thin pair of wool socks.

LOVE THE LAYERS

Rather than wearing your thickest knit sweater under your thickest winter coat, it’s recommended that you wear a couple of thin layers. A waterproof “shell” that goes over a fleece is great instead of a heavy coat. Under the fleece, wear a thin polyester shirt. You can then remove the fleece if you start to burn up and sweat too much. Long underwear made of a synthetic blend material are great under a waterproof pair of ski pants.

DRESS JUST A LITTLE COLD TO STAY WARM

Say hmmm? Think of it this way: if you’re already burning up in your ski attire before you even hit the lift, you’re going to sweat yourself into a shivering frenzy after you make a few runs. You want to be just a teeny bit cool outside before you start turning, so you’ll be perfectly warm after your body heat kicks up from exertion. If the weather is exceptionally cold or windy, you should be at just a comfortable temperature in your ski gear before hitting the slopes.

GLOVES OR MITTENS? THAT IS THE QUESTION…

No matter what, you need to cover your hands. A pair of waterproof gloves is good, but even better are mittens. Mittens keep your fingers together so they collectively keep each other warmer by sharing body heat. One of my biggest challenges in all my years of snowboarding was having cold hands, until I found a great pair of North Face mittens filled with down. I’ve never had cold hands on the slopes since.

FOR WINDY & SNOWY DAYS

Balaclavas. Face Masks. Scarves. Anything to protect your face from the wind and snow is a HUGE help, especially when you’re on the lift. A Balaclava is great because it has a built in face cover connected to a cap that you can tuck back in if you don’t need it anymore.

AHMs (ARTIFICIAL HEAT MAKERS)

You can pick up heat packets at most ski shops around town and the Safeway in Fraser. These little things heat up when you squeeze them and are great to stuff into your mittens or boots. You can even go all out and buy fancy equipment like jackets or pants with built in battery packs that heat up if you want, but be prepared to spend a pretty penny.

MORE TIPS

Consider getting a locker and storing some dry clothes if you get too sweaty and cold. Also be sure to PROTECT yourself from the elements. You need to wear goggles or sunglasses and sunscreen even if it’s not sunny. And water, water, water. We cannot stress the importance of staying hydrated at our high altitude. For tips on how to avoid high altitude sickness, click here.

NEED TO GET NEW STUFF? WHERE?

As you were reading this, you may have come up with a long list of things you need. It can really add up, can’t it? Fortunately, you can rent a ski jacket and ski pants from our partner Epic Mountain Sports. They have tons of stuff, from size 2 toddler to adult 6X. The price is $15 per day to rent a jacket or ski pants alone or $25 per day to rent both a ski jacket and pants. They rent helmets for $5 per day, too.

Epic Mountain Sports also has great deals on ski and snowboard rentals for our guests. Save 20% for ski rentals as low as $18 per day when you book online from our exclusive booking link. Also, as our VIP Partner, our guests get 15% off all regular-priced retail purchases when you present our VIP Guest Discount Card to them at the time of purchase.

Skiing Colorado vs Skiing in the East

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Chris

VS

Skiing back on the East Coast vs skiing in Colorado out West?? Is there even a comparison? I found an article on CBS website about skiing back East vs skiing in the West and I thought it would be a good piece for the Winter Park Lodging Company blog. I have never skied back East but Sarah, my lovely wife, grew up right by Seven Springs back in Pennsylvania and she tells me it is not a place that you would want to ski after skiing in Colorado. The problem as Sarah tells it is that back East you are basically skiing ice with some crust on top and it is not uncommon for it to rain when skiing. That does not sound to thrilling to me.

We here at Winter Park have some bone chilling weather at times but it is always a dry cold. -5F, no problem, put on an extra layer and the skiing is great with all the snow we get here. Our coldest days seem to be when the skies are blue so by afternoon the sun has warmed everything up.

Winter Park is mentioned in the CBS article and here is what they have to say:

“The moguls are much bigger and, perhaps more importantly, softer, in the West. The Mary Jane section of Winter Park, Colo., is known for moguls sometimes referred to as ‘VW Beetles’.”

I know quite a few people who have learned to ski back East at resorts such as Killington, Mt. Snow, Sunday River and Waterville. All those, that I know, are very good skiers. Is it that the treacherous ice and extreme adverse conditions teach skiers a different way?

The differences between skiing in the East and West are significant and many: altitude, acreage, snow and weather are all different, starkly so at times.

The bottom line is, get out here to Colorado to come ski some snow. Not ice, not rocks and not dirt but Gods’ own powdery white fluffy snow that we get a ton of here in Winter Park, Colorado.

Winter Park Resort Skiing

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Chris

Snow on the Winter Park trees

What are your top five Colorado Ski Resorts?

I was doing some online searches about Winter Park Resort the other day and I came across an article by Ski Magazine in their Where Now column. Pretty good article with some definite truths about skiing up here in Winter Park. You can see the Ski Magazine article here.

Yes we here in Winter Park ski bumps, bumps and more bumps. But when a 42 year olds knees have had enough we head for the hidden stashes of powder that are secreted all though the Winter Park and Mary Jane area. If you know where to look there is almost always fresh powder. See Buckaroo trees, the gladed out area in Vasquez Ridge that is a definite locals only find even though it can be seen from one Winter Parks major lifts.

Great that Ski Magazine is doing a highlight of the skiing in Winter Park. I have skied almost every one of Colorado’s ski resorts multiple times and Winter Park is definitely in the top three in terms of terrain and an enjoyable mountain to ski. As I have said in past blogs if you are looking for disco bars, salt water taffy stores and fur coat retailers you are going to be disappointed. But if you like to ski and I mean ski then there is maybe one or two resorts in Colorado that are in the same category as Winter Park/Mary Jane. The bumps here in Winter Park as the Ski Magazine article states are the best in USA. The powder and amount of snowfall here is the most of all Colorado destination resorts. If you want to get lost and not see many people that is a cinch over at Mary Jane.

Anywho, I will stop beating the proverbial Winter Park chest. So lets have a bit of discussion and see what Y’all’s five favorite Colorado resorts are to ski. Here are my top five.

Winter Park Ski Resort
Telluride Ski Resort
Steamboat Springs Ski Resort
Aspen Snowmass
Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Put your top five Colorado Ski Resorts in the comments below and we will do a random drawing for a free dinner at Winter Park Villages own Cheeky Monk. Lets say the contest will end in December 1st, 2009. Drawing will soon follow.