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Winter
Park Aspen/Snowmass Ski
Town USA (Steamboat)
Part
1 - Winter Park
"Dangle did inquire that if he were
to find a willing companion, would he qualify for the Mile
High Club, the Doc and Snowflake just smiled and nodded while
the Buffalo ignored his plea"
 Wizards,
Winds, Thunder and Champagne are probably words that will
remind our Colorado travellers of their fabulous road trip.
With the snow falling quicker than the Dollar, it was time
for the Jolly Boyz - Snowflake, Dangle and The Doc to hit
the slopes. The notable exception was Crash Bandi Coll. We
knew the trip would not be the same without his spectacular
wipe-outs, indulging evening conversations and overall boyish
charm, but we decided to press on regardless. The Doc and
Snowflake started the trip with a Full English courtesy of
Manchester Airports catering department. Dangle opted for
a Straight water (no ice) and a health bar made up of berry's
and bran as he planned to stay in shape for the duration,
little did he know what lay ahead ? In the meantime BMI and
United readied themselves to play hosts for the flight to
Denver via Chicago.
 After
an on time departure from Manchester we arrived in Chicago
some 8 hours later to be greeted with light snow and significantly
lower temperatures.... a theme that continued throughout the
holiday. After the usual queue in US Immigration, the chaos
of the case re-check and the dash from the international to
domestic terminals, we had the luxury of a 50 minute delay
in the Chicago/Denver sector. This was attributed to the fact
that we had to wait to be de-iced. On arrival into Denver
our Colorado Steed (mid sized car), was collected and the
Doc proceeded to strap on the skis and boards, whilst Dangle
and Snowflake loaded the remainder of the luggage into the
trunk (American lingo). We left the Mile High City and hit
Interstate 70 West for the remainder of the 75 minute journey
which would take us to our first destination...... Winter
Park. Dangle did inquire that if he were to find a willing
companion, would he qualify for the Mile High Club, the Doc
and Snowflake just smiled and nodded while the Buffalo ignored
his plea.
The Beaver Village Lodge situated on Highway 40 provided us
with our accommodation for the first 5 nights, Dangle and
Snowflake quickly opted for the Family room leaving the Doc
to fend for himself in the Main bedroom. The decision was
based on advice from the Doc's own Mrs Fumble refering to
the ' Thunder' that the Doc would create once he starts to
get some ZZZZ's.... how right she was. We were greeted on
our first morning at the Beaver Village Lodge with a fabulous
breakfast, the notable items being the bacon, sausage and
my particular favourite the pancakes and maple syrup. Dangle
was having some problems which were duly blamed on the Pizza
Dough from the previous evening. The excellent breakfasts
did continue through the remained or our stay at the Beaver
Village Lodge as did Dangles Pizza problems.
In true form, a plan of attack was agreed for the navigation
of the piste maps, with the general rule of 'we are going
to ski every run' being our guiding principle. Day 1 we decided
to take it easy by enjoying a few greens to get our ski legs
back.... this didn't last more than 1 run as we went off in
search of steeper and deeper. For the remainder of the day
we skied the runs around the Olympia and Pioneer Express chairs.
 Evening
meal was included so we decided to give it a go....... not
bad at all was the general feeling. The buffet approach enabling
us to sample a bit of everything. During our first evening
meal we were joined by a Welshman, Peter, who became affectionately
known as the Welsh Wizard. This copper from Cardiff was on
his first ski trip and travelling alone so he was happy to
tag along at meal times and for after dinner aperitifs. He
soon became comfortable with our company as he exchanged pleasantries
with Dangle. The Wizard seemed to have been everywhere and
done everything including lots of Mountain biking and white
water rafting. He and Dangle did exchange stories of pot-holing
and affectionately compared the size of some of the holes
that each had managed to get into?!
We utilised the frequent free bus service (every 10 mins)
which stopped outside our hotel to the ski area every morning
which was about 6-7 mins away. For the remainder of the 4
days skiing in Winter Park, we managed to hit 85% of the listed
runs and a few that weren't. The queues were nonexistent and
the slopes largely empty once the Denver Ski train had cleared
out the Sunday crowd. The Doc continued to develop his ski
skills throughout the time especially as he had his own 2
private tutors.... me thinks Mrs Fumble will be surprised.
Winter Park did not really see the Ker-ching of Dangle or
the Doc's spending power, Snowflake was under strong instructions
not to spend from La La, however this was soon to change as
the glitz and glamour of Aspen/Snowmass was on the horizon.
The Doc did purchase the obligatory Fridge Magnet, Baseball
Cap and Sticker and Dangle started his hat collection with
a rather nice black and red Spider hat (just happens to match
Snowflakes red jacket).
In summary Winter Park was a great place to ski, with its
uncrowded slopes and excellent lift system.... not sure how
they made any money mid-week. The town itself was strung out
along highway 40 for a 2-mile stretch rather than having a
concentrated centre. Would I go back, yes but not for a few
years as there are lots of other places I would like to visit
before.
Part
2 - Aspen/Snowmass
"Snowflake
decided it was time to put the Doc in his place and upped
the stakes to the double black diamond runs....."
 5:00am
and the alarm went off, Dangle sprang to his feet (as he did
every morning) and proceeded to do SnowFlakes and The Doc's
exercises. The latter two opting to watch the early morning
activities from a horizontal position.
With the car loaded and equipment once again strapped down
we hit Highway 40 Southbound for Interstate 70 and the glitz
and glamour of Aspen/Snowmass. The snow was coming down heavy
so we were in for an interesting drive. We spent the next
hour first climbing and then descending the local pass at
a 15mph pace. This was due in main, to the layer of snow that
covered the entire road, the sharp bends and the dark of the
early morning. By the time we were well into our descent we
passed the snowplough clearing the road for the uphill traffic.
We stopped in Vail for breakfast, but unfortunately the surroundings
surpassed the venue, McDonalds was our only option as everywhere
else on route seemed to be closed pre 7:30am. Not wanting
to eat into the hours of the days lift pass, we opted to force
down the breakfast McMuffin or whatever else it was! Apart
from the 12-15 mile drive through Glenwood Canyon (Even the
Doc and Snowflake were impressed with the local rock formations)
the rest of the journey was quite.... apart from the odd rumble
of thunder from the two passengers. Surely the Pizza was not
still affecting Dangle?
We finally rolled into Snowmass some 3hr 30mins after departure.
Once we had unloaded the car we proceeded to give the existing
residence of the Stonebridge hotel a glimpse of some fine
English physiques, as we stripped down to our thermal underwear
before donning our ski jacket and salopets. With the sound
of hysterical laughter still ringing in our ears, we set off
on the brief 5 min walk (uphill) to the lift ticket office
where our passes awaited.
Almost quicker than Dangle can process food, we were once
again clipping into our ski's ready to attack a whole new
area. Quick review of the piste map and we were off. As we
only had 3 days in the area we decided to spend day 1 and
3 at Snowmass which was by far the biggest area (3000+ acres)
and day 2 at one of the other Aspen resorts. For the remainder
of the day we spent most of our time on the Elk Camp and Naked
Lady chairs (I resisted the opportunity to put in a smart
remark at this point about Dangle and a Naked Lady).
 As
this was to be our shortest stay in a location, we had agreed
to digs with a rollout bed. Lots were drawn and Dangle lost,
the rest is history! For our evening we opted to take the
$3 and 11 mile round trip to Aspen on the local bus service.
There was a mixed crowd on the bus including boarders, locals,
workers and Fur coat owners! 20-25 mins later and we were
deposited in Aspen centre. So without further a do we hit
the shops, Snowflake maintaining his spending embargo while
Dangle got the biggest Ker-Ching of the evening purchasing
not 1, but 2 new hats. Now the gloves were off and the Doc
replied with a fridge magnet, baseball cap, resort sticker,
t-shirt, kiddies outfit and cuddly toy! Not to be out gunned
Dangle replied with a quick purchase of a rather fine Spider
jacket .......... that should have been mine - Snowflake.
Next stop was something to eat at a rather fine Italian restaurant,
despite the location (Aspen) the price was quite affordable
(once Dangle had finished the washing up). Fur coats were
in evidence for both Male and Females, we have the evidence
on video if proof is required.
Friday started with the free and rather nice breakfast in
the Stonebridge hotel, which incidentally comes highly recommended!
The hotel then provided us with a free ride up to the bus
station were we took the free ski bus over to Aspen again
so we could hit the Aspen mountain. The sun was shining and
this nicely highlighted some of the finger rocks that were
on display as well as some of the rhinestone studded hats....SWEET
!
The mountain was only 1000 acres in size but would easily
keep most skiers busy for 3 days. We took the Silver Queen
gondola to the top and spent the day riding the Ajax Express
and Ruthies chairs, the latter of the two in memory of an
absent friend. At best we only managed to cover 12-14 runs.
Late morning Dangle and Snowflake decided it was time to put
the Doc in his place and upped the stakes to the double black
diamond runs..... exit the Doc stage left! Dangle did take
some video footage as we made our descents.... suffice to
say the language was rather colourful as we considered the
gradients involved.
By this time in the road trip, the knees were starting to
signal the first signs of pain so we hot footed it to the
hotels rather large hot tub.....nice. The Doc and Snowflake
relaxed in the outdoor tub as Dangle proceeded try and drown
in the sink ..... sorry .... heated outdoor pool. With Mussels
relaxed it was time to hit the town of Snowmass. The village
was centred around a reasonable sized shopping mall consisting
of shops, restaurants and bars. Pre-dinner Dangle did get
tempted with a Ski-instructor style Spider jacket which would
have complimented his first hat purchase. Rather nice but
with an equally nice price tag...... Dangle resisted. Mexican
was the order of the day so we did the honourable thing and
feasted on the local cuisine... toasting absent friends! That
evening the weather forecast put out a warning for Strong
Winds and Thunder in the Snowmass area....... Dangle and the
Doc did not disappoint.
After the usual rather nice breakfast we opted to go back
to Snowmass to ski, this time avoiding the uphill climb by
skiing down to the lift. By this time the snow was coming
down heavy so the resort took on a whole new look and the
Powder started to gather. We attacked part of the mountain
not previously touched earlier in the week and made a reasonable
attempt to make an indent into the piste map. Dangles particular
favourite been the runs around Fanny Hill. It was his first
time and consequently all over in 3 minutes.
The final tasks of the day, before hitting the road, was to
pack the car and negotiate the now 12 inches of fresh stuff
that had covered the carpark. We made the mistake of thinking
the roads were clear as although there was a foot of fresh
stuff everywhere else the roads had not even a covering. This
was to quickly change as we left Aspen/Snowmass and the under
road heating finished!
Aspen/Snowmass will definitely be high on the list of places
to revisit in a few years time. Snowmass was by far the best
skiing but lacked a little in places to eat & drink. On
the flip side Aspen made up for this in choice but was a little
more on the expensive side...... If you do go don't forget
your fur coat we did look like the poor relations in our ski
wear !
Part
3 - Ski Town USA (Steamboat)
"We
headed straight for the Gondola which would whisk us up to
the mid-mountain area and some 3000+acres of skiable terrain."
 We
traced our steps back from Snowmass back to Glenwood Springs
and back onto Highway 70. Some 30 minutes later we left the
sophistication of the highway and headed North along a twisted,
narrow snow covered 'track'. This wind swept track taking
us the best part of 2 hours to drive the 74 miles before rolling
into Steamboat. With the exception of the cars we encountered
that had slid off the road into ditches and the odd buzzard
eating an animal that had got a little too close to an earlier
vehicle, the journey was uneventful.
We checked into our hotel for the week, the Rabbits Inn, which
was situated on the edge of downtown. The rather large rabbit
in pink and lime green florescent tubing outside the hotel
sent a shiver down our spine..... what would the room be like
? Well minutes later we found out.... a typical US hotel room
with extra beds for larger groups. The room was spacious,
the TV had lots of choice including the now favourites (SPIKE
TV and MTV) and the extract unit in the bathroom was of industrial
strength. The latter being a sigh of relief for Dangle and
Snowflake.
The downtown area, where we were located, was 2-3 miles from
the ski area and Skitime square and was served by a great
free bus service that ran every 10 mins stopping right outside
our hotel. Downtown was basically a main street, a la cowboy
style, that ran through the centre of town for a couple of
miles. Either side of the major highway was an abundance of
bars, restaurants, shops etc... enough to keep the shoppers
among us happy.
A quick wash and brush-up and we were stepping out down Main
street to check out the dining options. Snowflake and the
Doc had desires on chicken wings so after a few directions
from the hotels reception we found ourselves in the Tap Sports
bar. Surrounded by loads of TV screens all showing American
sport at its best (NOT) we spied a familiar site....Football
(AKA Soccer) on one of the TV's. 5 mins later after Dangle
had chatted up the waiter (Bernard), the English Premiership
highlights from the day were on the largest screen in the
house....Result. We watched the days games unfold as we chomped
away on our 'Extreme Wings', Dangle opting not to participate
as The Doc and Snowflake indulged.... Could the thunder have
followed us to our next destination ?
Next morning we headed for our free breakfast which consisted
of fresh coffee, juice, cereal and some rather nice fruit
bread. The sun was shining as we jumped on the next bus. As
per usual our lift tickets awaited us at the ticket office,
quick change, locker located and we were 'Good to go'. We
headed straight for the Gondola which would whisk us up to
the mid-mountain area and some 3000+acres of skiable terrain.
The first day we centred our attentions around the zzz chair
and proceeded to ski all the runs from the top. The sun was
shining and the area had recently received a couple of inches
of fresh so it was a perfect day for skiing. We opted to get
our 'official' photo taken by the sharp shooters as the rest
of the weeks weather may not be as good....what a wise decision
this turned out to be. After a brief stop for lunch we continued
skiing the runs around the zzz chair.
 That
evening as we left the restaurant, leaving the rest of the
US watching Janet Jackson seek some publicity for her flagging
career, we were greeted by some gentle snowflakes falling
from a cloud covered sky. That was the last we saw of a clear
sky until we were to leave the valley area the following Friday.
By the time we had walked back the half mile to the hotel
Dangle was sufficiently covered in snow to be offered a pipe,
scarf, carrot and several pieces of coal as buttons, mouth
and eyes.
The following morning the snow continued to fall and as it
was Monday the 'Saturday Sundayers' had returned to work so
the team made the best use of even less crowded slopes for
a full days enjoyment. The second day in Steamboat saw us
ski every run and a few that were not listed from the top
of the Sunshine chair. Close of play and Dangle's wallet was
starting to jingle, quicker than you could say Ker-Ching he
was in for another purchase. This time a rather fine fur coat.....
sorry Spider jacket...... and a rather fine one it is indeed.
So Dangle was now equipped with a Ferrari red spider jacket,
ski instructor style, in a small size although the Doc and
SnowFlake did try to convince him that Large was a better
fit (working on the principle that Dangle was muting retirement).
Monday evening and we hit Downtown again this time taking
in some American Bistro.
Tuesday and the snow was still falling, almost up to Dangles
Knees ( 6 inches ) as he stepped out onto the slope in his
Dartanion (3-Musketeers) coloured jacket. The Doc and Snowflake
duly took their places behind the instructor and proceeded
to follow in his tracks. The $600 investment was worthwhile
as Dangle did step up a noticeable notch or two. The days
activities did hit a lighter note when SnowFlake fell for
no apparent reason on a very slight slope at a very slow speed,
Dangle and the Doc did take delight in this much to SnowFlake's
bemusement. Another night and again Downtown was the recipient
of our hard earned cash with SnowFlake chancing his arm in
the Chinese.... with no adverse effects. Wednesday and even
more snow (now up to Dangles $700 Spider jacket). This was
the day that the Doc made a major decision, to come out of
the closet...... sorry typo the BOARD was coming out of the
closet. We spent the day making our best attempts to re-create
scenes from the Warren Miller movies as we played in the powder.
Throughout the day the snow kept on coming and our confidence
in the deep white stuff increased.
Thursday saw more of the same, but the Doc and SnowFlake became
more worried for Dangle as the snow was now starting to cover
Dangles $800 Spider Jacket. We spent the morning hiking up
and to the further reaches of the piste map and into the Double
Black Diamonds around the Christmas Tree bowl. Dangle looking
the part as we crashed through the powder in his $900 jacket
with The Doc in hot pursuit on the board. By the end of the
day Dangle was fit for nothing, he looked to be in a sorry
state as he boarded the Gondola to take the ride down to the
base. The Doc and SnowFlake, who were obviously in much better
shape, made their way down the mountain using more conventional
methods ... ie ski's and board. As Dangle emerged from the
Gondola, sporting his $1000 jacket, the moment was captured
on film for posterity (and this web site). As we sat in the
locker room Dangle made the announcement that his skiing days
were over...... The Doc and SnowFlake jumped in, in an attempt
to prize the $1100 jacket from his back, a nearby pixi tried
to prize Dangles boots off..... but not before Dangle could
complete his little speech. It turned out that it was only
for the holiday!
Our last night in town took us to a Mexican establishment
where we were served with the now expected supersize portions.
A couple of Corona's (with lime) on route back to the hotel
to pack for the last time. We had decided to make a run for
Denver, well at least the outlets at Silverthorn, at close
of play Friday due to the continuing bad weather. Our biggest
fear was that we may get stuck in the valley due to the volume
of snow we were seeing.
 Friday
morning and we dined for the last time in the Rabbits Ears
breakfast bar. Soon after we were waved off by Dangle who
had once again set his sights on the shops of Steamboat...
Ker-Ching. The Doc and SnowFlake had also given him strict
instructions to clean the snow off the car prior to our departure.
The powder was still there in abundance as we found the white
stuff up to our thighs on a couple of occasions. A couple
more hikes up to more double diamond blacks, a few words Judith
Charmers style (wish you were here) for Dangle and we finished
the day with some powder runs on route back to the base area.
When we got back to the Rabbit, Dangle was still out shopping
and had done a miserable job of cleaning the car down, I guess
he didn't want to get his Santa Claus (whoops!) $1200 Spyder
jacket covered in snow. Upon his return Dangle produced an
abundance of extremely memorable merchandise and souvenirs
from his plassey shopping bags..... none of which I can remember.
We checked out and hit the snowy road to Silverthorne were
Dangle and the Doc had just one thing on their mind ....Ker-Ching
! The journey took us the best part of 2-hours as we made
our way slowly up the Rabbit Ears pass on snow covered roads.
Why we were the only people out who didn't have a large 4-wheel
drive vehicle, occasionally crossing our minds. As we left
the pass we caught a glance of something bright in the sky...
oh that must be the sun..... something we had not seen for
the week.
Steamboat was an excellent resort, which was helped by the
vast amounts of snow we received, in total we probably skied
90% of the resort in our 6-days. Would we go-back ? .....
yes..... but lets leave it a couple of years as there are
lots of other places to experience first.
On arrival we managed to get a nice (and cheap) motel for
the night in Silverthorne, only minutes from the outlets.
Dangle and the Doc did manage to inflict some damage to their
Plastic in Tommy but the damage was limited as the number
of shops had decreased dramatically from previous years. Dangle
did look a little relieved as his card had already taken a
hit with the $1500 Little Red Riding Hood (whoops did it again)
Spyder jacked. We finished the evening off with a visit to
a Micro Brewery and reminisced about highlights from the holiday.
Saturday morning we left for Denver airport at 8:15am and
had a very straight forward drive down the I4 in glorious
sunshine. We did note the traffic conditions heading upto
the mountains and in particular the 10-12 mile queue. If we
were to see Mr Headplant and possie in Chicago we could pass
on the latest traffic report!
The
journey home was a fairly low key event, mainly due to the
fact that we were all skied out......and No we didn't see
the Headplant possie in Chicago.
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Colorado
Road trip Jan/Feb 2004