Stargazing in Aspen
Favorite Nightspots are a Constellation of Stars During Aspen Winters Astronomically speaking, the Colorado high country is a great place for serious space cadets to watch meteor showers, satellites crossing the night sky, planets going retrograde or stars twinkling in galaxies far, far away. But for close encounters of a celebrity kind, stargazing in our resort villages, particularly Aspen, can be just as rewarding. Long known as a favorite playground of the rich and famous, Aspen has over the years provided residential refuge to a number of well-known personalities, including members of the Kennedy family, actors Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Angelica Huston, Sally Field, Kevin Costner, Robert Wagner and Jill St. John, Don Johnson, and Jack Nicholson. Singer Jimmy Buffett and members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band also hold locals' status. The list of frequent visitors runs the celebrity gamut, from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver to Paul Simon, Oprah, Paul Hogan, Calvin Klein and Bill Clinton. Just where might you rub elbows with these folks? Well, Aspen boasts several hotels, restaurants and nightspots that count not only film and rock stars among their guests, but also political powerhouses and sports giants. And, of course, you might just spot a prince or a Backstreet Boy on the slopes of Ajax Mountain or at Snowmass. One great place to start is the elegantly historic Hotel Jerome on Main Street, where Rosie O'Donnell, Christie Brinkley, Sylvester Stallone, David Spade, Johnny Depp, Steve Forbes, Stephen Stills, Eddie Van Halen (and Valerie Bertinelli), Donald Trump (and Whoever), Al and Tipper Gore, Lee Iaccoca, MTV's Kennedy, Matt Lauer and a few dozen more heavy hitters have stayed. Inside the Jerome, visit the Library and the J-Bar, picked by Playboy magazine as one of the best taverns in the country and headquarters for gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson when he ran for Pitkin County Sheriff. Thompson, by the way, can now usually be found at the Woody Creek Tavern just down the road. Another good bet for catching that glimpse of a celebrity is the St. Regis on Dean Street at the base of Ajax, where piano music tinkles in the lobby lounge and Whiskey Rocks nightclub dishes up live music. Word on the street is that the St. Regis is a favored rest stop for lots of big names when they're in town. Looking for the definitive in Aspen chic? It flows freely at East Durant Street's Little Nell, where Oprah has been sighted on several occasions. Wintertime is the best time to run into musicians who are in town for performances. Check out The Greenhouse bar, where you might catch sight of a famous face. Dances with Wolves? How about Shoots Pool with Sharks? Kevin Costner is somewhat of a regular at Eric's on Hyman Avenue, where there's a main bar with microbrews and imports on tap, a pool room (where Kev hangs) and a cigar bar that serves up primo cigars and yummy martinis in a comfortable setting. If it's rock 'n' roll you seek and those who make the magic, Club Chelsea on the Hyman Avenue Mall is your CD (Club Designee). Lots of Aspen locals (read: celebrities) drop in often, either as headliners or to sit in. And for more live rock ’n’ roll stars, hit The Double Diamond on Galena Street. Among those who played here early on in their careers are Sheryl Crow, Bruce Hornsby, Jimmy Buffett, Widespread Panic, Bonnie Raitt, Blues Traveler and Barenaked Ladies. Consider that your tip-off
Restaurants that draw celebrities include those at the Jerome and St. Regis, as well as Hannibal Brown's, where the cuisine is gourmet natural. And Kenichi sushi has served Chelsea Clinton, Clint Eastwood, Demi Moore and Dean Cain. For Mexican food and politico sightings, try the Cantina on Main Street, especially on election night. There's one more nightclub that must be mentioned, and that's the famed Caribou Club, a private place with no name on the door, but to which you can buy a weeklong membership. The bartender of the Collins Block (near the Wheeler Opera House) establishment makes it his business to learn your favorite drink — and remember it. The surroundings are absolutely remarkable, and the photo gallery on the website (www.caribouclub.com) tells the story of the club's guest list. Coffee houses such as Cafe Ink on Durant Street are good vantage points for people-watching, and if you down enough joe to float a battleship, your chances of spotting a celebrity increase. Health clubs and styling salons can be strategic locations, too. One Aspen local told us that her manicurist saw Meg Ryan, ball cap pulled low for that incognito effect, walking down the street and in dire need of having her nails done. If you book your trip to coincide with special events, you increase your odds of running into a famous face. The Aspen Film Fest in October is a surefire bet, and New Year's Eve at the St. Regis is fabled. The Wheeler Opera House hosts more than 300 events each year, including a tribute to the late John Denver that's attended by friends and family of the singer/songwriter/actor. Five-time World Cup champion Kiki Cutter's Spirit of Skiing event in late January is still another big celebrity draw, and, for the past eight years in late February, HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival has been held in Aspen. In addition to up-and-coming comedians, the festival showcases the talents of the country's best and brightest. Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Catherine O'Hara, Janeane Garafalo, Martin Mull, Fred Willard, Larry David, Albert Brooks, the guys of Monty Python, Rob Reiner, the Smothers Brothers, George Carlin, Mike Nichols, Elaine May and Martin Short have all been on the roster. Also, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening and program producers James L. Brooks and Mike Scully have attended. And, for the literati, there's the Aspen Writers' Foundation Winter Words, a reading/lecture series that's brought John Irving, Amy Tan, Peter Mathiessen, Spalding Gray and other renowned authors to town. So, now you know it's true: The stars really do shine just a bit more brightly in Aspen. And if you take a break from stargazing to look into the heavens above, you'll see they absolutely glitter over this famous Colorado resort town, too.. Kathleen Thomas is a freelance writer living in Hartsel, Colorado.

For Shaping Up or Chilling Out, Nothing Beats a Spa Experience
After conquering the longest, steepest and most technical ski runs, are you ready for a break from the slopes? Or are you perhaps looking for a completely different way to spend a day or a week during your winter vacation? Either way, think heavenly relaxation. Think total and complete rejuvenation of body and spirit. Think it sounds good? Think spa. As you consider a spa experience, you'll find plenty of choices throughout the winter resort regions. Virtually every area has a great selection of facilities for both men and women, ranging from day spas and hotel amenities to weeklong retreats. In Breckenridge, the Lodge and Spa at Breckenridge overlooks town on Boreas Pass Road. Partake of the athletic club and indoor pool, outdoor hot tubs, sauna and steam room and spend time with professional spa therapists trained in a variety of massage therapy techniques, manicures, waxing and facials. And this winter, East West Resort's Main Street Station at the southern end of Main Street will open its day spa. Blue Sage Spa(tel:970-453-7676) will be a 1,600-square-foot spa where patrons can indulge in a variety of specialized treatments, including couples massage, hydrotherapy, manicures, pedicures, facials, body wraps, waxing and "La Stone Therapy." Blue Sage will also offer treatments specifically designed for quicker sports recovery and high-altitude adjustment, oxygenating, detoxifying and hydrating the body. In Frisco you're well covered by Absolute Day Spa and Bodyworks, both on Main Street. Absolute offers massage therapy, microdermabrasion, clinical peels, mud wraps, chamomile body polishing, manicures, pedicures and the detoxifying European Kurs. At Bodyworks you can receive a hot stone massage, private steam bath, deep tissue massage, rain-drop therapy massage, facial, citrus sea-salt scrub, moisture wrap, acupuncture (traditional and "no needle"), chiropractic treatment and yoga. In Glenwood Springs, is Yampah Spa & Salon, the hot springs vapor caves where treatments also include mud and body wraps and full salon services. (Tel: 970-945-0667). Vail and Beaver Creek practically wrote the book on spas. At Vail Mountain Lodge and Spa, you'll be treated to the purifying Moor Remedy treatment (20,000-year-old mud is used) and the shirodhara head, face and scalp oil rub. An inclusive package features a guided snowshoe or cross-country ski tour prior to your treatment. (Tel: 970-476-0700 or VailMountainLodge-Spa.com) At Vail Cascade Resort's Aria Spa & Club you can get your motor running with aerobics or relax to a hot stone massage or herbal wrap. Another tempting treatment is the Vail Mountain Purifying Wrap with botanical Colorado mud. (Tel: 888-824-5772 or www.VailCascade.com)
Gorgeous Cordillera Lodge and Spa in Edwards (Vail Valley) presents a wide variety of massage, craniosacral, polarity, acupuncture, aromatherapy and hydrotherapy sessions, as well as skin treatments. Cordillera also has fine workout equipment, and its series of wellness programs will help you not only to attain but also to retain your fitness. Sonnenalp Spa in Vail customizes your visit for optimum benefit, and reflexology, neuromuscular, cranial sacral, polarity and prenatal massage therapists are available. Body treatments include Anti-Stress Aromatherapy and Firming Seaweed Treatment. Relax and tone with yoga or sign-on with a personal trainer at Sonnenalp. Multi-day spa experiences are available as well. The beautiful Allegria Spa at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa is known for its getaway packages, among which is the intriguingly named Skier's Rescue. For two hours you can forget the pounding you took on the slopes with an après-ski massage, foot reflexology and a refresher facial. Allegria also features individual fitness programs for women only, with focus on conditioning and nutrition. (Tel: 970-949-1234 or www. beavercreek.hyatt.com) Still in the Vail Valley (what did we tell you?), the Charter at Beaver Creek has a 17,000-square-foot spa and health club with massage, aromatherapy, facial, hair and nail treatments. Great exercise equipment, a 20-meter pool, free weights, saunas and steam rooms await. On to Aspen, where being beautiful and fit is almost a requisite. Given the number of spas in this wonderful little town, your chances of finding the perfect one for you are even better. The Little Nell, where celebrities sweat just like normal folk, has a full exercise room, a heated outdoor pool and Jacuzzi and a stunning garden setting. There are private massage rooms, a steam room, cardio theater (we presume this does not imply surgery) and personal trainers. Remember, Oprah is partial to The Little Nell. Ayurvedic tea served to you as you recline in a pillow chair starts the unwinding process at the Aspen Club near downtown, where fitness, adventure and pampering are given equal billing. Whirlpools, steam rooms, sauna, mind/body classes, massage, sports medicine, swimming, tennis and great food are part and parcel of this spa experience. One of the most unique spas is Global Fitness Adventures in Aspen, where you begin your day with yoga and then set out on an invigorating hike. Upon your return, you soak in a rock Jacuzzi, give in to a fabulous massage and then enjoy a healthy meal. Depending on the package you choose, you can also enjoy white-water rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, Tai Chi, fishing, golf, hot-air ballooning and hang-gliding. Beauty treatments are an option as well. And last but far from least is the spa at Aspen's glamorous St. Regis Hotel. Choose from several massage techniques and be pampered with a facial and manicure/pedicure. You can even go for the poolside massage in a private tent or avail yourself of the fully equipped fitness center and health club. If your major muscle groups have suddenly begun urging you to make an appointment at one of these bastions of pampering, remember this: Wherever you are in the Colorado Rockies, the promise of complete relaxation and rejuvenation is only a call away. Now, isn't that a nice thought? Kathleen Thomas is a freelance writer living in Hartsel, Colorado.

Before You Hit The Slopes – Preparing for Your Ski Vacation
Sure, it would be great to spend a couple of days researching your ski trip on the Internet, chatting with a travel agent and setting out a whole itinerary of what to do and where to ski while you’re in Colorado. But if you have that kind of time, you ought to be spending it skiing, not thinking about skiing. So even if you find yourself in the middle of your resort destination with no car, no skis and no gear, don’t worry. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a long-time veteran, last-minute plans won’t leave you stuck in the lodge while everyone else is on the powder. No car? You don’t need one. Colorado’s ski towns are wonderfully walkable, whether you’re in an old mining town like Breckenridge, or a relatively young ski village like Vail. If you want to sample a couple of different resorts — say to compare the powder at Aspen and Snowmass Village, or to try both Copper Mountain and Keystone — you’ll find the local buses and shuttles both free and convenient, and less of a hassle than worrying about finding a parking spot. Here for five days? Try five different pairs of skis. No skis? No worries. Resorts abound with ski shops eager to rent equipment for every skill level. In fact, says Jodi Straugh, president of Lynx Ski & Golf Vacations in Denver, you might be better off with rentals. “With the advent of new ski equipment, which just happened really in the last five years, it’s more fun to try this new equipment,” she says. If you’re used to straight skis, sampling the latest in shaped skis can make skiing feel like a whole new sport. The gentle curves at the front and back of the ski give you a big boost of control through your turns. If you’re an average skier, gliding through powder on shaped skis can make you feel like a superstar. If you’re an expert, they can make you feel like a Norse god. For some visitors, Straugh says, part of the fun of the vacation can be trying out this new equipment. Here for five days? Try five different pairs of skis. Or take the opportunity to find out what all the snowboarding fuss is about. No gear? No fear. Of course, ski towns are filled with shops eager to sell the latest in skiwear. For lots of visitors, that’s part of the fun, too, but it’s not your only choice. Many resorts have shops that rent ski clothes — from gloves to parkas. So if that down jacket won’t do you much good back in Florida, or your other glove is waiting for you back in Chicago, consider renting what you need, then leave it here and save the room in your luggage. Some shops will even deliver right to your room. Wherever your gear comes from, choose carefully. One of skiing’s biggest challenges is figuring out what to wear. It’s not just the slope-side fashion police. Colorado weather is hard to predict, except that it’s unpredictable. You might be shivering in a blizzard one minute, sweating in the sun the next. Blue skies in the morning could mean gray skies by afternoon. That means preparing for whatever Mother Nature throws at you. And that means dressing in layers. “During the winter months, temperatures can fluctuate drastically,” says Chris Fauce, at the Lodge at Lionshead in Vail. “Thirty degrees on a sunny day can feel like 80. Fifty degrees on a cloudy day can feel colder than it is.” The good news is that if you don’t have a Billy Bogner designer one-piece, you don’t need one. On most days, Fauce says, if you’ve got a warm layer of fleece over a set of good long underwear, add a powder jacket and pants to keep off the snow and you’re good to go.
Goggles are a good idea, too. On sunny days, they’ll cut down on the brutal glare shining from above and below. On blustery days, they’ll help block out the wind. And remember, thanks to the thin mountain air and all that white stuff on the ground, sunburn can be a problem even on the coldest winter day, so be sure to put on plenty of sunscreen. While you’re strapping on gear, consider adding a helmet to the list. It used to be that only 7-year-olds setting off sonic booms as they barreled down the mountain wore helmets. These days, more and more adults are catching on, too. Even if you don’t ski like a bat out of hell, just knowing that someone else on the mountain does is reason enough to put one on. Expert skiers who love carving turns through the trees are strapping them on, too. Consider every stately aspen and spruce that breezes by another reason to protect your head. “All the ski rental shops that we work with have helmets either for rent or complimentary,” Straugh says. “You know, you wouldn’t ride a bike for a full day without a helmet. Why would you ski for a full day without a helmet?” Got your gear? You’re ready to ski. But take it easy. Remember, Denver’s a mile high and it’s at the bottom of the mountains. Altitude can affect everybody differently, and it can affect the same person differently at various times. Patsy Pelaia, concierge at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, always tells her guests to pace themselves on their first day and save the more aggressive skiing for later in the trip. Hold off on the aggressive partying, too. “We tell them to drink as many fluids as possible,” she says. “Not alcoholic.” No matter how long you’ve been skiing, it’s a good idea to take lessons and get your ski legs back. If this is your first time, learning from an instructor can make a world of difference. Remember, you have some of the world’s best ski instructors here, so you might as well take advantage of them. For beginners, lessons can be crucial to launching a happy ski hobby. Advanced skiers can use lessons to push them to the next level. For expert skiers, special clinics in bumps, steeps and powder can help them master the extremes. “We tend to recommend private lessons as opposed to group lessons for the more advanced skiers,” says Mike Noha, at Centennial Lodge in Beaver Creek Resort. “I think you get more in tune. You can handpick an instructor more attuned to your level.” If you’re skiing in Aspen, Pelaia recommends taking advantage of the Aspen Skiing Co.’s ambassador program. At no cost, handpicked ambassadors will take visitors for a tour of the mountain, showing them the places that mesh best with their ability levels. It sure beats wrestling with a trail map on the lift. No matter what resort you go to, you’ll find terrain that suits your needs, but some places fit better than others. If you’re skiing at Keystone, expect lots of terrain and lots of company. Copper Mountain and Breckenridge offer prime skiing, and are a bit more intimate. Vail is simply vast, with lots of terrain for all ability levels. Nearby Beaver Creek is smaller, but more family-oriented, with varied runs and shorter lift lines. Aspen has four mountains to sample. Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands appeal mostly to experts. Beginners lean toward Buttermilk. Snowmass Village offers a banquet of cruisers, plus the daunting Hanging Valley Wall and the Cirque for experts, and lots of terrain meant just for kids. Confused? If your lodge has a concierge, ask for specific recommendations about where to ski and things to do. Chances are, they’ve all sampled more than good taste would allow them to share. But the most important part of your vacation is having fun. The only real secret to skiing is pointing your boards downhill and enjoying the ride. David M. Frey is a freelance writer in Carbondale, Colorado. His work has appeared in various newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Denver Post and American Profile. Lynx Ski & Golf Vacations books getaways throughout the American West, Canada and Europe. To contact them, call 800-422-5969, or visit their website at www.lynxskivacations.com.

Showtime Dazzles the Rockies
BRAVO! Vilar Center for the Arts and The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Vilar Pavilion When Alberto Vilar first visited the Vail Valley in 1988, he was immediately smitten with its drop-dead beauty, bitten hard by the skiing bug, and soon written into the roster of Beaver Creek residents. But for this Cuban-born investment businessman and aficionado of the arts, something in his adopted home was missing: a year-round venue for cultural and performing arts. Working with the Beaver Creek Arts Foundation, it didn't take long until the Vilar Center for the Performing Arts became a reality. The center opened in February of 1998. With its debut, Beaver Creek became the first mountain resort community in the world to maintain its own performing arts facility and present an annual series of diversified, cultural events. Though partly financed by donations from Vail Valley residents, Vilar became the naming patron both for his contributions and his passion for performing arts. "Culture enriches our life," said Vilar, "What would life be without Mozart, as the saying goes." On opening night, violinists Ida and Ani Kavafian played with the Santa Fe ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Their performance set the standard for the venue, as well as setting the stage for things to come. Since then, the Vilar Center has hosted acclaimed artists in classical music concerts, jazz, dance, opera, film, musicals, comedy and dramatic presentations, all of the caliber you're accustomed to seeing at Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Certainly, you wouldn't expect to find such world-class performers in a theater just steps away from ski lifts, and definitely not in a venue hidden beneath a skating rink. The Venue Deep within the resort's Market Square Building sits an exquisite theater — intimate, luxurious, welcoming, and burnished by the warmth of natural wood. Inspired by the design of Littman's Kunstler, a turn-of-the-century theater landmark in Munich, the Vilar Center recalls the classic architecture of grand European halls, with a horseshoe-shaped auditorium and imposing ceilings and columns that envelop the visitor in splendor. Yet despite such magnificence, the theater is surprisingly intimate, offering just 530 seats, each with an unobstructed view of the stage from orchestra, parterre, balcony and box seats. The theater's meticulous design also assures acoustics of absolute perfection. The facility’s rich design continues into the lower lobby, where carpets and fabrics are decked out in autumnal colors and accented by natural wood and stone. A stunning wall of glass is engraved with the names of patrons and beautifully detailed etchings of aspen groves and wildlife. Meanwhile, the muted tones of the lobby walls recall the color of the sky at dusk to harmonize with the Rocky Mountain environment surrounding them. Kudos for the theater design go to two architectural giants: Hardy Hotzman Pfeiffer & Associates of Los Angeles, whose theater accomplishments include the Minneapolis Orchestra Hall, Denver's Boettcher Hall and the performing arts centers in Anchorage, Alaska and Eugene, Oregon; and Pierce Segerberg & Associates of Vail and Denver, who take credit for the designs of the Sonnenalp Hotel in Vail and the Chateau, Pines and Greystone landmarks in Beaver Creek. Like the Vilar Center, each incorporates regional imagery. The May Gallery lies off the upper lobby of the Vilar Center, a patrons' lounge resplendent with velvet couches, cloth walls and a grand piano. Designed by Savage & Associates of Encino, California, the gallery showcases art collections on loan from Beaver Creek residents, as well as antique architectural drawings on permanent loan from Peter and Leni May.
The Performers Over the past three years, performers at the Vilar Center have offered a dazzling diversity of entertainment. From the People's Republic of China, the Peking Opera enthralled audiences with song, dance, juggling, sword-throwing and amazing acrobatics. The Capitol Steps, those witty, political satirists, poked fun at the serious issues in Washington. Ballet Folklorico-Quetzalli de Veracruz brought colorful dances of Mexico to the stage. Oscar-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch, classical flutist Eugenia Zukerman, the Lakota Sioux Indians dance troupe, and comedian Steven Wright were some of the headliners who’ve filled the Vilar Center. For a complete calendar of performances call (970) 845-TIXS or 888-920-ARTS or visit www.vvf.org. The Future Because Alberto Vilar was discouraged as a youth to pursue his study of the violin, one of his goals is to make cultural arts available to the children and students of Eagle County and the surrounding area in Colorado. "The Vilar Center should become the cultural lightning rod for the valley, especially its youth. I cannot impress enough how important it is to expose young people to the performing arts early in their lives,” Vilar declares. “This is when many are open to new experiences, and this cultural exposure could very well enrich the rest of their lives." The Gerald R. Ford AmphithEA-ter Vilar Pavilion Since President and Mrs. Gerald Ford adopted the Vail Valley as their second home in the 1980s, their significant contributions of time and effort toward the area's growth were acknowledged with the naming of two of Vail's landmarks, The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. Both are summertime legends, attracting visitors to a most extraordinary array of high altitude flowers and to performances of dance, ballet, classical and popular music. During the past year, Alberto Vilar added his name to Vail's premier summer entertainment venue. The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Vilar Pavilion is a reconstructed and expanded version of its former self. The popularity of its offerings demanded an upgrade to the already outstanding amphitheater. As in past years, music and dance devotees will enjoy a summer filled with a diverse menu of entertainment. Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival presents the compelling sounds of chamber, orchestra and jazz during its 15th season next summer. The 14th Vail International Dance Festival electrifies August with creative and innovative dance companies performing in a wildflower-encircled setting as beautiful as dance itself. Hot Summer Nights gives popular music lovers a treat: Each Tuesday evening in June and July, guests can rock to a free concert in the famed amphitheater. If this whets your appetite for a summer visit, call 888-VVF-VAIL, or visit vvf.org for information and a calendar of summer performances. Lillian Ross writes regular travel columns for the Denver Rocky Mountain News, edits Colorado travel planners, and writes articles for Colorado-based feature magazines, including Vail Valley Golf.

The Thrill of Dogsledding
“Have you ever stood where the silences brood And the vast horizons begin, At the dawn of the day to behold far away The goal you would strive for and win? Yet ah! In the night when you gain to the height, With the vast pool of heaven star-spawned, Afar and agleam like a valley of dream, Still mocks you a Land of Beyond.” —Robert Service, from The Land of Beyond "The dogs and the driver become one and work as a team." Riding a dogsled at Dan MacEachan’s Krabloonik ranch is not exactly like the Alaskan exploration experience Robert Service describes in The Land of Beyond, but it might be the next closest thing in the Lower 48. In fact, MacEachan has brought to Snowmass years of passion and experience in the dogsledding business gained from Alaska’s “last great race,” the famed Iditarod, which MacEachan and his Krabloonik dogs regularly compete in. Dogsledding is both a sport and an art form. It embodies a spirit of adventure and exploration and a tenacity and persistence against the elements. It requires strength, training, dedication and stamina, not only on the part of the dogs — who work and perform their tasks like Olympic athletes — but on the part of the musher, or driver, as well. “The experience of driving a sled team is a physical, mental, and emotional one beyond anything I know,” MacEachan writes about his work. “The dogs and the driver become one and work as a team.” When you visit Krabloonik, or any of the other dogsledding operators in the area, you experience a sampling of that teamwork, and a taste of what it would be like to race across the Arctic powered by well-bred animals alone. A two-hour tour, costing about $150, will not only be a memorable adventure, but also impart a bit of awe and respect for those, like MacEachan, who take the sport to its highest level — the Iditarod. That race follows a 1,200-mile path from Anchorage to Nome and from the high peaks of the Alaskan Range to the icy shores lapping the Bering Strait, with temperatures pushing 50 degrees below zero. It takes winners nine grueling days, with the last group finishing as late as a month after the starting gun. The race commemorates a desperate 1925 emergency run when a diphtheria serum was needed in Nome to save the lives of ailing children — back when sled dogs were a primary method of transport across the frozen land. Today, dogsledding echoes its 2,000 years of tradition and utility among the Inuit and explorers of the north mainly through recreation, and its popularity has spread south to Canada and the northern United States, as well as to the winter resorts of Aspen, Vail and central Colorado.
MacEachan built his 200-dog Krabloonik kennel as a continuation of a well-known Ashcroft kennel, Toklat, which was founded in 1947 after previously using its dogs with the Fifth Mountain Division in World War II. He spent years apprenticing, learning the techniques and the trade of mushing, breeding and caring for the dogs with whom he and the other drivers have grown very close. His business is run with passion and hard work, and it’s rich in history. The Krabloonik mushers try to impart that history to the hundreds of guests they take out every season. The handcrafted sled sits idle in the snow with 12 anxious Huskies harnessed two to a row in front. It looks too small, but somehow you and your companion squeeze on board, and the musher hops on behind. You’re almost ready, but not quite. “Ha, Ha,” your musher shouts, and abruptly the straining dogs are released from their stance and launch forward in unison. Snow flies up and smacks you coldly in the face before your breath is drawn totally in and your weight pressed back by inertia into the sled. The rush of cold mountain air, brisk movement, and awe-inspiring scenery blend in an amalgamation of excitement. You’re off. Sitting just a few inches above ground level, you are whisked through the powdered valleys of the Snowmass-Maroon Bells Wilderness. Rocky peaks glisten in the sunlight overhead, skiers descend on the flanks of the Snowmass resort area and trees rush by perilously close, as your sled banks into a hard turn through the woods. “It’s pretty exciting. I always scream — it’s like an amusement ride to me,” says Denise Glass, who, with her husband William, owns and operates Mountain Mushers, a dog sled company based near Beaver Creek. “The dogs go really fast, and every direction you go in you see something totally different.” Mountain Mushers is another large kennel in the central part of the state, operating 10 sled rides a day, six days a week. The fact that 1,500 people rode with Mountain Mushers last season is testament to the sport’s popularity, and the value of the experience. The Glass’ large kennel holds about 90 Siberian and Alaskan dogs, and their routes offer breathtaking views of the Beaver Creek ski area and dramatic Castle Peak, as well as glimpses of Glenwood Canyon, nearly 30 miles away. So when your legs start to feel like lead and two days of straight skiing become too much, hop on a sled and let yourself be taken for a ride. You’ll find a unique and culturally rich adventure to fill your day of “rest” without skipping a beat. Abrahm Lustgarten is an award-winning freelance photojournalist and author based in San Francisco, CA. His work documenting sports, travel and culture has appeared in various publications, including Newsweek, Men's Journal, and Outside.

Hiking a Colorado Fourteener
I had heard about the Knife Edge long before I ever saw it. Known as one of the single most dramatic hiking experiences in the Rockies, the 14,130-foot Capitol Peak’s easiest route traverses a 100-foot long ridge of solid, but inch-wide, granite. My hands were clammy with anticipation. I parked at the Capitol Creek trailhead, nine miles up a rough dirt road from the town of Snowmass, nearly six hours earlier as the sun was striking Capitol’s dramatic peak in the far distance. The journey to Capitol Lake, a steady uphill grind through pristine meadows and peaceful stands of Aspen forest, was reward enough for my effort. If I had stopped there my day would have been complete. Instead, I continued up the steeper slopes towards the mountain’s tough east ridge, gaining 1,000 feet for every half mile. At about 12,000 feet, I encountered a long, lazy snowfield whose end abuts K2, the eastern sub-peak below the summit ridge. It was July and I had packed light for the long summer hike, bringing only running shoes, water, a couple of PowerBars® and a raincoat. My feet were wet, but thus far, this was relatively easy. But as I rounded K2’s knobby top at 13,662 feet and descended slightly to the start of the final ridge climb, I caught my first glimpse of the famous traverse. The guidebook hadn’t exaggerated; the fin of rock protruded like a ship’s hull, belly-up into the thin air. On either side, the rock faded swiftly, dropping more than a thousand feet to piles of gnarly rubble far below. It was, like I’d been warned, narrow enough to wrap around the palm of my hand. The guidebook suggested a rope and belay on this portion of the climb, but since I was alone, that was impossible. I relied instead on the best tool you can have for a summer climb in Colorado’s high peaks — experience. With a deep breath, I recognized that panic would be my downfall, and that the key to making this traverse and the rest of the climb safely, would be to keep a cool clear head. The sky was clear and the rock was dry. The conditions couldn’t be better for a safe traverse. I could walk the ridge like a tightrope — glamorous, but not my style. I could crawl across it on my belly, legs straddling the ridge — slow and less than elegant. That wouldn’t work either. I grasped the ridge top with both hands like a bicycle handlebar, opposing the pressure of my feet and stepping my body fully onto one side of the ridge with a deep breath. My heels hung out over the empty space, my toes pasted to the slab of rock only by the friction of their rubber soles, and the view grew more stunning with every foot gained. This was the single most enjoyable moment I have ever had in the mountains. By the time I reached the other side of the ridge, cotton-like cumulus clouds were building near the summit. I had a few hundred feet to go, and the timer had started ticking. Given the stage of the day’s weather buildup, rule of thumb said that if I weren’t descending the summit by 12 p.m. — in less than an hour — I would be forced to turn back for fear of Colorado’s notorious afternoon thunderstorms. I persisted, weaving delicately up gullies of loose rock, letting the small ones bounce off my helmet, and praying the big ones stayed put. I tried not to pull on anything, or step too hard. Every move was the product of deliberate decisions and balance. In this way, after hiking 13 miles and gaining over 3,000 feet in elevation, I finally reached the summit. My reward was a Rocky Mountain panorama that remains unrivaled after climbing 14 more of Colorado’s highest peaks. This is the most beautiful spot I know in the entire state.
There are 54 peaks in Colorado that surpass 14,000 feet, with routes ranging from easy hikes and drive-ups to roped rock climbs. Climbing all the “fourteeners” is among the most coveted claims of outdoor athletes, and while some spend a lifetime signing their names to ragged summit registers, others race to climb the peaks in a matter of days. The current record in Colorado is just over 10 days. Of all the peaks, many say Capitol is the most worthwhile. While some routes are nothing more than easy hikes, others are serious business. All require caution and preparedness, even in the lazy warmth of summer. Snow and ice storms are frequent every month of the year, and while summer mountaineering usually avoids the treacherous snow and frozen slippery conditions, it comes with the predictably unstable thunderstorm trends of warm weather. To be safe, plan your trip so that you are off the summit before 1 p.m., and having some back-pocket knowledge of mountain weather trends wouldn’t hurt either. If you see the weather changing early, or you’re just not feeling in your prime, turn back. Survival means you can come back to try again. Having good route finding skills is also important, especially in the Rockies, where being 10 feet off a steep route can mean a substantial difference in difficulty. Most of Colorado’s Rockies, especially the Sawatch, Ten-Mile, and Elk Ranges, are notorious for loose rock. Piles, known as scree slopes, can extend for miles, and in some cases one harsh move, trip, or jump can unbalance an acre worth of rock. Helmets are prudent, and climbers should beware not only of rock falling from above, but also of setting loose objects, which may hit climbers below. Capitol Peak, one of the most dramatic in the state, is also reputed to be one of the most serious climbs, with its easiest route rated at class 4. When you review route ratings, classes 1-2 are considered steep walking, class 3 requires caution, route finding ability and awareness of loose rock, and class 4 is more of the same, with a rope sometimes recommended. Class 5 is roped rock climbing. If you have some experience in the mountains, or are traveling with an experienced guide, class 3-4 routes are among the most rewarding. But there are plenty of area fourteeners that are substantially less demanding. In Summit County look into Quandary Peak, where a rough road to Blue Lake will lead you within two miles of an easy walk to the summit register. If Aspen is your base, consider nearby Castle Peak, or an approach of Mount Elbert, the highest summit in the state, from Independence Pass. There are numerous guidebooks to help you along the way. My time-tested bible is Gerry Roach’s Colorado’s Fourteeners, an easy-to-use directory of varied routes organized by peak. Abrahm Lustgarten is an award-winning freelance photojournalist and author based in San Francisco, CA. His work documenting sports, travel and culture has appeared in various publications, including Newsweek, Men's Journal, and Outside.

It’s Summertime in the Rockies!
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re in on the secret. So please, don’t tell anyone else about your visit to Colorado in the summertime. Tell them about the afternoon thunderstorms — just don’t tell them they only lasted 15 minutes. Tell them about the bruising you took on your mountain bike — just don’t mention the spectacular views along the way. Most visitors still think of Colorado as a wintertime getaway. Those of us who live here like to think of spectacular summers in the Rockies as our little secret. The mountains beckon us to set out on a hike, on a bike or on horseback. Rivers seem made for rafting. Rocks seem made for climbing. The truth is, though, our little secret is out. Mountain resorts that once boomed in the winter and slumbered in the summer are bustling year-round these days, with concert series offering everything from rock to jazz and classical and hot nightlife to keep locals and visitors busy ’round the clock. Some of your choices might surprise you. Water Wonders Maybe you’ve skied Colorado, but have you ever sculled Colorado? Cradled by the Gore, Williams Fork and Ten Mile mountain ranges, Lake Dillon Reservoir is 3,300 acres of shimmering waters in the mountains. Between the towns of Dillon and Frisco, the lake provides drinking water for the people of Denver and a range of summertime fun for those of us out here. Full-service marinas are available at both Dillon and Frisco, with a range of options for exploring this mountain lake. Need to feel the wind in your sails? Rent a sailboat. Need a little more power? Rent a motorboat. If you feel like doing the work yourself, try taking a canoe or a kayak out for paddle, or just kick along in a paddleboat. And yes, for those skilled at sculling, or who just want to be, oarboats are available for a cruise through the lake that’ll give your upper-body a workout. You can even leave the sailing to someone else. Sailboat tours leave from Dillon. Scenic tours leave from Frisco. And for anglers, Lake Dillon is home to brown trout, rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon. Onshore, you’ll find cabins to rent, 313 campsites and plenty of hiking and biking trails, plus Jeep tours into the mountains to old ghost towns. Rapid-Fire Thrills If you prefer your adventures on water that’s moving a little faster, try rafting through some Rocky Mountain whitewater. It’s hard to imagine a more exhilarating way to explore the mountains than on a rushing river, plunging and crashing through narrow canyons. In Summit County, take a plunge through the raging waters of Brown’s Canyon on the Arkansas River. In Vail and Beaver Creek, take an icy trip through the legendary Shoshone Rapids on the mighty Colorado. In Aspen and Snowmass, discover the “roar” in the Roaring Fork River. Lots of well-trained raft guides are on hand to give you a safe taste of adventure in some of the finest whitewater in the country. Angling For Enjoyment Of course, you can enjoy these mountain rivers with a little less adrenaline. The same rivers that offer take-your-breath-away rapids also offer plenty of quiet nooks where anglers can cast a line from a fly rod and come away with a trout, and a little piece of solitude. These are Gold Medal fishing waters, from the Colorado to the Roaring Fork to the Frying Pan. Try asking at a bait shop for favorite spots that locals are willing to share. If it’s your first time, guide companies are happy to show you the art of the cast and take you to their favorite spots, either from the shore, or drifting downstream in a dory. Mountain Magic For some, the only way to be in the mountains is to be in the mountain, and lots of trails take off into the wilderness where you can surround yourself with wildflowers, shimmering aspens and the honey smell of deep timber. Set off however you like: on foot, a bike or on horseback. It’s hard to find a mountain town without a bike shop, and the staff can offer lots of local wisdom about favorite trails, whether you’re a beginner or an expert. They can also outfit you with all the gear you need to spin your way into mountain bliss. The same mountains that make for killer face shots in the winter make for breathtaking mountain bike rides in the summer. For those who prefer to get into the backcountry the old-fashioned way, lots of outfitters are available to get you on horseback for a Western amble through meadows of wildflowers and glades of aspen trees. For an over-the top-experience, try soaring through the mountains in a hot-air balloon ride. Companies take off from Summit County, the Vail Valley and Snowmass Village, offering an unparalleled way to explore the splendor of the mountains.
Fairway Fun Golfers will find their mountain bliss on the greens, and they’ll find plenty of Colorado courses well above par. Even if you’re not staying at a golf resort, you’ll find lots of options with tough challenges and the privacy and feel of a members-only club, all designed by top-notch architects. Local legend holds that the thin mountain air will drive your ball farther here. Maybe that’s true, or maybe these panoramic vistas give the inspiration for a little added oomph. Down the valley from Aspen and Snowmass Village, you’ll find River Valley Ranch, a challenging course designed by Jay Morrish along the Crystal River in the pleasant town of Carbondale. Set amid a 520-acre residential community, River Valley Ranch is public but feels private, with stunning views of glorious Mount Sopris looming in the distance. Just a few minutes from downtown Aspen, you’ll find the Aspen Golf Club. The Frank Hummel-designed course offers 7,215 yards of play and is open seven days a week, with a full-service pro shop, lessons with PGA staff, a driving range, cart rental and restaurant. Down the road from Vail at the town of Eagle, you’ll find the Arnold Palmer-designed Eagle Ranch Golf Course. The course winds through the beautiful Brush Creek Valley, while the peaks of the Sawatch Range tower above. Five sets of tees ranging from 5,400 to 7,500 yards provide challenges for all skill levels. And a name like Eagle Ranch has to bring some luck, right? The Vail Golf Club, designed by Ben Krueger, offers golfers stunning views of the Gore Range. (For all you bird-lovers, it’s also designated an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.) This par-71 championship course has a pro shop, driving range, locker rooms, restaurant and snack shop. In Silverthorne, The Raven at Three Peaks is a spectacular semi-private club with panoramic views of the Gore Range (or is that the “Fore” Range?) everywhere you look. Course designers wanted to make sure golfers remember where they are while sending the balls soaring over the fairways. Native grasses line the bunkers, and Colorado pines and aspens wind through a course marked with sparkling creeks and lakes. The Breckenridge Golf Club has the distinction of being the only municipal golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. The 27-hole regulation course takes golfers on a mountain excursion past crystal streams, beaver ponds, native grasses, sagebrush and natural wetlands. There are many more outstanding golf courses in Beaver Creek and Copper Mountain, as well as throughout the Central Rockies. When you’re done with adventuring, come back to town and reenergize with a gourmet meal, then switch gears for a little nightlife. It used to be, coming to the mountains meant leaving the city life behind. Now, we like to think we have the best of both worlds. So, if you have to tell your friends about it, go ahead, and bring them with you next time to do everything you didn’t get around to on this trip. But please, keep our Colorado summer secret among friends. As for everyone else, just tell them you went to Idaho. David M. Frey is a freelance writer in Carbondale, Colorado. His work has appeared in various newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Denver Post and American Profile.

The Story Behind the Gold Mines
There was a time when Breckenridge was larger underground than above. More than 20 miles of tunnels and shafts wormed beneath the mountains of the Blue River valley, and hundreds of men walked into the earth to work there every day. The Colorado gold rush was on, and prospectors scoured the Rockies for mineral riches. In 1859 the first major gold strike was made in Idaho Springs, just over Loveland pass from Breckenridge. By the late 1860s, a few dozen men had settled on the rolling shores of the Blue River to pan for gold, known scientifically as Aurum, which is Latin for “shining dawn.” Since gold — relatively common and existing in 40 of the 50 states — is about six times heavier than the minerals surrounding it, it’s easy to separate by a sifting process like panning. But to really strike it rich, you have to find a solid deposit, or vein of gold inside the earth. Prospectors found just that on top of a hill two miles from today’s downtown Breckenridge, and so a claim was made on the Lazy Boy Mine in 1887. I visited the Lazy Boy mine early on a stormy summer morning 114 years later. The road wound between iron-rich tailing mounds as I approached the still-standing rustic wooden buildings, towers and conveyor belts that housed the mine operations. Real mining hasn’t taken place here since workers spontaneously walked off the site on strike in 1948, but the mine was re-opened 50 years later as an educational tour. Our group met at the mine entrance, a doorway-sized hole in the hillside supported by larger beams, or tinders. A narrow rail track wound through that same doorway, and we followed it to the dry room, where, like the mineworkers of old, we dressed for the constant 45-degree underground temperatures and dirty conditions, donned hard-hats for safety and registered our entrance. To do this, we each took a small brass tag with a number, worn soft by the many hands that held them over the last century. Back then, this was how mine operators kept track of how many miners were underground. Today, it not only helps give you a feel for the miners’ experience, but also tracks how many tourists are underground. There was no body search for us, but miners were asked to empty their pockets on every passing. For obvious reasons theft was rampant, and creative workers found ways to sneak small particles of gold out regardless of security. Some laced their hair with gold dust; others swallowed small nuggets scraped from the dirt. One legendary thief reportedly snuck out several ounces of gold inside his artificial eye, stealing 30 times his daily wage. The desperation of laborers was no wonder to me after I got a first-hand sense of the conditions they worked in. The main mine shaft is five feet wide and four to seven feet tall, with sharp fragments of rock protruding menacingly into the walkway, and cold water seeping persistently from the ceiling. Slippery wooden planks line the floor for tours, but miners waded through six inches of muck and dirt, and in some places, 15 inches of water that had collected on the floor. Today fresh air is pumped in and electric lights periodically illuminate the dark passageways, but miners never enjoyed these conveniences. Instead, they carried a candle in hand, purchased from their wages, as their only source of light. The air was thick with dust and debris, and the risk of poison from natural gases released from the earth was substantial. A canary, more sensitive to deadly gases, would fly into the mine with the workers. If the canary died, miners knew the air quality was poor and would have to evacuate. This was their only warning. The work itself was extremely arduous. Just consider how the miners burrowed into the solid bedrock. Men manually used a five-pound hammer and a forged metal spike to bore holes in the rock for the insertion of explosives. It typically took one “singlejacker” two and a half hours to bore a single 18-inch hole, striking the rock with a full swing once every five seconds. About 25 holes needed to be hammered before a blast could be orchestrated. They then packed the holes with dynamite and detonated the explosives, a process that gained just 10 forward inches. In this way men tunneled for miles into the igneous subsurface of the Rocky Mountains, and not without risk.
Drillers, who were paid $1-3 a day, faced dangers from falling rocks, mining dust, water and flooding, blast injuries and machine injuries from the hammering. No accurate records about injury and death were kept at the Lazy Boy mine, but tour operators say incidences of silicosis, the black rock mine version of black lung disease, was common. Diagnosis meant you’d be dead in three to five years. Still, miners ran this risk for the possibility of great wealth. Records of the bounty reaped at Lazy Boy were not kept either, but the neighboring Wellington mine recorded extraction of more than 737,000 tons of ore consisting of 8,000 ounces of gold, 750,000 ounces of silver, 41 million pounds of lead and 164 million pounds of zinc. The estimated value of that ore is $77 million, and along with other mines in the area, more than $150 million in minerals were mined locally. The mine tours offer not only an adventurous glimpse of a historical industry and an exciting journey beneath the ground, but also an education about the massive scale of mining in the Rockies and its effects on our environment today. In the French Gulch drainage, once a beautifully forested valley stretching from the high peaks of the Continental Divide to the town of Breckenridge, water seepage through old mine shafts has polluted the rivers and fish stock. In nearby Eagle, complete clean up of the mine and water supply cost an estimated $70 million. That’s as much as the Wellington mine earned in its 87 years of operation and enough to make you wonder whether the profits reaped in the past outweigh the costs of reclamation now. Nonetheless, mining remains a monumental aspect of Colorado’s history, and the history of westward expansion. Boning up on this lore and seeing the inner workings of a mine operation firsthand is a fantastic way to gain perspective on the livelihood past of towns like Breckenridge, Aspen, and Leadville — all communities founded on the quest for mineral wealth. Abrahm Lustgarten is an award-winning freelance photojournalist and author based in San Francisco, CA. His work documenting sports, travel and culture has appeared in various publications, including Newsweek, Men's Journal, and Outside.

Aspen/Snowmass The Grande Dame
Aspen has enjoyed fame and glory for well over 100 years. When its hills were laden with silver, the town became the largest silver-producing district in the country. A quick 1890s inventory found 12,000 people, four schools, six newspapers, three banks, a hospital and a flourishing red light district. Then, as fast as fortunes were made, they were lost, when silver prices plummeted. Aspen limped along as a ranching community until the mid-1930s. Swiss ski racer Andre Roch was commissioned to survey the mountain for possible development as a ski area. Aspenites built a 10-passenger "boat" tow powered by a mine hoist (10 cents a ride) and cut Aspen's first trail — the now famous Roch Run. As early as 1941, Aspen's first national downhill and slalom championships were held. Friedl Pfeifer, an Austrian ski instructor on furlough from World War II 10th Mountain Division training, skied Aspen, and vowed to return to develop it into a world-class ski resort. He and Walter Paepcke collaborated on Aspen's first chairlift, opening in 1946, together with Pfeifer's ski school. Fast forward to 2002. Aspen is the quintessential winter (and summer) resort, attracting the rich and famous to the town's extraordinary boutiques, galleries, restaurants, historic hotels and luxurious mountain amenities. Aspen also attracts serious skiers looking to log thousands of vertical feet on the big mountain's legendary, steep runs. Enter Snowmass, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands, offering sweet alternatives for those not quite ready for prime time Aspen (although Highlands is known also for its epic steep stuff). Down-valley a bit is Snowmass, with its sequestered village, and a mountain that is a cruiser's delight. Its terrain feels like inbounds backcountry, and boasts the longest lift-served vertical rise in the United States — 4,406 feet. Aspen Highlands, between Aspen and Snowmass, recently unveiled its new ski-in/ski-out village. With its restaurants, shops and residential neighborhoods, it offers the chance to live along the slopes famous for their untamed character, colorful past and maverick image.. Aspen's Silver Queen gondola takes you two-and-a-half miles to the summit of Ajax Mountain in 18 minutes (a far cry from its single-seater chairlift in the 1940s). You can spend the day going up and down the mountain on skis, and now, on snowboards — a total departure for Aspen, one of Colorado's last hold-outs for a skiers-only mountain. For a radical experience, climb aboard a snowcat to ski the untouched powder in Aspen's backyard. But, there's more. You don't have to be an alpine skier or snowboarder to enjoy any of the mountains here. Snowshoe tours are offered at both resorts in conjunction with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, and conducted by naturalist guides. Aspen's tour starts at the top of the mountain (following your gondola ride), and is an easy walk along 11,000-foot Richmond Ridge on the backside of Ajax (Ajax and Aspen Mountain are synonymous). Tours at Snowmass follow a secluded, off-trail loop through the woods at Two Creeks. Along the way, mountain ecology, flora and fauna are explored and explained Cross-country skiers, those into classic and skating disciplines, will find 65 kilometers of trails at Aspen/Snowmass — the largest groomed Nordic trail system in North America. Families love the fenced sledding hill at Snowmass, as well as the dog sled rides there. Twelve eager huskies (some Iditarod veterans) pull two-person, handcrafted wood sleds across snowfields, over rivers and ski trails, and to four-course wild game lunches at Krabloonik, a 100-year-old log cabin restaurant. What would a winter resort be without horse-drawn sleigh rides? Draft horses laden with sleigh bells take you through stunning alpine valleys. For a true adventure, try paragliding above the slopes of Aspen. USHGA-certified tandem pilots take you off Walsh's or Ruthie's Run for the most exciting 15 minutes of your life. Like life a bit more tame? Hot air balloon rides give you the thrill of a bird's eye view without the adrenaline rush of paragliding. Snowmobile tours take you into the nooks and crannies of the Aspen valley backcountry. Guides know their way; you just enjoy driving a machine of your own. You can also practice your ice-skating on indoor or outdoor rinks; of course, rental skates are available. To pamper yourself, Aspen-style, indulge in the luxurious massages and beauty treatments at the acclaimed Aspen Club, Snowmass Club, and tranquil Aspen Meadows Health Club. Down valley, in Glenwood Springs, dip into the world's largest outdoor hot springs pool; float under the stars in 90-degree water, surrounded by snow-covered peaks.
When your legs turn to noodles, and it's time to exercise your mind and spirit, the culture of Aspen takes center stage. The internationally renowned Aspen Music Festival, which delights summer visitors, also presents an Artist Recital Series, November through April, and a winter concert series. Prepare to be entranced. The Anderson Ranch Arts Center, formerly a turn-of-the-century cattle and sheep ranch, turned its historic barns into studios, set up a gallery and inaugurated an informal workshop program. Today, this year-round visual arts community holds public functions each week. What was originally the first hydroelectric plant west of the Mississippi is home to the 23-year-old Aspen Art Museum, and open to the public to showcase its rotating exhibits. For 20 years, Aspen Filmfest presented new American independent films, international films, premieres and tributes. Past screenings have included "Shakespeare in Love", "Life is Beautiful" and "Central Station". Christmas holiday screenings of this year's surprises are planned. The only professional ballet company based in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. A holiday performance of The Nutcracker and other winter programs are scheduled. Be sure to check out the schedule of dance, theatre, music and comedy slated to appear at the historic Wheeler Opera House. Past acts have included Lyle Lovett, "Stomp" and Jewel. Summer in Aspen/Snowmass The stunningly snow-covered mountains and valleys in winter unveil in summer to reveal tapestries of green, wildflowers, and in fall, golden aspens illuminating the hills. Hiking tours on Aspen Mountain follow the same routes as snowshoe tours in winter. Instead of snow-covered forests, you'll walk through meadows carpeted in flowers of every color. At Snowmass, ride the Burlingame lift to mid-mountain and enjoy a game of disc golf, hike the trails, or walk down the hill. For those more serious hikers, the fourteeners around Aspen oblige. Fish for famed rainbow trout on the Roaring Fork River. Get your fill of whitewater excitement in a raft or kayak on the nearby Colorado, Arkansas or Roaring Fork Rivers. Bike the roads in the valley and mountain bike in the hills. There are even downhill bike tours for every ability, beginner to expert. Golf courses in the Aspen/Snowmass valley have won more awards than you can shake a club at. In addition to the challenging layouts, the courses are encircled with drop-dead gorgeous views of Maroon Bells, Mt. Sopris and Mt. Daly. With golf drives traveling 10 to 15 percent farther than at sea level, you'll feel as though you can reach the mountain peaks. Tour the Compromise and Smuggler Mines to see where miners first discovered silver deep in the mountainsides. Then, allow the Aspen Historical Society to show you the ghost towns of Ashcroft and Independence, and get a feel of what life was like in very rustic log structures. As much as the Aspen Valley draws you out of doors, its cultural offerings bring you into its haven for the humanities. More than 100,000 summer visitors flock to The Aspen Music Festival in its 2,050-seat elaborate music tent. For nine weeks each summer, the festival presents 150 musical events and concerts. Afternoon rehearsals, where you can listen in on conversations between the conductor and the musicians, may be enjoyed for a fraction of evening concert prices. In addition to the plethora of cultural opportunities mentioned above — Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen Art Museum, Wheeler Opera House, Aspen Filmfest and Aspen Ballet Company — the Aspen Writers' Foundation sponsors programs for readers and writers of all ages, and Theatre in the Park produces classical and new works, integrating local and national talent. Jazz Aspen at Snowmass is dedicated to the performance and preservation of jazz and American musicians. The June and Labor Day festivals attract the top names in jazz, as do the free concerts throughout the summer.

Summit County
The Heartbeat of Colorado By Lillian Ross Because of its geography, Summit County yielded riches from the get-go. In that rarefied air circling 13,000-foot peaks, miners raked gold and silver from the hillsides near old Keystone, Breckenridge, and what is now called Copper Mountain. One fellow carried his golden treasure in the crook of his arm, a 13-pound nugget he named Tom's Baby. Ore was transported by rail to the area's crossroads — Frisco — and then on to Denver. Populations mushroomed in the late 1800s, and the county became the heartbeat of Colorado. That was then. This is now. Riches are still found in the hills of Summit County, but the gold is white, snow white in winter. Skiers and snowboarders value it as much as miners did their mother lodes in the days of yore. The Kingdom of Breckenridge Back when Breckenridge was a most prolific mining community, an inept cartographer omitted the entire town from any and all official maps. It was a non-entity until the error was discovered and righted a half century later, in 1935. Each year thereafter, No Man's Land celebrations proclaimed the independent Kingdom of Breckenridge. Today, Breckenridge is one of the largest historic districts in Colorado, with more than 150 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A renaissance did not occur until the 1970s, when the mountains serving as the town's backdrop opened for skiing. Four mountains of the Tenmile Range, Peaks 7, 8, 9, and 10 — so numbered because of their mile distance from each other — now form the nucleus of the Breckenridge Ski Resort. Twenty-five high-tech lifts serve 139 trails and 772 acres of gentle to extremely challenging terrain. You'll find skiers and riders of all skill levels and every age enjoying the expansiveness of Breckenridge, and world-class athletes competing in events such as the Snowboard Grand Prix in January. The season's highlight is the annual International Snow Sculpture Competition. Teams from around the globe carve 10-foot-high monoliths of snow into exquisite, creative forms. The event takes place every January. To get a feel for history, you can take a tour of the Country Boy Mine. Walk 150 feet into the side of a mountain and learn how miners found and extracted gold from inside the earth. Then, take a guided walking tour through historic Breckenridge to learn the rest of the story. Ice skate outdoors on historic Maggie Pond, or indoors at the new Breckenridge Ice Rink. Mush your own dog sled over the river and through the woods or drive a snowmobile on a guided tour into the high country. Take in a live performance at the award-winning Backstage Theater or a first run film at the town's Speakeasy Theater. You can even workout at the state-of-the-art Breckenridge Recreation Center. Then, face a dining decision dilemma with more than 80 restaurants tempting your palate. Choose cuisine from every corner of the globe — French, Indian, Southern Italian, Northern Italian, Native American, Mexican, and good old American — proving how cosmopolitan this mining town has become. Twice as many gift and clothing shops, art galleries and antique stores line Main Street, and the 72 factory outlet stores are a 10-minute bus ride away. Read more about Copper Mountain Resort and Keystone Resorts in the Lodging Section. Summer at The Summit It's true! The hills ARE alive with the sound of music. Summer and music go hand-in-hand. From casual performances in Copper Mountain's or Keystone's plazas, to jazz headliners on the floating stage of Breckenridge's Maggie Pond, and classical evenings at the Breckenridge Music Festival with the 90-piece National Repertory Orchestra, sweet sounds of summer are everywhere. At 9,500 feet, days are mild, nights are cool, and summer is a gift of incredibly blue skies and meadows of wildflowers. Sailboats and canoes fill Lake Dillon with its 25-mile shoreline. Paddleboaters and kayakers navigate the small lakes at all Summit County resorts. Fishermen cast their lines into waters filled with rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. Rafters looking for whitewater, roller coaster waves find them on the Blue and Arkansas Rivers. Milder float trips ride the upper Colorado River. You're beginning to get the picture of summer at the Summit — non-stop activities in postcard-perfect weather, against a backdrop of snow-covered peaks. Anyone who came to spend the winter, and stayed through just one summer, became hooked, and became a resident of the Summit.
Championship golf is offered at Breckenridge (Jack Nicklaus design), Copper Mountain (Pete and Perry Dye), Keystone's two courses (one by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.), and Silverthorne's Raven Golf Club. At this elevation, golf balls travel 15% farther than at sea level. Drives are ego building; short games are challenging. Four-wheel tours take you above timberline to the Continental Divide. Or, you can bike the high country — each resort lets you take a rental or your own bike on chairlifts and gondola, and then ride down special bike trails. A paved bike path circles Summit County, allowing you to ride from Keystone, around Lake Dillon to Breckenridge, and up Tenmile Canyon to Copper Mountain. If you still want some downhill thrills, ride a special sled (with brakes) on the dual tracks of Breckenridge's Alpine Slide. One lane is for slow riders; the other, for those who want to go all out down the hill. A chairlift brings you and your sled to the top of the tracks. The West wouldn't be the West without horseback rides. You have your choice of trail rides into the woods and the hills. Wagon rides take you to dinners in the woods, and at barn dances, you can let your hair down. Take along a llama on a lunch hike; you walk, these gentle beasts carry the goodies. Or hike on your own throughout miles of trails in the Summit. Each resort runs its chairlift for drop-dead gorgeous scenic rides on the mountain. At Keystone, the gondola brings you to the summit of Keystone Mountain, and then to North Peak to dine at the Summit House and the Alpenglow Stube. As a summer bonus, most restaurants offer the warm pleasure of patio dining. You’ll also enjoy a wide variety of outlet stores and local shops that carry everything from antiques to southwestern art. With so much to offer, the Summit doesn't miss a beat year-round.

The World Cup Competitions
Chills and Thrills By David M. Frey Photos by Rex Keep and Tomas Zuccareno/ Vail Valley Foundation vvf.org It only makes sense that the nation’s top winter resorts should host the top events of the skiing and snowboarding world. The World Cup — a series of elite competitions in alpine and cross-country skiing, ski jumping and snowboarding — takes competitors on a global tour of such countries as Germany and Austria, Finland and Sweden, countries where ski racing is followed with a passion. Aspen and Beaver Creek join Park City, Utah, home to the U.S. ski and snowboard teams, as the only resorts in the country to host World Cup alpine events. They’re towns where locals are passionate about skiing and snowboarding, and where World Cup races have become an annual tradition. To be among the 16 sites picked by the International Skiing Federation, and to be picked year after year, is an honor, says Ceil Folz, president of the Vail Valley Foundation that hosts the event. “It’s great to have the world’s best of anything,” Folz says. “When you’re a ski town, to have the world’s best ski racers, you can’t get any better than that.” Colorado resorts are hosting several other International Skiing Federation events this year as well, from freestyle skiing to ski jumping to snowboarding competitions. It’s a rare chance to get a glimpse of the members of the U.S. ski and snowboard teams, including many of the nation’s medal winners at last year’s Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The excitement builds when the stars on the slopes are also hometown heroes. Coloradans make up 10 of the U.S. Ski Team’s 35 members. Among them are 10-season veteran and two-time Olympian Chad Fleischer, Sarah Schleper and Lindsey Kildow, of Vail; Jake Zamansky and Katie Monahan, of Aspen; Alison Powers, Wade Bishop and Brett Fischer, of Winter Park; Jake Fiala, of Frisco, and Caroline Lalive, of Steamboat Springs. Annette Royle, vice president of events for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, calls Colorado’s pair of World Cup events “outstanding races.” “The women look forward to racing again in Aspen,” Royle says, “and the men will make their last appearance in North America this season on the Birds of Prey run at Beaver Creek.” The events are a thrill on the slopes, where spectators can line the course to see close up the death-defying speeds ski racers reach as they plunge down the slope. At the foot of the hill, racing fans fill stands, ringing cowbells and cheering as their heroes zoom into view, from the giant-screen TV above to real life below. “You’ll just hear them go ‘pfeeeew,’” says Juliann Fritz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Ski Team, giving her best impression of a whizzing pair of skis. “You just hear their skis chattering, and you get up real close and see their legs shaking under the pressure. Lots of sound and noise. Pretty much every seat is a good seat.” Off the slopes is a thrill, too, with music and parties to keep the spirit up between races. But even in these ski towns, where skiing and snowboarding rank somewhere between sport and religion, the biggest names in their fields can still come schussing down the slopes to plenty of blank stares. Last year, as Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic cruised to win the World Cup men’s slalom on Aspen Mountain, the packed grandstand knew it was a momentous moment. Kostelic was ranked 64th to start the race, then posted the day’s fastest time. They just didn’t necessarily know who Kostelic was, or exactly where they’d find Croatia on the map. At one recent World Cup ski race, a pair of German tourists took a 100-mile detour to see their nation’s star women’s skier, Martina Ertl, speed down the hill in the super G. It was a sort of national duty, they figured. “There’s not a lot of German people here,” said Frank Lewandowski, “so we decided that she needed some fans.” Lewandowski knew what many Americans have yet to learn — World Cup racing is among the most fun spectator events around. It’s fast, fun and furious, unlike, say, curling. And also unlike curling, it’s not too hard to figure out. Before most Coloradans have put away their mountain bikes for the season, World Cup skiing gets under way in Soelden, Austria on Oct. 26. The series comes stateside on Nov. 21 in America’s Opening, in Park City. A month later, the World Cup calls Aspen home. On Nov. 29-30, the women come to Aspen for super G and slalom races for the Chevy Truck Aspen Winternational, while the men race in Lake Louise, Canada. After the World Cup events, the women keep racing in town in the Chevy Truck Super Series on Dec. 1-2. “There’s no better way to kick of the ski season,” says Bill Tomcich, president of StayAspenSnowmass. “It’s a great time of year when the entire town gets together in every little nook and cranny to line up and watch the race course, ring the cowbells and cheer in the racers.” It’s also a great time to visit Aspen, Tomcich says. At a time when stores and restaurants are ready for winter but most visitors aren’t, guests can feel like they have the town to themselves, for a fraction of peak season prices. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that you could get a lift ticket and a room for the price that a room alone would cost any other time of the year,” he says. The next week, on Dec. 7-8, the men come to Beaver Creek for the Chevy Truck Birds of Prey competitions in downhill and super G, while the women are in Lake Louise. The race pits the men against one another on one of the most challenging downhill courses in the world. The men stick around Dec. 9-10 for super G and giant slalom races in the Chevy Truck Super Series. “When you look at the list of who hosts World Cup, they tend to be the world’s best ski areas,” Folz says. “Being a part of that always helps Beaver Creek to be in the position it deserves — being one of the best in the world.”
It’s great for the town in other ways, too, Folz says. “It really pulls everyone together,” she says. Locals, second-home owners and visitors alike come together to cheer on the racers. Aspen and the Vail Valley have special connections to the World Cup. Aspen resident Bob Beattie was one of the architects of the race circuit, and continues to host it for television audiences. And before there ever was a World Cup, Pete Seibert, one of the creators of the Vail Resorts, brought together ski teams from around the world in 1965 for the World Series of Skiing, an event that became a prototype for the World Cup circuit to follow. Siebert died last July at 77, but his vision of international ski competitions lives on. The World Cup of a different kind comes to Steamboat Springs on Feb. 8-9. That’s when the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Grand National World Cup competition comes to town. This isn’t just skiing out of the gates; it’s skiing out of the box. Men and women compete down grueling mogul runs and bend, twist and turn in stunning aerial acrobatics in some of the most jaw-dropping spectacles in skiing you’ll ever see. Skiing is a beloved sports in this old cowboy town, which calls itself Ski City, USA. It’s sent more competitors to the Olympics than any other town in the country. The town’s specialty is ski jumping, an activity youngsters still practice on the city-run ski hill named for Carl Howelsen, a Norwegian who came to town in 1913. That makes Steamboat the perfect venue for the Chevy Truck U.S. Jumping/Nordic Combined Championships on Feb. 12-13. Visitors can also catch the U.S. Ski Team in Loveland for the Nature Valley Alpine Cup, part of the Super Series, Nov. 13-17. Men will compete in the slalom, women in the giant slalom. On Nov. 17-18, the women’s action continues in the slalom at the Chevy Truck Super Series at Winter Park. The Super Series brings the women back to Aspen again from Feb. 5-11 for the super G and slalom. For snowboarding fans, the Chevy Trucks U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix comes to Breckenridge on Jan. 9-12. In its seventh year, the Grand Prix is the premier domestic snowboard competition series, with a cash prize of over $300,000 and a key in Olympic selections. The event is one of snowboarders’ favorites, Fritz says. “They kept doing them bigger and better,” she says, “and the riders keep coming back.” The Chevy Trucks U.S. Snowboard Finals come home to Aspen/Snowmass from April 3-6, where spectators can also see competitions in snowboard cross and slalom. You don’t have to be a local to cheer them on, and you don’t have to know a slalom from a giant slalom to enjoy watching racers at the top of their game get to the bottom of the hill. Just grab a cowbell and a cup of hot chocolate, and enjoy.

Adventure Cycling in the High Country
By Jane Stebbins In the Colorado Rockies, biking reigns supreme. Be it road, mountain or recumbent bike — or even the old single-speed Schwinn buried under a lifetime’s worth of stuff in the garage — the sport offers something for everyone. Tens of millions of Americans ride bikes on a regular basis. And when they arrive in Colorado, the urge to hit the road, the path or the trail is, for many, too much to pass up. They’ve come to the right place. “It’s the diversity,” said Chris Hart, co-owner of Great Adventure Sports in Breckenridge. “If you’re a road biker, you can ride in some really neat places, and there are off-road opportunities for cyclists of all abilities. In many areas, there are miles of paved bike paths, and almost all the resorts now offer lift-served trails for the downhillers. There are all sorts of ways the whole family can enjoy biking in the mountains.” Summit County alone offers more than 55 miles of paved bikeways that meander along the Blue River north to Lake Dillon, through the woods to Frisco and branch from there through the lodgepole pine forest — in the early summer, be sure to check out the osprey nesting on Sentinel Island — along the lake or up (and up) along the edge of Tenmile Creek to the summit of Vail Pass. From Frisco, cyclists can cross the Dillon Dam to the town of Dillon, and take off around the lake towards Keystone Ski Resort. The next stretch of bike path there will be over Swan Mountain Road, from Farmer’s Korner to Sapphire Point to Keystone, completing a full circle around the 26-mile lake. Just west of Summit County is Eagle County, where there is an equally wide array of bicycling opportunities. Summit County’s bike path merges at the summit of Vail Pass with another path that winds down to the ski town of Vail. An increasingly popular and incredibly scenic bike path wends its way through Glenwood Canyon, where bicyclists are surrounded by sheer, towering walls. The Colorado River carved its way through here eons ago, leaving in its wake a narrow valley. The 17-mile path between Dotsero and Glenwood Springs not only features breathtaking views of the geology, but also serves as a great jumping-off point for other trails. The most popular of these is Hanging Lake, a vigorous 1.5-mile hike to a crystal-clear lake whose waters are supplied by a melted snowfall cascading over the rock walls above. Parents with children in tow will enjoy the path for its relative ease — and the four rest areas along the way. Coal and passenger trains that groan slowly through the valley are another source of awe for the younger set. The High Country pathways are most often used by road bikers on mountain bikes (hey, you never know when you might want to get a little crazy). Others are seen on recumbent bikes that allow people to pedal feet first and low to the ground. Many cart their children behind them in enclosed trailers or trail-a-bike. On occasion, a bicycle built for two is seen cruising down the path. Yeee-haw! Others choose trails far less traveled. Popular trails throughout the Rocky Mountains were, in many cases, originally flumes, through which water was supplied to mining camps to help separate worthless rock from gold ore. They now provide an easy avenue by which bicyclists can access historic sites. Some locales offer superb wildlife viewing, including the Three Forks Trail near Rifle. The trail follows the creek, crossing beaver ponds at numerous intervals. Spruce and aspen line the trail, which eventually leads to views of the East Rifle Creek drainage. Closer to Vail, the Deep Lake/Heart Lake road leads riders through wildflower meadows as it follows the shores of the lakes. The Ute Indians camped at Deep Lake in the early 1880s. President Teddy Roosevelt followed 100 years later, as did pioneers who relaxed at a hotel in the area in the late 1800s. In Minturn, south of Vail, is a difficult trail meandering from Camp Hale to Kokomo Pass. The 10th Mountain Division — soldiers on skis — trained here for winter warfare in Italy during World War II. The trail generally travels east from the camp to Kokomo Pass at elevations exceeding 12,000 feet. Extreme Then there are cyclists who like the extreme. They’re not looking for quality time with their families. They eschew the smooth pavement of bike paths. Their goal isn’t to admire scenery or take in the crisp mountain air — unless it’s in lung-ripping gulps. They want steep — and steeper. The rockier, the better. The mountains in these parts were named the Rockies for a reason, and the challenge awaits those looking for a rock-hopping adventure through the woods. Firebox Park Loop, near Eagle, starts with a 4.5-mile climb — with only one downhill slope. It travels through aspen groves and lodgepole pine forests through which inspiring views can be glimpsed along the way. Once the uphill portion is done, the terrain changes. Soft soil alternates with intermittent streams, bush and hills — the last of which is a 34 percent grade on a loose road base. A difficult trail in the Aspen area is the 5.5-mile Express Creek Road to Taylor Pass. From here, spectacular views of Taylor Lake, Castle Creek Valley and surrounding peaks keep bikers’ minds off the task at hand, grinding 2,506 feet to an elevation of 11,928 feet. Among the most popular trails is the one to Crystal, an old mining town near Aspen. The Dead Horse Mill, a historical landmark, hangs precipitously over the Crystal River. The mill, one of the most photographed sites in the state, is on private property, but visible from public trails. The trail is narrow, steep and rocky, but well worth the effort. The locals often take to the road for exercise or a way of getting away from the bustle of town. Visitors to the High Country long ago learned that biking is a great way to see the sights in the cool, thin air. Oh, about that air: You are, as the locals say, “at altitude.” If the views don’t, the thin air will take your breath away. But the sights — lakes, wildlife, historic mining sites, glacier-carved canyons, expansive wildflower-dotted meadows — are usually enough to get your mind off the elevations, which range from the low valleys at 5,700 feet to the snow-capped peaks that exceed 14,000 feet.
Racing While many opt for single-track, others head for the ultimate in competition. Races, many of which are open to the public, include Montezuma’s Revenge, said to be the world’s most extreme 24-hour race. The course takes riders over 12,000-foot above-timberline mountain peaks, past abandoned mining camps, along creeks and a glacier ridge on the Continental Divide. There’s Hell in the High Country, a NORBA-sanctioned off-road race in Summit County, the 100-mile and 100-kilometer Ultra 100 Mountain Bike races in Vail and an all-dirt Ultra race in Glenwood Springs in which racers gain 7,000 feet elevation in 50 miles. Additionally, there is the Fat Tire Poker Ride in Breckenridge that awards riders for their fastest times and best poker hands, NORBA-sanctioned races through the backcountry, multi-sport races that include swimming and running, and professional competition like the Saturn Cycling Classic, said to be the most challenging bike race in the state. The Classic is a 140-mile race from Boulder to Breckenridge in which cyclists gain — and lose — thousands of feet in elevation over seven mountain passes, including one near Idaho Springs called Oh My God Road. Flat tires and broken spokes don’t get these athletes down. If a bike has a problem, the cyclist drops back and hugs alongside their race van, while another bike is passed through the doors. Snow, rain, high wind and intense high-altitude sunlight… These elite racers see it all. Help When You Need It Throughout the High Country, there are cycling clubs, some of which host sunset rides — this is a great way for visitors to catch a glimpse of an area from a locals’ perspective — and others that help rebuild eroded trails. Those looking to improve their own skills need look no further than most mountain bike shops. Clinics vary widely, ranging from women’s’ classes to basic bike maintenance and advance rock-hopping courses taught by local racing professionals. Local bike shop personnel know the sport and eagerly dispense advice or get a disabled bike back on the road again. Most shops also sell maps and guide books to help people get to the trails. Jane Stebbins is a reporter for the Summit Daily News in the High Country of Colorado, where she bikes, rows, skis and hikes. She lives in Breckenridge with her husband, John, and daughter, Erin.

Vail / Beaver Creek
By Lillian Ross The Sheep Pasture That Became a World Famous Icon Picture, if you will, a verdant mountain valley, sheep grazing lazily, and occasional homesteads here and there. That picture was the Vail Valley 45 years ago. Peter Seibert, with more dreams in his heart than dollars in his pocket, made good his vow to return to Colorado after World War II, and put a then unnamed ski resort where Vail is now. When Seibert trained with the 10th Mountain Division over the hill from Vail at Camp Hale, he knew the area's now famous back bowls would offer some of the most outstanding powder skiing on the planet. Having secured investors in the late 1950s, the New England native started making his dreams come true. Who would have thought that when he took his magic marker and drew lift lines up one side and down the other on a map of Vail Mountain, that all of those lifts would become a reality? Vail, one of North America's most prestigious winter vacation destinations, is the triumph of a dream. In July 2002, the Village and the world mourned the passing of Peter Seibert. The Vail pioneer was 77. The largest single mountain ski area in North America, Vail's heart beats to the rhythm of the mountain. It features 5,289 skiable acres, over 3,300 of those acres in the resort's world famous open bowls and Blue Sky Basin. Whether you're a beginner or looking for the ultimate challenge, Vail obliges. If you're searching for different disciplines on the snow, Vail's Cross Country and Snowshoe Adventure Center lets you workout from the foot of Golden Peak. Then there's Adventure Ridge, Vail's headquarters for non-skiing, on-snow fun for the kid in all of us. The venue is located at the top of the gondola at Eagle's Nest, and the fun begins at sunset. Try ski biking or thrill sledding head first on a sled (with brakes) to the bottom of the mountain (riders must be at least 14 years old). Headlamps are provided for both sports. Tubing on a lift-served, multi-lane hill (mild and tame, to steep and fast) takes you back to your youth. Snowmobile tours takes adult passengers from peak to peak, while mini-snowmobiles let kids 6-12 ride a machine on a track of their own. Choose your fun on the ridge with snow skates, ice skates and snowshoe rentals. There's also a full-sized ice rink in town for serious skaters You won't have to miss first-run movies while you're here, as two state-of-the-art theaters are available for your entertainment. How did winter sports’ enthusiasts survive before spas? We have no idea. Visit the many spas of Vail for relaxing mud wraps, aromatic baths and facials that will make you feel like a new person. You may also want to take advantage of the fitness and workout equipment and classes. World-class facilities are found at the Aria Spa & Club at the Vail Cascade Resort, the Spa at Vail Mountain Lodge, and the Spa at the Sonnenalp Resort. Shopping in Vail is unparalleled. More than 145 shops, boutiques and art galleries — many of which offer one-of-a-kind treasures — leave you spellbound. Fashions of impeccable taste can be found at Pepi's and Gorsuch, while Slifer Designs offers the last word in exquisite home accessories. Dining in Vail uses up all of Mr. Webster's adjectives. The mountain's flagship restaurant, Two Elk, serves Southwest delicacies by day. Game Creek, offering the epitome of Colorado regional cuisine, is tucked away in a forested glen in Game Creek Bowl. A gondola and sleigh ride brings you to this hideaway. In town, The Wildflower, voted #1 in Vail in the 2000 Zagat Survey, is the only Mobil four-star restaurant in Vail. So many more, so little space. Lord Gore, a staple in Vail since 1967, serves outstanding Continental and American favorites. Try Larkspur, a self-proclaimed American Brasserie for all seasons. At La Tour, you’ll savor the finest Nouvelle French cuisine. Chaps Grill & Chophouse serves generous portions of steaks and home-style dishes. If you simply crave a slice of pizza, head to Vendetta's. Beaver Creek Following in Vail's footsteps, yet with an identity of its own and a level of luxury unmatched in Colorado, is Beaver Creek. The ambiance at Beaver Creek and neighboring Bachelor Gulch is elegant and pampering. Since the resort is built on a hillside, Beaver Creek offers the ultimate in slope side convenience. Heated and covered escalators bring you and all your gear up the three levels of the village directly to the entrance of the high-speed quad chairlift. Where else can you find such service? No more carrying skis or boards; you can save your legs for the mountain itself. . For the most part, Beaver Creek is an intermediate mountain, with lots of room for kids and beginners. This is the resort's most challenging area, often used in world-class races. The very popular village-to-village, on-mountain route between Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead gives you a European-type experience of skiing from one village to another, enjoying the slopes and amenities of all three resorts. The slopes of Bachelor Gulch, nearly obstacle-free intermediate cruisers, practically scream "carve me." After a day of looking good on the hill, check into the new Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, scheduled to open by the holidays. This ski-in/ski-out luxury hotel is modeled after the grand lodges of national parks with log exteriors and the flavor of Colorado inside, including a 21,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. Within the village of Beaver Creek, the plaza surfaces are heated; there's no slipping or sliding on the ice. The only ice surface you'll find is on the year-round Black Family Ice Rink, bustling each season with budding stars. A small, turn-of-the-century theater in Munich inspired the design of the Vilar Center for the Arts. The 518-seat theater has become one of Colorado's premier cultural and entertainment venues. The Vilar Center's slate of performances includes the musical Ain't Misbehavin, the political satire of The Capitol Steps, MacHomer: The Simpsons Do Mac Beth, and The Vagina Monologues. The innovative theater, with its horseshoe seating wrapped in Colorado pine, is creatively constructed beneath the resort's ice rink. Elegant pampering in the spas of Beaver Creek happens in heavenly fashion at Allegria at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa. Men will love the Ashiatsu, a modernized version of the Japanese practice of "walking on backs." Allegria’s 20 treatment rooms let you enjoy exotic detoxifying wraps and water therapy. The resort has become a hotbed for high-end galleries and boutiques. There's even a boutique of handcrafted jewelry that features the resort's insignia at The Golden Beaver, an icon that has become a coveted memento at Beaver Creek. In a word, resort dining is sumptuous. World famous Beano's Cabin, high on the mountain, offers award-winning Colorado fare such as rack of lamb. In winter, a sleigh ride is your transport; in summer, get here in a hay wagon or on horseback. The Grouse Mountain Grill, in the Pines Lodge, overlooks this sparkling r