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Summit County
Heartbeat of Colorado
By Lillian Ross
The Spanking New Copper Mountain Resort
Rarely does Mother Nature sculpt a ski mountain so perfectly. Did she really know that advanced ability skiers and riders prefer their terrain in one area, intermediates in another, and beginners off to one side so they can learn without intimidation? Well, she laid the groundwork, and the mountain's trail designers shared the spotlight.
Copper Mountain has it all. With a perfect mountain stretching up over 12,000 feet with 125 trails and powder bowls in back, it is the envy of competing resorts. But, until recently, something was missing. It lacked a village worthy of its award-winning mountain.
Enter Intrawest Corporation, the Canadian destination resort group that waves a magic wand, and voilà — a new, vibrant, sexy village emerges. Intrawest has a knack for matching a mountain's personality and demographics with its new village plan, and in Copper's case, the match is perfect. There are clusters of pedestrian-only areas, European in feel and eclectic by design. The one word to describe Copper's new village is “dynamic.” (The Village at Copper).
Condominiums fill the upper floors in the village, while at plaza level a vibrant mix of shops, restaurants and nightclubs spills forth excitement. The Swivel, serving amazing soups and stews, Endo's Adrenaline Cafe and Indian Motorcycle Clothing Company give you a taste of the new flavor of the resort.
The West Lake Market — a family nitch with ice skating, picnic areas, a paint-your-own-pottery shop and kids' play structure — will be opening soon. Here, too, adults will find Pravda, a Russian-style dance club bringing new excitement. Larkin's Cross, a traditional Irish pub, and Iguana, Mon, a Caribbean-Mexican spot serving burritos and wraps to those on the go will add to the flavor.
The Copper Mountain Athletic Club is one of the finest fitness facilities in Summit County. An Olympic-sized lap pool, weight room, state-of-the-art machines and classes for all abilities draws both county residents and resort guests.
Appealing to the child in each of us is Copper's tubing hill, served by its own surface lift. The resort rounds out its on snow/off mountain activities with snowshoe tours into the forest, snowmobiling tours in the backcountry, guided fly fishing tours and scenic sleigh rides. The sleigh, with its bell-laden draft horses, brings you to dinner on the mountain in a cozy heated tent. A western dinner with all the trimmings is served while a real cowboy and his trusty guitar serenade you.
Keystone Resort — All Things to All People
When miners explored the hillsides near Keystone, they looked deeper and deeper into the mountains in their quest for the mother lode.
So, too, a century later, ski mountain designers weren't satisfied with the classic runs on one mountain. They delved deeper, opening a second mountain, and yet a third offering a smorgasbord of terrain — all things to all people.
The first was Keystone, with groomed cruising boulevards, terrain park and halfpipe, and dreamy ribbons of lighted night skiing. Next came North Peak — peeking up behind Keystone, it shows off its legendary bump runs with names like Ambush and Bullet. (Intermediates, relax; there's terrain for you, too). The third and final mountain is The Outback. With 800 acres of glady terrain and bowls, it offers pure nirvana for accomplished skiers and riders.
From the toddler on skis for the first time, to the experienced skier who wants to polish his style in the Mahre Training Centers (run by Olympic medallists Phil and Steve Mahre), Keystone Resort obliges. For snowboarders learning to ride, taking air, and everything in between, help is available in the Snowboard School.
Keystone Resort has a dual personality. The original Keystone Village is a Currier & Ives portrait with lighted trees atop a large ice skating lake, surrounded by condominiums and shopping plazas. River Run Village is its contemporary counterpart. Here, at the foot of the gondola, is a pedestrian-style neighborhood with condominium homes rising above shops and restaurants.
When you choose a winter resort, you want one that offers a full array of activities — cross country skiing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, snowshoeing, ice skating and snowmobiling. Keystone offers all of the above, then sweetens your choices with stargazing workshops, wine appreciation seminars, ecology snowshoe walks, hockey clinics, skate skiing (taking the Nordic disciplines up a notch), and full moon tours at the cross-country center. Experienced skinny skiers can see the moon between the peaks of Keystone and North Peak.
Kids love to listen to Redtail, the Mountain Man, tell true tales about the West while sitting around an open fire. Of course, hot chocolate is part of the evening
The plazas at both villages are filled with a variety of shops — from Christy Sports answering every athlete's needs to Gorsuch, where you'll want to covet all its impeccable fashions. Family dining choices are also found at both villages. Ida Belle's "mountain Mexican" fare, and the Bighorn Steakhouse with its extensive salad bar, are Keystone Village landmarks. The Great Northern and Kickapoo Taverns in River Run Village are lunch and dinner favorites.
But Keystone is best known for cuisine that will bring you back solely for a dining vacation. Ski Tip Lodge is a delightful, restored stagecoach stop from the 1860s. Now a B&B, sophisticated American dinners are served year-round and desserts may be enjoyed in the library.
Keystone Ranch, on the resort's golf course, is a DiRoNA award recipient and AAA Four Diamond restaurant. Six course gourmet dinners are served with international flair, in the warmth of a restored log residence.
The Alpenglow Stube, at 11,444 feet, is the highest gourmet restaurant in the United States. You're greeted with fur-lined slippers following your ride on two gondolas to reach this elegant, European-style restaurant. Signature dishes include Pine Cone Pate, Wild Game Grill and Stube Crème Brûleé.
Redefined Elegance: The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch
