LifeStyle Denver Takes an Overnight Detour to Winter Park
Lovely Colorado. You never can tell what’s going to drop in on you.
We like to rhetorically say about the weather this time of year, “Well, it IS springtime in the Rockies…”
Yesterday began as a typically busy Wednesday. Sales meeting, then tour, then a broker open house. Afterward, I ran the leftovers to a friend who had severely sprained her wrist and bruised her face in a fall outside AT & T. (Note to AT & T: why would you put a store where there are concrete stairs outside the entrance, when you know we’ll be gazing down at our phones on the way in?!) She saved the phone – not a scratch on it.
But I digress… The day was lovely in Denver. Mid 50’s, a bit windy.
The plan was to run teenage LifeStyle Denver and a friend to my sister’s mountain place in Winter Park for a few days of snowboarding fun during Spring Break. Then immediately turn around and head back Denver. Teenage driver needed mountain driving experience, so he was behind the wheel when we pulled out. He did fine, but the weather was harrowing and the drive was a nail biter. Berthoud Pass can be a bear, but it’s usually not so bad. Yesterday, it was at its worst.
So after about 45 minutes at sis’s ski house, I turned back around to drive home. With my music on, not that rap stuff.
Passing through Fraser, then Winter Park, I couldn’t help but notice that the snow was coming down harder and I figured it would be a slow drive. Still, I could make it home before 9 p.m. for sure. By the time I hit the Mary Jane side of the ski hill, I noticed brake lights and then a big overhead sign flashing Berthoud Pass Closed!! Turning around, I called my Brave Ski Mom sister and asked if she had a toothbrush and a bottle of wine. I was heading back for the night! (yes wine, no toothbrush.) Turned out to be an avalanche. Right after we passed through the first time.
We had a great time catching up. Sis lives just a few miles from us in the Lowry neighborhood, but we’re always running 40 different directions. I even got to play a 5 year-old’s version of Go Fish! She won. It was rigged.
Winter Park, Colorado is a great alternative to some of Colorado’s other ski locales. It’s a more low-key town than most, and the terrain has something for everyone. The actual resort is owned by the City of Denver. In a brilliant move during the 1930’s George Cranmer (namesake of Denver’s Cranmer Park) made the purchase of Winter Park possible by Denver’s Parks and Recreation Department. Even today, Denver has steadfastly held on to that asset.
With nearly 3 feet of fresh powder this week, Colorado’s spring skiing looks to be fabulous. Head up to Winter Park for a day and hopefully you won’t end up on a surprise overnight!
Here are a few resources about Winter Park:
And LifeStyle Denver? Why that’s local Realtor Gretchen Rosenberg.
