Powder Addiction Winter Park, CO

Winter Park Colorado Back-Country Skiing

The word is getting out about our new back-country ski operation headquartered here in the Winter Park Village.  Powder Addiction open this year and runs a snow-cat ski operation on Jones Pass.  I have had the pleasure of taking one trip with them and another is set for this coming Monday (yes that is my poor form in the picture above).  I would have three trip under my belt by this time if not for pink eye and 16″ of fresh powder that closed Berthoud Pass a week ago.  Not to worry I will be getting at least four trips in this year.

Anywho, the word is getting out as The Denver Post did an article about Powder Addiction and skiing at Jones Pass in today’s sport section.  A very good article about a great operation at Powder Addiction.  If you get a chance to take a trip with them do not pass it up.  The snow on Jones Pass, as the article says, is awesome and the terrain is fantastic.

Powder Addiction cat-skiing is not for everyone and here is what they say of those that should consider going:

As a reference, skiers should be comfortable on expert runs at developed resorts and should prefer powder snow to groomed terrain. Since Forest Service regulations keep the ‘cat at least 100 feet from the ridge line, skiers also should expect a couple of short hikes at elevations around 12,000 feet. The high altitude combined with good northern exposure keeps the snow cold and light.

Powder Addiction will provide some wide Solomon Czar powder skis and packs with avalanche beacons and a tasty lunch.   It is a day well spent and addictive…….Powder Addiction.

Come on up and try some back-country cat-skiing.

Winter Park Resort: Fourth Best Ski Cafeteria Food

Moffat Market at Winter Park Resort

Winter Park Resort just seems to be racking up the awards of late.  Skiing magazine just named Winter Park’s Moffat Market as the fourth best Ski-Resort Cafeteria.  That is not bad as the building it operates in is quite old compared to the others on Skiing Magazines top ten list.

The Moffat Market was the highest ranked Colorado ski cafeteria and Vail’s Two Elks Lodge was the only other Colorado cafeteria ranked and they came in at number six.

Here is what Skiing Magazine had to say about the Winter Park Moffat Market:

Moffat Market, a railroad-themed food court (named after the Moffat Tunnel, a 6.2.-mile-long railroad tunnel that has its west end at Winter Park ski resort), offers food from around the world. There’s New York-style pizza at Grand Central Station, Tex-Mex at Santa Fe Station, and Asian noodle bowls at the Umami Station. We recently tried a veggie coconut curry bowl with rice noodles here—and were blown away by how spicy and delicious it was.

We recently had a chicken burrito at the Moffat Market and I have to say it was a huge burrito and very tasty.  Cost was a little pricey but food at ski resorts is never cheap.

Serving breakfast and lunch, the Moffat Market food court has a railroad theme and offers fresh cuisine and specialties that reflect the different regions of the country and the world. Storefronts and names identify the different food stations with options such as: New York-style pizza at Grand Central Station; Tex-Mex at the Santa Fe Station; enjoy Asian noodle bowls at our newly revamped “Umami” station; and hearty soups at the Shortline. Moffat Market also features an Einstein’s Bagels kiosk for fresh breakfast bagels, and lunch specialties. New this season is a totally revamped breakfast menu at the Moffat Market. Stop by for their specialty, “Eggs Delphia.”

Of course, you go to a ski resort for the good snow and terrain. But you’ve got to eat while you’re there, right? Skiing Magazine has done their research—eating at ski areas all over the country—and have selected the 10 best on-mountain restaurants in ski country.  And to call the Moffat Market a cafeteria simply doesn’t do it justice.

Winter Park Village Free Events

Free Events in Winter Park Resort Village

There are many many activities in the Winter Park Village and almost all of them are absolutely free.  The new Village is in its first full year of operation and there are now four eateries up and running:

Goodys is a European creperie offering made to order crepes and homemade ice cream.

Lime is a modern Mexican eatery with great tacos and margaritas.

The Back Bowl Soup Company offers homemade soups, breakfast burritos and fantastic breads.

The Cheeky Monk is a Belgium beer bar with great Flemish food with some of the best beers known to man.

Enjoy all these restaurants and spend a night in Village with some of their free events.  From Mardi Gras celebration to free ice skating lessons there something for everyone in the Winter Park Village.

DISCO SKATE NIGHTS
Thursdays, January 7 & 21, February 4 & 18, 6-8pm

Get down tonight! Grab your skates and come dance to funky disco music! You are sure to have fun with your friends while ice-skating on the Village Ice Rink to a dj playing 1970’s disco music while the disco ball lights up the ice! Bring your costumes!

KIDS’ NIGHT OUT
Thursdays, December 17 – April 8, 5:30-8:30pm

The Village at Winter Park introduces Kids’ Night Out! This fun, activity-filled evening is for 4-12 year olds, and is loaded with activities – including dinner and s’mores by the firepit! Kids’ Night Out is a worry-free night out for Mom & Dad and a convenient alternative to at-home babysitting.

Details:
▪ Kids’ Night Out is held at Kids Ski and Ride School on Thursday evenings from 5:30-8:30pm
▪ Kids’ Night Out is a FREE childcare service offered to parents on the condition that $30 per child is spent in any commercial outlet at the resort during the hours that your children are in the program. We do require original receipts to verify the expenditure. If less than $30 per child is spent, parents will only be charged the difference.
▪ Kids’ Night Out includes dinner from Doc’s Roadhouse and indoor activities such as games, seasonal crafts and movies
▪ Please reserve your child’s space by 3pm on Thursday. Call Winter Park Guest Services at 800.729.7907 to reserve your child’s space. Enrollment is limited and is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

MINI RAIL JAM
Fridays, January 15 - March 19, 4:30-6pm

*No Mini Rail Jam on February 19

Little jibbers come practice and show your tricks! Hit the mini rail park, Bouncer, in the Village for some fun after the mountain has closed for the day. Practice your rail slides and jumps in a training mini terrain park.

Details:
▪ Recommended for skiers and snowboarders ages 6 – 12 years old. Helmets are recommended.
▪ Located at the Bouncer Terrain Park located across from Doc’s Roadhouse and adjacent to the Discovery Center in the Village

FIRESIDE STORY-TELLING

Saturdays, January 9 - March 27, 3:00-4:00pm Join around the Discovery Center Plaza firepit for an animated story retelling the history of Winter Park Ski Resort, the railroad, early settlers and mountaineers. This FREE story-telling series is offered weekly from January through March and will include the stories of Fraser Valley locals such as: Doc Susie Anderson, the Byers family, the Cozens family and David Moffat. A perfect event for the entire family!

COWBOY SING-A-LONG
Fridays, December 18 – April 18, 4-5pm Come and join us by the campfire for our fun Cowboy Sing-A-Long just outside of the Village Gazebo, located at the base of Winter Park Resort. Cowboys and cowgals of all ages will enjoy this laid back and entertaining live show featuring all your campfire favorites! This FREE family entertainment is available Fridays from 4–5pm in the Village Gazebo.

ICE-SKATING LESSONS
Daily*, December 19—mid-March, 4-5pm

*Saturdays are Blade Capades, ice-skating games

Come join a FREE lesson to learn how to “hit the ice” (after “hitting the slopes”) or improve your skills on ice. An instructor and hot chocolate will be provided for each lesson. Bring your own skates or rent skates near the Village Ice Rink.

*Sign up by 3pm at Village Rentals on the day of the lesson

MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION
Saturday, February 13, 12:00-5:00pm

High Altitude Style! Come join the party in the Village to celebrate this New Orleans tradition Winter Park-style! This event features bands, street performers, festive decorations, food and plenty of beads to go around!

Music (in Starbucks Plaza)

12:00pm-1:00pm:  Louisiana Clan Dogs
1:20pm-2:20pm:  Aden Harrell & Friends Jazz Quartet
2:40pm-3:40pm:  Otones Brass Band
4:00pm-5:00pm:  Dikki Du & The Zydeco Krewe
Performers (throughout the Village)

12:00pm-5:00pm:  Salida Circus Performers (includes flame throwers, jugglers, trapeze artists, jesters & unicyclists)
12:00pm-5:00pm:  Face-Painting and Caricature Drawings
12:00pm-5:00pm:  Children’s Crafts – masks and crowns
1:00pm-3:00pm:  Giant Puppetry
2:00pm-4:00pm:  Ear2Ear Photobooth

Food (in Starbucks Plaza)

Jambalaya, crawfish, etouffee, gumbo, crepes, bread pudding and beignets provided by Village restaurants

Lots of things to to do for free at “the Village”.  If you would like to have a free family night out, the Winter Park Village can not be beat.

Grand Adventures in Winter Park has new snowmobiles!

Grand Adventures, our local go-to for snowmobiling in Winter Park, has purchased brand new fleets of snowmobiles for the winter season! The new snowmobiles are 2 seater Yamaha Venture Lites (for guided tours) and 1 seater Yamaha Phazers (for unguided tours). Here are the specs, with translation for those of you who aren’t professionals:

Fourstroke: Quieter, more efficient, and larger than two stroke engines. Also, the professionals over at Grand Adventures tell me  you won’t get any of the fumes that come with two stroke engines.

Ergonomic: They are designed to fit your body, resulting in a super comfortable ride that requires less work from you.

Smoother acceleration: So you don’t have to deal with whiplash while you’re cruising on the continental divide at almost 12,000 feet

Heavier: In the words of the Grand Adventures professionals again, this means that the snowmobiles “won’t dance around, but will plow through the snow.”

AND, these new snowmobiles burn 1/2 as much fuel, making them more environmentally friendly. Plus, they’re quieter, making it easier for you to get a good look at all the wildlife you might run into.

Check out Grand Adventures’ website: http://www.grandadventures.com/ for more information on rentals, tours, rates, and more. Snowmobiling really is one of the most fun ways to check out some incredible views of the mountains and Winter Park, not to mention being quite a bit easier than hiking up a mountain in the middle of winter. Have fun!

Winter Park Village | Back Bowl Soup Company

The Back Bowl Soup Company will be opening in the Winter Park Village at or around Winter Park Resort opening day.  I took a peek in the windows today and there is construction going on and it looks to me like they should make opening day.  Don’t hold your breath though, we are talking mountain construction.  Love thier logo to the left and the store front looks great below.

Check out their offerings on their website.  They fill a niche that was definitely lacking at the base.  I see they have beer and wine so it will be another place to unwind after a hard day on the slopes with an adult beverage.  How hard is a hard on the slopes?  It is much better than a good day at work unless you tear your ACL which then I would rather be in cubicle land in some basement.

Anywho, enough rambling already, there are now four eateries in the Winter Park Village.  Well, make that three as we have heard that Lime is not going to open back up for ski season.  So we have Cheeky Monk, Goodys and now the Back Bowl Soup Company.  Also, have  heard that Grand Adventures will be opening a store front in the Village just opposite Back Bowl to sell their snowmobile tours and rentals and their new Powder Addiction snow cat skiing operation.

Good luck Back Bowl Soup Company!  I’m sure you guys are ready to be open and be done with construction and inspections.

Winter Park Village Restaurant Lime

We have been hearing some grumblings up here in Winter Park that the restaurant Lime in the Winter Park Village is not going to open back up for this ski season.  The whispers have been saying that there are liens placed against the property from restaurant construction and that the rent is passed due.  Hope the rumors are not true but since we are hearing specifics I think that they just may be.

Lime opened as one of the first two restaurants in the Winter Park Village along with the Cheeky Monk this past February.  The times we dined or drank at Lime the offerings were  good, especially their $1 taco Tuesday promotion.  Margaritas were also very good and the happy hour was a good deal.  Problems I saw were with the cold/heat and a lack of a vestibule when entering the restaurant and service was darn slow on a few weekends this summer.  The design of the open kitchen was probably not the greatest idea either for a down and dirty Mexican food eatery.

Anywho, I will miss the Pacifico and tequila shot after a long day on the slopes.

Anyone else hearing the grumblings about Lime, Winter Park?  Any word of a replacement eatery?  Let us know in the comments below.

Winter Park Village | restaurant and kids arcade coming to base

Check out this old picture of the Winter Park Base from the mid 1960’s.  Place is looking a little different nowadays don’tcha think?

Intrawest has been having their owner HOA meetings this weekend for Zephyr Mountain Lodge, Founders Point and Fraser Crossing.  Lots of songs and dances and odd comments.  Heard Intrawest employees calling these meetings their Superbowl.  WOW!  How do they win and who are they playing?

Anywho, found out a little information about the Winter Park Village.  Retail space is currently 38% leased.  Lots of trying to explain that number away. And no mention that they changed from selling space at the base to leasing it in the middle of the transaction.  That sure couldn’t have any thing to do with the lack of tenants.

Oh Well, they have two more businesses coming into the Village.  First is a restaurant called the Soup Bowl??  that will have homemade soups from down in Golden and will have bread from Denver’s Grateful Bread Company.  Second is a kids video arcade called Winter Parcade?? (?? mean I think that these are the names but I could be completely wrong)

From the talks that were given I guess they are wanting two more restaurants.  Doesn’t seem like anyone is jumping at the chance right now.  Let’s  be happy that the three restaurants are up and running and a fourth is on the way.

I will quit giving Intrawest a hard time, even though they deserve all that is given, and commend them on a good looking village!

Moose At The Winter Park Base

We have moose up at the Winter Park Resort!  A couple bull moose came over to check out all the goings on at the resort this past Tuesday and it seems they think all is well.  They tried to get onto the alpine slide but were politely turned away.  The moose came over and hung out a little and then slowly made their way off. 

There is lots of wildlife to see up here in Winter Park this time of year.  Also , with all the rain that we have gotten the plant life is out and green and the area looks great.  Come on up to Winter Park and see some wildlife and enjoy some of the Winter Park activities that can be had. 

Thanks to the Winter Park Resorts Twitter account for the above photo.

Cheeky Monk At The Winter Park Base

There’s a lot going on at The Cheeky Monk, a new favorite at the Winter Park Resort with a cozy European atmosphere, over 50 specialty beers and great food. Their “mud-season menu” with reduced prices and their awesome weekday dinner specials makes it easy to go out for a fun night. The buzz around town is all about the Fresh Ground Angus Chuck Burger and a St. Bernardus ABT 12 for only $12 on Thursdays. To boot, our guests get a free draft Blanche de Bruxelles beer with purcha se of an appetizer or entree. (Guests pick up the coupon at the Winter Park Lodging by Owner office).

Check them out on Saturday nights for live music from 4pm to 7pm and on Sundays, their chef creates a gourmet three-course dinner paired with a specialty Belgian beer for an amazing price.

On August 22nd, Cheeky Monk is sponsoring “Beer for Butts” here in Winter Park, a Belgian beer festival to benefit Colon Cancer Awareness. It is an opportunity to taste some of Belgium’s best, rarest and most popular beers. Great beer and live music from 11am -3pm. Tickets will go on sale soon at www.beerforbutts.com. Downright cheeky!

Winter Park Resort Opens for Summer

Winter Park Resort will open for 2009 summer season on June 13, 2009.  All of the favorite activities are back: alpine slide, human maze, the bungee trampoline, the Gyro, miniature golf , outdoor climbing wall and the Zephyr lift. 

Hours of operation are from 10AM to 5:30 PM with the Zephyr lift closing at 5PM.  The Trestle Bike Park opening will be announced later and is dependant on the the weather.  The Resort will close down again on Labor Day September 7, 2009 for weekdays but will remain open on weekends through September 26, 2009.

The opening coincides with Race #1 of the Winter Park Mountain Bike Series.  The Village restaurants and shops will be open also. 

If you haven’t been to Winter Park in the summer you are missing out.  The saying goes “You come to Winter Park for the winter but end up staying for the summer”.