SeniorsSkiing Guide: Winter Park, CO—Almost Denver
Close to Denver, This Venerable and Varied Ski Resort Can Get Crowded On Weekends.
Lots of folks lining up at Winter Park. Holiday weekend was busy.
Credit: Susan Winthrop
One of the oldest ski areas in Colorado, Winter Park is only 67 miles from Denver (about a 90 minute drive). It has excellent terrain for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. I was there with my daughter and her 12 year old twins who couldn’t wait to ski Mary Jane—one of the four mountains included in the area. We were there over a holiday week-end, and we can attest to what a popular ski area this is.
Susie and grandkids point out high points on WP trail map.
Credit: Susie Winthrop
Conditions were excellent with a few inches of new powder and a huge base. As I’d come from New England, I was looking for some ice but found none. It was Martin Luther King holiday weekend—late January—and the crowds (15,000 people) were there, but we still discovered powder stashes in the trees. Plenty of full-on moguls fields kept the kids happy and when my old knees started to protest, I found some lovely blue trails which deposited me at the same lift as my more ambitious (and far younger) family members.
In spite of the throngs milling around the base and the hour-long lift line at the bottom, once we were on the slopes we quickly found our way to mostly unoccupied lifts and never had to wait again.
Snow and Terrain
With 3,081 acres of skiable terrain and 24 lifts, Winter Park had something for everyone. The average snowfall of 320 inches is impressive. The elevation of 11,220 feet is exhausting for those who come from sea-level. It was overcast and a bit windy when we were there so I can’t comment on the views or on the Parson Bowl, an area which was closed due to poor visibility. But there’s more the WP than the front slope. Click here for a description of the “Seven Territories”, something for everyone.
Lot to Lift Access
On a busy weekend, you would have to get to the area by 7:30 a.m. to get a good parking spot in one of the designated lots. Those who slept in had a long trek uphill after parking alongside the access road. Once in the village, you can grab a red wagon provided by the ski area to tote your gear or your kids to the ticket office, the cafeteria, the restrooms or to Starbucks. At the end of the day, you might want someone to put you in a cart and pull you back to your car.
Ski Meisters
Ski Meisters whooping it up at Winter Park provides year-round activities for active seniors.
Credit: Susie Winthrop
If I lived nearby and skied here often, I would definitely join the Ski Meisters club. It’s a friendly, fun loving, hard skiing group of 55-plus seniors who enjoy discounted tickets, lockers and gorgeous jackets. They ski together at Winter Park on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays when the crowds dwindle. They enjoy eating lunch together upstairs in the Stow Asis Lounge and often get together for after ski fun. They also cycle, bike, hike and take trips together to other ski areas. Currently there are 400 members, and there’s a wait list to get in. But I’m sure it would be worth the wait.
Culture
The “Guest Services” at Winter Park are friendly hosts in yellow jackets helping everyone to navigate the base area. It wasn’t immediately clear which line was the ticket line and which one was for the lift, but there was always some nice person to set us straight. I spent time at the end of the day at the tea room which turned out to have a small but popular bar. The people there were also very friendly!
Bottom Line
Day pass for senior (65+): $114; online, seven days in advance can be as little as $83. Senior pass (70+) in 2015-16 was $509.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb 19)
Reminiscing About A Great Big X-C Race, More Resort Reviews, Why Ski Philosophy, And Snow Kayaking.
Credit: Trapp Family Lodge
We celebrate Washington’s Birthday with a remembrance of the “people’s” cross-country, point-to-point race that was held from 1963 to 1973 in various places in southern Vermont. We tracked down Bob Gray, two-time Olympian and winner of the first race, for his views on the race and why it was shut down. We have some Resort Reviews, running across the country from the famous Trapp Family Lodge in the Stowe, VT area to SnowBasin in Utah (which has remarkable restrooms, we are told) to Mission Ridge, a bargain for seniors outside Seattle.
Also, if you are getting tired of going down mountains on boards or skis, we have an alternative to consider: Kayaking. A short clip from Warren Miller will get you wondering what it would be like if more than a couple of people took this up.
Finally, we have some words for reflection: A poster spotted at a NSP hut in upstate New York on Why Ski. See if you agree.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO OUR READERS
If you haven’t registered for the special Promotive discount we’ve arranged for our readers, please do it now. You will receive an email shortly after getting this edition of our online magazine with a repeat of the instructions and access code for signing up. Seriously, folks. This is a good deal. You get discounts on top name brand items just for being a SeniorsSkiing.com reader. You said you wanted them, we got ‘em. Promotive is judging the success of this effort by how many subscribers take advantage of it. So please register. Free. No strings. More to come on other stuff. Stay tuned.
And expect to see some changes in our graphic layout. We are trying to make our publication more user-friendly and simple.
Preview
Next week more Resort Reviews, art on the mountain and thoughts about the winding down, already, of snow time in the East. As one ski resort owner from New England said to us recently, “This is not a top-ten year.” Amen, bro.
And remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Fixed Income Skiing on a Liberated Schedule at Sunday River, ME
Big, Big Four-Season Resort In Maine Has Activity-Filled Social Scene For Seniors.
Terrain for everyone at Sunday River and lots of room for blue cruising, greening or double-black diamonds.
Credit: Sunday River
For seniors on a fixed income and liberated schedule, a top place to ski in the East is Sunday River, ME. That is for three main reasons. First, it is huge. When you look up from the South Ridge base lodge, you see wide slopes slung over rolling peaks, in every direction, a three-mile span from White Cap to Jordan Bowl Peaks.
Started in 1959 with one T-bar, Sunday River had a huge growth spurt when Les Otten bought the small family area and put his vision for expansion into high gear.
Today, that translates into 135 trails and glades and 15 lifts (five high speed), slung over eight interconnected peaks. That’s a lot of opportunity for seniors to select the “just right” terrain. Each peak has an easy way down. You can knock yourself out on the double black White Heat or stroll down the Three Mile Trail with Agony and Ecstasy in between.
Second, owner Boyne Resorts has done a great job modernizing lifts and focusing on snowmaking and grooming, keeping trails in good shape, even in low-snow years.
Finally, everyone who works here is very friendly, so you have nice people looking after you.
Bethel, a short drive from the mountain, is a classic New England village. Main Street has several shops and cozy restaurants. The rambling turn-of-the-century Bethel Inn Resort has a 35-km XC groomed trail network right on the edge of town. Nearby Carter’s XC Center has 55 km.
These guys meet every morning, ski, and hang out.
The Prime Time Ski Club is informal and provides a lot of opportunities for socializing.
Credit: Scott Andrews
One great asset here for seniors is the 100+ member Prime Time Ski Club (motto “You’ll never ski alone!”) for those over 50. Meet up any weekday morning at North Peak Lodge 10-10:30, top of the Chondola (get there early before the cinnamon buns are gone!) and have a fun group of people to ski with. Break off into groups (no larger than eight) usually based on terrain, ability, and social interactions, and then ski!
Many members also gather in the Mahoosic room at South Ridge in the morning and lunch there around noon. Après ski activities include wine tastings, game night, potlucks or special restaurant dinners, trips to local mountains, and an annual western trip, plus off-season activities. New Members: $25. Renewal (pre-season): $15.
Many members ski midweek and take advantage of discounts offered at area restaurants. Check out Terri Messer’s weekly column on the club in the Bethel Citizen for what’s happening.
Bottom Line
Senior Pricing: Daily lift ticket, 65 and older, $59; $53 online advance purchase.
Senior (65-79) season passes (includes Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon): New England Gold Pass: $869 (Super Senior, 80-plus: $30); Silver Pass (13 blackout dates) $705; Bronze Pass (midweek non-holiday, all ages) $529 .
GO50 Week: Mid-January with lift ticket and lodging deals for five nights, a clinic, après-ski social events, and a Sock Hop. Kudos to Sunday River for celebrating its 50-plus skiers with a full week of fun events including a “Retro Race” on vintage equipment.
Bethel Nordic Center at the Bethel Inn Resort: All Day Trail Pass: Seniors (63 plus): $16; half day, $13. Season Pass (63 plus): $125. Ask about the daily ski-swim-sauna package at the inn’s Health Club.
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