The Rockies’… In 48 Hours

After months of careful planning and strategic shopping for a skip tip to Colorado, I heard from my boss that my plans had changed. Rather than flying home to LA, I would need to take a flight from Denver to St Louis for training for a week, making efficient packing almost impossible (SIGH). I decided to power through, continue with my ski trip, and just leave early (quelle tragedy).

Here’s something to remember in Colorado. HYDRATE! Denver isn’t known as the mile high city for nothing… it’s literally 5280 ft above sea level! For those of us who reside at sea level, adjusting the altitude can be treacherous. If you’re drinking like a fish it will hit you like a ton of bricks. If you’re skiing, watch for signs of altitude sickness. There’s nothing worse than having the ski patrol escort you off the mountain in one of those cocoon things. (How embarrassing!)

My cohort and childhood friend, John, and I looked forward to our ski trip. Growing up, John and I frequently went on family trips to Mammoth. His family and mine would share a cabin and enjoy hot chocolate, good food and penny poker (my uncle and dad taught my brother and I how to play poker but we were only allowed to play for pennies). John and I had not been skiing since the Mammoth days and were anxious to get back on a mountain. After spending one full day getting acclimated to the climate, we headed to the hills for skiing.

Rather than spend 2 nights in a ski resort and then trying to get back to the airport (schlep, schlep, schlep) we chose to stay in downtown Denver and take the ski train. What, you may ask, is the ski train?

The ski train is the most fabulous thing ever for those of us city folk who love to ski. Many ski resorts offer little in terms of life après ski; very few restaurants, entertainment, etc… The ski train starts in downtown Denver and takes you to the foot of the slopes in Winter Park. It then picks you at the same place at the end of the day. Problem solved!

John reserved two tickets for us in the club car. Not only do you get fed on the way there and back but you also get drinks on the way back. (I was disappointed to find that they will not let you drink on the way up to the mountain. I did have my heart set on a mimosa, but also understood they don’t want people doing a Sonny Bono reenactment on the mountain.)

As always, keep in mind that you can rent gear on the mountain and don’t necessarily need to schlep your ski’s boots and poles circa 1985. They have new ones there that you can rent.

Check out more info on the ski train at: http://www.skitrain.com/winter.html

Oh, and keep in mind that the train does run during the summer, for those of you who are just a little bit crunchy and love hiking and such.

John and I stayed at the Marriott Downtown Denver. The rooms were quite nice and the restaurant was good. I must say, though, that the cosmo’s there were top notch – do try out the bar. The concierge at the hotel recommended “The Chop House” for dinner and made 8:30 reservations for us. After a full day of skiing and a 9 am flight the next morning, I decided that a good dinner (and getting to bed early) would be just the thing.

We arrived on time and were asked to have drinks in the bar while we waited (no more than 5 minutes) for our table. Once seated, John and I quickly decided on the seafood cocktail (consisting of crab and shrimp cocktail) and another drink.

After 45 minutes we wondered if someone had gone to the ocean to get our crab. Chatting with the manager resulted in scurrying about, extra cornbread and finally the delivery of our appetizer. Another hour passed (keep in mind it’s now 10PM) and there’s no steak to be found. Again, John and I had a discussion with the manager, people scurried about 10 minutes, and voila our steaks arrived.

It turns out that our entire meal was free of charge (including the drinks). Perhaps they were having a bad night. Regardless, the meal was just alright. On the way out we saw the entire name of the restaurant “The Denver Chophouse and Brewery”. I don’t know why, but that moment, I felt that we had just eaten at an upscale BJ’s.

Instead of the Chophouse, try the Palace Arms in the Brown Palace Hotel. This old world restaurant is a favorite of John’s. http://www.brownpalace.com/dining/palace_arms.cfm

The next morning I met John for a coffee and goodbye’s before he headed off to the slopes – and before I headed to the airport for training (dun, dun, dunnnn). I’m sure we’ll meet again for a Colorado ski trip. Next time, however, it will be longer than 48 hours.