Rocky Mountain Magic

    The glorious autumn sunshine in Colorado takes a quiet, yet rapid turn, as the first heavy gray clouds roll across the peaks, visible for miles, along the front range of the Denver area. Anticipation grows as the magical word snow is murmured in checkout lines, at the gas pumps; weathercasters tease mercilessly with "Will we get snow”?
    Temperatures drop swiftly in the fading afternoon light, and those of us caught running errands in shorts and flip flops in late October (hey, it was 80 degrees earlier), cast cautious glances westward toward the mountains, no longer visible, under the gray blanket creeping east. We wait impatiently for morning to dawn and the clouds to dissipate, revealing, we hope, the first glistening white of the season to appear.
    You can almost hear the collective “YES! Time to make the SNOW!” Skiers in the Front Range know that now that the temps are dropping in the high country, it's only a matter of weeks before the lines for the lift are filling up. So start stretching, tune up that ski equipment and let's get ready to mogul!
    And, if you're not the type who likes to brutalize your knees, ankles and the rest of your body racing down the mountain 11 hours a day, there is plenty for you to do off the slopes. The lodge provides delectable meals and a unique escape from the electronic assault of telephones and TV. Nightcaps and cherry brûlée served beside a rustic fireplace wait for you, and in the villages shopping abounds! In addition there are sleigh rides, ice-skating and so much more. Colorado ski resorts have it all and not just in winter. But that's another series!
    Over the next few months I'll take you to some of the 23 ski resorts in Colorado. And maybe, just maybe, I'll let you watch me hit the slopes; hopefully not face first, down the road. I was an avid skier many moons ago, and well, now that I've been transplanted into ski heaven, we'll see if I can take the heat, or if it's time to retire to the lodges and shopping!

RESORT DETAILS
Keystone, CO 80435
Elevation: 12200
Acreage: 1861
Vertical Drop: 2900

    First up, KEYSTONE. I love this resort. This was the first Colorado Ski Resort I went to when we moved here from New York. I hadn't skied in well, a REALLY long time, and went only as a curious observer. What I did observe was love at first sight.   more >>