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Resort Guide

Suitability	Resort height: 2743m
Families:		[Yes]
Glacier:		[No]
Beginners:		[5]
Intermediates:		[5]
Advanced:		[4]
Snowboarding:		[4]

Winter Park turns 70 for winter 2008-9 and is the oldest continually operated resort in Colorado. Don’t let that make you think it has a dated feel however, in fact huge investment over the years, most recently by Intrawest, the company that built up Whistler from scratch, means Winter Park is one of the most up-to-date ski resorts in the world. The resort is the closest major centre to Colorado state capital Denver, making it one of the shortest transfers for international guests. It is also popular with local Denverites who make use of a very rare ski train service to get from the city to the slopes.

The ski area with its base resort is located a short distance from Downtown Winter Park, a two mile (3.2 kilometre) shuttle link away. The resort’s ski area, which is one of the world’s highest and thus snow sure, is spread across four adjacent mountains: Winter Park, Mary Jane (including Parsenn Bowl), Vasquez Cirque and Vasquez Ridge, making it one of the largest ski resorts in Colorado. A network of trails and lifts interconnects the four distinct sections of each mountain.

Beginners

Winter Park offers adult class lessons and private lessons, including unique learning programmes, such as Easy Start, and the Family Private lessons where your family learns together in a private group lesson. East Start adult beginner classes offers guests a two-and-a-half hour lesson in skiing or riding that focuses on centre-of-gravity skills. Developed by instructors at Winter Park Resort, guests will learn balance and how to turn, stop, move forward, slide sideways and control speed. Packages including lift tickets, with equipment too if required, are available. Participants join the two million who have learned to ski at Winter Park over the past 60 years.

Intermediates

Intermediate level skiers will find plenty to enjoy in Winter Park’s 1250 hectares (3000 acres) of terrain, criss-crossed by an ever more impressive fleet of high speed lifts. Fast popular runs include Cranmer and Mary Jane trails, and Parsenn Bowl offers intermediate level powder bowl skiing. Trails are up to five miles (eight kilometers) long.

Advanced

Winter Park does have a reputation for tough skiing with more than half of its terrain graded advanced or expert. This reputation is based on the Mary Jane ski area, named in honour of a late-1800s lady of the evening. Mary Jane is most known for her steeps, deeps and huge moguls. The second main tough ski area is Vasquez Cirque which has more than 80% advanced level skiing, with most of the remainder classified as expert with double black diamond descents. The toughest run is the short, sharp Hole in The Wall. If you’d like to perfect your technique on this challenging terrain, the ski school offers training programs in alpine, freestyle and freeride for advanced skiers.

Snowboarding

A leader in terrain park design for all ability levels, Winter Park’s Starter Park, located below Snoasis, is designed for the beginner-jibber. This park features small boxes perfect for those first attempts at rail sliding. Dog Patch, located on the east side of the Eskimo Express, offers skiers and riders an intermediate park system ideal for perfecting skills. Dog Patch East, located just east of the original Dog Patch, offers a variety of non-traditional jib features for skiers and riders. Rail Yard, Winter Park's advanced terrain, features a combination of rails and jumps. Dark Territory, Rail Yard's limited access area, continues to evolve with more unique features including two new jump lines, a variety of rails, boxes and manmade jibs.

Other Activities and Facilities

Downtown Winter Park has a cinema, shops, day spas, recreational activities and other services.

On the slopes or nearby there are snowshoe tours, dog sledding, snowmobiling, tubing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, ice skating, snowcat rides and cross country skiing centres.

Après Ski and Dining Out

The choice of après ski sports at Winter Park Resort at the base of the slopes continues to expand, whilst nearby Downtown Winter Park has more than 40 restaurants and bars. Indeed this list of local eateries sounds more like an around-the-world excursion with dining options from Germany, Mexico, Thailand, Italy and even America!

Popular venues include Moffat Station Restaurant and Brewery which has great views of soaring mountains and magnificent pines. It is located in Winter Park Mountain Lodge, across from Winter Park. New Hong Kong serves healthy Szechuan, Cantonese and Mandarin food whilst the Ranch House Restaurant offers dining in casual elegance with great views of the Continental Divide and dishes including steaks, seafood, poultry and vegetarian dishes.

Families

Winter Park has a full range of on and off-the-snow childcare and ski school options, all centred on the Kids' Adventure Junction. Wee Willie’s Childcare is the non-ski program for children aged two months to six years with indoor activities and outdoor play. A complimentary beeper/pager is included. Children aged three to four years who want to ski can join the non-chairlift-riding ski orientation school, with all-day supervision, playtime and lunch. Children are introduced to skiing through indoor and outdoor activities designed and paced for each group. Participants must be potty-trained and willing to play outside. Classes for all other kids are determined by ability level, beginner through advanced, and age five to six year olds, and seven to seventeen year-olds. Snowboarding lessons are available from age six.

Piste Map for Winter park

Accommodation in Winter park

• Alpenglo Lodge - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Alpenglo Lodge - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Alpenglo Lodge - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Beaver Village - 3 star, self catering
• Beaver Village - 3 star, self catering
• Beaver Village Condos - 3 star, self catering
• Beaver Village Condos - 3 star, self catering
• Chalet Sundance - 4 star, catered
• Chalet Sundance - 4 star, catered
• Chalet Sundance - 4 star, catered
• Chalet. Sundance - 4 star, catered
• Fraser Crossing - 3 star, catered
• Fraser Crossing - 3 star, catered
• Hi Country Haus - 3 star, self catering
• Iron Horse - 4 star, room only
• Mountain Lodge - 3 star, room only
• Mountain Lodge - 3 star, room only
• Olympia Lodge - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Snowblaze - 3 star, self catering
• Vintage Resort - 3 star, room only
• Vintage Resort - 3 star, room only
• Vintage Resort Hotel - 3 star, room only
• Winterpark Mountain Lodge - 3 star, room only
• Zephyr Mountain Lodge - 4 star, room only
• Zephyr Mountain Lodge - 4 star, room only
• Zephyr Mountain Lodge - 4 star, room only
• Zephyr Mountain Lodge - 4 star, room only

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