AS THE BULLWHEEL TURNS – TIME FOR MY ANNUAL ROAD TRIP
AS THE BULLWHEEL TURNS
MONDAY – JANUARY 26, 2015
NASAJ West at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort
Rise & Shine! Yes another beautiful day with blue bird skies at the base of Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort. Thank goodness for in room coffee service in the condo, but also had another cup in Purgy’s before meeting our NASJA West group and guides to tour the slopes of Purgatory. The meet time was 9:15am and we were early, so we were able to take a run and be back at the bottom and when we got back down, the groups had left. So, since Dan and I were already familiar with the mountain, we decided to have Dan lead our group and keep things small and comfortable.
Long-term NASJA West members, Charlie Coane, Dino Vournas and Jerry Hoffman joined us for the morning of cruising groomers all over the mountain. The snow was in great shape and even though the spring-like weather was upon us, the snow surface was still very carve-able and super fun to ski non-stop “zoomers”…
Dan has an uncanny sense of direction and has no problems interpreting trail maps and cross over’s and led our group to some familiar and also unfamiliar runs, doing laps from one side of the mountain to the other. Always great to ski with friends that can keep up, except for photographers like Dino Vournas, who seems to take forever to set up shots, but well worth the waiting as he does create great skiing images with his camera.
We broke for lunch at Paradise Pizzeria & Ice Creamery in the Purgatory Village. Nice salad and Pizza Buffet bar offered that was very tasty and with great service. Always fun to compare notes with other journalists members as to where they skied and ask how those runs were, etc…
We skied a few more runs after lunch and got off the hill somewhat early to be able to clean up and attend our NASJA West General membership meeting set for 5:00pm.
The meeting was held in a nearby building, the Durango Mountain Institute and President, Dan Giesin opened our meeting as all our members were in attendance. Our hosts Kim Oyler & Greg Ralph from Purgatory, updated us with the future plans for the resort and Anne Klein from Durango Tourism Office also welcomed our group and gave up highlights of our upcoming tour of the Town of Durango, to which was scheduled the next after.
NASJA West then conducted our business meeting with a lot of lively discussion as to the future of NASJA, our national blanket organization, and what direction did we want to express in the forthcoming NASJA National Meeting that would be held the follow week, February 7 – 11, in Quebec, Canada. Because of this NASJA West meeting and the NASJA National Meeting scheduled earlier than usual, Dan and I decided not to travel to Quebec as we would be returning from this two week road trip the day before we would have had to travel to attend their board meeting but we did have several members planning to attend to represent NASJA West in Quebec… Plus, I would have had to keep my Dude in the kennel for at least another week and I felt that was not good for him or me as he was already committed to stay for over 2 weeks as it was…
After the meeting we were treated to a great dinner in Purgy’s starting with a cocktail reception featuring local beers and wind and a Southwestern taco style bar with all the fresh fixin’s and OMG, I think we managed to finish that huge platter of Churro’s for desert.
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AS THE BULLWHEEL TURNS
SUNDAY – JANUARY 25, 2015
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort with Greg & April Ralph
Hot coffee and yummy homemade cinnamon buns… and, we were off to explore the slopes of Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort, which is about 25 miles from Durango off U.S. Hwy 550.
Purgatory Mountain came into its name in 1776 when Spanish explorers traveling on the nearby Animas River, became lost and their bodies were never found. They believed the souls of the lost explorers would be relegated to Purgatory, and from this legend was the designation, Purgatory Mountain. The River was named “El Rio de las Animan Perdidas” or the River of Lost Souls. Purgatory Resort was opened in 1965.
Today, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort is year round destination resort with a Village and variety of accommodations, restaurants and activities. In the Winter, the resort offers lift service skiing & riding; Snow Tubing, Nordic XC Skiing, Ice Climbing, Snowshoe Tours, Snowmobile Adventures, Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides, Dog Sledding as well as Snowcat skiing with San Juan Untracked, the biggest Snowcat Skiing Outfit in the U.S.
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort offers 2,029 vertical feet from the summit at 10,822 feet down their base elevation of 8,793 feet. There are 10 Lifts and tows leading to 88 trails with over the 1,360 skiable acres. Average snowfall is 260 inches per year. There was a lot, and I mean a lot of terrain to explore… This day was to warm up into the 50’s on the slopes with blue bird skies…
After meeting Greg & April in his office and getting situated with lift passes, we headed up the Purgatory Village Express (6 Pack) Lift for our first ride up the mountain. The lift system is able to transport over 15,000 skiers / riders per hour up the mountain and there was a typical Sunday family crowd enjoying the variety of runs with little wait in the maze to load. The views from the top across the valley were spectacular!
We skied such runs as Paradise, Exodus, Cherub & Lower Demon… Other runs included What and Mercy to the base of the Engineer Lift. We rode back up and headed to back side skiing such runs as Airmail, Where, Boogie & Peace down to the Hermosa Park Express. These blue runs were well-groomed cruisers and fun to carve turns, side to side, with very few skiers occupying the slopes…
We were treated to lunch at Dante’s & Backside Bistro, a very nice mid-mountain sit down restaurant off their Grizzly Lift. This reasonably prices sit down had such goodies as Ahi, Cajun Dusted Mahi & Wagyu Beef Sliders and more… I devoured the Blacken Fish Tacos in no time. Greg & April had to depart to prep and pack for Denver as they were to attend the SIA show, leaving Dan and I to continue to explore the mountain finishing up by skiing runs off the Legends Lift.
The start of the NASJA West – Western Winter Summit Media Meeting was set to start at 6:00pm, so we headed back to the base and check into our room in the Village Center… a very nice one-bedroom condo with fireplace, kitchen, dining area and outside deck facing the base of the lifts. It was nice to unload the car and move everything in to this unit… I drew the short straw and slept on the couch of the living room area and I was okay with this as Dan and I have been traveling on road trips for many years and sometimes our accommodations end up in this configuration and we are use to this…
We were also welcomed with a goodie bag… I should say nicely engineered technical backpack (water hydration capable) provided by Osprey that were filled with resort information and swag items from a coffee cup, chocolate bar, beautiful coffee table book of photographs and information and more…
We met our other NASJA West members at 6:00pm to board a bus heading into Durango for a Welcome Reception at the Durango Welcome Center sponsored by the Durango Area Tourism Office. We had 21 Members and Guests attend this meeting and it was my job to make sure all were on board to head to the welcome reception.
This was my first time visiting Durango Colorado and let me tell you… I really like it there. It has a small town feel but has a great vibe with most folks into outdoors activities, like Tahoe and living the mountain lifestyle. Great Historic district with art galleries, variety of restaurants & bars, outdoor clothing & equipment stores and much, much more. I can see myself hanging out in Durango and searched out picking up information on real estate opportunities.
The welcome reception was a very nice affair and opportunity to meet local tourism representative and dignitaries and the beer & wine poured freely as well as appetizers and chocolate covered potato chips provided by the Animas Chocolate Company.
We were hosted to dinner at Chimayo Stone Fired Kitchen, a contemporary American Bistro with a Southwestern flair and where everything is prepared in 600+degree stone hearth ovens. Owners Michael & Brigitte Lutfy restored this historic property to reveal the turn-of-the century Carnegie steel support beams, the original maple hardwood floors and decorative tin ceiling tiles as well as the original brick walls. Michael was the former Executive Chef for the Michael Andretti Indy Car Racing Team. Our gracious hosts prepared a variety of dishes that were presented and we enjoyed a selection of Artisanal Stone Fired Pizzas, Cauliflower “Steak”, Butternut Squash Risotto Cakes and more as they continued to bring plate after plate from their menu for all to enjoy a family style dining experience. Oh, they also featured some great beers and wine along with dinner. Chimayo is wonderful restaurant experience with great food and service that I would recommend when visiting Durango.
After dinner, we loaded the bus and head back to the resort for a good nights rest in preparation for full day of skiing and mountain tours.
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AS THE BULLWHEEL TURNS
SATURDAY – JANUARY 24, 2015
Exploring Powderhorn Resort
This day started early as well with a great included breakfast at Holiday Inn Express… Yes real coffee and much better than the packets they have in the rooms. We packed up and head to ski Powderhorn Resort located about 20 miles out of Grand Junction on the Grand Mesa…
Powderhorn is one of those resorts that we’ve passed up in previous road trips as usually we continue east on I-70 towards Beaver Creek or Vail or head south on Hwy 50 to Gunnison on the way to Crested Butte or Telluride… Brave Ski Mom, Kristen Lummis calls this her home mountain and she encouraged us to stop and ski the mountain.
The drive up through the canyon was spectacular as we came into Mesa and could see the layout of the mountain in front of us… a big wide ridge with trails descending from the top. We arrived pretty early in the parking lot as there was but only a few cars showing up at that time.
That morning they also had a promotion where kids and parents were lining up to receive free ski helmet provided by a local Health Care / Hospital to promote snowsports safety. I thought this was great to see the enthusiasm of these kids waiting patiently in line to get a free helmet before hitting the snow…
We hooked up with their Marketing Manager, Dave Smith who set us up with complimentary lift tickets and pointed us the direction of where we should ski.
Powderhorn Resort offers 1,650 feet of vertical from a base elevation of 8,200 feet and the summit elevation of 9,850 feet… There’s 1600 acres in their permit area and about 600 acres of cut runs to enjoy serviced by a total of 5 Lifts & tows.
We rode up to the summit on “Take Four”, a fixed grip quad, and cruised down Maverick, which was a lot longer run than expected and found good cruising snow on groomed. We skied a variety of other runs from this lift included Dude (had to stop a take a photo as that is the name of my dog), Bill’s Run and Pacemaker before skiing down Lower Snowcloud to the base of their West End Lift. Tenderfoot, Snowcloud & Red Eye were on the list of cruisers we skied down next…
The vibe of this area is really family oriented as I enjoyed a huge burrito on their sundeck for lunch. Lots of family and young-in’s hanging out on the deck with DJ spinning tunes… They were hosting an Old School – 80’s Style Freestyle Event that day with skiers & boarders dress in onesie’s and neon colored garb from the era and with some sporting mullet wigs and all… I felt right in place…
We had a fun morning skiing Powderhorn and I had to get a Powderhorn Sticker to place on the ski box, as yet another resort crossed off the ski resort bucket list.
We were on the road by 1:00pm and headed towards Montrose on our destination, Durango, Colorado. The drive coming out of Montrose was spectacular and we tried to identify different mountain ranges along the way. We took the Million Dollar Highway up the canyon to Ouray and the talk about narrow roadways with no guardrails… Up over the pass and to Silverton. Silverton is another ski area that is on the bucket list and we will have to hit that one another day as we were trying to get to Durango by 6:00pm to meet up and stay with old friends, April & Greg Ralph.
Greg was the marketing & sales manager at Monarch Mountain and April was in the PR department at Crested Butte and now Greg servers the same function at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort while April does contract PR work for different tourism agencies… We made it to their house in the dark and had a great time checking out their new home and got cleaned up to go to dinner.
Greg took us to Ken & Sue’s, a famed restaurant in Durango where, as April puts it, “every time I call for reservations, we can never get a table inside” and this night was true to form… the place was packed and we dined out on their deck in a covered tented area that had space heaters and it all work out fine. Fresh fish, steak, meatloaf and great service… What else could one ask for? A Big Thanks to Greg & April for their hospitality and a great dinner experience as we spent the night in their new beautiful home.
I continue to serve as the VP of Meetings & Programs for NASJA West (North American Snowsports Journalists Association – Western Region) and it’s my responsibility to put together an annual winter meeting for our members that offer great stories ideas, scenic photography and broadcast opportunities… and, this year’s Western Winter Summit meeting was a delight to put together. In the 25 years that I have been a member of NASJA, I do not recall a media trip to Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort, so this was a good reason, as well as Greg Ralph taking the reigns of marketing & sales to visit and it was time to check it out. Tomorrow we will get a personal tour with Greg & April of Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort before our Western Summit Meeting begins.
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AS THE BULL WHEEL TURNS
FRIDAY – JANUARY 23, 2015
Ely, NV to Grand Junction, CO
Day 2 of this year’s Road Trip started out with an early rising. Coffee, coffee, coffee… It’s 16F this morning in Ely. We refueled the Cayenne on the Great Basin Hwy and headed over Conner Pass to the Utah border. Love this view as well with the backside of Wheeler Peak and the Wind Turbine Valley as we made our way over Sacramento Pass before dropping to the Utah Border. Beautiful side-view of Wheeler coming down the descent and a quick stop in Baker, Nevada at the Border Inn, at the Utah Border to say hello to friends. This is OATBRAN’s end of the ride destination and we’ve enjoyed our final awards banquet in their restaurant’s back room for many years… Their motel rooms are in Utah and the Casino Restaurant is in Nevada, which is a good thing, and you can get 92 Octane fuel here as well… I’ve also led several Sierra Nevada PCA Porsche Club drives across Nevada on the Loneliest Road and they are always happy to refuel their tanks with more octane…
The drive from the Border Inn to Delta, Utah is 90+ miles of a whole bunch of wide- open nothingness. I know this strip well from the beginning having run out of gas 25 yeas ago and having being saved by a good Samaritan who helped get us gas in Hinckley, just east of Delta. We decided to have a late breakfast, which became early lunch at “Mi Rancherito” Mexican Restaurant in Delta as it was the only restaurant, other than fast food, that was open.
Driving from Delta, UT to I-15 and then continuing on Hwy 50 from Scripio to Salina then on to I-70 to Green River is extremely scenic and beautiful… Dan was driving and I just sat back and enjoyed the view…
We checked in to a Holiday Inn Express near the airport in Grand Junction… decided to eat in the hotel’s restaurant and turned in. Tomorrow we will ski a resort that I haven’t skied before… Powderhorn! After skiing, we plan to continue on to Durango Colorado before days end…
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AS THE BULLWHEEL TURNS
THURSDAY – JANUARY 22, 2015
The Loneliest Road
Today is Day 1 of this year’s Road Trip… attempting to finish packing and there’s so much to bring. Limited to 2 pairs of skis and will take the Wayne Wong Legend Skis as well as the Scott “The Ski”. Debated on taking my old boots, but really need to break in the new boots. The thing that I like about road trips is that you can bring more than you take on a plane… as much as will fit in the vehicle!
Also, had to pack up the Dude’s food and treats, vitamins, etc and take him to the kennel this morning… Poor guy… I know he will miss his back yard and I will miss his smiling face and devoted love… But, he will have interaction, daily, with the attendants, an opportunity to socialize with other dogs and a daily walk…
My road trip buddy, Dan Giesin came up from Marin County last night and we have packed the Cayenne for the past several years… So, nothing new on hanging ski clothes over the back seats and packing luggage, boot bags, helmets, briefcases, laptop, cameras, etc in the back and including a small cooler with water and some snacks. There is a system for packing and still seeing out the back from the rear view mirror…
We hit the road mid-morning and headed to Carson City to take Hwy. 50 east across Nevada… “The Loneliest Road in America” as deem by Life Magazine, several years ago… Our destination on this day was to drive to Ely to overnight at the Jail House Motel & Casino… I have driven this route countless times over the past 25 years as Bike the West has produced OATBRAN – One Awesome Tour Bike Ride Across Nevada for the past 23 years and Dan has also ridden this weeks long annual bike tour across America’s Loneliest Road at least a dozen times, so the territory was not unfamiliar to either of us… He commented on the highway improvements between Dayton and Stagecoach with 2 lanes in both directions, large shoulders and more space for bicyclists. This use to be called Goat Head Alley as our riders would experience flats on this section out to Silver Springs. It was good see water in Lake Lahoton, as the water level was way down when OATBRAN rode through this area last September.
We stopped for lunch at a Subway in Fallon and made our usual fuel “topping off the tank” stop in Fallon. Dan was looking for some Jelly Beans to take on the road and there were none to be had.
We headed off to Sand Mountain, Old Middlegate, Cold Springs and up over New Pass Summit… From the top Mt. Airy you can view the awesome Toiyabe Range straight ahead as we descended and crossed the Reece River Valley and climbed up to Austin… Austin, Nevada is one of my favorite towns on the Loneliest Road, steeped in mining history as well as the Legendary Pony Express.
Up and over Austin & Bob Scott Summits and down to the Big Smokey Valley, to which I own property and spend my mid summer weekends hanging out at Gillman Springs Ranch, just south of Kingston… Love it out there and especially the wide- open spaces…
Next town down the Loneliest Road was Eureka… Yes, there is a Eureka, Nevada that is a beautiful small town with restored Court House and my favorite, the Eureka Opera House… Dan mentioned missing our OATBRAN dinners with the Eureka High School Cheerleaders to opt for one of the best Rib Eye steaks offered on Hwy. 50 at the Owl Club… And, I would have to agree…
The drive from Eureka to Ely is about 80 miles and there are four summits to cross. Pinto, Pancake, Little Antelope and Robison Pass. I like this section of roadway as there are more trees growing along the side the road with the rolling terrain up and over summits… Basin & Range… Most folks view crossing Nevada as a big flat desert and what most do not know is that Nevada is the most mountainous state in the lower 48 and most of the towns from Austin to Ely are above 6,000 feet in elevation. For the bicyclists who participant in OATBRAN, there is over 17,000 feet of elevation gain over the 420+ mile distance from Lake Tahoe to Baker, Nevada at the Utah border…
We check into our Cell in the West Wing at the Jail House Motel & Casino in Ely… the same motel that we accommodate our bicyclists. Later, we headed across the street to the Nevada Hotel for dinner and both ordered Chicken Fried Steak… This was no disappointment and packed two of the steaks in a to go box…
I made my donations to the Video Poker games in both the Nevada Hotel and the Jail House Casino before turning in for the night. First travel day adventure in the books… Our next destination… Grand Junction, Colorado.
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AS THE BULLWHEEL TURNS
January 14, 2015
For the past umpteen years, my buddy, Dan Giesin and I have been taking road trips, as much as two weeks, to ski some great destinations in the US and Canada.
3 years ago we visited Red Mountain & White Water in BC, Canada, as well as Schweitzer & Brundage in Idaho.
2 years ago our journeys led us to the East where we skied Sugarbush, Killington, Pico Mountain and Stowe, Vermont. Then the road trip led us to Park City, Utah, where we skied the Canyons, Dear Valley & Park City Mountain Resort, then continuing to Colorado to ski Steamboat, Monarch Mountain & Telluride and finishing up coming back through Brian Head in Utah and Ski Las Vegas, Nevada.
Last year our Epic Journey took us back to Colorado to ski Beaver Creek, Vail, Breckenridge & Keystone and returning back through Park City, Utah, skiing the Canyons, Deer Valley & Park City Mountain Resort. I also went back to Park City in April for the US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame induction and again skied all the resorts there…
This year’s road trip includes skiing Powderhorn out of Grand Junction and Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort in southern Colorado. We also plan to ski Sipapu in New Mexico, maybe Taos and come back through Park City,
Are you starting to see a pattern here? Park City, Utah is a great destination for us guys from Tahoe. It’s a days drive out Interstate 80 and if you really want to add scenery and wide open spaces you can drive US Hwy 50 “Loneliest Road in America” and connect with I-15, south of Salt Lake – Provo and come in the back way through the Provo Canyon. If you have an EPIC Pass you can now use it at both Park City Mountain Resort as well as the Canyons, to which Vail is now looking to connect both resorts in the future.
The Wasatch Range collects light and dry powder, lake effect, snow from storms coming over the Great Salt Lake; plus, resorts in Park City, Solitude & Brighton in Big Cottonwood and Alta & Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon benefit from this lake effect snow…
This year’s Road Trip will begin on Thursday, January 22nd and I will be writing a daily blog of the adventure. Please check back daily for updates and photos posted on my Facebook page and on BikeandSkiTahoe.com.