Best Ski Lift 2017 | Sun Up Express (#9) | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Ski Lift

Sun Up Express (#9)

In 2008, Vail closed Minnie's Lift, which had been getting skiers and snowboarders to the Back Bowls since 1972, including the advanced terrain in Sun Up Bowl, as well as the China Bowl complex and Blue Sky Basin. Now that lift is back and better than ever: Renamed the Sun Up Express (#9), this Leitner-Poma lift is a high-speed quad, replacing Minnie's triple chair, and has reopened access to 1,285 acres of skiable terrain. Vail estimates that the ride to the top of Sun Up Bowl now takes less than four minutes, which is plenty of time to scout your lines.

vail.com

Readers' Choice: Keystone gondola

Best Fourteener for Your Grandmother

Mount Sherman

Not only will Granny find Mount Sherman to be a walk-up, but truth be told, you can get so close to the trailhead in the car that she could probably throw an orthopedic hiking boot at the summit. The hike is really a mere five-mile stroll that gains 2,100 feet in elevation, but there's so much more to enjoy: The mountain is named after General William Tecumseh Sherman, and so there's history to chat about on the way, along with old mining buildings and abandoned mine shafts near the trail to explore. Add in sprawling wildflower meadows and the fact that Mount Sherman is only about seven miles from Leadville, one of Colorado's famous mining towns, and this could turn sweet old Meemaw into a hard-core peak-bagger.

Mosquito Range, near Leadville

14ers.com

Readers' Choice: Mount Bierstadt

Best Terrain Park

Dark Territory

Skiers and snowboarders can't just drop into Winter Park's Dark Territory; you have to be "pre-certified," which puts enough people off that the place is often empty. But that's just silly, because pre-certification is easy: Watch a twenty-minute video, sign a liability waiver, pay $20, and then you're good to go for the rest of the season, ready to take on the extremely advanced and technical terrain. The section, located in lower Rail Yard, hosts all the biggest features, with better rail lines and big drops on the jumps, including a stair rail, multiple replicates, and 55- and 60-foot set-downs. And it's only experts like you, cheering on each other's comps and trying out some tricks minus the input of looky-loos. Don't want to take the time to get certified? There are six other terrain parks in Winter Park for all skill levels and interests.

winterparkresort.com

Readers' Choice: Ruby Hill

Best Ego-Boosting Blue

Whispering Jesse

Speed demons flock to Whispering Jesse at Snowmass for its prudent grooming and well-varied terrain. The steep and rolling cruiser — which shares its name with a John Denver song — starts at the top of the Big Burn and makes its way alongside several gladed sections, between which it opens up with enough space for skiers and snowboarders to let 'er rip. The wide-open boulevard means beginners can take it slower, picking up the pace during the less-steep sections, while serious screamers just lap it, stopping for a breather at the picnic area located on the upper part of the run.

aspensnowmass.com

Best Double-Diamond Run

Rambo

Billed as the steepest man-made, lift-served run in the lower 48, the aptly named Rambo at Crested Butte Mountain Resort is brutal, unrelenting and usually somewhat terrifying to the uninitiated. A standout on a mountain already known for its abundance of double-black-diamond trails (Crested Butte is host to many an extreme-skiing championship), Rambo offers a sustained pitch at between 50 and 55 degrees. The view from the top is often enough to turn away all but the most confident, but once you let go, you're in for slightly less than two miles of teeth-clenching, quad-cramping fun, complete with unexpected ledges, rocks and bushes, with plenty of time to practice jump turns and a few trees along the side for the truly fearless.

skicb.com

Readers' Choice: Prima Cornice, Vail

Best Ski Deal

The Gunnison-Crested Butte Getaway

There's no question that Crested Butte Mountain Resort is one of Colorado's best ski areas, and it's one that relatively few ever check out. A great incentive for taking on the mountain's epic steeps, though, is the Gunnison-Crested Butte Getaway deal from the resort and the town of Gunnison, which sits just a half-hour's drive away (and you have to pass through there, anyway). Starting at $69 per person per night, you get lodging at one of eight properties and a lift ticket — and considering that lift tickets are usually $111 a day for adults, this is pretty sweet. Added enticements: Kids twelve and under ski free early- and late-season at CB, and there's a free round-trip shuttle from Gunnison to the mountain.

gunnisoncrestedbutte.com

Readers' Choice: Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus

Best Golf Course in Metro Denver

Fox Hollow at Lakewood

Beautifully maintained fairways — especially for a municipal course — and three different nines with varying difficulty make it tough to get bored at Fox Hollow at Lakewood. Greens fees are reasonable — less than $50 during peak season for eighteen holes — and the Meadow/Canyon eighteen-hole option plays like a championship course. Meanwhile, your backdrop is downtown Denver on one side and the Rockies on the other, and the fact that the course abuts Bear Creek Lake Park means it's quiet and pretty, with lakes and streams inviting wildlife to stop by. In addition, on-site restaurant the Den sports a patio that looks out at the mountains and serves three meals daily, including a really good burger.

lakewood.org/foxhollow

Readers' Choice: Legacy Ridge Golf Course

Best Store at DIA

Taspen's Organics

Taspen Organics

Taspen's Organics is all about the healing, and if there's anything that needs a little restoration, it's the travel experience. From tinctures and creams for things like arthritis and migraine relief to non-toxic sunscreen, anti-anxiety tea and aromatherapy sprays that will scent the funk right out of your surroundings, the Colorado-based mini-chain makes organic and natural remedies for so many things that ail us when we take a trip. Not headed out of town anytime soon? There's a Taspen's Wellness Center in Conifer, and a restaurant, Taspen's Cosmic Kitchen, in Aspen Park.

A, B and C Concourses
303-816-0429
taspens.com

Readers' Choice: Tattered Cover

Best Golf Course in the Mountains

River Course at Keystone

Keystone Resort

Besides the fact that your ball flies farther in our thinner air, the best reason to golf in Colorado is for the views. At River Course at Keystone, the first tee offers up the Continental Divide, seemingly at eye level from the 9,300-foot vantage point, and the Snake River winds through, as well. That altitude will also buy your balls some mileage on this sagebrush-dotted, wildflower-carpeted course designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, who endeavored to maintain migratory patterns throughout. Don't be surprised if an elk or two ask to play through, and be sure to have a smartphone handy to take a photo of Lake Dillon on that last hole. Bonus: The elevated tees and hilly switchbacks offer quite the workout.

keystoneresort.com/golf/the-river-course

Readers' Choice: Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks

Best Bike Path in Metro Denver

Sand Creek Regional Greenway

Herons and foxes and muskrats, oh, my! You're likely to see them and much more at the Wetland Park, the Heron Pond, Bluff Lake Nature Center and the Morrison Nature Center, all of which can be found alongside the Sand Creek Regional Greenway, a fourteen-mile trail that goes from Commerce City to Aurora via Denver and Stapleton, with parking at either end and several points along the way. With connections to the High Line Canal and the South Platte River Greenway, Sand Creek is paved in parts and lined with gravel in others, which makes for a serene and scenic nature ride, in sections running right next to its namesake waterway. Check the website for navigation details — this is an urban trail, so construction occasionally calls for detours — and keep an eye out for joggers and horses.

sandcreekgreenway.org

Readers' Choice: Cherry Creek Trail

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