Rolling into the Rockies
Tom Chesshyre soars into the mountains on the Colorado ‘ski train’ – and experiences three different getaways for the price of one
Three holidays for the price of one – that is what’s on offer in Colorado, where you can enjoy a ski break, train adventure and city getaway all in a single trip. After flying in and staying at the elegant Crawford Hotel in Denver, located within the historic Union Station, you begin with one of the world’s most beautiful rail rides, heading into the Rocky Mountains on the Winter Park Express.
With a hoot, a hiss and clanking bells on your first morning, you’re soon off, rattling west into the snowy peaks on a train full of skiers and snowboarders keen to make the most of some of Amerilocos ca’s best slopes.
It’s a 90km journey rising 4,000ft to a summit of 9,000ft, puttering by freight sidings, winding through sleepy suburbs and dramatic redrock gullies.
What a brilliant way to the Rockies – though the service has a rocky past.
Since the 1940s the Winter Park resort has been a hit with those hitting the slopes thanks to the excellent ‘ski train’, operating from January to March, taking 300 or so passengers at a time on the two-hour ride.
But in the 1960s sheriffs had to be brought in to calm rowdy youngsters, and in the following decades freak blizzards caused high-profile delays. Matters came to a head in 2009, when trains were cancelled due to rising maintenance costs.
Yet the iconic locomotive is back, with many on board already dressed for the slopes and with plans to head straight from carriages to ski lifts. It’s an uplifting, pleasantly relaxing and thoroughly jolly experience, with a large buzz of winter sports camaraderie.
The Winter Park slopes are excellent and suited to all levels, though those not inclined to whizzing down the mountains can find plenty of ways to relax in this most laid-back of resorts. The thing that strikes you immediately is how down to earth it all is, with none of the glitz and glamour (or sky-high prices) of
St Moritz, Courchevel 1850 or Gstaad back in the Alps. Dolly Parton plays over speakers in the village, restaurants serve pizzas, burgers and bowls of spicy chilli, and skiers swill beers at Doc’s Roadhouse bar, where live sport is shown continuously on multiple screens.
Every now and then the sound of
heading to San Francisco echo across the valley – a strangely reassuring sound and one that seems redolent of the old days of the American West, when settlers took to the tracks for new lives beyond the Rockies.
Before venturing to Winter Park, a couple of nights spent in Denver
helps with acclimatising to the altitude – it is the Mile High City, after all.
The Crawford Hotel is perfect for exploring the lively, regenerated LoDo (Lower Downtown) district, home to cheerful craft-beer bars, upmarket restaurants and the world-famous Rockmount cowboy accessory shop, popular over the years with the likes of Elvis, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. Beaver-fur hats, decorative snap-button shirts and cowboy boots are on sale.
Colorado, with its scattering of former gold and silver mining towns, retains the feel of its Wild West past – that rich connection to cowboys sees folk still wear traditional gear while going about their normal business. And with three getaways for the price of one, Denver is a bargain slice of real USA. Where to stay: Return London to Denver flights from €568pp (JetBlue.com). Two nights at Denver’s Crawford Hotel from €327pp (thecrawfordhotel.com) and six nights at Zephyr Mountain Lodge in Winter Park from €672pp (booking. com). Winter Park Express returns from €65pp (amtrak.com). For packages, try skisafari.com.