Ski Train Smoothes Way to Rockies

Every winter, thousands of Denver visitors face the same dilemma: They want to see the Colorado Rockies draped in white, but they don’t ski, don’t particularly relish driving along snowy mountain roads and have limited time.

As a result, many leave the state feeling frustrated--never having seen evergreen and aspen stands etched against whipped-cream drifts, or having felt clear mountain air tingle in their lungs, or marveled at proud, craggy peaks ripping into a cobalt-blue sky, or watched deer forage for food.

One way to avoid those frustrations is to take a day trip from Denver to the Winter Park Ski Resort, 56 miles northwest, on the Rio Grande Ski Train. Where once pioneers trudged through waist-deep snows and shivered away long, dark nights, now rail riders experience the winter mountains from warm cocoons of coach- or first-class cars. The only struggle is in straining the neck to see everything.

Besides being one of Colorado’s finest ski areas, Winter Park offers much for nonskiers to do as well--from Sno-Cat tours, sleigh rides and snow tubing to ice skating, mini-snowmobiling and shopping.

No matter what activity is planned at the end of the line, most agree that the train itself is worth the trip. Leaving Denver’s Union Station promptly at 7:15 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays during ski season, the ski train has been making the trip from Denver to Winter Park for more than 50 years, and is now the last ski train in America to serve a major resort.

Five years ago, the train was purchased by the Ansco Investment Co. of Denver, which updated both the equipment and service. Today, a fleet of modern first-class, coach and dining cars carry as many as 750 people per trip. Nearly 50% of these passengers are nonskiers just looking for a comfortable day in the mountains.

While most riders look forward to the spectacular winter scenery ahead, they don’t realize that their first sight will be of America’s back yard. Old rail yards, warehouses, homes with unfinished weekend projects, rusting cars in the brown prairie grass--all sit near the tracks outside of Denver like crumbs dropped from some surreal version of Hansel and Gretel.

As the train climbs into the foothills, the vast prairie spreads out east until it melts into the horizon. Moving at a leisurely 25 to 30 m.p.h., the 14 cars ascend steeply through gorges and canyons, many accessible only by train. Deer and elk pick their way along the hillsides searching for food.

During the course of the journey, the train gains 4,000 feet in elevation and chugs through 29 tunnels--the shortest of which is 78 feet, the longest being Moffat Tunnel, which encompasses the final 6.2 miles of the trip. Moffat cuts under Rollins Pass, where pioneers used to trek, and crosses the Continental Divide at an altitude of 9,239 feet. Nowhere is the effect of the Divide more evident than on the train as it goes through the tunnel--it can be snowing at the east portal and startlingly clear and bright at the other end. Or vice versa.

The train pulls to a stop about 100 yards beyond the end of Moffatt Tunnel, and even closer than that to a Winter Park chair lift.

As the skiers--both downhill and cross-country-- leave the train and head with great deliberation for the slopes, nonskiers may wonder what could possibly keep them occupied from 9:15 a.m. until the 4:15 p.m. departure.

They needn’t worry.

By far the best nonskier activity is the Winter Park Ski Resort tour by Sno-Cat (a snow tractor), offered every day at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. from the base lodge, Balcony House. (Adults, $15, children under 13, $10.) Each Sno-Cat carries about 12 people in a heated cab that has plenty of windows. The drivers are young, enthusiastic and know their resort--and they prove it with an interesting commentary about the area’s history, current terrain and future plans.

While the drivers talk, the “cats,” with their big treads, claw their way up 1,800 vertical feet, giving passengers an eyeful of Winter Park’s vastness. The resort, part of Denver’s 20,000-acre mountain parks system (more than a dozen parks, all located outside the city limits), covers 1,300 acres and is actually three mountains--Winter Park, Mary Jane and Vasquez Ridge. Nineteen lifts service 106 designated trails, which are covered by about 30 feet of snow a year. By the way, last weekend’s major storm left a healthy snowfall at Denver-area ski resorts.

During the two-hour Sno-Cat tour, frequent stops are made so that passengers can get out and peer over the edge of mean-looking ski runs that seem ready to eat the next neon-clad skier who who comes along. Skiers provide much of the tour’s entertainment as they perform various acrobatics--both planned and unplanned. Even more spectacular is the scenery--stands of lodgepole pine, trails of virgin powder, panoramas of Fraser Valley and, in the distance, about 30 miles north, the rugged peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Toward the end of the tour, a 15-minute stop at Snoasis, a mid-mountain cafeteria, offers a view of skiers on the trails and on a practice ski jump nearby. Passengers are welcome to stay at Snoasis until the next Sno-Cat back down to the Balcony House comes along, about half an hour later unless one is on the 2 o’clock tour, the last one of the day.

Shuttle buses operating day and night make it easy for travelers to visit the town of Winter Park, two miles away. The town, which usually triples in population during ski season to about 1,500 residents, has more than 30 restaurants, 19 bars, 50 lodges, a movie theater, indoor miniature golf, an ice skating rink and dozens of shops in such shopping havens as Cooper Creek Square, Park Plaza, Kings Crossing and Fraser Valley Center.

Among the best of the nonskier activities are:

--Snow tubing: A free shuttle bus from the Winter Park ski area goes to the Fraser Valley Tubing Hill, where you can slide down a snowy slope on an inner tube. Open Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; weekdays, 4 to 10 p.m. Before 6 p.m., $8 per hour; after 6 p.m., $9. For more information, call (303) 726-5954.

--Sleigh rides: Various sleigh rides offering scenic and historical tours as well as dinner rides are available from numerous operators. Because of when they are offered, many rides make it necessary for train passengers to spend the night in Winter Park. If so, the town has several small hotels, inns and B&Bs; to choose from. Sleigh rides range in price from $12 per person to $75 per couple. Information: (800) 453-2525.

--Snowmobiles and Snoscoots: A handful of companies offer snowmobiles for groomed trails at about $15 an hour (double riders). Mountain Madness, (303) 726-4529, has Snoscoots, which are scaled-down snowmobiles that can be run on a lap basis--three-quarters of a mile at $2 per lap; another, longer course of three miles costs $10 per lap. Information: (800) 453-2525.

GUIDEBOOK

Rio Grande Ski Train

If you go: The Rio Grande Ski Train, traveling between Denver and Winter Park, will operate Dec. 26-28 before beginning its normal Saturday-Sunday runs, Jan. 4 through April 7. A special run will be made on Presidents Day, Feb. 17. Boarding in Denver is at 6:30 a.m., departure at 7:15 and arrival in Winter Park at 9:15. Return: 4:15 p.m. departure, 6:15 p.m. arrival in Denver. No carry-on food, beverages or coolers are permitted. There is no smoking on the train.

Prices: First-class travel offers more room and continental breakfast, plus complimentary afternoon drinks, for $40 round trip. Coach class, which has access to four snack bars and two dining cars, costs $25 round trip. Four private cars are also available for hire.

Accommodations: Winter Park has several inns, condos and small hotels in case travelers want to stay overnight. The Gasthaus Eichler, P.O. Box 430, Winter Park, Colo. 80482, (303) 726-5133, offers bed, breakfast and dinner for $65 per person, double occupancy; the Snowblaze Athletic Club and Condominiums, P.O. Box 66, Winter Park 80482, (303) 726-5701, has studio units that can house two or three people for $70-$124, two-bedroom units (4-6 people) for $135-$237 per night. At the ski resort, a ski-in/ski-out hotel, the Iron Horse Resort Retreat, P.O. Box 1286, Winter Park 80482, (303) 726-8851, has rooms for $150-$205 a night.

For more information: Call the ski train at (303) 296-4754. For information on Winter Park, including activities and accommodations, call (800) 453-2525.