Winter Park Group Ski Trip - Trip Details

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February 25- March 4, 2006

Contents

   Winter Park Links
   Travel by Train...
   To an Old Railroad Town...
   For Some of the Best Skiing in the World!
   Lodging
   Skiing
   Activities Around Town
   On the Train: Out and Back
   Group Activities and Services for Families
   For Further Information
   Winter Park Ski Trip Slide Show

Call (734) 971-7470 or e-mail info@stepscorp.com

Winter Park Links

  Winter Park Snow Report
  Winter Park Trail Map
  Winter Park Mountain Cam

Travel by Train...

This group trip is for those who like to keep their pleasures simple. It combines good skiing with affordable sightseeing. We travel by train because it provides a leisurely transition from the often hectic weeks of work and school. When we arrive at Winter Park people have gotten to known one another, they've enjoyed the passing panorama of a beautiful countryside, and they're rested and ready for an exciting week of skiing.

To an Old Railroad Town...

Located seventy miles northwest of Denver high up in the Rocky Mountains, Winter Park is a friendly town, pretty much devoid of the pretense and expensive glamour of the more well-known Colorado ski resorts. It is said to be the favorite skiing spot for native Coloradans. A free local shuttle service makes it easy to travel to and from the ski slopes and all around town from early in the morning to late at night.

For Some of the Best Skiing in the World!

The skiing at Winter Park is hard to beat. In an average year the mountain receives nearly sixty feet of snowfall, more than almost any other area of the country. Really three interconnected mountains, each with its own character and primary level of challenge, Winter Park provides plenty of opportunities for everyone, from the complete novice to the Olympic racer. Experts favor the remote headwall chutes of Vasquez Cirque; advanced skiers the steep slopes and chutes of Mary Jane; intermediates, the runs on Vasquez Ridge; beginners, the trails at Winter Park; powder buffs, the high wide-open spaces of Parsenn Bowl.

Lodging

In Winter Park we will be staying at Hi Country Haus, a condominium complex located within walking distance of the downtown area, and ten to fifteen minutes from the ski slopes by shuttle bus.

Hi Country Haus is a comfortable, well-maintained facility with large, roomy units. Each unit contains a living room with working fireplace and cable television, a dining area, a fully equipped kitchen, two full baths, and a deck. Bedding and towels are provided, though there is no maid service. We are renting two- and three- bedroom units. With two people sleeping on the hide-a-bed in the living room, the two-bedroom units accommodate six people, the three bedroom units accommodate eight.

The complex features a recreation center with an indoor pool, sauna, hot tubs, game room, and laundry facilities.

Skiing

Our standard trip package includes a lift pass for use on any four of the five weekdays we are at Winter Park. By purchasing an afternoon pass on the day we arrive, and upgrading the standard five-day pass, skiing fanatics can actually ski a total of five and a half days, if they choose. Lift lines open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 4:00 p.m.

Winter Park is a vast mountain area with spectacular views of the continental divide. Top elevation is 12,060 feet, base elevation is 9,000 feet, for a vertical drop of 3,060 feet. There are a total of 134 trails on the mountain, and it is possible to make an uninterrupted single run of more than five miles. Lift lines are generally quite short.

The resort proudly boasts about its nationally renowned ski school and adaptive skiing programs. First-time adult skiers and boarders can sign up for half-day lessons at a cost of about $30.00. Rates for other levels of instruction should be about $50.00 for a half day.

Ski rental packages are available at many sites throughout the resort. Prices range from $12.00 to $30.00 a day.  Board rental packages start around $25.00 a day.

Activities Around Town

For those who want to eat in, the Safeway supermarket in nearby Fraser, a short shuttle ride away, provides all the ingredients that anyone will need to stock a condo refrigerator and pantry. For those who want to eat out, there are many restaurants around the town, including one at the entrance to Hi Country Haus.

Other local attractions include a dinner theater, evening sleigh rides, tubing hill, ice skating rink, and one of the most highly regarded cross-country skiing centers in the country.

On the Train: Out and Back

If you truly want to travel, take the train. On a train you can keep a sense of time and place, you can sit and talk in comfort, you can get up and take a walk, you can glide through countryscapes and cityscapes and ponder the details, you can read a good book or play a hand of cards, you can eat a full-course dinner, you can stretch out and nap or sleep. We take the train because it is fun and because it gives members of the group a chance to relax and get to know each other before they plunge into active days of skiing at Winter Park.

The train on the way to Chicago is a short-haul intercity train. Seats are comfortable, leg room is adequate (about what you'd get with a first-class airline ticket), the scenery is a patchwork of back-yard Michigan: farmland, woodland, prairie, factories and warehouses, small town derelicts and city slums.

The train out of Chicago is designed for crossing the country in comfort.   We roll through the fertile flat farmlands of Illinois, cross the Mississippi River, sweep across the broad prairies of Iowa and Nebraska, and all the while we are climbing, climbing toward Denver and into the Rockies. Cars are double-decked with seating above, bathrooms and baggage below. Coach seats are huge, and when they are reclined, a leg rest folds out to support the entire lower body. There is a full-service dining car, an observation car featuring a 360-degree view of the passing landscape during the day and movies at night, and a lounge car where snacks and beverages are served and games can be played.

Ski trip participants are allowed to place one large bag, skis or board, and boots in the baggage car or luggage compartment. One carry-on bag may be brought on board as well. Amtrak rules prohibit passengers from bringing their own beverages along .

If the train arrives on time, the layover in Chicago on the way out provides for up to two and a half hours in the city. At Denver there is a brief stopover that  allows for limited exploration of the neighborhood around the station.

Group Activities and Services for Families

All skiers and would-be skiers are welcome on this trip. Families with children are also welcome. 

On board the train, our staff will be coordinating a number of programs to help the time pass more quickly. If there is interest, we will also lead a number of traditional parlor games such as charades, and we will make available playing cards and board games to those who do not bring their own.

During the days at Winter Park, at an additional cost and by prior reservation, child care for preschoolers can be arranged at an excellent facility on the mountain. Fully supervised skiing programs for elementary school aged children can be arranged on the mountain, as well.

Early in the week the trip leaders from S.T.E.P.S. will host an evening party at the condominium complex.

For Further Information

For further information about our ski trip, please contact David Brassfield at the office of S.T.E.P.S., Inc., telephone 734-971-7470, or e-mail us at info@stepscorp.com. 

The following packet is in Portable Document Format (PDF).  You must have Adobe Reader 4.0+ installed on your system to view it.  Adobe Reader can be downloaded for free from Adobe's website.