26

Monday, December 27, 1999

The Great Wedge of Cheese

Andy the baker came back from Christmas break, so I won’t be baking again until his days off. Today I worked the grill, which is exactly what I did the first time I worked here, in 1978.

The after-Christmas crowds are starting to show up. The busiest day of the season always occurs sometime between Christmas and New Year. I did non-stop French fries and onion rings for several hours — ten 27-pound cases of fries. At 3.5 ounces per serving, I guess I served about 1,200 orders of fries. And the busiest day is yet to come.

*

Winter Park is the closest ski area to Denver. Year after year it is also voted Colorado’s favorite — so consistently that Winter Park has worked it into their slogan.

The Moffat Tunnel that I wrote about earlier is right at the base of the ski runs. In fact there are berms to stop skiers before they accidentally ski onto the tracks. With the railroad so close, the former Denver & Rio Grande ran ski trains from Denver to Winter Park for years. Now a Denver entrepreneur has continued the tradition.

Driving, you simply head west on I-70 and turn north on US 40 a few miles before the Eisenhower Tunnel. US 40 goes over Berthoud Pass, on the Continental Divide, and drops down into Winter Park. The original highway used to go within 100 feet of the base lodge, but they have since built a bypass, and the old highway is now the entrance to the ski area and even becomes part of the parking lots.

Winter Park gets some of the best snow in Colorado. A little geography lesson is in order to explain how it can be closest to Denver yet also the best skiing.

You may have heard of what is referred to as Colorado’s “western slope.” Well, it is literally that. From Denver west, it’s as if someone laid a wedge of cheese on its side with the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Utah being the hypotenuse and the Continental Divide directly west of Denver being the highest point. Winter Park’s base is 9,000 feet, higher than all but a few other ski areas. Aspen, though world famous, is actually at a low point on the wedge of cheese compared to Winter Park or Keystone.

Flowing parallel to US 40 and right through Winter Parks’ parking lot is Fraser Creek. It starts somewhere up on Berthoud Pass and flows north through Fraser and Tabernash to Granby. There is joins the Colorado River which starts somewhere in Rocky Mountain National Park.

*

The southwest is in another El Nina drought this year. Flagstaff has received no snow and Winter Park has received only 88 inches. By now Winter Park should have received around 200. Nonetheless, the skiing is great with a 30-inch base and 1125 acres and 74 trails open.

Yellowstone Park Journal - July, August, September, 1999

Copyright ©1999 Ben Benton -- All Rights Reserved

Ben Benton

124 North San Francisco Street, Suite 100

Flagstaff, Arizona 86001-5250

(520) 779-5300

Facsimile (520) 213-8425

e-mail [email protected]

*Winter Park Journal*
	Hi. I’m Ben Benton from Flagstaff, Arizona. I believe that you will enjoy my daily journal from Winter Park, Colorado, Ski Resort during Christmas break 1999-2000. I left downtown Flagstaff Wednesday morning, December 22 with my skis, duffle, and laptop computer, and ended up at Snoasis, a lodge midway up the mountain in Winter Park. My journal will continue through the first week of January. You’ll read about Winter Park Ski Resort, Snoasis, Sunspot Lodge, the great people who work here, and anything else I can think of to write about. I’m the author of “National Park Employment Data,” a guide to working in national parks, which is available for purchase on my web site at www.gorp.com/nped/. I’ve been working in national parks and ski areas off and on for over twenty years. Because I want the data in my book to always be fresh, I continually test the concepts, employers, and tips that I provide. I first worked at Winter Park in the late 70s while I was a student at Arizona State University.	Official Mug Shot
Previous Journals 12/22 12/23 12/24 12/25 12/26	Monday, December 27, 1999 The Great Wedge of Cheese Andy the baker came back from Christmas break, so I won’t be baking again until his days off. Today I worked the grill, which is exactly what I did the first time I worked here, in 1978. The after-Christmas crowds are starting to show up. The busiest day of the season always occurs sometime between Christmas and New Year. I did non-stop French fries and onion rings for several hours — ten 27-pound cases of fries. At 3.5 ounces per serving, I guess I served about 1,200 orders of fries. And the busiest day is yet to come. *** Winter Park is the closest ski area to Denver. Year after year it is also voted Colorado’s favorite — so consistently that Winter Park has worked it into their slogan. The Moffat Tunnel that I wrote about earlier is right at the base of the ski runs. In fact there are berms to stop skiers before they accidentally ski onto the tracks. With the railroad so close, the former Denver & Rio Grande ran ski trains from Denver to Winter Park for years. Now a Denver entrepreneur has continued the tradition. Driving, you simply head west on I-70 and turn north on US 40 a few miles before the Eisenhower Tunnel. US 40 goes over Berthoud Pass, on the Continental Divide, and drops down into Winter Park. The original highway used to go within 100 feet of the base lodge, but they have since built a bypass, and the old highway is now the entrance to the ski area and even becomes part of the parking lots. Winter Park gets some of the best snow in Colorado. A little geography lesson is in order to explain how it can be closest to Denver yet also the best skiing. You may have heard of what is referred to as Colorado’s “western slope.” Well, it is literally that. From Denver west, it’s as if someone laid a wedge of cheese on its side with the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Utah being the hypotenuse and the Continental Divide directly west of Denver being the highest point. Winter Park’s base is 9,000 feet, higher than all but a few other ski areas. Aspen, though world famous, is actually at a low point on the wedge of cheese compared to Winter Park or Keystone. Flowing parallel to US 40 and right through Winter Parks’ parking lot is Fraser Creek. It starts somewhere up on Berthoud Pass and flows north through Fraser and Tabernash to Granby. There is joins the Colorado River which starts somewhere in Rocky Mountain National Park. *** The southwest is in another El Nina drought this year. Flagstaff has received no snow and Winter Park has received only 88 inches. By now Winter Park should have received around 200. Nonetheless, the skiing is great with a 30-inch base and 1125 acres and 74 trails open.
	Yellowstone Park Journal - July, August, September, 1999
	Copyright ©1999 Ben Benton -- All Rights Reserved Ben Benton 124 North San Francisco Street, Suite 100 Flagstaff, Arizona 86001-5250 (520) 779-5300 Facsimile (520) 213-8425 e-mail [email protected]

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