|
|
| Snowshoeing in Colorado |
Imagine the scene, a bright crisp morning in the elegant ski resort of Beaver Creek, Colorado. The sky a deep blue and a fresh dusting of snow lay all around. It was cold but no wind – on any other day, a perfect day for skiing, but today was a day for a snowshoeing patrol.
The Nordic Centre in Colorado is a quiet place, located at the end of the main drag, quite separate from the main skiing area. It takes care of all those non-Alpine skiing adventures, such as telemarking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. It is also a one-stop shop where you can hire everything from equipment to a guide, to help your snowshoeing adventure.
All you need is a bottle or two of water and a pair of ski poles. The shoes – made of light metal frames – extend around your foot with spikes underneath to stop you sliding backwards, and there is webbing to prevent you from sinking! Compared to ski boots they are like cosy slippers – comfortable and easy to manoeuvre.
Snowshoeing is a great family day out no matter what your age or fitness – If you can walk, you can snowshoe. In fact, snowshoeing is great fun for children.
McCoy Park is a 60-acre wilderness, a lift ride from the base of the resort, which has more than 18 miles of trails especially for snowshoers and cross-country skiers. Snowshoeing is a sweaty business, and a good workout for buttocks and thighs. Or at least that is what you will tell yourself as you plough your way back up the track.
The beauty of McCoy Park is its silence; a world removed from the testosterone-fuelled screeches of the slopes. The only evidence of life came from animal tracks belonging to fox, coyote, elk and moose. The Park has thankfully escaped the network of lifts that has been built across the rest of Beaver Creek, and has so far been left alone to develop its own system of protecting wildlife. The aspen trees that contain aspirin in their bark, which female elk are drawn to after delivering their offspring. The bark also contains sunscreen – handy if you forget your Piz Buin.
If the children get tired of snowshoeing, you could always treat them to a two-hour long dogsledding tour – children can sit in the sled while an adult propels the dogs through the open snow fields.
So if you are looking to hire a ski chalet or apartment this winter, try looking at what this selection of picture postcard ski resorts have to offer
View Ski Chalets For Rent.
View Ski Chalets for rent
|
|
