Scavenger hunt, mountain tours, ski joring, sleigh rides and more: Tricia’s Weekend Picks 3/3/23

Scavenger hunt at Beaver Creek

If you are looking for something for your kids to do after the slopes close or on a day off from skiing and snowboarding, try the new Eager Beaver Adventure Company Scavenger Hunt at Beaver Creek. During this game, participants will be finding clues, solving puzzles and breaking codes all throughout Beaver Creek Village. The puzzles will lead you from one station to the next, in order. Stations are located around the ice rink, the lifts at the base area and the Covered Bridge at various Beaver Creek landmarks. At each station, you will collect a letter. Once you’ve solved all the puzzles and collected the letters, you will have a special code phrase that you will use to get a prize. 

The cool thing about this is there’s no need for a smartphone or any other electronic device in order to play. Kids play the old-fashioned way by reading clues and trial and error while deducting the information they are given in the Eager Beaver Adventure Company Adventure Kit. The kit contains an adventure guide booklet, a pencil and a “cookie” compass to tie into Beaver Creek’s chocolate chip cookie theme each day when cookies are given away at 3 p.m.

This free activity is available by going to the Guest Services/Lost and Found next to the Beaver Creek Ticket Office and asking for an Adventure Kit. These kits are also available at most of the hotels and lodges in Beaver Creek if you are staying there, so ask the front desk about it.

The game is appropriate for kids who are at least seven years old and older siblings and parents can participate, too. It’s best done as a group activity. Depending on how fast the group solves the puzzles and moves to the next station, it’s estimated that this will take one to two hours. To find out more, all the rules and frequently asked questions can be found at BeaverCreekResortCompany.com/Scavenger-Hunt.

Vail Mountain Tours

Want to learn more about Vail Mountain or just looking for some people to ski or snowboard with? You can find guided tours every day of the week except Saturdays on Vail Mountain. A mountain host with extensive knowledge of the resort, its trails, trail names, conditions and history will guide you over the vast terrain. The tours are complimentary.

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Frontside Mountain Tours

• Sundays through Fridays (no Saturdays)
• Meet at 10:15 a.m. at top of Eagle Bahn Gondola (No. 19)
• Tours leave promptly at 10:30 a.m.
• Recommended for intermediate skiers and riders and above

Blue Sky Basin Tours

• Sundays through Fridays (no Saturdays)
• Meet at 10:15 a.m. at Legacy Hut at the top of Mountain Top Express (No. 4)
• Tours leave promptly at 10:30 a.m.
• Recommended for advanced intermediate skiers and riders and above

Legacy Tours

• Thursdays
• Meet at 12:45 p.m. at Legacy Hut at the top of Mountain Top Express (No. 4)
• Tours leave promptly at 1:00 p.m.
• Recommended for intermediate skiers and riders and above

Women’s Winter Adventure Tours

• Wednesdays
• Meet at 9:45 a.m. at Legacy Hut at the top of Mountain Top Express (No. 4)
• Tours leave promptly at 10 a.m.
• Recommended for advanced intermediate skiers and riders and above

For more information call (970) 754-8245 or go to Vail.com.

Ski Joring in Leadville

The 75th Leadville Ski Joring competition is back in downtown Leadville this weekend. Ski joring by definition is the action of being pulled over snow or ice on skis by a horse or dog or a motor vehicle as a sport or recreation activity. Ski joring means “ski driving” in Norwegian and although it was once used as transportation, it is predominantly a competitive sport in modern times.

Leadville will transform its main drag, Harrison Avenue, into a ski joring venue as they fill the street with snow and build jumps and obstacles for racers to go through. The contestants are part of a team consisting of a skier and a horse and rider. The horse and rider pull the skier through the course and the skier needs to maneuver over jumps and spear rings that are set up at arm’s height along certain parts of the course. Teams are made up by a random draw before the start.

This is a spectator-friendly sport and the action will take place on both Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. This year the divisions will be Open, Sport and Snowmobile, in that order. After the race on Saturday, kids will get to try one fun run behind a snowmobile for free.  

In addition to ski joring, the weekend plays host to other events:

Friday

• Spirits in the Shaft at National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum from 6-9 p.m.
• The Yak at FREIGHT from 7-9 p.m.
• Karaoke at The Silver Dollar Saloon at 8 p.m.

Saturday

• Live Music at The Golden Burro from 12-3 p.m.
• Live Music at The Scarlet
• Family Fair at FREIGHT from 5-8 p.m.
• Burlesque Show at The Silver Dollar Saloon starting at 8 p.m.

For more information go to the Leadville Ski Joring Facebook page and leadvilleskijoring.us.

Sleigh ride dinners

For the ultimate Colorado dining experience, why not try a sleigh ride dinner at 4 Eagle Ranch? This excursion will take you back in time to the old west. 4 Eagle Ranch is located four miles north of Wolcott, about a 30-minute drive from Vail going west on Interstate 70. Once at the ranch enjoy the wide-open spaces and the feeling of being miles from anywhere.

Come early and warm up with a drink or cup of chili before heading out. Take your picture with the pair of Percheron horses that draw the sleigh. Once on the sleigh, get cozy under the blankets and view the sunset or the stars. The sleigh ride takes you on a loop around the pasture with views of the Sawatch Range.

Soak in some of the history that awaits you as well. The Nelson Cabin is a 130-year-old cabin that was relocated from Minturn to the ranch. The cabin was disassembled with all of its logs numbered, and then built back up again once it moved west.

Once you are back inside, you’ll be welcomed to the dining room with an open-hearth fire and potbelly stove to take away the chill and a musician playing some of your favorite tunes. Feast on a buffet of ranch favorites like barbecue chicken, New York strip steak or classic shrimp scampi. Sweeten up the evening with seasonal fruit cobbler with vanilla whipped cream and “dirty” vanilla bean ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbles and gummy worms. And, there’s never a shortage of s’mores at 4 Eagle Ranch, so save room for a few of those treats that you can make outside at the campfire.

4 Eagle Ranch is planning on hosting the sleigh ride dinners through early April if conditions permit. Check out 4EagleRanch.com for more details and book your reservations and make some lasting memories that your family and friends will talk about for a long time.

Ice Skating on Nottingham Lake

There’s something about skating on a lake or pond that is so fun and different, maybe it’s the au natural state of the ice with its imperfections along with the beauty that surrounds it instead of a perfectly symmetrical ice rink. Due to favorable weather conditions and the amenity’s popularity, the town of Avon is planning to extend ice skating operations on Nottingham Lake through March 12.  

If you need skate rentals, they will be provided by the Avon Recreation Department out of the Metcalf Cabin adjacent to the lake at Harry A. Nottingham Park. If you have your own skates, bring them but just stop by the Metcalf Cabin to sign a waiver. There will also be concessions like hot cocoa and s’mores along with fire pits, music and great views of Beaver Creek Mountain. An open skate section and recreational hockey area are available daily. Box hockey goals are provided on the west end of the ice rink, running north and south.

The ice rink will be open Monday through Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 8 p.m. The hours of operation are subject to change based on staffing, weather and ice quality. Updates on ice rink status, operations or programs can be found online at Avon.org/2435/Ice-Skating, Avon Recreation’s social media pages or by calling the Recreation Center front desk at 970-748-4060.