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WINTERSKÖL- Aspen's Annual Toast to Winter!
“I’ll tell you where. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like salmon of Capistrano. I’m talking about a little place called Aspen.”
The UcFit Crew was in Aspen, Colorado for the 63rd annual Wintersköl celebration the other weekend and took full advantage of all this ritzy Rocky Mountain ski town had to offer! Wintersköl, Aspen's annual "toast to winter," dates back to a quiet January in 1951 when local Aspenites decided to celebrate Aspen's unique Nordic lifestyle with an eclectic weekend of festivities. Today the four day celebration features on-mountain activities, live music, a canine fashion show, WinterFest, fireworks and much more.
The action started on Friday morning when we grabbed our cross country skis and drove to Independence Pass. The Pass is closed annually from roughly Columbus Day to Memorial Day due to the sketchy, narrow road and the heavy snowfall. For about half the year, outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the picturesque solitude of the Pass uninhibited from motorists. We cross country skiied up the Pass for a few miles and then did an about-face for the faster, more exciting descent. During this time we passed by Kevin Costner’s huge, expansive winter estate which was pretty cool given we're big 'Dances with Wolves' fans. After that we headed back into town for the Soupsköl competition. All of the local restaurants compete against each other to determine who has the tastiest soup by giving out free samples and letting the people decide. Lots of different varieties, delicious and loads of fun! My favorite was the elk wonton drop soup! That night we saw American Hustle showing at the local theatre and later sat down for some good food at Mezaluna. After dinner we capped the night off by checking out the ice-sculpture competition, while all around us the town was glowing from the holiday lights and fluffy, soft snow falling at our feet.
The next day we grabbed our skis and snowboards and headed to Aspen Mountain for our first day of the season. It was a beautiful, sunny blue-bird day on the slopes! It had snowed a few inches the prior night so the conditions were great. Our heads kept toasty under the Uncommon Fit Yeti Beanie and all our snacks and supplies stowed into the UcFit backpack, you could say we were 'LOADED FOR BEAR!'
I must say that there is not a single unattractive person in the entire town it seems and I could’ve sworn I rode past Mary Swanson. One of the cool things about this mountain is how incredibly close the gondola and lifts are to the center of the town. It’s literally only 500 feet or so from the road. Another cool thing were the suped-up gondolas they were spinning. Some of the gondolas have solar panels on them and an entertainment system built inside where you can literally plug your smartphone or ipod into the docking station and suddenly you’ve got your own gondola party! We capped our day on the mountain with some après ski cocktails at the lodge bar below. That night we ate a fantastic dinner at BB’s Kitchen and watched the fireworks display from the mountain on the restaurant's rooftop.
The whole weekend there we felt the buzz surrounding us for the return of X-Games Aspen and Denver Broncos playoff football. We left on Sunday morning with joy in our hearts and smiles on our faces, determined to return to this magical place again soon. Live to the fullest of your potential and always Do What UcFit!
For all you ‘Dumb and Dumber’ fans out there like us, the sequel is set to hit theatres in November with the original cast and they just released this teaser!
