Eldora State of Mind: What makes this Colorado Front Range resort so special with Tim Kenney

[00:00:05] Welcome to a special episode of the The The OutThere Colorado Podcast. I am Spencer McKee and I'm here with Tim Kenney, who is the snow sports director at Eldora Mountain Resort up in Nederland. So yeah, thank you for joining us today. Yeah, glad to be here. Yeah, really excited to chat. We're gonna be chatting all about Nederland and all about Eldora Mountain Resort and also about a deal that you guys are offering this year, which is honestly just, I mean, one of the best deals I've ever seen in terms of making a deal.

[00:00:35] Making Skiing More Accessible. But first, let's dig into you. You want to talk about yourself a little bit? Oh, I'd love to. Yeah. So, so how long you been in the industry? You know, how long you been with Eldora? Tell us a little bit about what brought you there. Yeah. In the industry, you know, as an employee since early 2000s, started skiing and riding when I was in middle school, high school. So like mid nineties. So, you know, been in the industry for a while.

[00:01:03] Uh, what brought me to Eldora, you know, I landed in Steamboat, you know, after moving, I grew up in Jersey, moved to Steamboat, kind of followed a college buddy out there, but, uh, love, you know, will make you do crazy things. Um, and so, you know, ended up in Boulder, saw that they had a ski area. Eldora was right out there and, uh, was, was stoked that I could, you know, still live my mountain lifestyle that I was living in Steamboat, but, but take that down to Boulder.

[00:01:28] And, um, spent four years, 2008 to 2012, working there, ended up, um, you know, with my wife moving back to Steamboat, spent a long time there. And then, uh, opportunity to, to run the ski and ride school popped up around the Christmas of 2022 and, um, jumped on it and, you know, met with the former GM and toward, you know, cause a lot had changed, uh, since I had left in 2012.

[00:01:54] And I was stoked, you know, like what I saw right away, just all the employees, all the staff, all the guests, everyone just happy to be there. Um, kind of turned me back onto it and made the jump and have been there since, you know, 2022. So, you know, it's like cumulative 70 years, something like that. Very cool. Yeah. I've only heard good things about Eldora and you often hear that it kind of has that like locals feel, uh, even though it's on the front range. Yeah. Like, and it's, I mean, it's how, how long is it from Boulder? Like a 30 minute drive, 20 minute drive? Yeah.

[00:02:23] Not even, you know, um, kind of depends where you're at. Like the hardest part is getting through Boulder, you know, once you hit Canyon, it's smooth sailing, but, um, yeah, 30, 35 minutes, depending where you're at. And, um, yeah, the vibe is really, uh, it's incredible there, you know? And, uh, I feel like a lot of other resorts, it's like you get that vibe on the powder day just cause the energy is really high. Um, every day of the week at Eldora, I feel like there's just the locals vibe. People are stoked to be there.

[00:02:49] I mean, when I'm walking into the office, like I'm there early, the parking lot's already like a quarter full, right? People are already there eating their burritos in the car, just facing, you know, the, the chair lift ready to go. So it's pretty cool. Yeah. It's so cool. Um, so let's talk about the history of Eldora, uh, real quick. Um, just in case people aren't familiar with that. Uh, when did it start and kind of what have the following decades look like for that? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:03:13] So, you know, founded around 62, um, I think definitely in conjunction with, uh, ski or sorry, CU, uh, ski team. Um, so definitely it was, uh, like a venue for CU to train, uh, a lot of Alpine racing, things like that. Um, you know, I think ownership probably changed hands a little bit from the early days, uh, through the eighties, nineties. Uh, I know the Ertl family, uh, ran the resort for a long time.

[00:03:39] I think it was family run, um, transitions through the nineties. And I think there was still private ownership. Um, and then into when did powder purchased around, you know, don't quote me on this somewhere around 2015, 16, somewhere around there. Um, still operating us to this day. Um, but you know, independent, right. I don't believe, um, powders ever, or sorry, Eldora has ever been owned, you know, by the veils or the Alterras or anything like that.

[00:04:09] So, yeah. What, um, to kind of describe the mountain to somebody who's never been there before, like what is it like aside from just like this locals vibe that that's going on, but like, I guess, how would you describe it in a nutshell? Yeah. Yeah. Um, I, you know, I always think of the way the terrain is laid out at Eldora. And, um, one thing that makes it easy to navigate, whether you're beginner, intermediate or advanced is, you know, once you're, you're in the parking lot, you know, you're in the

[00:04:36] base area, you can kind of see all the green runs, you know, kind of to the South. And then as you progress to the West, things progressively just get harder, right? So blue runs are kind of right in front of you, um, off of our six pack and a few blue runs off to the side of that. And then as you go further back, uh, groomed black runs, uh, some trees and glades. And then just beyond that, the furthest, you know, Western boundary is all gladed, uh,

[00:05:00] double black extreme terrain and, um, super, super fun resort, you know, about thousand feet elevation, you know, nothing too crazy, but, um, you can get a lot of laps in, um, three main chairs kind of service, the blues and black runs. Um, and then, you know, that, that area, like in my world, ski and ride school, it's all the green runs. That's kind of like my zone. It's kind of in its own little nook, you know, once again, it's like right when you enter the parking lot, you kind of see all that there. Uh, the train park is right off the edge of that.

[00:05:29] And then it kind of goes blue and black and beyond. So, you know, the easiest thing to, for folks to navigate is it's like, well, just start furthest to the left. When do you get there? If you're not sure of the terrain, right? If that's easy, take your next chair to the right. If that's easy, keep going. If that felt too hard, go back left. That's funny. You know? Yeah. I was going to ask if there's some sort of challenge where it's like, just work your way all the way across. Yeah. But I could see where that'd be almost like a, a race to be the first person to get from one side to the other. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:05:57] As everything's progressively getting harder and you're getting more tired. That'd be, that'd be fun. Yeah. Yeah. I need to start that if you don't do it already, but, uh, yeah. Um, yeah. So you mentioned, uh, your biggest role right now is with ski and ride school. Right. Um, what brought you to, uh, to being interested in that career? And, um, I guess, what are your priorities when it comes to teaching your students? Yeah. Um, yeah.

[00:06:24] So, you know, when I was chasing my buddy out of college over to steamboat, you know, I kind of thought I was taking a gap year as so many people do, right? You graduate and you're like, don't want to get a real job quite yet. Move to the mountains, get a ski job. And, um, wanted to work outside, right. Wanted the free ski pass, loved being in the mountains. And, um, what I thought was one season just kept snowballing. Right. And more and more and more. And, uh, you know, really enjoyed instructing and just loved, you know, working with people

[00:06:54] for myself. It probably started out selfishly. Right. Like I wanted to be outside. I wanted to be on my snowboard. I wanted to be doing all those things. And, uh, before you know it, right. You, you realize like, oh, I can actually, you know, get my paychecks and make a living doing this and had a lot of fun, you know, just a lot of fun meeting people from all over the country. Uh, seeing that light bulb light up, you know, when, when they learn something new.

[00:07:18] Um, my favorite lesson has always been like that person that's been out maybe one or two times and I'm snowboarder, you know, and they haven't quite linked their turns yet. Like maybe they've done it in one direction or maybe in the other, but haven't quite been able to get a rhythm and flow going on. And, um, just being able to, you know, get them to link those turns left to right down the hill, you know, controlling your speed through turn shape, things like that. And then all of a sudden, like the mountain opens up to them, you know, they're, they're

[00:07:48] on green runs and you're like, all right, let's start playing with the shape of our turn. Like they're wide. If they're narrow, they're open down the hill or closed across the hill. How do we control our speed? And then all of a sudden blue runs open up to them. It's like, sweet. We got some more terrain, you know? And it's like, it's like, you just keep unlocking the mountain. So, um, for me, that was the most fun aspect of it. And I mean, I would say the priority of course, safety is like the first and foremost, right?

[00:08:14] Like if, if you never feel worse than if someone in your width gets injured, but you know, just like anybody else, you get injured, you're going to stop engaging in the sport or it's going to slow you down. So, you know, making sure people get home at the end of the day in the same shape they showed up numero uno, and then just trying to connect with the guests, figure out what brought them to the sport, what makes them interested, uh, how they learn, um, you know, and then just trying to pace things at a pace that keeps them engaged and challenged without

[00:08:43] being, you know, uh, too challenging. Right. You want to make it bite-sized and fun. I really love the way that you put that too, with, um, getting people to unlock more of the mountain. Almost like it's a video game in a sense where it's like, you move up that, that level one, level two, level three. That's it. Um, and I think that's something that so many people can relate to just because everyone started at some point. Yeah. And, um, a lot of people like, like myself, like I started when I was, you know, already

[00:09:08] in my twenties and, uh, first time I went skiing was in Indiana at perfect North. I think it's like a 300 foot hill. Um, but I remember that, you know, no guidance at all whatsoever, strapping the skis on going down the mountain. I was able to stay up, but then I couldn't stop. So I ended up in the parking lot, but I just kind of kept going and, uh, I'm just stuck there with my, my skis on. And I'm like, I don't even know how to take the skis off. So I'm just stuck out there in the middle of nowhere.

[00:09:35] Um, and then kind of flash forward a few years, uh, next time, uh, when skiing was out in Aspen and again, no instruction was out there for like a college spring break trip with friends that were better than me and, uh, ended up like stumbling my way into some like black diamond terrain. And, uh, it was scary. Like I was like inching my way down the mountain. And then I think everyone probably has stories similar to that, you know, uh, when it comes

[00:10:03] to skiing and, uh, it really shows like the value of actually being taught what you're doing because you can get yourself in some very dangerous situations. You know, it's like, thankfully there wasn't a car in the parking lot that was going to hit me or, yeah. Or a cliff. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Um, and we were talking a little bit before this about your first skiing story too. Yeah. You should share that. Yeah. It's a good one. Yeah. It's funny. I was thinking too, I kind of, you know, I started out skiing middle school and then

[00:10:30] I've got another funny story about starting out snowboarding high school, but, um, I always love telling the, the ski story. So, you know, I had a friend in middle school, um, who introduced me to the ski club that was going on. This was like sixth or seventh grade and I don't come from a ski family. I mean, my dad would take us camping. We'd go hiking. Well, that was about as, as outdoorsy as you get growing up in Jersey in my family. And, um, so, you know, I think the price was right. And, you know, the school bus would take us out to, um, Shawnee mountains.

[00:10:59] This is Poconos, Pennsylvania and bring us back at the end of the day. And, um, so yeah, you know, join the ski club and, you know, I grew up in the era where we would like cuff and pinch your jeans and like roll them up. Like, you know, around your ankles and your socks. And, um, I remember like stuffing those in my boots. Cause no one told me. And I think that was my base layer was like jeans, you know, thermal, you know, wool or synthetics, you know?

[00:11:27] Um, and I do remember, you know, like going through the rental shop is the first time there. No idea what the experience was going to be like, or what was happening. And, um, pretty sure I had my skis on in the shop and, you know, like kind of foot in front of foot, like tromping out the door and like the double door opens, you get hit with the cold air. It's like, just push them out on the snow. Um, but yeah, it was all, you know, like stages where, you know, the instruction was the component of the ski club.

[00:11:55] And, um, you'd kind of get like this little report card and you go to the first stage right out that door and get signed off when you got proficient and you go to the next stage. And at some point the lessons just ended, you know, and it was like, but the lights were still on, you could keep skiing. So no matter what your skill level was, it's probably like your first time. And of course, you know, like middle school with my buddies, like, yeah, I'm going to go take the chair to the top. Um, but yeah, that was, that was like skiing. And then, you know, I kind of dropped it for a little while. Once again, my family didn't ski or anything.

[00:12:25] Um, so going into high school, I started skateboarding and a lot of my buddies had snowboard and this is early nineties. So still relatively new, um, in the world of snowboard. And this is a very snowboard experience, you know, it's snow a bunch in Jersey and there's like a power line where you got a little cut between the trees and our friends would like grab a bunch of like trash cans from people's driveways and drive logs out from the woods and build all these jibs down this hillside through the power lines.

[00:12:54] And, you know, you just hike up and down. And I was in like hiking boots. I was not wearing snowboard boots, just borrowing friends gear. Um, just flailing, but having the time of my life and that that's kind of what got me hooked on snowboarding as opposed to that, that ski side of things. But yeah, I kind of had two starts, which is kind of funny. Yeah, that is funny. Two different things to skiing and snowboarding, right? Yeah. Um, one part of your story too, that relates to me is, you know, kind of moving out here,

[00:13:20] following a friend in a sense, like that was same thing I did where I moved out to Colorado Springs 12 years ago, um, because a friend was out here and I got a taste for the mountains and it was like, I need more of that in my life. Um, but yeah, I mean, I think like I was saying, it's just like everyone can relate to the idea of like that first time when you're on the slopes and trying to figure it out and not knowing what to expect, not knowing what you're doing and just kind of trial and error in your way through it, so to speak.

[00:13:49] Um, and I think like, like I was saying, it really shows the importance of, or at least how valuable lessons can be. Um, and outdoor mountain resort is offering a deal this year called the learning three deal. Yeah. You want to give us a breakdown of that? Um, yeah, it was something that where I, whenever I heard about this, um, I really love how accessible it makes skiing and snowboarding for someone who might not know how to do it already. Right. Um, and then also just, uh, how practical it is. So yeah, go ahead and tell us about that. Yeah.

[00:14:18] You know, it, it kind of spawned out of like, there's a lot of barriers, right. Uh, and, and we could look at all those and, and jump in and say, Oh, this is why you can't do it. This is why you can't do it. And so we're trying to break down a lot of those barriers. And, um, you know, the, the lesson component is one of them, right? Like the first barrier is I don't know how to do this. Uh, you know, in ski and ride school, every ski area has got one. So, right. We've got the tools to, to coach folks and teach them how to turn left and right and have fun on the mountains. Um, gear is kind of your next barrier, right? Where are you going to get the gear?

[00:14:48] Um, not only for the lesson, you know, we include it in all these learning three, it's a three lesson package. Um, so gears included in all that, but then at the end, uh, what do you do? Right? Like after you've learned how to ski, where are you going to go get your gear? It's not cheap and you can get season rentals, what have you. But, um, so we kind of throw the gear right in there at the onset, you get a season rental right when you start. And then, um, another big barrier is that season pass, right? You need that ticket. Now, back to my first story was I needed that job for my season pass.

[00:15:17] Uh, everybody's looking for that free ticket. And, um, so included in this lesson package is a free season pass for the season. So, you know, we could take someone who's never been in the sport before. Uh, we give you the gear, we give you the pass, we get you three lessons. You could take them, uh, any day of the week you want. Uh, you know, we start late December in terms of like opening this product up through the whole course of the year, weekdays, weekends. And, um, through those first three lessons, we'll get folks proficient turning left and

[00:15:44] right, stopping loading the chair, unloading the chair, um, all of our green runs and just teasing into the blue runs. Um, and then at the end of those three lessons, we don't just put you at the edge of the cliff, right? You've got your gear, keep that for the rest of the season and you got your season pass, right? So that way you've got your gateway to get, uh, you know, access to the mountain and keep taking lessons or, or keep skiing with buddies. Yeah. That's so cool. And, and what's it priced at? Yeah. Yeah. Priced at five 49.

[00:16:11] Um, that includes the whole package, all three lessons, uh, the season rental. Yeah. I mean, some places you'll pay five 49 for a single one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's wild. I mean, so for five 49, you're getting the three lessons, uh, you're getting rentals for the season, which again, that's like something that costs a hundred plus. Yeah. Regardless. And then you also get access to the mountain for the rest of the year. That's yeah. Yeah. That's incredible. Incredible. And, and just with the location of Eldora too, right by a lot of these front range cities,

[00:16:40] um, the closest place to ski for probably most Coloradans. If we were to break down the, where people live. Um, yeah. I mean, it seems like that is very, it would be very appealing to somebody looking to learn to ski. Uh, just because it's, you also don't have to deal with I-70. You don't have to deal with driving two and a half hours, you know, or, or two, two and a half hours just to get to the mountain and then pay several hundred dollars. There's your next barrier, right? Like don't want to go into the pain of being on I-70 on a, on a Saturday morning or a Sunday morning.

[00:17:09] And, you know, Boulder, all Boulder County, real, all the communities. Um, I always like saying like, we, we turn everybody into a local, you know, like I had to move the steamboat to feel like a local, but Lafayette, Longmont, you know, wherever, uh, on the front range there, we're not that far. You could get home midday if you wanted to. Um, yeah, it's easy. Like I said, once you get on Canyon, it's the worst parts getting through Boulder. It's smooth sailing up to the resort. Yeah. And I could, I mean, I could see this deal appealing to a lot of people that are, um,

[00:17:39] you know, like obviously like a lot of kids are taking lessons to learn to ski, but adults too. It's like most of my friends that don't ski, the reason they don't ski now. And the reason they haven't tried is because they're scared of getting hurt. They're scared of going out on the mountain, not knowing what they're doing, falling and getting hurt. Whereas in a lesson, you know, obviously there's still a risk of injury, but a much safer scenario. Yeah. We're going to reduce that risk. Right. Cause we're going to do it all step-by-step. Right. Once again, last thing we ever want to see is that injury coming out of a, out of a lesson scenario.

[00:18:07] Um, but yeah, you know, you learn in that, that controlled environment. So many folks go out there with their buddy, you know, and you see it on the chairlift. I know you do. Right. You see one guy yelling at the other guy turn, you know, it's like, okay, not helpful. Right. If you're the other guy. And, um, right. So we kind of like demystify that, right. You jump into a lesson, break things down step-by-step. Um, all the instructors know what's going to come next, you know, and, uh, the terrain that we have, as I mentioned, right.

[00:18:35] It starts out real gentle and it gets tougher. Right. If, if we step into that zone, that's a little bit too much. We know how to guide folks down and then we kind of dial things back. But I like that you include the loading and unloading of lifts also. That's something where I think that's the most obvious, uh, maybe pitfall we'll say or something of people that are just starting out and everyone could see, right. It's like it almost, um, whenever you are starting out, you tend to build that up in your mind. Cause you're like, Oh, I don't want to fall. I don't want to fall when I'm getting off the lift. Everyone's going to be looking at me.

[00:19:05] It's going to be embarrassing. Um, and it's funny just as an instructor, I've been on the chair a lot with that guest first time going off the chair at the top. They have no, like what's up there. Yeah. What's going to happen? What does it look like? Um, yeah, I always joke too. Like you get to some, uh, ski areas and it's like, you're on the bunny Hills, everything's super mellow. And then that off ramp is like, you're like, Oh, double black off ramp. You're like, Nope, Nope. Make those all mellow at Eldora. Yeah. There's still like anytime I'm on a T bar, there's still like a 50% chance I'm going to fall.

[00:19:35] I feel you. Yeah. Dragged or, or hanging on when they should just let go. And the whole crowd is yelling. Um, yeah, no, that's awesome though. Um, so I guess, uh, for people that are listening, who are trying to get into skiing, um, what type of advice do you have for some beginners just in terms of like the necessary skills and if they're, if they're not going to be someone that's taking a lesson, like where they can

[00:20:04] go to learn those skills, how do they practice? Um, and then also just like, how do you find the right gear? Uh, maybe what are some of the most common mistakes that beginners make? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess I would start with, you know, rest up, hydrate, you're going up into the mountains. We do see, you know, a lot of altitude sickness, uh, even just from locals sometimes. Um, and hydration is probably the quickest way to, you know, get yourself ready for the day.

[00:20:31] Um, you know, what I love about skiing and snowboarding is really everybody, anybody can figure it out, right? Like all, all walks of life can figure it out. You don't have to be an athlete to figure it out. Right. So that's not necessarily the most important thing. Um, you know, I think it's maybe a little bit of like humor for yourself, right? Just throw, I know what it's like as an adult going out there with a group of strangers, maybe, and trying something you haven't tried before. Um, it can be kind of intimidating.

[00:21:00] So, uh, you know, having some trust in the process, especially if you're in a lesson scenario, um, you know, bring a friend. I think that's, you know, we used to always say no friends on a powder day. Well, nope, that's, those days are long gone. It's like more friends on a powder day, like figure out, get a buddy, get someone, um, that could be part of your community, right? That, that you want to go up there with. Um, one thing we'd love to see out of this whole learn, uh, in three program is folks meet each other on day one and they're, they're kind of mixed in with other folks that are maybe

[00:21:29] just there for a day, but by lesson two, they're like, Oh, I saw you at the last lesson. And then they start changing numbers. And before you know it, they're buddies by they're coordinating day three. And like, you kind of want your crew, you know, you don't want to be on an Island. Um, you know, gear like outerwear is a thing. Like obviously we'll provide you with the skis, snowboards, boots, uh, poles, helmet, all that. Um, definitely bring goggles or glasses. Um, you know, some folks get out there and they're just getting blinded.

[00:21:57] They don't realize, you know, it's like being on a lake, right? The sun's going to reflect off the snow. Um, base layers, uh, always, you know, no cotton, don't wear jeans, don't cuff them into your boots. Uh, you know, where, where some kind of synthetic base layer wool is always great too. Um, one pair of socks, you know, if you're a kid, you're a kid. If you ever worked in a rental shop, people are like, I want to stay warm. I have six pairs of socks on here. Nope. One pair of socks, uh, is all you need. Um, yeah. And just stay hydrated and fueled throughout the day.

[00:22:27] And yeah, off you go. I would also say some folks try to bang this out, our product at least in like three days, boom, boom, boom. And I like watching people take their time with it. You know, it's like, you're actually going to be pretty worn out if you haven't skied or snowboarded before. Um, just from the elements, you know, being outside in the cold. So spacing it out over three weeks. Um, you know, seeing some people, you know, over spring break over the week, they'll space it out. Um, usually folks that are trying to go three days in a row, they hit day three and they're

[00:22:56] just cooked. So like their bodies are not working how they should, they're not kind of optimizing the learning cause they're just, they're worn out. Yeah. It makes it harder to learn for sure. Yeah. Um, I've, I've also always found that like anytime I'll have a week or two off, especially when I'm trying to learn something new, like skiing or whatever it is, it feels like I always come back, um, improving during that week off in some way where it's like, probably like what you're saying, where it's like, you get tired, it makes it harder to learn.

[00:23:24] And yeah, that gap, it always seems to help me like every, every start of a new ski season. I'm like, huh, I feel better. It feels like I'm actually doing what I should be doing. And the information probably digest too, right? Like those lessons, there is a lot of info on how do we do this and how do we do that? It takes a while for the brain to process all that. What, uh, are some common mistakes from like, from the technical standpoint of skiing, snowboarding that you see beginners make? Yeah. You know, most common ski or snowboard is, is kind of driving your weight back.

[00:23:53] I'm sure you've seen this, you know, like on skis, you get on the tails, you know, you think as you're gaining a little bit of speed down something, you're like, Ooh, it's sometimes it's out of fear. Sometimes it's like letting the gear run away from you on a snowboard. It's the same thing. If you get on your back leg, uh, what you end up doing is, is losing your ability to control the steering, uh, in the gear and all the steering, just like in a car comes out of the front. Right. And so, uh, if we're balanced over both feet or even at the beginning of a turn, able to

[00:24:20] get our weight forward just for a little bit and then back to center, uh, is going to allow us to make those turns a lot easier. Right. And it ends up being one of those things where a little bit of fear sets in or something and you get back and then you start accelerating and then you're like, but I need to turn, but you've lost all the mechanisms to turn. And so it just ends up snowballing. So, uh, that's probably the most common. And, you know, I've definitely seen great instructors and great coaches, just coach stance

[00:24:47] right out of the beginning, starting off real gentle, mellow slopes. Um, so that way you get people in the right stance right off the bat. So that way when they start their first turn, they're like, Oh, it clicks, you know, as opposed to folks that might rush through it or that buddy that's just yelling at you to turn. Right. Doesn't work. Cause you're just not standing on the gear correctly. Yeah. Yeah. That's something where I, I need lessons for my form. Um, I can make it down most stuff all about it, but, uh, it's not pretty. I had to learn just following faster people than me.

[00:25:17] And then you just kind of, you pick up all these bad. Like techniques. Yeah. Um, where you can get down the mountain, but it doesn't look pretty. Right. Right. Stance is what I, I see videos of myself skiing sometimes and I'm like, wow, it's not pretty. You're not the only one. Yeah. But, uh, yeah. I mean, I could use lessons like that for, for that, for sure. Um, no doubt about it. Um, and you guys offer, uh, I would assume we're talking more so like beginner lessons, but you guys probably offer just any level of skiing. Yeah.

[00:25:47] Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Multi-week programs, you know, uh, kids and adults, we've got a great women's program, uh, all ability levels from beginner up through advanced. Um, of course, you know, private lessons. Um, I like to think we've got a great deal on private lessons, especially when you kind of compare the landscape. But if you've got, you know, you still, if you have your own pass, if you've got your gear, you've got a group of friends split the costs, you know, up to six guests in our private lessons is the same cost, no extra fees.

[00:26:12] So, um, you know, it's, it's hard, hard to get that group out there, but if you can coordinate, um, yeah, we could take folks front side, backside trees. Um, yeah, we do it all. How much is a private lesson? Um, anywhere between, you know, about 400 for like a half day up to about 700 for the full day. And you can have six people with you for that. I mean, that is a great deal. Yeah. Right. Like six people in a full day, six hour lesson, just over a hundred bucks per person.

[00:26:38] And if that's your group of buddies, I mean, what are folks booking ski cats for thousands? Yeah. No, that's a great deal. Um, yeah, I can see where that would appeal to just, yeah, that outside of that beginner level, people wanting to hone their skills, maybe they're in their second or third season and they're feeling comfortable on the mountain, but they want to look pretty. Right. Yeah. Keep looking pretty. Um, no, that's awesome. Uh, so let's talk about Eldora a little bit more. We, uh, kind of went over what the resort's like. Um, and it's around, uh, around 700, uh, skiable acres.

[00:27:07] Yeah. Yeah. I think we're, yeah, just about, just under, yeah. Just under that. Um, what, what's the perfect day look like on Eldora? Like what restaurants are there? I mean, you're obviously there all the time. So, you know, the best places to eat, the best dishes to get, um, the best, best runs to hit. So like, what is that like perfect day on Eldora? What does that look like? Yeah. Gosh, it's funny. Cause like my brain goes to like a couple different perfect days, like whether you're that local, right. That's in the Boulder area or you're that first timer.

[00:27:36] But I would say, you know, for a first time or getting up early, getting that breakfast in at home, uh, or just, you know, grabbing that coffee and coming up the Canyon. I got to say Boulder Canyon is just gorgeous in the winter. Like I love my commute. It's like hard to keep your eyes on the road, uh, just the Canyon walls and the river. But, um, you know, once you're parked, um, at Eldora, I love getting breakfast at a ski resort. Like I just love going in and getting like an egg sandwich, you know, like on a, like egg McMuffin or whatever kind of a thing.

[00:28:03] Um, just to kind of fuel up, um, lift start turning, uh, you know, about eight 30 on the weekends, I think nine o'clock weekdays. Um, if you could come up on a weekday, man, you will have Eldora to yourself, which is, I mean, that's a great experience, uh, just in and of itself anywhere. When you get out on the Hill and you look around and you're like, I don't know, how am I the only person here? Um, so yeah, midweek day is always a great day at Eldora. Um, you know, cruising around the mountain. It's great starting.

[00:28:31] Like, like I said, you kind of like lookers, you kind of start left and you start moving, right. Um, you know, some of the glades that we've got in the back, uh, top of the Corona chair, we've got this cool, uh, like octagon building that faces Indian peaks wilderness. Um, yeah. Beautiful views off the back of the area. Yeah. Beautiful off there. And, um, we do some great pizzas. My favorite, I think it's the snowmaker.

[00:28:58] It's like a Lugula prosciutto, you know, just get like a delicious pizza. And, um, they've all got all kinds of craft beers and things like that there too, but I'm more of like a coffee guy in the middle of the day. Want to refuel. Um, and then, um, yeah, after skiing afternoon coming off the mountain, um, down into the town of Ned, you know, I'm a Jersey guy. So like, I'll tell you every pizza joint in town, you know, and cross cut is where I usually go. Um, they've got one of those like clay wood fired ovens. Yeah.

[00:29:28] Do a lot of like, like 12 inch, you know, 10 inch pies, um, ordering a bunch of those sharing with friends. Um, there's a lot of great breweries in that. And so all the, all the restaurants and bars will be serving local brews there. Um, Busey's is also great in that they do barbecue. If you're into that, you know, barbecue is great. Um, you know, if you're coming up through town, I always love getting like in the morning, Salto coffee, uh, over at Ned general is great. Uh, coffee too. So yeah, lots of different ways to play.

[00:29:56] And then like as a local, gosh, I mean, we just love our half days at Eldora. I mean, yeah, you could spend a whole day, but one of the benefits is like, I always love it when it's like that Saturday, maybe you didn't make plans, you know, you're chatting with your partner or whoever your friends and it's like nine o'clock. You're like, yeah, let's go up to Eldora. Right. You didn't have to make that decision at like 6 PM the night before. Right. You could cruise up, you're there, you know, in less than an hour, um, cruise around for half the day and come home.

[00:30:25] You got the rest of the day to yourself if you want, you know? And, um, yeah, there's so many different ways to play it. Yeah. No, that sounds, I mean, that I wish in Colorado Springs that we had an option where we were that close to something where it is just like, instead of it being a two hour drive, if you get lucky with traffic to, to ski spot. Um, it's not a full day commitment. You could commit for as little, as much as you want. Yeah. Yeah. And it makes it easier too, to go home when you're tired, opposed to sitting there when

[00:30:53] you're tired and still trying to get laps in increasing your risk of injury. True. Um, and then having to do the long drive home after you're tired, but. And I feel like locals, right. In ski towns, they get to pick and choose. They're like, Oh, I'll do a half day here. I have to there. Cause they live right there. Yeah. Right. Live on the front range. You don't have that luxury. You're like, I got to get the whole day. I got to plan out the whole day, the whole weekend. But yeah, you cruise up and back to Eldora, you know, in a half day, you've got the day of yourself. What, um, so, uh, what else is up in med that's worth checking out too? Um, which is funny on a side note.

[00:31:23] I, the first like, I don't know, eight years I lived in Colorado, I always said Niederland. Yeah. It's like going to, going to Niederland. So I got to mention that because I'm sure people listening to this have heard me mispronounce it many times over the years. Yeah. But yeah, got to drive down my head. Ned. So yeah. Yeah. Just call it Ned. Right. That's what we all call it. I like it. Yeah. Yep. It's like your, your neighbor, Ned. Yeah. Perfect. I'll remember it. Uh, yeah. What, so what else is there to do up in Ned? Yeah. So, you know, right at the resort, uh, we've got a great Nordic area.

[00:31:53] Um, so, you know, Nordic cross country, uh, skate skiing, snowshoeing, all kinds of stuff like that, which is great. Um, down in town, if you got families, I love bringing my kids to the carousel of happiness, uh, which is actually cool. It's like an old Coney Island rebuilt, uh, carousel, uh, run by a nonprofit. And it's, it's cool as you're going around, there's this old pipe organ thing in the middle playing. Um, and as an adult, I got to say, merry-go-round, merry-go-round still cuts it.

[00:32:21] Like you don't get sick, you know, going on those like roller coasters. Um, but you know, like Nederland and the surrounding area on the peak to peak, you know, it's just the, the Indian peaks, wilderness, the continents divide, like all these trails are just at your access. So whether it's more snowshoeing, um, doing some back country, um, you know, up caribou, uh, pass road, there's some great, easy, um, you know, backcountry. Skiing that you could do, right.

[00:32:48] If you're, if you're into that, Abby, you know, got the Abby skills and things like that. Um, and a lot of folks, uh, cruise up to Estes too, you know, just with having Rocky Mountain National Park, I don't know, maybe 45 minutes away from Ned, you know, something like that. Um, uh, it's a great, great way to go to, I know we, we do get a lot of guests that'll stay there, kind of cruise out for the day and cruise back to Estes for the night. But, but yeah, it's just gorgeous up in Estes. Yeah. I didn't realize it was that close. Yeah. It's not too far.

[00:33:16] Um, another one that I used to mispronounce while I was, when I first came here. Yeah. It said, uh, Estes Park. Estes. Yeah. Got some weird looks saying that. And, uh, I've, I've, I've since corrected myself there. You're a local now. Yeah. Basically.

[00:33:47] Um, but what else is there in Boulder for someone that might be headed to, uh, Eldora stopping in Boulder on their way? I mean, God, the beauty of like living in Boulder and working at Eldora is like, you get to have this, you know, I've had a friend called a normal life, you know, like as opposed to the ski town life, you know, you got all the amenities, um, of like a bigger town. Um, I mean, love going to see live music. You know, Boulder's got a great live music scene, whether you're going to the Fox theater,

[00:34:16] um, you know, the Boulder theater, you know, just checking out, uh, who's coming through town. Like you could, you could never lose, you know, there's, there's smaller venues. They're quaint. Um, and then as far as eating, I mean, Boulder's got a lot of high end eating. And then of course, like pizza, you know, uh, I think it's Barchetta we like going to, which is downtown and, um, breweries. I mean, also a big fan of like local brews, vision quest and boulders delicious, you know, the whole mountain sun, Southern sun, uh, world, right.

[00:34:45] Brew pub where you got restaurant and beer. Um, one thing they do there that's kind of neat. It's not on the menu is like the, the bartenders know how to, they, they, they're they mix some of their beers like behind and they've got secret names for them. So it's always worth like, see if you can get like your weight staff to like clue you in on that. Cause sometimes they're like, I don't know what you're talking about. Yes, you do. Um, but yeah, I mean, it's funny cause we'll get a lot of folks coming through guests to the ski and ride school. Um, you know, it's like, Oh, what are you else? You doing on your visit?

[00:35:14] And they're going to cruise Pearl street, do some shopping. Of course there's, there's fun things like that, but, um, yeah, there's just so much to do down there. Yeah. Yeah. I've always loved Boulder. Um, it is one of those spots where you just, you kind of feel the, like just the live liveliness of the people there. Yeah. Obviously one of the healthiest, uh, populations in the country. Um, you've got the student population there to kind of keep everyone young in a sense. In a sense. Yep. Yep. Um, yeah, no, that's, that's awesome though. I, uh, I need to get up there soon. Yeah. This year I will, I will check out.

[00:35:43] And the hiking, you know, that's the other thing too. Year round. I mean, you can go for a hike, uh, out there front range. It's stays dry. You might have some snow and like some of the shadowy spots on the trail, but yeah, you can get some fresh air no matter what. What's a favorite trail that people, you know, that doesn't end up in the top three trails, but one that people tend to like there. Yeah. I'm trying to think. You don't have to blow up your favorite spot. Yeah. So keep that in mind before. No, you know, I live, um, down in South Boulder and one of the benefits there for me too, is,

[00:36:13] uh, being able to cross Broadway and go, um, towards NCAR, which is like, you know, the national kind of research center. And there's all sorts of trails that branch off of there and there's neighborhoods around there. So like, once again, getting that like mountain vibe living in Boulder, um, so many folks can just hike right out their front door, right? Like a couple of blocks in the neighborhood and you're on dirt off you go. I think Shanahan Ridge connects over there. That's also South Boulder. Um, tend to go there. You know, a lot of folks go into Chautauqua, which I mean, hands down is gorgeous, right?

[00:36:42] It's like, get the, you know, the flat irons just kind of right in front of you there. Uh, lots of climbing, um, year round in those spots and it is, it is gorgeous there. Can't, can't deny it. Um, but it's busy, you know, so if you want to get away from the crowds going a little bit farther South is always good. Very cool. Yeah. Yeah. I think, um, to be honest, I think that's about everything that we wanted to chat about here. Nice. Um, I think, uh, a lot of people are going to enjoy this, this episode just hearing kind of the local ins and outs and just the, the tips on skiing and especially

[00:37:12] about this deal to learn in three deal at Eldora mountain resort, a great opportunity, uh, just to, just to learn how to ski. If people that are on the fence and you know, maybe they're too scared of the potential injuries or they just don't know where to start. Maybe they don't have friends that go skiing. Um, like you said, great way to learn to ski and also maybe a great way to connect with people too that have, are at that same ability level and kind of learning with you and make some, uh, buddies to go to the slopes with. So yeah. Build that winter community. Yeah.

[00:37:42] Very, very cool stuff. Um, yeah. Tim Kenny, thank you so much for being here today. Um, really appreciate it and really enjoyed the chat. Yeah. Appreciate it, Spencer.