In this episode of the OutThere Colorado Podcast, Spencer and Seth chat about an epic 'Ice Palace' that was built over 100 years ago, our favorite 'off-the-slopes' ski towns, breweries worth visiting, a few new FKT (Fastest Known Time) records seth in Colorado last year, the state's snowiest resort (this season), and more!
[00:00:00] Welcome to the OutThere Colorado Podcast. I'm Spencer McKee, here with Seth Boster. Hey guys, we're back. We are back after the New Year. After the, yes, Happy New Year. And after the holiday season, took a couple weeks off there, maybe one week off. But yeah, we're back. Do you think anyone missed us? I know I would like to hope so, but to be honest, I'm not sure. Well, we missed all of you. We did. Very much so. And have some exciting stories.
[00:00:30] But yeah, overall, winter holidays pretty great. New Year is pretty great. I heard a little bit of snow in the Pikes Peak region made it difficult to see some of those fireworks from what I hear. Yeah. I popped out and looked for them and could not see them. So. The clouds. I know. And it was like such a sunny day. Yeah. And then the clouds rolled in just in time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I guess the initial nine fireworks were easier to see. Yeah. That they shoot off at nine. Or sorry, the five fireworks at a, at a, at a,
[00:01:00] 9 p.m. But we're talking about the Adam and club on Pikes Peak, by the way. Yeah. For you folks unfamiliar. Yeah. Those people in the Pikes Peak region are fortunate enough to experience it every New Year's.
[00:01:11] Yeah. Where you see the fireworks blasting off, lighting up snowy hillside. Beautiful scene when you're able to see it. That's right.
[00:01:18] Very historic club too. When did it start again? 1922 was it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Also, also historic. Our first topic of the podcast. Yeah. See how I set that up there? First, first topic. So by now everyone's familiar with the ice castles that pop up in, well, then in the past they've been in like the Dillon area and Summit County and then the Cripple Creek area, which they are this year too. And then Eagle, I believe as well this year.
[00:01:47] The ice castles though, right? It's just kind of a touristy destination. You need to walk around the winter wonderland, so to speak, illuminated with LED lights. You get towers, slides, et cetera. Just big frozen landscape to explore that kind of just gets built in these towns come, come the winter months of the year.
[00:02:04] Yes. But Seth recently covered something that most of you probably have not heard about. And that is the original ice castle. Tell us about it, Seth.
[00:02:13] Yeah. I took a little bit of a deep dive into the history of Leadville's ice palace, not just a castle, a palace. And this thing was huge. Like I'd heard of it before and I don't think I realized the, uh, just how immense it was.
[00:02:28] And when, when was this?
[00:02:29] We're talking, and that's the other crazy thing. Almost 130 years ago, 1896.
[00:02:33] Dang.
[00:02:34] Right around New Year's, they opened it in 1896.
[00:02:37] What was it like?
[00:02:38] The backdrop of this maybe is meaningful. Um, so around 1896, just a few years after silver crashed, right? So Leadville, uh, you know, it had boomed from gold and what, 1860. And then a decade later boomed with silver became known as one of the richest towns in America, home to one of the richest man's horse Tabor.
[00:03:04] And with the silver crash, Tabor's fortunes depleted and Leadville was really brought to its knees.
[00:03:13] And so that's the backdrop of this glorious place rising, right? This idea, of course, to spur the economy, to ignite the local economy again and get people excited about something again.
[00:03:25] And along came this real estate man with this idea that apparently had sprouted like in Minnesota, in Canada before, these ice palaces.
[00:03:36] But of course he wanted one bigger than the rest, right?
[00:03:40] Uh, in the 1970s, there was this history written by Edward Blair. It's kind of considered the, um, the definitive account of the Leadville Ice Palace, um, drawing on documents and newspaper reports at that time.
[00:03:56] And he said, uh, he wrote, as far as existing records show, the Leadville Ice Palace was the largest ice structure ever constructed in North America, possibly the world.
[00:04:06] Dang.
[00:04:07] So we're talking, um, by his account, drawing on blueprints, he came by 450 feet long and 320 feet wide.
[00:04:16] So half as long as a football field, twice as, and twice as wide by his account, right?
[00:04:22] And then there were 450 feet, 450 feet long.
[00:04:27] Yeah.
[00:04:28] So one and a half football fields.
[00:04:30] What's a, what's a football field?
[00:04:31] 100 yards.
[00:04:32] 300 feet.
[00:04:33] Yeah.
[00:04:33] 300 feet.
[00:04:34] So long.
[00:04:35] So longer than a football field.
[00:04:37] Yeah.
[00:04:38] And wider than a football field.
[00:04:40] Yeah.
[00:04:40] Good math.
[00:04:41] There we go.
[00:04:42] On the spot.
[00:04:43] Um, towers like up to 90 feet.
[00:04:45] Dang.
[00:04:47] Um, and it led straight into like this huge ice skating rink.
[00:04:51] And then on either side of it were like dining rooms and ballrooms for dancing.
[00:04:56] And there was apparently a band like up on a balcony and the music would like carry through for dancing and on the ice rink.
[00:05:05] Wow.
[00:05:06] That's 90 foot towers too.
[00:05:08] That's incredible.
[00:05:08] Yeah.
[00:05:09] So, and, um, and also like embedded with multicolor lights like we see today.
[00:05:15] There we go.
[00:05:16] I wonder how they did that.
[00:05:17] Or somehow they used like lamps.
[00:05:18] Yeah.
[00:05:19] I wasn't too clear on.
[00:05:20] Just like glass or something.
[00:05:20] Yeah.
[00:05:21] Yeah.
[00:05:21] But same, they, they, they, they managed a similar effect by the looks of it.
[00:05:25] And the ceiling was described as like a bed of sparkling diamonds, quote unquote.
[00:05:29] Probably isn't that like the red dye that's so bad or whatever.
[00:05:32] Yeah.
[00:05:33] The lead paint in frozen, uh, frozen water there to create lighting.
[00:05:38] Yeah.
[00:05:39] Dang, that sounds crazy.
[00:05:40] Massive.
[00:05:40] I mean, I was like in, so yeah, it lasted a few months, melted, uh, for what I could
[00:05:47] tell in, in March.
[00:05:49] And, um, and I guess for all the pomp and circumstance around it, you know, like there was like, uh,
[00:05:54] there was a carnival built around this thing, like costume dancing, toboggan runs, ice skating
[00:06:01] competitions, art.
[00:06:03] There was like sculptures all, there was like little exhibits all around the ice palace.
[00:06:08] Apparently cores like sent cases of beer to be frozen in the walls.
[00:06:12] Oh dang.
[00:06:13] Some OG marketing there.
[00:06:16] Yeah.
[00:06:16] But it was like a huge fundraising effort.
[00:06:18] I mean, you know, the, the guy who kind of took the reins of it and led this effort,
[00:06:24] you know, he's on the record for saying we got to raise $20,000 to do this thing.
[00:06:29] And it was still, it's still remembered as probably a financial failure describing why
[00:06:35] it was never going to return.
[00:06:37] Well, I just can't even imagine building something of that scale.
[00:06:40] Yeah.
[00:06:41] Like, especially in like what equipment were they using?
[00:06:45] Like, yeah.
[00:06:45] So we were joking about it a little bit before, but it's like, use the ancient technology
[00:06:50] of pyramid construction, right?
[00:06:53] Yeah.
[00:06:53] Long loss to humankind.
[00:06:55] Um, newspapers said like 250 to 350 men took fewer than 40 days to build this thing up.
[00:07:04] 5,000 tons of ice.
[00:07:06] They cut these blocks.
[00:07:07] You got to remember the time too.
[00:07:08] They cut the, the ice blocks out of like lakes and rivers.
[00:07:11] Yeah.
[00:07:11] Pulled it by horses.
[00:07:12] Yeah.
[00:07:13] So like we're talking lakes and rivers around Leadville and beyond.
[00:07:15] Apparently in Palmer Lake here in the Pikes Peak region was one of the sources of the
[00:07:19] ice.
[00:07:19] They're just moving these massive chunks of ice.
[00:07:21] I just can't imagine.
[00:07:22] I was talking to this historian in Leadville who was like, you know, she looks at these
[00:07:26] pictures into that question of like, you know, could they ever replicate this?
[00:07:30] She's like, I can't wrap my head around doing this.
[00:07:33] Even with 130 years later, like the capabilities we have now.
[00:07:37] Yeah.
[00:07:38] That's wild.
[00:07:38] What does that look like?
[00:07:40] Would have been amazing, amazing to see.
[00:07:42] Yeah.
[00:07:42] Well, and do you know how many people visited it?
[00:07:44] Is that a very interesting estimate?
[00:07:45] I couldn't find anything for sure on that.
[00:07:49] I think I saw like estimates of like 2,500 or something.
[00:07:52] So not.
[00:07:53] But I don't know.
[00:07:54] Not very many.
[00:07:54] You got to remember how people traveled, right?
[00:07:56] Like, you know, if you're in Denver, you got to take that train ride at that time.
[00:08:00] Yeah.
[00:08:01] That would probably have been your most efficient way.
[00:08:03] Yeah.
[00:08:04] To get there.
[00:08:04] Yeah.
[00:08:05] I can't imagine trying to travel around the Colorado mountains 130 years ago.
[00:08:08] Yeah.
[00:08:09] And the dead of winter.
[00:08:10] Yeah.
[00:08:10] Right.
[00:08:10] You really got to want to see that ice palace.
[00:08:12] Yeah.
[00:08:13] And where like people stayed, you know, who knows what.
[00:08:15] But it's apparently, yeah.
[00:08:16] I mean, there was apparently not any interest to build the thing again.
[00:08:23] Yeah.
[00:08:24] For one reason or another, you know.
[00:08:27] But it kind of seems like, you know, it seems like it didn't bring in the returns that they
[00:08:33] wanted, that they hoped for.
[00:08:35] For being as grand as it was and as expensive as it was, to be clear.
[00:08:39] Yeah.
[00:08:40] Well, and that's, it's just, even when you compare it to what's around a day, like I
[00:08:43] was talking a little bit about the ice castles we have now.
[00:08:47] Yeah.
[00:08:47] How tall are, what do they say?
[00:08:48] How big are those?
[00:08:50] I mean, if I had to guess, like, you know, like there's, there are two levels.
[00:08:57] Yeah.
[00:08:57] And you can go stand up there on top of that.
[00:09:00] And that's probably like, what, 20 feet off the ground.
[00:09:02] The company says like 20 feet up.
[00:09:04] Yeah.
[00:09:04] I just looked it up.
[00:09:06] Yeah.
[00:09:06] So, I mean.
[00:09:07] Compared to 90 feet of those towers.
[00:09:08] Yeah.
[00:09:09] With, with modern technology too.
[00:09:11] I mean, tens of thousands of people probably go to visit the ice castles.
[00:09:15] Yeah.
[00:09:16] Nowadays.
[00:09:17] Yeah.
[00:09:18] Yeah.
[00:09:18] And looking at the photos of this, this thing does look like a palace.
[00:09:22] We'll have those photos on the Out There Colorado website and Denver Gazette
[00:09:26] website.
[00:09:26] And then also probably be putting out a video from this little chat here.
[00:09:31] Yeah.
[00:09:32] Denver, Denver Public Library has really good photos that you can look at.
[00:09:35] Yeah.
[00:09:35] And the, the photos, it looks like a castle.
[00:09:38] Like it looks like something out of like a Game of Thrones, you know, where you have,
[00:09:43] like you have the turrited or the turrets, like, or whatever they call those, the towers
[00:09:48] with the little stone blocks.
[00:09:50] And yeah, that thing is massive.
[00:09:52] Would have been great to be there, huh?
[00:09:54] Yeah.
[00:09:55] Or not.
[00:09:55] I mean, this was a rough, rough time in Leadville.
[00:09:59] And in Colorado generally.
[00:10:01] Place of winter fun.
[00:10:02] Yeah.
[00:10:03] I saw this great little newspaper thing that from the time the, what was it?
[00:10:07] The Herald Democrat there in Leadville said, um, it will soon live, but a memory as in a
[00:10:13] child's fairy tale as it was melting.
[00:10:18] So it is.
[00:10:19] I mean, people still talk about it.
[00:10:20] So there's like a little park in Leadville, just a little, you know, community, um, picnic
[00:10:24] kind of area and whatnot.
[00:10:26] That's, that's called like ice palace park.
[00:10:29] Nice.
[00:10:29] So if anyone wonders what, where's the ice palace, right?
[00:10:31] It's just a nod to, to this little slice of history.
[00:10:35] Maybe they'll bring it back someday.
[00:10:37] It's interesting.
[00:10:38] Yeah.
[00:10:38] That'd be cool.
[00:10:39] If, uh, the ice castles now that company, if they were to, if they were to construct something
[00:10:43] in Leadville, yeah.
[00:10:44] Now that's interesting.
[00:10:45] And even, even if on a smaller scale, I mean.
[00:10:48] Yeah.
[00:10:49] Just a little ode to it.
[00:10:50] Yeah.
[00:10:51] That would be interesting.
[00:10:52] That'd be cool.
[00:10:52] It's kind of a neat.
[00:10:53] And Leadville's probably looking for more stuff like that.
[00:10:55] Sure.
[00:10:55] Yeah.
[00:10:56] In winter.
[00:10:56] I mean, they got skiing now.
[00:10:57] Right.
[00:10:57] I mean, it's kind of interesting to think of, you know, this is right on the heels of mining.
[00:11:03] To be clear, mining has existed one form or another in Leadville to this day.
[00:11:08] Right.
[00:11:08] Yeah.
[00:11:09] Um, changed, you know, the, the, the minerals sought have changed and the economics obviously
[00:11:15] have changed, but there's always been some form or another there for the economy.
[00:11:19] But for sure, it's, it's, it's very much tourism, heritage tourism.
[00:11:23] Now skiing came along after world war two and really spurred that economy into the right
[00:11:30] and, and stuff beyond, you know?
[00:11:32] Yeah.
[00:11:33] Um, well, and here are a few more numbers on this palace that are kind of shocking here.
[00:11:37] Uh, reading this from legends of America.com.
[00:11:41] Uh, they say that the day laborers were paid $2 and 50 cents per day.
[00:11:46] Skilled laborers are paid $3 per day.
[00:11:48] And the palace was more than 58,000 to square feet.
[00:11:51] 58,000 square feet.
[00:11:53] So yeah.
[00:11:54] Wow.
[00:11:55] Like even the biggest mansions of today, like rarely even come close to that average house
[00:12:02] size in America is probably 1500, right?
[00:12:04] Something like that.
[00:12:05] Wow.
[00:12:06] Yeah.
[00:12:07] So quite the, quite the effort, quite the feat.
[00:12:11] Yeah.
[00:12:11] There was like a funny account of, uh, one of the skilled workers quote unquote, working
[00:12:16] like a beaver.
[00:12:17] One of the, one of the newspapers said that I thought that was funny.
[00:12:19] It's funny.
[00:12:20] Well, it says it also, it also utilized, uh, 180,000 board feet of lumber.
[00:12:26] Saw that.
[00:12:27] So that's interesting too.
[00:12:28] Yeah.
[00:12:29] Um, apparently Canadian wood choppers were called in when stone cutters were working
[00:12:33] too slow on the ice, you know, to cut the ice.
[00:12:36] Yeah.
[00:12:38] Yeah.
[00:12:38] Dang.
[00:12:39] All right.
[00:12:40] Well, there we go.
[00:12:40] Crazy.
[00:12:41] Um, so pretty, pretty crazy situation that not many people know about.
[00:12:45] Admission was 50 cents for adults.
[00:12:47] Is that right?
[00:12:47] 25 cents per children.
[00:12:49] It was like, you know, and I mean, you know, one historian was telling me that like at that
[00:12:54] time, you know, people like needed hope, you know, they needed something to be excited
[00:12:57] about.
[00:12:58] And it's kind of, uh, that time in Leadville kind of, it kind of tells an interesting
[00:13:02] story about Leadville a little more broadly, you know, in that respect, you know, just how
[00:13:08] it's managed to live on over the years, people coming together in one way or another to, to
[00:13:16] try to stir the economy at least, or in this sense, give a, give something to be excited
[00:13:21] about, you know?
[00:13:23] Yeah.
[00:13:23] For real.
[00:13:24] Love Leadville.
[00:13:24] All right.
[00:13:25] Here's another stat.
[00:13:25] So it says that this one, this says it entertained over a quarter million visits
[00:13:30] during its three months.
[00:13:32] That seems high.
[00:13:33] I saw a bunch of different.
[00:13:34] Yeah.
[00:13:34] That's it.
[00:13:35] That's it.
[00:13:35] Yeah.
[00:13:35] I couldn't even, I didn't even feel like I could write what the.
[00:13:38] Yeah.
[00:13:38] You can't even get that many people in by train probably like.
[00:13:42] And yeah, we're like talking about newspapers at the time, right?
[00:13:44] That were just yellow journalism.
[00:13:47] Yeah.
[00:13:48] Right.
[00:13:48] Whatever, you know?
[00:13:49] So it's like, there's aspects of the, uh, aspects of the ice palace that might be stretched,
[00:13:55] but it's no, it was no doubt a remarkable structure.
[00:13:59] Either way, the photos look incredible.
[00:14:01] Right.
[00:14:02] Uh, yeah.
[00:14:02] So, I mean, Hey, this is something to do.
[00:14:03] That's, that's not on the slopes.
[00:14:06] Right.
[00:14:06] And I guess in today's world, uh, right.
[00:14:09] Eagle or, or, uh, cripple Creek area, but a little activity that's not on the slopes and
[00:14:14] a mountain down during winter, which Colorado has known so much for it's skiing and snowboarding,
[00:14:18] but there's so much more to do here.
[00:14:20] Yeah.
[00:14:20] Uh, one thing we're going to chat about a little bit was just the top off the slopes town.
[00:14:25] So basically, uh, towns you can go to in the winter that where you don't have to be a
[00:14:29] ski or a snowboarder to have fun.
[00:14:31] Yeah.
[00:14:32] Um, and obviously you've got some towns like where they're essentially built around that
[00:14:37] ski culture.
[00:14:37] Like you got like Keystone or Arapahoe basin, you know, Copper mountain, very popular resorts,
[00:14:43] but you're essentially, if you're staying in that resort area, um, and not, you know,
[00:14:49] making a 15, 20 plus minute drive, you're, you're pretty much restricted to those resort
[00:14:54] areas.
[00:14:54] Uh, but all towns aren't like that.
[00:14:57] Um, so yeah, what do you got?
[00:15:00] I'm thinking about like, I always like the layout of some of these places where like the resort
[00:15:05] is kind of one side in the town very much feels like the town on the other side.
[00:15:09] Like Crested Butte.
[00:15:10] Like Crested Butte.
[00:15:11] I'm thinking Crested Butte.
[00:15:12] You know, it's always fun just walking around Crested Butte, popping into the restaurants there.
[00:15:18] I'm always surprised by like, there's really good food in Crested Butte.
[00:15:21] Yeah.
[00:15:21] Everyone knows the, uh, what's the pizza joint?
[00:15:24] Secret Stash.
[00:15:25] Secret Stash.
[00:15:26] That's not so secret.
[00:15:27] Very good.
[00:15:28] And then there's like really good Himalayan food all around Crested Butte.
[00:15:32] That's not too surprising.
[00:15:34] Yeah.
[00:15:34] A lot of adventurers that tend to go, go to that part of the world and come back with their
[00:15:39] cravings.
[00:15:40] Yeah.
[00:15:41] I always like just walking up and down Crested Butte.
[00:15:43] Um, think about like Steamboat.
[00:15:45] Steamboat has that layout.
[00:15:46] Steamboat too.
[00:15:47] You can go see that frozen waterfall.
[00:15:49] Mm-hmm.
[00:15:50] That's one thing.
[00:15:51] And Steamboat.
[00:15:52] Well, and, and one other town too, uh, Breckenridge, right?
[00:15:57] For sure.
[00:15:57] It's kind of even at a smaller scale where there's definitely like a little bit of separation
[00:16:01] between the resort and main street, but you can still walk between them, you know?
[00:16:05] Whereas like Crested Butte, like if you're up at the resort, it's probably, you're probably
[00:16:09] driving to the town.
[00:16:11] Yep.
[00:16:11] Um, well, and there's just so much around, you know, there's so much.
[00:16:14] I think it's Summit County, you know?
[00:16:15] Yeah.
[00:16:15] All of Summit County.
[00:16:16] And I guess, I mean, I did mention Keystone Copper and Arapaho Basin, but if you're at
[00:16:20] any of those resorts, you can kind of pop into Frisco or Silverthorne as well.
[00:16:25] Um, and just enjoy those towns.
[00:16:26] But yeah, the Breckenridge Main Street, right?
[00:16:28] Like everything you want right there.
[00:16:30] Mm-hmm.
[00:16:30] Um, totally possible and, and encouraged really to even just go up in the winter and just enjoy
[00:16:36] kind of that snow globe atmosphere that it kind of feels like just with that Bavarian
[00:16:41] influence and so much to do.
[00:16:43] I finally popped into the Gold Pan Saloon, which is...
[00:16:46] Oh, that's a favorite.
[00:16:47] Yeah.
[00:16:48] You did?
[00:16:48] Oh, yeah.
[00:16:49] The ribs are super good.
[00:16:50] Yeah.
[00:16:51] All the food in general.
[00:16:53] Yeah.
[00:16:53] Yeah.
[00:16:53] Yeah.
[00:16:54] Gold Pan's a classic.
[00:16:55] That's, I think is that maybe the longest...
[00:16:57] Since 1879, what do they call it?
[00:16:58] The longest in Summit County?
[00:17:00] Longest going in?
[00:17:00] Yeah.
[00:17:01] I think longest going.
[00:17:02] It's probably up there among the state's longest going, to be honest.
[00:17:06] Yep.
[00:17:06] Yep.
[00:17:07] Well, and then down there in Silverthorne, you want to talk about...
[00:17:11] That's interesting.
[00:17:12] I've never thought about...
[00:17:13] You can do historic bar hopping in Summit County for sure because in Silverthorne, there's
[00:17:19] the mint.
[00:17:20] Oh, yeah.
[00:17:21] And the mint has this fascinating...
[00:17:22] I think they call themselves the longest going on a technicality.
[00:17:27] Like, this building has been moved like three times.
[00:17:31] So it was initially in the historic town that is now submerged by Lake Dillon, right?
[00:17:36] Mm-hmm.
[00:17:36] So it was moved...
[00:17:37] And I think it moved higher in the mountains at one point, too.
[00:17:40] I wrote about this.
[00:17:42] Yeah.
[00:17:42] Here we go.
[00:17:43] 1862.
[00:17:45] And they do say, come down in the oldest building in Summit County is the way it's phrased on
[00:17:50] the website.
[00:17:51] Is it still a cook your own steakhouse?
[00:17:53] It is a steakhouse still.
[00:17:55] So, yeah.
[00:17:57] You cook it the way you want it.
[00:17:58] You cook it.
[00:17:58] Got this giant grill and a bunch of happy people around cooking their food.
[00:18:04] I was one of those happy people at one point.
[00:18:05] Yeah.
[00:18:06] I don't know if I trust my ability to cook steak.
[00:18:08] I was pretty nervous.
[00:18:09] You're around like strangers who, you know, you have to act like you know what you're doing.
[00:18:12] And do it.
[00:18:13] Yeah.
[00:18:13] Or this open.
[00:18:14] This open grill.
[00:18:15] The random advice you probably get when people notice you're doing stuff wrong.
[00:18:19] There's like...
[00:18:20] I remember like there's little directions on, you know, if you like your steak rare, cook
[00:18:24] it this long, you know.
[00:18:26] There's like a little pan of butter you just slap.
[00:18:33] But the bar is like very old school looking for sure.
[00:18:36] Like the building still very much honors its old.
[00:18:39] Very cool.
[00:18:40] I wrote about this.
[00:18:41] Also in Frisco, they have the little Frisco Historic Park.
[00:18:46] Have you ever seen that thing?
[00:18:48] No.
[00:18:49] It's like this little collection of old buildings.
[00:18:52] Yeah.
[00:18:52] Frisco Historic Park Museum.
[00:18:54] It's like this little collection of old buildings.
[00:18:57] It's just kind of like, you know, not assuming.
[00:18:59] Just kind of like in the town.
[00:19:01] Like no one...
[00:19:02] Yeah.
[00:19:03] No one...
[00:19:03] If you don't know it's there, you probably just walk past it and don't realize.
[00:19:06] But they do a whole like educational tour of Colorado Mountaintown history there.
[00:19:11] That's cool.
[00:19:12] It's like they have a little scavenger hunt for kids where you get like little stamps
[00:19:15] in a passport looking thing, which I did participate in when I was there.
[00:19:19] Got all the stamps.
[00:19:20] Learned a lot of things.
[00:19:22] But they talk about like the first ski jumps and stuff.
[00:19:25] Cool.
[00:19:26] Yeah.
[00:19:27] Super interesting little thing to explore.
[00:19:29] I don't know what its winter operations are.
[00:19:31] But in the summer, if you're in Frisco and, you know, you're mid bar hop or just looking
[00:19:37] for something to do that day, just pop over there.
[00:19:39] Continuing the bar hop, also in Frisco, got to do the Moose Jaw.
[00:19:43] Oh, yeah.
[00:19:43] It just turned 50 last year.
[00:19:46] That's a good one.
[00:19:46] So not nearly on the historic terms of those other two we mentioned, but 50 years.
[00:19:51] Man.
[00:19:52] Also seen a lot of history in 50 years there.
[00:19:54] Another spot to add to the Frisco bar hop.
[00:19:57] People are starting to think, what's wrong with these guys?
[00:19:59] You know, like...
[00:20:01] Frisco's a great town.
[00:20:02] What's with these degenerates?
[00:20:03] I love Frisco.
[00:20:04] Any time of the year, I love going to Frisco.
[00:20:06] You know, you got, especially in the summer when you can just rent kayaks and just kind
[00:20:09] of set out from their little harbor area.
[00:20:12] Yeah.
[00:20:13] I finally got on some of those trails in the peninsula.
[00:20:15] Oh, yeah.
[00:20:15] As they technically call it.
[00:20:17] Yeah.
[00:20:17] Well, and Frisco Adventure Park in the winter.
[00:20:19] In the winter.
[00:20:20] For sure.
[00:20:20] Right there.
[00:20:20] If you want to do cross country skiing or...
[00:20:22] The tubing.
[00:20:23] Tubing.
[00:20:24] Yeah.
[00:20:24] Snow tubing.
[00:20:25] I think they have a little terrain park, maybe.
[00:20:27] Don't quote me on that.
[00:20:28] I think that's right.
[00:20:29] But yeah, one of my favorite spots in Frisco is Prosit.
[00:20:32] You'd think it would be Prost.
[00:20:34] P-R-O-S-T.
[00:20:35] But it's Prosit.
[00:20:36] P-R-O-S-I-T.
[00:20:38] Someone with more experience in German can tell me that.
[00:20:40] But it's a little...
[00:20:41] Ger can explain that to me.
[00:20:42] But it's a little, like, German restaurant.
[00:20:45] I've never heard of it.
[00:20:47] It's incredible.
[00:20:49] They make so many different types of sausages.
[00:20:51] They have, like, hot sauerkraut that you can put on them.
[00:20:55] They have great buns, like a whole condiment bar,
[00:20:59] just with all these different sauces and stuff.
[00:21:01] Big fan of that.
[00:21:02] They also do liter beers.
[00:21:04] So you can get, like, classic German beers there.
[00:21:07] Love it.
[00:21:08] It's on my list.
[00:21:09] Right by a little antique shop.
[00:21:11] So that's kind of cool.
[00:21:12] You can explore the antique shop there.
[00:21:15] I think I bought a little map.
[00:21:16] It was like an old Conoco map of Colorado's highways in 1931 or something.
[00:21:22] It was like 30 bucks.
[00:21:24] That's framed on my wall.
[00:21:25] It was pretty sweet.
[00:21:26] I was like, yeah, like, before I-70, you know?
[00:21:29] I was going to say, yeah.
[00:21:30] It's pretty crazy.
[00:21:31] Look at that, man.
[00:21:32] But, yeah, a little cool antique shop.
[00:21:34] You can get, like, antique skis, antique snowshoes.
[00:21:37] Cool.
[00:21:37] Insert whatever.
[00:21:38] But definitely worth checking out on it.
[00:21:41] P-R-O-S-I-T.
[00:21:43] Bavarian beer bar with sausage-focused menu.
[00:21:46] Yeah.
[00:21:46] In the traditional tavern interior with a beer garden.
[00:21:49] And it is a sausage-focused menu.
[00:21:51] They have all sorts of weird sausages.
[00:21:53] You get rattlesnakes.
[00:21:53] They got the pretzels?
[00:21:54] They got the-
[00:21:55] They do have pretzels.
[00:21:56] Oh, and the cheese.
[00:21:56] You got to get the cheese.
[00:21:57] The beer cheese.
[00:21:58] The pretzels.
[00:21:58] Yeah.
[00:21:59] It's like this thick, like, cheese spread.
[00:22:02] You get, you know?
[00:22:03] Mm-hmm.
[00:22:03] Either way, that's enough about Frisco, I guess.
[00:22:07] Yeah.
[00:22:08] What else?
[00:22:08] So Steamboat.
[00:22:09] I mean, what else is-
[00:22:10] Steamboat, yeah.
[00:22:10] I haven't been to Steamboat in so long, but I, you know.
[00:22:12] Yeah.
[00:22:13] And I've only been there once in the winter.
[00:22:14] And I will say one thing that I did in Steamboat in the winter that was really fun was snowmobiling.
[00:22:20] For sure.
[00:22:21] Rabbit years?
[00:22:22] Yeah.
[00:22:23] Kind of in that area.
[00:22:23] More like Hans Peak area.
[00:22:25] Oh, yeah.
[00:22:25] Because we were, like, under that.
[00:22:27] But there's just so much terrain around Steamboat for snowmobiling.
[00:22:32] And a lot of these tour companies, like, they'll either rent you the snowmobiles and transform to the trailhead.
[00:22:38] Mm-hmm.
[00:22:38] Or they will take you out on a tour.
[00:22:41] We went on a tour, but it was kind of a smaller tour.
[00:22:44] So they just kind of, like, were showing us different types of snowmobiling in the area.
[00:22:48] Mm-hmm.
[00:22:48] Super fun.
[00:22:49] Like, I had an absolute blast there.
[00:22:53] Yeah.
[00:22:53] So much area in Steamboat that you can explore.
[00:22:56] Very kind of untapped part of the state in that regard.
[00:22:59] It almost seems like with all that, all those, that Park Range mountains up there.
[00:23:03] And Park Range just got hit with some huge snow, too.
[00:23:06] So probably as long as the avalanche risk isn't high and you're following safety protocol related to that,
[00:23:13] probably a good time to get snowmobiling there.
[00:23:15] Mm-hmm.
[00:23:17] There's the old FM Light & Sons, the western shop there.
[00:23:20] Oh, yeah?
[00:23:21] Yeah.
[00:23:22] Yeah.
[00:23:22] Over 100 years of family-run western wear.
[00:23:26] Yeah.
[00:23:27] Steamboat's big.
[00:23:27] It's kind of fun to pop into.
[00:23:28] Big history in the ranching world.
[00:23:30] Yeah.
[00:23:30] For sure.
[00:23:31] Yeah.
[00:23:31] That's why, like, yeah.
[00:23:33] Steamboat, you can still feel like the old, like, ranching history.
[00:23:37] Yeah.
[00:23:37] Yeah.
[00:23:37] It's not completely overtaken by the more modern resort, you know.
[00:23:41] Yeah.
[00:23:42] And they do their rodeos in the summer.
[00:23:44] Free concerts, too.
[00:23:46] Yeah.
[00:23:46] So, yeah.
[00:23:46] Good happy hours all around.
[00:23:48] Yeah.
[00:23:48] I always like Steamboat for that.
[00:23:49] Yeah.
[00:23:50] It's beautiful.
[00:23:50] When you're driving over Rabbit Ears Pass and just kind of pop into that valley, just
[00:23:54] all the green.
[00:23:55] Yeah.
[00:23:56] Yeah.
[00:23:56] Beautiful part of the state.
[00:23:57] A lot of people don't go there that much, especially when they live in Colorado, just
[00:24:01] because it's like, you know, it's probably four plus hours from Colorado Springs.
[00:24:05] Yep.
[00:24:05] Probably three plus hours from Denver.
[00:24:07] So, you pass a lot of other spots along the way, so to speak.
[00:24:11] Mm-hmm.
[00:24:12] Yeah.
[00:24:13] Not to bring us back to Summit County, but did you see that Copper Mountain has 168 inches
[00:24:18] of snow this season?
[00:24:19] Really?
[00:24:20] Yeah.
[00:24:21] Their snowiest spot in Colorado right now.
[00:24:24] Colorado snowpack is up to 98% of the norm.
[00:24:28] But, yeah.
[00:24:29] Copper Mountain specifically just keeps getting drilled.
[00:24:31] It has like 14 feet of snow so far this year.
[00:24:34] What's area stuff around there doing?
[00:24:36] I mean, are they just in a blessed pocket there?
[00:24:39] Or like, what's A Bay and Keystone getting?
[00:24:42] Breck has some high totals.
[00:24:44] Keystone has higher totals, too.
[00:24:48] I think Breck was number two among the resorts in that area there.
[00:24:52] Steamboat also, with this last round of snow, is kind of getting above that 100-inch mark.
[00:25:00] So, a lot of places are getting above that 100-inch mark now.
[00:25:03] Now, weirdly, Wolf Creek ski area, often billed as the snowiest part of Colorado.
[00:25:09] Been a rough go over there.
[00:25:10] Yeah.
[00:25:10] Specifically in December.
[00:25:12] Yeah.
[00:25:12] They were the snowiest, I think, by the end of November or so, with like 60-plus inches.
[00:25:19] But that has kind of dropped off.
[00:25:22] Yeah.
[00:25:22] I feel bad for the folks over there.
[00:25:25] Yeah.
[00:25:26] It's been a dry go.
[00:25:27] 104 inches a year to date for them.
[00:25:30] Okay.
[00:25:31] So, still good.
[00:25:32] But a lot of that came very early in the season.
[00:25:35] So, 122 for Keystone.
[00:25:38] Yeah.
[00:25:39] I think Breck is pretty high, too.
[00:25:43] What did you say, Copper has?
[00:25:44] 160?
[00:25:46] 168.
[00:25:46] Boy.
[00:25:47] Yeah.
[00:25:47] So, let's beat more.
[00:25:51] I think they are just kind of in that lucky spot.
[00:25:54] Yeah.
[00:25:55] They're just really getting lucky this year.
[00:25:57] And they're not normally one that gets, like, I mean, they always have snow, but not
[00:26:00] like, not that much snow.
[00:26:02] Right.
[00:26:04] Good for them.
[00:26:05] This is the part of the podcast where we chase down snow reports around.
[00:26:08] We're doing the hard work.
[00:26:10] 142 inches of Breckenridge.
[00:26:11] Yeah.
[00:26:13] So, yeah.
[00:26:13] Breckenridge, very snowy, too.
[00:26:14] Yeah.
[00:26:15] It's one of those years where when you're living in the city, it's kind of hard to imagine
[00:26:20] how much snow there is in the mountains.
[00:26:22] Yeah.
[00:26:22] Because we went all of December with nothing, man.
[00:26:25] Man, I was hiking around Garden of the Gods.
[00:26:28] Right.
[00:26:28] Like, it was fall?
[00:26:29] Yeah.
[00:26:29] No snow.
[00:26:30] Yeah.
[00:26:30] Yeah.
[00:26:30] Like, zero snow.
[00:26:31] Right.
[00:26:32] Which, I mean, I guess is to be expected, but, yeah.
[00:26:35] Yeah, we wait until spring, I suppose.
[00:26:37] Either way.
[00:26:38] To pack it on.
[00:26:39] Either way, yeah.
[00:26:40] Those are definitely my favorite off-the-slope spots, you could say.
[00:26:44] Yeah.
[00:26:45] Just a lot of stuff to do and a lot of places to go where you're not, like, you're not,
[00:26:50] like, right at the resort.
[00:26:51] You're not, like, going to a resort restaurant or whatever.
[00:26:54] You can kind of mosey around town and find those hidden gems.
[00:26:58] Always talk up Glenwood, too.
[00:26:59] I mean, ski town or not ski town, you know.
[00:27:03] Sunlight mountain out there.
[00:27:04] Yeah.
[00:27:05] I mean, just it's the best time for the hot springs there, for sure.
[00:27:09] Well, and that's one of the things that I love about Glenwood, too, is during the winter,
[00:27:14] is it is very family or beginner-friendly in that regard.
[00:27:17] Yeah.
[00:27:17] Sunlight mountain, they have a range of terrain, but they definitely do, a lot of that terrain
[00:27:21] caters to kind of people that are getting new, you know, new to the slopes, so to speak.
[00:27:26] And there's good cross-country, too.
[00:27:28] Yeah.
[00:27:28] There's a good Nordic system up there, yeah.
[00:27:29] Good cross-country.
[00:27:31] But, yeah, then you have the hot springs right after you ski.
[00:27:34] Yeah.
[00:27:34] You can just pop in, pop over to Iron Mountain if you're adults or go to Glenwood if you're
[00:27:38] with your family.
[00:27:40] Yeah.
[00:27:41] And then you got to Aspen.
[00:27:41] You know, you can make a ski trip to Aspen out of it.
[00:27:43] Yeah.
[00:27:44] You can call it that, yeah.
[00:27:44] Yeah.
[00:27:45] Yeah, for sure.
[00:27:46] A little bit more expensive, though.
[00:27:48] Yeah.
[00:27:49] Stay in Glenwood.
[00:27:50] Yeah.
[00:27:51] Yeah.
[00:27:51] Glenwood.
[00:27:51] Very affordable, comparatively.
[00:27:54] Also, I have a sweet Colorado.
[00:27:56] Best donuts I've had in Colorado.
[00:27:58] Where is that?
[00:27:58] Sweet Colorado.
[00:28:00] What is that?
[00:28:00] Oh, I emphasize dough.
[00:28:01] You know they spell it D-O-U-G-A.
[00:28:03] Is that Glenwood?
[00:28:04] In Glenwood, yeah.
[00:28:05] Massive donuts.
[00:28:07] The cronuts.
[00:28:07] If you haven't gotten the cronut craze, you can jump right into it there.
[00:28:12] Like, I need to do that.
[00:28:13] Super good.
[00:28:13] And don't overlook the bagel sandwiches.
[00:28:16] Mm.
[00:28:16] Uh-huh.
[00:28:17] Yeah.
[00:28:17] That sounds good, too.
[00:28:18] Yeah.
[00:28:19] Big fan of bagel sandwiches.
[00:28:19] Good way to start the day and then go try to ski it all off.
[00:28:23] Like that.
[00:28:24] And also, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, too.
[00:28:27] Oh, yeah.
[00:28:28] Family friendless stuff.
[00:28:28] That stays open through the winter, doesn't it?
[00:29:00] For some days.
[00:29:00] Came out with a list of the 20 must-visit breweries around the country for beer lovers.
[00:29:05] Can I guess?
[00:29:06] Yeah.
[00:29:06] I'm sorry, Piper.
[00:29:07] I have not read your piece.
[00:29:09] Yeah.
[00:29:09] You have not seen this yet.
[00:29:10] So...
[00:29:11] And I've...
[00:29:11] Don't look at my notes.
[00:29:12] I bet I could guess.
[00:29:13] I was looking at my notes.
[00:29:14] Yeah.
[00:29:15] Give us a guess.
[00:29:15] Two breweries.
[00:29:16] There's two of them?
[00:29:17] So they've got to be the big names.
[00:29:18] They've got to be the big names.
[00:29:20] Are we talking New Belgium?
[00:29:21] New Belgium is on the list.
[00:29:23] See?
[00:29:24] There we go.
[00:29:24] He knows...
[00:29:25] Is the other one Odell?
[00:29:26] The other one is not Odell.
[00:29:28] Starts with an O.
[00:29:30] Starts with an O.
[00:29:33] Oscar Blues.
[00:29:34] Oscar Blues.
[00:29:35] First established in Lyons in 1997.
[00:29:39] New Belgium.
[00:29:40] Out of Fort Collins, 1991.
[00:29:42] Know my beer.
[00:29:43] So those are the two breweries from Colorado that made a list of must-visit breweries.
[00:29:48] Are they your must-visit breweries, Spencer?
[00:29:51] I mean, so I haven't been to the Oscar Blues, like, their main facility.
[00:29:57] Yeah.
[00:29:57] I went to the one that's in Colorado Springs here.
[00:29:59] I'm a fan of Oscar Blues beers.
[00:30:01] Great happy hour here in Colorado Springs.
[00:30:03] Yeah, good happy hour.
[00:30:05] I like their Cigar City, the High Lie.
[00:30:07] Yeah.
[00:30:08] That beer that they've got there, but that's also, you know, it's under the Oscar Blues
[00:30:12] ownership kind of, I guess, but not...
[00:30:14] It's a Cigar City Brewing in Florida, I think, is who's responsible for that beer.
[00:30:20] But as far as New Belgium goes, though, I mean, I've talked about it before, but I love
[00:30:25] the New Belgium Brewery.
[00:30:27] Yeah.
[00:30:28] You can go there, and they have a great outdoor area to just kind of hang out.
[00:30:31] For sure.
[00:30:32] Very family-friendly, pet-friendly.
[00:30:34] Definitely.
[00:30:34] Their tour is really cool.
[00:30:36] I think their tour might not be...
[00:30:38] I don't know if it's offered on weekends or not, but...
[00:30:40] Okay.
[00:30:40] I have done it.
[00:30:41] Yeah, the tour's cool.
[00:30:43] Tour is cool.
[00:30:43] You can see all the cans popping around in there, and you can pour from the tap yourself,
[00:30:48] and then get your beer samples.
[00:30:50] So, yeah, that's cool.
[00:30:51] I like it.
[00:30:51] Don't get me wrong.
[00:30:52] I love...
[00:30:53] New Belgium is great.
[00:30:54] Yeah.
[00:30:55] I like Odell.
[00:30:58] I love that space over there in Fort Collins.
[00:31:00] Great chicken wings.
[00:31:01] Really?
[00:31:02] Yeah.
[00:31:03] Yeah, I believe it.
[00:31:03] I think it's Odell.
[00:31:05] I love that tour just as well, and I love that space just as well.
[00:31:08] Big patio space there.
[00:31:10] The interior and exterior are really, really cool.
[00:31:15] Just a beautiful...
[00:31:16] And, yeah, I really like the beer.
[00:31:18] And you can always expect to find a different beer at Odell than you can elsewhere, you
[00:31:24] know, in the world, in the wild, if you will.
[00:31:25] Yeah, very true.
[00:31:26] I lied about the chicken wings.
[00:31:28] That is another brewery I've been to.
[00:31:30] Do not go there.
[00:31:31] I don't know.
[00:31:31] Maybe they have good chicken wings.
[00:31:33] But in Fort Collins, there is...
[00:31:33] What's the...
[00:31:34] There is the Nashville-themed hot chicken place there.
[00:31:38] Hold on.
[00:31:39] Let me just dive into my computer here, folks.
[00:31:42] I think I've been there before, too.
[00:31:43] You know...
[00:31:44] It's awesome.
[00:31:45] Wow, you're looking that up.
[00:31:48] Music City hot chicken, right?
[00:31:50] I think that's it.
[00:31:51] Music City hot chicken.
[00:31:51] What's the...
[00:31:52] Fire.
[00:31:52] What's the brewery in Boulder?
[00:31:57] Big one?
[00:31:58] That's the one where I'm thinking about the...
[00:32:00] Avery?
[00:32:01] Avery has the very good chicken wings.
[00:32:02] Okay.
[00:32:03] Noted.
[00:32:03] That is it.
[00:32:04] Let's not start with a...
[00:32:05] Noted.
[00:32:06] Noted.
[00:32:06] If you go there, they have great food.
[00:32:08] Not saying Odell doesn't.
[00:32:10] Maybe it does.
[00:32:11] But either way, one that surprised me that wasn't on this list was the Coors Brewery.
[00:32:15] Right?
[00:32:16] Yeah.
[00:32:16] Like...
[00:32:16] And I get that they're catering to kind of the craft breweries, right?
[00:32:22] But going to that Coors facility and just seeing that massive scale of what a macro brewery
[00:32:29] looks like is definitely something that anyone who likes to be here should check it out.
[00:32:33] It's so cool.
[00:32:35] Also, one, I'm not...
[00:32:36] I don't know if they offer tours still on the weekends or at least when you go, you want
[00:32:40] to make sure you're going, wow, they're operational so you can see all that happening.
[00:32:43] But very cool.
[00:32:44] They have a little tap room there where, you know, you can try Coors and all the varieties.
[00:32:50] And I'll be honest, it tastes better.
[00:32:52] Does it?
[00:32:52] In the tap room.
[00:32:53] Yeah.
[00:32:53] I don't know.
[00:32:53] It might just be the hype of the tap room experience.
[00:32:57] You know, I found myself in Hershey, Pennsylvania once, right?
[00:33:00] Stopped at a gas station to fill up.
[00:33:02] Had to grab a Hershey bar.
[00:33:04] You know, the Hershey factory right there.
[00:33:07] I take a bite out of the Hershey bar.
[00:33:08] This was years ago.
[00:33:09] In the gas station.
[00:33:10] And I look at the gas station attendant and I'm like, tastes like a Hershey bar.
[00:33:15] And he's like, what'd you expect?
[00:33:19] That's a tour that I want to go on though.
[00:33:21] So the chocolate in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
[00:33:24] About the same.
[00:33:25] About the same.
[00:33:26] But the Coors is better at the.
[00:33:28] That's my personal opinion.
[00:33:30] Got it.
[00:33:32] I mean, the last time I did the tour was probably 10 years ago or so.
[00:33:37] I think it was when they were coming out with their Colorado native beer.
[00:33:41] Right.
[00:33:41] Is that?
[00:33:42] Yeah.
[00:33:42] And they try to like tap into that.
[00:33:44] Yeah.
[00:33:45] Brewing market.
[00:33:46] Yeah.
[00:33:46] But yeah, either way.
[00:33:47] Here's my must visit.
[00:33:49] Where's your must visit?
[00:33:51] Back to Frisco.
[00:33:52] Back to Frisco.
[00:33:53] Do you know what I'm going to say?
[00:33:54] I think it starts with an O.
[00:33:56] This one does start with an O.
[00:33:58] The second word starts with an R.
[00:34:00] Outer range.
[00:34:01] Yeah.
[00:34:01] A great brewery.
[00:34:02] So, yeah.
[00:34:03] Great.
[00:34:04] Yeah.
[00:34:04] Love it.
[00:34:05] And talk about a beautiful deck on that second floor in there.
[00:34:09] Boy.
[00:34:10] That's about as good a view as you can get with a beer.
[00:34:13] Well, and they also, they do have good food too.
[00:34:16] And they do have chicken.
[00:34:17] And they're known for their like Thai style chicken or something like that.
[00:34:22] Yep.
[00:34:23] Outer range brewery though.
[00:34:24] Like anytime I see their beers on tap somewhere, like that's the one I'm going to get.
[00:34:27] Every single beer they put out is awesome.
[00:34:30] Yeah.
[00:34:30] Yeah.
[00:34:30] And I don't know, like it used to be you had to like IPAs, but I think they've, you know,
[00:34:35] I think they've really, they're, they've expanded the palate for, for people a lot more.
[00:34:43] What's, what's your must visit?
[00:34:45] My must visit?
[00:34:47] See, I don't.
[00:34:48] On the spot.
[00:34:48] I don't.
[00:34:49] I mean, I probably would have said, yeah, that's tricky.
[00:34:54] In terms of like, must visit like for a tour, right?
[00:34:57] Like, yeah.
[00:34:58] Interesting.
[00:34:59] If it's, if it's for a tour, I would say I've always found that kind of that super large scale
[00:35:03] production.
[00:35:04] Very interesting.
[00:35:05] Just seeing how all that works together, right?
[00:35:07] Like that's just, it's almost like mystifying to me in a sense, just seeing production at that
[00:35:11] scale.
[00:35:11] So that's why I would probably say Coors or Fort Collins with new Belgium brewery, like
[00:35:16] we're talking about.
[00:35:18] But yeah, as far as, I don't know, I mean, I was, I would have, I would have probably gone
[00:35:24] without a range as far as like one of my favorite mountaintown breweries.
[00:35:28] Yeah.
[00:35:30] I'm trying to think.
[00:35:31] Our producer, Tim says left hand in Longmont.
[00:35:34] Left hand in Longmont.
[00:35:35] Shout out.
[00:35:35] Shout out.
[00:35:36] There we go.
[00:35:37] Yeah.
[00:35:38] They have the milk stout route, right?
[00:35:39] I think that's right.
[00:35:40] Left hand milk stout.
[00:35:41] He's nodding.
[00:35:41] Very good one.
[00:35:42] He's drinking one right now.
[00:35:44] Yeah.
[00:35:44] I don't really, I guess I don't really like venture around for beer too much either.
[00:35:50] Like beer is kind of beer to me.
[00:35:52] Like I'm always like happy to be like, I'll get whatever the IPA is at this craft brewery
[00:35:55] and if it's good, it's good.
[00:35:57] You know, but that's about the way I look at it.
[00:36:00] We've talked too much about bars and beer on this, on this installment.
[00:36:04] Yes.
[00:36:05] 21 plus please.
[00:36:08] Yeah.
[00:36:09] Let's, let's switch it to something athletic.
[00:36:11] Uh, yeah.
[00:36:12] Athletic brewing now.
[00:36:13] Gosh.
[00:36:13] There you go.
[00:36:14] Wait, right now I'm on dry January, right?
[00:36:16] So, so can you, can you drink athletic?
[00:36:18] Yeah.
[00:36:19] Athletic brewery keeps popping up.
[00:36:21] People keep recommending it to me.
[00:36:23] Yeah.
[00:36:24] I'm fine with just water.
[00:36:25] Like I know like, yeah.
[00:36:26] Like I'm not like craving the taste of beers.
[00:36:29] Yeah.
[00:36:29] Yeah.
[00:36:29] Um, but either way switching to athletics.
[00:36:32] Okay.
[00:36:32] Yeah.
[00:36:32] Got some exciting, uh, fastest known time.
[00:36:35] Oh, right here from Seth.
[00:36:36] Yeah.
[00:36:36] Just type this one up.
[00:36:37] Uh, fastest known time, right?
[00:36:40] Everyone knows the, the, shall we say governing body of kind of the obscure outdoor records that
[00:36:45] rise and fall seemingly every day.
[00:36:48] Also known as FKTs.
[00:36:50] FKTs.
[00:36:50] Right.
[00:36:52] Um, every year they do their, uh, FKT of the year list.
[00:36:56] They always do like a top five of the, um, most impressive feats across, uh, the world
[00:37:02] of outdoors to be clear, far beyond Colorado, right?
[00:37:05] We're talking worldwide.
[00:37:06] These lists, uh, nominated 37, 37 FKTs get not, we're nominated this year by athletes
[00:37:14] and enthusiasts all whittled down to the top five picked by the organization in Colorado
[00:37:19] is representing on three of those top five.
[00:37:22] Dang.
[00:37:22] And you're talking the whole world, right?
[00:37:24] Yeah.
[00:37:25] We can start with the top, the top of the top.
[00:37:27] Colorado, uh, is not represented at the top of the top, but to give you an idea of what,
[00:37:31] you know, the kind of records we're talking about here.
[00:37:33] Um, they named, uh, Tara Dower.
[00:37:37] Hope I'm pronouncing her name, right?
[00:37:39] Uh, headlines everywhere this year, right?
[00:37:41] Ran the Appalachian trail faster than anyone ever.
[00:37:43] Mm-hmm.
[00:37:43] Stunning.
[00:37:44] Uh, 41 days?
[00:37:46] Under 41 days.
[00:37:47] Under 41 days.
[00:37:48] Does it have the mileage there?
[00:37:50] What's the Appalachian trail?
[00:37:51] I always forget.
[00:37:52] It's insane.
[00:37:53] Oh, I know.
[00:37:54] It's a jaunt.
[00:37:58] Longer than...
[00:37:59] It'll take you longer than 41 days, I guarantee you.
[00:38:02] Yeah, it's, uh, Appalachian trail mileage is 2,190 miles.
[00:38:08] And we're talking, I mean, the average person takes months, right?
[00:38:11] Yeah.
[00:38:11] Like, gosh, I think my friends did it in five or six months.
[00:38:15] Is that a stretch?
[00:38:16] I think that's pretty normal.
[00:38:18] And so this, this stat here on the Appalachian trail conservancy, uh, it says that each year,
[00:38:23] thousands of hikers attempt a through hike.
[00:38:25] Only one in four end up making it all.
[00:38:27] Uh-huh.
[00:38:28] Of the people that are attempting the full through hike, it sounds like.
[00:38:31] So for her to do that in 41 days.
[00:38:34] She was cooking.
[00:38:35] Just go, go, go.
[00:38:36] She was cooking.
[00:38:37] Yeah, that's wild.
[00:38:39] I don't even, I mean, I guess they have little stations along the way on the Appalachian trail
[00:38:42] where you can kind of resubmine everything.
[00:38:44] Oh, yeah.
[00:38:44] Five to seven months is what I'm kind of seeing as standard.
[00:38:47] So think about that.
[00:38:48] 41 days.
[00:38:48] Unreal.
[00:38:48] Unreal.
[00:38:49] Um, and then, um, Killian Jornette, the phenom out of Spain, uh, got the other top honor
[00:38:56] for what was called his, uh, 82 Alps project linked up 82 peaks above 13,000 feet in 19 days.
[00:39:05] Jeez.
[00:39:07] I mean, 19 days.
[00:39:09] Talk about Energizer Bunny.
[00:39:11] That's wild.
[00:39:12] That man does not stop.
[00:39:14] Doesn't.
[00:39:16] One of the best for sure.
[00:39:18] No doubt.
[00:39:18] Take us to Colorado.
[00:39:20] What do we got?
[00:39:21] To Colorado.
[00:39:22] Um, the top, no, um, he got the third honor to write again.
[00:39:27] There's top five here and coming in at third was Kyle Curtin out of Durango, um, for his
[00:39:35] exploits on the Colorado trail last summer.
[00:39:37] He ran those, what is it?
[00:39:39] About 500 miles.
[00:39:40] They call it.
[00:39:40] Yeah.
[00:39:41] About that.
[00:39:41] I think five from Denver back to Durango 16 or six days, 15 hours and eight minutes.
[00:39:48] Dang.
[00:39:49] 567.
[00:39:50] There you go.
[00:39:51] He cut off two days from the previous record and that was set in 2019.
[00:39:57] Yeah.
[00:39:57] He was moving too.
[00:39:59] And then, um, coming in with the number five spot, Andrea Sansone and Andrew Hamilton of
[00:40:07] Golden.
[00:40:07] Remember their, um, their push across the 14ers.
[00:40:11] Yeah.
[00:40:12] It's considered they were like the only duo to ever.
[00:40:14] Yeah.
[00:40:15] On record to try that.
[00:40:16] Yeah.
[00:40:16] Two, two legends in the 14 or 14 world.
[00:40:19] Yeah.
[00:40:21] So, uh, they did, they took 12 days to push across all the 14ers.
[00:40:25] Dang.
[00:40:26] Crazy.
[00:40:27] 12 days.
[00:40:28] Yeah.
[00:40:30] That's insane.
[00:40:30] There's 58 that they're trying to hit on that too, right?
[00:40:33] Not the 50.
[00:40:33] Yeah.
[00:40:34] And what was Hamilton's record?
[00:40:36] That still stands, right?
[00:40:37] Uh, I think it's like 10 or nine.
[00:40:40] Is it nine days?
[00:40:40] Did you do nine?
[00:40:41] Yeah.
[00:40:41] We'll pull that up real quick.
[00:40:43] Um, uh, you know what?
[00:40:47] It's nice having the, uh, having the computer here to be able to fact check ourselves.
[00:40:51] Uh, here we go.
[00:40:52] Uh, nine days and 21 hours.
[00:40:54] Nine days and 21 hours.
[00:40:56] That's wild.
[00:40:57] Yeah.
[00:40:58] Cause that involves transportation sleep also.
[00:41:01] Yep.
[00:41:01] Right.
[00:41:02] Like that's the crazy thing you see in, was it 12 days for the couple?
[00:41:05] I think Hamilton.
[00:41:07] Yeah.
[00:41:07] Yeah.
[00:41:08] Got that right.
[00:41:10] And then the other one also in that five spot is, um, Boulder runner.
[00:41:15] I hope I'm pronouncing Anton's name, right?
[00:41:17] Anton Krupika.
[00:41:19] He dashed across.
[00:41:20] You ever heard of the LA freeway as it's called in the FKT world?
[00:41:23] I have not.
[00:41:24] I got to look up how long it is, but it's been described to me as a, as like a pretty,
[00:41:29] fairly seamless, nice straight out ridgeline across the divide, continental divide, traversing
[00:41:35] the Arapaho peaks to Longs peak.
[00:41:37] 34 miles.
[00:41:39] 34 miles.
[00:41:40] So he covered that thing in 13 hours, 20 minutes and 48 seconds.
[00:41:43] Dang.
[00:41:44] Dang.
[00:41:44] Well, it also comes with, uh, 18,400 feet of game.
[00:41:48] Okay.
[00:41:48] So, so when I say seamless, that's incorrect.
[00:41:52] Yeah.
[00:41:52] So that's not exactly the word to describe it.
[00:41:55] Yeah.
[00:41:55] Highest points in Rocky Mountain national park and the Indian peaks wilderness.
[00:42:00] So very, very cool.
[00:42:01] It's kind of one of those cult classic, uh, FKT lines, you know, that FKT years know
[00:42:07] about try to chase that thing down.
[00:42:10] So yeah, FKT is of the year.
[00:42:12] It seems like Colorado is always coming in on this list.
[00:42:15] Well, you were saying, uh, Killian, uh, Jornette was that second one.
[00:42:21] He has a record in Colorado too, right?
[00:42:23] On the ink.
[00:42:24] Um, no, that's Remy.
[00:42:26] Oh, you're right.
[00:42:27] That's Remy Bonet.
[00:42:28] Yeah.
[00:42:28] But I think, I think you thought about that because wasn't Killian here doing the marathon?
[00:42:32] He might've been, or maybe is, does he have the, uh, what is it?
[00:42:36] The Silverton race?
[00:42:37] Um, Oh, he very well could.
[00:42:39] I can't remember.
[00:42:40] Um, yeah.
[00:42:42] Killian.
[00:42:43] I remember that year he was trying to go for, um, Matt Carpenter's Pike's peak marathon
[00:42:47] record.
[00:42:48] Yeah.
[00:42:48] Which is just mind blowing every time I think about that.
[00:42:51] I mean, Oh, and you find the videos of Matt Carpenter setting that record and he's like,
[00:42:55] just like, as the, as a former video editor Sam said is like, um, controlled falling down
[00:43:04] the mountain essentially is what it looks like.
[00:43:06] He's just, huh?
[00:43:07] Yeah.
[00:43:07] I mean, he definitely broke it into like a science, you know, a local who just, I mean,
[00:43:12] that is regarded as like maybe the most untouchable record in all of the outdoor athletic world.
[00:43:19] Yeah.
[00:43:20] Like Killian couldn't touch it.
[00:43:22] Yeah.
[00:43:23] Even with, even with the people that are coming up today being so much faster than a lot of
[00:43:28] people of the last generation.
[00:43:29] It's yeah.
[00:43:31] Matt Carpenter just knows that trail.
[00:43:35] What'd you do it in?
[00:43:36] And of course he's just, you know, a guy slinging custard in Manitou Springs.
[00:43:40] Yeah.
[00:43:41] Right.
[00:43:41] You know, it's like, what's his custard chart?
[00:43:43] So cool.
[00:43:44] It's right there on the main strip, right?
[00:43:46] And there's like a rule.
[00:43:47] He doesn't open if it's 42 degrees or lower or something like that, you know, for a guy
[00:43:54] who's very focused on numbers, it's a very focused number.
[00:43:57] As I recall.
[00:43:58] Yeah.
[00:43:59] That's funny.
[00:44:00] Yeah.
[00:44:00] So here's the, uh, his marathon time to run up and down Pike's peak, 26 miles.
[00:44:05] Matt Carpenter was three hours and 16 minutes and 39 seconds.
[00:44:10] Cannot imagine.
[00:44:11] That'd be a fast, normal marathon, let alone the 8,000 feet of game.
[00:44:16] Cannot imagine.
[00:44:17] That comes with that fastest, uh, ascent time to set that record then as well as, uh, two
[00:44:25] hours in one.
[00:44:25] Mm-hmm.
[00:44:27] Now Remy did break the ascent record.
[00:44:30] Yeah.
[00:44:30] That year.
[00:44:30] Yeah.
[00:44:32] Marathon record still stands.
[00:44:33] Yeah.
[00:44:34] That's intense.
[00:44:35] I think it always will.
[00:44:36] I believe we'll see.
[00:44:38] We'll see.
[00:44:39] Time will tell.
[00:44:40] It was a good time on the podcast.
[00:44:43] Yeah.
[00:44:43] Yeah.
[00:44:43] You got that covers everything, right?
[00:44:45] You got anything else you want to chat about?
[00:44:47] Not, not save for next time.
[00:44:48] Just now I'm thinking about music city, hot chicken in Fort Collins.
[00:44:51] There's one in Denver too, right?
[00:44:54] Let's let's take it to the laptop.
[00:44:57] We have the technology.
[00:44:59] City.
[00:44:59] Hot chicken.
[00:45:01] At True Brewery in Denver.
[00:45:04] Ooh.
[00:45:04] Mm-hmm.
[00:45:05] There you go.
[00:45:06] Always down for some good hot chicken.
[00:45:08] We can always count on people being hungry at the end of this podcast.
[00:45:12] Oh, wait.
[00:45:12] Real quick too.
[00:45:13] Speaking of chicken, what's the chicken place in Crested Butte that deserves the shadow?
[00:45:17] Slogar.
[00:45:17] Slogar.
[00:45:18] On the topic of off the slope stuff.
[00:45:21] Off the slopes.
[00:45:21] Forgot to mention that.
[00:45:22] The family style.
[00:45:23] Music city, hot chicken and Slogar chicken.
[00:45:27] Check those out.
[00:45:29] Obviously, we are made of chicken and beer here at Out There Colorado Podcast.
[00:45:33] The best creations.
[00:45:35] Best combinations on the planet.
[00:45:36] A match made in heaven.
[00:45:37] Yeah, a match made in heaven.
[00:45:38] All right.
[00:45:39] Cool.
[00:45:39] That's all we got.
[00:45:41] You want to send us off, Seth?
[00:45:43] We'll see you out there.
[00:45:45] Indeed we will.
[00:45:46] See you, folks.