As far as Colorado ski resorts go, SolVista Basin at Granby Ranch doesnt give up its biggest virtues upon first glance. Initially, you might not see what makes SolVista such a big deal, because the things that make SolVista a big deal are small.
At SolVista, small is a very big deal
Indeed, some of the ski areas biggest fans are less than three feet tall. This is a kids Mecca, and truly offers something different for families. So Im letting my new family at SolVista adopt me for the weekend.
Until the kids get out of SolVistas Ski School, Im heading out to make some turns with Dan, a longtime resident of the Winter Park Valley, Who is playing hookey from his role as Director of SolVistas Ski & Ride School to show me around the mountain. As excellent a skier as a tour guide, Dan quickly sniffs out some soft turns for our little posse.
Dan finds a stash of the soft stuff at SolVista basin
SolVista is a lot bigger than it looks from the base area, with mellow slopes, groomers, and terrain parks on one side, and the steeps and trees on the other.
The mountain is somewhat funnel-shaped, so whether youre making laps in the terrain park or the powder, everyones channeled back together at the base area you cant get lost. Many of the parents I meet on the chairlift tell me theyve turned their kids loose for the day, so theyre unsupervised and free to adventure for themselves. And the kids are on their own too.
Careful not to scratch the new paint job…
At days end, the fire pit at the base area is erupts in to sugar-fueled mayhem. Ski days at SolVista wrap up with a smores buffet think of it as a dinner bell of sorts. It creates a natural family gathering point at the end of the day, but it serves another purpose as well: fueling up for a few hours of tubing and night skiing.
Hello, my name is sugar-high. Have we met?
The slopes light up as my band of smores-addled skiers make their way to the chairlift. Being a recovering Midwesterner, I still have a soft spot for night skiing theres something slightly mysterious and totally fun about skiing a night. The views disappear and attention focuses on the snow, your friends, and the task at hand.
Night skiing's fun, even if you're on a leash
Perhaps the reason night skiing is so much fun is that theres an element of mystery. You cant see whats over the next knoll, and the suspense is exciting. Night skiing is just like SolVista in a lot of ways theres a lot more than meets the eye, and thats what makes it so fun.
Fun lurks on yonder mountain.
-John Trousdale, Mountain Correspondent, Colorado Ski Country USA
