Travel | featured news

By Amrita Jayakumar | NerdWallet

Every year, The New York Times publishes a list titled “52 Places to Go,” and it makes for great reading and even better daydreaming. But most of those far-flung locales are bucket-listers, the kinds of destinations that make for a once-in-a-lifetime trip or a special adventure.

For two decades, the stunning terrain above timberline in Keystone’s Bergman and Erickson bowls was reserved for snowcat tours and hearty souls willing to hike for it. That changed three weeks ago with the grand opening of a lift that takes skiers high into the alpine environment at 12,282 feet, treating them to some of the most magnificent views in Colorado skiing.

Reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park’s largest campground remain unavailable for this summer due to a major modernization project that began last summer.
The 244-site Moraine Park campground is undergoing extensive “rehabilitation,” including the relocation of some campsites away from wetlands, replacing failing water and sewer lines, burying three miles of power lines, and making sites more accessible for people in wheelchairs.

With abundant snowfall and breathtaking views, Colorado is home to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the world. There are cirques, chutes and headwalls to tackle, moguls and steeps that will turn your thighs to jelly, and bowls with views of the Continental Divide.

Jon Healey | Los Angeles Times (TNS)
As shocking as the in-flight blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was last week, federal officials initially estimated that the problem that caused a gaping hole to open in the plane’s fuselage would be relatively easy to diagnose and fix.

Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train will begin service on Friday in time for the four-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend.
The first train will roll out of Denver’s Union Station at 7 a.m. on Friday. The train operates Friday through Sunday through March  31 with special Monday service added on MLK Day and President’s Day (Feb. 19). There will be two “bonus” Thursdays as well, on March 14 and March 21.

Lacey Pfalz | (TNS) TravelPulse
Wheel the World, the travel company dedicated to making travel more accessible for travelers with any disability, recently launched a program aimed at boosting accessibility within destinations and promoting these destinations to those with disabilities.

Dangerous avalanche conditions will develop this weekend across the high country, prompting the Colorado Avalanche Information Center to issue a special avalanche advisory on Wednesday.
The current avalanche danger is rated “considerable,” which is Level 3 on the CAIC’s 1-5 scale, for nearly every region of the mountains. CAIC forecasters expect it to worsen this weekend, prompting the advisory. The most dangerous avalanche conditions are likely to develop Saturday afternoon and into Sunday, the advisory said.

The National Park Service will host three information sessions next week for public comment on its study of the former Dearfield town site, which at one time was the largest Black homesteading settlement in Colorado.
The NPS is evaluating Dearfield for possible inclusion in the national park system.