This weekend shake off the winter blues ice climbing and watching movies at Sundance, sharpening your skills before the Olympics at Bethel Winterfest in Maine, or sample Colorado’s best microbrew offerings in Denver.
By Diane Kahng and Chase Scheinbaum
Sundance Film Festival, January 21-31
Park City, Utah, and surrounding region
The only problem with heading to Park City, Utah to catch the first weekend of the Sundance Film Festival — and taste Utah’s famous airy powder — is the overabundance of choices. The festival’s films are shown in a variety of settings throughout the region in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance. (Get a film guide and purchase tickets here.)
And then there are the ski resorts: the Wasatch Mountains are home to more than a dozen of them, replete with terrain types from ridges and bowls to bunny slopes.
Don’t forget to sharpen your crampons, either. You can start your tour of the area’s ice climbing at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. After fueling up at one of the region’s gourmet restaurants, hit the bars and clubs to rub elbows with the film-elite.
Travel & Accommodation
The region is served primarily by Salt Lake City International Airport. Click here to find lodging through the film festival’s web site. Many hotels can arrange shuttle service to and from the airport.
Bethel Winterfest, January 23-31
Bethel, Maine
If what you seek is winter, you’ll find plenty of it in and around Bethel, Maine, where this weekend the Bethel Winterfest kicks off with a potpourri of events. Start things off with an uphill snowmobile climb alongside professional riders on Saturday, and then warm up with a guided snowshoe tour or Nordic skiing clinic at the Bethel Nordic Ski Center.
With your newly spruced-up ski technique, grab an air rifle and register for Sunday’s six-kilometer biathlon race, complete with two shooting stops.
For more skiing you can hit 25-kilometers of cross-country trails at Bethel Nordic Ski Center, or Sunday River Ski Resort’s 132 downhill trails.
Travel and Accommodation
Fly into Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine; Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, N.H.; General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport in Boston; or drive.
Winter Brew Fest, January 22
Denver, CO
This weekend, head over to the Winter Brew Fest over in Denver, Colorado, and be the first to sip some of the state’s best craft brews. Sponsored by Sierra Nevada and Cabot Cheese, you can kick back your buds at the Mile High Station near Invesco Field and enjoy live reggae music by Jubal and the Rude Boys, food and cheese pairings, and art.
Breweries you can sample from include Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues, Twisted Pine, Boulder Beer, Breckenridge, Flying Dog, and many more. Tickets are between $30-$35, or if you want to step up your game, pay $40-$45 for the VIP admittance.
Travel and Accommodation
The Denver International Airport is your best bet if you’re flying in for the weekend. Check out Hotel VQ since the hotel is offering special Brew Fest rates, plus free parking and transportation to Mile High Station and downtown attractions.
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January 27th, 2010 at 5:41 am
Too bad my trip to Maine got canceled. I was looking forward to their winter festival. Hopefully next year, I’ll be there. Love those snowmobiles!!!
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March 28th, 2011 at 5:53 am
Promontory has recently opened its second course… Jack Nicklaus-designed… called Painted Valley. It’s private but you may have some luck on the original course. They occasionally accept outside play during the summer. The original course is the only Utah course designed by Pete Dye.
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April 19th, 2011 at 3:37 am
Dining choices are abundant in Park City. Fine dining with locally influenced foods is prevalent in Deer Valley, while Main Street in Park City has a huge range of cuisine types and dining atmospheres from casual to high end. There are also yurts located at the resorts, which present diners with a low key environment, and a seclusion courtesy of the fact that they can only be accessed via snow cat.
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