ski Archives - Pam LeBlanc Adventures

After a hard day of skiing, kick back at revamped Durango Hot Springs

by Pam LeBlanc | Feb 26, 2023 | Blog

Visitors soak in pools filled with naturally heated water at Durango Hot Springs & Resort. Pam LeBlanc photo

I consider myself a bit of a hot springs connoisseur.

I love bobbing in a naturally heated pool of water (kind of like a dumpling in a bucket of soup), especially after a rigorous day of skiing, hiking or mountain biking.

I’ve dipped a toe or 10 in geothermal springs across the western United States. The best are springs that burble up at the side of otherwise cool rivers, in the back country. They’re not developed, other than the rocks that someone stacked around them to trap the warmth.

Some require a long hike in, like one I stumbled upon while backpacking the High Sierra Trail in California. The small, hidden soaking pools tucked among pine forests in the Jemez area of New Mexico rank at the top, too, as do the more developed springs like Strawberry Springs near Steamboat, with its hippie vibe, and Pagosa Hot Springs & Resort, just down the road in southwestern Colorado.

I’ve spent blissful hours soaking at Glenwood Hot Springs, Ouray Hot Springs, Mount Princeton Hot Springs, and Salida Hot Springs, all in Colorado; Boquillas Hot Springs in Big Bend National Park in Texas; and Heise Hot Springs in Idaho, too.

A bucket of steamy water splashes over Jordan Rane of Los Angeles at Durango Hot Springs & Resort. Pam LeBlanc photo

This week I added a new one to the list: Durango Hot Springs and Resort, located not far from Purgatory Ski Resort.

If you’ve visited Durango before, you may remember funky old Trimble Hot Springs. I never visited the place but know a few folks who loved it and were sad to see things change.

Changes at Durango Hot Springs

A new owner took over in 2019, turning the once humble destination into a much fancier resort. Today Durango Hot Springs features 41 soaking pools and water features, including what looks like a giant mining bucket near the entrance that slowly fills with water and tips over, gushing what looks like a bathtub full of steamy water over anyone standing beneath it, every 7 minutes.

Unlike some hot springs, these don’t smell like sulfur, but they are loaded with minerals. In all, 32 minerals, including lithium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, fluoride, silica, and iron are found in the water. The resort’s website describes the benefits of each.

Temperatures in the soaking pools, staggered along a hillside, range from the mid-90s up to 112 degrees. The owners tout a special filtration system that infuses the water with oxygen bubbles. (Don’t worry, it’s not like soaking in Topo Chico – you can’t feel a difference.)

Visitors soak in geothermal pools at Durango Hot Springs in February 2023. Pam LeBlanc photo

Indigenous people used the geothermal pools hundreds of years ago. Later, pioneers soaked in the warm water, and the first hotel went up in 1882. A newspaper ad in 1884 described the old springs as a health resort – with a bar and billiard parlor on site. (It later burned, as did a building that replaced that original structure, according to the Animas Museum.) Marilyn Monroe visited in 1950s.

I made two visits to the hot springs last week. Nothing’s better than sitting in an outdoor tub filled with naturally heated water while snow sifts down on your head after a day of cat skiing in waist-deep powder.

If you go to Durango Hot Springs

The resort is located just north of Durango near the intersection of Highway 550 and Trimble Lane.

Proper swim attire is required. Remove jewelry or it might tarnish. Admission is $39 for adults or $15 for children. A special “club area” that includes private changing rooms, shows and private soaking tubs, costs extra.

The springs is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Reservations are recommended. During the summer, bands perform each Tuesday and Thursday from 6-9 p.m.

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Ten – no eleven – reasons to love Beaver Creek Mountain

by Pam LeBlanc | Jan 24, 2022 | Blog

Skiers get a lift up a mountain at Beaver Creek Mountain in January 2022. Pam LeBlanc photo

My mission at Beaver Creek Mountain started and ended with one word today: Moguls.

I can get down just about any blue or black (that’s intermediate or advanced, for you non-skiers) run at a Colorado ski resort, but when I hit moguls – those hippo-sized mounds of snow that form on ungroomed slopes – I just don’t flow like the really good skiers.

After all, I’m a Texan. I get to ski five or 10 days a year, max. It’s hard to improve when that’s all the time you can devote to a sport.

That’s where Chico Thuon comes in.

Instructor Chico Thuen takes a break at a mid-mountain lodge. Pam LeBlanc photo

Thuon, who has lived here for 33 years and serves on the Avon town council, spent the day pointing me at moguls and giving me tips. He shared helpful secrets, like “pretend you’re following a bowling ball down the mountain” and “always look back up when you’ve finished a run.”

I especially like that last tip. Thuon says that skiing’s about 80 percent mental. (He told me lots of other stuff that I can’t repeat here, too.)

We dipped and dived and tackled bumps for six hours. My legs are shot and my back is tired. But I loved it, and I feel like I made some strides.

I’m looking forward to more skiing tomorrow. In the meantime, here are my favorite things about Beaver Creek so far.

Chico Thuen demonstrates how to ski moguls at Beaver Creek. Pam LeBlanc photo

The best things about Beaver Creek

World class corduroy. OK, honestly, I’m not into groomed runs. I’d rather get off the marked slopes and sniff around in the trees. But Beaver Creek is known for its high quality grooming, which is so perfect it looks like corduroy. And even I have to admit it’s pretty nice to make nice big turns down a pristine swathe of precisely formed snow ripples.
I haven’t met him yet, but I will. Willie the Mountain Safety Dog, a golden retriever rescued from an animal shelter in Pueblo, Colorado, is famous here. He’s part of the mountain ski patrol team, and serves as the face of mountain safety. One of tomorrow’s missions Is to meet him up close and in person.
Beaver Creek is also home to the Birds of Prey World Cup Super G and Downhill Races. (I know this because my amigo Erich Schlegel photographs it every year.) I skied most of the course today, just to do it. And yes, I’m way slower than the pros.
About 15 years ago, my husband and I ate at Beano’s Cabin. We still remember the experience – we rode a sleigh up to a gorgeous cabin in the woods, ate a gourmet meal, sipped delicious wine, and snuggled under blankets on the sleigh ride back down the mountain. Beaver Creek now has three fine dining cabins, and tonight I’m going to Zack’s Cabin for dinner.
Got a sweet tooth? Stop by the Candy Cabin on the mountain, where you can buy enough old-fashioned treats to induce a sugar coma.

Looking down a slope at Beaver Creek. Pam LeBlanc photo

The Osprey, where I’m staying, bills itself as the closest lodge to a ski lift in North America. My room on the second floor literally overlooks the lift, which is about 25 feet away. Talk about ski in and ski out!
Not into downhill skiing? Try the ice rink, where you can spin and twirl on a sheet of ice right in the center of the village.
Not into skating, either? Try snow shoeing. While most resorts relegate their snowshoe trails to the foot of the mountain, Beaver Creek elevates them. Snowshoers can stroll beautiful trails with panoramic views high on the mountain.
The Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek hosts an array of performances, from music to comedy to theater. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is playing tomorrow, and Grand Funk Railroad plays Wednesday. Upcoming shows include John Oates, Jim Gaffigan, Robert Earl Keen, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Chico Thuen dives into a wide glazed run in the new McCoy Park area of Beaver Creek. Pam LeBlanc photo

Beaver Creek just opened 250 new acres of terrain in McCoy Park. It’s beginner and intermediate friendly, which I thought would bore me. But the undulating terrain, with widely spaced glades and that famous Beaver Creek grooming, is just the ticket when you need a little chill in your life.
And because I couldn’t stop at just 10, I’ll give you a bonus – those famous chocolate chip cookies. Every day as the lifts quit whirling, a team of employees dons white chefs hats and hands out warm cookies – to everyone, for free. Need I say more?
An employee hands out free cookies at the base of Beaver Creek. Pam LeBlanc photo

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