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rocky mountain highs
By Susan Gough Henly.
Published in the January-March 2012 issue.
Whether you visit in winter or summer, the American Rockies never fail to impress – those seeking adventure will find alpine skiing, superb mountain biking, hiking, fishing and horse riding, all complemented by resort towns that offer a true taste of the Wild West.
Stretching some 4,830 kilometres from British Columbia in Canada to northern New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains range divides the U.S. – literally and metaphorically. The Rockies form the Continental Divide, the line at which waters flow either to the Atlantic or the Pacific oceans. They also provide a barrier between the east coast and the wide open spaces – and attitudes – of the west.
Soaring from the central prairies and sculpted by glaciers and raging rivers, the Rockies comprise dramatic valleys and many of the highest peaks in continental America. With much of the land protected by national parks and forests, it’s a mecca for adventure-lovers.
Across the six states the Rockies span, there’s a lot to see: snowy peaks and alpine meadows edged by Douglas fir, juniper and spruce. And then there’s the fauna, which includes elk, moose, bears, coyotes, cougars, wolverines and bison.
Here, highlights from the four states at the heart of the Rocky Mountain range.
COLORADO
Colorado is the epicentre of North America’s snow-sports scene, with 22 ski and snowboard resorts offering light, airy, thigh-deep powder, long vertical drops, endless adventure, bright sunny days, soothing spas and unhinged nightlife. Over the summer season, expect world-class festivals and endless hiking and mountain-biking opportunities amid the state’s shimmering aspen groves.
What to do: winter
Colorado offers winter resorts to suit every taste and budget. And prices generally drop post-New Year until mid-February – a bonus for Australian skiers. February and March are known for huge snowfalls, so if it’s powder you’re chasing, these months are your best bets.
The former silver-mining town of Aspen is the well-preserved grande dame of Colorado’s resorts, with four mountains and more than 500 square kilometres of pistes at your disposal on one lift ticket. A major destination for the jet-set crowd, it has a lively restaurant scene and epic nightlife.
Telluride Ski Resort, in the “four corners” region where southwest Colorado borders New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, is much more intimate. Offering some 810 hectares of terrain plus peaks ideal for heli-skiing, it is renowned for its exceptional scenery and laid-back township, its buildings painted purple, lime green and pink.
Other favourites include Crested Butte, known for its steep slopes, moguls and powder snow, and Steamboat, a family-friendly resort town with tree ski runs and a Wild West vibe.
What to do: summer
The hiking and mountain-biking trails throughout Colorado are among the best in the Rocky Mountain range. Crested Butte is widely regarded as the town from which the sport of mountain biking began – the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum, established to chronicle the history of the sport, is located here. The best trail for moderately competent mountain bikers is Trail 401, a three-hour loop incorporating some steep climbs followed by a long downhill stretch, starting just outside of town.
WYOMING
Home to Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, Wyoming is a perennially popular destination for its geysers and its abundant wildlife. Still, the state has much to offer outside Yellowstone, including the soaring peaks of neighbouring Grand Teton National Park, a host of old-West dude ranches and the year-round adrenalin-sports centre of Jackson Hole.
What to do: winter
Jackson Hole is an extreme skiing and snowboarding destination with great snow, a big descent – including the longest single downhill run in the U.S., with a vertical drop of nearly 1,263 metres – and a Wild West resort atmosphere. Much of Yellowstone is also open during winter, giving you access to virtually untouched wilderness areas in which you can enjoy snowmobile and snowcoach rides.
What to do: summer
Home to half the earth’s geothermal attractions – think geysers, hot springs and fumaroles – the 8,980-square-kilometre Yellowstone National Park is the place to see moose, elk, bison, grizzly and black bears, coyotes and wolves; the Lamar Valley has native fauna in particular abundance. Sadly, it’s also clogged with vehicles during the summer months. Yellowstone Association’s The Institute offers excellent programs to inform those keen to explore the wilderness.
The Grand Tetons offer a completely different landscape. The youngest range in the Rockies, the Tetons soar as high as 4,197 metres above the valley floor and, lacking foothills, they offer challenging hiking and mountain-biking terrain. You’ll find gentler trails in the Laurance Rockefeller Preserve, with its state-of-the-art visitors’ centre.
Jackson Hole is the North American equivalent of Queenstown: a hub for hiking, rafting, climbing, fly fishing, horse riding and snow sports. Arches of elk antlers flank Jackson Wyoming Town Square, the town’s Million Dollar Cowboy Bar has saddles for bar stools, and a slew of high-end resorts and restaurants cater to the well-heeled.
Hole Hiking Experience, Jackson’s premier adventure company, offers a range of guided trips, including hike-bike-raft excursions and tours combining hiking and yoga.
Wyoming is home to the majority of the West’s dude ranches. These visitor-friendly farms sprang up in the 19th century as a way for cattle ranchers to supplement their incomes and for city-dwellers to enjoy the fresh air and freedom of the Wild West. Typically offering horse riding, fly-fishing, hiking, shooting or all of the above, today’s dude ranches span the vacation spectrum from basic, family-friendly camps to luxury spa resorts.
Two worth visiting are the HF Bar Ranch, on the National Register of Historic Places, and Paradise Guest Ranch, popular for its extensive roster of outdoor activities.
MONTANA
The term “Big Sky” has long been used to describe Montana – and gazing out over the seemingly endless expanse of blue that crowns the state, it’s easy to see why. This is the heart of the American West, with dude and working ranches, old-school hot-springs resorts, and soaring mountains in Glacier National Park, which borders Canada and has spectacular scenery similar to that of nearby Banff and Jasper national parks.
What to do: winter
Big Sky Ski Resort and Moonlight Basin Resort offer ski and snowboard trails on the north face of Montana’s famed Lone Mountain, towering 3,403 metres over the countryside. Come back when the snow melts and you’ll have access to an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course.
What to do: summer
Carved by more than 150 glaciers, Glacier National Park is a bit like Yellowstone’s wild younger sibling. It’s quieter and less trafficked, and the wildlife tends to keep to itself – just as well, perhaps, considering that it’s home to some 300 grizzly bears. After a day of hiking through forests of spruce, pine and fir, enjoy a lake tour aboard one of the park’s historic wooden boats.
Those serious about fly fishing head to stretches of the Missouri River between Hauser Dam, Holter Lake and Cascade. Headhunters Missouri River Fly Shop & Guide Service in Craig offers guiding and outfitting services. Other Montana fly-fishing spots include the Madison, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Ruby and Big Hole rivers. The Western town of Ennis makes a good base.
Not far from the northern entrance to Yellowstone on the Wyoming border is the old-fashioned spa resort of Chico Hot Springs Resort and Day Spa, with its delightful open-air mineral hot-spring pools and a classic restaurant that picks much of its produce fresh from a large on-site organic kitchen garden.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed public Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda is the state’s premier course, its bunkers fashioned from recycled mine tailings. Aside from the challenging fairways, it’s an inspired restoration of land once used for a copper smelter.
For a slice of American history, visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument south of Billings, site of Custer’s Last Stand, its interpretive centre doing a fine job of explaining this most famous battle of the Great Sioux War of 1876, when Native American tribes claimed an overwhelming victory over the U.S. cavalry.
IDAHO
Idaho is probably the most mild-mannered of the Rocky Mountain states – and that’s part of its charm. While it’s not as wild as Wyoming or Montana, Idaho does offer visitors a host of off-the-beaten-path attractions, including some of the best fly fishing, white-water rafting and kayaking in the Rockies, not to mention America’s first destination ski resort at Sun Valley and world-class golf courses amid stunning mountain scenery.
What to do: winter
Built in 1936 by W. Averell Harriman, chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad, Sun Valley retains the glamour of its heyday, when it welcomed the likes of Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway. The resort has a European village-like atmosphere and, while the main ski slopes of Bald Mountain are a short bus ride away, Sun Valley’s signature sunny weather is a major drawcard.
Less well known than its neighbour Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Grand Targee Ski Resort has nicer weather and fewer crowds. And the snow? If you like deep powder and tree runs, you won’t be disappointed.
What to do: summer
Those keen on fly fishing will want to make a beeline for the South Fork and the Henrys Fork of the Snake River in eastern Idaho – aficionados agree that these are among the top trout fishing spots in the world. Worldcast Anglers can set you up with equipment and show you where to get started with your line.
Adrenalin junkies are also well catered for in Idaho, with the state’s Salmon River on par with the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon as one of the world’s best waterways for multi-day rafting. The Salmon’s most famous stretch is 160-kilometre-long Middle Fork, with gorgeous alpine scenery and big whitewater that flows over more than 350 rapids. Main Fork, at a lower elevation with more beaches and consistent long rapids, is easier to access and offers a wider variety of rafting options. Row Adventures and Cascade Raft offer fully-equipped trips.
Hardened kayakers prefer the Payette River, which promises kilometres of non-stop grade-five rapids and is the site of all manner of kayaking competitions. For those who enjoy a more leisurely pace, the Idaho Golf Trail includes four loops and 14 world-class courses near resort-style settings. •
Photography by Susan Gough Henly and courtesy
of respective tourism groups.
TRAVEL FACTS
getting there
Qantas and United offer flights from Australia to Los Angeles, while V Australia flies from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to LA and San Francisco. Delta Air Lines has direct services from Sydney to Los Angeles with onward connections to Denver, Colorado; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Boise, Idaho; and Missoula, Montana.
• Delta. delta.com
• Qantas. 131-313; qantas.com
• United Airlines. 131-777; unitedairlines.com.au
• V Australia. 138-287; vaustralia.com.au
when to go
Summer in the Rockies runs from June to August; snow sports are best enjoyed from December to April.
where to stay
Wyoming
Old Faithful Snow Lodge and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel in Yellowstone offer classic national park lodge accommodations. 1-307/344-7311; travelyellowstone.com
Hotel Terra Jackson Hole is a cutting-edge, environmentally friendly hotel in Teton Village on the outskirts of Jackson Hole. 1-307/739-4000; hotelterrajacksonhole.com
Amangani in Jackson, Wyoming, was the first Amanresorts property in North America and evokes the best of the Wild West. 1-307/734-7333; amanresorts.com
Paradise Guest Ranch is family friendly and has cabins with fireplaces. 1-307/684-7876; paradiseranch.com
Colorado
The Little Nell is the place to spot celebrities before bed in Aspen. 1-970/920-4600; thelittlenell.com
Dunton Hot Springs is a delightful boutique hotel with 12 historic cabins located in a 19th-century ghost town on the outskirts of Telluride. 1-907/882-4800; duntonhotsprings.com
Montana
Glacier National Park lodges include the Swiss chalet-style Lake McDonald Lodge, Cabins, and Inn, St. Mary Lodge & Resort at the easterly end of Going To The Sun Road, and premier accommodation Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish. 1-406/892-2525; glacierparkinc.com/lodging.php
Triple Creek Ranch is a luxury Relais & Châteaux ranch in Darby. 1-406/821-4600; triplecreekranch.com
Just outside Yellowstone, Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa is located in Paradise Valley, in the foothills of the Absaroka Mountain Range. 1-406/333-4933; chicohotsprings.com
The Ranch at Rock Creek offers luxe accommodation in western Montana. 1-877/786-1545; theranchatrockcreek.com
Idaho
Sun Valley Lodge is still the premier place to stay and ski in Sun Valley. sunvalley.com
what to do
Adventure World offers a number of tours and trips through the Rocky Mountains, taking in ranches and national parks, among other attractions. 1300-295-049; adventureworld.com.au
For information on adventure activities in the Rockies:
• Rafting: rowadventures.com; cascaderaft.com
• Golf: visitidaho.org/golf; oldworks.org
• Snow resorts: aspensnowmass.com; skicb.com;
steamboat.com; tellurideskiresort.com; jacksonhole.com;
bigskyresort.com; grandtarghee.com
• Ranches: ranchweb.com
• Fly fishing: headhuntersflyshop.com; worldcastanglers.com
further information
The following state tourism websites offer further information on travelling around the Rocky Mountains region: visitmt.com; visitidaho.org; wyomingtourism.org; colorado.com
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