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Copper Mountain Cruisin – Weekend Warrior
- By Michael Lakus
- Read Time: 7min
Boulder and Copper Gameplan
March’s trip is set for a weekend in Boulder and at Copper Mountain Resort hanging out with family and friends! Coming off a bachelor party the prior weekend, the turnaround was quick and it was a real concern if the body could recover before an inevitable thrashing out on the slopes. So many L’s were had, I was in real need of some dubs to come my way. Knowing this, I did everything in my power to put together a “day in boulder” itinerary to prepare mind, body and soul. A true weekend warrior tale in the purest form.
Below is the video recap of Copper Mountain! Also, there are other Colorado posts here to peruse through.
Travel Logistics
I flew out to DEN Friday morning, and had a red eye back to MCO Monday morning (Cash + points to book economy. Needed a carry-on, so basic economy was a no-go this time). From DEN, I took the AB bus line right into Boulder ($10). Fortunately, I took I70 out to Copper and stayed at the condo with fam.
The itinerary for this trip is a bit spread out since Copper and Boulder are fairly far apart (around a 2 hour drive). Nevertheless, I included the highlights. I didn’t personally stop at Black Hawk this time, but they have a bunch of casinos to enjoy on the way out to the mountains.
Expedited Healing Measures
Before making my way out to Copper Mountain with my dude Smitty, I had most of Friday to spend in Boulder. With impaired hands, a busted foot, and a bruised back (and ego), the object here was clear – get in as much R&R as possible.
My day started out at The Buff for a big ‘ol ‘Merican breakfast. There were pancakes, eggs, potatoes, bacon, and of course, lots of coffee. I would rave about it more if I was able to finish the meal. That’s right. No joke, I placed my hat at my seat and went to the bathroom for no more than 5 minutes to return to my hat and plates of food to be gone. I wasn’t even half way finished, ha! Will the L-streak continue?! Needless to say, I just left and still tipped like a good boy.
Downtown Boulder
A walk down Pearl Street will take you right through the center of Downtown Boulder.
But a minor setback is OK. This is a marathon, not a sprint, when it comes to R&R. And after a short walk through downtown Boulder, I walked in to my next appointment – deep tissue massage time. Now it may come as a surprise that I’ve never had a professional massage before, but that’s just how it goes. There are so many words I could use to describe it… but I’ll settle on ‘good paralysis.’ Talking through my broken body with the masseuse really shed some light on how many injuries I’ve tallied up over the years. Overall, I felt a good bit centered afterwards so it may be time to find a spot in Orlando for the next one. Wadda enlightening experience.
Getting Divine at Dushanbe
First, let me put on my big time tea guy hat. Second, thanks to my favorite (and only) sister for such a recommendation to Dushanbe Tea House. This place will now be a must-go whenever I visit Boulder again. It’s a very unique piece of Tajikistan and Tajik identify brought to Boulder.
Following a massage, does R&R get any better than sipping tea while acting like an overindulged, grandiose monarch? I reserved an afternoon time a few days before to enjoy elegant, English-style tea and pastries, with traditional offerings as well. I had all the teas; too many I cannot remember them all. Plus the menu is apparently changed quite often for a new experience each time. The house Chai is crazy bold flavors. I also had several oolong and green teas with different spices and herbs. Each tea had specific steep times for best results, so I had a trusty little hourglass timer on hand. A nice touch 🙂
About Tea Time
If doing the afternoon tea, make sure to put in a reservation ahead of time!
With healing complete, I met up with Smitty at Dushanbe to begin our ride out to Copper that evening for two days on the mountain.
Supplements to Shred
And now, the moment of truth. Two days. It’s me and this mountain. We were even blessed with some perfect 40 degrees weather both days. I was able to squeeze some hot tub in the night before, too, while listening to some Bosnian guy’s life story as he ripped apple Crown Royal straight from the bottle. With trusty Advil on board, let the skiing commence.
I had to get my buddy pass for Copper same day at guest services. Lemme tell ya, even with the discount, skiing is just getting ridiculously expensive unless you hold a season pass. Definitely consider it if you’ll be skiing or boarding for 5+ days.
Anywho, Copper held a big air competition on Saturday which was fun to watch as we rode the lift up. Plenty of gnarly aerial goodness to behold. Another upside was the impromptu meetup with my buddy Dylan and his brother, Kyle. I hadn’t seen Dylan in a few years after a project we worked on during a program at our work, so it was an epic day being able to ride with him. He is a BEAST out there! I also spent some time skiing with the fam and was super impressed with how much better everyone was riding. I guess those extra days out at Copper paid off for them!
Copper Finale
Day 2 was upon us and I was ready to start the day with some dubs. Except, I lost my pass on literally the first run. Minor setback, people! A smooth $5 later, I’m back and ready to get some aggressive action. The second day was mostly back bowls at Copper, something I have not done in my past trips to this resort. Smitty and I found some solid runs out there with a lot of fun off-terrain and tree skiing. We probably were shreddin’ it up and getting stuck on lifts for a solid 4 hours. At the top of the lifts on the back mountain, it was also refreshing to see some new views looking south from Copper.
Eventually, we made back to the lodge, packed up and rode back into Denver, stopping at Taco Bell before my red eye flight (I like playing it risky). The weekend in Boulder and Copper was maximized and I’m glad we got the trip in when we could. Looks like at time of writing this, Colorado’s governor is shutting down ski resorts due to COVID-19. I’ll tell ya what, this pandemic is putting everything to sh!t. We’ll see how 2020 plays out. Stay safe out there.
-ML
Recap of Places
- The Buff – Boulder breakfast
- Dushanbe Tea House – Tajik tea house
- Black Hawk Casinos
- Copper Mountain Resort
- Arapahoe Cafe & Pub – not mentioned in post, but had awesome BBQ. It’s a short drive from Copper, in Lake Dillon area.
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Michael Lakus
IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.
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