Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i 5280 Magazine

LION’S TALE Popping Champagne bottles as the Times Square Ball completes its plunge seems pretty festive—until you witness the riveting dances of a Chinese and Vietnamese New Year celebration. The teams who work together to operate elaborate lion and dragon costumes are particularly enthralling, and this month, those performances will hold special meaning for one of the state’s biggest squads. Starting with a show outside Park Hill Supermarket on January 11, the Colorado Asian Cultural Heritage Center (CACHC) will begin celebrating its 15th anniversary and the new decade by traveling the Front Range and exhibiting complex moves the 45-person team usually reserves for competitions. Leaping from pillar to pillar (some as tall as nine feet), for example, is a dangerous element the group has not attempted in years. But the routine represents…

BLOCK PARTY So you bought your kid the 4,784-piece Imperial Star Destroyer Lego set for the holidays (be honest, it’s really for you), and Junior misplaced four integral pieces by January 1. You could shell out $700 to buy another—or just consult Grand Junction’s eBricks, the world’s largest independent supplier of Lego components. The idea for the business came to Kenneth Riskey in 2000, the summer before he went to Colorado Mesa University, when he purchased a used 1984 Cargo Center Lego kit with several missing parts. Riskey placed newspaper ads to hunt them down and was besieged by people looking to sell their collections. Sensing an opportunity, the teen bought 38,000 Lego pieces and listed them individually for sale online. He eventually opened an eBricks storefront, but today he makes about…

Airo Hernandez is sitting in a fourth-floor office of the Denver Central Library, looking for help. His needs extend far beyond leniency for a misplaced book, assistance printing a resumé, or any obscure factoid a librarian could conjure. On this May day, Hernandez is trying to put his life back together, and he believes this place and the woman sitting across from him, Cuica Montoya, might be his best hope. Hernandez moved to Denver from El Paso, Texas, in 2016, for a carpentry job he promptly lost because he didn’t get along with his boss. The lack of income left him experiencing homelessness, and on the streets, Hernandez, who has paranoid schizophrenia, sank into a life of meth and petty crime. Eventually, he rediscovered Christianity at a Mile High City…

IT’S STILL DARK IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WHEN REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW GETS UP, PULLS ON HIS SNEAKERS, AND SLIPS OUT THE FRONT DOOR OF THE APARTMENT HE SHARES WITH CONGRESSMAN JOE NEGUSE. Crow is used to getting up at dawn. As a kid, he woke early to stalk deer in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. In the Army, he didn’t have a choice. Now, as a freshman congressman, he gets up every morning by 6 a.m. of his own accord. Staying fit is ingrained in the 40-year-old former Army Ranger; he’s been running since before he became a paratrooper nearly 20 years ago. He ran up hills and through longleaf pines with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He ran from door to door, clearing houses in Samawah during the…

Which attorneys did you survey? All licensed attorneys in the seven-county metro area were welcome to participate in our survey, which went live on 5280.com in May. We mailed postcards to nearly 16,000 licensed attorneys actively registered with the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and reached out to local bar associations to make sure we received a strong response to the peer-reviewed ballot. How did you ensure that big law firms didn’t stuff the ballot box? Good question! In order to vote, each attorney had to register with his or her work email address and his or her Colorado attorney registration number. We monitored IP addresses to make sure one person wasn’t voting for everyone in a firm. We checked out any suspicious votes—and tossed them if…

BLACK HILLS NATIONAL FOREST [1] Thanks to 416 miles of trails that are groomed nightly, the snowmobiling experts at SnoWest magazine have ranked Black Hills National Forest as one of the best places in North America to spin snow. If you’re an expert who wants to create your own tracks, though, almost all of the massive forest’s 1.2 million acres of terrain are open to off-trail riding. Whichever path you take, procure full-day rentals (starting at $200, including helmets and gas) inside the forest from Mystic Hills Hideaway. mystichillshideaway.com CUSTER STATE PARK [2] Bison crave salt as much as the rest of us, except they can’t go to McDonald’s when they need a fix. So along Custer’s Wildlife Loop, the park’s more than 1,000 bison seek sodium another way. After…

HIDDEN FALLS Rocky Mountain National Park Trees at the top of this approximately 75-foot-tall frozen waterfall provide reliable anchors for “top roping”—a secure style of climbing in which a person ascends while attached to a rope that hangs from above. LINCOLN FALLS Hoosier Pass South of Breckenridge on Mt. Lincoln’s northeast side, Lincoln Falls’ height varies each winter depending on seasonal water flow. Still, a 60-foot rope will be plenty long for the two top-rope-accessible courses. Arrive early; the pretty, 45-minute hike in draws a crowd. MOFFAT TUNNEL Rollinsville If you’re not confident about your endurance, visit the wall near Moffat Tunnel: About 13 miles south of Nederland, it boasts a series of short, easy routes. The tallest is about 50 feet, but you can practice your technique on the…

Don’t compliment Abbie Minton, Sarah Shomaker, or Jessica Roat on her outfit, please. “We should be lifting up other women in more concrete ways than commenting on their earrings,” Roat says. The trio’s new nonprofit, the Women’s Wine Guild of Colorado (WWGC), aims to do that by connecting, educating, and supporting local female wine professionals—and you. On the pro side, the WWGC offers networking events, seminars, and mentorship opportunities so Centennial State sommeliers, wine sales reps, hospitality students, and other women in the food and beverage industry can collaborate and advance in their fields. For regular ol’ enthusiasts, the WWGC’s events (think: tastings with renowned international female winemakers; classes on self-defense and professional development, among other topics; and meetups with local experts) open a door into a world where women’s…

HANGAI MOUNTAIN TEXTILES BAUHAUS CAMEL DOWN BLANKET This family-owned company in Basalt partners with Mongolian herders and knitters, who hand-comb local camel herds to collect the fibers they knit into cuddly throws. Schedule a sick day (wink) to spend time under one of these luxe throws—all the better if it’s hump day. $630, hangai mountaintextiles.com NEVER A WALLFLOWER FRINGE WRAP Denver designer Dana Schoonover’s cashmere wrap is so sumptuous it demands display outside of your living room. Pair the piece with jeans and booties by day and a little black dress by night—or with your PJs if you can’t peel yourself away from the fireplace. $298, neverawallflower.com LILLY & RAYE BEAR HOODED ROMPER When Midnight Rambler Boutique moved into larger digs in the Cheesman Park neighborhood last year, the boho…

ARCHERY DODGEBALL Arm yourself with a bow and foam-tipped arrow at Archery Games Denver, which offers a medieval twist on the gym class contest just outside the Mile High City in Arvada. Each 75-minute session (ages seven and up) begins with an archery lesson, ensuring even the greenest of bowmen can compete. Not that hitting a moving target—especially one ducking behind inflatable barriers on a 3,300-squarefoot course—will be easy. Helmets, eyewear, and arrows with multiple layers of force-absorbing foam mean that if your team falls short, the only bruising will be to your pride. $27 per player, archerygamesdenver.com SMASH*IT BREAKROOM Acts of destruction help you get moving while simultaneously reducing the boiling in your blood. That’s the thought behind the Overland neighborhood’s new-in-September rage room, where smashable items (and all…

PICK A WEEKEND IN COLORADO—LITERALLY ANY WEEKEND—AND ODDS ARE THAT SOMEWHERE WITHIN OUR STATE’S BOUNDARIES, YOU’LL FIND A BUNCH OF SWEATY PEOPLE SPORTING RACE BIBS, TIMING CHIPS, AND AN ARRAY OF MOISTUREWICKING, SPEEDENHANCING, HEART-RATETRACKING GEAR. They might be on bikes or wearing skis or in kayaks. Maybe they’re just hoofing it in sneakers. It could be a snowy January day in the city or a scorcher in July on a high mountain pass. The exact details of each competition—be it a 5K, a century ride, or a backcountry ultra-grind—are mostly irrelevant. What is important to note? Friendly (albeit high-caliber) athletic competition is a way of life here in the Centennial State. Which is why we’ve taken it upon ourselves to help you find the best contests for your particular persuasions.…

Most people feel accomplished if they complete the Manitou Incline—a hiking trail near Colorado Springs that climbs 2,744 steps and 2,000 feet of elevation over a single mile—just once. Not Greg Cummings and Roger Austin. Over the past decade, they’ve engaged in a game of one-upmanship to see who can scale the steep hill the most times in a year. With Cummings on pace to surpass Austin’s current record of 1,719 ascents this month, 5280 spoke to the Colorado Springs residents about their intense up-again, up-again relationship. Greg Cummings: In 2010, there wasn’t a definitive record. I wanted to climb the same amount of elevation that the International Space Station orbits at, which is 1.31 million vertical feet. It just seemed like such a large number. I did 601 ascents…

More traffic-free powder days. In addition to weekends, the Winter Park Express train will expand service this month to include Fridays. Colorado becoming one of the first states to offer electronic driver’s licenses, via the myColorado app. (Most federal agencies, such as TSA, won’t accept them, though.) A brewing identity crisis. Molson Coors Brewing Company will change its name to Molson Coors Beverage Company this month as part of the longtime Colorado brand’s impending move to Chicago. B-cycle’s last ride. After nearly 10 years, the bike-share system will stop operating in Denver at the end of this month due to aging equipment and dwindling ridership.…

When Brett Marquardt got an invitation to Willie Nelson’s house in 2014, the Colorado resident immediately knew which shoes to wear: his cowboy boots with the legendary country artist’s face stitched into them. Marquardt even called Mickey Mussett, the Denver craftsman who had made the footwear, to inform him of his plan. “You should ask him to sign them,” Mussett said. But when the time came, Nelson demurred. “No way,” Nelson said. “Those are way too pretty to put my signature on.” Five years later, Mussett grins as he recounts that tale. He started Ghost Rider Boots in 1999 as little more than a novice in the fading art of custom boot making. Today, after spending countless hours in the garage of his Hale neighborhood home cutting leather and threading…

ONE OF A KIND With almost as many food halls on the Front Range as there are Subarus, local diners could be forgiven for feeling fatigued with the concept. But take note: Rosetta Hall, which opened in Boulder in October, is unlike any other. Local artist Tiffany Mitchum designed the space, in partnership with Rosetta CEO Donovan Greene and co-owner Doug Greene (her stepson and husband, respectively), to be “visually beautiful and physically comfortable,” she says. “A place where you want to stay and hang out.” The myriad seating options Mitchum created under the hall’s vaulted roof on Walnut Street help achieve that goal, from traditional dining tables and velvet bar chairs to curtained cabanas on the rooftop patio, cozy nooks with plush couches on the mezzanine, and pillow-lined stadium…

On a busy Friday night, few Denver restaurant kitchens run at the hyper-balletic pace of the big, shiny, six-month-old kitchen at the new Uncle in the Speer neighborhood. Recently, I counted 17 cooks and other staff, all abuzz and gracefully in sync, plunging baskets of noodles into water, packing white bao buns into steam baskets like Michelin men into tiny saunas, and building pyramids of grilled shrimp on beds of crispy rice. It’s a cheerful show. A culinary crew in good form knows it’s in good form, and the camaraderie at Uncle 2.0 reminded me of a Broadway musical troupe with a hit on its hands. The menu at this second Uncle is more ambitious than that of the first-born, smaller Highland shop. It remains ramen-centric, but there’s an expanded…

Loathe to throw away functional baby gear after their kids outgrew it, Jayme Ritchie and Sunny Heydorn founded their own donation center in 2008 specifically for young families in need. WeeCycle began in Ritchie’s garage, where the two women stored donations from friends. The venture grew like a newborn, though, and the nonprofit relocated to an Aurora warehouse that is now overflowing with car seats, strollers, and more. Partner organizations such as Hope House Colorado pick up supplies requested by the families they serve; through them, WeeCycle reaches more than 16,000 Colorado children each year. To contribute baby gear and packs of new diapers, visit one of 16 donation sites in the state (find them at weecycle.org) after your child’s next growth spurt.…

When 5280 approached five-month-old American Elm’s bar manager, Jesse Torres, to create a winter drink, we had two criteria: It should taste as delicious as the cocktails he serves at the West Highland neighborhood restaurant, and it needed to be simple enough for amateurs to make at home. The result? A hot buttered rum anchored by a Colorado spirit. [THE ROCKIES RUMBLE*] 4 oz. boiling water, plus extra to preheat your mug1 tsp. Demerara sugar2 oz. Montanya Rum Exclusiva1½ tsp. unsalted butter1 cinnamon stick 1. Fill a mug with boiling water and let it rest for one minute; warming the glass keeps the drink toasty longer. Empty the mug. 2. Stir an ounce of boiling water with the Demerara sugar in the mug until the sugar dissolves. 3. Add the…

UNDERSTAND YOUR SLEEPING BAG Karcher (pictured at right) says that although sleeping bags are important pieces of gear, many newbies don’t really know how they work—that is, they retain your warmth, rather than providing their own. “You should never go into your bag cold,” the extreme adventurer says. “Eat a hot meal right before going to sleep, and do some exercises to increase your core temperature.” At times, he even did flutter kicks and situps inside his bag to generate body heat. PROTECT YOUR FACE—AND YOUR ZIPPERS Alone contestants are only allowed to bring 10 items (plus the clothes on their backs) into the Arctic, so when vapor from his body heat froze his sleeping bag zipper closed, Karcher had to use fat rendered from a trout he’d caught to…