Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i 5280 Magazine

If long hours at work have left you feeling unfocused, irritable, or depressed, you’re familiar with burnout. For health care workers, that exhaustion takes a brutal form: compassion fatigue, wherein providers become so drained they struggle to empathize with their wards. Nurses, who work closely with patients, are especially susceptible, says Denver nurse Tara Rynders: “Everyone was feeling this way, but getting people to acknowledge it was like pulling teeth.” That’s why, in 2017, Rynders started the Clinic, a Denver theater and dance company whose productions raise awareness about compassion fatigue. Rynders and consultant Clare Hammoor also develop and co-direct resiliency workshops, during which nurses use art- and play-based techniques to address suppressed sadness or trauma. Because of COVID-19, Rynders is seeing wider recognition of the problem: More hospital administrators…

Blessed are the food makers and food sellers in these coronavirus-afflicted times. The shutdowns and restaurant closings of 2020 had me cooking at home every night some weeks, which prompted masked shopping excursions beyond the realms of Costco, King Soopers, and Whole Foods in search of new ingredients. There’s a wonderland of global goodies out there. If you’ve never been to H-Mart, the giant, cheery, Pan-Asian supermarket in Aurora (there’s also a location in Westminster), for example, prepare to be gobsmacked by its astounding selection of fresh and frozen treats that cater to our deepest carb cravings. There are buckwheat noodles; puff parathas stuffed with chives; dumplings filled with Chinese spinach, pork, and shrimp; Korean scallion pancakes; and pot stickers galore. Recently, I paced out more than 250 feet of…

THE CHALET Book one of two units for a weekend at the Chalet, a private lodge that opened in 2019 just 15 minutes from Crested Butte’s charming downtown. You and your quaranteam can explore the 50-acre property’s private mountain biking and hiking trails before relaxing in the wood-fired cedar hot tub. From $270 per night, thechalet.us THE NOW MASSAGE BOUTIQUE Add a gua sha treatment—in which the masseuse uses rose quartz tools to promote circulation—to any of the massages at this new-in-2020 Cherry Creek locale. From $50 for 25 minutes, thenowmassage.com MEEK NAIL POLISH Denver vintage boutique Meek debuted a luxe line of nail polish this past fall that’s free of 10 toxic ingredients, including formaldehyde and parabens, found in most blends. $18, shopmeek.co WAGNER CUSTOM SKIS ULTRA PACKAGE Skipping…

IT’S SIMPLY A FACT OF LIFE that even the least litigious among us will be in need of a lawyer at some point. When you find yourself in that position, though, navigating the complicated legal world can be overwhelming, especially when you consider that the law has been split into dozens of categories: Everything from criminal law to bankruptcy to insurance necessitates specific expertise. That’s why we put together Denver’s Top Lawyers 2021, our seventh annual list of the best attorneys in the region. To compile the list, we first invited attorneys in the seven-county metro area to vote for the peers they respect most in 50 legal specialties. Survey responses in hand, we then did weeks of reporting to get an on-the-ground perspective: Who are the best litigators? The…

La Veta isn’t really on the way to anywhere. Tucked against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, it has just one main road that serves a population of less than 900. At first glance, it seems like any small town—except it’s not. Of the 29 businesses in La Veta, nearly 70 percent are owned by women. (The national average is 39 percent.) One of the few statues in the state honoring a specific woman—Doris Tracy, a former resident who served as a pilot during World War II—sits in the city center. La Veta High School’s class of 2020 was all girls, so the homecoming court boasted two queens. Some have suggested that La Veta’s feminine mystique is a product of the area’s geography. (The Ute people call the Spanish Peaks, which…

Like many women in male-dominated industries, Wanda James is a serial overachiever. She purged the word “can’t” from her vocabulary during military service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. Subsequent stints in the corporate world, the restaurant industry, and the political sphere imbued her with savvy. All of that proved invaluable when James decided to enter the overwhelmingly white world of legalized cannabis. In 2009, she says, she and her husband, Scott Durrah, became the first Black entrepreneurs in the country to operate a licensed dispensary, cultivation, and edibles business when they opened the Apothecary of Colorado in LoDo. Even now, James knows of fewer than 20 cannabis licenses held by Black or brown people—and that’s in a state with 2,770 marijuana licenses and more than $8 billion…

WINTER Hot To Cold 1. KREMMLING Sleep: Red Mountain RV Park Play: What ski area Bluebird Backcountry lacks in chairlifts, it makes up for in 1,200 acres of avalanche-evaluated powder. Relax: Marinate in natural-hot-springs-fed pools and baths at Hot Sulphur Springs Resort & Spa. 2. CLARK Sleep: Steamboat Lake Marina Play: Rent snowmobiles via Rocky Mountain Sled Rentals (pictured) to zip around groomed trails at Steamboat Lake State Park. Eat: Order red jalapeño poppers in the two-year-old Glen Eden Restaurant’s cozy dining room. 3. GLENWOOD SPRINGS Sleep: Glenwood Canyon Resort Play: Daily lift tickets for Sunlight Mountain Resort’s 72 trails start at just $59 for adults—so you’ll have cash left over for a trip to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park the next day. Relax: Soak in the 40,500-square-foot hot springs pool…

FOR: GEEKS Once a month, the Bug Theatre in LoHi hosts (virtually, for now) Nerd Nite, a more casual take on the TED Talk. Here, intellectuals of all kinds give 20-minute crash courses on Star Wars audio production, sharks, working in haunted houses, and even more random topics. From $8 per person, nerdnitedenver.com FOR: FASHIONISTAS You know how good it feels when someone compliments your footwear? Imagine being able to reply, “Thanks, I made them myself.” To craft sneakers or sandals, opt for a daylong class at Colorado Shoe School (pictured) in Bellvue, northwest of Fort Collins—or, if you need to get runway-ready, set aside five days to make a pair of boots or an original design. From $190, coloradoshoeschool.com FOR: HISTORY BUFFS Elevate your next downtown amble by tuning…

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 reached out to more than 17,700 licensed attorneys actively registered with the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and connected with 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…

Colorado mountain towns have become Denverites’ premier vacation destinations for winter 2021. But what to eat in your condo/cabin/hut away from home? Leave that to Whistling Boar, whose Weekender Box feeds two (at least); it will feel as if chef-owner David Pitula is in your rental kitchen with you. He and his wife and work partner, Debbie Seaford-Pitula, procure, prep, and pack into eco-friendly containers everything you’ll need to dine exquisitely. Snacks (think: hand-cut potato chips with ranch for dipping and meatand-cheese assortments) come ready to eat, while locally sourced meals (two brunches, a salad, and two main courses with two sides each) require basic cooking or reheating via Pitula’s written instructions. Whipping up, say, a French toast feast is a simple matter of soaking challah in the provided custard;…

ROLLER SKATING The Expert: Jesse Heilmann, owner and manager of Death & Glory Skate Shop, the only retailer in Denver that focuses on quad and in-line skates The COVID-19 Effect: TikTok videos of roller skaters dancing during quarantine drove some of the 389 percent increase in skateand-blade sales at Death & Glory between summer 2019 and summer 2020, Heilmann says. Where To Practice: Glide along the South Platte River Trail’s paved hills near REI’s flagship in LoHi to build comfort with higher speeds and sudden stops. Where To Let ’Er Rip: Eight-wheelers eager to prove skate parks aren’t just for the Tony Hawk set can show off at the Apex Center (pictured) in Arvada, where 40,000 square feet of ramps and bowls provide ample space for spins and jumps. MOUNTAIN…

TO RENT Rocky Mountain Campervans This company with offices in Lakewood and Las Vegas boasts a fleet of vintage VW vans tricked out with beds and stainless-steel sinks. From $150 per night, rockymountaincampervans.com KúKú Campers With stripped-down yet comfy interiors (a bed, cushy bench seats, plenty of storage), this Highlands Ranch company’s vans (pictured) are road-trip ready. From $79 per day, kukucampers.com TO OWN Colorado Teardrops Weighing only 2,000 pounds (at most), these lightweight trailers put minimal strain on the vehicles towing them. Each of the Boulder-made models comes with a kitchen area. From $14,300, coloradoteardropcamper.com EarthRoamer Based in Dacono, EarthRoamer makes hulking campers with leather sofas and hot-water-capable showers; their insides are as luxe as their outsides are tough. From $590,000, earthroamer.com WELCOME BACK What’s the first thing you’ll…