CHINESE DIM SUM DINNER AT THE EMPRESS SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Saturday, March 6 th at 6:00 PM Reserve by February 26 th

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1 Rocky Mountain Over The Hill Gang Hill Topics February 2010 Issue Special Interest Articles: Dim Sum Dinner 1 Section Chair s Message 2 Historic El Rancho Restaurant 2 Snowshoeing 3 Downhill skiing Carpooling 4 Blue Monday Hiking 5 Cross Country Skiing 5 Up Coming Activities 5 CHINESE DIM SUM DINNER AT THE EMPRESS SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Saturday, March 6 th at 6:00 PM Reserve by February 26 th For the past several years, our fellow member, Catherine Fogg, has been arranging this event at the Empress Restaurant, which has been given a rating of excellent in the Zagat Survey. Although Dim Sum is roughly translated from the Chinese as hors d oeuvres, it is so much more than that and really needs to be experienced. This is one of our most popular social events and has always been very well attended. Everyone who has attended is amazed at the variety and excellence of the many courses served, which are expertly selected by Catherine. The Empress is located at 2825 W. Alameda Avenue in Denver, just east of Federal, across the street from McDonald s. The cost of $25.00 per person includes tax and gratuity, and will offer you an evening of culinary delights and camaraderie. It is open to Rocky Mountain Over the Hill Gang section members and guests. To sign up and pay for this event on line, go to and login to the member s area. Go to Programs and Social Areas and have your credit card available. If you have any problems, call the Membership Department at CMC, to register before close of business February 26 th. THE LAST DATE TO REGISTER IS February 26 th. Be sure to reserve your spot by the deadline, or you will lose out on a unique experience.

2 Hill Topics February 2010 Issue Page 2 of 6 SECTION CHAIR S MESSAGE During the winter months, our physically active members tend to divide into two groups, downhill skiing and snowshoeing or cross country skiing. As a dedicated hard core downhill skier, I have never considered taking up other winter sports activities until now. Except for social functions, the two groups tend to go their separate ways from November until mid April. In view of this, I would encourage other interested members, including down hill skiers to consider joining the snow shoe group on Wednesdays. The group provides for all levels of snowshoers from beginner to experienced. The high country is very quiet except for a few birds and the wind blowing through the trees. All that is needed are the snow shoes or possibly Yak Traks that can be fitted on hiking boots for better traction on hard pack snow or ice. Clothing and equipment normally used for summer hiking is readily adaptable to the sport. Other advantages are that there are no long ski lift lines, expensive lift tickets, overpriced meals, or pay parking. Also, most mountain parks and hiking trails are suitable. I would highly recommend that our downhill skiers try the sport. I would like to thank Jeff Flax, Pete Spandau, Joe Leahy, and Elaine Kallos for planning and leading show shoe outings. To sign up for snow shoe trips, register on the CMC web site. Jim Stookesberry HISTORIC EL RANCHO RESTAURANT FEBRUARY 2, 2009 HAPPY HOUR 4 PM, DINNER 5 PM SHARP Come celebrate Groundhog s Day beginning with happy hour in the rustic log cabin atmosphere of 60 year old El Rancho. Make this your après ski or thank God it s Tuesday event. Nestled in the trees at this beautiful mountainous Evergreen setting, it is unlikely the groundhog or you will be seeing your shadow at 4:00 PM. Nonetheless, we will celebrate! We will be seated in the garden room, in the front of the restaurant, promptly at 5:00 PM for the early bird dinner special. The total cost for a 3-course meal, including tax and gratuity, is $ Menu: Choice of Tossed Salad or cup of Soup served with Bread Entrée of your choice: Cranberry and apple stuffed Chicken Fish and Chips Wild Game Meatloaf Chicken Enchilada Outpost Pasta (vegetarian) Dessert: Vanilla Ice cream Crème de Menthe Sundae A soft drink or coffee is included. Other beverages are an additional cost. Location: South of I-70 at the Evergreen Exit Hwy 40, Evergreen CO Reserve your spot by using the CMC website, by January 24. This will be a well attended event! Note: If you need to cancel your reservation after January 24 th, please contact Sue Osborn at SueOsborn1@msn.com or To make your reservation, go to Sign in, click on programs, scroll and click on social activities, click on Rocky Mountain Over the Hill Gang El Rancho Happy Hour and Dinner If you have difficulty signing up, you may call Shelby Mattingly at CMC for assistance. Important note for those signed up for El Rancho Restaurant, Feb 2. I look forward to seeing you at 4 PM for happy hour, and by 5 PM for dinner. If you are unable to attend, PLEASE call me to cancel (cell) Sue Osborn

3 Page 3 of 6 Hill Topics February 2010 Issue SNOWSHOEING Snowshoers on Lilly Pad trail Welcome to February s snowshoe section. This month, we re hoping for the lovely, soft, fluffy February snows that make snowshoeing such fun, though we re flexible enough to carry Yak Trax and micro cleats for less impressive conditions! Wednesdays are our days to pleasantly exercise in beautiful, Colorado winter areas, with friendly, active others. Jeff Flax, Elaine Kallos, and Pete Spandau have volunteered to lead our snowshoe treks. We choose easy/moderate trips which make a leisure group possible for those who want to take their time, go a shorter distance (Less than 1000 ft elevation gain for three to four miles); and stretch groups, who want to go further and higher in the same trip. No one needs to worry about keeping up because we have enough leaders to accommodate our needs. If you re interested in snowshoeing with us, please Pete Spandau below. He ll place you on his weekly list describing the coming week s snowshoe excursion. Pete Spandau spspandau@msn.com We often meet at Heritage Square s or lower parking lot on Highway 93 between Morrison and Golden, and Our trips may change depending on carpool to our destination. At TH, we weather, road, or snow conditions. divide into groups, snowshoe until we stop for lunch together, and then head back down the trail. On our drive home, we also include an optional Tentative Snowshoe Schedule: stop for snacks in a nearby mountain FEB 3 Boreas Pass town. We enjoy our midweek FEB 10 Golden Gate State Park snowshoe jaunts and would love to FEB 17 Mayflower Gulch have you join us whether you re a new FEB 24 Brainard Lake snowshoer or an experienced one. Elaine Kallos

4 Hill Topics February 2010 Issue Page 4 of 6 DOWNHILL SKIING CARPOOLING I run an informal carpooling list for individuals who like to downhill ski and snowboard. The way it is supposed to work is when someone is interested in carpooling to a particular ski area they send me an message stating the following: 1. The date they wish to ski 2. the resort at which they wish to ski 3. the place at which they wish to meet to carpool (usually the Wooley Mammoth lot row KK off I-70 Morrison exit 259) 4. the time to meet and 5. their address and phone number. I then will forward the message to the ski carpool list. Then, anyone that wants to go should contact the sender directly; please do not use "reply" or "reply all". Just remember that you must be proactive; waiting for someone else to post the message will probably mean that you won't be carpooling very much. This list only works if everyone is into making it work. To get on the ski carpool list, send an to wtomasello@gmail.com and I will put you on the list. See you on the slopes, jtççx géåtáxääé Vail Resorts runs a 50 Plus Ski With Us ski and snowboard days each week. They form groups of 8 to 10 people of like ability and ski with a guide volunteer who knows the mountain well. The following are the days they go: 1. Monday at Vail, meet at the top of the gondola at 9:00 AM. 2. Tuesday at Breckenridge, meet at the Burgenhoff restaurant at the base of peak 8 at 8:45 AM. 3. Thursday at Keystone, meet at the Summit House at 8:45 AM.

5 Page 5 of 6 Hill Topics February 2010 Issue BLUE MONDAY HIKING AND CROSS COUNTRY SKIING Herman Gulch My mother just moved into an assisted living facility in NW Denver so I will need to spend some time at the facility. Consequently, I will not publish a schedule for February but from time to time will announce trips by when conditions permit. If you want to be added to the list, please send me an . ]Éx _xt{ç JoeLeahy3410@yahoo.com March 6 th Dim Sum Dinner UP COMING ACTIVITIES

6 Rocky Mountain Over The Hill Gang A Section of the Colorado Mountain Club Denver Group February 2010 RMOTHG Section Board Members Section Chair Jim Stookesberry Section Vice Chair Pete Spandau Secretary Dorse Cooper Treasurer Barbara Schwarz Members at large Marion Dries Lue Fratantuono Dave Grimes Sue Osborn Wayne Tomasello CMC Denver Council Rep Sandy Curran Activity Coordinators Membership Gurney Bartlett Snowshoeing Pete Spandau Ski Touring Joe Leahy Biking Pete Spandau Dave Grimes Rich Strand Hiking Marion Dries Jim Stookesberrry Joe Leahy Activities Joan Waldheim Newsletter Wayne Tomasello wtomasello@gmail.com ROCKY MOUNTAIN OVER THE HILL GANG 8390 W. 63 rd Ave. Arvada, CO PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE