Glenwood Caverns Celebrates Summer, 10th Anniversary

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs, Colo., will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a summer kick-off party and live music on Friday, May 24. Guests will be able to enjoy an evening of Music on the Mountain by Beatles tribute band Doctor Robert and a free tram ride in exchange for a canned food donation to benefit the LIFT-UP food pantry.

“We have so much to celebrate this year,” said Steve Beckley, who owns the Adventure Park with his wife Jeanne. “In addition to the 10th anniversary of the Adventure Park, we have just opened the expanded Historic Fairy Caves Tour and added six new gondola cabin cars. All of our rides and attractions will be open, and we’re looking forward to the fifth season of Music on the Mountain to support LIFT-UP.”

Steve and Jeanne Beckley opened Glenwood Caverns & Historic Fairy Caves to the public in 1999, transporting guests from an office behind the Hotel Colorado to the top of Iron Mountain on buses during the summer. The response was so positive that they decided find a way to keep the caves open year-round. The tramway, which the original owner Charles Darrow proposed to the city in 1903, opened in 2003, along with the mountaintop restaurant and visitor center. The Beckleys rebranded the destination Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park that year and have been adding family-friendly rides and attractions ever since.

Kicking off the fifth season of the popular Music on the Mountain benefit concert series, Doctor Robert is a new generation of Beatles tribute band, committed to the accurate reproduction of more than 100 songs of The Beatles’ repertoire. Their high-energy shows are full of Beatles magic, as Casey Falter, Karen Janssen, Ben Wright and Kevin Reinert recreate some of the most band’s demanding musical compositions.

Reflecting pools seen on the newly expanded Historic Fairy Caves Tour provide a unique perspective on these beautiful formations.

Beatles tribute band Doctor Robert kicks off the fifth season of Music on the Mountain at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.

The “cans-for-a-tram” rides will begin at 4 p.m. and the band will play from 6 – 10 p.m. The Lookout Grille and Snack Shack will be open for dinner and refreshments; drink specials including $3 glasses of wine, $3.50 Coors Lights and Coronas, and $4 well drinks, will be available in the plaza.

During the summer kick-off party on May 24, guests will also be able experience the newly expanded Historic Fairy Caves Tour, the King’s Row Cave Tour and the park’s rides and attractions. A Funday Pass, just $35 with the free tram ride, includes both walking cave tours and unlimited access to the Alpine Coaster, the Giant Canyon Swing, the Cliffhanger Roller Coaster, the Mine Wheel, the Wild West Express Coaster, the Soaring Eagle Zip Ride, the Fort WhereAmI Maze, the 4D Motion Theater, the Laser Tag arena, the Speleobox cave simulator, the climbing wall and the Giddy Up! Western ride.

The Music on the Mountain series continues throughout the summer and fall: June 1, Already Gone; June 8, Night Plane; Aug. 10, Fifty50; Aug. 17, Little Friday; Aug. 24, The Rock Dogs; Sept. 7, Lizard Skinner; Sept. 8, contemporary Christian music; Sept. 14, Acoustic Mayhem; and Sept. 21, The Missing Link Band. This year’s sponsors include Bighorn Toyota, Community Banks of Colorado, Glenwood Springs Post Independent, AMT Network, Perri’s Collision, Swire Coca-Cola, Glenwood TV, Glenwood Insurance & Pinnacol Assurance and Hotel Glenwood Springs.

The park will be open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on May 24. Beginning on May 25, it will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with later hours for most of the Music on the Mountain concerts. The last tram ride up will be half an hour prior to closing. For more information, visit www.GlenwoodCaverns.com or call 800-530-1635 or 970-945-4228, ext. 0.

Unlimited rides on the Cliffhanger Roller Coaster — America’s highest-elevation roller coaster — are included in the Funday Pass!

Glenwood Caverns Hosts Caving Rescue Seminar

“The seminar is really to update cavers on how to rescue people,” said Ken Headrick, a tour guide at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and a volunteer during the seminar. “We spend one day at the community center with a classroom setting to learn about cave rescue, and then we actually perform a real rescue on the second day. They hide people in the cave, and the scenario this year was four lost people we had to find. It took a few hours, but it was overall the best rescue we’ve had.” This year’s seminar attracted 34 participants from around the state, in addition to 22 volunteers, ranging from locals such as Headrick to caving experts and speakers from the Front Range. A number of volunteers were also required to handle the logistics of the seminar, such as caving gear. One of the key areas of focus during the seminar was evacuations involving extreme injuries, such as broken backs, which prevent cavers from crawling out themselves. A large portion of the weekend was dedicated to packaging cavers onto litters, which were then carried out of the caves by other members of the group.

“For the search and rescue personnel, it gives them the experience to actually practice a cave rescue,” said Marty Reames, director of the CCRN as well as an instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). “From the caver’s perspective, it provides an education on what it really takes to get someone out. We end up creating safer cavers by helping them realize the ramifications of getting hurt.”

The next major cave rescue seminar in Colorado will be held in May of 2014 in Divide, CO. This weeklong session will be an NCRC event.

Enjoy the Tunes, Help a Neighbor

What could be better than live music on top of a mountain surrounded by your friends? How about all of that for a can of food! This is the third year for the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Music on the Mountain Glenwood Springs concert series to benefit the LIFT-UP food pantry. You can ride the tram and enjoy the concerts for a donation of at least one can of food. That’s a pretty good deal by any standards.
This week’s concert on Saturday, Aug. 27, features Already Gone, one of the region’s most in-demand cover bands. They bring high energy and a robust sound to a diverse set list that includes classic rock, R&B, new country, top 40 and funk. The band features Eddie Muniz on drums and vocals, Jean Graca on bass, Mark Chenoweth on guitar and vocals, Randy De Herrera on alto sax, vocals and keyboards, and Lisa Popish as lead vocalist.

You’ll notice that earlier I said “at least” one can of food. We’ve set a lofty goal this year of collecting 10,000 cans for LIFT-UP. We’re just shy of 5,000 cans so far, with four concerts left on the schedule. If you can manage it, bring two or more cans to help out the folks in our community who need it right now. Back-to-school time is not usually when people think about donating to the food pantry, so it’s a great time to stock the shelves.

We have dubbed this our “can-for-a-tram” series because it’s pretty catchy, but you can also bring jars of peanut butter, boxes of rice or pasta, and any non-perishable food items.

Our sponsors this year have made it possible for us to spread the word about these concerts and hopefully bring in a lot more food for the pantry. The Music on the Mountain Concert Series is presented by Bighorn Toyota, a Locals’ Choice for more than 30 years. This week’s performance is sponsored by The Hotel Glenwood Springs — the perfect family destination, just steps away from all the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park action. Our other sponsors are Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Swire Coca-Cola, KSPN, US Bank and Mountain Beverage.

The series will continue after Labor Day with Starcher Hutsen on Sept. 10; Skinner, Girardot, X and Martin on Sept. 17; and The Missing Link Band on Sept. 24.

The Lookout Grille and the Snack Shack will be open for dinner and refreshments during the concerts, with $3 Coronas, Coors Lights and glasses of wine, and $4 well drinks. Please, no outside food or alcohol in the park.

Our rides and attractions will be open from 9 a.m. to dusk, except for the Bungee Jump, which will close at 7 p.m., and laser tag and the 4D Motion Theater, which will close at 9:30 p.m.

During the concerts, a Day Pass will cost just $30 with the free tram ride, and will include unlimited access to the Alpine Coaster, Giant Canyon Swing, new Soaring Eagle Zip Ride, Ft. WhereAmI maze, Bungee Trampolines, 4D Motion Theater, the laser tag arena, Wild West Wagon, Speleobox cave simulator, climbing wall and Giddy Up! Western ride.

For more information about Music on the Mountain, call 800-530-1635 or 970-945-4228, ext. 0. To stay up to date on all of the fun things happening here, plus coupons and contests, make sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Hope to see you up here on Saturday!

Oyster Adventure Race 2011 in Glenwood Springs Returns to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Earlier in the year the Webmeister reviewed the 2010 Oyster Racing series in Glenwood Springs, speculating about whether racers would return to Glenwood Caverns for the 2011 race.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for racers starting out in 45 degrees F. and the rain!) they did return, with over 50 teams participating.

 

Runners exiting the Giant Maze with their ticket in hand

Climbing 32 ft on the wet wall proved challenging

This year, racers ran from Glenwood Springs Two Rivers Park to the Glenwood Caverns Tram Station for a gondola ride to the top of Iron Mountain, to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.

Prior to getting on the gondola, race teams were handed a math problem to solve during their ride to the top.

Teams unable to solve the problem during the ride up were sent to the math-skills-impaired table, where they had to keep working on the problem until they solved it!

Riders delivering the correct answer were send to the Giant Maze leg.

A damp Giant Canyon Swing ride through the swirling mist

Oyster racers returning from their Giant Canyon Swing ride
headed to the Alpine Coaster ride down the mountain

While negotiating the Giant Maze, contestants searched at each corner tower for a ticket which would send them to the maze entrance station for further instructions.

Depending on the color ticket retrieved, racers were sent next to either the Giant Canyon Swing, the 32 foot Climbing Wall, or the Mechanical Bull Ride.

Racers unhappy with their ticket choice (fear of heights, anyone?) had to run the maze a second time in order to receive a different ticket.

Upon completion of the Giant Swing, the Climbing Wall, or the Bull ride, racers headed to the Alpine Coaster station and rode partway down Iron Mountain on the gravity-powered coaster, braking as little as possible for maximum speed.

At the bottom of the tracked coaster ride, the runners made their way through the oak brush to the dirt road called Transfer Trail and ran two miles back to Two Rivers Park.

For more info: Oyster Racing Series

photo credits: race organizer Team Players Productions Inc, Kaylee Maresh photographer

Oyster Race Returns to Glenwood Springs…

But Will Racers Return to Glenwood Caverns?

The Oyster Off-Road Racing Series returns for its second year to Glenwood Springs, Colorado on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Teams of two and relays of four push their limits running (road and trail) and mountain biking.

2010 Oyster racers, pumping up Transfer Trail

racers ride Colorado’s first Alpine Coaster

There are additional adventures that each team may encounter including: canoeing/rafting/kayaking, orienteering/navigation/zip lines, climbing, eating, puzzles and other surprises.

Since the course is a secret, team members are given a “Passport” moments before the race begins.

Last year, in the first leg of the race, participants rode their mountain bikes, climbing approximately 800 vertical feet as they pumped up Transfer Trail to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park to reach their first check point.

Next they were directed into the caves, taking care to count the stair steps correctly in order to receive their next clue at the beautiful King’s Row formations viewing area.

 

After exiting the cave, teams rode two at a time part-way down the mountain on the Alpine Coaster, then grabbed their bikes again for their descent down Iron Mountain.

The big question is: will race organizers send racers back to Glenwood Caverns for the 2011 race?

And if they do, will racers be required to test their mettle on the new Giant Canyon Swing or take the 70 foot plunge on the new Bungee Jump?

Or maybe they’ll put on knee and shoulder pads and don lighted caving helmets and go on an extreme caving adventure?

Your guess is as good as mine. If you want to be one of the first to know, you’ll probably have to sign up for the race.

For more info: Oyster Racing Series

2010 racers counting steps inside Glenwood Caverns