Loveland, Colo.

Colorado’s hometown hill is a funky, lovable I-70 sleeper that wins over new converts season after rowdy season. 

- Kevin Luby

WINTER HOLDS TIGHT AT 11,000 FEET ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE even as the days grow longer, the sun intensifies, and the calendar slips into the second quarter. Through April, I gladly accommodate late season storms that sweep over Colorado’s Love land Ski Area. It’s impossible to argue with a foot of fresh on a 100-inch base. But in May, on closing day, when unsettled weather and a half-inch of graupel thwart my agenda of sunshine and top-to-bottom slush bumps on Chair 1, I bitch a little, though no one seems to care.

As I ride the lift, I watch skiers dive bomb under my skis into a popular fall line, feathering their edges just right to surf the grabby snow frosting the moguls. First comes a pack of free ride team kids, then a couple tele skiers at full lunge, and finally Ruby Rhod, or rather a dude decked out in Ruby’s low cut leopard print jumper and Popsicle hair wig, charging Fifth Element style under the lift. The sight of the greatest radio star in the galaxy completely turns my day around. (Kudos if you get this cult-classic sci-fi reference.)

Ruby’s unexpected appearance caps a laundry list of fond memories from this season, my first year as a Love land pass holder. After several years of bouncing around the Front Range, I finally found a home in the quirky ski community perched atop the Eisenhower Tunnel. In a crowded state full of world class ski options, Love land’s unpretentious vibe cures my mega resort blues.