It’s Showtime! What’s Happening Ski Joring Weekend

Giddy-Up & Get-Down for Ski Joring Weekend

Are you ready for a Wild West weekend of fun?! Then Leadville, Colorado is the place to be! Of course, Leadville Ski Joring will be center-stage on historic Harrison Avenue, but you also need to know where to get your grub on, the best places to do some day-drinking and some night-time boot-scooting. Leadville Today will be bringing you all the upcoming LSJ race info and reports, but for now, start spreading the news and making your plans with the Ski Joring weekend entertainment report. #GiddyUp and #GetDown, pardner!

Friday, March 1

Starting Friday morning, historic Harrison Avenue will be closed so that the world-class Leadville Ski Joring course can be built. By nightfall, the race track has set-up nicely and as the evening light fades, the first competitors of the Nordic Knockouts can be seen gliding down main street, warming up for some friendly skinny ski competitions. Come and watch the sprint showdowns at the corner of 7^th and Harrison in a double elimination with two skiers starting and the fastest racer advancing to the next round of competition. Many of the local high school Nordic skiers will tip-up to the start line, marking for many, the last race of the season. To keep up with skinny-ski news, connect with the Leadville Nordic website.

On Friday night, just up the block from the Knockouts on E. 7th Street, Periodic Brewing will be hosting the  Backcountry Film Festival.  This short film presentation series is produced by Winter Wildlands Alliance as a celebration of the human-powered experience and a gathering place for the backcountry snowsports community. Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization that partners with groups like Colorado Mountain Club at the local level to inspire and educate the backcountry community to protect and care for their winter landscapes. Details, including the film line-up, can be found HERE. Show time is 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30. Of course if you don’t make tonight’s shows, be sure to stop in at some point over the LSJ weekend, because Periodic Brewing is ready for some Beer Pouring for Ski Joring!

Looking for something to do a bit later Friday night? Then head down to Old State Street (aka 2^nd St) where DJ GdoG will be spinning the tunes and getting people out on the dance floor at the historic Pastime Bar & Cafe at 120 W. 2nd Street. Also on Friday night and new this year will be a special Contra Dance offered up at Leadville Freight. The event will be held from 7:30 – 9 p.m. and there is a $7 entry fee. Freight is located at 320 E. 9^th Street.

Saturday, March 2

This is always the BIG DAY of Leadville Ski Joring weekend, and it’s jam-packed with things to do! The crowds will be thick and if forecasters are on-target it could be snowy with temperatures hovering around freezing. But this is Leadville, so if you can’t tough it out at 10,152 feet, cowboy, then just stay home on the porch with the dogs!

The Leadville Elks Lodge can help you kick off the day right with their high-energy breakfast pancake breakfast, with proceeds benefiting some local worthwhile programs. Come and get it, both Saturday & Sunday from 7 – 11 a.m. in the basement of The Elks Lodge, which also graciously provides the headquarters for Leadville Ski Joring, so show some gratitude and buy a plate of their delicious grub.

Out on the avenue, Cookies With Altitude is a great place to start off any day with coffee and a breakfast treat. Cookies is also a great place to view the horses and skiers getting in sync before blazing down the avenue! Check out them out up by the start line. They’ve also been posting some delicious looking lunch options on their Facebook Page – yummy!

Across the way is The Golden Burro. Yes, the Golden Burro. A long-standing Leadville tradition among visitors, this is a good weekend to stop in for a cup of joe at the counter or maybe one of their specialty items. Look for the bright neon sign of that “Brassy Ass.”

The Manhattan Bar will be packed! This is your best quick-beer-in-and-out place for some day-drinking shenanigans. But if you dare to wander in, be ready, know what you want to drink, and for goodness sake, have your cash out! The Hat’s Leadville Ski Joring specials include $5 Bloodys, $6 Hot Toddy’s, Spiked Cider or Coffee and $6 Margaritas. Those are some of the best booze prices you’ll find on the Avenue!

Back out on historic Harrison Avenue, across for the LSJ Announcer’s Grandstand, you’ll find the Treeline Kitchen in the KW Plaza which will be hosting their 2nd Annual Rooftop Patio Party during LSJ weekend. But take note that this year are “special access tickets” for rooftop viewing. There’s a price to pay, but it’s a great place to raise your glasses high while you look down on all the course action!

At the corner of 6th and Harrison, please stop by the Leadville Lions Club tent. This philanthropic, non-profit is the real deal. They are the Leadville worker bees making sure that the fireworks happen, that the 9Health Fair continues, and generally giving back in countless other ways, through donations and scholarships. On Saturday, stop at the tent, grab a brat or just throw a few bucks in the can, it’ll go to worthwhile projects with transparent efforts. Roar!

Don’t forget D’Love’s (located next to Community Threads) always ready to satisfy that snack attack. From coffee and ice cream to pretzels and nachos, grab and go so you don’t miss out on any of the action. It’s also a good time to mention that there is a (small) grocery store on Harrison Avenue as well. El Mercadito can be found across from the courthouse, serving up fresh fruit and other baked goodies. Stop in and support this growing Leadville business.

On that same block, you can find the City On A Hill Coffee Shop which is “always busy” and the Chinese Restaurant, aka Szechuan Taste II on the corner. Psst, they also have a full bar if you’re looking for an uncrowded spot in the heart of the action to grab an adult beverage, this eatery on the corner of 5^th and Harrison is a good spot for people watching, especially is the snow is blowing.

If you’re looking for some tasty Tex-Mex grub then hit up Casa Sanchez, located front and center in the Quincy Building on Harrison Avenue. They serve lunch and dinner with an emphasis on Tex-Mex fare. Take note that Leadville has several great Mexican Restaurants. A couple of them are off the main drag: The Grill at 715 Elm Street and Casa Blanca on E. 2nd Street.

Now, if you’re going to enjoy the true Wild West Show that Leadville Ski Joring, then what better way to stave off the hunger than with a Belly Buster Burger! That’s right, Wild Bill’s Restaurant is back and no doubt that smell of burgers wafting down the avenue is coming from this recently renovated and re-opened eatery on the corner at 2^nd Street. Stop in and check out the new digs and grab a burger basket.

If you’re in the mood for a steak dinner then Quincy’s is the place to be, but be prepared to wait. This will be a hot spot on Harrison, but if you find yourself waiting for a table then be sure to cheer on the racers from the Mineral Belt Mayhem! There’s nothing like piles and piles of fresh snow, to get a bunch of fat-tire enthusiasts to the start line. So when you spot all of those headlamps riding down Harrison Avenue this Saturday night, you’ll know it’s just The Cloud City Wheelers, along with dozens of other riders setting out on the next snowy course in the race series. The Leadville Winter Mountain Bikes Series continues this Saturday, March 2 with the Mineral Belt Mayhem, an 11.7-mile loop on the Mineral Belt Trail at night! Registration starts at 4 p.m. at Leadville’s local bike shop, Cycles of Life at 309 Harrison and it’ll cost you $20. The race starts at 6 p.m.

If you’re a foodie and you haven’t stopped into Tennessee Pass Café on the corner of 3rd and Harrison, then make sure you do. Even on a busy LSJ weekend, it’ll be worth the wait. They’ve jazzed up their menu recently, offering some new eclectic options as well as their old favorites like those incredible, one-of-a-kind melanzanna rolls.

During Ski Joring weekend the first block of W. 4th Street also becomes the horse area, packed with trailers. But you can still make your way half a block up to High Mountain Pies, offering up a variety of pizzas, sandwiches and salads. It’s a great place to take a load off and re-fuel. HMP is also a long-time LSJ sponsor and often helps re-fuel the guys and gals building the course on Friday – pizza really does make you powerful!

Back out on Leadville’s main drag, visitors and locals should note that Leadville’s Legendary Silver Dollar Saloon has recently gone through some upgrades with fresh paint outside and some new changes inside, including their menu which is offering some tasty pub fares in one of the most historic settings in town. Stop in and say hi to Eric and the crew! On that same corner, you’ll find a couple of “mobile” food trucks, which offer some great grab and go hot options; both always get good reviews from locals and visitors, so don’t be shy!

If it seems that on Leadville Ski Joring weekend everyone goes country, it’s because they do! So, if you’re looking to dust off your boots and show off your two-step, then take your pick from the following venues for a Lead Vegas Saturday night you’ll be talking about for days to come! The Elks Lodge Ski Joring dance is on Saturday night. The band is Rowdy Country Combo and they’ll start kicking up the dust starting at 8:30 p.m. for the Annual Ski Joring Dance. The public is welcome and there is no cover charge. The music kicks off at 8 p.m. and they definitely wrap things up at midnight, which means an old-school rock-slide down to the PT.

What’s the PT? If you’re a visitor or local who’s never been, then be sure to stop into one of the coolest old bars west of the Mississippi: The Pastime Bar & Café. It’s the last operating business on old State Street, Leadville’s former red light district. The ambiance it pure old west mining town and Saturday night will be the perfect night to take a spin on one of the oldest dance floors in town. Country band “Interstate 70” will be striking up the tunes starting at 9 p.m. Oh, and their kitchen is open from 12 to 9 p.m. in case you need some good grub to fuel you through the night.  Leadville’s Historic Pastime Bar & Cafe is located at 120 W. 2nd Street, just down the way from Earl’s dispensary.

Down on the corner at The Scarlet, the Shaky Hand String Band will be picking and grinning with their own style of Smokin’ Mountain Grass on Saturday, March 2. Touted as “original music ’bout dogs, food, love, drinking, and all of life’s questions,” this band plays rippin’ fiddle songs, groovy beats, and tight harmonies.  Should be a packed house!

Sunday, March 3

By the time Sunday rolls around, the cowgirls and cowpokes have been separated out in a last-boots-standing kind of way. And the LSJ action gets rolling at high noon. But if you’re looking for a crowd break, or perhaps even partake, then check out Leadville’s Paintball Biathlon: Skinny Skis and Shooting. If you have an interest in the growing sport of the Biathlon, then head on out to Tennessee Pass Nordic Center this Sunday, March 3 for the Annual Leadville Nordic Paintball Biathlon. What is it, you ask? Take cross country skiing and throw in some paintball guns; it’s really that simple. For each race (Kids 1 km, 5 km, or 10 km) you ski three laps. After the first lap, you shoot 5 shots prone (lying down). After your second lap, you shoot 5 shots standing. Then you ski your third lap as hard as you can. If you make a shot, seconds will be deducted from your overall ski time. The fastest skier at the end wins.

Sunday registration is from 9 – 10:30 a.m. at the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center. The goal of this event is to help skiers have fun, be outside, and raise a little money. Expect more smiles than spandex and more excitement than electronic timing chips. For more information please call the Nordic Center at 719-486-1750 or connect at www.leadvillenordic.org.

While your attention is focused out towards Ski Cooper don’t forget about Friday’s serpentine ski-in tribute to the Tenth Mountain Division soldiers starting at 1:30 out at the lodge.

If you’re looking to stock up on some suds for LSJ weekend, then stop in to Leadville Liquors where they’re having a special on PBR 30pks for only $19.88  and all Guinness products are on sale – a heartier stout might just get you through what is forecast to be a snowy and colder weekend for this year’s competition.  You can find these deals out at the “drive-thru” liquor store by Safeway.

Need some Cannabis loot for LSJ weekend? Then Roots Rx Recreational can help you out. They are Leadville local’s choice and it was standing room only in this dispensary yesterday located at the southern bend of Harrison Avenue off Highway 24. RootsRx offers convenient, easy access with plenty of parking and most importantly a friendly, professional staff. Look for the green cross at

One very important phone number you may want to put in your phone right now is Katy Kat’s Kash Kab 719-239-1382. This is the local version of #UberLeadville. And you’d better treat the driver with respect or you’ll be shamed!

So, there you have it, that’s your Leadville Ski Joring Weekend entertainment report. Let us know if we missed you info@leadvilletoday.com. And stay tuned to Leadville Today for all your LSJ coverage, including the answers to your questions about this one-of-a-kind, Grand Daddy of ‘em All, Wild West Shows held in Leadville Today. See you out on the Avenue!

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