By: Marcia Abramson
The current company bought the exclusive rights to use the name Ritz-Carlton and has maintained the Ritz standard of swank and elegance. Philadelphia, Sarasota, Palm Beach, Fla., Reynolds Plantation, Ga., Battery Park and Central Park South are a few of the hotels I have stayed at recently. My fondest memories are of stays at the original Ritz Hotels in Paris and London. When I think of skiing in Colorado, Aspen and Vail, the towns that rise out of the Eagle River Valley come to mind immediately. But Bachelor Gulch was a complete unknown to me. It turns out that there is an intriguing history to the name Bachelor Gulch which stems from a few bachelors who came to the area in the early 1900s seeking silver and other precious metals. It was actually the Ute Indians who originally made the Shining Mountains their home and the bachelor miners who put the area on the map initially. Some of the miners developed tuberculosis, known then as miner's consumption, due to the inhalation of particles from the underground mines. They then went on to Bachelor Gulch for a healthier way of life. They were able to purchase land because of the passage by the U.S. Government of the Homestead Act in the late 1800s. These men are still known today, since one, John Anderson's original cabin is just around the corner from the Ritz-Carlton on Daybreak Ridge. Two others', Berg and Mertz's, homesteads are long since gone, but stories are still told of them holding court at the general store while the children raced horses up and down the site for amusement. Another miner who was hard of hearing was known for having chickens roosting on the head of his beard and for turning the oven on while his cat howled at the heat generated by the rise in temperature. The bachelors remained at Bachelor Gulch until the 1920s when high altitude lettuce farming took over the area. Some returned to their home countries, others unfortunately ended up in the poor house. Lettuce farming or green gold provided the remaining settlers a good life. This lasted until the Great Depression of the 1930s when the farmers sold their land to two local ranchers who used the land for herding cattle and sheep grazing. It was in the 70s, almost 40 years later that the idea of Bachelor Gulch as the ideal vacation retreat began to percolate. With Beaver Creek Mountain to the east dating back to 1981 and Arrowhead ski area to the west which opened seven years later, Bachelor Gulf became the last of the area's village-to-village ski experience. The addition of the Bachelor Gulch high-speed guad saw the fruition of the dream ski locale starting in 1996. However, the presence of yesterday's bachelors is kept alive with the trail, Bedstraw, named for the grass used for mattress stuffing, and Footloose, for the laid back lifestyle of the area's bachelors. Another memory from the past can be found in the plant Rhubarb named after the plants still alive in one of the miner's garden. The Ritz-Carlton keeps the spirit alive as to why the original settlers came to the area. The serenity of the mountain valley also will keep the past alive with the presence of the bachelors kept alive through hospitality rooms named for the seven miners, to weathered maps of the gulch in each of the 237 rooms. There will also be a Ritz Kids program to make this an ideal family winter break starting this November. The children will hear ghost stories and tales from the past as an old bachelor comes down from the mountain every night to tell stories around the outdoor fire pit. Of course, the Ritz-Carlton will have its wonderful signature spa for recuperative therapy after a day on the slopes. An added feature of the spa will be dimly lit hallways to bring back the feeling of old mine shafts, and the rock-lined walls of the co-ed grotto will create the cave-like atmosphere found throughout the western mountains. Needless to say, the architecture will be in keeping with the mystery and romance of the old west with a theme reminiscent of the national park system, known as Parkitecture. The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch has brought back the design of The Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park, and the Grand Lodges found in Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Glacier, but with all the elegant touches that the Ritz-Carlton is noted for. Your local travel professional or agent can provide you with more information before the opening in November.
© Copyright by Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com
