Colorado's Star Power

Colorado's star powder
State's resorts remain a top destination of movie stars, musicians, politicians
Vail, Aspen and Telluride.

By Brian Metzler, Special to the News November 28, 2006

Celebrities are people, too - at least when they come to Colorado.
Take, for example, Kelsey Grammer. When the Hollywood actor and his family arrived in Colorado last week to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at their home in Beaver Creek, one of their first events was a trip to the new Costco store in Gypsum.
Apparently everybody needs groceries, big-screen TVs, holiday trimmings and bulk quantities of paper towels, toilet paper and Diet Coke, even if you happen to have arrived in the state by private jet.
"He loves to shop at Costco," said Brenda Smith, a membership coordinator at the Gypsum store. "He was just like any other normal person stocking up for the holiday weekend."
With the holiday season officially under way, it's high time for celebrity sightings in Colorado resort towns. Aspen, known as the Malibu of the mountains, has gotten the most notoriety as a holiday mecca for the rich and famous. But Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride, Steamboat and Crested Butte also attract actors, athletes, politicians and high-profile businesspeople during the winter months.
Some celebs, for example Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise, Martina Navratilova, Ian Ziering and Robert Kennedy Jr., are avid skiers or snowboarders and share the same slopes as the rest of us. Diaz and Timberlake were on a ski vacation in January in Telluride when they helped a badly injured skier until the ski patrol arrived.
Of course, because celebrities have a lot of money and want privacy, they can do things we can't. Cruise, who owns a home in Telluride, has been skiing with Telluride HeliTrax on a couple of occasions. And two years ago, singer/songwriter Edwin McCain paid for a full day of snowcat skiing for himself and four friends.
But not all celebrities ski or snowboard. Some come to Colorado to spend time with their families and friends, dine at fancy restaurants, shop at lavish boutiques or simply enjoy the mountains.
"You don't really notice them after a while," said bartender and telemark skier Matt Hargraves, who has lived in Aspen for 12 years. "You'll see someone famous every now and then, but it's almost not that big of a deal, unless you happen to bump into them on the sidewalk."
Part-time residents Jack Nicholson, Don Johnson, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Nick Nolte and Navratilova are the most commonly seen around Aspen every winter. Other recent vacationers have included Mariah Carey, Mischa Barton, Michael Jordan, Will Smith, and Luke and Owen Wilson.
The list of celebrity sightings at Vail and Beaver Creek includes Diaz, Timberlake, Ziering, Britney Spears, Tom Brokaw, Gloria Estefan, Snoop Dogg, Mary Hart, Ross Perot, Jack Kemp, Jack Nicklaus, Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as local residents Ryan and Trista Sutter, who earned national fame on The Bachelorette TV show.
President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty, were part-time residents of Beaver Creek for more than 25 years and were avid skiers until health concerns limited their mobility. Other visitors have included Matt Lauer, Buzz Aldrin, Minnie Driver, Jane Fonda, Emilio Estevez, Mimi Rogers, Robert Redford and the Wilson brothers.
Actor Danny DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman, have visited Steamboat Springs several times in the past several years, as has former boxing champion Evander Holyfield. Actor/comedian Bill Murray also recently has taken a vacation to ski Steamboat's champagne powder.
Cruise is the most notable part-time resident of Telluride, but the opulence and remoteness of the resort town has attracted numerous other stars. Oprah Winfrey owns a home there, but Hollywood director Oliver Stone sold his a few years ago.
Actor Tom Skerritt often is seen around Crested Butte, where he has been a part-time resident and co-owner of the Idle Spur Grill and Brewery for several years. Ed Zwick, a Hollywood director and producer, also is a part-time resident of Crested Butte, while other visitors in recent years have included skateboard superstar Tony Hawk and Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell.
Where can you expect to see celebrities? There's no exact formula. Waiting for private jets to arrive at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport or Eagle County Airport in Gypsum might seem obvious, but many stars are met by private cars on the tarmac and never enter the building. Hanging around posh restaurants, clubs or hotels, such as the Hotel Jerome in Aspen or the Sonnenalp Resort in Vail, can work, but you've got to be patient and lucky, too. Waiting near the line of Aspen's Silver Queen Gondola can work, but who wants to spend time doing that when you could be skiing?
The best way to spot celebs is to attend the Aspen Celebrity Downhill Weekend on March 9-10 in Aspen (ayexp.org) or the American Ski Classic on March 21-25 in Vail (vvf.org). Through the years, those events have brought together skiing legends and sports, entertainment and corporate celebrities for amateur ski races, parties and fundraisers. Among the big names that have attended those events include Eastwood, Carey, Kenny Loggins, Matt Dillon, former Celtics star John Havlicek and daytime actor John Castellanos.
While many celebrities try to remain as inconspicuous as possible, others just blend into the hordes of tourists that visit the state's resorts every winter.
"I was eating lunch at the base lodge and saw Mark Brunell," said Boulder resident Mike Slone, co-owner of a company that produces ski and snowboard books, Web sites and movies. "He had a ton of Crested Butte swag on and no ski equipment, so I knew he was someone famous. As he passed by the table, I asked him if he was Mark Brunell and he said, 'Yes.' Then he talked with me for about 15 minutes while his wife and kids went out to ski. He was a really nice guy."
Vail
• Britney Spears
The pop princess has been spotted in Vail. Soon-to-be single, the mother of two who has a well-documented taste for coffee might be found coming out of Starbucks, venti in hand.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Governator is a frequent visitor to the Vail area. Perhaps it reminds him of his native Austria. You might run into Schwarzenegger at Hotel Gasthof Gramshammer, operated by another Austrian, Pepi Gramshammer.
• Ryan and Trista Sutter
The Bachelorette lovebirds call Vail home, and they say they aren't leaving. Though they have said they wouldn't immediately dismiss the idea of doing another reality show, Trista said, "If we would have to leave Colorado, we would pass."
Aspen
• Martina Navratilova
The tennis superstar makes her home in Aspen, at least for part of the year. There's a good chance you'll find Navratilova, an avid skier, on the slopes, now that she officially has retired from tennis (again) and has more free time.
• Jack Nicholson
Though he has said he doesn't ski as much as he once did, the film legend has a home in Aspen. He was seen skiing in the area in December.
Telluride
• Cameron Diaz
A trip to Telluride in January had this Charlie's Angel playing guardian angel. While on the slopes, Diaz and her flame, Justin Timberlake, stopped to help a badly injured skier.
• Tom Cruise
Cruise owns a home in Telluride, and he considers it the ultimate retreat. When he and his now-wife Katie Holmes needed some privacy after the birth of their daughter Suri, they headed to Telluride.

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