How many vertical feet do you need to ski to burn off a paczki?

Whether you’re at CarniVail or partying down Main Street in Breckenridge, chances are you’re probably living Fat Tuesday to the fullest. The eating, the drinking, the revelry…those don’t leave much time for epic vertical today, but you’ll be ready to hit it hard tomorrow. Any skier or snowboarder knows that spending a day on their boards practically gives them free reign on the stomach stuffing at lunch, at après or at dinner. I learned the truth to that at Keystone’s Winter Culinary Festival where the Saturday night Grand Tasting featured six tasty entrees followed by an almost endless dessert display. If you didn’t walk out of there feeling like a glutton, you must have skipped a station. Thank goodness for hitting massive vertical the next day, my fullness subsided as my legs went into overdrive.

Growing up in the Midwest with Polish ancestry, you quickly learn about paczki’s importance on Fat Tuesday--the day before the start of Lent--and how to pronounce the foreign-spelled treat. You’re also informed of the hefty calorie count—some paczki in metropolitan Detroit have topped 800 calories—especially if the breakfast/snack/dessert sticks with tradition and uses up the lard, eggs and rich fillings before the sacrifice begins.

• The black-diamond Centennial is Beaver Creek’s longest run at 2.75 miles, but you’d find just as much knee-knocking Jell-O legs if you hit up the Birds of Prey downhill course.
• At Breckenridge, take the Four O’Clock run from Peak 8 all the way down to the town parking lots.
• Heavenly’s Olympic run stretches 5.5 miles—do that a few times and you’ll forget you even gorged on Fat Tuesday.
• At 3.5 miles, Keystone’s Schoolmarm starts at the top of Dercum Mountain and runs all the way down to the chairlift and gondola in River Run Village.
• Take Logger's Loop at Northstar-at-Tahoe where you can really rack up the vertical with more than 2,200 feet.
• With 4 miles to its name, Vail’s Riva Ridge branches off from Swingsville at the mountain summit and ends at the village base. Or take a few laps in the back bowls and Blue Sky Basin where the powder stashes make for bigger burns calorie-wise.