Ken Caryl, CO Outdoor Activities

Abyss Scuba's crew of dive masters and instructors has enough combined experience to papier mâché together a life-size scuba diver out of all their certifications. Their courses range from introductory discovery dives to professional rescue-diver instruction. A wide range of specialty courses prepares divers for adverse conditions, deep diving, the use of nitrox, and chance encounters with James Cameron’s personal submarine. Not content to let their students test their skills in their bathtubs at home, the divers at Abyss lead annual excursions to diving spots around the world.

The 80 acres of playing fields at Paintball Adventures stay open throughout the year, inviting players to decorate their opponents’ forest- and snow-camouflage suits with daubs of color. Eight areas spread out across the facility, each offering a varied selection of terrain, obstacles, and structures. In the wooded fields, players dart between trees and forts to keep from being spotted by the rival team. The scenario fields host a series of fortresses, which participants defend against enemies intent on stealing flags and adding them to their grandmother's victory quilt. Speedball fields house inflatable obstacles and outfits players with high-pressure air fills and equipment rental. The staff also chronographs paintball markers for free to preserve the safety of games.

When Hungarian road cyclist Frank Barvik immigrated to America in the late 1950s, he laid the foundation for his American dream by opening his own bike shop. Inspired by their patriarch’s love of bicycles, his descendants opened up a bike shop of their own in 1984. Adventure Cycling still welcomes cyclists today, with a carousel display near the entrance inviting customers to scrutinize new models of Orbea, Yeti, and Specialized bicycles. Stockpiles of cycling shoes, helmets, air pumps, and other accessories line the vivid red and blue walls, competing for attention with posters, vintage photographs, and the childhood height chart of Greg LeMond. The shop’s in-house bike mechanics repair and replace worn-out parts, getting wheels ready for guided rides on Saturday mornings and Monday evenings.

SwimLabs Swim School’s instructors have two priorities: teaching kids and adults how to swim and helping competitive swimmers optimize their strokes. In addition to CPR and first-aid certifications backed by years of experience, the instructors are aided by swimming-pool technology. Their private and small-group lessons take place in Endless Pools with adjustable currents, each about 10’x16’ and heated to 90–92 degrees to prevent polar-bear infestations. The custom currents can give beginner students a boost or challenge advanced swimmers with more forceful resistance waves. As swimmers paddle against the current, the staff records their strokes with Dartfish video technology. They then analyze the results together, comparing the swimmer’s form to a video of proper technique.