Magazine outlines top ski trails, food

New York — Thinking ahead to ski season? The October issue of Ski magazine has a list of the best trails for everything from food to romance.

Recommendations for beginners include the Polecat trail in Wildcat, N.H., and the Why Not trail in Steamboat, Colo.; for intermediate skiers, Timberline in Okemo, Vt., and Pandemonium at Durango Mountain Resort in Colorado; and for experts, Chinclip in Stowe, Vt., and Great Scott at Utah’s Snowbird.

Best place to fall in love on skis: Toll Road in Stowe, Vt., features a chapel and a long, romantic chair ride, while Forget-Me-Not in Colorado’s Breckenridge has a T-bar ride up the mountain that has a way of bringing strangers together.

You can get a good burger at Sugarloaf in Maine after skiing the White Nitro-to-Wedge, while sushi awaits in Colorado’s downtown Telluride for those who tackle the Plunge. If it’s a quick snack you’re after, hit the slopes of Sterling Mountain on the Upper Rumrunner trail in Smugglers’ Notch, Vt., then warm up with a bowl of stew at the Top of the Notch restaurant. Out West, try the barbecue or pesto bread at the Thunder Shack after skiing the Amphitheater trail in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

For a list of all 30 trails, check out Ski magazine’s October issue.

Kansas City events celebrate barbecue, art

Kansas City, Mo. — Barbecue and art aren’t an obvious combination, but both will be celebrated the first weekend in October in Kansas City.

The 25th annual American Royal BBQ contest features 400 chefs, a barbecue expo and food court, and a beer garden with food and live bands from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 1 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 2. For details about the event, which is headquartered at 1800 Genessee St. in Kansas City, call (816) 221-9800.

The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s 10th anniversary kicks off Oct. 2 with a community birthday party for visitors of all ages, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For grownups, a party with live music is scheduled that night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. A series begins that day featuring lectures by visiting artists, and an exhibit sampling the museum’s collection will be on view as well.

The museum is at 4420 Warwick Blvd. For information, call (816) 561-3737 or visit www.kemperart.org.