Eurolanche on Tour XVI
A recap of an extraordinary trip to the U.S. was prepared by David Púchovský, founder of the Eurolanche fan club and a 15-time Tour participant.How else could the Eurolanche on Tour project—which, by 2026, had taken Eurolanche Fan Club members to Colorado Avalanche games fifteen times—have evolved? The sixteenth trip, which took place in January 2026, offered a very colorful answer to that question. The last trip I organized as the Fan Club’s Founder lasted an incredible 25 days for me personally, breaking the previous record set by Tour XV by a full five days.
Eurolanche on Tour XVI turned out to be unique in many ways, as evidenced by the incredibly long, most detailed diary of all our trips, which you can find at this link. For those who are short on time, I’ve prepared the following brief summary.
Tour XVI could be divided into three stages. The first began with my solo trip on the very second day of the new year 2026—on the recently opened, longest nonstop flight to Denver from Istanbul, Turkey. That less-than-a-week-long solo trip wasn’t actually a solo trip at all. Although I spent most of my time traveling around Colorado on my own, the rest of the time I was with my second family—Ken, Molly, Quinn, and Dale—and their two dogs, Buttercup and Anyushka.
With Ken at the fantastic Ballmer Peak bar after arriving in Denver.
Ken and his family became more than just my wonderful hosts. The tradition of lunches for the Eurolanche group began in 2023. At Tour XVI, a Slovak version was added to the tradition—right there in Lakewood, I cooked kapustnica for the hosts using American ingredients. Admittedly, it wasn’t exactly the same as back home in Slovakia, but it was by no means a disaster.
I planned my solo trip so that I was out every day from morning until evening. I included places and attractions in my itinerary that I’d been skipping for years—either because I didn’t have time for them or because, by their very nature, they fell into the category of destinations for Colorado’s most discerning connoisseurs—meaning they wouldn’t make any sense to someone visiting for the first and last time. It was a mix of history, nature, sports, art, and cuisine. Colorado with everything that goes with it!
A tour of the old control tower at the now-defunct Stapleton Airport, the National Ballpark Museum, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, the Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame, an art gallery, a botanical garden, a butterfly pavilion, a wolf rescue center, and one of the most memorable days of my life, which I spent on an endless drive north of Denver across the prairies with incredible views and crazy stops linked to bizarre stories, including famous graves. That’s how I could briefly describe my less-than-a-week alone, which really wasn’t alone at all.
On the seventh day, the rest of the group arrived. For Tomáš from Slovakia, it was a return to Colorado after 10 years and his third time participating in the Tour. Robert was back for the second time, and his sister Eliška was making her debut. Before I went to pick them up at the airport that afternoon, I checked out the National Western Stock Show Parade in downtown Denver, where it suddenly started snowing heavily. I also returned, after many years, to the home of Margaret Brown, known as “Unsinkable Molly” from Titanic. Simply put, I made the most of every minute until the very last moment.
That very evening, the Avalanche’s first game of the road trip was waiting for us. The home team confidently defeated the Senators 8–2. What more could we have asked for? Perhaps just a better overall record. After seven consecutive home games, that record eventually settled at 3–2–2.
Much more than the average record, we were delighted by what happened after the final game of the entire trip. That game was dedicated to celebrating the Avalanche’s 30th season in franchise history, specifically their 2001 championship. Almost all the stars from 25 years ago appeared in the pre-game ceremony. Thanks to our American friends, we were able to purchase VIP tickets for pre-game meet-and-greets with some of the superstars. The group of veterans was divided among different stations, where it was strictly determined whether you could get a single autograph from a player or take a photo. We focused on a combo: a photo with Ray Bourque, Ray Bourque’s autograph, and an autograph from Joe Sakic. We managed to do it all at the last minute! We couldn’t have done more. Well, actually, we could have done a little more, thanks to Stephen, a longtime supporter of Eurolanche, who stood in line to give me a signed poster from Peter Forsberg, complete with a dedication.
Speaking of Colorado hockey, I can’t help but mention the second game against Columbus. That game marked the 100th game in the history of the Eurolanche on Tour project, formerly known as Eurolanche Invasion. The overall record for those 100 games was 57-33-10.
We managed to add one AHL game to our hockey schedule. However, the Colorado Eagles lost 4–5 after a botched finish. At least we were happy to catch a game puck, which unfortunately hit Eliška in the hand. Everything turned out fine in the end.
For some people, a recap of a trip like this might end here. Even now, a few months later, I’ve really had enough just writing about the activities I managed to fit in during the first seven days—by the end of which we were a group of four Czechoslovaks. But for us as a group, the trip had only just begun.
The Dinosaur Museum, a walk through the Red Rocks Amphitheater grounds, souvenir shopping as we do every year, a two-hour drive deep into the mountains (an incredible experience), a trip through the charming mining towns of Goldfield, Victor, and Cripple Creek; a tour of the Hidee Gold Mine; my first scenic train ride through the Royal Gorge; visits to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Money Museum, the Denver Aquarium, the History Colorado Center, the Capitol, the surreal Meow Wolf Denver’s Convergence Station, The Cell counterterrorism education center, the natural history museum, the aviation museum, and who knows what else. This is by no means a complete list of the places and attractions we managed to visit. It’s really crazy how much we crammed into each day.
We got up early in the morning and went to sleep late at night. From dawn till dusk. Endless days, a crazy pace. We managed to do everything we’d planned. Even a trip to Aspen. Thanks to Tomáš, I got to ride a snow “scooter” to the world-famous viewpoint at Maroon Bells. Eliška and Robert powered through on cross-country skis. Robert was the only one to complete the entire route in about three hours. He was the first Eurolanche member in history to do so. I remember how we turned back on that same route a few years ago… The hot baths at Glenwood Hot Springs felt really good afterward.
Amid the never-ending list of events for Eurolanche on Tour XVI, we managed to squeeze in a road trip. And not just any ordinary one. After one of the games at Ball Arena, we hopped in the car and headed for Las Vegas. In Utah, exhaustion got the best of us. We pulled over somewhere in the endless, frozen desert. The sunrise was worth it. An incredible moment.
We spent two nights in Las Vegas. We walked around downtown, played KISS mini-golf, and even saw the old movie The Wizard of Oz at none other than the world-famous The Sphere.
Our trip to Colorado included stops at Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, and the four-state corner where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. We broke up the long drive “home” with a one-night stay at a beautiful hotel near the red rocks on the Utah border. We saw the famous red rocks of Monument Valley, as well as the road where the movie Forrest Gump was filmed.
Suddenly, the final game was here. I’m glad I got to watch it with Andy, who used to live in Colorado. He flew in and spent a little time with us. We’ve known each other since 2010. It was my last game as the Tour’s main organizer. Colorado lost after a very poor performance, but I’ve already written about the pre-game meet-and-greets with the veterans. I’ll highlight two moments from those. After many years, I finally added Ray Bourque’s autograph to my collection—probably the last one I was missing from that old group of stars. The autograph ended up on a poster where he’s lifting the Stanley Cup above his head—the very poster we all discovered a quarter-century ago in the now-defunct European magazine ProHockey. The icing on the cake was a congratulatory message from Joe Sakic for all the trips I’ve organized, since he’d read about my retirement in our press release.
The Tour XVI program didn’t end even on the day of our departure. We managed to have a farewell lunch with Ken and his family in beautiful Morrison and took a farewell drive through the Red Rocks Amphitheater area. There were even some tears, and a somber mood set in… Truly the best Eurolanche on Tour in history had come to an end.
It depends on the person. Tomáš, Robert, and Eliška flew home on a different flight. For me, the journey through Istanbul to Vienna began. The plane was overcrowded in Turkey. I agreed to fly out the next day in exchange for a hotel, financial compensation, and meals. And so I spent yet another night on this never-ending trip. I didn’t get home until the 25th day. What more could I have asked for?
For the most detailed day-by-day account and impressions of each visit and attraction, as well as for inspiration for the future, I recommend reading the most comprehensive diary ever written in the history of Eurolanche on Tour.
David Puchovsky, Slovakia, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
04/10/2026 - 22:56
