Cortez faces a showdown with Aspen in Elevation Outdoors Magazine’s Top Colorado Adventure Town 2016 contest.
The magazine is a guide to outdoor sports, health, fitness and adventure in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West, according to its website.
The contest divides 48 Colorado towns and cities into three categories, for small towns (less than 2,500 people), medium towns (population between 2,500 and 8,600), and large cities (more than 8,600 people).
Voting continues on the first round through Aug. 22. Four more rounds will follow, and voting will end Sept. 19. As of Monday, Cortez had a massive lead on Aspen, with about 80 percent of the votes.
The poll describes Cortez as the “cultural center” of Mesa Verde country and the hub of the Four Corners region.
“With more than 600 acres of parks, trails and open space, there’s plenty of room to play,” the poll’s description of Cortez reads. “And no crowds!”
Besides Cortez and Aspen, 14 other towns face off in seven other matchups in the “medium towns” category. They are: Avon vs Salida, Palisade vs Estes Park, Breckenridge vs Silverthorne, Gunnison vs Basalt, Carbondale vs Eagle, Vail vs Buena Vista and Frisco vs Leadville.
In the “small towns” category, Telluride challenges Nederland, and Silverton is up against Granby. Durango duels Delta in the “large cities” category.
To vote in the poll, visit www.elevationoutdoors.com/top-towns.