AN ACR FLC IN AN LGT ACFT CROSSED A STAR INTXN TOO HIGH WHEN THE CTLR CLRED THEM DIRECT TO THE INTXN; A RTE THAT WAS 60 MI SHORTER THAN PLANNED.

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ARRIVING INTO DEN FROM THE W; WE WERE PROCEEDING DIRECT DEN WHEN WE RECEIVED CLRNC TO DEN VIA TOMSN 1 ARR; KREMMLING TRANSITION. APCHING KREMMLING VOR; WE WERE THEN ASSIGNED A HDG OF APPROX 060-070 DEGS TO INTERCEPT FQF 306 DEG RADIAL; CROSS TOMSN INTXN AT FL190. (THIS HDG ESSENTIALLY CUT OFF OR REDUCED OUR MILEAGE TO BE FLOWN TO TOMSN INTXN BY APPROX 60 MI.) I ESTIMATE WE CROSSED TOMSN INTXN 800-1000 FT HIGH AND A RATE OF DSCNT OF ABOUT 5500 FPM. THE CTLR NEVER ASKED US ABOUT OUR ALT AND HE HANDED US OFF TO DEN APCH CTL ABOUT 1-2 MINS LATER. WHEN WE CHKED IN WITH DEN APCH CTL WE WERE ASKED WHAT OUR ALT WAS. BY THEN WE WERE ALREADY LEVEL AT FL190; BUT THE CTLR'S READOUT HE SAID SHOWED US AT FL201. I TOLD HIM WE WERE LEVEL AT FL190; BUT THAT OUR RATE OF DSCNT HAD BEEN IN EXCESS OF 5000 FPM. (PERHAPS ACCOUNTING FOR THE LAG IN HIS READOUT.) THIS SEEMED TO SATISFY AND NO FURTHER INQUIRIES FOLLOWED; AND HE CHEERFULLY PASSED US TO THE NEXT CTLR. AN UNEVENTFUL APCH AND LNDG FOLLOWED. WE WERE HIGH AT TOMSN INTXN BECAUSE WE HAD PLANNED TO USE THE FULL MILEAGE OF THE KREMMLING TRANSITION FOR OUR DSCNT. OUR ARR RTE WAS NOW SHORTENED BY APPROX 60 MI; WHICH PUT US BEHIND IN OUR DSCNT.