Going Skiing- Opinons Needed
 

Ok, my friends and myself have decided to take a little road trip out to Colorado over Christmas break to do some skiing. We are likely planning on checking in on December 16th and heading home on the 21st. We are looking at skiing at Breckenridge or Copper Mountain. The nice thing about Breck is that the lift ticket is also good at Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Araphoe Basin. I have been to Big Bear in SoCal, but no one else has been out west before to ski, so anything out there will be mecca compared to what we are used to in the midwest. I have been able to find some good hotel/condo deals at Breck (100-130 a night) and some stuff slightly more expensive at Copper (140-160).

Does anyone have experience at these mountains? Likes, dislikes, preferences? Everyone going has been skiing for at least 3 years (up to 8) and would likely be doing blues with some easy blacks. What would you recommend if price was no object as well as if you were trying to be as economical as possible? Would Copper be worth spending more for or would the flexibility that the Breckenridge lift tickets give us be better?

Thanks for any help

Of the places you mentioned, I'd ski Vail/Beaver Creek.

Dave

I've skied Keystone and A Basin, not the others.

Keystone has a lot of varied terrain and your crew will find plenty of blues and single diamonds.

A Basin not so much. A Basin is better suited to expert skiers.

What Chuck said, A basin might kick your butt.. Copper and Breck are great and Breck is a very cool town.. You don't really need to go anywhere else, plenty of terrain..
Of course you could come here, Tahoe is great too!!!

I think Breck is a great choice. As you say the tickets are transferable. The town gets hoppen with some fun stuff to do at night, and it is a bit cheaper than the others. The skiing experience at all of them is pretty similar. A-basin as Chuck mentioned is probably the most challenging of them.

My favorite one of the group to ski at is probably Beaver Creek. But it is big bucks to stay there. If you go there you have to ski the Birds of Prey downhill race course. The you tell me who is tougher a downhill skier or an NFL player, ha ha ha. It is nuts that those guys do 60+MPH down that stuff.

I can tell you what though it is tough to plan a ski trip for that early in the season. Do the hotel reservations have cancellation policy's? I lived in Colorado for 15 years, and early December can be questionable in terms of snow quality and quantity. Some years it can be great, and others there is a chance you could be skiing on man-made (aka Midwestern) snow.

When you go drink plenty of water, take tylenol to thin your blood, and know that booze will hit you sooner than it will on the flat lands. Also have a Fat Tire and a Sunshine Wheat for me when you are there.

Cheers
Rich

Do they still have $2 car bomb night at the Irish pub ?

Many a Friday wasted to Car bomb night...

It has been quite a few years, but we skied Breck, Copper and Vail. My buddies and I all liked Copper the most simply because they had some great long bump runs that were in perfect shape. Not too icy and not too steep for us Midwesterners to hammer on.

With good snowfall, I can't imagine not enjoying any of them out there though.

Altitude kicked my arse big time. I had a headache the whole time. It was so bad the first night in Breck, that I was sure I would die that and vomited that night simply due to the POUNDING headache. Next time, I WILL look into altitude sickness pills prior to heading out there.

A basin rocks.

Mix it up a little. You can stay in Dillon pretty cheap if you shop. Then you aren't commiting to anything in particular and have fairly easy access to all. That early the snow can be iffy and you never know where it will be. One side of the tunnel (you'll figure it out) can have loads of snow while the other is bone dry. Kinda weird. At the level you're describing I would stick with Copper, Vai/Beaver, Keystone, and maybe Breck. Be sure to get(rent) on the right equipment. The new, wider/shorter boards and softer boots will take you to levels you could never go before. It's kind of like renting better legs and lungs. Don't cheap out!

Copper is a very skier friendly mountain for the level you are looking for. From the base looking up, stay right for easy and move left as you want to increase difficulty - it's that easy. The base area has some activity, but not much as compared to Vail.

Vail is a great area with a fun little town. You owe it to yourself to experience it at least once - which will be about 100 days short of what you'll need to get to really know the mountain. It's huge. Apres ski in Vail has lots of opportunities. Tubing at the top at night is a rush. Vail is my favorite ski area anywhere because of the variety it offers on the mountain and in town.

Keystone/Breck have never wowed me. Not sure why. I guess with Aspen, Vail, and A-Basin so close by, they don't grab me. Breck has a fun nightlife, however. Night skiing (not into it) in Keystone.

A-basin is worthless for all but experts. Yeah, they have lower level stuff, but nothing compared to the other areas so why bother? The equipment is antiquated, the base area minimal, and the acreage small. It's also at the highest elevation making it even more difficult for blue square skiiers. A-basin is the place to go if you love hiking to chutes and double blacks. They also are open the latest into the spring for some awesome, expert level spring skiing. Don't get me wrong, I love it - sometimes. But, it's really not suited for the average skier.

Loveland etc. Never been. Again-why?

I've skied them all and they're all great in their own way. Do what the locals do. Check the snow report and go where the snow is best. Have fun on your trip.

My favorite is Steamboat.

Have you ever considered Winter Park? Huge mountain, great runs (Mary Jane, Vasquez Ridge)...a nice alternative.

You would not get bored 4 days straight at Vail. Its that big and that good.

Breck is a nice hill and has a good layout for different abilities. When we go to Co and have to pay to stay (i.e. not mooch my buddy's condo in winter park) we stay in breck. Other hills are nearby and we always do at least one day at Vail. For me.... its worth the money.

That being said... every time I go to Snowbird, I wonder why I ever go anywhere else. :)

I've also skied about every mountain in Colorado with the exception of a couple down south.

As stated above, all the mountains are very similar in regards to terrain. All have skiing for everyones ability with the exception of A-Basin. The Basin only has a few blue runs with most of the mountain being black. It gets extremely cold on the mountain when the wind blows and can get icy at the top.

Follow the snow. All the mountains are near each other but get very different snow falls each night. We always pick the mountain in the morning based on the snow fall as reported on the local morning zoo ski show. Don't forget to search out the discounted lift passes which are available in grocery stores and ski shops.

You are going a little early in the season. Definitely follow the snow.

For lodging, I like to stay around Silverthorne or Dillon. These towns are near the highway and make access quick.

Go eat at The Mint in Silverthorne if it's still there.

1st floor is a butcher shop, you pick your steak and they put it on a plate, then you take it upstairs and cook it yourself, the only thing it comes with is Texas Toast, everything else is extra.

I have never spent so much money on a meal that I cooked myself. :confused:

Thanks for all the opinions


Right now I think were are leaning towards staying at Breck and getting the lift tickets that allow us to ski elsewhere depending on the snow... but I am trying to plan this with 4-8 idiot college students so anything could happen at this point