Vail/Bachelor Gulch!!!!!

It is a bit of a drive from Denver but I make the drive from Kentucky so Denver to Vail is not too bad.
Probably could grab a flight to Eagle County Regional from Denver.

Aside from the Ski slopes themselves there is not much better than relaxing in the Grotto in the Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch.


Bachelor Gulch Ritz Carlton is one of the best I have been to!

I also recommend you take me!!!!

Snowmass was nice when I went decades ago. Near Aspen, so "wifey" has plenty of entertainment/shopping. Ski-in, ski-out condos can't be beat.

In no particular order, I prefer:

Winter Park/Mary Jane
Copper
Breckenridge
Vail
Steamboat

I've been most places, but stick to these, depending on mood/time/group/etc.

and I primarily snowboard, but ski occasionally with certain friends.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 46and2,

I’ve been to several places in Colorado. I always go back to breckenridge. Wide variety of skiing, great village and restaurants. About a 2 hour ride from Denver.

If you’re interested in Telluride let me know. Depending on your timing, I can get you in touch with two friends that own second homes there. They rent these out as VRBO and they are pretty affordable.

I live in Colorado and I would have to say definitely NOT Vail. My wife ski raced, I grew up skiing so we like to ski. The only thing in Vail worth going to is the Steadman Clinic, and you don’t want to go there if you don’t have to. I would recommend Purgatory, fantastic mountain with tons if blues that are long. Next, Copper, another cant go wrong mountain and fun resort to stay at. Last but certainly not least would be Telluride, again fantastic mountain and fun little town.

Vail is incredibly overrated in my opinion, it’s too crowded, the runs aren’t that great and the people are mostly douches. I would go anywhere but Vail. Lol Have fun and be safe!

last time I was there was 30 years ago. I do remember enjoying the night skiing at Copper Mountain.

Several people have mentioned Purgatory Ski Resort. I've been going there since 1976, so 44 years now.

It's a great place to ski. Being on the West side of the Rocky Mountains they get their snow when it rains on the West Coast, mainly California. It's quite different than the East side of the Rockies.

I love it there, I go there Winter and mainly Summertime. Our family has had a place there longer than I've been going.

Having said all that, there is not a lot to do at Purgatory besides skiing during the ski season. There are a few places to eat there, but you'll really have to drive to Durango for dining and entertainment, shopping, etc. That's about a 25 minute drive. Durango has some really good restaurants.

There is a ton to do in Durango, just be prepared for that.

Durango does have a nice airport, the La Plata Regional with major airline service.
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Purgatory is the venue I did in 1981. I enjoyed it a lot.

For a side trip, take the train ride out of Durango.

flashguy

Intermediate (at my very best) snowboarder here that goes once a year on average (usually a local NC mountain or Snowshoe)

I loved Breckinridge. More runs than I could possibly do in one trip. I could easily walk to the lifts from where I was staying. Tons of dining options.

Some have mentioned Jackson Hole. I really liked my trip there, but I was outclassed by much of the mountain. I did have a ton of fresh powder when I went, but it really took its toll on me. Was planning on riding 4 days with a break in the middle and only rode two and half because I was just worn out. Jackson itself is a pretty small town. There was not a lot to do there (if the misses care about that stuff)

quote:

Originally posted by KDR:
Jackson itself is a pretty small town. There was not a lot to do there (if the misses care about that stuff)

Curious, what was lacking in the Jackson area that you found in other ski towns?

Fly into Eagle (EGE), drive to snowmass. Huge ski area and terrain from easy to difficult to back country. Excellent choice of restaurants in Snowmass and Aspen is 15 minutes away for everything else. As far as $, snowmass is right there with about everyone else for lodging and meals, certainly less than Aspen. SO far, no reservation system for the lifts, but that can change at anytime. Been going there for 30 years and the space on the mountain can't be beat. Hit Gwynn's High Alpine for lunch once if it is open, not the buffet area, the real sit down restaurant.

Wife lived in CO, skiing for 7 years

She says Aspen. She was a hardcore skier.

Verticals at Keystone and the back bowls at Vail !


Ravenos Member since 1979 ! One of the crazies !!!!

I've skied for many, many moons. Race giant slalom mainly, dabble in slalom and super G. Skied throughout Colorado. Been to areas in Utah, California, Wyoming, British Columbia. Heli skied in British Columbia and Alaska. Been to Interlachen complex in Switzerland and the Chamonix complex in France. Some spring descents from Colorado's 14ers, and some summer descents from the permanent snowfields in our Indian Peaks area. I'll ski flats, steeps, and in between. Powder, ice, moguls, crud. I draw the line on breakable crust, however. My take on Colorado ski areas:

Eldora -- Small-ish area close to Boulder. I spent 3 years running gates here during college, 40-50 days per season. Not my favorite. My teammates felt Eldora is an old native Indian word which means "heap big wind blow cold freeze butt". A local's hill, not a destination resort.

Loveland -- mid-sized area close to Denver. Easy to drive to, located on the lee side of the continental divide. Lots of terrain above timberline, not a lot of groomed intermediate trails. More of a locals mountain, for someone willing and skilled enough to handle variable snow conditions. I've skied a crap load of days here.

Arapahoe Basin -- On the other side of the continental divide from Loveland. Accessed either by Loveland Pass or I-70 and Keystone. Lots of terrain above timberline, very little groomed intermediate runs. Limited water rights, so their snowmaking doesn't cover all that much. The area is in the rain shadow of Dillon Reservoir -- not much early season snow, until Dillon Lake freezes over. The Basin is a great late in the season, when their snow base is good, and the sun is shining. The steeper runs here are a blast.

Keystone -- A pretty big mountain with a crap load of groomed intermediate runs. Maybe only Vail zambonies their runs as much as Keystone. Keystone lacks the annual snowfall of other resorts (Dillon Reservoir rain shadow), but has a lot of snowmaking. The front side of Keystone has a bunch of cruiser runs, some with interesting dips and rolls. When Keystone still allowed GS races, the Wild Irishman and Frenchman runs were annual favorites. Schoolmarm is one of the best green runs anywhere. The two "back" mountains have nice blue runs, too, although with more black diamonds. Star Fire is a black diamond that is just amazing when it is groomed. Keystone can get crowded, especially as people come back to the base at the end of the day. The base area is a bit limited for shopping, but Dillon & Silverthorne are close.

Breckenridge -- A big sprawling mountain. More wide than tall, therefore moving from one side to another can be tedious from catwalks. Breck's original Peak 8 was small, homey, and cut up due to the ancient chair lift technology. New chairs and expanded terrain make it a pretty good mountain. Lots of groomed intermediate runs in the trees, lots of steep terrain above timberline. Lift lines can be a pain in the morning if you get a late start. Lots of shops, restaurants, and bars in the town of Breck.

Copper Mountain -- My base for a boat load of years. One of the few resorts that catered to adult racing programs, but sadly that's now gone. The US Ski Team trains on the Super B lift (left side of the mountain) at the start of each season. The mountain is interesting in that below timberline, the steeper runs are on the left, moderate runs down the middle, and flatter runs down the right side. Decent snow making capabilities, but IMO they spend too much of their water on terrain parks. This is a mountain that you can ski yourself into a quivering lump of sore muscles, regardless of skill level. Decent lift systems. Andy's Encore and Collage are two blue runs that I could ski every day for the rest of my life -- I wish we still had GS races on them. Shops are a bit limited at the base area. Restaurants are good, but a little limited in scope. But Dillon and Silverthorn are close.

Winter Park -- A big sprawling mountain. The Park side has more of the groomed blue and green runs. The Mary Jane side where the ungroomed steeper terrain lies. The Jane is a bump skier's haven, and snowfall on that side of the mountain can be awesome. The adventurous skier can find amazing stashes of powder in the trees, although some of the openings are a bit tight. A decent place to ski.

Vail -- It's really one of the best mountains in the world. Day trips from Denver can be a pain -- longer drive, weather over Vail pass, parking hassles, long lift lines at the base at the start of the day. But once on the mountain.... Long groomer intermediate runs are awesome. The black runs on the Highline Express chair are awesome. The back bowls -- right after a big storm -- are awesome. For the skier with a reasonable ability to handle a steep blue/easy black run, when recently groomed, Riva Ridge is may be the best cruiser run on the planet. Many days I've gone to Vail to ski the whole mountain -- but looked up and saw Riva Ridge zambonied to perfection... So much for getting to the back bowls. Shops, bars, restaurants abound.

Beaver Creek -- Vail's younger brother. The mountain isn't Vail, but it's still good. Decent blue groomers. I find the lift system a bit disjointed. The Birds of Prey run is where the USA holds a World Cup downhill -- interesting to ski the run, but I don't find it the best for recreational skiers. The Beav's bump runs on the Grouse Mountain lift are awesome. Maybe even better than those at Mary Jane. If I stayed at Vail, I'd go to the Beav for a day or two. I wouldn't stay at Beaver Creek and ski at Vail.

Monarch -- I learned to ski here. Decent mountain with a lot of snow. Not a resort destination.

Wolf Creek -- Powder heaven. Deepest snow I've ever skied was here -- welling over our heads in the middle of turns. Running depth of mid thigh, with 200cm skis. Not a resort destination.

Purgatory -- Really a good mountain. Don't know it as well as the others, but it tends to be less crowded. Wouldn't be my first choice for a trip to Colorado.

Telluride -- They've tried to make the mountain more friendly to families and run-of-the-mill skiers. But the reason to go here is steep terrain. Bring your A-game for moguls, narrow chutes, and steep bowls. I don't think this is your resort.

Aspen Mountain -- World class mountain. Known as Ajax, the mountain is best appreciated by the accomplished skier. Aspen has shopping, bars, restaurants, and nightlife. There are blue runs on Ajax, but you might find most of the mountain above your pay grade.

Aspen Highlands -- A quality mountain, but laid out a little funky on a ridge. A good mix of blue runs. The steep runs off the top and left side of the mountain are awesome.

Buttermilk -- An OK mountain. Pretty much the Aspens locals hill. A bit limited in run variety.

Snowmass -- A big mountain, with a ton of blue runs. I have limited experience here, but I really enjoyed the long cruisers. Once you're on some runs here, they just seem to keep going, and going...

Tough choice. But have fun. Understand that we're off to a slow start this year for snowfall.

Oops, forgot Steamboat. Sister and BIL live there. College winter carnivals were held there. I saw the mountain grow and change over the years. When the Boat gets a big snow storm, it's serious yeehaw time. New snow tends to be dry, fluffy, and deep. But it also means the mountain needs a good base before one goes venturing off-run in search of deep powder. The mountain has a fairly complex shape, therefore one tends to ski only one or two parts in a given day. Lift lines suck from the base at the start of a busy day.

Many really, really good powder skiers live in Steamboat. This is one of the few places you'll find moguls in the trees. Trees tend to be spread out a little more here than any other place in Colorado. This means that for much of the mountain, if the snow is good, people ski it. A nice mix of runs here, with a fairly good amount of grooming. The atmosphere of the town is nice.

Steamboat has a little lower elevation than other Colorado resorts. Altitude sickness issues are reduced. Since most of the mountain is below timberline, the Boat can be skied by the hardy in even the heaviest storms.

Lived here my whole life, and never been skiing once. During the summer we enjoy the Dillon, Frisco, Breckenridge area. A whole range of eating establishments of all types. Least favorite is Breckenridge simply because its packed with people constantly and tough to find parking.

Breck gets a lot of traffic because it hits all the marks on paper. Large ski area, large town / village that occupies non-skiing family members, predictable snow due to elevation, and convenience to DIA.

Telluride, Crusty, Aspen area and Steamboat are good choices (and potentially better skiing) but are less attractive on paper due to either travel convenience or average snowfall. The Telluride and Aspen areas aren’t as reliable with snow as compared to Summit Cty.

Due to my job (college teacher), I’m stuck with spring break trips. We go to Breck for the above reasons (my wife is not a skier) but I’ll ski a few days over at A-Basin to fully satisfy my skiing. However, for some seasons the late March conditions have been better at Breck.

As we’ve aged, the elevation is more bothersome to my wife as we travel from the Southeast. We’ve started timing the flights to spend a night at the DIA hotel (Hyatt?) and then drive to Breck the next day. That has made a huge difference for my wife and thus also for me.

When I’ve made trips with buddies, we’ve chosen Whistler, Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, Snowbird, etc. But those places are less desirable when taking my wife, who is mostly going to please me.

Gotta have some give & take in a marriage. My “give” is to not expect my wife to journey all the way to Whistler so that I can ski.

You might also consider Park City / Canyons. The convenience of SLC is great and the elevation isn’t as high. PC has a neat old town. Also, Ski Utah used to operate a “Connect” guided tour in which you left Deer Valley and toured via backcountry to the other main resorts in the 3 canyons, ending at Snowbird and a van ride back to DV. You use regular Alpine equipment and its a lot of fun.

I'm only a decent skier and don't go often enough to compare and contrast different ski resorts for the quality of the skiing.

What I CAN say is that I'm not planning on skiing in Colorado again any time soon. The major Colorado ski spots are hours from major airports and if a nearby airport even exists it's a dinky little one that shuts down all the time.

I've got three kids now. After three or four Colorado ski trips in a row with diversions to different airports, 24 hour plus travel delays, sick kids in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with everything closed, and so on, I don't have any interest in skiing Colorado again until the kids are grown and maybe not then.

I'll stick to places like the resorts around Salt Lake City where you're less than an hour on a big highway from a decent-sized city and a big airport.

If you end up anywhere and your return flight is out of Denver plan on lots of time to get back. Sunday afternoon to night coming back on I 70 can be a real nightmare.