Advice on resorts near Denver?

[johnnash]

Due to the truly awful ski conditions in the Washington DC area right now (I'm talking close to record-breaking warm spell) I just made a somewhat crazy decision to spend 160,000 miles to fly the family to Denver to ski this weekend. Thanks to the fact that there are nonstops from Dulles to Denver (and vice versa) late in the afternoon/early evening, we'll at least get in 2 full days of skiing.

We've got 2 adult advanced intermediates, 1 boarder advanced intermediate, and 1 beginning boarder. Adults have a strong preference not to ride lifts without chicken bars (though thanks to advice previously received on this forum, we may try bungee-cording ourselves in!). I'd really appreciate any advice on what resorts near Denver I should check out. Given our very abbreviated time, I don't want to waste a lot of it driving to and from the Denver airport, so I'm thinking mainly about the closer resorts. I certainly can't expect anyone to waste a lot time describing pros and cons of each one, but if you could point me in the right direction, it would be most helpful. Any recommendations on lodging near the resorts would also be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Pajarito-Bred]

Sounds like you need to get to Winter Park, Copper Mtn, Breckenridge, or Keystone. All are close enough to Denver to have some weekend crowds, but they all have extremely good snow right now. Hopping over one more pass gets you to Vail or Beaver Creek, about 110 miles from the airport on I-70. Beware of driving up Fri nite/Sat am or back on Sun nite, it can get very clustered, even without snowy roads.
I'm pretty sure you get most places on any of those mtns on safety-bar equipped lifts (esp. non-expert terrain). If there's anyone with that data, his initials would be TC.

Here's a couple of bookmarks:
http://www.snow.com (Vails official website- inlcuding Breck and Keystone)
http://www.vailonsale.com/
http://www.econovail.com
http://www.coloradoski.com/snow/index.cfm

Staying in Summit County you could easily hit any two resorts in 2 days (except WP, which is more isolated from the others) All in my list except Copper and WP are owned by Vail.

I think chairs 10 and 17 at Vail are the only ones there that would'nt have the chickenbars- and you can get anywhere on the mtn without those lifts.
I moved out west from PA when I was 12, and went from getting yelled at for not putting the bar down to riding center-pole lifts with no bar- i'd imagine that could take some getting used to, especially when its windy.
you can't go wrong terrain-wise at any of those areas.
Have a great trip!

 

[Tony Crocker]

I haven't been to any northern and central Colorado areas since 1997, so I can't comment on the lifts. Although nearly everything high speed in the region has bars/footrests.

I would base in Dillon or Frisco, hit Copper day 1, Vail or Beaver Creek day 2, maybe leaning to the Beav for crowd avoidance since it's MLK weekend. Last day A-Basin or Loveland gets you a little closer to the airport and also perhaps less crowded. Winter Park is an extra hour total of driving on the last day if you want to try that.

 

[lookn4powder]

Due to the truly awful ski conditions in the Washington DC area right now (I'm talking close to record-breaking warm spell) ...

That's the reason we call it MASH. Just as conditions get promising, it warms and makes ice.

I'd really appreciate any advice on what resorts near Denver I should check out. ... I'm thinking mainly about the closer resorts. ... Any recommendations on lodging near the resorts would also be appreciated.

Just west of Idaho Springs you can take a road over Berthold Pass to Winter Park. We really like the area, but it might not be the best for your purpose. When we are skiing 7-10 days in CO, we often ski our first day at WP, drive over to Steamboat to acclimate to altitude, and then more on to Smmit County.

Further west is Loveland. (Since Stapleton AP closed, a fast entry into the mountains has become tougher. We used to ski a full day at Loveland and still make a plane.) Loveland is located on I-70 at the tunnel. It spans nearly 190 degrees around the eastern tunnel entrance. We cannot remember whether it has chicken bars though...Excellent terrain but best for April skiing because it can be cold in January.

After the tunnel we enter Summit Country. Lodging options are slopeside (more expensive) or at Dillon/Silvertorn or in Frisco. We usually stay in Frisco. We can recommend the Snowshoe Motel and the Frisco Lodge. Both are reasonablely priced and located on Main Street, near many restaurants. Across the street from both location is the Butterhorn Bakery which has carry out and a sit down restaurant. It is a good place to grab'n go breakfast.

Copper Mt, Breckenridge, and Keystone are about equal driving times from Frisco-Dillon-Silvertorn. Although these resorts are near each other, they do have features that may decide your choice for the day. On windy days Breckenridge seems to have more hardpack than others. Keystone, Copper and A-basin are better wind protected. Unless you can get into the paid parking lot before it sells out, Breckenridge seems to require more time before one gets to ski. Keystone and Copper are quicker from car to snow. Arapahoe Basin is the fastest area from car to snow.

I wish I could escape DC this weekend, but I'm locked in here with obligations. Dang!

Hope you have a great trip.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[nymous]

Why Colorado. Make it easy, do SLC, much easier and less travel, and better skiing....

 

[Admin]

Why Colorado. Make it easy, do SLC, much easier and less travel, and better skiing....

johnnash just got back from here, IIRC.

 

[Tony Crocker]

A-Basin is as wind-exposed as Breck. Breck's normally worse surface conditions (probably not this year, see below) are primarily due to its predominant east exposure, while the other areas face mostly north.

That said, Breckenridge is having an exceptional year, and one of my rules of thumb is to hit an area that's normally flawed relative to its competition when it's having a great year (thus my trip to Big Sky in 2 weeks). Unfortunately Breck's other flaws in logistics, getting from car to mountain, moving from one sector to another, are likely to be magnified on MLK weekend. The best plan in situation like that is to get to the mountain very early, claim a good parking space and have breakfast before the lifts open (standard Squaw Valley strategy).