Where to go close to Denver Dec. 1-3

[johnnash]

Sadly, my plan to combine a business trip toBoston with some skiing in Vermont last weekend didn?t work out for obvious reasons. All of us in the east are still waiting for the Snow Gods to start smiling on us. (Looks like it may be quite a wait for those of us in MASH.) However, thanks to a nice fare sale ($138 RT from Baltimore), we?re going to Denver the weekend of Dec. 1-3. We?re arriving late Friday night and leaving late Sunday, so we?ll have 2 full days. We want to stay at a resort close to Denver, so I guess that narrows the choice down to Breck, Copper, Keystone, and Winter Park. We?ve been to Keystone once (loved it), but I?m not familiar with the others. I?d basically like to go to the one with the most terrain open. (I?m mainly concerned about blues, although we?ll venture onto greens or blacks occasionally. Another consideration is that we need a park for my boarder son; I know Keystone has a nice park, but from their website it looks like the others do as well.) All 4 of them seem to have a similar amount of terrain open right now, but given the rather bleak snow forecast for the next 10 days (a ritual sacrifice to the Snow Gods might be a good idea, even in the Rockies! ), I?m afraid that the choice may have to be made on the basis of snowmaking capabilities. According to the information on their websites, Keystone and Breck have the edge here, with 550 ? 600 acres, compared to 200- 300 at the other 2. Am I missing anything here? Anyone have any recent personal experience with any of these resorts or other thoughts that might be relevant? Grateful for advice.

 

[Judz]

vail/beavercreek isnt that much further than breck/keystone, and considering vail's size, once they open theyll probably have more open terrain than anywhere else around there. I personally dont like breck as much as the other resorts for various reasons, but thats just me i guess. Either way, im sure you will have fun.

 

[Killclimbz]

I agree on the Breck sentiment. Copper has the most terrain open out of the Summit county areas I believe. At least a few days ago that was the case.
Vail is close enough for your plans too.

Loveland by far has the best coverage. They are close to having 100% of the mountain open right now. One more storm that dumps on them like the last one and they are there. Loveland also has the least crowds.

 

[ChrisC]

I think Breckenridge is poor except for a few steepr high-speed cruisers on Peak 10 and bowls on Peak 8. (not open now). Otherwise, it's tedious blue/green cruising with lots of crowding.

I like Loveland over A-Basin. (Although less steep, there is a lot more terrain). Vail is just massive. Copper has great steep crusing for 2500 vert ft. These are solid choices.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Loveland has had the most snow and has by far highest percent of terrain open (63% according to RSN). In absolute acreage Vail has more, but there is not as much base. But those 2 areas should get most of your time. I agree Copper probably rates 3rd, but at the moment it's a distant 3rd. Loveland also rates to get the least skier traffic chewing up its snow over Thanksgiving.

 

[TeamSummit]

Just a quick update. I skied Breck yesterday for just a few runs (I've been sick for 4 days now and shouldn't have been there at all) and it was icy! We are expecting a dump over the next couple of days of somewhere around 12-20 inches and it is desperately needed.

I would absolutely advise watching snowfall totals over the next couple of days but my guesses for best bets will be either Loveland or Vail also. Whatever you decide, enjoy!