Ski/Snowboard Vacation in Colorado

[Memo]

Has anyone ever been skiing/snowboarding in Colorado? I'm trying to plan out an itinerary for this spring break but I have nevever been to any of the mountains there. I'm trying to keep the budget as small as possible but I want the trip to be enjoyable (ie, no 1 hour rides from hotel to lift). I'll probably be staying 4 nights from 3/12/05 to 3/16/05. What are peoples opinions on the different places in CO (Vail, Steamboat Springs, Aspen, etc) and does anyone have recommendations on vacation packages or lodging?

For comparison, I priced a trip for 2 people from Austin, TX to Lake Tahoe (through Reno) for ~$1300 with 3 day ski lift ticktes at Heavenly.

[cheapie]

yes! many times. aspen. NO if you are on a budget. uppity snobs go there. please tell you aren't one of them.

imho people on a budget should go to utah but that's just me. you can stay cheaply in slc and drive 40 minutes to world-class skiing.

vail is a longa$$ way from keyston and breckenridge. the best way to economically do CO is to stay in frisco or dillon at a hotel and drive the short distance to breckenridge, keystone or copper. not a long drive and they have decent places to eat and drink.

vail is incredible if you want to make the drive out on the 70 to it. for some reason people call it "the 70" instead of just i-70 like we would in michigan...but i digress. it's freakin' huge.

on thing that is of THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE....DON'T expect to drive back on sunday after a day of skiing without encountering a parking lot between frisco and denver. if you can, leave on sat or monday.

[Memo]

Ya, the thing is I don't want to have to rent a car, so I'd prefer to be at a close distance. I'll check out some packages to Utah tho, see what the prices are there. I did notice Aspen was like $1000 more expensive than any of the other places.

[BrewMaster]

i still think Park City is a great place. less crowded than CO and really awesome skiing.

if you are still interested in CA, don't waste your time and money at Heavenly. Kirkwood or Sqauw Valley are by far the best, but they are on opposite ends of the lake. Kirkwood is my all time favorite.

[ray]

I've skiied in Vail before. It was fun, but I prefer the slopes in Vermont and Canada more. I hear Telluride is pretty awesome.

[ski]

Wow, my name is in 2 threads today!

As your resident ski expert on Got Apex, I recommend the following:

You might want to consider Utah -- I've been to Brighton, Park City, Deer Valley, Alta, and a few more, and you cannot get better snow and prices than at Alta. Fresh powder and tickets under $50 a day.

I have been many places in Colorado as well... Vail is by far my favorite. Soooo much terrain. It's only worth it if the people in your group WANT to ski the vast terrain and are skilled... otherwise save your money and the long trip and go to Breckenridge or Copper Mountain, or my favorite out of the others in CO is Snowmass. Right by Aspen for the nightlife, but more much more terrain than either of the Aspen mountains.

Good luck planning :thumb:

[kimchicowboy]

how much to vancouver? nothing has ever beat whistler in my book. :)

but for tahoe, i disagree with brew. i went to squaw and hated it. kirkwood is great.

[Memo]

I am definately not a pro snowboarder, In fact, I've only been once. So something with good green level slopes would be best :P Park City looks to be pretty inexpensive, may look more into it. BTW, has anyone used PriceLine.com to book any vacations before?

[Nanotech9]

stayed with friends a few years back and drove to breckenridge and back the same day... lots of fun. $100 lift ticket and like $40 for board rental etc.

[ray]

how much to vancouver? nothing has ever beat whistler in my book. :)


Agreed. The total cost for my trip including airfare/lodging for 7 days is probably going to be about $1,000. Not too bad since this is the first real vacation I'd have taken in about 6 years.

[ride2bhi]

I use to work at Kirkwood, it is a great mountain. The thing is for a green level novice, you should look for a place that has a fun night life and not focus so much on the mountain. The recomendations here seem to be directed to someone who has more experience. I would recommend Park City in that the night life is fun (check out Harry-O's), it is afforadable, and you will usually have good snow that time of year. As for me, when I hit Utah, I love to go to Snow Basin. Never heard of it? Exactly. Not well known, but it is a beautiful mountain with great snow and facilities. High speed gondolas that run all over the mountain. If you watched the Super-G for the Olympics, they were held at the Basin. Unfortunately, nothing else out there besides the mountain so unless you are an avid rider, not the best destination spot. Colorado is great too (anybody ever hiked Loveland pass?), but I prefer Utah.

[Kim]

I love love love Park City!

[CynJon]

I lived in Colorado for 4 years and I've skied everything in the state...I'd have to say my two favorite places were Winter Park/Mary Jane if you want to ski lots of challenging terrain and Vail if you want to ski alot of variety (You'd be hard pressed to ski every run in a full day, especially if the back bowl is open--193 trails, 5300 acres, longest run is over 3 MILES!).

Copper and Arapahoe Basin can be good, too, depending on snow conditions. I never really cared much for places like Steamboat, Keystone, Breckenridge, and Aspen. Depending on how many people are going, sometimes it's cheapest to get a cabin or condo...you can get a bunch of people in them comfortably and a hot tub is always a good thing after a long day of skiing. Prices were pretty reasonable from what I remember but you may have to do a bunch of calling around to find what you want.

[ski]

:stupid: Winter Park -- right behind Vail, and in front of Snowmass for my top 3 Colorado resorts :D

[zippyjuan]

Get a room at Copper Mountain. That is just over the hill from Vail. Ski and nightlife there (there really isn't any in Copper Mountain at least not ten years ago). Aspen and Winter Park are right there too so you have a lot of choices on hills depending on snow and budget. Aspen is a beautiful town, but pricey. May run into some celebs there. The lifts in Aspen are right at the edge of town.

[CynJon]

I'll tell you where: someplace warm, a place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about Assssssssspen.

[cheapie]

stayed with friends a few years back and drove to breckenridge and back the same day... lots of fun. $100 lift ticket and like $40 for board rental etc.


$100 lift tickets? you got raped!

[Hypnotist]

I live in New Mexico now and must say that Taos And Santa Fe are good skiing but kind of a hassle getting there so i've been skiing at Durango Mountain the last few years. Durango's a college town and a lot of students ski at the Mountain. Tons of fun with lots of extracurricular options available in Durango. The more upscale CO resorts are of course Aspen, Vail and Telluride... mostly crowded and pricey. However, the restaurants, night-life and "shopping" are world-class. Skiings pretty good depending on lift lines and snow quality. But the best snow I've ever, ever skied is in Utah!!! Yay Baby... Steep & Deep! Champagne Powder like no place else in the world. Snowbird, Alta, Park City... awesome skiing. Need Big Bucks to ski Deer Valley... very high-end.

And yes, I've used Priceline.com for airline, hotel and car rental ... it IS worth bidding there.

As far as locating deals elsewhere, Dude, you're a Texan... take it from another Texan (Native/Ft. Worth), and check out the ski packages offered by another Texas Native... Southwest Airlines. Their deals can be very reasonable.

Remember The Alamo!