Where to ski near Denver?

[denverpilot]

I'll keep you posted. Also, I never said we had an "expert" in the group... just one skier who will ski black diamonds (and the occasional double black). The intermediate will ski mostly blues and greens and the beginner will ski all greens and MAYBE an occasional blue.



How do the non-skier lift tickets work? Standard ski rates or some kind of discount since they won't be skiing?

Keystone or Winter Park with that mix. My opinion anyway. Then it just depends on if you want to give your money to Intrawest or Vail Resorts. (Keystone - VR, Winter Park - Intrawest).

I'm partial to Intrawest but I'd head to Copper Mtn or Steamboat myself. More expert terrain. Winter Park, I have to wander over to the Mary Jane side of the resort to find the fun stuff. Mary Jane can get really icy if snow hasn't fallen recently. Copper is much more consistent skiing conditions for experts, especially the bowl and back side.

Many have recommended Loveland and A Basin. I don't recommend those for out of towners. They both can be awesome skiing when weather is right and downright miserable when the wind is howling. The top of A Basin SUCKS when the jet stream parks itself over Colorado. Flipping 50 MPH+ winds. Totally annoying even with good gear, and impossible without good gear. So then everyone skis half the mountain and the lift lines get long.

I do A Basin with rock skis late late late in the season for the "tailgate party" ambiance at the bottom. Heh. That's what A Basin is good for.

Loveland is great in warmer weather but has deep shadows in the afternoon down low since its in a steep valley, and that'll freeze your jiblets off on a windy or cold day. Hard to plan a trip to hit the good days.

Saying "Breck" is a great way to let locals know you don't live here or you moved here and want to sound cool. It's Breckenridge. It's also expensive for not much good reason, other than it's owned by Vail Resorts.

And if you really want to spend the money... Vail itself really is a nice ski area. It's just outrageously priced for what it is. Even the discounted season passes for all the Vail Resorts mountains have limitations on how many days you can go to Vail itself. It's one of those tourist traps everyone needs to once and see if it's their cup of tea. Bring plastic with a big credit limit. Heh.

I see the Intrawest resorts as a better value overall.

The only downside with Keystone and Winter Park both, are the same reason I'd recommend them for your group. Plenty of beginner terrain.

But with beginner terrain comes beginners and with beginners comes the almost-not-beginners who are completely out of control. I've been run into by out of control idiots at both WP and Keystone. Nobody hurt. Just watch for it.

Have fun wherever you go. There all good and they're all different. Just check trail maps and make sure there's enough terrain that matches your group's skiing ability.

 

[denverpilot]

Ah I see I was technically too late but you're headed to Keystone. You'll enjoy.

 

[mjburian]

Ah I see I was technically too late but you're headed to Keystone. You'll enjoy.

Still appreciate the insight. As the most experienced skier in the group, I have no problems spending most of the day on beginner terrain. When they get cold or hungry, I'll send them in and head off on my own for a bit.

Truth is, even ****ty skiing in Colorado is magnitudes better than the best skiing we can get in Wisconsin.

 

[docmirror]

Still appreciate the insight. As the most experienced skier in the group, I have no problems spending most of the day on beginner terrain. When they get cold or hungry, I'll send them in and head off on my own for a bit.

Truth is, even ****ty skiing in Colorado is magnitudes better than the best skiing we can get in Wisconsin.

Sounds like you are all set. Hope you found the place you wanted to be. If you are down near the Mountain house, the Peru lift is your entry point. once you get to the top, like everyone else, you'll turn to the left and then go down the edge of the terrain park. Pass the A51 gate, and ski PAST the gate entry to Schoolyard. Avoid that run and all the beginners. and just float down toward the glade on Silver Spoon and near the entry to the large open glade you will see a yellow catch fence. Make sure you are headed skiers RIGHT of the catch fence to the Montezuma lift. There are 7 runs that combine into that glade, so keep your eyes open. It's also patrolled well.

Once you are on the Montezuma lift, it will take you to the top of the Summit House area. Take a pic and then get away from the mob scene by getting on the Outpost gondola(or Mozart down to Santiago). The beginner should stay to the right and just go down Schoolmarm for a while. Once you get to the Outpost lodge, it will be like your own private ski area. Now I've given away my secret! Oh well.

I'll likely be there that wknd if you want to PM me I can give you some other pointers to improve your trip.

 

[LoneAspen]

And if you really want to spend the money... Vail itself really is a nice ski area. It's just outrageously priced for what it is.

Bring plastic with a big credit limit. Heh.

Although Keystone was my favorite when I was learning to ski, and it remained my "go to" resort the whole time I lived in Colorado, my favorite place was Vail.

At the time, I wasn't making much money, so for me to go up and buy lift ticket, pay for parking, each lunch, etc, was a good chunk of change. But worth every penny. I enjoyed everything about Vail, even the fake alpine European base area.

I've often promised myself that one of these years after I've quit the 9-to-5 world and have moved back to Colorado, I'm going to rent a home in Vail (or somewhere close) for an entire season and ski every day.

About the only resort I didn't care for in Colorado was Breckenridge. I remember going there a couple times and the runs just seemed so short, like I was spending more time on the lists than skiing. I was skiing with a group, and none of us were too familiar with the place, so maybe we were just on the wrong part of the mountain.

 

[Art VanDelay]

Unfortunately there is NOWHERE close to denver to ski. That's why I go to Utah. From the Salt Lake City airport I can be standing at the base of the Park City town lift in 33 minutes ! Better snow and no stoners.

 

[Fastglas]

Unfortunately there is NOWHERE close to denver to ski. That's why I go to Utah. From the Salt Lake City airport I can be standing at the base of the Park City town lift in 33 minutes ! Better snow and no stoners.

You can fly into Eagle County - KEGE - and be at Vail in 40 mins.

 

[Pjsmith]

I make the trip to Denver yearly to snowboard. Lots of good advice above, though for the people who say that Summit Co (breck, copper) is 'only 1.5 hours' from Denver, keep in mind that this is the westerly leg, off-peak. On sunday afternoon/evening it can be twice that or more to get back down, so plan accordingly. Staying east of the big tunnel will save you some easterly time, but there's still traffic aplenty to cope with.

 

[Everskyward]

You can fly into Eagle County - KEGE - and be at Vail in 40 mins.

Or you can fly into Aspen and be about a mile away from the slopes. I'm not sure how far it is by car but you can clearly see the people on the hill from the runup area. Just don't try it when the weather is bad or in the time period around holidays!

 

[woodchucker]

Or you can fly into Aspen and be about a mile away from the slopes. I'm not sure how far it is by car but you can clearly see the people on the hill from the runup area. Just don't try it when the weather is bad or in the time period around holidays!

I haven't flown into Aspen yet, although I might in March if the weather is golden.

Regarding skiing CO, well, it's okay. I've skied Copper, A-basin and a couple of other places. But after moving to Utah I've been spoiled. You just can't beat the snow quality here, nor the access, nor the terrain. Just need to consider it a BYOB trip.

I'll be flying (or driving depending on wx) to Denver this weekend. Not even bringing my skis. Gonna catch an Avs game and check out the snow sculptures at Breck.

 

[denverpilot]

Or you can fly into Aspen and be about a mile away from the slopes. I'm not sure how far it is by car but you can clearly see the people on the hill from the runup area. Just don't try it when the weather is bad or in the time period around holidays!

Or without a parking reservation.

 

[Everskyward]

Or without a parking reservation.

Since I specified "not around the holidays" I don't think parking would be a problem.

 

[mjburian]

Sounds like you are all set. Hope you found the place you wanted to be. If you are down near the Mountain house, the Peru lift is your entry point. once you get to the top, like everyone else, you'll turn to the left and then go down the edge of the terrain park. Pass the A51 gate, and ski PAST the gate entry to Schoolyard. Avoid that run and all the beginners. and just float down toward the glade on Silver Spoon and near the entry to the large open glade you will see a yellow catch fence. Make sure you are headed skiers RIGHT of the catch fence to the Montezuma lift. There are 7 runs that combine into that glade, so keep your eyes open. It's also patrolled well.

Once you are on the Montezuma lift, it will take you to the top of the Summit House area. Take a pic and then get away from the mob scene by getting on the Outpost gondola(or Mozart down to Santiago). The beginner should stay to the right and just go down Schoolmarm for a while. Once you get to the Outpost lodge, it will be like your own private ski area. Now I've given away my secret! Oh well.

I'll likely be there that wknd if you want to PM me I can give you some other pointers to improve your trip.

Yep, we're near Mountain House. And that plan sounds exactly like what we'll do. One question though (not looking at a trail map right now): How hard to get back to the Mountain House area from the Outpost lodge? Wondering if we need to start back early because we'll have to ride a few lifts to get over to that side again. Thanks again for all of the help!

 

[mjburian]

Although Keystone was my favorite when I was learning to ski, and it remained my "go to" resort the whole time I lived in Colorado, my favorite place was Vail.

At the time, I wasn't making much money, so for me to go up and buy lift ticket, pay for parking, each lunch, etc, was a good chunk of change. But worth every penny. I enjoyed everything about Vail, even the fake alpine European base area.

I've often promised myself that one of these years after I've quit the 9-to-5 world and have moved back to Colorado, I'm going to rent a home in Vail (or somewhere close) for an entire season and ski every day.

About the only resort I didn't care for in Colorado was Breckenridge. I remember going there a couple times and the runs just seemed so short, like I was spending more time on the lists than skiing. I was skiing with a group, and none of us were too familiar with the place, so maybe we were just on the wrong part of the mountain.

I liked Breckenridge, but have never been to Vail. This trip is definitely going to be Keystone, but we'll keep Vail in mind for next year.

 

[mjburian]

Unfortunately there is NOWHERE close to denver to ski. That's why I go to Utah. From the Salt Lake City airport I can be standing at the base of the Park City town lift in 33 minutes ! Better snow and no stoners.

Something to keep in mind for the future, but this trip has us routed through Denver.

You can fly into Eagle County - KEGE - and be at Vail in 40 mins.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but this is a trip on commercial carriers. Denver is a stop along the way, so makes for an "easy" place to spend a few days.

 

[mjburian]

I make the trip to Denver yearly to snowboard. Lots of good advice above, though for the people who say that Summit Co (breck, copper) is 'only 1.5 hours' from Denver, keep in mind that this is the westerly leg, off-peak. On sunday afternoon/evening it can be twice that or more to get back down, so plan accordingly. Staying east of the big tunnel will save you some easterly time, but there's still traffic aplenty to cope with.

Good point. We'll have a car to return on Sunday and our flights are (relatively) early. What time would you recommend leaving the Keystone area to get to Denver by about 8am? I assume traffic won't be too bad that early on Sunday, but really hadn't given it much thought.

 

[docmirror]

Yep, we're near Mountain House. And that plan sounds exactly like what we'll do. One question though (not looking at a trail map right now): How hard to get back to the Mountain House area from the Outpost lodge? Wondering if we need to start back early because we'll have to ride a few lifts to get over to that side again. Thanks again for all of the help!

Easy-peasy. From Outpost you have two options, take your skis across a small walkway and ski down Prospector which is a gentle blue/green to the Ruby lift, then off the Ruby ski down Schoolmarm on your left, or go down one of the blue runs to the right as you are starting on Schoolmarm. Once you get to the large glade with the yellow catch fence keep skiers left this time and you'll see signs that say "mountain house". Either Heywood which is a nice blue run on the far left or you can take the zigzag course on Schoolmarm. Other way is to get on the Outpost gondola and it will take you to the main lodge then you can ski down the same way from there. If you don't want to ski down, you can take the River Run gondola down to the base and the shuttle will take you to Mountain House. Doesn't take long at all.

If you are in a big hurry, take Schoolmarm and keep up your speed up, go past A-51 and stay way to the left into the gate for Go Devil. It's black and it's fast but not for beginners.

 

[murphey]

But be aware that late afternoon, Schoolmarm is a traffic jam, since it's the main route down. You'll have all levels of skiers and 'boarders. Ski patrol eill be out en mass to keep the speeds and crashes to a minimum.

 

[murphey]

Good point. We'll have a car to return on Sunday and our flights are (relatively) early. What time would you recommend leaving the Keystone area to get to Denver by about 8am? I assume traffic won't be too bad that early on Sunday, but really hadn't given it much thought.

Saturday.

I'm not kidding. Keystone to Denver airport is about 1.5 hours. The airport is far to the east, take a look at a sectional. Then you need to fill the tank before you get to the airport, drop the car, get to the terminal, check all the luggage, another pit stop, etc.

By the way, when people say it's an hour and a half to Summit County ski, remember the Denver *area* is very big, the city itself is rather small.

 

[docmirror]

5am Sunday would be about right. There's a Conoco at the airport on Gun Club rd. Exit Gun club turn left, and then left into the station. Leave the station by going north to 78th st and turn right. All car returns except a couple are down that row. Shuttle will take you to the terminal.

 

[denverpilot]

.



If you are in a big hurry, take Schoolmarm and keep up your speed up, go past A-51 and stay way to the left into the gate for Go Devil. It's black and it's fast but not for beginners.

Go Devil is fun. That brought back a few memories. Haven't been to Keystone in long long time. But that made me smile.