Any suggestions on where to go skiing?

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BonanzaDriver

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BonanzaDriver
I'd like to fly my wife and another couple out skiing this winter, somewhere in CO probably. Can anyone make a suggestion on where to go, that is, somewhere that is GA friendly and easy to get to, with good runs?
 
Don't know about the GA stuff but when I lived in NM and would bother to travel to CO. to ski (we had nice runs in northern NM, Taos), I would go to Steamboat. It may have become more touristy these past few years but when was going there it still was not on the map outside of CO. like the Vail is.
 
There are lots of good skiing places in southwest Florida, and it's warm enough to ski really all year round. If you fly, you'd need to rent a boat, but that's not difficult at all. Either Venice (VNC) or the Fort Myers area would be good, as there's enough protected open water that it'll be smooth and out of the way of other boaters.
 
Ken Ibold said:
There are lots of good skiing places in southwest Florida, and it's warm enough to ski really all year round. If you fly, you'd need to rent a boat, but that's not difficult at all. Either Venice (VNC) or the Fort Myers area would be good, as there's enough protected open water that it'll be smooth and out of the way of other boaters.
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I tried skiing in Florida but I had a heck of time trying to find a lake with a hill on it. :D:rolleyes:;)
 
BonanzaDriver said:
I'd like to fly my wife and another couple out skiing this winter, somewhere in CO probably. Can anyone make a suggestion on where to go, that is, somewhere that is GA friendly and easy to get to, with good runs?
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What coast are you closest to?
 
We went to Winter Park, CO last year, but there are several options. Winter Park is very family oriented, a little more affordable than some places and about an hour drive from Jeffco Airport (BJC now Rocky Mountain Metro). You can get a rental car there and drive up. Actually, from Jeffco, you can drive to most of the resorts and it's very GA friendly, has good approaches and doesn't have some of the limitations places like Aspen have. It's just west of Denver, outside the Class B.

Lots of deal for the family to get lessons and ski lift discounts if you check around in advance.

Aspen and Vail are quite a bit farther west if you want to head there. Haven't flown into those airports, but the instrument approaches look pretty challenging; facilities can be crowded with lots of jets at some. Any bad weather will pretty well keep you out in a non-k-ice recip. Ask Dr. Bruce about that.

Best,

Dave
 
BonanzaDriver said:
I'd like to fly my wife and another couple out skiing this winter, somewhere in CO probably. Can anyone make a suggestion on where to go, that is, somewhere that is GA friendly and easy to get to, with good runs?
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Get away from the crowds and do some real world class sking. Washington state. Mt. Baker 5400'. Stevens Pass 3000'. Snoqualime Pass 3000'. and White Pass 3500' all have great facilities and are easy to reach out of Seattle or Bellingham. (SEA or BLI)
 
I’m not a fan of the Denver accessible ski areas, so two thoughts come to mind (assuming you're coming from the east):

If you're not crazy about flying in the mountains you can fly to Pueblo and drive to Monarch ski area or on through the pass to Crested Butte. Monarch is very small but gets great snow. No shopping or women wearing furs, but good skiing.

If you are willing to fly into the mountains I'd suggest flying on to KGUC (Gunnison) and renting a car or taking a shuttle to Crested Butte. Excellent advanced and extreme skiing and plenty of good beginner and intermediate runs. It's a small mountain with short lift lines and the fashion of the day is duck tape instead of ostrich jackets. Unless you ski extreme stuff you will ski the entire mountain in one day. They're renovating the mountain area and should have more shops and crap there this year – (too bad). The town itself is awesome. I've skied almost everywhere in Colorado (except Telluride), and after a trip to Steamboat last year I've sworn off skiing anywhere else but Crested Butte in Colorado.

That said, I don’t fly in there in the winter. There are days when it’s just beautiful and I’d love to be flying, but the Gunnison valley can get bad weather and snow for days and days, and in my non-turbo airplane I’d be stuck. As appealing as that sounds sometimes, I can’t afford the cost.
 
I've not landed at any of the Colorado mountain airports but I have visited a few on the ground. Both Eagle (EGE) and Rifle (RIL) are pretty nice with the former being towered and open pretty late during the ski season. Eagle is an easy drive back up I-70 to Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin and Keystone with the very expensive Vail on the way. Of all those I've mentioned, I'd suggest Breckenridge and Copper Mountain as the most affordable with the former being the largest and most broad with three peaks. If you start looking for rentals now, you can get a pretty decent cabin or condo around Frisco or Dillon, right off I-70. If money isn't an issue, resorts right on the slopes are there but dang expensive.

Vail is nothing special in my opinion. Just a place to spend more money because you have it. The cops used to drive Saab 900s showing snobbishness and no taste.

Someone mentioned Winter Park. It's fine if you're a beginner but gets pretty boring for intermediate to advanced skiers. It's owned by the City of Denver, or it was. I was never thrilled with it after the first couple visits.

If you do want to line up lodging reservations, hunt down someone in Denver if not local to at least Frisco, Silverthorne or Dillon. You can cut out a lot of the BS fees that get tacked on for brokers and agents.

Monarch is indeed secluded but beautiful and a decent mountain. I've been to Crested Butte but not for skiing. They have the best Fourth of July parade of any place I've ever visited. That was my weekend in 1987. I spent the night of the 3rd at a lake above the town at 10,000 feet and froze my butt off. Gunnison has the best fireworks show I've ever seen.

If David is the yuppie attorney he appears to be, he'll know where to send you for the best reservation ideas. :D

Oh, Mount Baker is indeed beautiful. I spent a lot of time there while stationed at Whidbey Island. So is Jackson Hole with the beautiful Grand Tetons and great skiing. But, the Jackson natives are more plastic than the credit cards you'll use. That was a fun experience living there in 1988. I enjoyed Grand Targee on the western slope more as far as the local folks.

I hope I offered something of value. It's worth every dime you paid! (Tax is not refundable!) :D
 
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For safer GA access and decent skiing I would say Durango then Durango Mountain Resort (formerly Purgatory) or Gunnison then Crested Butte. CB is definitely the better ski area IMO. Also Telluride is one of my favorites but VFR in the winter...? Montrose Regional then a shuttle.

Of course if you are coming from the east none of these make particular sense.
 
While not Colorado, two Intrawest mountains come to mind. Mont Tremblant and Whistler. Mont Tremblant is beautiful and has a great apres scene. Whistler is beautiful (according to a friend) and has some great advanced terrain.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
I'll second Steamboat Springs for CO.
In Washington State I'd say Crystal Mountain has the most but beware, if you're used to snow skiing elsewhere you'll typically find Cascade skiing very demanding, to the point it may not be that enjoyable.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys- I am based out of Atlanta, and would love to fly out west for a trip.
 
Ed G had good recomendation for good skiing in the east I think it was sugarbush in Maine. Airport near by. Perhaps he will chime in.
 
I've flown to several ski areas in the Rockies. Most often I go to SLC and ski at several of the resorts there. The route from the midwest is relatively benign and can easily be done in a Bonanza VFR or even IFR if you have O2 and keep the load light. Of course ice can be a problem if you're IFR so you might have to keep the schedule flexible. Steamboat is also pretty easy to get to and a very nice place to ski. If you want to try the Colorado Summit County resorts (Keystone, Copper, Breckenridge, etc) I recommend that you land at one of the foothills airports near Denver and drive from there. The is easy to do for a weekend, but those areas tend to be fairly crowded on the weekend except in the off season.
 
BonanzaDriver said:
Thanks for the suggestions guys- I am based out of Atlanta, and would love to fly out west for a trip.
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Have a look at these BD, maps of NM and CO ski hills. You specified west so I presume you will end up at one of these.

http://www.ski-usa-accommodations.com/ski-Resorts/New-Mexico/index.asp
http://www.ski-usa-accommodations.com/ski-resorts/Colorado/index.asp

They are all pretty much the same distance from KATL; just over a grand.

I suspect the Co resorts are larger; more ski areas, less susceptible to a warm winter, but might also have larger crowds. Likely most on both lists require you to rent a car. The one I frequent, Angel Fire (KAXX) is small and quiet, only a few hills, but you don't need a car, the shuttle bus will take you to the hills and rentals in a few moments for a few bucks.
 
Crested Butte is just as tough as ASE in a nonturbo non FIKI single. Telluride is a smidgen easier if you approach from the south, and in over CONES vortac. But anywhere in the divide in the wintertime is tough in non FIKI non turbo unless you happen upon a clear VFR day.

The best time to do this sort of trip is in the spring ski season, think late march. You don't need to put down reservation $$s that you lose as the resorts are pretty empty after the second week of March. That way if the Wx looks bad at the last moment, you go elsewhere.

I don't like Winter Park or Summit County (GREAT mountains: Keystone, Breck, North Peak, Arapahoe) due to the Denver auto crowd is just too huge on the weekends. But if you come Monday and depart on Monday, you can arrive the airport formerly known as JEFFCO and it's only a 90 minute drive. EAGLE is a great airport, with nice apporaches, Denver Jet is a NICE FBO, pricey cars to rent (as anywhere in Ski seasson). But look at the Missed approaches. Can you climb 275 feet per nm out to 11,700 feet?

Taos is the simplest one to get into, non FIKI-nonturbo. Look at the enroutes- you may not even need O2. But the BEST strategy is go late in the season, without a deposit. Go wherever there's VFR.
 
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BonanzaDriver said:
I'd like to fly my wife and another couple out skiing this winter, somewhere in CO probably. Can anyone make a suggestion on where to go, that is, somewhere that is GA friendly and easy to get to, with good runs?
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I haven't been skiing in years so I can't comment on the quality of the ski areas, but I've been to all of the Colorado ski country airports in various sized airplanes. In good weather, a Bonanza wouldn't have much problem with any of these places, but the weather can go down and stay down for days in the winter. It's also very changeable. I wouldn't mess with doing any actual IFR approaches in a piston single in the winter. Also be extremely careful if you don't have much mountain time. The colder temperatures make DA less of a problem, but the mountains are big and hard.

If you are looking for GA (meaning light airplane) friendly I would stay away from Aspen. Eagle is a little bit better but both places can get pretty crazy. If you want to see those nasty business jets, which the airlines complain about, clogging up the airspace and the ramps these are the places to go.

Places that are comparatively easy to get into include Hayden (near Steamboat), Montrose (near Telluride), Durango, which someone else mentioned, and Rifle (a good alternate to Aspen and Eagle). These airports have long runways and are located in bigger valleys but they all have mountains in the vicinity. If you want to stay out of the mountains there are airports all up and down the Front Range from Pueblo north through Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins. You just have to pick the one closest to the place you want to ski. If you want to try the western slope there is always Grand Junction. You can probably rent a car at any of these airports. Good luck!
 
Steamboat. Just one of the best and friendliest places I've ever been. I am a telemark skier and Steamboat has a huge and wonderful tele community as well.
 
Try Angel Fire, NM; airport right there, great family resort, decent terrain and a whole lot less costly than CO.
 
Pagaosa Springs - Wolf Cr Pass ski area. Hot springs in town after. Come in from the south.

Aspen ATIS in the winter often says. 'No parking available for piston engine aircraft.'
 
Heck, ASE (ASPEN) ATIS almost ALWAYS says "no parking for single engine aircraft...."

Pagosa Springs (Stevens Field- 2V1) just completely reconstructed their runway a little over a year ago. It's now 8100x100, and has a very nice new FBO. There is a parking fee, with one night free with fuel purchase. (Rumor control has it that now that an ASOS is installed, a regional carrier may start service into Pagosa) There is also an AWOS on Wolf Creek Pass.

No crew car available. Good restaurants. Reasonable accommodation. About 30 minutes to the ski area (average).

Ski area has NO snowmaking, making it one of the last in the state with only natural snow. Great powder days, and generally has decent early season conditions. Lift system is currently being upgraded, but still has some slow lifts. Get there early if its a powder day, or all you'll find is leftovers....
 
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I usually have had no problem getting parking in my twin, but it is still dicey (and expensive)! Even a short stopover will cost a piston twin about $20. I can't imagine what the Gulfstreams are paying....

Eagle County (EGE) and Garfield County- Rifle (RIL) each seem to be gaining a great deal of the traffic which is destined to the area.

EGE is about 30 minutes to Vail/Beaver Creek, about 90 minutes to Aspen, whereas RIL is about 90 minutes to Vail and about the same to Aspen (maybe a bit less).
 
colomtnflyer said:
I usually have had no problem getting parking in my twin, but it is still dicey (and expensive)! Even a short stopover will cost a piston twin about $20. I can't imagine what the Gulfstreams are paying....

Eagle County (EGE) and Garfield County- Rifle (RIL) each seem to be gaining a great deal of the traffic which is destined to the area.

EGE is about 30 minutes to Vail/Beaver Creek, about 90 minutes to Aspen, whereas RIL is about 90 minutes to Vail and about the same to Aspen (maybe a bit less).
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I stopped at EGE to meet folks for lunch last Labor Day. There were three pistons on the ramp including my old Mooney. The other two were twins. Over 30 jets parked. 10 gallons minimum or 25 dollars ramp fee. They do have more room than Aspen.
 
BonanzaDriver said:
I'd like to fly my wife and another couple out skiing this winter, somewhere in CO probably. Can anyone make a suggestion on where to go, that is, somewhere that is GA friendly and easy to get to, with good runs?
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Bonanza,
I've been skiing (boarding) the west for years and all of the comments here have some merit. Some more info:

The most predictable and easiest to handle: Fly into Den (BJC is good), and ski one of the front range hills. Don't have to deal with mountain flying, and the snow is fairly predictable. Weekends will be crowded, so do the weekday. I'm a big fan of Winter Park, very reasonable, one of the best ski schools, and has great woods and advanced stuff, if you know where to find it. I've had passes there for years. Breck, A Basin, and Loveland are also good. Haven't been to Keystone in 20 years because I hate the slow gondola, but still a good hill.

The New Mexico hills can have snow problems, like last year.

Steamboat has a GREAT town. The skiing is OK, but the hill is low, so you get mush sooner than the higher hills. There's great powder skiing on the mt. north of Steamboat with a private company ($300, but worth it once in a while). You can do similar at Aspen (off mountain tours).

Vail is the biggest, tons of terrain, but when they get good snow all of Denver is there and lift lines are horrible.

Aspen is not for skiing, but for looks. A horrible hill for skiiing and boarding and small, however it's neighboring Snowmass is supurb and is probably the best overall hill in Colorado. Terrain for everyone, big, short lift lines (even in the heavy snow), pricy and a four hour drive from Den. You can fly into ASE (or Eagle for that matter) and it's a hoot in good weather Take you wallet with you and if you have propellers on your plane you will feel out of place, but they are friendly. My experience at ASE has been great and when I save up another few years of income, I'll go again.

As for mountain flying, its usually VFR. However, winds are the biggest threat followed by ice. So flexibility is in order, but on a nice day, to die for.

Salt Lake has the best snow in the world, with 500 in per year (vs Colorado 350). A little more challenging to fly to Bo to, but not bad over the CO WY boarder to Rock Springs and into SLC. Or the southern route over the Durango/Moab area, but still hills on both. Salt Lake is cheap with great housing in town and a 30 min run up the hill Even some of the housing at the ski resorts isn't bad, and I really prefer that. Restaurants and night life up the canyons (Little and Big Cottonwood) are minimal. Or you can go over to Park City which is pretty self contained. My favorite is the Brighton Solitude runs.

I don't go further west because the snow gets wet, on the west coast. However, I've discovered McCall ID for a smaller get away place that's still quiet, although getting discovered. There's been mentioned other small uncrowded places like Crested, Wolf Creek, all worth looking at to get away from crowds, but a lot smaller.

Overall, do the Den thing for starters. When you get closer PM me early this fall and I'll give you more info on housing, ski tickets, equipment, routing, etc.
 
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