denverpilot
Tied Down
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.