Question for the HBOT skiers

[artradley]

My wife is from Maine and skied a lot growing up - always in the icy northeast conditions. When we lived in Texas I took her to the Rockies in New Mexico and she loved skiing powder. So next year we'd like to head out to the Rockies for a ski trip. Does anyone here have advice on approachable resorts (ie: not ridiculously large, expensive, and crowded) within a couple of hours of Denver?

 

[ICWestfan]

I've never been but hear tell this is a pretty nice place to ski. You can research it, seems like a different "type" of snow then you'll see in the resorts further north. Also, Salida/BV are pretty cool little towns in their own right.

Link - Monarch Ski Salida, Co

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

I suppose Loveland, though I’ve never been there… or fly to Salt Lake City and get up to Solitude or Brighton.

 

[IAFB2021Champs]

I’ve gone to Breckenridge a few times. While I don’t find Breckenridge to have the best mountains, I do feel like they are a decent centralized location to other resorts around there. Keystone, Copper mountain, Vail, and another that’s a little farther away in Loveland.

 

[SeaPA]

I've always loved skiing Winter Park; relatively easy drive from Denver, great variety of slopes for varying levels of ability, pretty good selection of on-mountain food, nice village at the base & a decent downtown area (though not as lively as, say Breck)

 

[Hawki97]

My wife is from Maine and skied a lot growing up - always in the icy northeast conditions. When we lived in Texas I took her to the Rockies in New Mexico and she loved skiing powder. So next year we'd like to head out to the Rockies for a ski trip. Does anyone here have advice on approachable resorts (ie: not ridiculously large, expensive, and crowded) within a couple of hours of Denver?

From Denver? Not expensive? A couple hours away? But you want a big mountain(ish) experience? A-Basin or Loveland is about all I can come up with that matches that criteria. I bolded the above because cost is the biggest disqualifier for your request as lift ticket prices at resorts have gone through the roof.

 

[luvmyhawks]

Unfortunately, not expensive and resort does not exist. The most affordable close to Denver is a basin and Loveland but those are not resort mountains. What exactly are you looking for? Ski in ski out? Restaurants? How many days?

My favorite resort mountains close to Denver is easily winter park followed by copper mountain. But those are $200+ for a lift ticket. Thursdays are the cheapest days at any mountain fyi.

 

[artradley]

From Denver? Not expensive? A couple hours away? But you want a big mounting experience? A-Basin or Loveland is about all I can come up with that matches that criteria. I bolded the above because cost is the biggest disqualifier for your request as lift ticket prices have gone through the roof.

Yeah, I guess we can skip "not expensive." From my brief perusal it appears lift ticket prices are pretty consistent.

We don't need a "big mountain" experience. Just an opportunity to ski in powder, with some activities around for a day or two off of the slopes.

 

[ping72]

 

[Hawki97]

Yeah, I guess we can skip "not expensive." From my brief perusal it appears lift ticket prices are pretty consistent.

We don't need a "big mountain" experience. Just an opportunity to ski in powder, with some activities around for a day or two off of the slopes.

Personally, I'd go Vail because I like the main resort runs and the availability of the back bowls. Just a little bit of snow over night and you'll get that off piste feeling and powder you crave. Plus I like the town and the area.

That said, talking "best" ski resorts is like going to a beer convention and arguing with a bunch of beer snobs about what triple IPA notes are hitting the hardest. It's all a matter of taste. I just know the best powder days and most fun resort ski days I've ever had are in the back bowls. I've never had a bad day at Winter Park, Beaver Creek, Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, etc...either though. You could say I like all the IPAs, just one a little more than the others.

 

[NoleATL]

Working for the airlines right out of college and living in Miami, we would go skiing a few times each winter. I was barely a lower intermediate skier but my favorite was Winter Park. Less than 2 hours from DIA and wide blues. Lift tickets were reasonable at the time and I imagine they are among the lower of the decent ski resorts out there. I've seen well over $300 for some? CRAZY!

 

[luvmyhawks]

Yeah, I guess we can skip "not expensive." From my brief perusal it appears lift ticket prices are pretty consistent.

We don't need a "big mountain" experience. Just an opportunity to ski in powder, with some activities around for a day or two off of the slopes.

Now that we have eliminated the non expensive tag, your options really open up. As @Hawki97 said, they are all great. Especially if you have never skied Colorado. You are in for a treat. So how good are you and the wife? How many days? How technical are you?

 

[Bulldogs1974]

We used to stay at the bottom of Breckenridge mtn at the Chateau. We could ski down to our door and walk 50 feet to the chair lift. In the 90's and early 2000's that was affordable that is no longer the case. We go to Montana now, much smaller crowds and far cheaper.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

From Denver? Not expensive? A couple hours away? But you want a big mountain(ish) experience? A-Basin or Loveland is about all I can come up with that matches that criteria. I bolded the above because cost is the biggest disqualifier for your request as lift ticket prices at resorts have gone through the roof.

I like A basin more than Breck. It's been years since I was on either. Breck is worth seeing just because it is so massive and 'breckenridge", the bowls at arapahoe basin are better snowboarding imo.

 

[Hawki97]

We used to stay at the bottom of Breckenridge mtn at the Chateau. We could ski down to our door and walk 50 feet to the chair lift. In the 90's and early 2000's that was affordable that is no longer the case. We go to Montana now, much smaller crowds and far cheaper.

If you have to fly a family of four in to CO you can go to Switzerland and have this as your backdrop for less overall than CO. And Zermatt is a great little ski town. It has gotten a bit ridiculous.

 

[Hawki97]

I like A basin more than Breck. It's been years since I was on either. Breck is worth seeing just because it is so massive and 'breckenridge", the bowls at arapahoe basin are better snowboarding imo.

For a day trip from Denver, A-Basin is my go to. I like it.

 

[St. Louis Hawk]

Only done Beaver Creek in Co. It’s solid.

But I prefer Big Sky in Montana and Brighton in Utah.

 

[Bulldogs1974]

i've skiied, breck, copper, vail, steamboat, jackson hole, mt. hood, whitefish, big sky and my favorite (and by far the cheapest) is bridger bowl.

 

[Hawki97]

i've skiied, breck, copper, vail, steamboat, jackson hole, mt. hood, whitefish, big sky and my favorite (and by far the cheapest) is bridger bowl.

Bridger is great - and cheap! And Bozeman is fire bro. A belly full of breakfast from the Western Cafe and a day at Bridger? Sign me up.

 

[luvmyhawks]

Working for the airlines right out of college and living in Miami, we would go skiing a few times each winter. I was barely a lower intermediate skier but my favorite was Winter Park. Less than 2 hours from DIA and wide blues. Lift tickets were reasonable at the time and I imagine they are among the lower of the decent ski resorts out there. I've seen well over $300 for some? CRAZY!

It’s absolutely ridiculous anymore. It’s actually pretty frustrating trying to keep my kids skiing at an affordable price anymore. When I first moved out to Colorado 20+ years ago, I paid $225 for my season pass to winter park. Now it is more than that for a single day. Absurd.

I pretty much stick to Loveland and A basin anymore. The 4 packs at both are awesome. But they are not resorts by any means.

 

[ICWestfan]

It’s absolutely ridiculous anymore. It’s actually pretty frustrating trying to keep my kids skiing at an affordable price anymore. When I first moved out to Colorado 20+ years ago, I paid $225 for my season pass to winter park. Now it is more than that for a single day. Absurd.

I pretty much stick to Loveland and A basin anymore. The 4 packs at both are awesome. But they are not resorts by any means.

$140 at Monarch.

Link- lift tix prices at Monarch

 

[NoleATL]

I have seen reels where you can allegedly go to Europe and South America to ski, air fare included for less or the same as the major resorts in the U.S.

 

[Hawki97]

I have seen reels where you can allegedly go to Europe and South America to ski, air fare included for less or the same as the major resorts in the U.S.

I don't know about South America, but I can 100% tell you that you can drop the word allegedly from Europe. **

**As of my 2023 receipts anyway.

 

[luvmyhawks]

$140 at Monarch.

Link- lift tix prices at Monarch

I’ve heard great things. I have never been though so wouldn’t be able to recommend. Salida is a bit of a drive as well. Loveland and a basin are an hour from my front door geared up and ready to rip. I can get my kids on Loveland and a basin for 40-50 bucks per day.

 

[luvmyhawks]

I don't know about South America, but I can 100% tell you that you can drop the word allegedly from Europe. **

**As of my 2023 receipts anyway.

Hmmm… I’m going to have to look into this. Any recommendations? Unfortunately I have 3 kids that love skiing. That makes any trip like this pretty pricey for me.

 

[Bulldogs1974]

Bridger is great - and cheap! And Bozeman is fire bro. A belly full of breakfast from the Western Cafe and a day at Bridger? Sign me up.

fortunately i have a friend with a house in town, a nephew that goes to school there and a friend that owns the cabin in the middle of bridger mtn. Other than the drive it's cheap and great skiing.
we take the train out of minneapolis to whitefish to ski from time to time as well.

 

[General Tso]

Sundown - Dubuque.

Thank me later

 

[artradley]

Now that we have eliminated the non expensive tag, your options really open up. As @Hawki97 said, they are all great. Especially if you have never skied Colorado. You are in for a treat. So how good are you and the wife? How many days? How technical are you?

We are both intermediates. Perhaps low intermediates now. She is by far more experienced; I only went a couple times a year for a few years before we started a family. We went twenty years without skiing, and last weekend was just the second time in two years. Plus, we're both in our 60's and not as athletic as we used to be. But now that we're free of children and have more time and money we would like to go on an occasional ski vacation.

We're mainly comfortable on wide blue trails. Thinking about perhaps four days, ski two or three days.

 

[artradley]

If you have to fly a family of four in to CO you can go to Switzerland and have this as your backdrop for less overall than CO. And Zermatt is a great little ski town. It has gotten a bit ridiculous.

It's funny because just this morning a friend of mine said his son told him they can go to Europe and ski for less money "all in" than here in the states. I think air fare alone makes that unlikely. But I'm willing to check into it!

 

[ICWestfan]

I’ve heard great things. I have never been though so wouldn’t be able to recommend. Salida is a bit of a drive as well. Loveland and a basin are an hour from my front door geared up and ready to rip. I can get my kids on Loveland and a basin for 40-50 bucks per day.

Only 2.5 hours from Denver, probably 90 mins from Co Springs depending on driving conditions. I guess I'm pimping Monarch because it's smaller, cheaper, and from what I have heard a really good ski area. Plus, Salida is a fun town with stuff to do. Bueny is just up the road a pretty cool little town. Probably a bit to hipster for my liking though.

 

[Hawki97]

Hmmm… I’m going to have to look into this. Any recommendations? Unfortunately I have 3 kids that love skiing. That makes any trip like this pretty pricey for me.

It's funny because just this morning a friend of mine said his son told him they can go to Europe and ski for less money "all in" than here in the states. I think air fare alone makes that unlikely. But I'm willing to check into it!

I've done two trips with kids. Slovenia and Switzerland/Italy (accessible from the same lifts).

Slovenia was a steal and it was great. Skied at Vogel in Triglav National Park. Stayed in Bled which is a great little town. AirBnB was cheap, weekly lift tickets were like 150 euro for adults and kids were half that, food/drink/entertainment was reasonable. It's not a huge mountain by any means but it was enough and the snow and conditions were great. We do a bit of backcountry skiing as well so that broke it up a bit. Even with airfare, we were ahead of a Vail trip.

Switzerland/Italy I'll give you probably isn't cheaper overall but it was pretty close. Skied Matterhorn Paradise and stayed in Zermatt. Best part about it was one of the main lifts basically takes you to the border ridge of Switzerland and Italy. Skiers choice which country you want to go down into! AirBnB in Zermatt, resort town prices on everything there. The pictures from that trip are worth the nominal extra we paid to take it.

My general advice is to look up the countries or areas you want to go and see if they offer multiday/multi resort passes. Because there are probably going to be a lot of them and they're likely pretty cheap. That's where the difference is made up in the airfare.

 

[Hawki97]

Rundown - Dubuque.

Thank me later

FIFY

 

[Kelsers]

Sundown - Dubuque.

Thank me later

Or 7 Oaks in Boone

 

[luvmyhawks]

I've done two trips with kids. Slovenia and Switzerland/Italy (accessible from the same lifts).

Slovenia was a steal and it was great. Skied at Vogel in Triglav National Park. Stayed in Bled which is a great little town. AirBnB was cheap, weekly lift tickets were like 150 euro for adults and kids were half that, food/drink/entertainment was reasonable. It's not a huge mountain by any means but it was enough and the snow and conditions were great. We do a bit of backcountry skiing as well so that broke it up a bit. Even with airfare, we were ahead of a Vail trip.

Switzerland/Italy I'll give you probably isn't cheaper overall but it was pretty close. Skied Matterhorn Paradise and stayed in Zermatt. Best part about it was one of the main lifts basically takes you to the border ridge of Switzerland and Italy. Skiers choice which country you want to go down into! AirBnB in Zermatt, resort town prices on everything there. The pictures from that trip are worth the nominal extra we paid to take it.

My general advice is to look up the countries or areas you want to go and see if they offer multiday/multi resort passes. Because there are probably going to be a lot of them and they're likely pretty cheap. That's where the difference is made up in the airfare.

See. This is the reason why I keep coming back to HBOT. I would have never thought Switzerland would be realistic. I will be checking it out for next winter. Great stuff. Thanks.

 

[cubsMDdmb]

If you fly into Salt Lake City early in the morning you can ski free at park city by showing your boarding pass and out of state license. I’ve done it (although it’s been several years) and it worked great. I’ve heard that’s still an available promo. The best part about skiing in Utah is you can stay in Salt Lake City and the resorts are less than an hour away. I preferred the skiing in Utah over Colorado.

 

[mnole03]

I like A basin more than Breck. It's been years since I was on either. Breck is worth seeing just because it is so massive and 'breckenridge", the bowls at arapahoe basin are better snowboarding imo.

Breck has tons of great greens and blues.

 

[mnole03]

Only 2.5 hours from Denver, probably 90 mins from Co Springs depending on driving conditions. I guess I'm pimping Monarch because it's smaller, cheaper, and from what I have heard a really good ski area. Plus, Salida is a fun town with stuff to do. Bueny is just up the road a pretty cool little town. Probably a bit to hipster for my liking though.

I haven’t been to Monarch because we’ve gotten really good deals on Ikon or Epic passes. I’ve heard really good things, though. Sunlight is another one people seem to really like.

 

[Hawki97]

See. This is the reason why I keep coming back to HBOT. I would have never thought Switzerland would be realistic. I will be checking it out for next winter. Great stuff. Thanks.

Word. The trains are high speed (except for the last section into Zermatt) from pretty much anywhere in the area so just find what's cheapest in airfare and have at it. I'm not an Ikon passholder and don't know exactly how the discounts work with them, but Matterhorn Paradise is affiliated so if you are an Ikon holder it's worth a look at what discounts you might get.

 

[NoleATL]

I don't know about South America, but I can 100% tell you that you can drop the word allegedly from Europe. **

**As of my 2023 receipts anyway.

Definitely South America but perhaps not at this time of year

 

[luvmyhawks]

We are both intermediates. Perhaps low intermediates now. She is by far more experienced; I only went a couple times a year for a few years before we started a family. We went twenty years without skiing, and last weekend was just the second time in two years. Plus, we're both in our 60's and not as athletic as we used to be. But now that we're free of children and have more time and money we would like to go on an occasional ski vacation.

We're mainly comfortable on wide blue trails. Thinking about perhaps four days, ski two or three days.

Awesome. You will get your fix on any of the mountains discussed ITT from a skiing perspective. This will really come down to how much you want to spend and are you wanting to be in the resort type of atmosphere with all the shops and restaurants within walking distance. If that is what you are looking for I would probably recommend Vail, Copper or Breckenridge. But, you will pay for it.

If you are wanting to keep expenses down a bit, and you don't mind driving to the mountain, then you might want to take a look at staying on the outskirts of keystone. From there is about a 15 minute drive to A-basin. You could ski the basin and stay in Keystone to get all the amenities you might be looking for. If you buy your lift tickets in advance you can get the 4 pack for around $250 of which you can split that into 2 between your wife and yourself. You cannot split the 4 packs at any of the bigger resorts.

Have fun!!