There are many ski resorts to choose from in Colorado. Hopefully after reading through some of these pages the choice will become simpler. There are many factors that should go into choosing the resort you want to go to -- snow conditions, activities, distance from airports or major cities, lift ticket prices. We hope to simplify the decisions by sharing with you some of our experiences.
Arapahoe Basin
I firt heard of Arapahoe Basin as a great place for telemark skiers -- and that it had a great party scene in the late spring. That's due to "The Beach", i.e. the parking lot right at the base of the mounatain. People bring their barbecue grills, and the smells of burgers waft up the mountain. A more traditional ski area, with not that many lifts, Arapahoe Basin has the longest season in Colorado -- often it stays open until July 4th.
The snow is good, and as the ski area is also the highest in Colorado, it stays around. In the late spring the mornings are better on the lower portion of the mountain, while in the afternoons the top is great...
Aspen Mountain
Aspen Highlands
Beaver Creek
I always thought Beaver Creek would be one of those super expensive places that wasn't worth the hype. I was wrong! That is... yes, it is expensive ($80/day if I remember right), but the skiing is outstanding. The resort gets decent snow, but has a way of managing it. The grooming is great, this is anotehr place that I only rode my carving board and have not skied.
Among the standout features for riders are the fresh chocolate cookies that chefs in big hats distribute throughout the day -- you have to hurry, they don't last! Riders park at lots at the very bottom of the area and ride up in buses. Then they take two escalators through the shopping/rental area, and they find themselves at the bottom of the Centennial lift...
Buttermilk
Buttermilk is often described as the "beginner mountain" of the Aspen resorts. Our of the four mountains it has the easiest terrain, but that's OK depending on what you want. It has a superpipe that hosted the X Games, has some steep racing runs, and a bunch of things in between.
I love Buttermilk because of it's consistent-gradient groomed slopes like Buckskin. Those runs are easy to get to, they're fairly long, and I love carving down them. It's easy to get into a groove and just keep on going...
Copper Mountain
Crested Butte
Monarch
Monarch Ski resort is located about 25 miles west from Salida. It isn't very large, having only four lifts, but it has many great features. I personally really enjoy that it's not a big resort, that it's easy to get everywhere, and that there is plenty of steep terrain to ride. For telemarking it offers plenty of tree and bump skiing, for carving it has nice groomers. Although none of the runs are very long, there are times when there are hardly any other skiers and so it's easy to get a lot of turns.
In 2005 the area opened up part of its snowcat terrain to the general public -- it's called Mirkwood Bowl. About a 15 minutes hike from the top of one on the lifts allows the rider to access some 300 acres of backcountry terrain...
Snowmass
Telluride
Vail
I expected this resort, just like Beaver Creek, to be overpriced and overhyped. Call me a cynic :) The first time I rode there the snow wasn't too good, it's been a while since any fell from the sky, and the weather was so-so. Lisa and I took a long time to get to the Blue Basin area, which is a set of bowls far back from the resort front-side. It has lots of terrain, but with the icy hardpacked snow and poor visibility it wasn't appealing. Then it took us a long time to get back towards the front...
After that first experience I wasn't too excited to go back there. But we signed up for a class with Lowell Hart, and went back to Vail. And Lowell made all the difference! Besides the things he taught us, he showed us how to ride the mountain too. It was a beautiful day, the snow was good, and we rode the front, the bowls, the sides, and wished that the day was about 3 times longer -- even though our legs were just about shot...