Some of you may remember that skiing has been on our Bucket List for some time. Thanks to the help of Fodorites, we chose Copper Mountain as a good place for beginners. Lets get the "Bad" part over with first. We are from Florida and have never been to high elevations. I had altitude sickness for 3 days; headache, nausea, lethargy. DH had same for 12 hours. I spent my time with the 5 year olds on the bunny slopes (but I LOOKED GOOD!), DH mastered the green runs, swooshing all the way down. But the mountain was beautiful, especailly after a snow, and it was an experience we had to try,
Chose a condo on VRBO http://www.vrbo.com/49047. The owner was very responsive and nice to work with. This is in center village, right in the middle of all the shops and restaurants. It was really easy to walk around the corner to get a bus to go to other locations in the resort.
Condo was fine for 2 of us. The steps to the loft were very steep and you needed to pay attention. There was no humidifier, so we kept a pan of water boiling on the stove when we were awake. There was plenty of nice dry wood stacked for the fireplace, which we made good use of.
We had looked into the shuttle from Denver, but rented a car instead; went on Priceline, got a full sized car from Thurs-Mon for $156 all inclusive. Condo had covered parking.
Food was not my top priority, but we had a very nice meal at CJ's, a good burger at Incline Bar and Grill, and a pleasant lunch at Alpine Barista. The place for apres ski is JJ Rocky Mountain Bar in East village. Great atmosphere, energetic duo playing and singing, and a fun crowd.
We did our skiing at Union Creek. I thought the folks in the rental area were not very friendly, but maybe it was just my anxiety. Our instructor was an ex Navy captain named Sam, and he was fantastic, very very encouraging and patient. We took a 3hr private lesson with him on Friday, and my DH did the same on Sunday. Pricey but worth it.
Flights were uneventful. I love SWA, 2 big bags, one filled with ski clothes, and one with regular clothes, No Charge!
Not sure if I would do it again, but would certainly encourage DH to return. I am so proud of my rock star hubby, he is fearless!
Thanks to all for your suggestions.
Copper Mt: Our Best Worst vacation ever
Recent Activity
View all United States activity »
- 1 Oregon Cave NM or extra day in Redwoods area?
- 2 DC Itinerary, June 8-13, suggestions welcome!
- 3 Best place to raise a family in Florida
- 4 Help with New York Itinerary!
- 5 Driving from Atlanta to Orlando With kids resting stops
- 6 Customs & Checked Baggage at O'Hare - coming from Dublin Airport
- 7
Rocks and Roads in Utah
- 8 American Airlines reservation question
- 9
Air Bnb Declared Illegal in NYC
by
Doug_Stallings
|
3 responses; most recent on May 21, 13 at 12:34 PM
- 10 Central Coast of Maine in August
- 11 Road trip New Jersey to Montana
- 12 Need a bit of help planning a 3 week trip to the US
- 13 Santa Fe at the end of May?
- 14 Yellowstone Hiking Suggestions for a 7 1/2 Year Old
- 15 Road Trip - Las Vegas, NV to Monterey, CA
- 16 Where to stay Charleston SC
- 17 2 Brits Travelling USA July-Aug 2013
- 18 Hawaii- Can't decide which islands to include
- 19
Middlebury vt quickie
- 20 Bryce Canyon vs. Yellowsyone
- 21 NYC
- 22 Finally, seeing the Outer Banks
- 23 NYC to FLA Road Trip..stopovers (I-81) in Virginia and Sea Islands?
- 24 10 days after cruise - Fort Lauderdale Fly out from LA?????
- 25 Kwaussies road trip, the final chapter!
Glad your trip turned out okay. When we went to Breckenridge a few years ago I also had altitude sickness for three days-I was crying and ready to come home and then on the 4th day I felt fine and we enjoyed the rest of our trip. Colorado is beautiful, but we probably won't be going again.
Skiing is on my "bucket list" as well. Sorry about your altitude sickness, but at least you can say you've been skiing! Glad to hear you liked Copper Mtn -- that's one of the places we are considering also. Thanks for the report.
We're in Breckenridge right now. Mild mild headache -- feels more like sinuses than altitude. We'll see what happens tomorrow at mountaintop! Been snowing on and off all day, so conditions should be excellent.
I just spent the day at Breck -- and it did snow all day but the snow conditions were close to perfect. And no crowds !! And a miserable drive down the mountain.
The issue with altitude sickness is that the cause is not well understood. Rncheryl, you could return next year and be fine. And someone who has never had problems could be very sick.
Glad you enjoyed the mountain.
Sorry to hear about the altitude sickness..DH experienced it on our first trip to CO (not knowing at the time we would Move here soon!) The end result was missed activities; & acute awareness on our part, to family and friends when they come to visit us now.
Copper and Vail remain favorite weekend getaways - but only 24-36 hrs After guests arrive thru DIA !
Glad to hear you had a good time once you got over the altitude sickness. Next visit, spend a couple of days in Denver before you venture up the mountain.
Thanks for the report.
Good to hear about your trip. We were at Copper a couple of weeks ago. Snow was great, weather perfect. I live in Denver and lived at Copper for several years, and I still got a slight headache one evening. Thought it was the wine.
C.J.s is one of our favorite spots.
Exactly what I thought, spending a couple of days in Denver first. I would love to graduate from the bunny slopes. And now that I have the clothes....
Actually, it's C.B.'s (Covered Bridge).
Right you are, historytraveler. Blame it on my altitude affliction. It was a very pleasant evening, nice to be in a good restaurant and be casually dressed. ( I wore no makeup and did not use my curling iron for our entire stay)/