First time skiing: need your recommendations

Breck would be fine and Copper Mt has an excellent instructional program. Copper is laid out better for the beginner skier and I think your beginning experience would be better at Copper. A smaller area with some nice, long, gentle slopes for beginners. As to your price point, means nothing unless I know your dates. You probably would want a car for either SLake or Denver.

Good to know; Thinking first week or two in March.

I think you would love Park City! We have skied Deer Valley and The Canyons, two very different resorts. We had wonderful ski instructors at both. The Canyons is larger with longer slopes and many different levels of accommodations. The first time we stayed at the Canyons we stayed in a one bedroom condo w/kitchen and had groceries delivered. We ate breakfast, sometimes lunch in our condo. Other times lunch was on the slopes. Dinner was always out in Park City which is a charming old mining town with fabulous restaurants and unique shopping. We flew directly to Salt Lake and were picked up in a van (I think arranged through Canyons or Deer Valley) which took us directly to the resort. Usually takes 45 minutes door to door. We didn't need a car as a shuttle bus runs to grocery stores and into town all day and evening. Very convenient.

Thanks 309pbg: So you would recommend flying to SLC and then Park City??Is this ski-in-ski out?

Hi rncheryl,
We always have stayed ski-in, ski-out, sort of. The Canyons has a gondola that skiers use to get to the slopes. Skiing down to the hotel or condos is easy but going up you need to use the gondola. The ride is breath taking! Why don't you browse the website?
www.thecanyons.com and check out all the accommodations. There are also packages available with lift tickets. We haven't been there recently. Last year (Feb) we were at Deer Valley skiing for the first time w/out our son who snow boards. They do not allow snowboarding at Deer Valley so we wanted to check it out. It's quite a bit pricier than Canyons and runs are much shorter. Next ski trip will def. be at the Canyons.

Oops, I mean we were in Deer Valley Feb. 2009.

You might want to check prices at both Park City ( actually Deer Valley is your best bet for begining slopes) with Copper Mt. I lived at Copper for several years and,as fmpden said, the mountain has the best lay out of any resort for begining skiers. It will also be less expensive than Deer Valley which is the reason I suggested you check prices prior to making a decision.

There are shuttle buses than run through out Summit County to Copper Mt., Breckenridge,Keystone, Dillon and Silverthorne.

March is "Spring skiing" so prices for housing tend to be higher. Copper is totally walkable with the aid of their internal bus system. So it is possible to get by without a car and there are vans between Denver airport and all Summit Cty resorts. Since Breck is much bigger and sits on top of an old mining town (similar to Park City) it is bit more difficult to get around even using the local bus system. For an absolute beginner I don't think you could not beat Copper.

I ski the Park City area every year around the first week in March but still prefer the Summit Cty area. Park City is lower so the snow condition even in early March can start to break down. Second the runs themselves are shorter and often dump into collector trails which can lead to a lot of mingling of good and poor skiers. Of the three (Canyons, Park City, Deer Valley) I prefer Deer Valley but it is very pricey. And as a beginner I doubt if you could appreciate the difference.

cheryl,

My main advice would be to take lessons! Skiing is not hard to learn if you have a good, professional instructor. It's miserable and extremely difficult it you try it without lessons. Most major ski areas in the Rockies have outstanding ski schools. Lessons are very expensive - do check into this in advance and be prepared. Make advance appointments for your lessons. Ask for the same instructor every day as long as you like him/her on your first day. If you can possibly afford a private 1/2 day, do those. You will be able to progress much faster than in a group lesson.

Renting equipment - go to one of the recommended ski shops at the area. Don't go to a (horrors) chain store like Chick's Sports Goods or something and expect to get a good fit in rental boots (critical) or decent rental skis.

I won't go into it with fmpden here about Park City March snow conditions. Our opinions vary. She/he visits, I live here. I never hesitate to recommend PC area skiing for March. I don't recommend it come April.

I think you would enjoy Park City because there is lots to do when you aren't skiing. It's a fun town and the Utah Olympic Park is an amazing place to visit. Pretty much everyone who goes there really enjoys it. Also, no need to pay for ski in/ski out lodging unless you choose to. The free Park City shuttle buses go everywhere in town, all 3 resorts and other places like the outlet stores and the Oly Park, Olympic size ice rink, etc. Just ask how close the condo is to the bus routes. Most are very handy to the bus stops.

Both Deer Valley and Park City Mtn Resort have outstanding ski schools. Can't say from personal experience about The Canyons. I do think DV and PC have better "never been on skis" runs for you than the Canyons.

If you didn't feel the need for lots of non-ski activities, Alta and Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon also have great beginner runs and ski schools. Snowbird does have some very good restaurants and a roof top spa at The Cliff Hotel.

You can take shuttles to all the resorts around Salt Lake. Drive time is 30 min from airport to Park City and about 40 min to Snowbird and Alta.

Hope this helps. Write with more questions. Oh, and you must learn the snow dance!

I had my first skiing lesson as an adult at Brighton (in Utah) and highly recommend it. It's a little resort, so lower key and less expensive, and the instructors were great.

Thanks everybody, knew I could count on FodorFriends. Looks like Copper Mt is the place for us. Prices I found were higher than I expected. Will want to stay in the Union Creek area, near the beginners slopes. There are several places on the site map, but I had trouble finding them on the lodging section of the website. Did find a couple in VRBO that look promising.

Special thanks to the suggestions about where to rent gear and private lessons.

Any suggestions on accommodations? Will probably be just the 2 of us, so 1bedroom condo or maybe even hotel would be fine.

First off, there is min advantage to staying in the Union Creek area. I would go with the best deal you can find on VRBO I would encourage you to stay in the center village area just because it could be more convenient all the way around. It is a two minute bus ride from the center to Union Creek.

Wish I had seen this earlier. I would have also recommended Steamboat Springs, CO and Sun Valley, ID. They both have excellent ski schools, and both offer a real town in addition to the ski area for those times when your legs need rest. Many ski areas are a ski mountain along with an adjacent new development made to look like a village. Not real.

Steamboat and Sun Valley both give you access to shops and restaurants that would still be there if there was no skiing. Ditto for Park City.

http://www.familyskihub.com has a good ranking of places that suit beginners. I would have included Jackson Hole, as it is a great town and destination, but not the best terrain for beginners.

I, too, learned to ski as an adult. Lessons, private lessons to follow so you can get off the lift and follow an instructor down the slope with coaching. It is a steep learning curve but the best fun once you can at least do Bunny Hill with confidence. Don't forget warm longjohns and warm socks and very good gloves.

"Not the best terrain for beginners" is more than an understatement."

I think you can make the argument that every ski area as good if not excellent instruction. But the original post was specifically asked for something around Denver or Salt Lake city. And Steamboat is long ways to go just to learn how to ski. Copper Mt is still their best bet.

Idon't know of a ski area that doesn't have an excellent ski school. Oops, see I am echoing Fmpden. Well, it bears repeating.
And Dayle's advice to take lessons is SO right on. There is no need for private lessons, and in fact in the altitude of Colorado, having some "rest time" while others (in a small class anyway!!) do their turns is not a bad thing. There are probably good packages for lift, lesson and equipment--and it could save a lot of "trucking" equipment back to the condo, etc. At least look at it for comparison.
And as a beginner, and taking lessons you will be taken care of at almost any ski area in having appropriate terrain for you.
All in all, fmpden has the best advice. Copper, VRBO,etc.

If they are considering Copper, they may as well consider Winter Park, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Beaver Creek, and simply deal shop. Roughly the same distance from Denver and pretty much interchangeable resorts.

I'd also suggest to anyone that they reconsider having a resort close to Denver as a criteria. The money the could save by flying into Denver will be spent on transit, plus they will kill a day (combined) getting to and from the ski area from the airport. If you hit Denver on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, you'll be stuck in mountain traffic.

The same doesn't go for SLC -- it is a wonderful place to fly into and get to the slopes quickly.

Utah and Colorado are very cold places for skiing. I vastly prefer Lake Tahoe or Whistler.

Maybe I'm alone here but I have found ski instruction to be thoroughly disappointing everwhere (except France). There ARE great instructors, but to just walk up to the ski school and enroll in a random class as first timers, is hit-or-miss at best, IMHO. Part of the problem is not only the quality of instructors that get relegated to the newbie class, but also the other morons (students) that will be in the class. My wife was in a class at Breck where half of the Housewives of Orange County in the class spent more time on their cell phones than paying any attention to the instructor.

At least make sure you are in an ADULT only class.

If you look up Barking Bear Forums, you can likely find a personal recommendation for an instructor at any of the major resorts. If this is really a bucket list type item, spend the $$$ for you and DH to have a private lesson and I'd expect the whole trip to be that much more enjoyable. You seriously can learn more in a half day than spending a week in groups.

For everyone's information (FEI?) the O.P. hasn't been back since Nov.11th.

we took advantage of the Southwest deals and going to Vail but Winter Park outside of Denver about 2 hours drive and the mountain is good for beginners and take lessons!!
Rent your ski's/boots and poles and get short ski's..long ones can be cumbersome when you are learning.
Getting a resort with ski in and out priviledges are super nice but you will pay for it.
Maybe start off with half day lessons and the rest of the day just learning to manuever around and DO NOT LET ANYONE TAKE YOU TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN!

Have fun..I hated my first time skiing but its been a lot of years of skiing and now really enjoy the black diamond trails!

Not particularly cold in March, and I "think" cold is a prerequisite for snow!! ;o)
The trip from Denver airport to Breck, Keystone, etc. is about an hour and a half. Vail is about 2 hours. You arrive on a day, go to the slopes. You leave on a day--go to the airport. We have even skied in the morning on a leaving day. My point is, it is a wash as far as travel time for SLC (where I have also skiied) and the Colorado mountains.
The point about weekend traffic is cogent, but we have even done that on day trips. It works out. Seems slow.
The experience of poor ski instruction has NEVER been ours, and we have never been mixed ages. Lessons are the best investment in health and a happy recreational outcome that can be made!!

Wow, I was shocked to see this post again. I guess OP means Original Poster, right??

We have our tix for Denver first week in March, have a condo (best deal we could find on VRBO) in the center village at Copper. I feel confident there will be plenty for us to do/see/eat/relax at this venue for 4 days. Traveling during the week, so don't think weekend travel will be a problem.

DH will borrow ski wear from DS, I have to get mine. Planning to use shuttle from Denver to Copper. Now if I could just get the resolve to get on the stairmaster, do some lunges, etc.

Yes,rncheryl, OP means original poster. I'm always a bit perplexed by those who never read the dates on a post. I'm sure some go on forever.

Have a great time at Copper and despite what Gretchen says, weekend travel can be a nightmare, but luckily you won't have to deal with it. And, March (as Gretchen mentioned) should be an excellent time for skiing.