My favorite cruising mountain is Snowmass and for a beginner ski it would be ideal for you. It is about 75% green and blue with the blacks at one end and not easily found.

Aspen is not a beginner mountain in anyway shape or form. Does have a couple of green skid road to people off the mountain who over estimated their skiing ability. The Aspen airport is very convenient to use and the airport at Eagle/Vail is only an hour away and may often better flight schedules.

Tremblant Quebec only has tradition as the first ski area in North American but not much more than a big ridge.

And for Colorado, March, especially early March is best. Weather should be mild and snow still good. Feb would be a little less crowd but weather is more variable.

Though I ski Park City every year the runs are much shorter, and don't compare well with an area like Snowmass.

Look at Westin properties for Beaver Creek.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I have been to Beaver Creek before, so we are going to try somewhere new.

Snowmass sounds really nice and they have a brand new Westin that we can stay at.

Any advice on Whistler?

Deer Valley - next to Park City - has some great crusing runs, probably now my favorite for a very nice resort with groomed runs, etc. Have skied at virtually all of the big resorts in the West (except for Jackson Hole) - and while I like Snowmass - I don't put it any higher than others.

The advantage of Park City is that it is not only the closest to an airport (figure 45 minutes to be safe from the Salt Lake Airport - as it takes you 10 minutes from the Freeway to get over to Park City)- the road from the airport is rarely closed - while from the Denver Airport - to get to Aspen/Snowmass - it takes what - 4 hours? - and you have to pass over 3 high passes, which can be closed while they work at removing the snow.

I love the idea of visiting charming Quebec, but for a beginner level skier you have to factor in the possibility of icy conditions in eastern ski resorts.Put Quebec on your summer vacation bucket list.

Plus for Snowmass is that it's also near Buttermilk and that's reputedly a perfect mountain for greenies (wanting to go myself - mountain has more green than a St. Patrick's Day parade). And there's shuttle service between the two.

Minus for Snowmass is that it's in Aspen - far from the nearest MAJOR airport, Aspen is expensive, and the trip on I-70 has a ridiculously high possibility of suck due to weather or traffic or both. Whatever you do, if you go to a Colorado ski area west of Denver, do NOT return to Denver on a Sunday. The traffic is horrendous. Nearly lost it en route from Breck when we left with 5 hours to spare and barely made the airport before the 1-hour check-in mark. (The next time there, we left in the middle of the week - no probs).

<<<Minus for Snowmass is that it's in Aspen - far from the nearest MAJOR airport, Aspen is expensive, and the trip on I-70 has a ridiculously high possibility of suck due to weather or traffic or both.>>>

Two years in a row, my husband's flight out of Aspen was cancelled and he ended up driving out - once in a snowstorm - once to Eagle and once to Denver to fly out.

Yes, Park City would be so easy! The St. Regis is 20k points each and I think we only have enough points to stay for 6 nights. If we went to Snowmass we could stay for 10 nights. I remember the last time we went to Beaver Creek, we stayed 5 nights and it went by way too quick. One day is just to travel and then the first 3 days I spent learning and falling. By the 4th day, I was finally starting to get it and then we had to leave. I want to try and avoid that this next time. However, at the same time, I don't want to stay too long either...

If we go to Aspen, we would probably fly into Vail or Aspen unless Denver has some amazing deal. We are flying from Orlando so it is one whole travel day going there.

Whistler is our favorite ski area, although getting there takes longer than getting to Aspen or PC for us.

Because the base is only 2200 feet, you take altitude issues out of the equation, it is the largest ski area in North America, and the village at the base is wonderful. No shuttle buses to deal with!

We also love PC, but I'd take that out of your equation, as you'd have to limit your time there.

In the Aspen/Snowmass area, if you could stay in the town of Aspen, you could use their good bus service to get to Buttermilk or Snowmass, but be in town for your evenings or any days that you don't ski. Staying at Snowmass is handy for skiing there, and there are restaurants, but it's more of a manufactured condo community than a real town.

You could stay in Salt Lake for a couple of days and ski some of the other great areas - such as Alta and Snowbird - up Little Cottonwood Canyon, and then Solitude and Brighton - up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

We loved Whistler - but were lucky as it had cold/dry snow that week. Some of the time - it can be wet - as it's close to the coast and at a low elevation.

<<Staying at Snowmass is handy for skiing there, and there are restaurants, but it's more of a manufactured condo community than a real town.>>

Completely agree with abram. I've stayed several times in Snowmass during the summer (and enjoyed it) but there is not much to do in the evening. Definitely would stay in Aspen if I wanted more of a vacation setting.

Also, the Westin is the old Silvertree Hotel. I've read good things about the remodel, but I remember the rooms being on the small side at the Silvertree so be sure to check before booking.

I also completely - 1000% - agree with Abram about Aspen/Snowmass. Stay in Aspen, ski at Snowmass. The shuttle is free and easy -- it's about a 20 minute drive.

The problem is that I want to use my Starwood points and those points are either at a St. Regis in Deer Valley Utah or the Westin at Snowmass.

I have been spending a lot of time at the Westin Snowmass lately and I have to say I think that is the best choice. The rooms are completely different than they were when it was the Silvertree. Plus it is right on the slopes of Snowmass Mountain. They also have a lot of retail stores on the mall, six new restaurants, and a sister property called the Wildwood Lodge. It is the perfect apres ski environment.

Wtm003 definitely has a point about the nightlife in Snowmass. It hasn't compared to Aspen in the past. But the three new bars on the Westin property have aided in the liveliness of the area. Plus, if you are a beginner Snowmass is one of the best mountains to learn on. You can always take the bus into Aspen for dinner and nightlife (transport runs until 2:15am).

Is Whistler still on the table? We love it up there. (We are going up with our adult kids between Christmas and New Year's). Yes, it is a a lower altitude, but it is much farther north than th eutah and Colorado resorts. We've never had a problem with th esnow conditions at the top. Often people do not ski all the way back down to the village; they are all set up to download on the lifts on both mountains.

We have had some of our best skiing there (and lots of sunshine) in March. The village area is extensive and there are lots of choices for shops, restaurants, and nightlife.

Welcome back Jill!

Whistler is still on the table, but with the elevation so low what time of year will I be guaranteed snow?

Thanks Happy!

I am sure which roads Tomad is using but the last time I drove to Aspen I only went over one pass, Vail pass. You would have to really go out of the way to find three mountain passes. And it is mostly four lane road all the way. Pretty easy. But Vail can be a slow problem if snowing hard.

Read this to learn more about driving from Denver to Vail - and the high altitude/challenges.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Vail

And from Vail on to Aspen is another two+ hours, assuming good weather.

Jill - some winters - you aren't guaranteed much snow anywhere. But so far this year - it's looking pretty good.

see: http://173.193.223.192/~bestsnow/seas13.htm

Just saw your post on the Fodors Forum. Congratulations on your new son!

The base of Whistler is only 2200', but it's got 5000+ feet of vertical, so the conditions can be much better at the top. We have occasionally found it slushy at the very bottom, but just ski higher and ride the gondola for the bottom 1000'.

If we chose Aspen I believe we would just fly into Aspen's airport.

All such good choices. I'm an Aspen girl though. I just got back from a stay at the Westin Snowmass and really enjoyed it. Great after ski snacks and drinks and a really friendly staff. Snowmass Village makes everything so easy for skiing. The room I stayed in was a good size and it looked out right over the slopes and the hot tub