Elmiller

We want to take the kids 16, 12 and 10 skiing in Colorado the week before Christmas (should be cheaper then). This will be our first time to ski so looking for a good ski school, charming ski town and other activities available appealing especially to the kids. Any special deal anyone knows about would be great too! Thanks in advance for any help you can give skiiers!

Coskier

Aspen fits the bill, there is Buttermilk for learning, one of the best beginner mtns http://aspensnowmass.com/buttermilk/
The town is great and Snowmass has great runs that you would like too.

Then there is Breckenridge, but I personnaly do not care to ski there, you could always drive over to Keystone to ski a day or 2. Keystone has lots of other activites though no real town. Keystone has an excellent ski school. As to deals try renting a condo direct from the owners, typically much less than through an agency. Look at vrbo.com, http://www.mountainskiresorts.com and www.summitnet.com
For some resorts you can get discounted lift tickets @ King Soopers grocery stores in Denver, you might try calling to see.

Coskier

PS keystone has an offer of 99.00 for 4 days lifts as does Copper Mtn. you might call the resorts to get details. That offer expires pretty soon though.

paige

You might check out Crested Butte. In the past they have had a deal where kids pay their age for lift tickets. Of course if they'll be in ski school that may not matter. I love the town and the mountain has plenty of varied terrain. We took our kids to Crested Butte more than any other resort when they were that age.

cmeyer54

Steamboat was great for beginners - horseback riding, hot springs pools, skating in town; good ski school; plenty of ski-in/ski-out condos. Kids also liked (in order): Crested Butte, Telluride, Snowmass/Aspen, Vail, Copper, Keystone and Breckenridge. All will have good ski schools, other activites as well especially around the holidays.

abram

Steamboat is a great choice, although a little harder to get to than Summitt County.

We prefer skiing at Breckenridge to Keystone, which can get quite icy. The town of Breckenridge is fun to walk around, and there are often restaurant specials before Christmas. I think the christmas pricing starts December 20, the Saturday before Chrsitmas.

Coskier

Hi ran across this deal for beginners @ Keystone
Learn to Ski and Ride at Keystone, only $249!
Price includes three days of beginner lessons, rental equipment and lift tickets. Graduates of the Ski & Ride program will then receive a free season pass valid at Keystone, Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin

You must buy them at Denver area stores

Colorado Ski and Golf
Boulder Ski Deals
Bicycle Village
Grand West Outfitters
*Package is for beginners only and the first lesson must be completed by 1/31/04.

Strive

Elmiller,

Here's a second vote for both Aspen/Snowmass Village and Keystone. Coskier is right in that Aspen IS a great town with tons to do four different ski mountain to choose from. For beginners you have Buttermilk/
Tiehack which features a wide variety of beginner/intermediate slopes as well as several advanced. Snowmass Village also has many beginning/intermediate runs in addition to many advanced. Aspen Highlands offers mostly intermediate and advanced to expert. And then there's Ajax mountain in downtown Aspen where they tape most of the pro events. Ajax is mostlly advanced to expert with some intermediate. All four areas are within fifteen minutes of one another.

Keystone, on the other hand, is just a great all-around mountain featuring something for every level of skier. While it doesn't have much of a town, as coskier pointed out there is still much to do there. They also have some great restaurants (The Ranch at Keystone is world-class) one of which is Der Fondue Chessel (sp?). This is a fun fondue restaurant at the top of the mountain featuring multi-course fondue dinners that are fun for the whole family. Keystone also has the added attraction of offering night skiing (you can even ski down the mountain after dinner at the fondue restaurant!).

Keystone is also pretty close to some other ski areas such as Breckenridge (about 45 minutes) Copper Muntain (about 3o minutes) and Vail (about 45 -1 hour). This way if you ever get bored, you can always venture out.

By the way, I think Keystone usually has their "Winterfest" celebration around this time. Go to www.keystoneresort.com to check it all out.

Have a great trip!

Strive

Coskier

Stive agree with all you said except the time to Breck. If you take Swan Mtn Rd it is about 15-20 min depending on weather.