kureiff

It's about 7 to 8 hours from Bozeman to Salt Lake City.

As for airlines, check Alaskan Airlines. Unfortunately, there are rarely good deals.

MaureenB

Jayneann, since this is all new to us, I only know that flying Denver to Bozeman is at least $321 non-stop on United, and that's considered a deal! Supply and demand, I guess. With just a couple of weeks' notice, I was seeing flights at $521 best case. Some flights do go from Denver to Salt Lake to Bozeman, so you could plan your flights around that type of itinerary.

Your son said the same thing my son says-- that in addition to being a great sport, skiing is his social outlet, too, not partying.

P.S. Boulder is CU, not UC (the California schools are called the 'UC' schools). And the Bozeman school is Montana State U, or MSU. The University of Montana is Missoula, which is suppposed to be a great college town, too. Much bigger than Bozeman, I think, though, and further north.
>-

BetsyG

And University of Denver is DU not UD.
Go figure.

Jayneann

Thanks for all the info!!

kureiff

Maureen's right, good deals are hard to come by, but I just saw in the paper that Alaskan Airlines was just advertising reduced fares for the summer, so definately check out their website for prices.

Missoula's a great college town! It's about the same size as Bozeman though.

Jayneann

Thank you again! You're all so helpful!!

BarryK

dadof3 - FYI, when I was skiing in Summit Co last month, on the way up the chair lift, I was chatting with a bus driver from Copper. He lives in Copper-employee housing. It's the building that used to be the Club Med. I didn't ask him what it cost, but considering what the rooms look like (I'd been to that Club Med before it closed) it must be cheap!

Jayneann - good luck to you and your son with his plans.

Jayneann

Thank you Barry!!!

julie_Colorado

My husband is a Vail ski instructor... While the housing looks crummy and is crummy... it is not cheap!... We don't live their - but several of his South American and Australian friends do...

erinnq

Ok - I had to jump in here. Went to CU Boulder - and really did not have the time or money to go ski every weekend. I made it up a fair amount of time but knew that if I seriously wanted to ski - I had to graduate on time (or my parents would not continue to contribute to my education) and move to a ski area to get a mountain job for the free pass.

So I did.

Worked two jobs but still skied about everyday and my one winter in paradise has turned in to 24! I played a long time - got married at 38 and had kids at 39 and 41...and now I'm still skiing and biking with them! I've got a great job with great benefits(been there 18 years)working 24 hours a week and my husband is a very successful contractor (who quit college and worked his way up in the business) who works spring, summer and fall and then takes off the winter to play and travel (Costa Rica in January!).

We've got it made - we both enjoyed our youth (you don't grow up in a ski town till you hit 40...or 50...or 60), are really enjoying our middle age with our young kids, and plan to retire when the youngest graduates so we can travel...and ski!

Eat your hearts out! Tell your son to go to school and then follow his dreams to the mountains!

Jayneann

Hi erinnq,

Do you know that you posted on this thread while I posted on your Costa Rica thread last night! Or, maybe you clicked on my name which prompted you to repond here. Isn't Fodors great?

Anyway, thanks for posting and glad to hear that as you've "matured", you still love to ski! We ski also, although we've been traveling quite a bit over the last few years so we're not heading to the mountains too much anymore. We just came back from 2 weeks in Italy, ahh..............

My son still wants to "look" at Colorado colleges, so we'll be visiting this winter. Truthfully, he'll probably end up choosing the college that gives him the best financial package (although he's being very selective with the colleges he's thinking of applying to)!

I agree it's important to follow your dreams, lucky you! Do you still work at one of the mountains?

erinnq

Yes - I clicked on your name - and could not resist commenting. I work for the mountain in the travel (big surprise)department. Colorado Mtn College has several campuses in the mountains. They are 2 year institutions that offer core requirements. At graduation you can transfer to a 4 yr college. www.coloradomtn.edu. We are planning a trip to Italy in September 09 - our 10 yr anniversary. Without kids - want to do a bike and eat trip through Umbria/Tuscany.

DebitNM

I just did a fast skim of replies. Not sure if anyone has suggested Ft. Lewis College in Durango.

It is a great school set in a spectacular location and the campus is beautiful. It is a top rated school. Small classes. Princeton Review named
Fort Lewis one of America’s
Best Value Colleges

Durango is a small town [24,000] and is safe too. Lots of possibilities for PT jobs if that is needed. Great snowboarding too.

www.fortlewis.edu

Oh, it makes for a great place to visit on Parent's Weekend too <grin>

Hope this helps..
Debi

Jayneann

erinnq,

Thanks for getting back to me. Sounds like you have a great job! I'm very excited to begin planning a trip to Colorado since we'll be visiting colleges AND taking some time to ski/snowboard!

DebitNM,

Thanks for the suggestion about Ft. Lewis College. It sounds great, plus the cost is reasonable. However, I think I read it's 345 miles from Denver. Which airport do the Durango folks use?

DebitNM

Durango has an regional airport with flights to/from Denver {United}, Salt Lake City {Delta} and Phoenix {US Airways}. The closest large airport is actually Albuquerque [ABQ] which is 250 miles away and about a 3 hour drive.
Debi

Jayneann

Thanks Debi! It amazing to imagine how spread out Colorado is since I'm from little Massachusetts where no state drive is more than 2 hours in any direction for me!!!

Would it be too difficult to drive from Denver to Durango (also interested in touring Gunnison) when doing college visits, or should we plan to fly? We'll probably go during February school vacation, and I'm not sure how treacherous the driving conditions are at that time in CO. Thanks again!

DebitNM

It is about a 6 hour drive from Denver to Durango in good weather. The majority of the drive is not on interstate and would require some driving through mountains and passes. Durango [SW Colorado for that matter] is not near any interstate. February typically is a pretty snowy month here.

Flying from Denver to Durango is pretty expensive is bought as a stand alone ticket. It is more affordable as part of ticket from east coast i.e. BOS to DRO to BOS. United has a lock on the route so it charges a lot.
Debi

Jayneann

Thanks Debi! Guess we are going to have to be very selective when choosing which colleges to visit. He's still interested in Utah and Montana too!

I guess I like the idea of Colorado better with a direct flight on SW, Providence to Denver!

BetsyG

Jayneann - I am the one whose daughter decided on DU with a small but helpful scholarship. She starts Sept. 2 so I can let you know how she is doing. I hope you will visit there, they do have a good business school. I was very impressed with the facilities, including a brand new hotel & restuarant management building. My daughter got into their Honors Program & will dorm in an Honors hall. There are several other themed living arrangements, environmental, social justice, health, leadership, etc. One very nice feature is a light rail stop next to campus so kids can get downtown without driving. You may be used to this but for us, not having kids driving around is nice. Just curoius, where do you live?

BillJ

Years ago, while my son was attending Graduate School at CU in Boulder, I found myself quite accidently in a social situation with one of the regents. During the conversation, one interesting thing he said was that the vast majority (something like 80%) of out of state attendees to CU did not return home at the completion of their studies, opting instead to stay in or near the the Rockies.
Something about those Rockies!