Please help - I have never skied outside of Maryland (on hills not mountains)...Where would you recommend for a weekend in Denver?

Considering Summit County area (ie copper mt) or eldora....Have Marriott points for Bolder or Golden areas. Which would you suggest? And what is is there to do ie restaurants etc.

Or should I just spend the money and stay at a resort for the weekend.

I may not get back soon so I want to make the most of it....Thanks for your help.

Hello again Kerry, one thing to think about is the traffic on hwy 70 is horrid on weekends. I would stay in Summit rather than drive back and forth. Eldora is not in Summit County BTW. Me if I was travelling all that way I would stay in the mountains. It is part of the whole expierence.

If you could give a bit more info on your budget, likes and dislikes we could probably help you better. Under your other post I gave hostels at the lower end of budgets. I like hostels when traveling solo, easy to meet folks, but I know its not for everyone. There are a number of B&Bs in the area that offer the opportunity to meet others while staying in a private room.

Hi Coskier....

Thanks so much for your replies. I would stay in a hostel but my husband would never consider it. I am going to a business conference in Englewood that starts on a Monday and wanted to take advantage of the weekend to ski and my husband agreed (!) to tag along as it wouldn't cost much more.

Since I had a Marriott weekend pass I thought I'd try one of those but it doesn't put me too close to the action.

We decided to stay in Golden and travel to Copper Mtn. You say the traffic is bad so do you suggest that we leave real early as we will still be somewhat on east coast time??

We don't have a budget but since this was a last minute thing, I didn't want to spend money on a hotel if I don't have to; rather splurge on dinner.

I don't even know if I can ski on powder....so used to ice and / or mush. Also worried about the altitude; as sea level is my comfort zone.

Thanks again for your help...I think we'll have a good time regardless of what we do, plus there's always the scenery and we think we'll spend Friday just tooling around looking for good sighseeing spots.

Happy New Year,

Kerry

Kerry: I am from east coast too...Copper is fabulous! You can ski on it...alot of the trails are groomed just like home, but without all the bogus ice! Summit county has a bus that runs non-stop for a little money...you can go anywhere w/o driving. copper is now a little town too, so there are restaurants right on site...a gym, pool...everything you need. Traffic on rt 70 is bad and the conditions can be pretty bad too if there is weather...wherever you decide to stay, copper is an excellent choice...you'll love it!

Kerry, you are smart to be concerned about the altitude - Copper is one of the highest ski areas. I ski about 30 days/yr in New England and Europe and spend a lot of time in the mountains, though I live near sea level. I flew to Denver a few years ago and immediately drove to Copper, where I spent a miserable two days with altitude sickness, after which I was fine. There's apparently no way to predict who'll get it, and overall cardiovascular fitness doesn't provide immunity. Your plan to stay at a lower altitude may be the right way to go, in spite of the traffic, or you may want to talk to your doctor about getting some of the pills that can apparently help considerably. Don't let any of that deter you, however, the area and the skiing are both great.

Oh I did not realize your with your hubby. Yes go early leave by 6:30 and your at the mtn by 7:30. Have breakfast at the mtn. If you can stay later perhaps have dinner in the mtns and you will miss the traffic. if not well your in traffic about 1.5/2 hours on the way home. The only place in Copper that I can reccomend for dinner is the Motorcycle Cafe. In Frisco the Blue Spruce on Main St, in Idaho Springs great Pizza at Buea Jo's, it is on the way back to Golden. Denver has some great resturants in the Lodo Area. You should get to Lodo while your here. It is what makes Denver a great town IMHO. Many threads on places in Denver to eat.

I'll chime in on the altitude sickness issue here, if you are thinking of only doing a weekend in Denver. You need to add at least one day to your trip to get used to the altitude. We learned this the hard way -- foolhardy to think you can fly out west and ski the same day or even early on the next day if you arrive only the night before. You need to get a good night's sleep, drink gallons of liquid and take it easy the first day. The air is really different at 10,000 feet!!!

If you have only been on small hills I would not suggest copper. Personally I have always thought Winter Park has some of the easiest runs around,very long with little slope. They also have more difficult runs as well. Winter Park is one of the closer resorts to where you will be staying in Golden. Otherwise I would suggest Breckenridge. Keystone is also close.The last time I took my husband (who has been on skis maybe 2 times) we went to Keystone and I remember that their little beginner area is at the top of the mountain and what a pain in the butt it was for him to get down. Wherever you go, be very careful and make sure you are aware of what is going on around you. I know someone who is still in a leg brace from last March after getting run down.

LenLeigh, I must disagree with your suggestion of Breck. Have you been lately? We went weekend before last. Was downright dangerous! We left after 4 runs. Each run we saw wrecks serious enough to require medical help! No one paying any attention to the "code". Crazy! To all: Know the Code and follow it!

At Copper at least they keep the beginner runs together. Hopefully no one will go bombing down the green runs.

Warning Rant: What is it with all the doom and gloom about altitude? Yes some get a bit quesy, headache, trouble sleeping but MOST do not. If all got sick I would have the Mountain to myself! Best thing to do is drink plenty of H20 both BEFORE you get here and while your here. Asprin helps some too. Lay off the booze that first night. Your sleeping low so you should be fine.

Have fun and lets us know how it went.

I agree with coskier about Breckenridge and altitude. My husband and myself were in Vail and Breck the week prior to Christmas. We live on the East Coast (upstate, NY). We did not care for Breck for the same reason coskier mentioned. We saw more people coming down in the baskets plus many people at the base with crutches, cast's etc. It was too congested at the base areas. As for the altitude, we made a point of drinking plenty of water before and there and only had one glass of wine the night we arrived and had no problems.
Have fun!!

As far as closeness goes you're looking at Winter Park, Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, then Vail (in that order). All of them are great and all of them have excellent variety of runs. Just get a trail map and you'll be fine.

Please pay no attention to the warnings about danger at Breckenridge, the sames thing can happen at any of the resorts, just be safe and cautious where ever you go. Its my personal favorite. Great skiing, its close and it has a great little town to wander afterwards. For eating, try the Blue River Bistro or the Breckenridge Brewery.

I moved to Denver from Chicago 9 years ago and balanced many college classes around a hefty skiing habit. Truthfully I wouldn't worry about altitude sickness, especially if you'll be in Golden prior to heading to the Mountains (try the tour at the Coors brewery, its kinda fun). Of course traffic can get bad, but is never the end of the world. Get up there early and leave late and you'll be fine.

Long story short....You'll love it where ever you go. Enjoy the trip.

For closeness WinterPark would be good it the roads are clear. I really think you would enjoy staying AT the resort if you can swing it. Otherwise get up early and drive.
Drink LOTS of water and take an aspirin for the altitude. Water is absolutely key--force it like you have the flu.