Googs

This is all so awesome. Thank you.

I wish the Whitefish web site was set up a little better. Looking at the lodging take a lot of back and forth.

When I hear magical (Crested Butte) Tabernash2, my head is all a flutter.

Snowmass, Park City and Copper are interesting too. I call it a ski trip, but we will probably only ski two days as my husband isn't as keen on skiing as the rest of us. : ( The town is suddenly very important to this trip.

Dayle

Hi Googs,

I live in Park City and finally have a moment to chime in here. I've skied all over the western US and Canada and even the Italian Dolomites for over 40 years. I've lived in Park City for 14 yrs.

I loved my trips to CO and Canada and Italy. A bad day skiing is always better than a good day at work!

I think the advantages of doing a trip to Park City for a beginner family are:

super easy airport, rarely closed or delayed, 30 min drive to the Park City slopes

free shuttle buses take you everywhere around the town and all resorts, no car needed unless you want one. You can take a shuttle service from the airport to town.

all 3 PC areas have very good beginner/intermed runs all over the mountain. If the conditions are a little too spring-like for you, just go up and ski the upper half of the mountains. There are green/blue runs all the way to the bottom of all 3 resorts.

skiing in PC is usually very good thru the END of March. Conditions will be just fine for beginners. It's not like you are coming for deep powder in the bowls.

PC, like most larger resort towns, has plenty to do on the non-skiing days: Olympic Park (highly recommend!), Main Street with its galleries & restaurants, sleigh rides, hot air ballooning, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, dog sledding, tubing, snowmobiling, etc.

Yes, spring break time is very busy at all tourist destinations, not just ski resorts.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll be happy to help if I can.

Powder to the people!

Tabernash2

Copper is not a cute town. It's a newish development right near the freeway.

BetsyG

We love Breckenridge, main advantage over Keystone is more lodging is closer to lifts. Ski school is convenient. It is a quaint town. If you decide to go go there I can give you restaurant recs. after years of going there, we have our favorites.

fmpden

At 42 years of age, I would hardly call Copper Mountain newish but it a basic ski resort right off I-70. It is not a town by itself. Breckenridge is an old mining towns with a couple of original buildings left. It is the county seat for Summit Cty. Has a public recreation center with a very nice indoor pool for those not interested in skiing.

Breckenridge it expanded its skiing area by 32% this year. Headed to Breck for a week on Saturday so will have a report on the new area next week.

Tabernash2

Did you see the news that Breckenridge recently dynamited a small wooden lodge on their property that had become a place for skiers/boarders to stop in and light up a joint?

A local news team went into the building undercover, filmed what happened there, and told the Breckenridge admin, who were understandably concerned about doped up skiers/boards on its slopes.

A valid concern, especially if their property provides the perfect place to toke up on the hill. They just blew it to smithereens.

fmpden

No Breckenridge did not dynamited a wooden lodge. In fact, the report did not indicate where the lodge was although you might draw that conclusion since the video was shot at Breckenridge. But judge for yourself -

http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=379276

Vail has been removing all of these structures from all of their properties - Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge.

I know you like to rip on Summit Cty ski resorts but at least be accurate with what you post.

Tomsd

Park City is the easiest to get to from a major airport (45 minutes) - with plenty of things to do.
EWould put the Summit - Breckinridge, Copper, Keystone (and the more advanced Arapahoe Basin) - with Vail 20 minutes down the freeway - as second -only because you have to go over 3? high mountain passes to get there from the Denver airport - about 2? hours if it's clear.

Tomsd

And Creste Butte could have been magical - as almost any ski resort can be with the right conditions.

fmpden

Tom, you are forgetting your geography. You go over no passes getting to Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper but under the divide with the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels. If continuing on to Vail, you have Vail pass and it closer to 45 mins than 20 from the Frisco area.

Tabernash2

Fmpden, get over yourself. You think you are the Grand Poobah of all things Colorado.

http://ski.curbed.com/archives/2014/...n-colorado.php

Yes, it was blown up. Yes, it was Breckenridge.

rncheryl

Well, I think Fmpden IS the Colorado expert. He steered us to Copper for our first skiing trip. We were right in center village with easy access to the lift.

Husband and sons are in Breckenridge right now. I thought the two 30somethings would like a bit more night life than at Copper.

By the way, I would certainly recommend renting a condo for your family, as opposed to a hotel. Privacy, breakfast, snacks, naps, washer/dryer, etc.

Tabernash2

Yup. He steers everyone to the same place.

BetsyG

Seems to me getting rid of these shacks is a good thing. By the way, these shacks also exist or existed at Winter Park. Google it. I personally think you will always find out of control skiers, some drug induced & many not. I can admit to have been one of the later on occasion.
Googs, I think your family would like Breck. It is easy to get to, just don't go home on Sunday. Definitely look into condos, many options available.
I would wait to make reservations if you are thinking march, 2015. See what the snow has been like where as it can be good or not.

Gretchen

Yup. He steers everyone to the same place

Not really true--I believe he has given the various qualities of most of the areas in CO--Snowmass, Summit County areas, etc. They all have their interest points, depending on who is asking. I'm no expert but CAN comment from the point of view of a fairly frequent visitor for that perspective. Our CO family has become Copper skiers in the past couple of years, having a house in Frisco instead of Silverthorne and really enjoy it. We used to love Vail for our visits from NC. DD was an instructor at Winter Park and son at Aspen. Fun to visit them all for various reasons.

Tomsd

fmd - Vail is about 27 miles - sort of down the hill from Frisco - and assuming you can do the 70 mph - how long does that take one normally?

And you do hit some high points between the Denver airport and The Summit - if memory serves me correctly.

Tomsd

Even so - still much easier and faster to get to Park City from the Salt Lake airport than to The Summit from the Denver airport.

Tomsd

37 miles v. 95 miles - and no high climbs on the way to Park City.

sylvia3

No "high climbs" to Summit County, either. And the elevation makes the late season snow better.
Better bars.
More lodging options.

abram

We've been staying in Frisco since Feb 2; when the roads are clear and the weather is good, it takes us 30 minutes to get to Vail--but the Vail Pass does get closed sometimes. Friends went to Beaver Creek (10 minutes past Vail) for a dance performance and got stuck there when the pass closed.

For me, one consideration is where you can fly non-stop. If you'd be flying out of MSP and can get to SLC non-stop, I'd pick Park City--we've had great times there. If you can fly non-stop to Hayden, Steamboat is one of our favorite areas.