First Ski Trip (sort-of)
 

I am planning to take my wife on a 3-4 day ski trip in Feb or March. I am an intermediate skier and have been to Winter Park twice and Lake Tahoe but she has never been skiing. I don't quite have an Aspen or Beaver Creek budget. Based on what I have seen so far, I am still considering Breckenridge, Steamboat, Park City/Deer Valley, and Jackson Hole. We would like to some decent dining options at night and possibly a non-skiing activity one day (snowmobiling, etc). We'll be flying out of Atlanta. Can anyone help me narrow my choices? Thanks!

Park City would be a good choice - 45 min from airport, free shuttle around town and to ski areas, choice of 3 ski areas right in town, lots of restaurants, shopping and lodging options, a real town with atmosphere. The Seafood Buffet at Deer Valley (much more than seafood) is fabulous if you want to splurge.

Thanks for the information. I think we are leaning torwards Park City. If we choose Deer Valley, do you know if there is a way to get discounted lift tickets? Any lodging recommendations? Has anyone used luxurylink.com or priceline to bid on a place to stay?

Deer Valley is certainly a peer with Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen. So if those are off you list, so might Deer Valley but you do have Park City and the Canyons.

Forget Jackson Hole. It is no place for a first skier who wants to have a positive experience. It is tough, tough mountain.

If the emphasis on a good, first time experience for a non-ski, seriously consider Copper Mt. It is one of the best laid out mountains for skier separation with an excellent ski school and good discounts available especially if you schedule in some off times. The last week of Feb would work very well. For a 3,4 day trip the base service are adequate and you can quickly drive to Vail if you want an upscale dining experience one evening. And Breckenridge would also be a good choice.

Yes, I agree that Copper is a great mt but there is no town there. You have to decide what is important to you. Sorry, I don't know about discounted lift tickets but others on this site might or Google. Have heard that local stores might be a source. Airlines and hotels will also have pkg deals for lodging, lift tickets, rental equipment.

How far a drive is Vail from Copper Mountain? Thanks for all of the helpful information.

Depending on the weather, 20, 25 minutes. Copper sits at the foot of Vail pass and Vail sits at the foot on the other side. Copper has been redeveloped extensively over the past few years.

You can buy discount Deer Valley tickets at Christy Sports--they are all over the Salt Lake Valley. I love skiing there--even on weekends it doesn't get too busy (they limit the number of lift tickets sold, and a lot of people seem more concerned with looking good in the lodges than actually skiing!). It also has good lodge food and a great free mountain tour, which you can do while your wife is in lessons. If you're trying to get your wife excited about ski trips, Park City is nice--it has lots of town activities, plus 3 ski areas with easy transportation from town (don't worry about staying at Deer Valley if it's over your budget--it's easy to get there from town). There is quite a variety of lodging in Park City so you should find something that fits your budget--just avoid Pres Day weekend and the Sundance Film Festival. You might find that lessons are cheaper at Park City Mountain Resort or the Canyons, so don't forget about those areas.

You don't say how you are going to handle her not being a skier, and you being a skier. I assume she would be in ski school, and you might also, but certainly in a different class and location on the mountain. Since that is just about the only daytime scenario that makes sense, I'd choose a cute town/ski area--Breckenridge comes to mind. Or Keystone even. The ski schools for beginners are all very good. And the ambience of the village is very nice for shopping and dining for that short time. Another possibility would be Steamboat.

I agree with Gretchen regarding Breckenridge. I think the Peak 9 area at Breck would be great at meeting the needs of both you and your wife. The upper part of that area is filthy with blue intermediate runs, while the greens at the bottom are where the beginner ski schools play. You could easily check on your wife after taking some runs on your own. You could also easily join her for lunch.

My husband I started skiing at the same time, but he quickly moved to intermediate slopes while it took me longer. We've also taken beginners with us on trips, so had to face some of these questions. We have skied WP, Breck, Keytsone, Steamboat, Squaw, a smaller place at Tahoe whose name I don't remember, and Deer Valley.

PWP (as you may know)--cheaper nonstops to DEN from ATL, discount tickets from the grocery enroute, lower cost lodging, etc. We thought the ski school was great. We could meet easily at the lodge by the Beginner slopes for lunch by my husband skiing down to meet me. Once I could go up to the top for High Lonesome, we spent even more time together and could meet at Sunspot. You know the town isn't at the base, dining options are limited. We did snowmobiling one trip--very scenic, tubing.

Breck--same logistics/costs pros except longer drive from DEN. Town at base (though we stayed at Keystone base). We could meet up, but I don't remember where. Although it had many wide slopes, we found Breck more crowded (especially at lifts) and less enjoyable ambiance than WP. More dining. Ice skating available.

Steamboat--took connecting flight so not long drive, but possible weather delays. Reasonably priced ski-in lodging so easier for one to go back to the unit during the day. I don't remember the slopes well for Green/Blue interaction--I was on the blues by then. Town is a drive away from slopes, like WP. We didn't do other activities.

Deer Park--more expensive, but direct flights available to SLC. Very easy drive to Park City. Reasonable cost lodging in town--we've stayed several places based on price. Discount tickets at any of the sports store or ski rentals in SLC, but not in Park City, so buy before you drive up. Very consumer satisfaction oriented. Workers try to keep you happy, help with gear, politely keep lift lines organized and moving, keep everything clean. Free overnight ski storage. Again, I am on the blues now, so I can't comment about the interaction places for beginners and intermediates. Lots of restaurants in town. Park City ski area is adjacent to town, but DP is out on the edge by a residential area. We haven't checked out other activities there.

To me, the cost of lift tickets is similar in all these places, especially if you buy in advance and do not go at holiday/peak. I rent skis offsite, so that keeps costs similar (DP onsite rental is most expensive). I don't know about relative cost of ski schools. I think food on-mountain everywhere is horribly expensive. At WP the price used to vary between the lodges for the same item. At DP, it is expensive, but higher quality.

The deciding factors for us returning to DP for at least 3 years now are the lower elevation--I get headaches and sleeplessness in CO, lower combined cost of hotel/rental car, ease of driving--less concern about driving over the CO passes in snowstorm, and the customer service at DP. Other folks prefer the other resorts for different reasons. Wish I could give you more advice about how easy the green/blue interaction is at these resorts.

I guess you mean Deer Valley. PCP?
While talking about greens and blues--and it has been a while since we've been there, but one reason we loved Vail was that there were greens on top of the mountain. If it was too much to ski down, you could take the gondola.
We have skied at Snowbird and my impression of the mountains there is that they are steeper than some of Colorado's. Anyone?

It seems like the lift tickets at all of the above mentioned ski resorts are about the same price (about $250 for Feb 27-Mar 2). I couldn't find the lift ticket prices for Steamboat. To price out our trip, we have flight, hotel, lift tickets, equipment and food...am I missing anything else?

Car rental?

Where is PWP?

Sorry--
for some reason I mix Park City and Deer Valley and get Deer Park all the time. So DP is Deer Valley.

Dean, also remember ground transportation, either rental car or van/shuttle to the ski resort. Most all the resorts have some sort of local bus service to/from the slopes if you prefer not to have a car. We've done both, but usually rent a car if the price is not too high so that we can stop at a grocery or ski shop to buy discount lift tickets, rent skis easily away from the resort, and just have more flexibility. Only places we have stayed ski-in/out were Steamboat and Keystone, but then we still needed a car or the bus to get to town.

The cost of shuttles, at least in Colorado, probably come to the price of a rental car. One year in Vail (and when shuttle prices were very reasonable) we did without a car.
YOur price/budget doesn't include ski lessons. That would be an absolute top of my list for both of you. You will improve IMMENSELY, and your wife will learn. There really isn't any other way for her to get on the slopes, except with a lesson. If I recall correctly, lessons are usually priced with price oflift ticket included.

Thanks to everyone who helped me! I visited with a friend who suggested I stay at the Silverado Lodge at The Canyons. Possibly ski a couple days at DV and a couple of days at the Canyons. Before I pull the trigger and book everything, is there any disadvantage to booking lodging and lift tickets now? I have my flights covered through sky miles. Thanks!

Yes, lessons will be taken for sure!!

have you booked your sky miles? I mean can you? I have more and more trouble doing it. No advantage to booking lift tickets that I can see. you need to investigate the lessons.

Sorry, I didn't mean sky miles....it is actually VISA rewards points through my business credit card.