Loveland CO skiing
 

Hello,
My wife and I are going skiing in Loveland on this Saturday, New Years Eve. We are looking into taking the front range ski bus. We live in the South and I've just got a couple of quick questions. My wife is pretty accomplished as a skier and I'm ok. I was looking into a lesson but want to make sure that we enough time together on the mountain. Basically...I can stand up and turn a little bit. I can make it down the mountain without injuring myself, but I'll be a little wet at the bottom. It looks as if a group lesson will leave only about 3 hours to myself before the slopes close for the day. A private lesson would give me more time but I'm not sure I can book one. Is that enough time to get our money's worth? Or do I take my chances with the bunny slopes and wing it, haha. Back East I've basically skied on ice. We are down south so I'm sure the altitude will have an impact on us. We've only got one day so we want to make the best of it. Thanks for the input.

My advice to you both is to take up X-Country skiing or snowshoeing. Either you will fall and hurt yourself or you will run over someone else. Neither is good.
Remember Sonny Bono?

Well, as I said, one of us is a good skier, the other is trying to take a lesson. But I admire good use of sarcasm...thanks!

I don't think tom was being sarcastic . . . never known him to 'do' sarcasm - usually says what he means.

I don't understand Tom's response either other than to be non-responsive.

I don't understand you comment either - I am OK and then I can stand up and turn a bit. To me, that is a rank beginner but for one day Loveland is not a bad choice especially for a beginner. For your wife, there should be enough challenge for her especially on the upper slopes and the north at Loveland. The drawback to Loveland is that is can be very windy since it is on the east side of the divide.

For yourself, most of the beginners are at Loveland basin - that is a small area below the parking lot and the main base at Loveland. Used to connected by a chair lift but I think that they now use a short shuttle bus. It is only four or five hundred yards separation. It has an excellent practice area for beginners and that is what you need. I would take a half day lesson in the am and spend the pm practicing. The greens at Loveland are very easy so you will do fine. Generally the crowds on New Years Day (and Christmas day) are moderate because of the football games and other activities.

Good luck. I am sure you will do fine and not run into anyone. Remember, downhill skier always has right-of-way.

Kind of a PS to my earlier response. I learned to ski at Loveland in '62 and have skied there from time to time but it has been several years. Tend to drive by on the way to one of the Summit Cty areas. But for your purposes it will work well.

After the above posting decided to check the web site because I was unsure of my comment about the chair lift connection between the two sites. Two things - Loveland Basin is the main ski area and the beginner area below the parking lot is Loveland Valley. Loveland Valley is where you want to go for your lessons. Then I checked prices - they have a package of equipment, half day lesson, full day ticket for $115. That is an exceptional good deal - take it. You cannot get on a chair lift anywhere else in Colorado for anything less than about $150 at that time of year. Sorry about the misinformation on the names.

Now for some extra advice - Rent a car. It will give you some additional flexibility. Hit the Buffalo bar in Idaho Spring on you way down the mountain. Try the green chili - you have to like spice. My old Mexican skiing partner used to say only his mother made better green chili. You could mix it with a little red to de-tune it. Nice way to end you day of skiing. We rarely missed it but John now skis the big mountain in the sky.

Thanks for the replies. I think that we will have a great time!

Just saw you earlier question about skiing on NY's eve. I will comment on it here and especially on a couple of the responses.

I do think it would make sense to rent a car for the day. If staying downtown it is an easy and direct shot via I-70 to Loveland. It is an easy drive and there is no snow in the forecast for this weekend.

Nearly all rentals in Colorado will have adequate tires for the snow unless by an odd chance it is a dropped car from Florida. Second since you have min experience driving in snow, an all wheel/4 wheel drive can actually be more dangerous in your hands than a standard front wheel drive so skip that choice.

There should not be much congestion returning Friday night into Denver. Probably heavier going the other way. And, again make a stop in Idaho Springs. If the Buffalo Bar isn't attractive to you, then try the Tommykocker Brewery just a few doors west on the corner. Excellent local craft beef.

Good luck ---

Sorry if I confused anyone about Sonny's tragic death.
Sonny skied for 20 winters. Sonny skied alone on the Nevada side of the mountain. Sonny crashed into a tree. Sonny's body was not found until about 2 hours after he crashed into the tree on January 6, 1998. Cher joked about how warm it is where Sonny went.
Please, don't either of you go skiing alone. Stick together even if the better skier has to take frequent breaks.

I go skiing alone all the time, lots of people do. Well, except for all the other people on the trails, that is.

Sonny Bono was doing tree skiing, that is often what can cause problems. that's why he skiied into a tree and wasn't on the groomed runs. I ski on the NV side of Heavenly every year or two and I've never come close to skiing into a tree, and I'm alone most of the time. Sonny was skiing off-piste, not on marked trails. I think he had been on Orion, which is a blue run, and then decided to go into the trees on his own. And he hadn't been skiing alone, he was with his family when he decided to go off and do that. It was recklessness, not skiing alone that caused the problem. That's why he wasn't found for 2 hrs, because he wasn't on the regular marked trails.

I don't think it makes any difference if the OP skis with his wife or not if he is on the green slopes with dozens of others. Tree skiing is dangerous. Let's hope the OP doesn't do dangerous things.

I am with you Christina. Still don't understand the Bono reference or cc skiing. I have had a couple of acquaintances who have been severely injured while cross country skiing. CC skiing has it own set of risks.

Skiing has risks. Just yesterday a mother from Texas and two daughters fell from chairlift. The mother died and one of the girls is severely injured. The first chairlift death in CO in fourteen years. It is rare but things happen.

I have skied a lot of trees, sometimes alone, and agreed that is not the smartest thing to do. My biggest fear is drowning in a tree well.

Somehow I don't think someone who can barely turn is going to be a danger to any trees near a green slope. Where ever the wife is at, she will not be alone.

But if I recall the time correctly, Sonny and the Kennedy death DID have the effect of emphasizing the need for helmets, which was probably long overdue.

The question of helmets of not clear cut. Just like on bicycles. While it is common sense to wear a helmet and I have for years it may not provide that much increased protection. Death from running into a tree is generally caused by blunt force damage to the body and not the head. And some indications are that helmets increase risky behavior especially for teens and young adults. BUT, everyone in our family wears a helmet.

The first hour I wore a helmet I was cut down from behind in a lift line that slammed the back of my head against frozen ground. As I laid there seeing stars and thinking this hurts now - and wondered how much worse this would have been without a helmet. The two times I have been injured skiing have occurred in lift lines - one at Breckenridge and once at Beaver Creek.

Your back. Tell us how it went. Probably was a little if not a lot windy. At least it will be fairly warm for the game. Today's rumor is that the coach will resign after the game.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to Denver.