Attnymom

We are looking for a place to take our Danish exchange student skiing this March. We have always skied in Colorado, but this year we would like to find someplace further West because we will go from the ski resort to Seattle for the rest of our spring break.

Having a charming town nearby with restaurants, coffee shops, good shopping, etc... is important to me as I am not a huge skier. Ideally, we would like to walk to restaurants and to the ski lifts if possible. I guess what I am looking forward is Breckenridge (or the like), but further west.

I have looked at Whistler, which seems to fit the bill perfectly, but I am a little concerned about the logistics of taking him out of the country. I have also considered Bend, Taos, and Sun Valley.

Have you been to any of these places, and if so, would you recommend them? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

MichelleY

Northstar at Tahoe, close to the cute town of Truckee.

Gretchen

Why not just where you know, and then go on to Seattle from Denver? isn't about the same thing over all? Just a thought.

Attnymom

Thanks Michelle - I will check out Northstar.

Gretchen, we would like to go somewhere new for a couple of reasons. One, we have been to Colorado already, so we'd like to take him somewhere new and different. Plus, traveling through Denver in March can be a nightmare - we have had several incidents of flights canceled due to weather in Denver, and I would like to avoid that if possible. I know that can happen anywhere, but it seems to happen with some frequency to us in Denver in March.

My thinking originally started with Whistler, because we could fly to Seattle, spend some time with family, drive to Whistler to ski, then return to Seattle for a few days then fly home. We could conceivably do that with a Bend trip too. Then I started thinking about other western ski locations and thought I would just see what all of our options are.

Thanks for your replies!

A

John

How about Big Mountain in Whitefish Montana?

abram

We love Whistler--great skiing on a huge mountain, pedestrian only village at the base.

Other thoughts:

Park City, Utah has 3 mountains within 10 minutes and an appealing town only a 40 minute drive from Salt Lake City

Taos is a small ski area, several hours from the nearest large airport, and the town is 30 minutes away from the hill

Sun Valley is also a long haul (3 hours) from a large airport, and (IIRC) the ski hill and the town aren't together. We stayed at the Sun Valley Lodge and had to take a bus to the hill every day

Attnymom

Thanks for the continued replies! I think I will knock Taos and Sun Valley off my list - I don't want to have to shuttle between the slopes and the town. Surprisingly, it is kind of difficult to tell sometimes how far it is from the ski area to the town. Even with all of my google searches and researching, it is not always clear. If you've never been to a place, the map can be confusing. Also, the website may have a different definition of "walking distance" than I do, so I like to hear first hand from folks who have been there!

I will definitely check out Big Mountain and Park City.

Thanks!
A

DebitNM

Fly into Albuquerque and then do either Durango or Telluride

tomfuller

For something within a days drive of Seattle, Check out Bend Oregon and Mt. Bachelor.
There is shuttle bus service up to the mountain from downtown so you don't have to drive up.
Mt. Bachelor is the 6th largest area wise in the US.
There is snow boarding, tubing, X-Country and snowshoeing in the area of Mt. Bachelor. Bend is a great city with everything you are looking for.

Gardyloo

You have plenty of time to determine if his visa status would be a problem with Whistler, which I would doubt. It really does sound ideal - also tons and tons of accommodation options.

Another somewhat off-the-wall idea would be Alyeska, in Girdwood 45 (beautiful) minutes down the Seward Highway from Anchorage. The skiing ought to be fab, there's lots to do in Girdwood (and Anchorage is close by) and Alaska Airlines allows a free stopover in Seattle either coming or going. So while the airfare might be more, you might be surprised how affordable it is in terms of lift tickets, accommodations, the absence of sales taxes, etc. Plus it would be a big adventure for all of you, I'm betting.

cabovacation

Park City is so easy.

Taos, Telluride, Durango - great but much more difficult logistically.

Bend - very nice, too.

girlonthego

Friends of mine loved Park City!

Attnymom

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the responses and will continue looking into all of these places.

A

LindainOhio

If there aren't problems with the Canadian visa, we loved skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine in March--we stayed in Banff, a lovely ski town

boom_boom

In addition you could consider Heavenly Valley at Lake Tahoe, the city is just as the foot of the mountain. Also, Mammoth Mt. in CA has some great skiing. The town is also easy to reach from the lifts. It is kinda small, but there is a good variety of restaurants and shopping.

BigRuss

Taos is a small ski area, several hours from the nearest large airport, and the town is 30 minutes away from the hill . . .

And the town has all of 5,000 residents. It's not a nightlife area. Why do you think celebs make it a get-away-from-it-all destination (Julia Roberts)? It's also not for beginners - the easiest green trail that's not just a practice slope would be a blue in Breckenridge. Has your Dane skied downhill or just Nordic?

I also wouldn't call the Albuquerque Sunport a "large" airport - it's only large for New Mexico (because all the others in the state are basically landing strips, except in Roswell because that has a Spaceport).