I'm planning a half-ski half-other trip to the rockies and am looking for input as to destination. Timeframe is early January. Right now we're thinking some place in Colorado (Aspen / Vail / Steamboat), Jackson Hole, or Canada (Whistler). We have ~9 days and want to stay in one place for most of the trip (maybe a night or two in airport city). We would like about 4-5 days of skiing with some hiking / sight seeing as well. We also have one non-skier who would like a fun town to spend her days.

Any thoughts?

Breckenridge, CO - Great "real" town, big and diversified ski area. You can fly into either Denver or Vail/Eagle. Aspen is another choice, larger town and much more upscale (too much so, IMO). Many may recommend Whistler. My problem with the area is that it's very prone to rain. When we were there, mid-Jan a few years ago, it rained for 7 days and 7 nts. Very depressing.

Of those that you listed, I would choose Vail. It's a nice in between town as far as atmosphere and activities go. Plus the skiing is great!

I agree with the previous poster that Breckenridge is one of Colorado's best all-around towns for skiing, exploring Summit County and other activities. And it's within easy driving distance to other resorts such as Keystone and Copper Mountain.

Vail and Aspen will have more "other" things to do than Whistler. As noted above, Whistler's weather is more iffy. However, after the bad snow season Whistler had last year, this year should be better.

I would go to Vail if I were you because then you are close enough to Beaver Creek and Breckinridge to explore those areas.

Whistler is pretty self-contained, not a lot of sightseeing. Some nice restaurants and nightclub. Plenty to do in Aspen or Vail for a non-skier. I also like Banff alot, but not in January. When we were there 2 years ago, it was -10 every morning.

Aspen!!! It has the most other stuff to do and a ton of great restaurants. There are (4) different mountains to ski as well.

Vail is also nice with Beaver Creek but is more "touristy" than Aspen IMO.

I love Jackson Hole and going to Yellowstone on an off day would be a HUGE plus. However, it's a small town and options are limited.

All of your choices are good and I've been to all except Whistler. I currently live in Colorado and Vail is nice but more upscale. Breckenridge is very family friendly and the town is just cute!!!! It's close enough too that you could drive to Vail for a day. Having said that, The mountain of Vail is top knotch and by far my favorite. It is HUGE with so much terrain. Isn't it the largest ski resort in the U.S.? On a good powder day, the back bowls are amzing. The town is cute, and there's definitely a lot to do. But Breckenridge is really affordable and like I said, family friendly. Book now. Everything fills up fast!!!!

I vote for Steamboat. More reasonable than the others - extremely nice people and great ski mtn. Small town - far enough from Denver so you don't get the day-trippers, less crowded. You could fly into Steamboat or Denver would be a 3-4 hr drive but is a gorgeous drive. Lower altitude also - in case any of you suffer from altitude sickness. Side note: last trip there we were sitting in a bar/restaurant when a man across the way was waving and saying hello... thought he was waving to someone else. No.. turned out he was the owner of the shop wehre we rented skis a few days prior !! Have fun... Colorado is heavenly !

Each resort has a different personality. Aspen is very fancy, but with Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass (2nd biggest in CO)included in your lift ticket, you can get variety by skiing different mountains. Aspen mountain is mostly expert runs, but Snowmass has great blue "cruisers" for intermediate skiiers. Aspen has great shopping and night life, and a "real town" feel. It is also very expensive.
Vail is huge, and rated #1 in North America. It is a great place if you are going to ski for your entire trip. Vail Village is (to me) a Yuppie-ville, much more focused on appearances. We think it lacks community. It also has a lot of retirees. (My spouse works there)
Steamboat is awesome for families and also has a real, 100 year old town with character. Kids 12 and under ski free with a paying adult. Kids can also fly free with lodging. It has hot springs (2) for alternate days that are a destination all by themselves. People in Steamboat (3rd largest in Colorado) may have the same amount of $$$ as Vail and Aspenites, but they wear Wranglers and cowboy hats, not fur coats. It is pretty laid back and EXTREMELY friendly.
SOOOOO, where you should go depends on if you are taking the family, a girlfriend, or a group of friends intent on partying as hard as you ski. Let us know what you pick!

I completely agree with etpiv's observations. But I think for the non-skier especially, Aspen might be your best choice. If you can afford it, that is. Eating, shopping, lodging-- all are sky-high at Aspen during ski season. But, if you can swing it, I'd suggest you stay in Aspen town so you can literally walk to the Aspen Mountain lift , and your friend would have things to do in walking town while you're skiing.
The Gant is a very good condo/hotel complex that's a short walk from 'downtown' Aspen, and Aspen Square is another nice condo/hotel that's right in Aspen proper. The scenery around Aspen is breath-taking and your friend could find day-trips of interest, too, if there's a car to use.
I'd make reservations ASAP, wherever you end up.

I think the non-skier would be bored in Steamboat.

We live in Denver and have never skiied in Aspen or been to Steamboat during the winter. However, we do have quite a bit of experience with the I-70 resorts.

As a former non-skiier (learned after we moved to Colorado) I can tell you that Breck and the surrounding area has a lot to offer the non-skiier, as well as great terrain for the hotdogs, lol. Vail is huge, but be prepared to park far, far away ad walk/shuttle yourselves extensively. Copper Mountain is our personal favorite, can't beat the friendly employees, many Ozzies and Kiwis among them.

Keystone has a huge outdoor ice rink where you can rent skates. They also have a tubing hill, snowbikes and other non-skiier activities. Vail's Eagle Gondola is free after 2 or 3 pm I believe, and it takes you up to their hilltop activity center as well. Small ice rink, great tube hill, small cafes, snowmobile and snowbike rentals, even a laser tag arena.

As far as Breck, yes the town is awesome! Just a great Victorian-funky quaint ski town. And the best news of all is that you will be in town for Ullr Fest, the annual festivities dedicated to the Nordic god of snow. We attended the parade last year and it is HI-larious! Bring your best Viking hat. Here is a link to some photos from previous years, along with link about Ullr Fest 2006:

http://www.funtripslive.com/co_ski_c...ridge/ullr.htm

http://www.summitcolorado.com/brecke...al-2005-24.php

http://www.gobreck.com/page.php?pnam...ts/annual/ullr

Other activites could include snowshoeing, dog sledding, cross crountry skiing, yurt dining, etc... Just do some searches based on your interests, resorts or businesses close to them offer tons of fun things to do. Have a great time and bring lots of warm clothes, January is COLD.

Wherever you go (unless you have unlimited funds, Aspen shouldn't be on that list, and Vail tickets are also overpriced), check into the pass deals on sale right now. Copper Mt. 4 pass $69, Winter Park/Mary Jane $89 (for these, go to passwagon.com, but they have limited numbers to sell). Keystone/Breck also have 4 packs for about $99--now's the time to buy! Our favorite for 35 yrs is Arapahoe Basin, usually included in the Breck/Keystone tickets (small, very high, very cold, no high-speed lifts--but if you really ski, wow).

Be sure to check the blackout dates for those multi-day lift passes. If you're here after New Year's in January you should be fine.

The blackout days for Copper/Winter Park (which should be about the same as Vail resorts) are:

Dec. 27- Jan. 5
Jan. 14 and 15
Feb. 18 and 19
March 18th and March 25th

If at all possible, I'd avoid these dates anyway.

Winter Park/Copper four-pack blackout dates correction below gives more days in early January than previous post.

From the passwagon.com website:

"Four Passes valid for one person, per day. Excluding: Dec 27-31, 2005; Jan 14-15, 2006 and Feb 18-19, Mar. 18 and 25, 2006.
OFFER EXPIRES OCTOBER 16, 2005."

The Keystone/Breck 4 packs have to be purchased in person by the person using the pass. That offer also expires 10/16/05.

wtm003... is this new? the Keystone/Breck 4 pass has never been tied to a specific person in the past.
I always buy a bunch for out of state friends to use when they visit.

I agree about the Breckenridge area. Cute shops in the towns and a large outlet mall in Silverthorne. Hiking was mentioned. Not sure how that will work out with the snow cover. By the way, in Dillon, there is ashop where you can buy a "pass for the day" at a discount. They are personal passes donated to a charity who "leases" them for the day.

Julie, see the attached link:

http://www.snow.com/passsales/info/4pack.asp

I didn't realize this until I went to Park Meadows yesterday to pick up a pass for my husband. Now he has to make a trip to the mall & they are only for sale on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. I had no trouble buying a couple of Winter Park passes at King Soopers.

If you have a different result let me know.