Ski where next?
 

My girlfriend and I (she's a beginner and I'm an intermediate-expert) are already planning on staying several nights in Breckenridge in this coming December. We were originally planning on going over to Silverthorne and ski some more on the mountains closest to us, but we're having some trouble getting in touch with the hostel in Silverthorne.

So as a back-up - we are considering other ski towns like Aspen, Crested Butte or Steamboat Springs. We wouldn't really want to travel TOO far (since we'll be flying in and out of DIA) - but we do want to explore Colorado a bit more if possible. What would you guys suggest we do? Keep in mind we're only interested in going wherever that has a hostel nearby. See http://www.hostelz.com/hostels-in/USA/Colorado for reference.

Thanks y'all!

Breckenridge and Silverthorne are so close together I think they're an either/or in terms of where you stay; both would make a fine base for skiing the Summit County area (Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin). Crested Butte and Steamboat definitely qualify as too far away. Closer alternatives to Aspen would be Vail and Beaver Creek.

Hi, I was going to respond to your other post... I have stayed, years ago, at the Fireside Inn. It was owned by a different couple back then. Recent reviews have not been very good, but it has a pretty good location for getting around town. Know that if you are in a bunk room you and your girlfriend will not be able to sleep in the same room.Typically the Alpen Hutte gets better reviews but the location is not that scenic. On the other hand it is central to the ski areas. I'd also take a look at staying in Frisco, on Main street. Frisco is a cute little town and very Central to all the ski areas.
http://www.friscolodge.com/ The Frisco Lodge has very moderate prices, though not a hostel.

Thanks Coskiier for your input! Actually, when I called up the Fireside Inn - they said they now have a co-ed dorm, so I guess that aspect of the hostel also changed over the years.

As for the Alpen Hutte Lodge hostel - I inquired about it with the same guy at the Fireside Inn and he said they, as of this month has closed down their hostel accomodations and now only functions as a lodge for those who can afford it ($$$$$).

I just checked out the Frisco Lodge and immediately fell in love with it for its very reasonable pricing and location. Thank you! I'm considering on driving through Hot Springs, CO and the Rocky Mt NP from here - so it all works out. Thanks again!

From the Breck hostel, you can ski Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Copper Mountain is fairly close as well. By switching to Silverthorne, you'd only be saving 10-15 minutes to the other resorts.

Aspen & Crested Butte will be a LONG drive from DIA. Aspen is a good 4 hr+ drive from DIA on good roads, throw in a snowstorm and you can double that. Crested Butte is even farther. (CB isn't the best beginner mtn either).

Steamboat would be your next best option - good all around terrain, fun town & village, and not too far from DIA.

There are flights into Hayden - for Steamboat, and Eagle (EGE) for Aspen that would drop your travel time considerably.

Glad to help. Sorry to hear that the Alpen Hutte is no longer an option for those on a budget. I do think you would be happy in Frisco. It really is the most convenient location to ski many areas. Plus the town has many dining options and you can walk to everything at night. Rather like small Breckenridge.

Now you just need to find cheap lift tickets!

Thanks Blyvail and again CoSkiier!

I just reserved a room for a couple nights at the Frisco lodge, but Steamboat does seem enticing as well. Do you know of any reasonably priced accomodations up there similar to the Frisco Lodge? If so - then I'd definitely consider spending a night up there as well!

I guess I'll have to check out Aspen and Crested Butte another time then.

Any tips on how I can get discounts on those ski lift tickets? I've been reading about this place called King Scooper (sp?) where they sell discount tickets for the local resorts. Can anyone confirm this? Is it wiser to purchase tickets ahead of time or should I just buy them when I m there?

Thanks!

Sorry I can't help with lodging in Steamboat. Have not been there in years but I always had trouble finding a reasonable place to stay. You might ask this at www.epicski.com

Your coming at a busy time so lift discounts are hard too find. At Steamboat and Vail I found it impossible.

Yes King Soopers in Denver sells discounted lifts but only a few dollar off.

here is something to consider. Depending on how many days you are going to ski in the Summit County area look at buying a season pass at Arapahoe Basin. It gives you unlimited days at the"Basin" plus 5 additional days that can be used at either Keystone or Breckenridge, one of those days can be used at Vail or Beaver Creek. Be aware that there are black out dates on the Keystone, Breck, Vail dates so you will want to make sure you can use them while your here. From the web site

"Bonus Season Passes - ON SALE NOW!
Priced at $309

To purchase 2007-2008 BONUS season pass, order online click here.

The Bonus Pass is A-Basin's most popular with 5 2007-2008 non-transferable ski days at Keystone or Breckenridge. One ski day can be used at *Vail or Beaver Creek. This pass is valid for the remainder of the 2006-2007 season. Pass includes 5 unrestricted days at Bear Valley, CA. Stock is Limited so buy NOW! (* restrictions apply)"

It is one of the few passes you can buy on-line
http://www.arapahoebasin.com/?page=s...6dff7da3be0d50

For just 5 days of skiing it is 62.00 a day. Obviously if you ski a couple of days at A. Basin the price gets better. Hope that makes sense.

Other than that it is tough at that time of year, you could make friends with ski area employees and see if they will give you their employee discount passes. Maybe some others know more.

Also try the E-book, which is sold in Denver, through the Denver Post newspaper. It usually includes several two-for-one lift tickets to Copper Mountain and Winter Park. Best deal I know of.

I think you'd be happy spending your time in Summit County, with day-trips over to Vail, as well. Search for ski ticket discounts, like a 'four-pack' think it was called, for Copper.

King Soopers and Safeway do sell slightly discounted tickets, but you'd need to buy them in Denver or another place outside the mountain resorts. They aren't offered in Summit County, for instance.
:)>-

Because you are coming at the busiest tome of the year (btwn Xmas & New Years) the tkt prices go UP! I doubt there will be any discounts for the week you are looking at. All local season passes are blacked out and my guess is, so are all the discount books/coupons.

If there is a hostel in Steamboat, I'd call and book ASAP. Many, many years ago when I worked in hotel group reservations, we'd book out the popular hotels a year to 2 yrs in advance.

Now if you were coming out the week immediately following New Years, you'd find lower tkt prices and better lodging rates. The week before Xmas is even cheaper.

You didn't mention where you were coming from but Colorado ski resorts are BIG. On a 7 day trip, most people will ski 5 days at the most. You're looking at 8000'+ in altitude.

For a week trip, my rec would be to stay in Frisco the entire time. That way you could ski a couple days in Keystone, a couple in Breck and maybe a day in A-Basin, Copper or Vail for a change. Even 2 days at a Keystone or Breck, you won't have skied the entire moutain. Plus you will probably want to take a day to check out the town, area, go snowmobiling or something to break up the trip. If you go from Frisco to Steamboat, you're going to lose a day to travel.

4 packs are a great deal. Unfortunately you have to buy them in person before the ski season starts. The only exception I know of is Loveland Ski Area. They used to allow you to share the 4-pack. Don't know if they still do that.

Don't know specifically about he "E Book" but I think it is likely they will block out peak weeks. Do you know if they do?

Sorry, I'm from Massachusetts so I've seen my share of "big" mountains up in Vermont, such as Killington, Stowe, Okemo, etc. I know these mountains are mere mounds compared to the Colorado rockies, and that's precisely why we're going over there - to see them for ourselves.

I guess you're right, BlyVail - it'd be wiser if we stuck around town and take advantage of the mountains we have around there. That would save us the $$ for a car rental as well!

We were kinda expecting the lift tickets to be expensive seeing that it's during the holiday season - but we're willing to shell out a bit more to celebrate the new year's on the rockies. It's just a little tradition we have here - 2 years ago we were in Times Square NYC (NOT recommended), and the year after we celebrated on the Champ Elysees in Paris and so this year we want to celebrate the coming new year doing what we love most - skiing! Speaking of the new year's eve, are there any activities or somee kind of celebration in the area that we could go to? Or just a popular bar thats known to host a New Years party or something?

Coskiier - I ll check into A-Basin. That definitely sounds like a great deal. Do u happen to know why they're closing up early this year? Their web site didn't really specify.

MaureenB - I'll check into the 4-pack deal. If you happen to have a link to a website or any more info on that - that'd be great!

One last thing, Blyvail - your suggestion for us to go snowmobiling sounds awesome. Any recommended places we should look into for a run on the snow?

Thanks again y'all :-)

A-Basin closing early? They did not close until June!

Yes you can use the free shuttle. it is pretty easy from Frisco to the Summit County areas. I don't know about Vail though. Might be hard or costly to get over there. BlyVail may know more. There is a post about car rental in Denver VS renting from the airport. The van service is pretty expensive so it might be better to rent a car from a remote location. I will top it for you rather than repeat myself.

Here's more info on the E-book, from last year:

The inside cover says the E-book was produced by the Colorado Education Project: www.eduproject.com, phone 720 946 1899.

The coupons read:

"Winter Park Resort 2 for 1 adult lift ticket.
Purchase one Adult lift ticket at the prevailing Winter Park/Mary Jane Ticket window rate and receive one lift ticket Free. Both tickets must be used on the same day at the same resort.
Valid DAILY opening 2004- 12/25/04;
1/3/05- 3/4/05; and 3/28/05 - closing; or MONDAY - FRIDAY 3/5/05- 3/27/05. Free ticket must be of equal or lesser value than paid Adult Full Day lift ticket. "

Exact same wording and dates for Copper. Each book contains 4 Adult lift ticket coupons and 2 Child lift ticket coupons for EACH mountain. A great deal for $10!

So, Bladezone, it looks like the E-book isn't valid between 12/26- 1/2, at least not in 2004.

For the four-pack pass, go to the Copper Mountain website.

Good luck. Skiing is ridiculously expensive. Although buying a pass in Colorado makes a lot of sense, even if you only ski a handful of times. For example, a Winter Park/Copper mountain pass cost $379 through last month. That's paid for in about 5.5 days of skiing!
:)>-

There used to be a bus that ran from Summit to Vail daily during ski season. It was pretty cheap too.

I don't know of any snowmobiling outfits in Summit. Timberline Tours and Nova Guides in Vail both do good trips on this side of the pass.

I would check with the front desk at the hostel and they probably have a rack of flyers listing different vendors and the best/cheapest way to get to Vail.

Someone mentioned on your other post the fondue restaurant at the top of Keystone. It is pretty cool. Taking gondolas over the jet back hills at night...

The Frisco Nordic Center is a great intro to Xcountry, skate skiing or snowshoeing. Rentals are right there and there's an extensive trail system. Take a picnic lunch.

Skating on Keystone Pond at night is always fun.

In Vail there's sleighride dinners - there is probably something similar in Breck/Summit County. Check with front Desk.

Most resorts will have a torchlight ski-down on New Year's Eve. Some are just for employees and some are open to the public. Either way, its pretty cool. Then fireworks. Most clubs with have something going on. Usually with a ridiculous cover and a party hat and bad champagne. Check the local free paper for all the details when you get into town.

Check the websites for Breckenridge, Keystone and Summit County in the fall for calendars of events.

A-Ba tries to make to the 4th of July, but a mid June closing is still remarkable. It had to be close to 80 in Vail yesterday. An early closing for A-Ba is relative as it is probably the only resort in the N. Hemisphere other than Hood still open.

"Usually with a ridiculous cover and a party hat and bad champagne." right on!


At Keystone if you want to splurge but not break the bank try the Stube for lunch. It is about 35.00 for a 4 course, white table cloth lunch. (Dinner runs about 75.00.) Sounds pricey but at the cafeteria slice of pizza, cookie and coke and it is pretty much the same price. The Stube is in the same building as the Fondue, you take the gondola up as well.

there is so much to do in summit county.. no need to go elsewhere on this length trip.

the rec center in breck is also a lot of fun.. they have a great gym, pool, climbing wall and offered all sorts of classes..(kayak) in the pool.

the free bus system is awesome.

we used to stay at the fireside inn.. ( business colleagues
owned it)

we like frisco now due to the bus exchange main center is right there to go everywhere.

i love the free mountain tours on copper. i took one everyday.

a very nice way to not ski alone, and to meet people.