Skiing Christmas 2008
 

My family is looking to plan a ski trip the week of Christmas 2008 (20 to 25) in Colorado. There would be 4 skiers, who have experence. We are looking for a place that has in/out ski, causal runs and tough runs and is not too overly costly..
Thanks in advance!

That is a TALL requirement. Probably Breckenridge would be the best compromise. Has a lot of ski in along 4 o'clock. Less ski out. It could be difficult to find something for a group of 25 at this time. You probably need to work with a reservation service at Breck and you might get some discount for a group that size. It would still be costly given that the Christmas/New Years time period is the very high season. Good luck

How about Steamboat? Storm Meadows and Ptarmagin are a couple of places I can think of off hand that are ski in/ski out.

But Syeamboat will have the same issues as Breckenridge.

Are your dates Dec 20 to Dec 25? The way it was written it sounds like you have a group that size...but then you say you have 4 skiers. So is your group in the 20s or only 4?

Read too fast. He probably means Dec 20 to 25. In that case, he may be in in luck. First, during that time period most rentals will want 7 days. But the real crowds don't totally kick in till Christmas days. It may be possible to find some quick deals in the days just prior to Christmas Day.

Depending on how critical ski in/out is, you will find that Breck offers the most in this area. All of the condo along the $ o'clock run offers ski out but limited ski. The areas along snowflake lift will provide both. All of these areas are located on the west side of Breckenridge. However, Breck has an excellent, local, free bus system that will get you to the lifts from areas away from the lifts.

Depending on snow conditions the toughest runs may or may not be availalbe. Many of the shuttles off Peak 10 and the very top of 8/9 will challenge most diamond skis.

The back bowls of Vail are famous but almost no ski in/out properties at Vail. And is probably "overly costly."

Steamboat would be fine too but much harder to reach than Breck.

A very high percentage of ski in/out is available at Snowmass (Aspen) The runs at Snowmass are not that challenging but you could go to Ajax mountain. But all would probably be outside of your cost range.

A new Winter Park Village is being built, at the base of the mountain. It looks very nice, but not sure how soon it will be open. Eventually, there will be an ice skating rink there, a sledding hill, lots of shops and restaurants. It has a sort of old west look to it, with each building being different, and a 'cobblestone' main street. It is a much-needed improvement to bring Winter Park nightlife up to the level that the downhill skiing is.

There are units already in operation, that could be available for rent. There may not be much demand for them now, because they are relatively unknown. One development is called Zephyr and the other is Rendezvous, I think. They have been open for a couple of years.

Breckenridge or Steamboat should work fine for the reasons (with caveats) mentioned. Steamboat is really nice at Christmas and the powder is exceptional.

Depending on where you're coming from, Steamboat can be very easy to get to. Several airlines have nonstops during winter from various hubs. Some exs: CO from IAH & EWR; AA from DFW & ORD; DL from ATL & SLC. We like avoiding the potential delays/connections at DEN.

Should have added: flying into Steamboat is via Hayden, CO (code HDN). It's an easy 20-30 min drive from airport to Steamboat.