Hi, I'm in the beginning stages of planning a ski vacation in the western part of the us. Can anyone give me an idea about where to go? We are all pretty good skiers...2 adults and 2 teenagers. I've always gotten the best advice on this forum for my other vacations. Thanks in advance for any ideas.
tbelgian

i would suggest summit county in colo. you can ski arapahoe basin, breckenridge, keystone and copper mountain. there is even a multi-day pass available that includes all above except copper plus vail and beaver creek (which are about 35 and 50 min drive respectively from copper) lodging options galore. tons of fabulous restaurants. good shopping in the discount mall at dillon. for the BEST mexican food take a drive to historic leadville (highest city in us at 12,461 ft.) and go to the Grill. owned by the martinez family for over 30 years. all hand made. they even roast their own chiles once a year. not fancy!
if you want to spend more money go to aspen area and ski buttermilk, highlands, aspen mtn, & snowmass. again an all mtn pass is available. again great shopping and restaurants. but you can't get to the Grill from there in winter.

Thank you Virginia! That gives me someplace to start. Do you have a favorite place to stay in that area?

tbelgian,
We like Breckenridge, mainly because there is an actual town there. It is easier to get to from Denver than other areas such as Steamboat. I would look at lodging in either Keystone or Breckenridge.
Betsy

Hi,
Summit County is good and Breckenridge is nice.

However, our favorite family place to ski (our boys are now 11 and 14) is Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It has a fun downtown and a wide variety of terrain. It is not like Summit where you can drive to many mountains, but I prefer to stay in a village area and not have to drive to different places each day (just my preference) although we sometimes do that.

I would also recommend you check out Park City and The Canyons in Utah. Lots of cool stuff going on there.

Last idea would be Whistler in British Columbia, Canada.

Good luck and happy travels!

I've liked almost every place I've ever skied, but there are pluses and minuses about each one.

Summitt County is great for the variety of ski hills, the town of Breckinridge is fun to stroll at night. But, the altitude (you'll be sleeping at 9,00 feet or higher) can be a challenge. Sleeping and breathing are difficult, and some people (like my husband) get nauseated.

Winter Park also has the altutude issue, is low key and friendly. We like to stay at the Timber House Ski Lodge, where breakfast and dinner are included, which makes it very relaxing for me.

Steamboat Springs is lower, there's a real town, great snow. We stayed at the Scandinavian last year--you can ski from there to the gondola, and they have a private shuttle to/from the hill and town.

Aspen can be expensive, but you don't have to eat in fancy restaurants. There are four mountains, the altitude isn't as much of a factor.

Park City is also lower, only 45 minutes from SLC airport, three mountains to ski, town to stroll in the evening, good shuttle system.

Whistler-Blackcomb isn't US, but it is one of my favorite places. You sleep at 2200 feet, so no altitude issues at all. 7400 acres, 5000' of vertical, pedestrian only village at the base. Our favorite place to stay there is the Pan Pacific. We've heard of people experiencing a week of rain, but we've been lucky.

Lake Tahoe is gorgeous--lake, mountains, desert, rock formations. We've stayed at the Squaw Valley Lodge and skied Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, or stayed on the sounth side and skied Heavenly and Kirkwood. Lots of nightlife on the south side, especially if the adults like gambling. The Forest Ridge condos are convenient and reasonable. It's lower that some places, but the snow isn'[t as dry and light as Colorado or Utah.

Wow, thank for all of the info!!!! I'm sure I'll have more questions as our planning goes on.
tbelgian

I've been out west a few times skiing (CO & UT) any my favorite by far was Utah.
Stay in Park City-only 45 minutes from SLC airport. In Park City you've got three ski areas to choose from: Deer Valley, Park City, and The Canyons. You're also only 45-60 minutes away from Alta & Snowbird - Alta was my favorite.
Park City also has lots of great restaurants and shops and you can also visit Utah Winter Sports Park, where a lot of the Olympic events were held.

Go to www.epicski.com and check out the forums for serious ski discussions. You are getting great advice here but you will find waaaay more skiers on that website.

The time of year you want to go will also be a factor. Lots of places are great Jan & Feb. but fewer places have solid skiing in the spring. You might want to mention your time frame. And have a blast. Ski vacations are my family's favorite!

All the advice is good--Summit County will give you a huge selection. And don't forget Vail. I love the diversity of terrain there.
Aspen can be problematic to me--Ajax is a very steep mountain so for a variety of terrain you need to go to Snowmass or the other mountains a little away.
But I will also add one piece of advice. Get ski lessons at least one day of your trip, even though you classify yourselves as "pretty good". You will see a dramatic increase in skill which all will enjoy.

re summit county lodging: A)in ski village or not. B)in condo or hotel. there are definetly places to stay in dillon/frisco area and they are cheaper. do not recall names but there are nice condos on dillon lake. breck was a real town (actually very run down and sleazy for many years) now very restored in the victorian style and as abram indicated, at night,with snow falling is "magical" for strolling. the lampposts are victorian style as are all the building faces. totally the stuff they make xmas cards from! steamboat is def another outstanding choice. real town that has not been completely remade for ski area amusement. many working ranches. i love the atmosphere - very outdoorsey, very cheerful! but it would not near enough to other ski areas. so many choices. so few skier days. how about jackson hole?

UTAH!! I don't know why people ski anywhere else

10 resorts within 1 hours drive of SLC airport all fighting for your dollar

Hey greenfieldhunter...I like ski in ski out which is why I usually do Snowmass and have also gone to Breck, Keystone, and Copper. Where should I stay for ski in ski out in Utah for a moderate price?

I second Park City especially if you don't like snow boarders cutting you off go to Deer Valley where it's Ski Only. They also have THE best Seafood Buffet.

We've skiied Whistler, Aspen, Vail, Copper, Keystone, Breckenridge, Steamboat and Winter Park.

Our favoristes are Aspen and Winter Park. For the variety, we keep going back to Aspen and have been skiing there for the past 18+ years , with occasional tried elsewhere, and love it! There are 12 of us (6 kids from 6 years thru 17 years). My (now)6 and 8 year olds learned to ski there so I would rate it a great family town and ski area. We love Snowmass with the kid areas to ski in. The drawbacks are:
1. More difficult to get into and the Denver Aspen flight we've been snowed out/in several times. Plus it is pricey to get this flight and books up about 6 months in advance. So you end up driving-not ideal.
2. EXPENSIVE!!!!
3. Altitude. You're already starting a mile high and going up from there. This is the reason that threw us over the edge and has us heading to try out Utah this year. My now 6 year old has really suffered from the altitude the last 2 years (with a hospital stay 2 years ago for it) so she only gets a couple of days of skiing in.

Any advise on where to stay to ski Park City in February? We are not folks for nightlife...we like a full day of skiing then relaxing by the fire and playing games, with some time poking around the town. We prefer a condo and not to have a car. One agent directed us to Edelweiss Haus for the location but the reviews are mixed on this. Anyone know anything about this? We would like to keep it to $300 or under.

Thanks!

I've taken two trips out west to ski and both were wonderful.

The first trip was to Steamboat Springs. We stayed right on the mountain, ski in and ski out. The skiing was very good - especially the "powder day" we hit. The whole town closed down to go and ski - talk about lift lines!! The nice part of Steamboat Springs is that it is a real town with great restaurants and places to see. The actual hot spring is must do side trip.

The other trip was to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Completely different and also just as wonderful. We stayed on mountain at a gorgeous hotel The Snake River Lodge - perfect! The Grand Tetons are a sight to behold. Real skiers ski here - lots of high intensity skiing - absolutely great -good trails.







Enjoy!