Colorado ski trip help

A snowHead

Bergmeister, sounds good. We've bitten the bullet and booked it. I think we will book ourselves into a bumps clinic though Toofy Grin

. Just got to wait for 1st Feb now

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Sorry to poach this thread but it relates to my query. We're also looking to spend a week or so in Colorado this season but unfortunately can't afford the Snowmass/Aspen prices. At the moment I'm hoping we can base ourselves centrally in a self catering condo, hire a car and take advantage of the Colorado Lift Ticket (i.e. Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, A-Basin, Keystone). Any suggestions? We've looked at Breckenridge which might be an option but are also considering Frisco. I'm guessing Frisco might be cheaper but not sure about not being "in resort". Is the daily driving a hassle?

Thanks,

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cookie, Frisco is a good place to stay, loads of people do. Basically a main street with places to eat and some bars and, on the way out to I-70, a big WalMart and all the fast food drive-ins. The driving to all those resorts is a doddle (although Vail & BC further away) and you'll be up early anyway. Don't forget Copper while you're there.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

cookie, just looked at your website - how come you're asking us? Laughing

You'll need to Register first of course.

Thanks Bode - unfortunately I can't be an expert in everything hence the link to Snowheads from our links page! Embarassed

Copper is also one of our options but it looks too small for a the 8 or 9 days we're planning on.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

cookie, wasn't suggesting you spent the duration there. If you're doing all the others it's worth adding in for a day or so.

After all it is free

Will certainly bear it mind - we would like to fit copper in as it sounds like a great mountain.

cookie, I'd also say Frisco is a very nice place to stay. The main street is lined with Victorian era buildings with a range of dining and drinking options. Kind of like a mini Breckenridge. Main street is very charming. My wife and I really like Frisco. The supermarket, WalMart, and fast food joints are on the road in from I70 and don't spoil the charm of main street. Copper is a real nice mountain and is generally not as busy as Breckenridge or Keystone. It's sort of the Frisco mountain. Buses from downtown Frisco to Copper are frequent and convenient. Buses from Frisco to Breckenridge are doable but less convenient. Connections to Keystone and/or Arapahoe Basin from Frisco are workable but I wouldn't want to rely on it every day. The drive from Frisco to Breck, Keystone, or ABasin is not a big issue though you'll need to pay for parking at Breckenridge. Last year we found a free parking lot near one of the lodges. Copper is not on the same pass as Breck, Keystone, and ABasin, which is really a shame.

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Thanks RISkier, any idea on the journey time to Vail and Beaver Creek from Frisco?

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Use Google map, enter " Frisco, CO, USA", then click "get direction" and then enter "Vail, CO,USA" and then "Beaver Creek Co, USA".

A lot less fun if I tell you the distances are 26.7 and 38.3 miles.

Do it your yourself and it will work for anywhere in the world.

snow reports

Depends on road conditions. You go over the Vail pass which is darn high. You're on the interstate and it's well maintained but if the weather is iffy it can be icy. From Frisco I'd say 25-30 minutes to Vail and perhaps 8-10 more minutes to Beaver Creek. That assumes the roads are clear. Breckenridge would probably add another 15-20 minutes (unless there's a route I don't know about that wouldn't come back through Frisco). We've only been to Beaver Creek once and they really ticked us off. There is free parking but you need to park in a lot some distance from the ski area and ride a shuttle. When we drove in and asked for directions they basically gave us the wrong directions so we ended up down at the pay lots. Finally found the free lot. Ran into someone else who had the same experience. The folks at the gate had clearly been directed to give wrong directions. Vail is expansive and has the huge back bowls. The trek out to Blue Sky basin is almost like the skiing from village to village one might do in the Alps. And we especially liked the skiing in the Blue Sky basin area. We spent a week in Vail and just weren't impressed with the town. It's basically basically a purpose built grouping of condominiums and hotels with supporting infrastructure. I'm sure if you spend the money to stay near the lifts in Vail Village or Lions Head it would be very convenient. But we thought it lacked charm. Parking in Vail is problematic. There is some free parking but we never figured out just where it was. There are covered garages near the lifts. I believe they are owned by the town of Vail rather than the resort, but they charge $25 / day to park. Our favorite place during the week in Vail was the Minturn Saloon, which was 5-6 miles out of Vail in the town of Minturn. I don't mean to trash Vail. By North American standards the skiing is truly immense. And when you stand on top and look out at the back bowls you feel very insignificant. I'd definately go back there to ski. But probably wouldn't stay in Vail unless someone gave us a free trip. We're probably biased towards rather casual off slope activities. In a typical ski vacation we like to find a bar where locals hang out. Dinner would probably be heavy appetizers after skiing on 5 days in a week. And we'd probably seek out a nicer dinner once or twice. IMO, as a fun place town to visit, Breckenridge absolutely kills Vail. The whole of Main street is very charming with shops, restaurants, pubs, horse drawn carriages, etc. You can find places to go upscale, or not so upscale. Just has a much more laid back feel. Frisco is smaller and quieter. We've never had any issue finding a place to park on Main Street in Frisco. But Main Street has the same sort of feel as Breckenridge. If you're in the area and get a nice day I'd also really recommend giving Arapaho Basin a try. Probably not great or timid intermediates but really pretty. I'd only suggest going on a bluebird day. Base elevation is about 10,600 feet so most skiing is above tree line. Visibility could be really challenging in flat light.

Have you heard of paragraph? Puzzled

You know it makes sense.

Thanks RISkier. You've basically covered all the issues we've been trying to weigh up over the last week or so and your insight is much appreciated. I spent a season in Winter Park some years ago but never ventured to the other mountains - saisonnaire wages didn't cover the travelling costs let alone the lift tickets! WP mountain (and the infamous bumps) was great but the town itself was a bit soulless so we have been attracted to Breckenridge and Frisco for the reasons you've outlined and from what you've said it doesn't sound like it's worth paying the extra money for Vail. Thanks again!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

abc, What's a paragraph? Just started rambling and didn't come up for air.

cookie, I wouldn't write Vail off. We have a friend who's a ski instructor at a local hill. He and his wife spend 2 weeks at Vail every year. They love it. Lot's of folks love it. It's really popular for a reason. And we liked the skiing. Vail village just wasn't our cup of tea. If you buy one of the Breck/Keystone/ABasin passes that includes Vail it's worth the drive. The atmosphere at Breck and Frisco was a better match. Hope you have a great trip.

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Colorado ski trip help

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