 Poster: A snowHead
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I am thinking of going to Winter park in Colorado for 10 or 14 days early February.
Is the area big enough for that length of time and my other concern is if I stay slopeside, are there enough resturants / eateries to keep us occupied?
Anyone been last season?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My wife and I went to Winter Park for ten days last Feb. We stayed at Fraser Crossing condo's which were excellent value, self catering accomodation with a huge outdoor hot tub and about 200m from the main lifts. We got the studio size apartment which was massive and had everything you could need.
Winter Park Mtn Village is fairly small and only has a couple of eating / drinking places. Apres ski is low key and some bars close at about 7ish, which isn't great. There is however a superb free shuttle bus service into town which takes about 10 - 15 mins where there are plenty more dining options, and more reasonably priced.
The ski area is big by US standards but obviously not that big by European standards. I would consider myself a fairly competent skier who can comfortably ski all but the steepest runs at most resorts. There was plenty to keep us occupied for 6 or 7 days. BUT, it depends what you like to ski. If you like steep moguls runs, tree skiing and off piste stuff you will love it. If you like cruising on piste look elsewhere.
I've never seen so many moguls in my life! If you're a good skier and enjoy bumps, this is the place for you! We hired a 4x4 and also visited Steamboat and Copper Mtn, both of which I would recommend highly for a day trip. Whilst we were there we had 6 powder days and a total of 1 metre of fresh snow, making conditions some of the best I've ever skiied. We took advantage by spending a day CAT skiing with power additction guides who were brilliant (http://www.powderaddiction.com/).
All in all, I would recommend WP highly and because it is such good value I'm considering going back in 2011. I would however recommend hiring a vehicle if you can and visiting some other nearby resorts. A-Basin and Loveland are only about 45 mins away, and Copper Mtn, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail just over an hour.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Split1950,
As above. I've been there for short stays (about 4 days) as personal time, on business trips (and will be doing so again, this January  ) . - I've usually stayed in a hotel at/near the base area, which doesn't have a lot of facilities to keep you interested for 2 weeks. - Staying in town would be a better option for a longer trip.
I'm not sure I'd want to spend an entire 2 weeks skiing at WP, though, much as I enjoy its challenges. If I were visiting Colorado for this length of time I'd probably (i) rent a car and (ii) base myself somewhere else so that I could access a number of hills in the area. There are a number of resorts just off the interstate (I-70) which are all in reasonable distance of one another, so you could either base yourself at a couple of centres or stay somewhere more central that would let you commute up and down the highway. Copper Mountain is right by the interstate if you wnat to stay at a resort with good highway access. Alternatively, if you're watching the budget, stay in a "real" town (Frisco provides good access).
WP isn't best situated for easily visiting other resorts, since you have to go over Berthoud Pass which can be subject to difficult driving conditions if there's a storm (on the other hand, if there IS a storm, it will get the snow, and you'd probably want to stay put and get into the powder, rather than be driving along a winding mountain road!).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Split1950, I echo what Bergmeister, said about the season pass, we went for two weeks and it was much cheaper, and you get really cheap lessons as well. I did a few bump clincs, and got 1 to 1 in about 3 of the "group" lessons. Really enjoyed it, the powder days we had were fantastic. Just buy a helmet for the tree skiing!
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I did a few bump clincs
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I forgot to mention that we did a bump clinic for a day. 4 hours of nothing but giant bump skiing in a class of only 3 - and amazing value at less than $50 each. As good as a private lesson - and on the cheap!
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You will love it there. You could get round the ski area in 2 - 3 days, but to say you have skied WP and nailed all the bumps would take years. I went last year and are going back this year. Not much in the village, but the town has enough. On mountain / base, food bars are limited, but you are there to ski, not eat. Although the brownies in sunspot are top notch. A car is a must really as some of the best restaurants are a drive, so is the Safeway if S/C.
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Ditto the comments of nickr, Bergmeister and jtobin03 re. the bumps. There's some real hardcore gradients too - in fact getting on for vertical  . Great stuff!
Unlike, nickr and carroz, we didn't have any powder (though I believe WP gets just about the most snow in Colorado).
We had a car for a couple of days - one point to bear in mind is the possibility of a very snowy pass/mountain road climb up to the resort - some hairy moments without chains!
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