killclimbz

You can fly into Hayden for Steamboat. The 3 hour drive from Denver is not that bad. I've done it several times, and it's a rather nice drive. Of course if it is snowing hard, well it can be a real white knuckle experience. I've had a few of those driving to and from Steamboat.

While I haven't hit Breck in a good number of years and it is a popular mountain. Winterpark, Copper, Keystone, Vail, A-Basin, and even Loveland are all front range areas. They can and will get very crowded during a mid winter weekend. LL having the least crowds, Abasin may not get as many visitors but it's small so it can be very crowded. You have to remember that not only do you have the out of state destination skier/riders hitting these resorts, but the Denver metro area skiers as well. That can mean 30k people riding at any one resort on a given weekend day.

daysailer1

I have to agree with Copper Mtn., Winter Park, and Steamboat. I also teach at Winter Park so I'm biased. They are all also Intrawest mountains. They all have great schools and beginner terrain. Steamboat is further away from the crowds of the Front Range. It is away from all the other resorts. Don't expect ticket or lodging discounts. Do expect to have wonderful powder and meet friendly people. Rabbit Ears pass is not fun to drive in a snowstorm. Better to fly into Hayden.

I used to teach at Loveland. There isn't a great deal of beginner terrain there. Once you know how, it's a fun place. The altitude can get to you too. The base area sits at 11,000 ft and goes up to nearly 13,000 ft.

Gnarly

Winter Park is nice, but it gets very crowded on the weekends (and sometimes even the week days). If you go, there are only a few ski lifts that generally have no crowds. Challenger, Pioneer Express & Looking Glass. The rest of the lifts generally have a ton of people in line. Personally, I don't like Winter Park solely because it's uber crowded...And since I hate waiting in line, it really limits the amt of terrain I can ride.

IMO your best bet is to go to Copper Mountain. Even on days where the rest of Copper is packed to the max, you will almost never see a lift line on: Kokomo, Lumber Jack, High Point, Super Bee, Alpine, Rendvous & Sierra lifts (Holiday weekends are the exception). Each of those lifts services either green or blue terrain.

IMHO the best kept secrets on the hill are the Rendzvous & Alpine lifts. On pow days, both lifts offer amazing riding & I've never been stuck in a lift line longer than maybe 3 or 4 people with either lift (minus spring break weekend). The Lumber Jack lift is pretty sweet too if you're looking to learn park riding. There's a couple beginner rails & 2 nice "kickers" to launch off of...And there is NEVER EVER anyone in that park.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can always take Rendzvous to the back bowls in the morning and get in some pow turns & natural terrain. After 11am though, if you want to stay on the back bowls, it's best to ski off of the Blackjack lift.

Snowolf

I see why you have gone to an almost exclusive backcountry operation! I hate those days at Meadows when we have 4K people...I can`t imagine numbers like that.

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Simply^Ride

Killclimbz, do hit resorts or just back country all season long?

killclimbz

I might be overstating it a bit, but yeah, it can get crazy crowded. Plenty of good to go around, and if you know the resort well enough, you can get the goods and get away from the crowds. 10k people at any of the major players is probably not a stretch by any means though.

killclimbz

I go to a few resorts. Winterpark being my favorite local one. It's a full on resort and it has some of the best powder stashes around. Of course you have to be able to ride in some serious trees. Generally I go to the resort to ride with my lady. She's just getting started and is definitely not ready for the challenges of the bc. So I usually own a pass to Copper/Winterpark.

On the days when I am riding with the boyz, it's almost always backcountry. I spent 04/05 and 05/06 seasons riding almost exclusively in the bc. I had 4 resorts days (all 05/06) during that period and no season pass. I also put in about 150 days riding in that time frame. So yeah, if I had my choice about what type of turns I was going to get, it would be far and away from the resort.

Simply^Ride

Men I bet you're really fit, hiking gives me a run for my money. I would love to get into it, but not in the shape I am right now.

daysailer1

That's a slow day at Winter Park. 16-18k easy on a major holiday weekend. I checked the log sheets sometimes this past season.

killclimbz

Let's just say that I wish I could get out more than once a week these days. I am fit enough that I can do what I want to do. I just can't do it as fast as I would like and like I could previous seasons. I guess that is what happens when you get into a serious relationship and buy a house that is a fixer upper. I definitely enjoy the hiking and the solitude you get in the bc. I've just kind of evolved into it over the 20 years I have been riding. That's what is so kewl about this sport. You can start off doing one thing and end up being into doing something completely different 20 years (hell 5 years) later. 10 years ago, you could not have convinced me to hike thousands of vertical for one run. Maybe in another ten years I'll be riding in hard (doubtful, but I've said that before) boots and carving freshly groom slopes...