Rating the ski slopes...

At this point of the ski season, I think its time to look back and give a midterm report on Colorado Skiing, including the overall slope rankings. In case you may have forgotten the Colorado Ski Pass that Sarah and I purchased gives us access to 5 mountains: Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, and Breckenridge.

5) Beaver Creak (Zero Times) - The trail map actually looks pretty cool and I'm sure we'll make there at some point, but the problem is that's 3o miles further than any of the other resorts. Its very tough to stay on I-70 for another 30 miles when you already been on the same road for 70 miles.

4) Vail (One Time) - It gets a lot of hype, but after our one visit I'm not sure exactly why. They don't give you free parking, you have to park on the side of the road rather far away. Then, instead of a direct bus (a la Breck) you stop at like 8 different condo areas before you actually get to the resort. Then, you have to walk through a bunch of shops and restaurants just to finally get to what you came for -- skiing. The snow is the same, I don't think Vail gets different snow from all the other resorts that are less than 10 miles away. The trail map is frankly the most confusing I've seen -- its a bit strange to me when a green trail turns into a black half way through. The other issue is that Sarah and I, while we've gotten a lot better, still aren't experts by any stretch. Everything seemed a little bit tougher at Vail-- the greens we went on looked pretty much the same as blues at other resorts. Despite all that bitchin, we're going to give Vail another shot, probably sometime this week.

3) Arapahoe Basin (Two Times) - Certainly the smallest of any of the resorts, and without all the bells and whistles (no fancy restaurants or amenities). However, its actually a pretty good fit for day-trip skiing. We usually don't ski more than 4.5 hours in a day, so how many different trails can you really do in that amount of time anyway. Plus its the only one where, especially if you get there early, you can park right next to the first lift -- no shuttles needed. Its skiing at its most basic, but sometimes that's all you need to have a good time.


Clear Day at A-Basin

2) Keystone (Three Times) - This was a tough choice between 2 and 3, but Keystone edged out A-basin. Its got a pretty simple layout, with most of the slopes on one, gigantic peak. I describe it as a spaghetti plate of trails that gives you endless combinations of slopes to ride down from top to bottom. Its also the closest of any of the slopes which of course makes it appealing to the weekend warrior (as they call skiers like Sarah and I). We have had some run ins with moguls there, but overall its been a lot of fun.

1) Breckenridge (Six Times) - For skiers at our level, I can't think of a better place. Relatively easy to get around for its size, great variety in slopes, big enough that even when its crowded it doesn't feel crowded, and of course it was our first experience with Colorado skiing. Our affinity for Breck is partly due to the fact that we know it much better than any of the other places (although there are still many slopes that I haven't yet hit). We know exactly where we're going and exactly what to expect on most of the slopes no matter what the conditions. Breck has good trails to warm up on, good trails to have fun skiing through trees, and pleny of challenging trails as well.


View of Breck from Keystone