Looking to take 8 year old to ski for first time. Would plan to leave after Christmas and come back first week January sometime. Would like a ski town that is goo for beginners as well as somewhere that would have great Christmas scene.
Beginner snow ski and Christmas town
4,249 Views |
39 Replies |
Last: 15 days ago by PaulDicton
A great spot for beginners is Granby Ranch which is near Winter Park. Significantly less expensive, very family oriented and perfect for new skiers. Not sure about the Christmas scene but the town of Granby isn't far away and likely has Christmas decorations. There are also sleigh rides and other activities in the area.
For ease and simplicity and terrain variation: Park City / Canyons
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Doing this with mine at steamboat springs
I learned to ski on Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen back in the 80s. Went back several times.
I don't ski any more, but if I did, I'd like to go back there.
I'm sure there are less expensive options.
I don't ski any more, but if I did, I'd like to go back there.
I'm sure there are less expensive options.
I'd agree with buttermilk in aspen. By far and away the best instructors. Expensive but well worth it. I learned to ski at 9 at red river new Mexico and loved it there as well. But in all honesty we have been going to all different resorts and put our kids in ski school and they have all been great. We are going to wolf creek this summer.
proudest member of the fightin texas aggie class of 2005.
Breckenridge is a quaint, cute town. Lots of beginner options, too.
Breck is by far the WORST Rec you will here get for this. I was waiting for it. Lol.
And as much as I hate to admit it, the best ski school(s) in CO are Vail/BC and Telly. Vail/BC actually provide a ski green T2B guarantee or your money back and they have the highest % of PSIA Certified Instructors across each level. Breck and Keystone arent bad but they arent great. The head of the breck ski school was a Middle level Manager at Vail and got the Job because not many people across the Board wanted it. She's a shredder and a Sweet heart but compared to the western VR Hills they don't get the cream of the crop. Those instructors get placed into V or BC.
I'd rate the 4 Aspen Ski Co schools somewhere below Vail/BC/Telly and above Winter Park/Steamboat. Steamboat can be great but it's really hit or miss. It's alot like Breck: The local instructors are GREAT, but the seasonal instructors may have little to no experience and are only their to party for the season and then leave.
And as much as I hate to admit it, the best ski school(s) in CO are Vail/BC and Telly. Vail/BC actually provide a ski green T2B guarantee or your money back and they have the highest % of PSIA Certified Instructors across each level. Breck and Keystone arent bad but they arent great. The head of the breck ski school was a Middle level Manager at Vail and got the Job because not many people across the Board wanted it. She's a shredder and a Sweet heart but compared to the western VR Hills they don't get the cream of the crop. Those instructors get placed into V or BC.
I'd rate the 4 Aspen Ski Co schools somewhere below Vail/BC/Telly and above Winter Park/Steamboat. Steamboat can be great but it's really hit or miss. It's alot like Breck: The local instructors are GREAT, but the seasonal instructors may have little to no experience and are only their to party for the season and then leave.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Telluride is an excellent choice, albeit not the cheapest.
Christmas village type of town.
I like the runs for beginners. They have Green, double green, blue and double blue.
The double green are gentle and very wide.
Some places you go to have gentle sloped green but they are often narrow and it is hard to practice turning effectively to get you ready for a blue.
Christmas village type of town.
I like the runs for beginners. They have Green, double green, blue and double blue.
The double green are gentle and very wide.
Some places you go to have gentle sloped green but they are often narrow and it is hard to practice turning effectively to get you ready for a blue.
Both our kids learned in Santa Fe....it was the best pricing we found
And mom & dad got to eat fantastic
food all week, hike, & fly fish
And mom & dad got to eat fantastic
food all week, hike, & fly fish
So much this. If you can swing it it's impossible to go wrong with Telluride.The Grinder (99) said:
Telluride is an excellent choice, albeit not the cheapest.
Christmas village type of town.
I like the runs for beginners. They have Green, double green, blue and double blue.
The double green are gentle and very wide.
Some places you go to have gentle sloped green but they are often narrow and it is hard to practice turning effectively to get you ready for a blue.
Awesome town. Great instructors.
We were there over Christmas and New Year's a few years ago. It was fantastic. Even on what would typically be some of the busiest days for the Summit County slopes it never felt crowded.
Thats the because Summit County is the worst ski experience in the country. It's total ass. Mind blowing why texans love it.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
They recognize the names of the places. Between Wolf Creek and Purg I'm usually pretty happy. Pagosa Springs and Durango are nice little towns with enough to do for down time.
I spent 10 years honing in my skill at wolf creek before venturing out to other resorts. It's my only experience with lessons. It's a fun mountain, but a 45 minute drive from town. If you're wanting a Christmas type town, you probably want to scratch vail. It's a great ski area, but definitely not a quaint mountain town with I-70 running right through it. Whatever you do, don't pick anything in the sierras that early in the season.
Breckenridge is perfectly fine. It has lots of terrain, the town has plenty to offer, and its accessible from Denver and an easy drive to a number of other towns if you want to venture out. I'm not sure the nitty gritty about whose who at the ski schools should be much of a factor for a learning to ski Christmas town trip.
That said, if you want to go a little further by plane from Texas, Park City is a better version of Breckenridge in that its a great town, its very accessible, and lots of terrain and a terrific place to learn to ski.
Telluride is a great town and probably exactly what you're looking for, except it is a smaller town, and most of the ski area is bifurcated from the town itself. Less ski terrain, as well. Its also a flight to a small airport plus a long shuttle ride to get to.
Vail/Beaver Creek are perfectly great places to learn to ski and Avon at the entry to Beaver Creek is a "town" but they're just big resorts and they're not Christmas-y western mountain town places like I think you're expecting.
Just some additional things to consider about some of the above suggestions and comments.
That said, if you want to go a little further by plane from Texas, Park City is a better version of Breckenridge in that its a great town, its very accessible, and lots of terrain and a terrific place to learn to ski.
Telluride is a great town and probably exactly what you're looking for, except it is a smaller town, and most of the ski area is bifurcated from the town itself. Less ski terrain, as well. Its also a flight to a small airport plus a long shuttle ride to get to.
Vail/Beaver Creek are perfectly great places to learn to ski and Avon at the entry to Beaver Creek is a "town" but they're just big resorts and they're not Christmas-y western mountain town places like I think you're expecting.
Just some additional things to consider about some of the above suggestions and comments.
Park City is my favorite overall experience and I think the town is the ideal Christmas town. We go every year now. That being said, the greatest strides my kid made in ski school were at Beaver Creek. The instructors were just phenomenal. She was barely skiing blues when I took her for spring break in 2020, and after two full days with them, she was really proficient and never needed ski school again.
Bayou City said:
Breck is by far the WORST Rec you will here get for this. I was waiting for it. Lol.
And as much as I hate to admit it, the best ski school(s) in CO are Vail/BC and Telly. Vail/BC actually provide a ski green T2B guarantee or your money back and they have the highest % of PSIA Certified Instructors across each level. Breck and Keystone arent bad but they arent great. The head of the breck ski school was a Middle level Manager at Vail and got the Job because not many people across the Board wanted it. She's a shredder and a Sweet heart but compared to the western VR Hills they don't get the cream of the crop. Those instructors get placed into V or BC.
I'd rate the 4 Aspen Ski Co schools somewhere below Vail/BC/Telly and above Winter Park/Steamboat. Steamboat can be great but it's really hit or miss. It's alot like Breck: The local instructors are GREAT, but the seasonal instructors may have little to no experience and are only there to party for the season and then leave.
Not sure why this guy/gal hates Breck but we love it. I learned to ski there, my kids did too, and the town is great. Definitely cheaper places to go in CO but don't let this person persuade others away.
Breck is the ski equivalent to Galveston or Corpus for a Beach vacation. Literally ONLY Texans think it isn't ass.
It's crowded, icy and windy because they built it on the wrong face, the snow is wind blown, the runs are narrow, diagonales of death abound and a alot of level 3s that think they are a 9+. It's really every thing you'd make a top 10 list to not want all put together in 1. The ONLY people that ski breck are front range for the proximity and texans. It's a huge inside joke in CO.
It's crowded, icy and windy because they built it on the wrong face, the snow is wind blown, the runs are narrow, diagonales of death abound and a alot of level 3s that think they are a 9+. It's really every thing you'd make a top 10 list to not want all put together in 1. The ONLY people that ski breck are front range for the proximity and texans. It's a huge inside joke in CO.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Beginner friendly. With kids. Fantastic ski school. Sticking to groomers. Vacation worthy. Approachable. Christmas vibes.
I'm taking my talents to PC as well, but Deer Valley.
Corduroy country club with the olds, ftw.
I'm taking my talents to PC as well, but Deer Valley.
Corduroy country club with the olds, ftw.
Bayou City said:
Literally ONLY Texans think it isn't ass.
The ONLY people that ski breck are front range for the proximity[...] It's a huge inside joke in CO.
These don't seem like compatible statements then, as it sounds like it's not only Texans, by your own admission.
Plenty of other places for front range-rs like myself to go to that are equidistance or closer so doesn't make much sense for it to continuously get people there if it's just universally worse than the others. Last season in particular Breck was great.
Your complains about it facing South and being windy-er than other places are accurate, but it manages to be alright condition wise a lot of the time despite those. Far better than the Galveston of beaches (that would probably be something like Angel fire).
I have a feeling if fewer Texans went there you would **** on it less.
Front range knows it's ass but also better than nothing. They arent planning a vacation around breck. WP and Keystone are much better than breck. Breck is the WORST.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
No. Breck sucks even without texans. On 120+ days a year of skiing, Breck may get 5 of those and those 5 are because of work. I'll gladly drive an extra 10 to Copper or 45 to Vail. ScumCo homies don't even ride Breck, they ride Key.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Bayou City said:
Front range knows it's ass but also better than nothing. They arent planning a vacation around breck. WP and Keystone are much better than breck. Breck is the WORST.
But if front range is going there then "nothing" is never the only other option. They're choosing to go there over Keystone and potentially Vail & BC for the day.
What ever you want to think. Texan preaching to someone that ran Sumco/Eco/Pitkim/Routt ski shops. ROFL.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
I live on the front range and ski as does almost everyone I interact with. This doesn't make me an expert by any means, but again, people with Epic passes are actively making the decision to go there over Keystone, Vail, and BC every day. It doesn't mean it's better than the others, Vail is my personal favorite to ski, but it isn't "ass" and isn't the "worst experience" in the country. And for ski towns it's better than anything that is within 3 hours of DIA (then steamboat comes into the equation).
And I stand by the claim that you **** on it because it's a Texan favorite. Your last reply is pretty indicative of your overall attitude toward Texans in general.
And I stand by the claim that you **** on it because it's a Texan favorite. Your last reply is pretty indicative of your overall attitude toward Texans in general.
Ski Cooper has a better ski school than Breck. Yeah that's right Cooper. Not Copper. Cooper. Copper and Loveland and A Basin are all better than Breck.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
There are plenty of Texans that recognize the ****tyness that is Breck. In fact alot of Texans that love breck after a couple years here see the light and wake up and go "why did I ever like that place" and we just laugh and say yeah dude we tried to tell you. Whats ironic to us in the mountains is how when someone tells you they're EXCITED to go to breck you can 99% of the time discern they are from TX and 93% of the time discern Dallas/Ft Worth or Houston.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
WP is FAR better than Breck.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Summit Value and Keystone Pass are far cheaper. The Local Pass restricts the Number of days in Vail / BC and Blacksout the most popular dates. So yeah it's most access and price point. The quality and conditions are trash but it's cheap and easier to access. There's also no free parking in Vail / BC. Thats a huge turn off to most FR.
Also colorado kids ski free Program is also far larger in Sumco. So that's a big FR draw for breck especially.
I just would never spend thousands of dollars to go ski breck when the people that live next to breck don't ski breck. Thats telling.
Also colorado kids ski free Program is also far larger in Sumco. So that's a big FR draw for breck especially.
I just would never spend thousands of dollars to go ski breck when the people that live next to breck don't ski breck. Thats telling.
"I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Breckenridge is a great town and the slopes are fine. Beginner ski schools don't matter all that much.Bayou City said:
Breck is by far the WORST Rec you will here get for this. I was waiting for it. Lol.
And as much as I hate to admit it, the best ski school(s) in CO are Vail/BC and Telly. Vail/BC actually provide a ski green T2B guarantee or your money back and they have the highest % of PSIA Certified Instructors across each level. Breck and Keystone arent bad but they arent great. The head of the breck ski school was a Middle level Manager at Vail and got the Job because not many people across the Board wanted it. She's a shredder and a Sweet heart but compared to the western VR Hills they don't get the cream of the crop. Those instructors get placed into V or BC.
I'd rate the 4 Aspen Ski Co schools somewhere below Vail/BC/Telly and above Winter Park/Steamboat. Steamboat can be great but it's really hit or miss. It's alot like Breck: The local instructors are GREAT, but the seasonal instructors may have little to no experience and are only their to party for the season and then leave.
Bayou City = Just Panda who wanted all of the Texas people to not come to CO during covid or at least wear their masks
We did Breck years ago to try something different (usually do Steamboat) and we did not like all the diagonal catwalks or the mountain. Town was neat, have not returned for the snow.
We are doing steamboat springs
Crested Butte is another good option. They have a small separate hill for beginners to learn on, a good ski school, easy free shuttle service down into town. Less crowded than any of the Front range resorts too.
Yep, he comes off as an obnoxious weirdo. Seems like he takes his questionable/unpopular opinions as fact.redaszag99 said:
Bayou City = Just Panda who wanted all of the Texas people to not come to CO during covid or at least wear their masks
Featured Stories
See All
Texas A&M adds former Florida DE T.J. Searcy via transfer portal
by Cade Draughon
Texas A&M adds former Georgia DE Sam M'Pemba via transfer portal
by Cade Draughon
55:57
2d ago
6.6k
rca21978
Twas the night before Christmas - Albert Regis and TAMU Football
in Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium
63
PGAG
Twas the night before Christmas - Albert Regis and TAMU Football
in Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium
37
Gladiator 96
SIAP: Edgerrin Cooper gets shoutout from Annie Agar
in Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium
30