evi@boulder.UUCP (Evi Nemeth) (01/01/86)
here is some information on skiing in colorado around the winter usenix meeting in denver. GENERAL INFO -------------------------- snow -- in the areas close to denver (arapahoe basin, keystone, loveland, winter park, copper mountain, breckenridge, vail, beaver creek, berthod, xxx) we had lots of snow early in the season, but have had little or none in the last two weeks. xxx is a small area just beyond winter park, whose name escapes me. all areas are open, some only partially. they often save slopes for the christmas week crowds, so i would expect everything to be open by mid january. the southern part of the state (crested butte, telluride, purgatory, wolf creek) have had record snowfalls. prices -- ouch. lift tickets are typically $20-$27 per day, adults; kids are usually defined as being 12 or under and are about half price. half day tickets are usually 2/3 to 3/4 the cost of the full day ticket. ski americard works at all areas in the denver area except vail, breckenridge, and beaver creek. it gets discounts from a few dollars to half price. for example at arapahoe basin, the regular price is $26, but ski americard gets a $9 discount every day and gives a few $5 days or half price days. vail valley card gets $5 off everyday at vail or beaver creek for the card holder and for a friend on 10 different days. last year you could spend all 10 friend days at once, now you cant. ski international card gets a few dollars off at breckenridge. loveland, winterpark and berthod are a bit cheaper than the others, if you have no discount cards. discount tickets are often available at sports stores and a king soopers grocery store. lift lines -- in mid january, the lines should not be too bad. beaver creek is always less crowded than vail, tickets are interchangeable. arapahoe, loveland and berthod are usually less crowded than the others as well. during the week there should be no lines at any of the areas. weather -- january weather can be very cold, but the rockies are so far inland that the weather is very changeable. i went yesterday and it was a balmy 20 degrees. dress in layers and you'll be safe. the sun here goes thru a couple of miles less atmosphere than at sea level and so you should use sunscreen on sunny days even in january. the climate is also very dry so lips will crack etc. without chapstick. altitude -- most areas are 9-10,000 feet at the base and 11-12,000 ft at the top. if you havent skied here before watch out for altitude sickness (headaches, nausea, dizzyness). eating regularly (a bite of a candy bar each lift ride up) helps, so does eating rolaids. the altitude means there is less oxygen in the air so you may find yourself out of breath. difficulty -- here is a prejudiced view of the areas mentioned above. keystone - good beginner and intermediate, no advanced even though there are trails marked with black diamonds. has lots of snowmaking. keystone/north peak - good intermediate, ok advanced, since the lift accident here a week ago, you can ski north peak but have to walk/pole out. the way out is along a road 3.2 miles that is downhill, but not enuf to keep you moving all the way. it takes about 20-30 minutes to get out and a bus takes you back to the main area. the lift servicing north peak is running fine, the one that broke is the one going between north peak and keystone. arapahoe basin (a-basin) - poor beginner, good intermediate, good advanced. palivichini is one of the hardest runs in colorado. most of a-basin is above tree line, it can be windy. breckenridge - good all around mountain, really 3 mountains, peaks 8, 9, and a new one peak 10 open this year for the first time. trying to become another vail, so lots of locals (especially the ones with ski americard) prefer a-basin. copper mountain - like breckenridge, a good all around mountain, has lots of snowmaking. loveland - an old area, under-rated, cheap, lots of locals, good mix of difficulties. vail - huge, takes a long while to ski it all, best with someone who knows the mountain. has new fast quad lift that helps the lift lines at mid-vail. back bowls are great on powder days. beaver creek - sister area to vail, fancy, mostly beginner and intermediate with a couple of expert runs. small, easy to ski all of in one day. generally not too crowded. you have to park and take a bus into the area, end of the day makes for long bus lines. lift ticket is interchangeable with vail. berthod - another oldie, cheaper, small, above tree line so can be windy. even mix of difficulties. winter park - good all round mountain, beginner and intermediate at winter park, advanced at adjacent area called mary jane, one lift ticket, you can ski between the areas (or take a bus). xxx - new area about 10 miles beyond winter park, cheap, good beginner and intermediate, good family area, small. free bus from winter park. eldora - local area west of boulder, small family area, good beginner and intermediate, cheap. for the areas away from denver (4-8 hours) i have less information, but since this article is much too long anyway, will include it. crested butte - my favorite area, never lines, medium size, good beginner and intermediate, good advanced, great out-of-bounds skiing (you hike 10 minutes to get to the head of the trials). good snow this year. telluride - nice hard mountain, but bad lift design. new lifts may have fixed it. spiral staircase is about the steepest you'll find in colorado. good beginner and intermediate on the back side. purgatory - never skied there. wolf creek - nice small/medium sized area, incredible snow, gets the most snow in the us, no accommodations at the area. steamboat - big, nice tree skiing, bad lines over vacation times, good all round mountain, reasonable accommodations nearby. aspen - three areas, ajax, aspen highlands, snowmass, vailish but with a european alpine flavor. ajax is intermediate/advanced, highlands too, snowmass the best all rounder. ------------------------------ SPECIFICS -- DAY TRIPS we intend to have daily ski buses during the conference for folks who dont want to attend each day. they cost about $500 and hold 47 people. you can have beer, wine, coffee, etc. on the bus, so we could do breakfast (coffee and donuts) and munchies and booze for after. the cost per person would be about $20. the buses leave at 7am, arrive back about 6pm. there is also a train to winter park, it is a bit more expensive than the bus and gives you a short day of skiing. it costs $16 each way; leaves at 7:30am arriving at 10:20am, returns at 4pm arriving at 7pm. if you would like to participate, mail ...ucbvax!hplabs!hao!boulder!usenix with the following information: day you want to go - wed, thurs, fri area you prefer - use only the ones close to denver a return address for us to confirm to we will collect info for a week or so and then firm up the buses and destinations. ------------------------------ SPECIFICS -- WEEKEND TRIPS, FAR AWAY weekend buses that go up friday evening and return sunday evening to the far away areas like aspen, steamboat and crested butte are about $2000, and so would be about $50/person. again, if a large enuf group is interested we will arrange one, please mail in the following info if you want to go: which weekend, before or after the conference area you prefer return address to confirm to if there is sufficient interest we will follow up with info on condos etc. ------------------------------ SPECIFICS -- WEEKEND TRIPS, CLOSE IN weekend buses to the areas a couple of hours west of denver would cost about $1000, cost per person about $30 each. we have info on condos at silverthorn. Luxury - indoor swimming pool, hot tub, the works 1 bdrm - $80/night 2 bdrm - $105/night 3 bdrm - $150/night Deluxe - no pool, hot tub, etc 1 bdrm - $70/night 2 bdrm - $90/night 3 bdrm - $135/night Economy - spartan 1 bdrm - $60/night 2 bdrm - $80/night 3 bdrm - $120/night All rentals are furnished with linens, kitchen utensils, firewood and have a hide-a-bed in the living room where you can sleep additional people. Rates are based on 2 people in 1 bdrm, 4 people in 2 bdrm, 6 people in 3 bdrm. Children under 12 are free, additional adults(if you tell them about them) are $10 each. The rental agency is Wildernest, Box C, Silverthorne, CO 80498, (303) 468-6291. The location is in Silverthorne on the hill to the left as you continue past Silverthorne on I-70 toward Vail. A local bus runs every 20 minutes serving Silverthorne, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Breckenridge and Copper Mtn are 20-30 mins away, Vail about 45 mins away, Loveland about 30 mins, Beaver Creek 50 mins. Would need your own transportation to get to areas other than Arapahoe Basin and Keystone. again mail boulder!usenix if interested. we will try to schedule buses if there is sufficient interest. there are lots of condos available at the time of the meeting in other areas, the ski info booth at the denver airport has complete ski info for the whole state. trail maps from the major areas will be available to peruse at the usenix desk at the meeting. restaurant menus too. evi nemeth computer science dept university of colorado boulder, co 80309 303-492-5385 after jan1 uucp: ...ucbvax!hplabs!hao!boulder!evi, ...nbires!boulder!evi csnet: evi@boulder
ajs@hpfcla.UUCP (01/02/86)
Evi's and Greg's summaries are accurate and informative. I find nothing
to disagree with, or much to add, but perhaps that says something too.
For what it's worth, Loveland Basin is my favorite one-day area (due to
a combination of distance and quality); Steamboat my favorite for over-
night trips.
Alan Silverstein, Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division, Colorado
{ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!ajs, 303-226-3800 x3053, N 40 31'31" W 105 00'43"woods@hao.UUCP (Greg Woods) (01/02/86)
Just thought I'd go ahead and add my own $0.02 worth to Evi's excellent summary of Colorado skiing. > snow -- in the areas close to denver (arapahoe basin, keystone, loveland, > winter park, copper mountain, breckenridge, vail, beaver creek, berthod, xxx) > we had lots of snow early in the season, but have had little or none > in the last two weeks. xxx is a small area just beyond winter park, I think she's referring to Silver Creek. As for the snow, it really doesn't mean that much. A lot can happen in two weeks. One good snowstorm and it could be ass-deep powder. The few days right before you go will of course be the most critical, and who knows what will happen by then. If we don't get any more snow before the conference it may be very hardpacked and rocky. > prices -- ouch. You said it! > difficulty -- here is a prejudiced view of the areas mentioned above. I'll give my own differently-prejudiced (in some cases) views so you can have a better sample of local opinions. I've only skiied in the areas near Denver, except for Steamboat, so I'll limit my comments to them. > keystone - good beginner and intermediate, no advanced even though > there are trails marked with black diamonds. has lots of > snowmaking. Great for recreational skiers who want to do warp speed cruising. I think Keystone is the best cruiser area around. If you're one of those people who skis to have fun instead of to prove how good you are or to challenge yourself, you might like Keystone. On the other hand, if you aren't satisfied unless the moguls are over your head, you will find Keystone VERY boring. > keystone/north peak - good intermediate, ok advanced, since > the lift accident here a week ago, you can ski north > peak but have to walk/pole out. The Teller lift referred to is now back in service. After all the inspections and tests that have been conducted on it, I'll bet its the safest lift in Colorado! :-) You can now ski North Peak without poling. > arapahoe basin (a-basin) - poor beginner, good intermediate, good > advanced. palivichini is one of the hardest runs in colorado. > most of a-basin is above tree line, it can be windy. Best powder area in northern Colorado, if they have snow. If they don't, bring your rock skis, because they also have the biggest rocks. We don't call it Arockahoe basin for nothing! :-) It should also be pointed out that Keystone, North Peak and Arapahoe Basin can all be skiied on a single lift ticket. They run frequent shuttle busses between the bottom of Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. (North Peak can only be reached by taking a lift to the top of Keystone). > breckenridge - good all around mountain, really 3 mountains, peaks 8, > 9, and a new one peak 10 open this year for the first time. > trying to become another vail, so lots of locals (especially > the ones with ski americard) prefer a-basin. My personal opinion: Breckenridge sucks. All the good runs converge at the bottom of this one lift, so if it's not absolutely empty, lift lines can be a problem. I've only been there once, though, so take this with a grain of salt. > copper mountain - like breckenridge, a good all around mountain, has > lots of snowmaking. Far better than Breckenridge. Has a good mix of different difficulties, so if you're in a big crowd with different skiing abilities, Copper or Keystone/ North Peak are good choices. > loveland - an old area, under-rated, cheap, lots of locals, good mix > of difficulties. Highly recommended. As the top is right on the divide, it usually has the best snow as well. Least commercial of all the areas near Denver. > vail - huge, takes a long while to ski it all, best with someone who > knows the mountain. has new fast quad lift that helps the lift > lines at mid-vail. back bowls are great on powder days. Vail takes twice as long to get to as the other areas, costs more, is more commercialized and is owned by Texans. Need I say more. Otherwise I agree with Evi, especially the part about the back bowls. > berthod - another oldie, cheaper, small, above tree line so can be > windy. even mix of difficulties. Short runs, but on powder days it's unbelievable. > winter park - good all round mountain, beginner and intermediate at > winter park, advanced at adjacent area called mary jane, one > lift ticket, you can ski between the areas (or take a bus). If you are one of those who would hate Keystone based on my above description, then Mary Jane is definitely the place for you. ALL the runs are advanced, with a couple of token blue slopes that are much harder than the blue slopes on the Winter Park side. Also a great place to avoid the crowds if you have to ski on a weekend (park on the Mary Jane side at Utah Junction. No facilities so no one ever goes there, but you can get lift tickets there on weekends). The Winter Park side is mediocre and usually crowded. > xxx - new area about 10 miles beyond winter park, cheap, good beginner > and intermediate, good family area, small. free bus from > winter park. I'm not too impressed with Silver Creek. Runs are short and not very difficult. Also further away than most of the other areas. Not worth it. If you want to cruise, go to Keystone. > eldora - local area west of boulder, small family area, good beginner > and intermediate, cheap. Don't even bother unless you like New England-style skiing. The only good thing about Eldora is it's the closest decent area and the cheapest. Also, they have the most extensive night skiing setup in the US. Don't be afraid of night skiing, it's fun and you really can see adequately. Dress warm, however, because it's COLD up there at night. The only other area with night skiing is Keystone, and they only have a few lighted runs. Summary: For cruising: Keystone For bumps: Mary Jane For all-around areas: Copper Mountain or Keystone/North Peak Night Skiing: Eldora > steamboat - big, nice tree skiing, bad lines over vacation times, > good all round mountain, reasonable accommodations nearby. Steamboat is wonderful and well worth the trip if you can afford it. Once you get to midway, don't come back to the bottom. That's where most of the crowds are and there's very little worth skiing down there anyway. About 4 1/2 to 5 hours from Denver. > aspen - three areas, ajax, aspen highlands, snowmass, vailish but > with a european alpine flavor. ajax is intermediate/advanced, > highlands too, snowmass the best all rounder. Aspen is too expensive and too commercial. Other places offer just as good skiing for less. Well, there you have it. --Greg -- {ucbvax!hplabs | decvax!noao | mcvax!seismo | ihnp4!seismo} !hao!woods CSNET: woods@NCAR ARPA: woods%ncar@CSNET-RELAY