St. Bear's Summit County Tour

Today was my first day skiing outside of the Northeast. Went to A-Basin, they got 4" overnight and it snowed most of the day. I got a strong Wildcat vibe from the place, which is a compliment. Only got to take 1 run down Montezuma Bowl before it was closed due to winds, but everything off Pali skied outstanding.

Highlight of the day might be riding the lift with a local. When we said the we are from NH, he said, "Oh, so you guys know how to ski well."

Copper tomorrow.

Skied Copper. Outstanding mountain. Hiked up to Tucker Mountain, skied knee to thigh deep untouched.

Tucker Mountain at Copper.

Sweet, glad you got the goods on your first trip West.

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Bootpack up Tucker.

Nice!

Summit of Peak 6 at Breck and drop in.

Very nice! We got a little storm coming in tonight as well. Expect 3-6 to come in

skiNEwhere said:

Very nice! We got a little storm coming in tonight as well. Expect 3-6 to come in

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Half day at Loveland before our afternoon flight.

Jealous enjpy it it is great out their . still love home though but got give up vlad you made it out their.

Very nice. You made the rounds pretty good! So which of the four, A-Basin, Copper, Breck, or Loveland would you most like to return to for more exploration?? Liked your comparison of A-Basin to Wildcat. Maybe even a Wildcat/MRG hybrid on steroids. :smile:

I'd like to come back to A-Basin because we only got one run down Montezuma Bowl before they shut it down. I'd also like to come back to Loveland because we only got a half day to explore.

That being said, when I come back, I'll probably do something similar and hit a different one each day. I like the variety and different vibe at each place.

4" of new snow with a ton of windblown makes for a borderline powder day at Loveland. Really dig the vibe of this place.

Just missed ya out there. Hope you are having as mush fun as I did. I was in CO 2/20-3/3. Summit County 2/20-23, then Southern CO and NM the rest of the time

Summit County Eastern Equivalents

A-Basin = Wildcat. Gives you the same sense of driving up a 2 lane road through the mountains, turn the corner, and boom, there's a ski area. No base development, just a skiers mountain with a lodge.

Copper = Sugarloaf. Big mountain with loads of variety, and expert runs at the top. Yes, it's resorty, but still comes off as a place for serious skiing.

Vail = Sunday River/Bretton Woods. Not that there isn't fun terrain here, it's just not 1st, 2nd, or 3rd on the list of what they're about. Also seems to have snowfall/elevation problems like SR.

Breckenridge = Sugarbush. Variety for days. Yes it's resorty, but like Copper it comes off as authentic, where Vail is very fake and forced. Also has as much hardcore ski runs as you can handle.

Loveland = Cannon. It's more than just the fact that it's literally on the highway. This is a serious place for serious skiing (and serious winds).

St. Bear said:

Loveland = Cannon. It's more than just the fact that it's literally on the highway. This is a serious place for serious skiing (and serious winds).

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Bingo.

St. Bear said:

Summit County Eastern Equivalents

A-Basin = Wildcat. Gives you the same sense of driving up a 2 lane road through the mountains, turn the corner, and boom, there's a ski area. No base development, just a skiers mountain with a lodge.

Copper = Sugarloaf. Big mountain with loads of variety, and expert runs at the top. Yes, it's resorty, but still comes off as a place for serious skiing.

Vail = Sunday River/Bretton Woods. Not that there isn't fun terrain here, it's just not 1st, 2nd, or 3rd on the list of what they're about. Also seems to have snowfall/elevation problems like SR.

Breckenridge = Sugarbush. Variety for days. Yes it's resorty, but like Copper it comes off as authentic, where Vail is very fake and forced. Also has as much hardcore ski runs as you can handle.

Loveland = Cannon. It's more than just the fact that it's literally on the highway. This is a serious place for serious skiing (and serious winds).

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This all feels pretty spot-on from my experiences. The only thing I might change is that Vail feels more like Killington than BW to me. For pretty much the same reasons you listed.

I was actually thinking of Killington for Breck, mostly because of the size, variety, and apres scene.

Vail felt like Bretton Woods and skied like Sunday River. Not huge vert, but very spread out.

Love those mtns. Only have two days at A-Basin, but VERY impressed. They were consecutive days, first sunny and enjoyed single black diamond runs in Montezuma Bowl on what they call Founder's Ridge (far skier's right). Scenic back there. Second day was snowy and since much of the place is above treeline that had a big impact on visibility sending us to trees anywhere we could find them. Goes without saying the bumps of Pali are world class & wore me out quickly. We did not hike the East Wall where they keep the really steep stuff
Haven’t skied Vail since 1976, but might see a lot of the place next year if I get an Epicpass.

I'll add a couple more from that part of CO to St. Bear's fine analogy:
Keystone = Loon. I'm sure there are more nuances and challenges at both places (glades and hike-to terrain), but based on my few visits and superficial level of knowledge they both cater to the intermediate masses and park rats.
Beaver Creek = Stratton. Both mtns have nice upper intermediate terrain and an upscale reputation. Beaver Creek has some nice advantages if you get past the stuffy image - moderate crowds, exceptional grooming in times of low snow, and escalators!
Winter Park = Stowe. Before you laugh, I know WP has a much more proletariat vibe, but both areas feature an unusual mix of very easy and very challenging terrain, along with renowned ski schools.

View from Montezuma Bowl/Founder's Ridge at A-basin. Hard to see, but in addition to some of A-Basin's terrain, trails from both Keystone and Breckenridge can be seen in this photo of yours truly from a great April visit some years back:grin:

jimk said:

Keystone = Loon. I'm sure there are more nuances and challenges at both places (glades and hike-to terrain), but based on my few visits and superficial level of knowledge they both cater to the intermediate masses and park rats.

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We met up with one of my brother's friends from HS who now lives out there and works on the park at Keystone. He actually used to work at Loon before moving to CO, and this is exactly how he described the place.