Change of Plans. 6 Adults looking for a ski trip out west.

6 of us are looking to go a 5 night ski trip out west this season. We are leaning towards VAIL colorado right now, but we are not sure. 3 Snowboarders and 3 skiers. Looking for just great riding. Were not looking for terrain parks or anything.
Looking to fly out of New York City or Philly Airports what ever is cheaper.



We want to find the best deals we can get, thats why every resort is an option.
We are looking to go in March, but the big question is when is the best time to go? February or March? On average when are the best conditions.

when i think out west i think Utah vs. CO.

in past i've found airfare to CO cheaper but skiing/lodging more expensive.

i'd give Breckenridge a look. great town at foot of mountain for fun stuff to do. you can take a bus up to Abasin for a change of scenery. i'd prefer March over Feb but if Feb was cheaper you won't be disappointed with either option.

Right now we are thinking Vail is the best option but the lodging is expensive.

Vail, Jackson Hole, Mammouth Mountain, Breckenridge we have looked into. What else are we missing?
Also were looking for the best overall resort. 3 people were going ski/ride but won't ski everyday and will need other activities to keep busy. Please if anyone has been out west, give us some advice/information.

snowboarder05 said:

Right now we are thinking Vail is the best option but the lodging is expensive.

Vail, Jackson Hole, Mammouth Mountain, Breckenridge we have looked into. What else are we missing?
Also were looking for the best overall resort. 3 people were going ski/ride but won't ski everyday and will need other activities to keep busy. Please if anyone has been out west, give us some advice/information.

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BC Canada, Slc Utah cheap to stay in valley and have 4 placee within in 20 miles of Midvalle Utah and they each average around 500 inches of snow per season.
I know SLC has lots of stuff to do just not sure what you want to do.

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salt lake - you can stay in the city (or edge of it) for decent prices, take the bus up little cottonwood canyon and hit snowbird. the cool kids in the group can check out Alta while there too.

What's the better overall experience Utah or Colorado. Right now I am finding airfare cheaper for Colorado.

snowboarder05 said:

What's the better overall experience Utah or Colorado. Right now I am finding airfare cheaper for Colorado.

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personally, i think you'll find CO more expensive overall when you factor in ground transportation, lodging, meals and skiing but if you can find deals i think you'd have better time in CO. single day ticket in vail without discount is over $100

NOTE - altitude in CO might be an issue, could lose some ski time if it hits you bad.

another scenario -

CO - stay in Dillon/Silverthorn , less expensive but also less to do compared to Breckenridge. with 6 of you going you planning to rent a large SUV? if so you can easily get around. ABASIN, KEYSTONE and Breck are all an easy drive from Dillion and also on the bus route in case 1 or 2 people are running late or want to do something different than others.

Dillon is right off 70, you can jump on and get to Vail for a single day, Copper is also driving distance from Dillon.

public buses in that area are excellent, you lose a little time but you can get around easily if you don't end up with a car or want to go out without having to worry about drinking/driving.

Don't forget Canada.... And Tahoe..

For a place to stay check out vrbo.com. House and condo rentals all over the US

Utah Super Pass (Snowbird, Atla, Brighton & Solitude)

We stayed at the Super 8 in Midvale a couple of years ago. I think you can buy the super pass thru them. Yes, you'll pay a little more for airfare, but you'll save in other areas. You won't need a rental vehicle. You can get free shuttle from the airport to the super 8. The ski shuttles are included in your Super Pass and only about 100 yds from the Super 8. You are right a cross the street from food and shopping. Ski/Snowboard rentals on the mountain or I think some of the local places will come to the Super 8 and set you up. If you want to go up to Park City or somewhere else for a day. You can get a rental car brought to the Super 8 from Enterprise Rentals. I really enjoyed my stay in Utah and look to go again in the future. Whatever you decide to do. I'm sure you have a great time.

gmcunni said:

another scenario -

CO - stay in Dillon/Silverthorn , less expensive less but to do compared to Breckenridge. with 6 of you going you planning to rent a large SUV? if so you can easily get around. ABASIN, KEYSTONE and Breck are all an easy drive from Dillion and also on the bus route in case 1 or 2 people are running late or want to do something different than others.

Dillon is right off 70, you can jump on and get to Vail for a single day, Copper is also driving distance from Dillon.

public buses in that area are excellent, you lose a little time but you can get around easily if you don't end up with a car or want to go out without having to worry about drinking/driving.

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This is your ticket to skiing Summit County. There is tons of places to rent on VRBO that are pretty affordable. 6 people in an SUV will be pretty affordable and then as GMCUNNI said there are tons of world class resorts within an easy drive of there.

Also don't overlook Loveland ski area either. It's certainly not as challenging as A-Basin on the other side of the pass but it offers some great skiing.

Personally, I prefer Copper, it's closer to Denver and you don't have to pay and a leg for everything. Lots of terrain, bowls, and not too long of lift lines. Honestly, I think Vail is kind of overrated

I have a group trip planned right now to South Lake Tahoe. We are staying in some nice condos about a mile from the Heavenly gondola. Flying out of Hartford. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you the info.

Scotty said:

BC Canada, Slc Utah cheap to stay in valley and have 4 placee within in 20 miles of Midvalle Utah and they each average around 500 inches of snow per season.
I know SLC has lots of stuff to do just not sure what you want to do.

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Flights to Vancouver are usually cheap and perfect if you mainly want to ski Whistler. But if you want to go exploring some of the other places like Kicking Horse and Revelstoke, get ready to fork over money in gas or the extra bills to fly into some of the smaller airports like Kelowna.

MadMadWorld said:

Flights to Vancouver are usually cheap and perfect if you mainly want to ski Whistler. But if you want to go exploring some of the other places like Kicking Horse and Revelstoke, get ready to fork over money in gas or the extra bills to fly into some of the smaller airports like Kelowna.

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Or fly into Calgary and rent a car...

Check Copper

One of the best vacations we ever took was staying in a ski-in/ski-out condo at Copper. Great mountain with a bit of everything. Plus it's a short ride to Vail and everything else in Summit County. No nitelife, though, if that's important.

gmcunni said:

another scenario -

CO - stay in Dillon/Silverthorn , less expensive but also less to do compared to Breckenridge. with 6 of you going you planning to rent a large SUV? if so you can easily get around. ABASIN, KEYSTONE and Breck are all an easy drive from Dillion and also on the bus route in case 1 or 2 people are running late or want to do something different than others.

Dillon is right off 70, you can jump on and get to Vail for a single day, Copper is also driving distance from Dillon.

public buses in that area are excellent, you lose a little time but you can get around easily if you don't end up with a car or want to go out without having to worry about drinking/driving.

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Vail offers tons of skiing. The back bowls are exposed to the sun and can get kind of cooked as you go into March, but either March or February should have very good conditions. The town of Vail is purpose built with lots of relatively tall modern condos in the main village areas. I70 runs right through town. My wife and I really liked the skiing but didn’t really warm up to the town. Just not our cup of tea. We ended up driving out to the Minturn Saloon on two evenings (8 – 10 miles) which was more our style. We like to find some laid back local type places and just never really found anything that suited us in Vail. I’m probably too harsh but I’d describe the town of Vail as sterile. As a contrast, we’ve also stayed in Frisco. Main Street in Frisco is lined with Victorian buildings, numerous pubs and restaurants, etc. It is in many ways a mini-Breckenridge which is only 8-9 miles away. We loved Frisco and skied at Breck, A-Basin, Keystone, and drove to Beaver Creek one day. Copper is the closest mountain to Frisco. The only reason we didn’t ski Copper was that we had purchased the Epic Pass that year. Didn’t stay in Breck but went up for dinner and drinks. Downtown Breck is very charming, IMO. You most likely could stay in Frisco, Dillon, or Silverthorne much more inexpensively than Vail. I’d give Park City some consideration as well. The SLC airport is easy in/easy out and only about 45 minutes from Park City. Park City is another traditional mining town and downtown is lined with Victorian era buildings. Lots to see and do. Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, and The Canyons are all right there. Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, and Brighton are all within an hour or so of PC and it’s generally a fairly easy drive. And I do think it’s worth the drive, at least for a day or so. Sundance is probably 45 minutes. Going North Snowbasin and Powder Mountain are within 1.5 hours or so. Elevation in PC is around 6800’ to 7000’. Vail is a bit over 8000’ if I recall correctly, the town of Breck is about 9500’, Frisco is a bit over 9,000’. If cost is a major consideration you can find really inexpensive accommodations in SLC. If you stay in the Sandy or Midvale areas you’re only 30 minutes or so to the Cottonwood Canyons resorts and not much further to the PC resorts. My issue with SLC is that it doesn’t feel like a ski vacation. It’s basically a large urban/suburban area with strip malls, car dealerships, etc., etc. There’s often no snow in the valley and it can get somewhat smoggy on occasion. There are of course lots of options for restaurants/shopping and folks could go to the Temple if they don’t want to ski. I generally find fares into Denver less expensive than SLC but I think you can generally do better with other costs in UT, though you can probably do pretty well staying in the Frisco, Dillon, or Silverthorne area. In my experience we’ve always been able to easily get into and out of the SLC airport. The drive to PC is on well-maintained 4-lane roads with no high mountain passes. Roads to Alta/Snowbird/Solitude/Brighton can be treacherous, sometimes closed for AV work, and sometimes require chains or AWD. DIA to the resorts is a bit of a longer drive and takes you through the Eisenhower tunnel going to Breck/Frisco and also over the Vail pass if going further West to Vail. Perhaps we’ve just been unlucky but that’s been a tougher drive. UT and CO have their pluses and minuses and you should have a great time no matter which direction you choose. Never visited any other locations. Would really like to try Telluride but every time I look at it it’s like “you just can’t get there from here.”

dmc said:

Don't forget Canada.... And Tahoe..

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+1 .....or Mammoth(CA) or Baker(WA) Mtns.

Anklebiter said:

Utah Super Pass (Snowbird, Atla, Brighton & Solitude)

We stayed at the Super 8 in Midvale a couple of years ago. I think you can buy the super pass thru them. Yes, you'll pay a little more for airfare, but you'll save in other areas. You won't need a rental vehicle. You can get free shuttle from the airport to the super 8. The ski shuttles are included in your Super Pass and only about 100 yds from the Super 8. You are right a cross the street from food and shopping. Ski/Snowboard rentals on the mountain or I think some of the local places will come to the Super 8 and set you up. If you want to go up to Park City or somewhere else for a day. You can get a rental car brought to the Super 8 from Enterprise Rentals. I really enjoyed my stay in Utah and look to go again in the future. Whatever you decide to do. I'm sure you have a great time.

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I have done this, but I stayed in Motel 6 suite for 400 for 10 days with my own kitchen. Bus picked me up access the street from hotel, and it snow 2-3 6 out of the days I was their, epic, epic epic!

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