Keystone and Vail

[Anonymous]

We are planning a ski trip out west next month for a week. We are staying at Keystone and planning on skiing Keystone for 3-4 days and maybe 2 days at Vail.

Any good recommendations for places to eat and non-ski activities at Keystone?

DS is advance skier (level 7), and I was thinking of putting him in the ski school all terrain program at Vail so he gets experience and skills teaching with bowls. He also likes trees so also some teaching with glade skiing which I understand is Blue Sky Basin? Has anyone done this with your kids and was it worth it? You can choose which location with Lionshead and Golden Peak to meet and is there a difference with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are planning a ski trip out west next month for a week. We are staying at Keystone and planning on skiing Keystone for 3-4 days and maybe 2 days at Vail.

Any good recommendations for places to eat and non-ski activities at Keystone?

DS is advance skier (level 7), and I was thinking of putting him in the ski school all terrain program at Vail so he gets experience and skills teaching with bowls. He also likes trees so also some teaching with glade skiing which I understand is Blue Sky Basin? Has anyone done this with your kids and was it worth it? You can choose which location with Lionshead and Golden Peak to meet and is there a difference with that?

The schools are better at Keystone.

No it is not worth it at all.

We are a family of avid skiers/snowboarders.

[Anonymous]

Eating in Vail:
Mountain Standard
Slope Room
Alpenrose or Almresi

You will want reservations at most restaurants.

[Anonymous]

I prefer starting from lionshead for Vail.

I don’t think that program would be worth it this year. Have you checked to see if the back bowls are even open? Snow has been lacking this year.

[Anonymous]

Vail is better than keystone; easier to get to the mountain and better town.

Love mountain standard, slope room, sweet basil, and up the creek (for more low key setting with kids).

Skating on the pond in keystone is fun!

[Anonymous]

Just take him to the bowls if open. Vail is enormous. You need a good plan each day for where you want to ski otherwise you will spend the whole time traversing the mountain. Check snow reports. Hasn't been much lately. Also blue sky is incredibly far from the front side. I wouldn't pay for lessons to go there. At least 2 hrs of lessons is getting out and back. Plenty of glades else where on mountain.

[Anonymous]

Breckenridge is closer and much better than Vail. None have had great snow this year so most glade skiing will be out because they cannot make snow in them. Breck has nice long runs. Both Keystone and Breck have great ski schools - but given the snow conditions if your son kid level 7 it won’t be worth the money. In great conditions, sure. My kids are both expert skiers and we get them one private lesson (combined) to take them down super steep doubles and EX that DH and I don’t want to do as often these days. Maybe consider private do level 7 - very few people are in ski school at that level. Really most kids stop coming at level 5

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone for suggestions.

Here is the situation with DS. I didn’t grow up skiing and can do easy blacks out west with no moguls. DH grew up skiing and can ski pretty much anything but terrible at teaching. So the boys ski with me in am, and then I tell them to go off and ski the harder stuff after. He has taken DS out to single blacks with moguls, etc.. but not double blacks.

This winter, DH could take him out to double blacks and harder stuff. We think he is ready. I am just wondering if it would be better to put him with an instructor first to help with any technique refinement and pointers the 1st day or so before letting him go with DH. Thoughts? Am I overthinking this and he doesn’t need it to progress to double blacks? He is only 11.

[Anonymous]

If all of Vail is open (back bowls and blue sky) I think the all terrain program would be worth it. If nothing else it is really nice to have an instructor show you the mountain as Vail is huge and can be tricky to navigate if it is your first time.

I would also think that if you do this mid week it might be a smaller group so more personal instruction. IMO lessons area always worth it no matter your level.

[Anonymous]

If you've got the cash to burn, book one all day private lesson at Vail on first day of trip with the explicit request to train in back bowls on expert terrain. My family did this last year and it was a great fit for very good to great skiers. The instructor both acted as a instructor but also guide to interesting terrain at Vail (Vail is enormous).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are planning a ski trip out west next month for a week. We are staying at Keystone and planning on skiing Keystone for 3-4 days and maybe 2 days at Vail.

Any good recommendations for places to eat and non-ski activities at Keystone?

DS is advance skier (level 7), and I was thinking of putting him in the ski school all terrain program at Vail so he gets experience and skills teaching with bowls. He also likes trees so also some teaching with glade skiing which I understand is Blue Sky Basin? Has anyone done this with your kids and was it worth it? You can choose which location with Lionshead and Golden Peak to meet and is there a difference with that?

As other posters have mentioned snow conditions are meh right now, but that could change next month and certainly by March/April.

For glades/bowls, definitely Vail (Blue Sky Basin and parts of the Back Bowls like Inner/Outer Mongolia, Poppyfields, Shangri-La) over Keystone. However, for some tree riding at Keystone, I like Erickson Bowl and area by the Outback. Mornings can be a bit icy, but Erickson Bowl always seems to have some nice powder...or maybe we've been lucky.

[Anonymous]

We did Blue Sky Basin last year and were not a fan. We love China Bowl but BSB felt very closed in and no sweeping vistas which is why I love the Back Bowls.

At Key - We love Bergman Bowl! Again sweeping views and Breck in the Background.

We usually stay at Breck and do one day at Key and one day at Vail.

[Anonymous]

Colorado ski team parent here.

Im most familiar with Breckenridge because that's where I prefer to ski, but all three are Vail resorts and programming is somewhat similar; some instructors work at all three mountains. I've done lots

Looking at the current Breckenridge website, I would do the "all terrain" lessons. That was what my son enjoyed the most and it's less of a lesson and more skiing with an instructor on challenging terrain.

Alternatively, if you're at Keystone look at what it would cost to do an advanced youth lesson at A Basin--it's advanced terrain and a lift ticket and pass there may be less than a lesson at the other resorts and your group lesson may end up being your kid and one or two others. When my son wanted to try snowboarding we got him a 4 pack there and some of his group lessons ended up being private lessons.

[Anonymous]

Our friends had a great experience with a private instructor that acted as a guide. All of you could go and would get something out of it.
This was at Vail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did Blue Sky Basin last year and were not a fan. We love China Bowl but BSB felt very closed in and no sweeping vistas which is why I love the Back Bowls.

At Key - We love Bergman Bowl! Again sweeping views and Breck in the Background.

We usually stay at Breck and do one day at Key and one day at Vail.

Interesting I love Blue Sky basin. No vast sweeping views like the back bowls but the runs through trees are so beautiful.

Bergman bowl is hit or miss. If there is snow it is nice, but can be crusty if it hasn't snowed in a while. But I do agree that keystone has the most beautiful views of Breck.