Tips for CO skiing for those new to it

[Anonymous]

If affordable to you, do Ski Butlers. They come to your accommodation and fit your skiis/boots. They you don't have to wait in any lines at the resort. Epic also has a new ski gear rental program but not sure what it entails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since youre staying with family, they are presumably locals and know their way around, dining, shopping, outdoor activities, etc, no?
Ski shuttle bus routes, cookies at 3pm, strawberry park to avoid crowds, etc

OP here. Yes, they have lived in the area for 10+ years and are avid skiiers. I'm sure they will know all that stuff. I guess I am more worried about the driving from the airport, renting our gear, and the terrain being overwhelming. One of my teens is not as confident a skiier as the other, and is just more anxious in general.

Sign up kid for ski lesson ^^

Fills up fast so do it sooner rather than later.

OP here. The relative we are visiting taught all three of his own kids to ski and is insistent he can/will do the same for ours. Its like a thing he is proud of doing for relatives. Is this a bad idea?

Hard to say.
You're there for 3 days of skiing so can your said relative calm your nervous teen and teach him to ski without both of them losing it in 3 days?
It's different to teach your own kid to ski (like you mentioned) especially when you live there and frequently ski VS. teaching a visiting relative who is there for a few days.

Sometimes it's better to outsource and risk hurting the feelings of relative.

Maybe spin it that Timmy will take ski lessons in the AM and Uncle Bob can supplement in the afternoon (you get the point).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since youre staying with family, they are presumably locals and know their way around, dining, shopping, outdoor activities, etc, no?
Ski shuttle bus routes, cookies at 3pm, strawberry park to avoid crowds, etc

OP here. Yes, they have lived in the area for 10+ years and are avid skiiers. I'm sure they will know all that stuff. I guess I am more worried about the driving from the airport, renting our gear, and the terrain being overwhelming. One of my teens is not as confident a skiier as the other, and is just more anxious in general.

Sign up kid for ski lesson ^^

Fills up fast so do it sooner rather than later.

OP here. The relative we are visiting taught all three of his own kids to ski and is insistent he can/will do the same for ours. Its like a thing he is proud of doing for relatives. Is this a bad idea?

Hard to say.
You're there for 3 days of skiing so can your said relative calm your nervous teen and teach him to ski without both of them losing it in 3 days?
It's different to teach your own kid to ski (like you mentioned) especially when you live there and frequently ski VS. teaching a visiting relative who is there for a few days.

Sometimes it's better to outsource and risk hurting the feelings of relative.

Maybe spin it that Timmy will take ski lessons in the AM and Uncle Bob can supplement in the afternoon (you get the point).

She can ski. He would just be helping her get more comfortable with turns and harder terrain, but I take your point. It certainly wouldn't be all day either. I'm guessing they would just ski togethr an hour or two each day.

[Anonymous]

Bring a trunk full of money.

[Anonymous]

Beaver Creek terrain is not overwhelming. I do think put them in ski lessons on day 1. your kids will get acclimated to the trails with an instructor and you will have the day to acclimate as well. then days 2-3 will be wide open fun for everyone.

we live in CO and BC is my hands down fave family resort.

[Anonymous]

+1. I am not a strong skier and I love BC. My kids are much better and they also love it. There are runs for everyone.

FWIW, I’d absolutely take the relative up on his offer to teach. Hands down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure your rental car is 4wd and/or snow tires. It's required for the I70/Loveland Pass through May.

Major company rental cars at DEN don't have snow tires. Maybe if you use Turo you can find something with winter tires. And it's only required when the conditions warrant it.

I-70 is generally well maintained but can often be a nightmare due to the volume of traffic. It can take twice as long if you're doing the drive on a weekend. And it is closed frequently because idiots get into accidents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since youre staying with family, they are presumably locals and know their way around, dining, shopping, outdoor activities, etc, no?
Ski shuttle bus routes, cookies at 3pm, strawberry park to avoid crowds, etc

OP here. Yes, they have lived in the area for 10+ years and are avid skiiers. I'm sure they will know all that stuff. I guess I am more worried about the driving from the airport, renting our gear, and the terrain being overwhelming. One of my teens is not as confident a skiier as the other, and is just more anxious in general.

Sign up kid for ski lesson ^^

Fills up fast so do it sooner rather than later.

OP here. The relative we are visiting taught all three of his own kids to ski and is insistent he can/will do the same for ours. Its like a thing he is proud of doing for relatives. Is this a bad idea?

Generally people who scoff at lessons and teach their kids themselves have kids who can bomb down the mountain but have poor form and control.

[Anonymous]

Epic also runs a really good shuttle from the Denver airport. Just take that if you are afraid of driving.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to beaver creek also and putting my youngest skier in ski school. not sure about my older 2 boys yet. It will be our first visit so I don't have any major advice. We have skied in UT though - i would for sure start greens, blues, then blacks in that order when getting used to the terrain.

[Anonymous]

A green in CO is like a blue on the east coast. Some greens are like east coast diamonds. Just a heads up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A green in CO is like a blue on the east coast. Some greens are like east coast diamonds. Just a heads up.

Sorry I mean Some BLUES are like east coast diamonds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A green in CO is like a blue on the east coast. Some greens are like east coast diamonds. Just a heads up.

At A Basin maybe but not Beaver Creek.

[Anonymous]

If your kids are at the levels you referenced on the east coast you should be fine. Snow is more forgiving, runs are wider, it is a nice experience. The resorts are bigger, so I can see the anxiety coming into play in that way, and at BC you want to be sure you make it to your base at least for last run. As is the case probably with most western resorts there are different not connected bases. Aspen is an exception. Print out the trail map and show him where you're starting from and the Epic app has trail maps with geolocation. I found BC to be pretty intuitive. Also talk about however you're getting to/from your lodging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be mindful of the elevation! We went to Breck in February and while our family was ok our friends got quite sick, including one of them who had to be on oxygen most of the trip and couldn't ski. I didn't drink at all while there and we grant a ton of water and electrolytes. It was a great trip and kids LOVED it (they're all great east coast skiers).

BC is lower in elevation than Breck. We’re elevation wimps and don’t love Breck for that reason but had no problem at BC.

It depends on the person. One of my kids was badly affected at Breck. Another time I felt pretty crummy just in Boulder.