Experience Ski at Breckenridge Ski Resort

Breckenridge Ski Resort is one of several in its immediate area. Summit County Colorado is ski country. Home to Copper Mountain,Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, and Breckenridge Ski Resort, the area is a Mecca for destination skiers and residents of Colorado's Front Range cities alike. Taking a Breckenridge ski vacation does not mean you are confined to one resort.

Breckenridge Colorado Ski Resort (simply "Breck" to locals) is one of the most popular of the Summit County resorts. Parking near the resort is at a premium and the pay lot near the lifts often fills up quickly. Not to worry, there are regular shuttles from the outlying parking lots (be sure to remember which one you parked at) and a new gondola to ferry passengers from the downtown transportation center to the base areas.

For many years, a Breckenridge ski vacation was most suited to intermediates and beginners. This changed with the opening of the Peak 8 bowls, the Peak 9 face, and other expert runs. Today, over half of the mountain is labeled double- or single-black diamond. There are still plenty of cruising runs for easygoing skiers and riders, but Breckenridge Ski Resort is now one of the best Colorado resorts for advanced skiers.

The base area at Breckenridge Colorado Ski Resort is at a dizzying 9,600 feet, higher than the peaks of most North American resorts. Breck's Imperial Express Superchair takes riders to 12,840 feet above sea level — the highest lift in North America when it was completed. It opens onto the wide-open face of Imperial Bowl and some great expert pick-your-own-route trails. Adventurous skiers can hike farther, to begin their descent at over 13,000 feet. If you have a few days on a Breckenridge ski vacation, you may want to save this hike until you are acclimatized to the elevation.

Locals love the snow on Peak 7, but some hiking is necessary to reach the best bowls here too. Its worth the effort: the snow here is as good as it gets anywhere in the world. The North Face on Peak 9 is another experts-only area; its runs are a challenge to even the best skiers. Mogul fans should head to Peak 10 and try their luck (and knees) on the bumps of Mustang and Blackhawk.

Intermediates can also find some nice trails on Peak 10; Centennial and Crystal runs are especially recommended. Peak 8 and Peak 9 also have some well-groomed and open trails, but take notice: some of the blue-rated runs at Breckenridge Colorado Ski Resort would be black elsewhere. Novices should stick to the green runs on these hills; they will probably enjoy the trails from Quicksilver lift best.

Snowboarders will not be disappointed at Breckenridge Ski Resort. Breck's Freeway Terrain Park is legendary. It was the first Colorado mountain to build a superpipe, an enormous type of halfpipe. Do not attempt this unless you know what you are doing. The walls can be sculpted to over 15 feet tall and there are always expert boarders around to let you know what you are doing wrong.

A Breckenridge ski vacation has everything: good and varied terrain, slopeside accommodation, other resorts within a short distance, and a charming base town. The only drawback might be its increasing popularity. On weekend traffic to Breckenridge is slow: a trip to Denver can take three or four hours, more than twice the time than on clear roads. All the Front Range visitors can lead to long lift lines, though these are not hard to escape if you head to the bowls.

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Snow Vacation at Aspen Ski Resort

Aspen Ski Resort might be the most famous ski area in the United States, but its legendary nightlife and rich and famous visitors sometimes overshadow the skiing. This is a shame. Four world-class mountains within 12 miles of a surprisingly charming downtown make Aspen ski holidays a treat for more than just the jet set.

Snowmass Ski Resort alone would justify a trip to ski Aspen Colorado. This sprawling mountain has the longest vertical drop in Colorado and over 3,000 skiable acres, mostly geared to intermediate, advanced, and expert skiers and snowboarders.

Buttermilk mountain is perfect for beginners and intermediate skiers — a great place to learn how to ski or to get back in shape on the first day of an Aspen ski holiday. Intermediates will have fun on Jacob's Ladder and Bear. Even the runs marked black, under Tiehack chair for example, are manageable for all except complete novices. The open and gently sloped tree runs off Javelin trail are a great place to learn how to ski in glades. Beginners will love the groomed cruisers and can experience top-to-bottom runs over Buttermilk's 2,000-foot vertical drop just as soon as they master a snowplow or front and back foot snowboard turns.

Aspen Highlands is probably the best-balanced mountain at Aspen Ski Resort — there's terrain here for every level of skier. Expert terrain here is some of the best in Colorado and favored by locals who ski Aspen. The highlight is Highlands Bowl, most of which can be accessed only by hiking or catching a ride with a snowcat. Steeplechase and the Olympic Bowl are also challenging to even the best skier. Intermediates should head up Loge Peak or Cloud Nine. Beginners can find some good runs off the exhibition chair.

Aspen ski holidays are incomplete without a trip to Aspen Mountain (often referred to as Ajax), which overlooks the town of Aspen. Aspen Mountain is the oldest of the four areas at Aspen Ski Resort. It had the longest chairlift in the world when it opened in 1946.

Beginners should practice at Buttermilk before attempting to ski Aspen Mountain. This is the only ski area in the United States that has no designated green runs. As a rule, the intermediate terrain is around the top of the summit and in the gullies between the ridges, the expert terrain drops from the ridges into the gullies. Beware, though: there is quite a jump from blue to black runs at Aspen Mountain and the black runs are difficult enough to challenge any expert.

Tickets at Aspen Ski Resort may be more expensive than at most resorts, but Aspen ski holidays don't have to break the bank. There is plenty of affordable housing, even some cheap student dorms. Aspen Colorado is home to some four star restaurants, but there is also a lot of cheap fast food and satisfying bar food.

Aspen airport has flights from Denver, Phoenix, Memphis, and Minneapolis. Eagle County airport is a little farther away (about 70 miles), but has flights from more cities. Shuttles are also available from Denver International Airport, but the 150-mile drive from Denver can take more than three hours. This has its advantages: the drive deters day-skiers from Denver, so it is less crowded on weekends than Winter Park, Vail, or the Summit County resorts. Most people at Aspen Ski Resort are locals, workers from across the world, or families enjoying Aspen ski holidays. Then, of course, there is the rich jet set that has made the town famous.

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