Thread Starter
TS
How kind of you to
Thank you for your kind offer of conversion into imperial units. Very helpful.
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A comparison of resorts on the Ikon pass
- Thread starter Ken in LA
- Start date
Thread Starter
TS
Thank you! I have always wanted to ski in Colorado. I have heard Snowmass is exceptional but know little about the other Colorado resorts included on the pass. Your thoughts and suggestions would be well appreciated.
The 4 Aspen mountains offer excellent variety and for a major resort they are all surprisingly uncrowded, even on powder days. Aspen's Roaring Fork Valley has an excellent bus system. There are some 40-50 year old lodges at Snowmass that are slatted for replacement but while still standing offer good value with dated decor and they are 3-400ft from where you put your skis on and ski to the lifts.
Copper and Winter Park are very good mountains with a very decent amount of steep terrain. I don't think Steamboat has as much steep terrain, but gets more snow.
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2017
- Posts
- 121
Cypress? Nah, even you haven't been to Cypress and you had a pass there few seasons back.
HEYYYYY ... Cypress is my home mountain ... how dare you???
Just kidding. Totally agree that it is not a destination resort, nor does it have any pretensions of being one. Cypress, Grouse and Seymour are the three little hills that surround Vancouver BC, catering to locals and single-day tourists. All are within a 30-45 min drive from downtown Vancouver, even during rush hour traffic. It’s great to head up after work (open until 10pm) or early on weekend mornings before the crowds arrive. For real skiing, we all head to Whistler, Sun Peaks, Silverstar, etc.
On paper you have 600m of vertical to work with. In reality it’s more like 400m because you’ll do laps of one short chair or another. As for snow conditions, the mild coastal weather leads to frequent thaw/refreeze cycles that are “character building”, to put it kindly. But once you master the icy bumps here, the pow or velvety corduroy of big mountains are child’s play. And having this playground in our backyard means lots of opportunity to train -- I go up 3x per week all winter, even with a full time “regular” job.
Finally, on a clear evening (especially at sunset), the views from the top are to die for. If you happen to visit Vancouver in the winter, do go up at least one of the local hills.
All photos below are mine.
Cypress:
Seymour:
Grouse:
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HEYYYYY ... Cypress is my home mountain ... how dare you???
Just kidding. Totally agree that it is not a destination resort, nor does it have any pretensions of being one. Cypress, Grouse and Seymour are the little hills that surround Vancouver BC, catering to locals and single-day tourists. All are within a 30-45 min drive from downtown Vancouver, even during rush hour traffic. It’s great to head up after work (open until 10pm) or early on weekend mornings before the crowds arrive. For real skiing, we all head to Whistler, Sun Peaks, Silverstar, etc.
On paper you have 600m of vertical to work with. In reality it’s more like 400m because you’ll do laps of one short chair or another. As for snow conditions, the mild coastal weather leads to frequent thaw/refreeze cycles that are “character building”, to put it kindly. But once you master the icy bumps here, the pow or velvety corduroy of big mountains are child’s play. And having this playground in our backyard means lots of opportunity to train -- I go up 3x per week all winter, even with a full time “regular” job.
Finally, on a clear evening (especially at sunset), the views from the top are to die for. If you happen to visit Vancouver in the winter, do go up at least one the local hills.
All photos below are mine.
Cypress:
View attachment 54056
Seymour:
View attachment 54055
Grouse:
View attachment 54054
Looks like a nice place. Definitely can't beat the convenience. Being able to get on snow on a week day is great. A good place to call home.
@Ken in LA What kind of trip are you planning? Drive to CO and stay a week at one resort? Hop from one to another and gef as many as you can? Are you looking for feedback on the village/town? How they ski?
Around here, Cypress would be by far the biggest ski slope... I'm jealous!
It would be fantastic if our 600ft verts were 600m. The result of being on the older side of the continent.
Looks like a nice place. Definitely can't beat the convenience. Being able to get on snow on a week day is great. A good place to call home.
Best close to the big city skiing in NA. Both Baker and Whistler are closer to Van than Stevens and Crystal are to Seattle.
Around here, Cypress would be by far the biggest ski slope... I'm jealous!
Envious, even.
You can definitely get a good variety of skiing in CO with the Ikon pass.
Snowmass is a great hill for intermediate and advanced skiers. Lots of cruiser with some steeper stuff thrown in.
Ajax is a gem of a mountain. Small (660 acres) but skis much bigger. Good fall line cruiser with decent bumps and off piste stuff.
Highlands has the best steeps and bumps out of the four Aspen areas. One of my favorite area in NA.
Butternut, never been there. Aspen sells it as their learning hill. Heard good things about it for powder days.
Copper is a fun mountain. A bit of everything. Some decent bump runs. Good cruisers. Nice bowls & trees.
WP/MJ is lots of fun. Good mix of terrain. Cruisers at WP side. Trees at Eagle Wind. Bowls up at the Cirque & Panoramic. Mary Jane’s terrain are not super steep. Perfect gradient for some of the best zipper line bumps in NA. Bring your bump skis.
Eldora, never been there. Stay at WP for a month couple seasons back. Meant to drive over for a day here and there. Never made it.
Steamboat. Nice place, good snow. Need more gravity.
I am on skis 100/120 days per season. Love bumps & steeps. So YMMV.
You should be... hell, I am and I used to live there.
Open for both night skiing and XC. Amazing local hills and fantastic views.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2018
- Posts
- 85
I've been to Tremblant 3 times over the last couple of decades, and two of those times it was among the coldest places I'd ever skiied. And I learned in Vermont even though we live out West now. Still its a wonderful experience and feels very different than a US resort. If you can afford it, stay in the village area and don't miss Catherine's creperie (assuming its still going strong)
Tremblant was a place where I felt (as a mid level skiier that likes the groomers) that the trails really got cut up near the end of the day and were best enjoyed early. The difference was more striking there than at other mountains. (well maybe excluding Keystone's River Run)
Still its great that Ikon gives East Coast / New England enthusiasts so many choices. Definitely awesome.
Tremblant was a place where I felt (as a mid level skiier that likes the groomers) that the trails really got cut up near the end of the day and were best enjoyed early. The difference was more striking there than at other mountains. (well maybe excluding Keystone's River Run)
Still its great that Ikon gives East Coast / New England enthusiasts so many choices. Definitely awesome.
Thing about Winter Park is the run-outs - the funner the terrain you like to ski, the better the wax you want. Got fast cold wax? Bring it on fresh powder day unless you really like poling.
What I really like about Eldora is how empty it is midweek. Bring GS skis with a hardpack tune and you can have massive fun. And if you are interpreting that to mean there's a fair bit of freeze thaw, yes.
What I really like about Eldora is how empty it is midweek. Bring GS skis with a hardpack tune and you can have massive fun. And if you are interpreting that to mean there's a fair bit of freeze thaw, yes.
Thread Starter
TS
You raised some interesting questions I had not yet considered. Thank you.
KingGrump provided some good concise summaries.
Having skied quite a few of these listed here in CO, if i were coming to CO for a week to Ikon resorts and could afford it, I'd do one of these two options:
• Aspen area - rent a place in town near Ajax and enjoy the town for après ski and dining. Hit Ajax once, Snowmass twice and Highlands twice. Free local busses can get you to each of the resorts and drop you off back in Aspen close to home base. Rental car not needed if you fly into Aspen airport or took a shuttle from Denver or Eagle airport.
• Copper/WP - Plan to spend at least two days at each. Requires a car. Rent a place at Copper or Frisco. There are free shuttles between town and the resort, so which you stay at depends on how important ski in/ski out is to you. Dining in Frisco while après can be done at Copper center village or in Frisco. Stay here a few days, then move to WP/MJ. Not a long drive. There are a couple places to après at WP base, but you'll probably prefer to drive to town for dinner.
I would skip Eldora unless you are just trying to tick off another location from list of places you've skied.
Steamboat is significant drive from the two options i preferred. Personally, would only include it if i had a couple days to kill for the driving or if flying directly to Hayden airport. Not knocking Steamboat at all, because i loved the mountain and the town. Just wouldn't include it if i only had a week and wanted to hit other spots on same trip. Steamboat typically gets more snow than the others early, it'll have higher percentage of runs open in early Jan. It's also at lower elevation so will have Spring skiing by beginning of March.
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Thread Starter
TS
Many thanks to KingGrump, TexasStout, DanoT, and Cantunamunch for your valuable advice! It is now time to rally the troops and make some decisions. As a kid I learned to ski in the Poconos and spent my adolescence dreaming of someday visiting these wonderful resorts. I am beyond excited for the upcoming year.
What about Salt Lake City, if you are talking big city close to good skiing, thats closer than Vancouver-Whistler
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- Oct 29, 2016
- Posts
- 531
Agree, they're way off. If someone thinks sugarloaf is bigger than snowbird, they'll be very disappointed.