My wife and I are beginner skiers with a 4 year old daughter. We want her to learn to ski as a kid. We didn't learn to ski as kids and feel sad that we missed out on such a fun activity.
Our current plan is to ski Beaver Creek from Dec 22 to Jan 5 as I read on zrankings that it's a family and beginner friendly resort. However people are saying it can also get very crowded during holidays. Another option has opened up on the Epic Pass: Crested Butte. I read that it is a very uncrowded place, something we will enjoy coming from California. And since they have also had good early season snow, their beginner/intermediate areas should be open for Xmas. So now we are reconsidering our plans.
We were planning on staying in Avon on the shuttle route as it is much cheaper than any lodging in Beaver Creek. The lodging at Crested Butte would probably run a similar cost on the Shuttle route.
3 day lessons at Beaver Creek are $450. Crested butte would be $432. We will be taking couple of days of beginner lessons at Keystone around Thanksgiving so we won't be in the Never Ever category.
Given following priorities, what would you recommend?
- Beginner friendly terrain
- Cost and Quality of Lessons
- Lack of crowds
- Family friendly activities (i.e. après ski beyond getting drunk)
Another option is for us to use Hilton points to stay at Waldorf Astoria in Park City and skip Colorado. There is a gondola right outside the resort. We would have to change our flight tickets but since it's on southwest, it would not be a significant cost over our current tickets to Denver. Although we won't have to deal with a shuttle in Park City the lessons would be much more expensive. 3 days for ~$690.
Edit:
I should not have said Telluride. Epic pass is only valid for 7 days and it's tough to get to (southwest doesn't fly to MTJ and ABQ is >5 hours)
Our current plan is to ski Beaver Creek from Dec 22 to Jan 5 as I read on zrankings that it's a family and beginner friendly resort. However people are saying it can also get very crowded during holidays. Another option has opened up on the Epic Pass: Crested Butte. I read that it is a very uncrowded place, something we will enjoy coming from California. And since they have also had good early season snow, their beginner/intermediate areas should be open for Xmas. So now we are reconsidering our plans.
We were planning on staying in Avon on the shuttle route as it is much cheaper than any lodging in Beaver Creek. The lodging at Crested Butte would probably run a similar cost on the Shuttle route.
3 day lessons at Beaver Creek are $450. Crested butte would be $432. We will be taking couple of days of beginner lessons at Keystone around Thanksgiving so we won't be in the Never Ever category.
Given following priorities, what would you recommend?
- Beginner friendly terrain
- Cost and Quality of Lessons
- Lack of crowds
- Family friendly activities (i.e. après ski beyond getting drunk)
Another option is for us to use Hilton points to stay at Waldorf Astoria in Park City and skip Colorado. There is a gondola right outside the resort. We would have to change our flight tickets but since it's on southwest, it would not be a significant cost over our current tickets to Denver. Although we won't have to deal with a shuttle in Park City the lessons would be much more expensive. 3 days for ~$690.
Edit:
I should not have said Telluride. Epic pass is only valid for 7 days and it's tough to get to (southwest doesn't fly to MTJ and ABQ is >5 hours)
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