Girlfriend Skiing Considerations

[Bolder]

Oh man, the possible interpersonal dynamics here are frightening. You are going to have to sit on your hands if you need to and be the most supportive guy in the world. That may very well mean hanging out on the green stuff until the women get their sea legs. Try to see this as a long-term project, I guess. Or, all could be well, the women might just tell you to have at it.

I will say that getting my wife to the point of competence has been an adventure, but trips that have gone best involved a pleasant village with much more to do than ski, even it it meant she could sit in a cafe and read with a good view of the slopes.

Having said all that, you are asking for suggestions: I second Telluride and Park City. In fact, I would probably plump for Telluride if you can swing the bill (and pay for private lessons).

 

[kimberlin]

In light of the girlfriend situation, I'm guessing the ideal ski resort may be more about on-mountain scenery and in-town atmosphere than the skiing.

You may be mistaken with that assumption.

 

[Tony S]

You may be mistaken with that assumption.

Woo hoo! I was waiting for someone with some righteous attitude to step in here and represent.

 

[Lauren]

I have a friend that occasionally comes on ski vacations, he doesn’t ski. He generally spends a day cooking a turkey dinner for us to enjoy after skiing. You should suggest this to the ladies if they aren’t skiing








....
Kidding! Don’t do this. I repeat, DON’T actually do this! It will not end well. (But it IS nice when it happens).

 

[Crank]

Telluride is a great town and has plenty of beginner terrain. No cars or shuttle busses needed and the gondola from town to Mtn. Village. Get's my vote.

More advice: make sure your never-evers have good, warm, appropriate clothing.

Taos is a great town, but, is close to a half hour drive from the mountain. There are hotels, condos and eateries and a bit of retail on the hill but kind of limited. In Taos favor is their very reasonable and very good ski week program. Pretty sure they teach boarding as well.

 

[Lauren]

I'm going to throw Crested Butte out there as an amazing mountain, that I feel would suit your needs. Two friends of mine took their wives there a couple years ago (both wives ski, but are both green skiers), they rented an Airbnb with an amazing view of the mountain, had a hot tub, and everyone involved is itching for their next trip back. I've been twice, once in the late winter (spring skiing conditions), and once in the summer. I can attest to the amazing atmosphere in town (as well as in Gunnison, about a 1/2 hour away), the scenery is unreal, and the skiing has everything you could want. It's not necessarily a party town, so if that's what you're looking for, I'd look elsewhere. But if you're looking for quaint, quintessential, mountain town with unbelievable views, I think Crested is hard to beat.

I'm also going to note...a "good" mountain for beginner skiers and beginner snowboarders are not necessarily the same (sometimes they are). Minimal traversing is a MUST for "green" snowboarders. And a lot of traversing is a sure way for a non-advanced/expert snowboarder to have a bad time.

 

[Wilhelmson]

I haven't been to all these places, but can't imagine you could go wrong with Park City if price isn't a big factor.

 

[Mike Thomas]

Most ski towns have plenty of "new friends" the ladies can spend time with while you and your buddy get your gnar on. Don't worry about a thing!

 

[Ken_R]

T-ride can actually be pretty good for beginners. They'll likely want to take gondola down from mountain village to the town though. But that is free and runs late into the evening so you can use it as public transport.

Telluride is awesome. Of all the ski towns we have been to my wife liked Telluride the best by a lot. The food is not cheap but it was fantastic. She and I both both agreed that staying in the town is much better than staying up in Mountain Village. Specially for couples.

 

[kimberlin]

Woo hoo! I was waiting for someone with some righteous attitude to step in here and represent.

Well, I wish I could agree about a righteous attitude, but I simply can't. I'm not a femiNazi in the slightest . In fact, I hate it when women overreact to everything.
My comment merely the acknowledgement that one should not assume people (not just women) are not serious about learning , and more interested in the vacation in general.

 

[Josh Matta]

Instead of one destination trip, why not take many trips to the local mountain? If there is a local mountain.

 

[cantunamunch]

Instead of one destination trip, why not take many trips to the local mountain? If there is a local mountain.

Because part of the appeal of the trip to never evers is the romance of getting away. One french restaurant >>> 15 cafeteria trips

 

[ScottB]

If I were you, OP, I would consider a European ski trip. No matter how it works, it will be new and interesting. France or Italy would have the best food in my opinion.

 

[Fishbowl]

I think we also need to be careful turning the girlfriends into one person with common goals. As in “the girls can go shopping or take a spa day.” One of those girlfriends may not be content keeping the other company because she doesn’t want to ski, instead preferring to rip the groomers on her snowboard. It is, after all, primarily a ski vacation.

 

[kimmyt]

I agree with T-ride. The town is great, proximity to lots of good food and other activities. I went there a few years ago and really enjoyed it (I mean, 1 foot of powder a day for 4 consecutive days sure helped....)

 

[Monique]

Well, let me tell you what not to do - because I did it 18 years ago. 4 days after getting engaged, we flew out to Whitefish for a week skiing with all my dirt bag buddies from college I had not seen in several years.. Girlfriend- fiance was a never-ever. Without really mentioning the ski "plan" to her, we showed up on first day to get her rentals, and then as I waived goodbye and headed out with 3 friends, I left her at the base with my other friend, who was working there as a L3 and happy to give a day of lessons for beer and dinner. Suffice it to say, things did not go well. And then things continued not going well for a couple of days.

Similar note - I went to Las Vegas a few times with my husband and a crew of friends we'd both known for years, all male. They all wanted to play poker; I had no interest in poker or drinking. And Las Vegas in general grosses me out and gives me a headache. I didn't hate them or anything, but I spent an enormous amount of money between booking us a nice room in a nice hotel, and getting multiple spa treatments. My husband would have been happy with a hole in the wall and 20 hours of poker a day. And I felt pretty lonely.

After a couple of these trips, I stopped going. I missed seeing my old friends, but it was far cheaper for me to stay home and get a few massages here. I was happier and less stressed. My husband could play poker all day and night without me nagging him.

So, here's a vote for deciding if you want a ski trip, or if you want to spend time with your girlfriend. It's possible she'll fall in love with skiing, but it's also possible she'll be cold and miserable. You can't know which way it will go - and either way, it's almost certain she won't be able to hang with your ski crew. You need to figure out if you want to invest in her long-term potential as a skiing buddy, or if you'll be cranky because you can't go shred some gnar. Whatever you do, do NOT combine "skiing with my newbie girlfriend" with shredding the gnar, dragging her along and telling her "You can ski this!" at the top of a black (or blue, or whatever is a challenge for her).

I'm assuming by your description that she's not an amazing athlete already, or my advice would be different.

I'm not a femiNazi in the slightest .

*eyeroll*

 

[LiquidFeet]

....Whatever you do, do NOT combine "skiing with my newbie girlfriend" with shredding the gnar, dragging her along and telling her "You can ski this!" at the top of a black (or blue, or whatever is a challenge for her).

^ That.

 

[TonyPlush]

Yeah, sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I think you need two trips: One for you to ski with your buddies, and one for you to have a fun and relationship-building time with your sweetie. Two different things. Voice of experience.

On the other hand, if you and your buddies are in terrible shape, are way overestimating your abilities, and drink too much at lunch and dinner every day (all common enough phenomena), it might work out okay.

Yeah, to be clear as listed in the title... I'm fully aware of the girlfriend skiing dynamic. Twice a year I go on a 4-8 dude guy trip, where we ski sunup to sundown in the gnarliest terrain we can personally handle until the legs give out.

I'd consider this a bonus trip to spend time in a ski town and putz around on some greens for half a day before the ladies feet get cold. IF and only if the ladies are cool with me and the guy splitting off to do our own thing for the other half a day, then even better. Otherwise... well you get what you sign up for when bringing along the girls IMO.

Do Girlfriend 1 and 2 know each other? Do they like each other?

As a woman I can assure you that it is key that the ladies like each other or you will all have a terrible trip. Have a few double dates first to see if they hit it off. If they do - then it will go fine.

Girlfriend 1 and 2 are best friends. I think they were the original peddlers of the trip idea, actually.

 

[James]

How do they feel about "The Shining"?
That could influence hotel choice.

 

[TonyPlush]

What did your girlfriend like about Breckenridge? The charming historic atmosphere? The shopping? The bustling atmosphere and hopping clubs?

She loved Breckenridge's charming historic atmosphere.

She's not a big shopper (Aspen's designer clothing stores would not be her scene at all) but she did enjoy strolling Breckenridge's main street, popping into unique shops, and seeing the Christmas lights at night.

Not looking for clubs or parties. Low-key, unique bars and breweries are appreciated though. Breckenridge Brewing was a hit.

The ladies also mentioned wanting a spa day, but I'm sure you could find that in any ski town.