Which IKON resort for Second Week of April?

[Bobby Jeremy]

I would welcome the insight of those more well traveled than I as plans for our family spring break ski trip are being made. We are IKON pass holders so that's the list we are working from. When I look at that list and think about which resorts *should* have reasonable snow in early-mid April, I come up with:

• Big Sky
• Snowmass
• Alta/Snowbird
• Solitude/Brighton
• Copper Mountain
• Winter Park
• Big 3 [edited to add]

The other variable is that my family enjoys mellow terrain, and by that I mean easy blues are probably the sweet spot. Stuff like the easy blues on Peak 7 at Breck, things that could almost be greens. An occasional challenging blue is okay, but it has to be the exception, not the rule. The joints in the cottonwoods would be my top choices if going alone, but I'm just skeptical that there is enough in the way of mellow terrain to keep my wife and kiddos happy for the days/times we are all skiing.

Keeping the family in mind again, things like ski-in / ski-out options and some reasonably decent restaurants nearby are pluses.

Would also like to avoid going someplace where any major school districts have a contemporaneous spring break, so local/insider knowledge certainly appreciated.

That's it for my wish list. We will be flying in from the east coast so UT vs. CO is not an issue.

Thank you!

 

[Slim]

Family Ski Vacations – When to Go

bestsnow.net

 

[Jilly]

Big 3, Banff???

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

Family Ski Vacations – When to Go

bestsnow.net

Thanks Slim. That squares with what I was thinking for snow; I'm particularly interested in learning more about terrain - that is, who among the options with good snow can serve up enough mellow blues to keep the rest of my crew happy.

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

Big 3, Banff???

Thanks Jilly. I know very little about the Big 3 ... how mellow are the blues? Glancing at the trail maps it looks like many are sprinkled among or adjacent to black areas, which often means "just a bit easier than the blacks" which is not what I need for my crew.

 

[Bill Miles]

Alta/Snowbird for best snow, but probably Snowmass (and Aspen Mountain, Highlands and Buttermilk) for your terrain preferences.

 

[James]

Where else do you like to ski besides Breck?
There’s only so much you can do to the Goldilocks porridge of blue trails you’ve constructed.

 

[DaveD]

I'm not a fan of Winter Park (level 7 skier who sucks in the bumps). I could never find terrain I liked there. All the cruising runs seem to have a strange sideslope so you make "fallaway" turns. Vasquez Ridge (Pioneer Express lift) looks like an intermediate's playground but all the trails put you down on a flat road, poling and skating to the lift.

You would for sure like Copper Mountain.

I'm not familiar enough with the others on your list to comment.

What exactly do you mean by "2nd week of April" ? ..... Steamboat's closing day is Apr 12.

 

[Jilly]

I only skied Lake Louise and it was early season. So mostly greens and blacks open. Best blue was closed for the world cup prep's. I didn't find things difficult, but I'm not you.

 

[Mike Rogers]

Thanks Jilly. I know very little about the Big 3 ... how mellow are the blues? Glancing at the trail maps it looks like many are sprinkled among or adjacent to black areas, which often means "just a bit easier than the blacks" which is not what I need for my crew.

Sunshine is a pretty mellow resort. Compared to other resorts in our region, about 50% of the the "blues" would be "greens" and 50% of the "blacks" would be "blues". If you look at the trail map, under the divide lift the black run in the center is just left ungroomed. It's essetntailly an ungroomed blue run. Bye bye bowl on the edge is a legit black though.

The blue runs at lake louise are a bit steeper and have longer fall lines. although they have bumped some of the more challenging blue runs to a black designation over the last 20 years, so the steepest blues are no longer blue. The best blue runs at Louise are on Larch. Try the larch run and Wolverine. Maybe avoid Larch Poma and Bobcat. Old Ptarmigan is a legit blue off the Ptarmigan area, and if visibility is good, you should be fine on Boomerang (assuming your friends can get up the summit platter). All of the blue runs on the front side should be okay for your crew, apart from the ones off the summit.

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

Alta/Snowbird for best snow, but probably Snowmass (and Aspen Mountain, Highlands and Buttermilk) for your terrain preferences.

Thanks Bill. Yeah, Snowmass looks good on paper, as long as the blues are on the mellow end to suit my family's needs.

 

[bamaman]

Copper for the terrain you are looking for. Will keep your whole family happy.

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

Where else do you like to ski besides Breck?
There’s only so much you can do to the Goldilocks porridge of blue trails you’ve constructed.

I know, I'm being pretty persnickety, but I have learned from experience what keeps my wife happy on a ski trip (which in turn gets me more ski trips, if you see where I'm going). Blues like Buddy's Run at Steamboat push her out of her comfort zone, especially when scraped like crazy when we were there. Just too much of a sustained pitch - wears her out. Short steeper sections thrown in there and there are okay.

We have been to Breck, Steamboat and Park City. Breck is great because I love the high alpine stuff when I'm alone and then when we link up she and the kids love the mellow blues on Peak 7, stuff like that. They also like meandering stuff like Way Out at Steamboat and those easy meandering blues at Park City (Harmony, Serenity, etc.) below the peak 5 lift.

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

I'm not a fan of Winter Park (level 7 skier who sucks in the bumps). I could never find terrain I liked there. All the cruising runs seem to have a strange sideslope so you make "fallaway" turns. Vasquez Ridge (Pioneer Express lift) looks like an intermediate's playground but all the trails put you down on a flat road, poling and skating to the lift.

You would for sure like Copper Mountain.

I'm not familiar enough with the others on your list to comment.

What exactly do you mean by "2nd week of April" ? ..... Steamboat's closing day is Apr 12.

Thanks for the intel on WP, that's very helpful. Thought about Steamboat - we were just there and liked it - but I'm worried it will be really sloppy by April ... am I wrong?

Doylestown shout-out! Grew up around there but left about 30 years ago.

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

Copper for the terrain you are looking for. Will keep your whole family happy.

Cool, thanks. I'll keep checking into Copper.

 

[Bobby Jeremy]

Sunshine is a pretty mellow resort. Compared to other resorts in our region, about 50% of the the "blues" would be "greens" and 50% of the "blacks" would be "blues". If you look at the trail map, under the divide lift the black run in the center is just left ungroomed. It's essetntailly an ungroomed blue run. Bye bye bowl on the edge is a legit black though.

The blue runs at lake louise are a bit steeper and have longer fall lines. although they have bumped some of the more challenging blue runs to a black designation over the last 20 years, so the steepest blues are no longer blue. The best blue runs at Louise are on Larch. Try the larch run and Wolverine. Maybe avoid Larch Poma and Bobcat. Old Ptarmigan is a legit blue off the Ptarmigan area, and if visibility is good, you should be fine on Boomerang (assuming your friends can get up the summit platter). All of the blue runs on the front side should be okay for your crew, apart from the ones off the summit.

Thanks Mike that's great information. I'm going to keep the Big 3 on my radar and investigate; never been up that way so I know nothing about getting there, lodging, etc., but sounds like it would be worth doing some research.

 

[dbostedo]

Copper or Snowmass would work IMO... haven't been to the Banff area resorts. Snowmass closing day is projected as April 18th.

You could also consider Squaw/Alpine Meadows and Mammoth... they'll be open and might have good snow. But I'm not sure I'd pick them over Copper.

 

[JoeSchmoe]

I haven't been to Big Sky but I've been every where else on the list. Banff is by far the coolest place to take a family on that list.

The scenery, wildlife, and town will easily make up for not having ski in, ski out. The other nice thing is you can stay at some high end places for really cheap since April is the extreme low season (Banff is a summer town). You might consider staying a few days in town and a couple days in Lake Louise. Check out the Chateau Lake Louise... You're wife will thank you many times over.

 

[DanoT]

I wrote in another thread that "Springtime In The Rockies" really is a Thing, so as far as I am concerned it is Banff for the win.

The scenery from the ski resort of Lake Louise, where on a sunny day you get to look across the valley at the actual lake that was named after one of Queen Victoria's daughters, is spectacular, as is much of the other mountain scenery in the area.

If you rent a car, a drive for a few hours on the Columbia Icefields Parkway on a clear day delivers even more spectacular mountain views. In fact many consider this highway to be the most scenic mountain highway in the world.

 

[James]

Now I wanna go to Banff!
I’ll even sing the blues.
I think if it’s at all in the snow ball park, that’s your spot. I’ve never heard complaints by people back from there. Whistler? Fog and rain.
Fwiw, Hermann Maier considered Lake Louise the most beautiful stop on the wcup.