Skiing or Snowboarding?

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Fri, 12/07/2007 - 08:56 — Ming Chan

I'm a rookie at skiing. Well, I take it back... I went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, one time and skiied for three days. Yes, I took one of those half-day ski lessons. I thought it was well worth the money, but yep, I guess I am a rookie. Since I've never been snowboarding, I'm writing to see if anyone has any suggestions on where I should take my next trip to attempt skiing, or perhaps, snowboarding. I am hoping to go before spring break. Also, any suggestions on lodging would be appreciated. I suppose I could ask the Southwest Airlines Ski and Snowboard Club, but I really wanted to know what everyone out there in the blog world thinks as well. Let's just hope I don't break a leg. Thanks!

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You should try the areas around Idaho. They may not be as exciting as areas in Utah or Colorado, but are relatively empty and affordable. Last year, I took my brother-in-law and sister out at the end of the season on Bogus Basin (30 minutes outside of Boise), and they got rental skis and lift tickets for a total of $40. At one point, there were no other people on the lift but us. Sun Valley gets all the praise and celebrities (like Governor Arnold who has a run named after him and broke his leg on Bald Mountain last year). It was the first ski resort in the US. Tamarack is the new "Sun Valley" and attracts celebrities like Andre Agassi, but there are a lot of better, cheaper options. Brundage gets the best snow, but is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Boise. Northern Idaho and Schweitzer mountain are excellent as well and a short drive from Spokane.

John — Fri, 12/07/2007 - 14:42

Lake Tahoe. Take some lessons at Heavenly. The views alone are worth it. And the snow is nice and soft. Trust me you want to learn in the west on soft western snow. You could do Salt Lake City as it is nice there. But for me the views at Lake tahoe just mean that no matter what else goes wrong you'll have something nice to look at. And of course the night life is pretty good there as well.

Alfred Thompson — Fri, 12/07/2007 - 15:14

Hi Ming,

In Colorado, for pure skiing choice, l love the Aspen mountain range http://www.aspensnowmass.com/ , but it is very commercial and expensive to ski or stay. Sunlight http://www.sunlightmtn.com/ is a great small "country" ski area with probably cheaper places to stay (I always stayed with a friend). Last season I went to Winter Park http://www.skiwinterpark.com/index.htm and had an awesome time. There are some divey places to stay in the area, I know I stayed at one. I wasn't impressed with the grooming or ratings of slopes at Telluride, but I did go there after a long layoff.

SLC has tons of skiing options, all of them very good. When I went there, I stayed at our crew hotel in downtown and skied at least 3 different mountains. Finally I love Ruidoso http://www.skiapache.com/ . It is another smaller less commercial mountain. It is a drive from either ABQ or ELP. I think you can find cheap lodging there (again I stay with friends) but who knows what their snow will be like this balmy winter.

I'm a good skier, I do blacks (minus the moguls). But it has been hard for me to pick up snowboarding. I want to do it decently so bad. I definitely recommend a class, probably 2 half day classes, the smaller the better. I have been in classes so big we each got to practice skills 4 times and that was all. Look me up in swalife or ask a HOU Sup for my email if you want more info. Good luck, hope to see you on the slopes this season.

Colin Gebhart — Fri, 12/07/2007 - 15:57

You should stay at Marriott

Timmy Acton — Fri, 12/07/2007 - 18:40

All my experience has been in Colorado.

I avoid Aspen and Vail. My favs are Breckenridge and Snowmass. Breck is a nice little town that just happens to have a ski resort. Snowmass is a huge area with a small-town feel, but it's just 5 - 10 miles outside of Aspen.

At Breck, try to eat at least one meal at "Top of the World." In Snowmass, my favorite place to eat is "Timberline Lodge."

I began skiing with a friend of mine when we were about 29 - 30. For years, we have been threatening to take up snowboarding when we turn 60, which is just a couple of years away. Who knows ... we MIGHT survive :-)

Whichever you choose, it's hard to beat a good smooth run from top to bottom.

Bob Hurst — Fri, 12/07/2007 - 21:58

I'm a big Utah fan having skiied many mountains of the west. I say this because one has the ability to stay down in Salt Lake City at "in town" prices and then access not less than 9 world class resorts. Its also easy IN/OUT into the Salt Lake airport via SWA. Great snow, great mountains maybe 45 minutes on average from town. That's simply not available from Denver, Reno or Boise, all of which have fantastic destinations nearby.

My favorite single mountain is Alta. While boarders are not allowed, I believe it to be the single best pure skiing experience in the country although there are plenty of individual resorts I have not been to. All about the mountain, not the hype or fashion.

JJG — Wed, 12/12/2007 - 17:03

very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce

Idetrorce — Sat, 12/15/2007 - 15:35

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