Showing posts with label Colorado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colorado. Show all posts

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Aspen-Snowmass in 2012

Aspen started as a silver mining town in the 1800's. Snowmass is a village approximately 5-7 miles from Aspen. The general area is referred as "Aspen-Snowmass" by the skiing company. The area includes four ski mountains: Aspen Mountain (also called Ajax); Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. Unlike other ski areas, the lift ticket gives access to ski on all the four mountains. 

Getting to Aspen is not easy. Flying in usually requires a change of planes in Denver and the approach to Aspen is a bit scary. The plane dips into the tight Aspen valley after flying over the picturesque mountains. Access to Aspen resorts is not as easy as compared to the ease of reaching Utah resorts via Salt Lake City.

The definition of the town of Aspen is glamor. It is ritzy with an array of art galleries, antiques, and luxury shopping choices such as Gucci, Burberry, Bulgari and the like. We saw more fur coats than any other place we've skied. Aspen is all about Apres Ski and perhaps even "afore-ski" (coining a new word here).

Now, onto the riding part.

Aspen Mountain is right in the town of Aspen, towering above the old gold rush city. The lifts leave right from the main street of town and the mountain is not open to snowboarders. All the trails are intermediate and above. Aspen is best known for its steep, bumpy runs that drop you right into the town of Aspen. I spent most of my time riding Silver Bell, Buckhorn, Ruthie's and other runs that were groomed, and intermediate right under Ruthie's and Ajax Express lifts (a tidbit on Ruthie's Run). My kids spent their time riding the bumpy runs and loved it. At the base of Ruthie's run is Bonnie's restaurant, a great place to grab a bite to eat. Bonnie's got really crowded, so if you plan to have lunch there, plan to get there early. The alternate is Sundeck Restaurant at the top of the mountain. Sundeck seems to be a place to hang out, to see and be seen.

Buttermilk is known as the learner's mountain and is smaller than Snowmass and Aspen. We did not ski at Buttermilk.

Aspen Highlands is known as the local’s mountain. It seems the Aspen Ski Company has been building up the base area and lift system. Highland runs are not groomed and we heard that the powder can range from thigh to waist deep. Locals say, you have to either know the mountain or go with locals who know the mountain well to ski there. We did not ski Highlands either.


Snowmass is its own village and this is where we stayed and skied the most. The mountain is approximately 30 minute ride from the city of Aspen. Aspen Snowmass provides free buses from one resort area to another and these buses run often and are very convenient. The pedestrian village at the base of the hill has a few restaurants, shops and convenience stores. Snowmass is a much more family friendly resort. It offers lot more of slope side accommodations, lot more trail options for skiers of all ages and expertize. Reviews often comment on lack of apres ski offerings at Snowmass (Après-ski aka after skiing is going out, having drinks, dancing, and generally socializing after skiing). I guess that depends on what you are looking for. Our family generally skis as a larger group with a few other families and we have kids ranging from pre-teens to teenagers. We usually rent a home or condo. We like to cook, hang out in the hot tub and have a generally good time with our group at our rental home. So most of our apres-ski activities, the dancing, singing, drinking, playing board games and eating, all happens around our own hearth. More than restaurants we look for gourmet grocery stores close by. We do like access to good restaurants and shopping for trinkets and outings. Also, our kids are now good skiers, and prefer to ski a couple of days with the ski school as they can access off the beaten path trails and more challenging runs with a ski instructor than they would with us. Based on this we found Snowmass to be an excellent choice.

While the lift tickets get you access to all the four mountains, it is quite inconvenient to shuttle from one mountain to another in the middle of the day as both Snowmass and Aspen have a lot of terrain to offer. Since we were there for 5 ski days, we skied Snowmass for 4 days and Aspen for one.
The area right outside the Snowmass Mall is the ski school & bunny hill area. The area is serviced by a couple of lifts; Fanny Hill, Burlingame, Coney Glade and handles a lot of traffic.

The areas with lots of blue trails include Elk Camp, Big Burn, and Alpine Springs. These areas are popular intermediate ski areas and quite crowded. On the right of the trail map is Campground area with long and uncrowded runs and the trails there are more advanced. My kids spent most of their time all over the map but enjoyed, Sam's Knob and the runs off High Alpine lift, an area known as the Hanging Valley Wall for those that like bowls, and steep, bumped up runs.

At the lower left of the trail map is Two Creeks which are easy blues (blue-greens), but seemed a bit far from the main ski areas.

Speaking of trails that were painful, it's called Turkey Trot. It is the only way to cross the mountain from Alpine Springs to Elk Camp area without having to go back to the base area, but it is a painfully flat and thigh burning run.
Most on-mountain food placed are great to rest your feet, but the food prices are definitely Aspen-like. 

Another beginner area, Assay Hill, is separated from the main runs so learners get less traffic on it. Fanny Hill (a beginner area), is the main way down to the Village, gets congested. During the day, we like most skiers stay higher up on the mountain, so it is less crowded. 

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Steamboat vs Park City skiing

This is a comparison between skiing in Steamboat Springs, CO and Park City, UT. Keep in mind we are destination skiers from the east coast, so my impressions will not necessarily be the same as that of a local skier.

Most important of all the snow conditions. We have been to Steamboat twice, both times during the peak holiday season and both times we got plenty of good snow, plenty of crowds and plenty of really cold weather. We have been to Park City only once, during the peak holiday season in 2009. We were a bit disappointed by the lack of natural powdery snow and the really cold weather, which residents said was unusual for that area. We saw a few bare patches and got a few deep scratches on our skiis but for the most part the resort had snow machines working full time. Surprisingly, over Christmas, Park City did not have the big crowds we saw at Steamboat (not complaining) but people did show up after the Christmas day. Both resorts allow skiers and snowboarders.

Since we have young kids, we generally enroll the kids into a 5 day ski program. This way they ski with an instructor who knows the mountains much better than we do and learn new skills that allows them to explore the mountains much better.

Both Steamboat and Park City offer different ski school options. At Steamboat we have now tried the 5 day Desperado ski program as well as the private instructor. The 5 day (Desperado) ski school was fun. The best thing was the NASTAR race. There were approx 6-8 kids in each group, a bit too many in my opinion. The instructors would stop for hot chocolate and snack in the mid morning and then again for lunch. Since the same instructor stayed with the same group for all the five days, towards the end they would know each child’s strength and weakness and what they needed to work on. This program was much more affordable; it included lift tickets as well as lunch (so we did not have to worry about meeting up with kids just to feed them). During the morning drop off, we would find out which area/trails the instructors were going to ski that day and made it a point to ski in the same area so we saw the kids periodically during the day showing off their new skills.

The private instructor route was really nice too. The best thing was that the kids got to go on trails that the ski school would not take them on. Also, the instructor worked with each kid on their specific strengths and weaknesses. As expected, the biggest issue is the cost. Unlike ski school, private instructor program does not include lunch so you have to meet up with the kids a couple of times to feed them snack and lunch. Since Steamboat has kids ski free program with a paying adult, lift tickets was not an issue for either program. Given a choice, I think our kids will pick the private instructor over the ski school.

At Park City, we have only tried the ski school. There were a max of 5 kids per group based on sex, age and the skill level. The kids were assigned to a group every morning based on first come first basis. Sometimes they got the same instructor while other days they got a different one. Initially we were disappointed by the change in instructors. But on day 3 our son mentioned that he did not like his instructor as they were going on the same trails again and again and the trails were not challenging enough for him. So on day 4 we switched instructors and our son loved his new instructor (who took the group on trails and bowls we could not have taken our kids and taught the kids new tricks). Our kids did not mind new faces in the group either, after a while they noticed that there were only 2 or 3 instructors dealing with that age/sex/skill combination. So the kids basically rotated within those 2- 3 groups. Similar to Steamboat, the kids stopped for mid morning hot chocolate and snack and then again for lunch. Unlike Steamboat, the lift tickets at park City were not included in the ski school price. Therefore, the cost of ski school at Park City was significantly higher than at Steamboat. In both places, the instructors would meet with parents at the end of the day and give a detailed report of which trails they skiied, how each kid did and what each kid needs to focus on.

Bottom line, from a cost perspective, Park City Ski school was the most expensive followed by Steamboat private instructor and then Steamboat ski school. In terms of fun, our kids say they prefer going with the private instructor.

As far as the overall resorts go, both Steamboat Springs and Park city are awesome and huge resorts. Both are well suited for families with young kids and adults alike. They both have tons to offer in terms of variety of slopes, the terrain, the clubs and ski schools. We have been to Steamboat Springs a couple of times each for a weeklong trip and even then feel that we barely scratched its surface. The mountains are massive, and there was not enough time nor skills to really see it all. We found ourselves getting comfortable with a few trails in each section and did those trails multiple times a day. Steamboat seems to have more options for Green and blue-green trails. Park City has more options for blue-greens and blues. Park City is organized in sections and there was enough in each section to spend one full day.

The base area at Park City is really well developed probably because Deer Valley and Canyons are very close by. The restaurants, bars, lots of high end shops, were all approx a mile away from the ski base. There were free city buses running between the base and the town. Despite a weeklong stay, we never got a chance to visit Deer Valley or Canyons. The Park City Mountain is big enough to spend full 5 days of solid skiing without feeling that we have seen it all. The town area in Steamboat was further away. The Steamboat mountain itself had more restaurants to enjoy than the Park City mountain.

In Park City, we stayed at the Silver Star (http://www.silverstaratparkcity.com) area. Really nice and upscale condos. The customer service was great. In the morning we would take the free shuttle from the condo unit to the base (a 3 min ride) in time for ski school and in the evenings we would ski down to the condo directly. Since we do not like to eat out everyday, the nightlife was not an important consideration for us. We reserve condos with full kitchens so we cook hearty breakfasts before heading out in the mornings and dinners several nights a week. Taking the shuttle to town to enjoy the occasional dine out, and shopping for souvenir was good enough for us.

For a destination skiier, the next category is things to do other than skiing. Park City has a mining history. The town has a museum to commemorate its history but other than that it is just like any other ski town. Salt Lake City and Utah itself have some great National Parks, abundant fossil sites and other fantastic site seeing places to make a great destination. Steamboat Springs has a small western town feel to it. It has several natural hot water springs nearby, which were loads of fun to visit on the day we did not ski. Both resorts have tubing nearby.

An important Park City tip we got from a local skier the day we were returning: You can buy lift tickets for Park City for less at the Costco in Salt Lake City than buying it from the resort itself. The costco is near the Salt Lake City airport and a short cab ride away.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Skiing in Steamboat, Colorado

Trails from top of the mountain
For the last couple of years, we have gone to Steamboat, CO for our annual ski trip, usually, the week between Christmas and New Years. Each year, we've gotten the heavenly deep champagne powder that Steamboat is so well known for. As far as the days went, some days were sunny while others were cold and overcast but never any complaints with the snow.

For folks with young kids, Steamboat has a great ski and snowboard school. Apparently the resort offers several family oriented packages, we however have only availed the kids ski free program that comes with each paying adult.

In 2007, we enrolled our kid's into the Steamboat's Desperado ski camp, a 5 day ski program.
In 2008, we ended up hiring a private ski instructor. Both, us and the kids like both alternatives. We are torn between which option to repeat next year. Below is our experiences with both alternatives.

Challenging trails with private instructor
The 5 days ski camp, is known as the Desparado ski week. The kids are grouped together in a group of approx 6-8 kids based on age and skill level. The program starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday; goes from 9 am until 3pm each day and includes lunch. Our two kids were in two different groups and according to them each of their groups was lead by a really fun instructor. The morning usually started with a warm up run on an easy trail. Then another two runs before the group stopped for hot chocolate at the Rendezvous Inn. Then another run or so before the group stopped for lunch and then another run or two before pick up time. The instructors seem to focus on basic skiing skills and gave us a report at the end of the week. Younger kids spent quite a bit of their time in kid only areas such as the rough rider basin (pleasant, wide, kid friendly terrain). The older kids did venture outside the rough rider basin on various other trails. The most fun part of this program was that on the last day of the camp, all the kids got to participate in the NASTAR ski race. The results were then posted on the NASTAR's web site. The kids and us liked this program for three main reasons (1) the group included other kids so the kids made friends and enjoyed the company (2) participating in the NASTAR race (3) same instructor for the entire duration. Both our instructors made skiing fun by taking the kids through the trees, through kid freindly terrain park, jumps on small moguls and so forth. The lunch consisted of a choice between few kid friendly options (burgers, mac & cheese, pizza, etc). The cost of desperado week was approx $500 per kid incl lunch.


Wide open blues
In 2008, since our trip started mid week, we could not enroll our kids in the Desperado week. Therefore, we ended up going with a private instructor. Our family group included four kids. The older two kids were at the same advanced skill level while the younger two kids were at the same intermediate skill level. Our instructor the day into two halves, spent the first half day with the older two kids and the second half day with the younger two (after two days we switched the order). Our kids loved the instructor. Along with keeping our kids occupied and mesmerized with puzzles and mysteries, our instructor took the kids on trails that were not crowded, and off the beaten path (not on the trail map) as well as terrain park, bear claw tree, etc. The instructor really worked with the kids on their techniques, and took them on trails with varying terrain some of them quite challenging which thrilled the kids. Within 5 days of skiing, we saw a huge improvement both in their confidence level and their skill level. Similar to Desperado week, the kids started with the instructor at 9 in the morning, and after 2 runs or so stopped for hot chocolate. Then after another run or so, met us for lunch. Private instructor option did not include the lunch (buying this option was another $30 per kid per day..which is quite exorbitant). After lunch we switched the kids and the instructor was able to take the kids for another 2-3 runs before meeting us by 3pm for the pickup.
Tons of snow

The private instructor route costs quite a bit more (approx $3000 for 5 days), but split between 4 kids it worked out to approx $650 per kid. In our case, I myself a beginner to intermediate skiier was able to ski with the instructor a few times (along with the younger kids) for some one on one instruction which was really helpful. At the end of the trip, I think, both the parents and the kids preferred the private instructor option for two main reasons (1) small group size allowed the instructor to work with the kids on their specific skills and techniques (2) the instructor was able to take the kids to trails which were not on the map, not crowded and more importantly a lot more fun that allowed kids to practice their skills. As a cherry on top, our instructor introduced the kids to a couple of Olympians (ski with silver medalist Billy Kidd, and gold medalist Deb Armstrong) which was a great trip highlight.