Hello All,
I have a business meeting in Milwaukee Nov. 13 - 14 and was considering trying to extend my stay out there through the weekend and possibly getting some turns in. It appears no place in the Mid West will be open and Denver (or anywhere out west) is not too far and flights are not too expensive. Think it is worth it to try ski? Also my significant other will be with me and she is a beginner. So any recommendations that would fit her would be great.
Only place I have been out west is Big Sky. That would be wonderful for her and me but they do not open until Thanksgiving. Thanks for any advice or thoughts.
ps love the new design, pretty nice looking
That's really early and skiing could be pretty skimpy in even in Colorado at that time. Two smaller resorts that should be open are Loveland (good for novices) and Arapahoe Basin. Check websites, but I don't think many of the big mtns with nice base villages such as Vail will open until later in Nov?
You can check out a list of projected opening dates for many Colorado ski areas:
http://www.coloradoski.com/media_manager/mm_collections/view/129
Arapahoe Basin opened yesterday, although it doesn't offer a lot of beginner terrain (neither does Loveland; but, early in the season, the beginner terrain is more likely to be open than advanced terrain). The past couple weeks have been cold and snowy for Colorado; if that pattern holds, it could be a great early-season year, but it's still too early to tell. As Jim notes, things can be skimpy in Colorado in mid-November.
Thanks for all the advice. With a little bit of add'l research I decided to give Keystone a try. I know it may be hit or miss but the resort area appears nice and the potential for skiing is a lot better than being at work :)
If your significant other is a beginner, Keystone early might not be for you. They'll open the River Run side of the mountain on November 1. That will NOT contain any green runs for probably at least the first two weeks. Last year there were no green runs down Keystone until nearly Thanksgiving. Until Loveland opens a chair besides chair 1, it's all blue (and black later in the season). There's no green way down from chair 1. Likewise the Basin's Blackmountain Express is all blue right now, but unlike Loveland there are green trails off of Black Mountain Express - the question is when will they have snow on them. Copper will be open by the 13th too, but it will likely be all blue.
The best bet for early season green trails close to Denver is probably Breckenridge, which opens November 8. It always opens Peak 9 first, and there will be a small mix of blue and green trails down the mountain. BEWARE OF HIGH LIFT TICKET PRICES AT BOTH KEYSTONE AND BRECKENRIDGE!
As an FYI, I plan to be at Keystone on November 1 for my first opening day in many years - earning a few Epic Mix points now and 250 more at the end of the season by skiing first and last day. Going to be burning some frequent flier miles.
Adamh21 wrote:
Thanks for all the advice. With a little bit of add'l research I decided to give Keystone a try. I know it may be hit or miss but the resort area appears nice and the potential for skiing is a lot better than being at work :)
That might be fun for you guys. Their scheduled opening day is Nov 1. I forgot they have a great snowmaking system and they have more of a base village and resortsy feel than either A-basin or Loveland. This is an old report from an April visit to Keystone, but might give you a little sense of the ski area.
I was posting same time as Bob, I defer to Bob's expertise on the availability of early season green circle runs in that part of CO.
Thanks Jim. I am Epic Mix #3 at Keystone in the history of the program. Not bad for a 62 yo guy living in Texas. I probably have 700 days on that mountain in my life.
bob wrote:
Thanks Jim. I am Epic Mix #3 at Keystone in the history of the program. Not bad for a 62 yo guy living in Texas. I probably have 700 days on that mountain in my life.
You da man Bob. Have you figured out if there is an edit button to go back and fix bum posts? Here is the link to old Keystone report I forgot in my other post: http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=1022
JimK wrote:
bob wrote:
Thanks Jim. I am Epic Mix #3 at Keystone in the history of the program. Not bad for a 62 yo guy living in Texas. I probably have 700 days on that mountain in my life.
You da man Bob. Have you figured out if there is an edit button to go back and fix bum posts? Here is the link to old Keystone report I forgot in my other post: http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=1022
Jim, you should see a blue pencil icon on the upper right side of any posts you have made, assuming you're currently logged in. Click that to edit. (You'll also see a red delete icon.)
Thanks Scott. I overlooked those two icons. I have an idea for a quick preseason article submission in the next week or two. When I'm ready I will go ahead and test the new format by posting it here in the forums unless you have another recommendation?
JimK wrote:
Thanks Scott. I overlooked those two icons. I have an idea for a quick preseason article submission in the next week or two. When I'm ready I will go ahead and test the new format by posting it here in the forums unless you have another recommendation?
You're always welcome to post stories direct to the Forums, but if you e-mail me a copy I can post it as a formal story. I've streamlined the article submission process (on my end) to save a few steps (especially with respect to pulling photos together), so that *should* reduce the time it takes to post.
Can you arrange to take your trip a month or 6 weeks later? I have an image of a starving man being asked what he would like for his next meal.
