Expert: Jake Lanier - 11/10/2003

Question
Looking for advice on what resort to choose for a 5 day ski holiday in Jan. over Martin Luther King holiday.  We are a family of 4 (kids 18 and 14); all high beginner to intermediate skiers.  Never skied out west before.  Probably will only ski at one resort, rather than travelling to multiple resorts.  Want ski in/ski out lodging.  Flying into Denver.

Vail seems like the logical choice (?).  I am also looking at Beaver Creek, but prices and lower altitude (less predictable snow) scare me away a bit.  Am intrigued with Keystone--this might be a good choice (night skiing sounds nice), but wondered why one might choose Keystone over Vail; the mountain at Keystone just doesn't look as big or as interesting as Vail(?).  Snowmass/Aspen seem too far from the Denver airport.  Breckenridge is also a possibility, but the terrain there seems to be geared to more advanced skiers.  Copper Mt.  also sounds interesting, but it sounds like the ambiance of the base area leaves something to be desired.

I want this first venture to Colorado to be a nice overall experience, especially for my wife and daughter who are somewhat reluctant skiers at this point; yet, I would like it to be challenging and interesting enough for my 18 year old son.

Any advice on the above resorts?  Any better ideas?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Answer
Steve,
 All of the resorts you've mentioned are good resorts.  Vail is definitely the largest and offers the most possibilities, yet it might be the most expensive, if you're going for ski in/out lodging.  Keystone offers a lot of great lodging, but the mountain is not as big and can get easily crowded.  The night skiing can be neat because it's your first time, but sometimes the inability to see small obstacles or ice can take away from the fun.  Breckenridge isn't all advanced runs, and it's a pretty big mountain as well.  Copper Mountain is a great place to ski and offers a good mix of terrain.  I don't know a lot about their lodging possibilities, but I know they've had a face-lift recently to update everything.  A warning to you, MLK weekend is a very popular ski weekend, so you will run into crowds wherever you go, but if you're here five days you'll get some quiet days, as Saturday, Sunday, and Monday will be the most crowded.  I would imagine you've already done some research, but check out www.snow.com and www.coppercolorado.com for trail maps, snow conditions, lodging deals, etc.  Good luck and have a great time.  Let me know if you have any other questions.
                                     Jake