I've heard good things about wolf creek, but wanted a few other opinions. This will be our first time and we want something with beginner and intermediate type slopes. Mainly, we want to be right on the slopes with nice cabins. Any input would be appreciated.
Do you know where wolf creek is? There is a reason you don't hear much about it. It's WAY WAY out in the middle of no place. It's about 1.5 hours or 2 hours from Durango. It's about 6-7 hours from Denver. There is not many places to stay there close. Summit county has many ski areas and places to stay. It's 2.5 hours from Denver. A basin is about my favorite, but not so great for learning and also not real friendly to people from sea-level.
Keystone is beginner friendly. It also has night skiing and despite what you may have heard, is open to riding. (it was closed many years ago to boards, some rumors die hard) You can snag a multi-mountain pass and ski Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge and for one or two days, Vail & Beaver Creek, depending on number of overall ski days. Ski/ride safe and have fun!
Keystone is good for both beginners and experts, but there isn't much nightlife in the immediate vicinity. Same with Wolf Creek. However, Keystone is close to Breckenridge, Dillon and Frisco, where there is plenty to do after riding. Breckenridge is good if you want a big town, lots of night life and lodging within walking distance of the slopes. Its pretty touristy, though. Vail has arguably the best terrain in Colorado, but much of it is too advanced for a beginner. Good night life and plenty of hotels, though. Buttermilk in Aspen is where they hold the X-Games, and its a bit ironic that they hold an extreme sports event at a beginner mountain that has no expert runs. You simply can't beat Aspen for night life, but lodging at the base of any of their mountains is pricey. Aspen has a free bus system connecting the town with all of the four mountains.
Honestly? There are few bad places to ski or snowboard in Colorado. I love A-basin, Winter Park, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper...
My favorites. 1. Beaver Creek - lodging on the hill is nearly impossible. They have an old modified downhill run that is impossible to stay off of if you like that kind of thing. 2. Steamboat - you can fly into Hayden and stay on the hill easily. The snow at Steamboat is usually excellent they have a very long green run that is fun in the late in the day when tougher runs are just too much. 3. Vail - love it or hate it the place has everything. My son, brother and myself always go over the hill to the "back bowls". 4. Breckenridge is a cool town and the hill has a lot of nice greens and blues.
Wolf Creek will not work because there are not slopeside rooms. Monarch while wonderful will also not meet the requirements for the same reason. Most of the resorts in Colorado would work, as previously stated A-Basin would not be a good choice because of the lack of lower level terrain. Ajax and Durango Mountain would also be poor choices for the same reason. I will suggest two resorts, Vail and Copper Mountain. Vail has a huge amount of runs, plenty for all levels. As was also said, it has some of the prettiest terrain I have ever seen. Copper Mountain has a natually segregated (by skill level) mountain and is a wonderful place to learn. There are plenty of beginner and intermediate runs and you will not have to avoid skiers of a different skill level.
I have skied a lot of the central CO mountains and agree wholeheartedly that Copper is about the best place to learn to ski or take beginners. The mountain is segregated so you don't have beginner runs intermingled with advanced runs which minimizes run-ins with advanced skiers/boarders that might run over top of you. Also there is decent slope-side accommodations and Copper has the absolute best apres-ski entertainer in the world. Moe Dixon plays at JJ's Tavern Wed - Thurs - Fri afternoon.
My favorite part of Vail is Blue Sky Basin. It takes a while to get there, but the scenery and increased solitude are worth it. (Requires heading at the right time of the year to get solitude is my understanding). There are several times when the party I was skiing with were the only ones encountered for an entire run.
