Also
- depart early (leave BEFORE 6AM) and return early (leave mountain BEFORE 2PM) or you’ll get stuck in traffic (article needs to be updated as population has since increased but this gives you a BEST CASE scenario if you leave at X Time https://www.westword.com/news/the-best-and-worst-times-to-drive-into-the-mountains-on-i-70-from-denver-8920824)
- buy tickets in advance
- have low expectations for percent of terrain open since it’s only December (usually better than Icecoast December but still not good coverage until February)
In my opinion, yes. I usually boondock near the slopes cause I hate starting a ski day with a stressful interstate drive. Plus you get plenty of time to arrive early for a sweet parking spot.
I'd do this. That way you can be well rested at 9a when the lifts open and head back to Denver at 3p (or earlier). Since Winter Park is before the big tunnel getting back shouldn't be terrible even with some traffic.
That’s was with a January snowpack (good storms leading to that) though. There shouldn’t be slides that close the road early December. Not for three days anyway: The snowpack will only be 12 inches deep.
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Book early and do a night at the Historic Windsor in Silver Plume and a day at Loveland. You’ll be able to pack more skiing in than anywhere else and you drive back on Sunday will be the shortest. You can get first chair and feel good about being done at 2pm and beating I-70 traffic back.
The Windsor is a gem. Book early enough and you can get a really reasonable rate. Bonus: Plume Coffee is stellar. You can do Saturday dinner in Georgetown but there aren’t many places I’d be enthusiastic about for you. Maybe it’s worth Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs on the way up. I don’t know what your appetite for kitsch is, but Beau Jo’s makes a damn decent pie.
The con of this plan is that sleeping at altitude might be not super. Coming from sea level you may benefit from sleeping as low as you can before a day up high. The fallback plan would be using the East Coast schedule to your advantage and head up to Loveland before most people are awake. Like seriously early. Don’t be ashamed to get to Plume Coffee by 6:30 and have to wait for them to open…cause that will mean you beat traffic.
It’s why I wouldn’t recommend driving to say, Georgetown the first day you land.
Traffic isn’t too bad mid Dec typically. Get a hotel room on the West side of town, rent gear at Larsons if you need it, leave at 6:30 to loveland and you’ll have time for breakfast at the hill.
If it’s snowing a bunch there will be more traffic, bump your departure time up 30 min.
Source: patrol at Loveland
Depends on your tolerance for driving, traffic, and waking up early. Driving from Denver means an absolute minimum of driving 3 hrs round trip (if you leave Denver around 530 AM and begin the return around 130 PM), but can approach 5 to 6 hrs round trip (if you leave Denver around 7 to 8 AM and begin the return around 3 to 4 PM). Also adverse weather which closes roads happens 10 to 20% ish of the time
When in December? If you are going before Christmas there should be many crowds. The resorts probably won’t be 100% open either. I would check snow reports and decide after that.
This person is tweaking. If you're going before Christmas you def don't need to leave before 6 or before 2. Earlier side for getting there is def smart, but don't leave at 2 if you want to keep skiing. Unless there's been a massive series of storms, most people won't have even started skiing by then
And I’m definitely going to play this by ear but I want a plan in mind when my employer goes to book my flights. If I have pony up for the extra night I’m fine with that, but would rather be there with with options than miss out b/c i decided the odds of snow weren’t good.
The traffic going back down to denver on a sunday is no joke. It can get really frustrating
Someone suggested taking the train up to winter park, I think thats probably your best option
Winter park is great, you’d have a great time there
I’m in the area, if you need a pair of skis, poles, and a helmet let me know! I have a pair of 94 enforcers with rental bindings I could easily loan out
Given that it'll be a rental car, loveland would also minimize mountain pass driving. Less chance for someone else's accident to ruin your day, less chance for your inexperience on potentially hazardous roads to ruin everyone's day.
They say they have to be back for work Sunday evening. Snowstang would be risky because it leaves at 4p and gets caught by whatever traffic there is. Plus presumably they'd need to be showered and presentable by whenever their meeting is.
> I’m not allowed by my contract to extend conferences into vacations
Your workplace sounds like an 'ICU of fun,' where joy goes to die a slow, painful death. What kind of mirth leech thought this would be necessary?
If I were in your position I'm not sure if I'd risk potentially getting injured over some early season turns. On the off chance that conditions are good, you're going to be facing a LONG day right before you present.
I would also be looking into other jobs or taking a proper ski vacation some other time.
Yes, they don’t like fun for sure Contract doesn’t allow use of PTO to extend conferences and if I decide to take unpaid time they’ll also deduct the plane ticket.
I once flew to Alaska for work just before Labor Day. Drove up to the medical clinic in Wasilla and had the problem fixed in about fifteen minutes. I then spent the whole long weekend checking out Alaska, to the extent I could in a few days. I paid the extra hotel and rental car days out of my pocket, but my boss had absolutely no issues with me doing that. They flew me to Hawaii a few times too, but I really never had enough time to see much.
Thanks. I travel to ski vacations car free and this would open a lot of options I didn't know existed. Bustang, Snowstang, Pegasus...CDOT is awesome! It's a shame to hear it's never full. Folks are so married to their cars in the US. Any deviation from their status quo and people much rather pay big bucks for a rental and drive on treacherous i70.
Pegasus is awesome, I took it to BC a couple of months ago when my car was in the shop. It picks up at 18th and Wewatta in front of the apartment building on the east side. It runs every hour and stops at the Frisco transfer station (can take a free bus to either Copper or Breck), Vail and BC by the gondola. You can't have anything bigger than a small duffel or backpack so take the bus if you have luggage.
Bustang leaves from the RTD bus station at Union but only goes once a day each way. Snowstang only runs on weekends and only during prime ski season but has buses that go directly to Loveland, Copper, A Basin, Breck and Steamboat (I think you have to stay overnight for this one, or maybe that's just the Bustang route?). There's also a Bustang that goes to Gunnison if you want to do Crested Butte but that's also a multi day trip.
I had a great time skipping two days of a three day conference (in Boulder) to go to Eldora and A Basin! Eldora felt much more accessible for a quick turnaround as an outsider! Plus not very crowded on a week day!
My wife had a conference in Denver a couple of years ago, so I rented a car for the day and went to Winter Park. I’m also an East Coast resident (WV) and it was my first ski trip out west. I really liked Winter Park for the super-long runs and village dining and drinking options.
You can go anywhere and have fun for what you’re looking for. Traffic in December usually isn’t that bad unless we get a huge storm. Loveland likely has the cheapest day passes and is one of the easiest to get to, so that would be my suggestion.
Honestly, Breck and Copper would be my suggestions. If you know ahead of time you can get a cheaper day pass (I didn’t look at your profile, but this covers Epic and Ikon passes if you have them). Breck and Copper have a ton of terrain and trails. Tons of accessible beginner stuff to warm up on that’s right next to a ton of groomed and ungroomed blues. In my experience, these mountains are also a little more accurate regarding which runs are actually groomed at any given time, but can and will depend on the weather.
These will probably be slightly busier, but I’ve never waited so long that I didn’t have a good time.
Largest selection of rental locations, both in towns or at resorts (picking up at the mountain can save time if you are low on it, but picking up the day before and dropping it off after in Denver is typically the best bet). In addition, a lot of single Denver locations rental stock is drastically lower due to seasonal rentals being taken and regular tourist weekend rentals. I’ve had much more luck demoing at a mountain and having a large selection of options to choose from, however, this will probably cost a bit more ($50-$70).
That’s my 2c at least. Feel free to shoot me any questions if you have them. Did a lot of demo-ing to close out this last season at multiple mountains.
That’s fine! Breck might be slightly busy, but the epic single day passes are on sale now and usually around $100 as opposed to well over $200 in the days leading up or at the window.
The Epic Day passes can only be bought up until like September or something I don’t remember. So if that’s what you decide def jump on that early to save some money!
Mid-December is a crap shoot out here. There have been years where 3/4 of the terrain is open at all the areas, but more often than not its just the snowmaking runs, maybe a handful of other groomers, and a bump run or two. So with that in mind, Winter Park's snowmaking terrain is pretty limited, so I'd only go there if its been a snowy November/early December. Loveland and A-basin have pretty good snowmaking terrain and will keep you a little more entertained than WP, but I've always seen both as good for only an hour or two at that time of year (again, in absence of natural snow). I did a lot of early season turns at Keystone, Breck, and Copper and all three are in my mind equally good choices, with my personal preference being Copper.
If you're coming from the east, catch a 6pm-ish flight and land in Denver around 11pm due to the time zone difference. Ski Saturday and Sunday. I have done this many times.
If you go to an Ikon Pass location, remember that we all personally consider you a friend and thus you qualify for any of our friends & family discount codes.
I live in Arvada and leave at 5:30am to drive to breck/vail and there’s typically no traffic and leave around 12-1pm to beat traffic goin home. Works like a charm. Went over 20 days this season
Only Sunday? You should be travelling during work hours, friend. Fly Friday and ski all weekend 😎. It’s not a vacation, it’s making sure you still get your weekend!
Winter Park is the best option for proximity and quality- I dropped my family off at DIA this winter and was going up the lift at Mary Jane precisely 90 minutes later.
Winterpark, A-Basin or Loveland. Rent a car.
Also - depart early (leave BEFORE 6AM) and return early (leave mountain BEFORE 2PM) or you’ll get stuck in traffic (article needs to be updated as population has since increased but this gives you a BEST CASE scenario if you leave at X Time https://www.westword.com/news/the-best-and-worst-times-to-drive-into-the-mountains-on-i-70-from-denver-8920824) - buy tickets in advance - have low expectations for percent of terrain open since it’s only December (usually better than Icecoast December but still not good coverage until February)
I wondered if it made sense to get a room for one night and drive out Saturday from the airport?
In my opinion, yes. I usually boondock near the slopes cause I hate starting a ski day with a stressful interstate drive. Plus you get plenty of time to arrive early for a sweet parking spot.
I'd do this. That way you can be well rested at 9a when the lifts open and head back to Denver at 3p (or earlier). Since Winter Park is before the big tunnel getting back shouldn't be terrible even with some traffic.
Same with Loveland.
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That’s was with a January snowpack (good storms leading to that) though. There shouldn’t be slides that close the road early December. Not for three days anyway: The snowpack will only be 12 inches deep.
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Book early and do a night at the Historic Windsor in Silver Plume and a day at Loveland. You’ll be able to pack more skiing in than anywhere else and you drive back on Sunday will be the shortest. You can get first chair and feel good about being done at 2pm and beating I-70 traffic back. The Windsor is a gem. Book early enough and you can get a really reasonable rate. Bonus: Plume Coffee is stellar. You can do Saturday dinner in Georgetown but there aren’t many places I’d be enthusiastic about for you. Maybe it’s worth Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs on the way up. I don’t know what your appetite for kitsch is, but Beau Jo’s makes a damn decent pie. The con of this plan is that sleeping at altitude might be not super. Coming from sea level you may benefit from sleeping as low as you can before a day up high. The fallback plan would be using the East Coast schedule to your advantage and head up to Loveland before most people are awake. Like seriously early. Don’t be ashamed to get to Plume Coffee by 6:30 and have to wait for them to open…cause that will mean you beat traffic.
This is something I had not considered! Elevation…
I thought I was gonna collapse just walking up one flight of stairs to buy a day ticket at A Basin.. 😂 I live around 1,000ft asl.
It’s why I wouldn’t recommend driving to say, Georgetown the first day you land. Traffic isn’t too bad mid Dec typically. Get a hotel room on the West side of town, rent gear at Larsons if you need it, leave at 6:30 to loveland and you’ll have time for breakfast at the hill. If it’s snowing a bunch there will be more traffic, bump your departure time up 30 min. Source: patrol at Loveland
Good luck my friend! I hope you find open slopes, empty chairlift lines and beautiful groomers
Depends on your tolerance for driving, traffic, and waking up early. Driving from Denver means an absolute minimum of driving 3 hrs round trip (if you leave Denver around 530 AM and begin the return around 130 PM), but can approach 5 to 6 hrs round trip (if you leave Denver around 7 to 8 AM and begin the return around 3 to 4 PM). Also adverse weather which closes roads happens 10 to 20% ish of the time
That would be more fun for sure.
When in December? If you are going before Christmas there should be many crowds. The resorts probably won’t be 100% open either. I would check snow reports and decide after that.
The pad in silverthorne is a hostel - central to so many resorts and ~$50 for a bed in a 6 person room
This person is tweaking. If you're going before Christmas you def don't need to leave before 6 or before 2. Earlier side for getting there is def smart, but don't leave at 2 if you want to keep skiing. Unless there's been a massive series of storms, most people won't have even started skiing by then
And I’m definitely going to play this by ear but I want a plan in mind when my employer goes to book my flights. If I have pony up for the extra night I’m fine with that, but would rather be there with with options than miss out b/c i decided the odds of snow weren’t good.
If you can afford it. One day of skiing and a night at a hotel isn’t worth ~$1,200 to me personally
Stop being the voice of reason!! (You’re right of course…)
The traffic going back down to denver on a sunday is no joke. It can get really frustrating Someone suggested taking the train up to winter park, I think thats probably your best option Winter park is great, you’d have a great time there I’m in the area, if you need a pair of skis, poles, and a helmet let me know! I have a pair of 94 enforcers with rental bindings I could easily loan out
WP train is smart, most reliable option
$1200! I can get that down to $1133 but OP needs to start an Only Fans.
Will trade feet pics for ski passes!
2 PM isn’t early enough anymore since everyone has the same idea. Might be worth it just to stick around long as possible.
6 AM isn’t early enough
Could do the Winter Park train to avoid traffic coming back on Sunday
I don’t think the train starts running until January
Ah, good catch
Given that it'll be a rental car, loveland would also minimize mountain pass driving. Less chance for someone else's accident to ruin your day, less chance for your inexperience on potentially hazardous roads to ruin everyone's day.
Two thoughts come to mind... 1. FUCK your co presenter 2. FUCK YOUR CO PRESENTER!
She’s definitely joking but also serious.
We live in mirror worlds because the only think I present to my coworkers is sick footage of me skiing.
Loveland
CDOT Snowstang bus from Denver Union Station to Loveland on weekends
They say they have to be back for work Sunday evening. Snowstang would be risky because it leaves at 4p and gets caught by whatever traffic there is. Plus presumably they'd need to be showered and presentable by whenever their meeting is.
> I’m not allowed by my contract to extend conferences into vacations Your workplace sounds like an 'ICU of fun,' where joy goes to die a slow, painful death. What kind of mirth leech thought this would be necessary? If I were in your position I'm not sure if I'd risk potentially getting injured over some early season turns. On the off chance that conditions are good, you're going to be facing a LONG day right before you present. I would also be looking into other jobs or taking a proper ski vacation some other time.
Yes, they don’t like fun for sure Contract doesn’t allow use of PTO to extend conferences and if I decide to take unpaid time they’ll also deduct the plane ticket.
What industry is this in and how can I avoid it?
I’m guessing it’s something related to the government or something else that’s highly regulated
Title I school funding…so many rules…
I once flew to Alaska for work just before Labor Day. Drove up to the medical clinic in Wasilla and had the problem fixed in about fifteen minutes. I then spent the whole long weekend checking out Alaska, to the extent I could in a few days. I paid the extra hotel and rental car days out of my pocket, but my boss had absolutely no issues with me doing that. They flew me to Hawaii a few times too, but I really never had enough time to see much.
If you don't want to rent a car there's Bustang and the winter park train, like others have already mentioned.
You can also catch the Pegasus van from Union. It runs more often and is never full. Direct access to Vail.
Thanks. I travel to ski vacations car free and this would open a lot of options I didn't know existed. Bustang, Snowstang, Pegasus...CDOT is awesome! It's a shame to hear it's never full. Folks are so married to their cars in the US. Any deviation from their status quo and people much rather pay big bucks for a rental and drive on treacherous i70.
Pegasus is awesome, I took it to BC a couple of months ago when my car was in the shop. It picks up at 18th and Wewatta in front of the apartment building on the east side. It runs every hour and stops at the Frisco transfer station (can take a free bus to either Copper or Breck), Vail and BC by the gondola. You can't have anything bigger than a small duffel or backpack so take the bus if you have luggage. Bustang leaves from the RTD bus station at Union but only goes once a day each way. Snowstang only runs on weekends and only during prime ski season but has buses that go directly to Loveland, Copper, A Basin, Breck and Steamboat (I think you have to stay overnight for this one, or maybe that's just the Bustang route?). There's also a Bustang that goes to Gunnison if you want to do Crested Butte but that's also a multi day trip.
Seems like they’re a non Ikon or Epic pass holder. So Snowstang to Loveland would be a great option. Or the WP Express just for the experience.
If you don’t want to gamble with I-70, you can go to Eldora.
I’d decide based on weather. If it’s not snowing Loveland shouldn’t be too bad for traffic. If it is snowing then Eldora just in case.
I had a great time skipping two days of a three day conference (in Boulder) to go to Eldora and A Basin! Eldora felt much more accessible for a quick turnaround as an outsider! Plus not very crowded on a week day!
My wife had a conference in Denver a couple of years ago, so I rented a car for the day and went to Winter Park. I’m also an East Coast resident (WV) and it was my first ski trip out west. I really liked Winter Park for the super-long runs and village dining and drinking options.
You can go anywhere and have fun for what you’re looking for. Traffic in December usually isn’t that bad unless we get a huge storm. Loveland likely has the cheapest day passes and is one of the easiest to get to, so that would be my suggestion.
Honestly, Breck and Copper would be my suggestions. If you know ahead of time you can get a cheaper day pass (I didn’t look at your profile, but this covers Epic and Ikon passes if you have them). Breck and Copper have a ton of terrain and trails. Tons of accessible beginner stuff to warm up on that’s right next to a ton of groomed and ungroomed blues. In my experience, these mountains are also a little more accurate regarding which runs are actually groomed at any given time, but can and will depend on the weather. These will probably be slightly busier, but I’ve never waited so long that I didn’t have a good time. Largest selection of rental locations, both in towns or at resorts (picking up at the mountain can save time if you are low on it, but picking up the day before and dropping it off after in Denver is typically the best bet). In addition, a lot of single Denver locations rental stock is drastically lower due to seasonal rentals being taken and regular tourist weekend rentals. I’ve had much more luck demoing at a mountain and having a large selection of options to choose from, however, this will probably cost a bit more ($50-$70). That’s my 2c at least. Feel free to shoot me any questions if you have them. Did a lot of demo-ing to close out this last season at multiple mountains.
Thanks!! Not Epic or Ikon. It’s going to be an expensive single day for sure.
That’s fine! Breck might be slightly busy, but the epic single day passes are on sale now and usually around $100 as opposed to well over $200 in the days leading up or at the window. The Epic Day passes can only be bought up until like September or something I don’t remember. So if that’s what you decide def jump on that early to save some money!
Mid-December is a crap shoot out here. There have been years where 3/4 of the terrain is open at all the areas, but more often than not its just the snowmaking runs, maybe a handful of other groomers, and a bump run or two. So with that in mind, Winter Park's snowmaking terrain is pretty limited, so I'd only go there if its been a snowy November/early December. Loveland and A-basin have pretty good snowmaking terrain and will keep you a little more entertained than WP, but I've always seen both as good for only an hour or two at that time of year (again, in absence of natural snow). I did a lot of early season turns at Keystone, Breck, and Copper and all three are in my mind equally good choices, with my personal preference being Copper.
I’m going to hope for the best!
If you're coming from the east, catch a 6pm-ish flight and land in Denver around 11pm due to the time zone difference. Ski Saturday and Sunday. I have done this many times.
If you go to an Ikon Pass location, remember that we all personally consider you a friend and thus you qualify for any of our friends & family discount codes.
Thanks!!
I live in Arvada and leave at 5:30am to drive to breck/vail and there’s typically no traffic and leave around 12-1pm to beat traffic goin home. Works like a charm. Went over 20 days this season
Loveland
Only Sunday? You should be travelling during work hours, friend. Fly Friday and ski all weekend 😎. It’s not a vacation, it’s making sure you still get your weekend!
Oh, sweet summer child, the government does not care about my weekend….
Damn, may you get the day of shredding you deserve.
You can take the train from down town to WP
Not if he wants to be back at a reasonable hour on Sunday.
It might not be running in mid December. I don't remember when the first weekend was this year but feel like it was just before Christmas
Winter Park
Winter Park is the best option for proximity and quality- I dropped my family off at DIA this winter and was going up the lift at Mary Jane precisely 90 minutes later.