Tree Skiing/Riding Heaven
Pros: variety, trees, deep light powder, ambiance of town.
Cons: lack of gnar, distance from Denver, southern exposure gets mushy
My favorite resort in America, and for good reason.
First, let's get the bad out of the way. If you want to be Joe Gnar and your ski experience isn't complete without throwing flips off 30 footers, go to Crested Butte or Taos. If you want fast paced nightlife, go to Tahoe. If you want a 80 foot jumps, go to Keystone or Breck. That's not what they're trying to promote or sell, so don't expect any of this.
So here's the goods. The town is special. It's an old ranching town first, and the cowboy culture is alive and well. Other towns have history, such as mining, but that's an activity that happened under ground. When you arrive into town from Rabbit Ears, you're surrounded by horsing ranches. It's quite unique.
The mountain is an incredible place. As many mentioned, this place must under-report, because any time I've been here, it seems deeper that the AM snow report. The "Champagne Powder" trademark isn't BS, they get some serious light snow due to some unique weather patterns. When it snows on the mountain, it's more of a rime and fog mix than heavy flakes, and for whatever reason, the stuff is special. It's one of the most balanced resorts I've ever visited. Kids, old timers, first timers, doesn't matter, this is a FUN mountain.
Of course, I havn't mentioned the trees, but you already knew that. There's a reason every ski magazine in the world constantly raves about trees so perfectly spaced and pitched you'll think God himself planted each of them with the powderhound in mine. The best tree runs are 2000' of pure bliss, and I guarantee that after a few runs down Triangle 3, Shadows, Closets and Fletcher Glades, you'll bw grinning from ear to ear.
