Jackson Hole vs Breckenridge? - Page 2

J.H. has runs that i have had to use my uphill hand to push my body away from the hill so my skis would not slide or make them bite into the snow to keep me from falling (its all about the angle of the dangle) . If you enjoy the rush of falling a few feet after each turn in the steeps hang out with Jeff Zell.

I am biased towards breck cuz it's were I always ski and have never been to JH(although it is where I want to ski next). That being said Breck has a lot of terrain to offer that most people don't know about and is almost impossible to find without a local. I have skied lines at Breck that are step enough to make any resort hard press to beat. If the snow falls right on Sadie's it makes lulu's(previously mentioned at 40+) look like child's play. The windows has some incredible liens if you know where to look.

That being said JH is an iconic location with terrain that is incredible and I can't wait to get a chance to ski it, I just think Breck gets underrated due to it's popularity 

May I recommend the Inn at Jackson Hole, great rooms, three hot tubs, sushi,nice bar and a short stroll to the tram and the Moose.

If you go solo, the Hostel works nicely too, you can still poach the hot tubs at the Inn. :)

The view isn't too shabby either.

This should be all the motivation you need.

Yeah, I trashed a pair of Rossi 4s 207 rentals in less than a week one January way back when, and we got several feet while there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by habacomike 

If you like Devils Crotch, there are more runs you will enjoy at Breck.  Much tighter and perhaps as steep, is Minecrotch, a tight shot through the trees between Devils Crotch and Mineshaft.  There's also the Windows, a bunch of tree shots lookers right (like way right) of Devils Crotch.  Personally, I like Tom's Baby more than Devils Crotch; stay way left and catch the really steep lines.  Stepping off of the E-Chair and onto the T-Bar, you've got one of my favorite lines at Breck:  Lulu's in Horseshoe Bowl.  It's all the way skiers' left and 45+ degrees of pitch.  If you ski through the gut, you didn't get far enough left.  It usually requires stepping through some shrubs and possibly rocks to get to it.  On Peak 7, you've got some nice long steep lines, like Magic Carpet, the Y chutes, Sadies, and Arte's Bowle.  These lines are all 40 degrees plus.  Back at the top of Peak 8, a short but steep hike brings you to the top.  Here, the Lake Chutes have numerous lines to train you for Jackson.  The lines through Crazy Ivan's are in the upper 40's and have the pucker power of rock bands to go with them.  Or you can test your true gnarliness by finding a line off of the nose -- I've only seen 1 or 2 skiers in there, as it is true crux skiing:  if you fall, your are going to be in a world of hurt if you survive.  Or you can huck Elevator Shaft, a 30-50 foot damn near vertical (in fact it is far more vertical than Corbett's) cornice into a 40 degree chute (Zoot Chute).

 

There's a fair amount of steep stuff at Breck.  I'd say there's more steeps at Breck than there are at Copper.  Most folk who complain about the purported lack of challenging terrain at Breck haven't skied there recently or had no clue where to find it.  And Breck opens their high alpine steep terrain usually much earlier than Copper does.  But you do have to fight the crowds.  And December skiing is riskier than Jan/Feb as there is less time to build a base.  But Breck will be a better bet for terrain in Dec than Jackson.

 

Mike

This is an excellent overview of the more difficult terrain at Breck. I've never skied Jackson, and I'm sure it does blow Breck out of the water in many respects, but if you're looking to have a good time with your friends and still hit some gnarlier terrain, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Breck. As stated above, you just have to kind of know where to go and/or study a map, as the harder stuff isn't always in an obvious location. Sadies on Peak 7 has one of the best and most reliable steep powder stashes in Colorado - or at least the Summit/Vail area. And nobody skies it. 

Breck may have steeps, but they're mostly very short (500-800'), and you pay for it with long lines or traverses/hikes.

Despite being based out of Breckenridge, I rarely ski there. The only time I do, is for a mid-week powder/recycled day when it's really cold, there's high winds and/or low vis. Those conditions keep the crowds away and you can get enough laps to make the short pitches worth it. Most people will have to harden the eff up to enjoy that sort of day, though, since we're talking quite harsh conditions. The day is half pain, half bliss.

Late spring it can be really good too, with nice corn on peak 7. The elevation usually means coverage stays pretty decent, once you know where the rock piles are.

Breckenridge's main attraction, aside from a world-class terrain park, is that it has both steeps and really expansive low-intermediate terrain. It's perfect for families and couples, where the husband is a good skier and the rest of the family is happy just putting around on mellow groomers. It also has a really nice town and shopping for the rest of the family to make those 'break days' (pffft!) pretty enjoyable. 

Most of the good skiers travel to Breck to keep the family happy, not to keep themselves happy. If this is a boy's trip, go to Jackson Hole. It's a no-brainer.

(apologies to the good female skiers, but there just aren't that many of you out there)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Lindahl 

Breck may have steeps, but they're mostly very short (500-800'), and you pay for it with long lines or traverses/hikes.

 

Despite being based out of Breckenridge, I rarely ski there. The only time I do, is for a mid-week powder/recycled day when it's really cold, there's high winds and/or low vis. Those conditions keep the crowds away and you can get enough laps to make the short pitches worth it. Most people will have to harden the eff up to enjoy that sort of day, though, since we're talking quite harsh conditions. The day is half pain, half bliss.

 

Late spring it can be really good too, with nice corn on peak 7. The elevation usually means coverage stays pretty decent, once you know where the rock piles are.

 

Breckenridge's main attraction, aside from a world-class terrain park, is that it has both steeps and really expansive low-intermediate terrain. It's perfect for families and couples, where the husband is a good skier and the rest of the family is happy just putting around on mellow groomers. It also has a really nice town and shopping for the rest of the family to make those 'break days' (pffft!) pretty enjoyable. 

 

Most of the good skiers travel to Breck to keep the family happy, not to keep themselves happy. If this is a boy's trip, go to Jackson Hole. It's a no-brainer.

(apologies to the good female skiers, but there just aren't that many of you out there)

 

Side note: where do you normally go ski then? vail doesn't have much steep terrain but a lot of cliffs if that's what you are into. Keystone ehh maybe for tree sking. Abasin is kinda cool but unless your hiking the east wall or just lapping pali not that expansive. Beaver creek is great for bumps obviously and the stone creek chutes have some pretty good lines but being based outta breck that's a long drive  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Lindahl 
 If this is a boy's trip, go to Jackson Hole. It's a no-brainer.

(apologies to the good female skiers, but there just aren't that many of you out there)

 

Hmm. Do we know anything about the ability level of "the boys" who want to go to Breck?  It's always assumed that the boys are good enough for JH and that the girls aren't...    

I agree with Brian Lindahl about everything else, though. JH can get brutally cold, too, but the payoff is much better. Much much much much much much. If you are even a high intermediate, go to JH -- you'll expand your horizons way more than you will at Breck, and with less effort. I don't agree with the poster who said he wasn't impressed from the parking lot -- I will never forget the day I first looked up at JH from the parking lot. It was an epiphany. It's true that you don't see but a small fraction of the terrain (including back and sidecountry) from there, but when you see it, you can just tell, this isn't Breck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by segbrown 

Hmm. Do we know anything about the ability level of "the boys" who want to go to Breck?  It's always assumed that the boys are good enough for JH and that the girls aren't...    

 

I agree with Brian Lindahl about everything else, though. JH can get brutally cold, too, but the payoff is much better. Much much much much much much. If you are even a high intermediate, go to JH -- you'll expand your horizons way more than you will at Breck, and with less effort. I don't agree with the poster who said he wasn't impressed from the parking lot -- I will never forget the day I first looked up at JH from the parking lot. It was an epiphany. It's true that you don't see but a small fraction of the terrain (including back and sidecountry) from there, but when you see it, you can just tell, this isn't Breck.

 

 

I have to agree.  I learned to ski at Breck and love it.  That said, I skied JH last winter and LOVED it.  As a mere girl who is a mere advanced intermediate, I never lacked for fun, challenging terrain and conditions.  My husband is a former pro, used to teach at Breck and knows where a lot of the "good terrain" is (and has guided more than a few Bears around too).  When we skied Jackson, he skied with Bob Peters and TetonPowderJunkie and had the time of his life.

Bottom line:  they both have something for girls, boys, pros, and intermediates.  If I had to choose, I'd go back to JH in a heartbeat (and plan to!).

And BTW, segbrown rips...probably better than a lot of boys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolf210 

Side note: where do you normally go ski then? vail doesn't have much steep terrain but a lot of cliffs if that's what you are into. Keystone ehh maybe for tree sking. Abasin is kinda cool but unless your hiking the east wall or just lapping pali not that expansive. Beaver creek is great for bumps obviously and the stone creek chutes have some pretty good lines but being based outta breck that's a long drive  

 

Except for the few days at Breck, I mostly ski backcountry and Vail sidecountry (lots). Beaver Creek when I get a big powder day (1'+) right on the nose. Aside from spring backcountry lines, I try to make it out to other resorts for my steep fix a few times a year (Crested Butte, Silverton, Jackson, Utah).

Beaver Creek isn't so bad of a drive, but it's all relative. Back in college, I used to do day trips to Mammoth from San Diego... now that's a long drive! Wake up at 3am, drive 6 hours, ski from 9 to 3, get back home at 9pm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Lindahl 

Quote:

Except for the few days at Breck, I mostly ski backcountry and Vail sidecountry (lots). Beaver Creek when I get a big powder day (1'+) right on the nose. Aside from spring backcountry lines, I try to make it out to other resorts for my steep fix a few times a year (Crested Butte, Silverton, Jackson, Utah).

 

Beaver Creek isn't so bad of a drive, but it's all relative. Back in college, I used to do day trips to Mammoth from San Diego... now that's a long drive! Wake up at 3am, drive 6 hours, ski from 9 to 3, get back home at 9pm.

That's some dedication and I guess it isn't to bad when I think about the fact that I make the 2.5 hr drive every weekend from the Academy :end sidenote

I have skied both many times.  Jackson hole gets ridiculously cold, where it can be sunny and it is -30 windchill.  Grand Targee behind it gets amazing powder.  So Jackson hole is not the place for powder.  Brekenridge on Devil's crotch always has fresh snow, even though it may not have snowed there for weeks, because the snow blows off the other peak and lands on that run.  For the steep and deep on a consistent basis, I'd recommend Alta/Snowbird in Utah.  Colorado's snow is the lightest, so if you go to Breckenridge and you catch a storm, you can easily have access to Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper, and Arapahoe Basin... when it snows in Colorado, and you ski down a powder run, and look behind, you can't find where you skied because it is so light the snow just flows in the groove and fills it...  You can blow on the snow and it will fly!   there is nothing like it!