BEST BUDGET SNOWBOARDING IN COLORADO?

My girlfriend and I were just in Colorado for the past week. She snowboards and I ski. We were at Copper, Vail, Steamboat and Loveland. It was our first "out west" skiing/boarding. It's hard to beat Copper. We hit Vail last Tuesday and lucked into big fresh powder. It was unbelievable!! Best day either of us have ever had on the mountain.
It's really hard to go wrong with any of the resorts.
Loveland is more of a locals resort and is really laid back. We had a good time there, it is the total opposite from the other Hills we skied.

 

I will have to agree either Jefes Taco, that would be a great central place to stay.

 

This actually seems like a great idea. How is Abasin compared to breck keystone and copper?

 

...I've skied many places in CO, ...done all sorts of scenarios; ...fly to DEN and rent a vehicle and drive to steamboat, fly to craig/hayden (whatever that small airport near steamboat is), ..fly to DEN, rent vehicle and drive to snowmass/aspen area, fly to DEN, rent a vehicle drive to Summit Co, and stay in Summit Co, ...fly to DEN and rent vehicle and stay in Golden and drive (daily) from Golden to/from Summit Co, ...fly to COS (Colorado springs) rent vehicle drive to crested butte, ....fly to MTJ (Montrose) take bus to telluride...

...you might also look for vacation rentals on VRBO or whatever is good for looking for condos now, ..we've gone that route before and it was competitive to hotel room costs, ...there are lots in the Summit Co and Vail areas...

 

What's your thoughts on Loveland? Good slopes and terrain?

 

I ski at Loveland fairly often. It's good if you're local, but the terrain isn't as good as others. I'd ski at Breck, Coppper, or Steamboat over Loveland. Loveland's just really close to Denver and isn't too crowded.

 

x2.

 

Smaller but generally steeper. And very windy. It's claim to fame is usually first to pen, last to close for the season. Sometimes as late as 4th of July.

 

I'm taking a beginner with me who's never boarded. Would A Basin be okay for him? OR would Copper be better? Also, I've only boarded twice before, once at Breck, and once at Sugar Mtn in North Carolina (gheyy)

 

A Basin's pretty small. The lifts are all old school and slower as well. I'd go with Copper all the way. Very diverse terrain IMO.

 

Copper>A Basin.

 

Officially booked! March 11 - March 15


SUPER EXCITED. There was 6 going, but everyone backed out when it came down to handing me the money. So it's just me and one other going, which is fine with me. Less people to wait on. Flying to Denver --> Renting a car --> Staying in Dillon --> skiing at Copper

 

copper is a good place, ...not great for beginners, but definitely more terrain and variety there to sample than a-basin... ...and for the advanced, the bowls at copper are really fun to ski

 

...some of the most enjoyable skiing I've done in summit co, was at copper mtn in late april...

 

Well hopefully my friend picks it up pretty quick. He's never snowboarded, but he can skateboard/wakeboard/surf. . . He should be good.

 

...yep, just don't make the mistake I did, which was on one trip took a friend who was, well, let's just say not nearly as "good" a skier as he led on to being before booking the trip, ...we went up one of the quad lifts that went up 2/3 of the mountain, ...then just taking the blue runs down, ...it was a slog... after "coaching" him down the mountain, he immediately hired a ski instructor for the rest of the day and skied over on the greens

 

If you have the time. Drive to Snowy Range, west of Cheyenne. Cant beat $35 lift tickets

 

You should enjoy Copper. I've been skiing there almost exclusively for the past 13 years and have always been happy with it.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I can't seem to find my gloves from last time. . . I found one, but the other is gone. I think my dog my be the culprit. I'm looking to buy some new gloves/mitts. What do you recommend? Gloves or mitts? And a good waterproof pair for a good price?