Colorado Skiing 08: Tips from Frequent CO Skiers

Getting Ready for the Trip

Story/Tip

Preparing to the trip we made a car reservation at Alamo. Being in CO a year earlier, we made sure to rent a 4-wheel drive SUV. The roads get icy quickly and you need to carry a lot of stuff - rental equipment and etc. Space comes in handy. When we arrived to Denver, we discovered that at at Alamo you can choose any car from the lot - neat feature. We picked Toyota Highlander, a great car with some useful for CO features.

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Sunlight Mountain Inn

Hotel | "Great Hotel for Families Skiing at Sunlight Mountain"

Panoramic view: lobby in Christmas decor

Sunlight Mountain Inn is located literally minutes away from the Sunlight Ski Resort, which makes skiing there very convenient. (the inn is about 4 hour drive from Denver). It has good quality breakfast in the morning with variety. Place is nicely decorated for the Holidays. There are plenty of toys in the living room if traveling with kids, the TV is there as well. Rooms are clean with the decor in rustic to dated style. Rooms have no fridge, TV, microwave or hair dryer. It is difficult to control the temperature of water in the shower. Worth staying there only if you ski at the Sunlight Mountain Ski Resort otherwise it's out of the way from the main roads.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Sunlight Mountain Inn
10252 County Road 117 Glenwood Springs 81601
(970) 945-5225

Sunlight Mountain Resort

Attraction | "Best Hidden Treasure Ski Resort in CO"

Sunlight Mountain Resort is our family's favorite ski destination in CO. It is located 30 min drive from Glenwood Springs and is favored by the locals.
Good things about it:
- not a commercial place, more like a skiing area for locals
- (triple plus per my husband's request) you can drive all the way to the base of the mountain in your car and park it there for free. On the way back you can literally ski all the way to your car, which also makes eating snacks from the stash in the trunk easier
- you can rent great equipment there cheap and then use for skiing in the other resorts (2 rental shops, one at the base of the mountain, second - in Glenwood Springs. choose the one at the mountain - much better quality of equipment)
- trails are just great with most of them marked blue (a lot of black ones if you dare)
- well groomed terrain
- affordable ski school, ask for Larry as your trainer - he is the best
- no crowds - you can easily be the first one leaving your trace on the groomed trail
Needs improvement:
- slow and old lifts - be prepared from the start
- food in the cafe is just bad, save yourself and bring your own

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Sunlight Mountain Resort
10901 County Road 117 Glenwood Springs 81601
(800) 445-7931

Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse

Restaurant | "Satisfying Dinner After a Day of Skiing"

We accidentally found this restaurant while looking for a place to eat after a day of skiing at Sunlight Mountain Resort, 30 minutes away from Glenwood Springs.
What was good about this restaurant:
- fantastic atmosphere - very cozy and warm
- good menu with a variety of satisfying items (my pork with cider sauce and baked apple was just delicious) every item on the list seemed to be something that is just a good idea to eat after a day outside skiing
- serve Fat Tire - great local beer
- favored by locals
- quick service
- affordable for the quality and size of plates that you get (paid $65 for two with drinks)
What we didn't like
- tried just one desert - creme brule - but it was not good consistency
A side note: if possible make a reservation. We got lucky but the place got full quickly. In general, highly recommend.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse
308 7th Street Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601
(970) 945-4619

Taipei Tokyo

Restaurant | "Our Favorite Asian Restaurant in Glenwood Springs"

We have been dining in this restaurant two years in a row during our ski vacations in 2007 and 2008.
Good about it:
- large menu of different Asian dishes
- good tasting food (their spring rolls and pork dumplings are amazing)
- plate arrangements are beautiful, always with a flower on the plate
- generous portions
- super friendly service
- bill comes with a few tasty deserts
- reasonably priced
Minuses:
- not much to complain about, I guess, the restaurant always feels too empty in the evening. Only a few tables occupied. On the other hand, it can also be a plus.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Taipei Tokyo
1605 Grand Ave. Glenwood Springs 81601
(970) 945-6288?

Riviera Supper Club

Restaurant | "#1 Restaurant in Glenwood Springs per trip advisor"

The restaurant has a modern decor, which for some reason didn't match with our expectations for a fine CO dining style - we wanted something more cozy and homey. Here are the pluses and minuses for the place.
Pluses:
- good tasting food, innovative and modern (I had duck and my husband had seafood dish)
- good service
- dishes are presented nicely
- pleasant art on the walls, most likely local artists
Minuses:
- pricy (the most we ever paid for a meal at Glenwood Springs - $105 (we took an appetizer and had 3 glasses of wine total)
- the place felt crowded, not much privacy, also noisy
- mushroom soup wasn't right consistency - grainy

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Riviera Supper Club
702 Grand Ave Glenwood Springs 81601
(970) 945-7692

Holiday Inn Express-Glenwood Springs

Hotel | "Great Hotel in Glenwood Springs re. Quality, Value and Location"

We have stayed at this hotel in 2007 and came back in 2008 again. We love the location and quality of room for the money (an average of $120 per night).
Good about it:
- breakfast included, though selection is very standard
- free wi-fi
- clean room, ours was literally brand new after renovation
- rooms have flat TV, microwave, coffee maker, fridge, hair dryer
- good shower with nice water pressure
- free parking
- perfect location if you plan to drive around hitting different ski resorts
Minuses:
not much, really...
- the pillows were not too comfortable, if that's a biggy for you bring your own

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Holiday Inn Express-Glenwood Springs
501 W 1ST STREET Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601
970-928-7800

Glenwood Caverns

Attraction | "Great in Winter, Double Fun in Summer"

Cable gondola that takes you to the park

The park would be a perfect location to visit with kids - it includes the gondola ride, the caverns experience, roller coaster ride, a variety of fun things to do: maze, wild west wagon, etc. During winter most of the attractions are closed. Make sure to check the calendar on the Park's website, they are going to be fully closed Jan 5 - March 6th 2008-2009. We went there Dec. 24th when the cave tours were still open, but missed the last tour of the day. We still went for a scenic gondola ride ($10 per person) and glad we did so - the view from the top was amazing.
By the way, if you are lucky to get on the cavern's tour, you should be able to see the bats. We couldn't help to take a picture of the creature on one of the displays. From talking with the gondola ride assistant, we learned that the standard cavern tour takes about an hour, when you ascend more than 100 steps into the mountain. The temperate remains 52f year-round. It all sounded really good.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Glenwood Caverns
508 Pine St Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601
+1 970 945 4228; +1

Brothers' Grille

Restaurant | "Will Never Come Back Again"

We stayed at Doubletree hotel and ate at this restaurant the first night. Inside the restaurant was very traditional and spacious - exactly what you expect from a high class dining establishment. Unfortunately, this is the only positive comment that we have about it. The restaurant had a dull menu. We had a party of five and had a chance to taste five dishes - none of them were good. Service mixed up our orders twice and appeared untrained (didn't offer us to taste the wine before filling all the glasses up). The bill was high and the food was totally unworth it. Avoid if possible.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Brothers' Grille
100 Fall Lane Snowmass, Colorado 81615
+1 970 923 8286; +1

Snowmass Mountain Skiing

Attraction | "One of the Best Ski Destinations in CO"

We have skied at Snowmass two years in a row. Each time (we visited in December) the weather was snowy. The staff was unable to keep many trails groomed, the snow just keeped covering them up. The lift ticket price is $96, which is rather high compare to $50 at Sunlight - the best skiing destination in CO if you want to avoid breaking the bank. Here's the review for Snowmass.
Pluses:
+ super large, a lot of various trails for all levels of complexity - you will not be bored
+ and - quick ski lifts, though most of them are open (except for the main gondola) and the wind literally blows you off the seats
+ long trails (one of them 5.6 miles)
+ wide trails - our most favorite place are the trails around elk camp lift - Gunner's View is our most favorite. Dallas freeway off the big burn lift is great too.
+ nice cafe's on the mountain, but not too cheap - soup is the best economic selection
+ good quality of rental equipment, two of 3 people in our party got brand new boots
Minuses:
- needs more grooming for the trails, didn't feel prepared for the heavy snow fall. Other resorts (Aspen, Vail and Beaver Creek) we've been to managed to keep the trails in better condition during the same weather.
- parking is all far from the mountain and pricy - $25 per day - unless you park really far from the mountain for free and take a shuttle. We have chosen to valet park at the Silver Tree Hotel for $25 a day.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Silvertree Hotel

Hotel | "Not the Best and Way Overpriced"

First of all, if you are traveling during winter months when flight delays are frequent, don't book through third party sites - you will not be able to get your money back, hotel's policy doesn't allow for that. Even booking directly, double check, they ask for cancellation 30 days in advance which is ridiculous when your flight is canceled a day before you are supposed to check in.
The place has some pluses:
+ great location - you can ski in and out of it
+ amazing lobby
+ live music every afternoon and free cookies with hot chocolate
+ clean rooms with all that you need
+ comfortable bed and pillows
+ friendly and quick valet parking staff
+ heated pool with hot tub (all outside, on the negative side the tiles get icy and it's cold to walk out or back to the room. On the funny note, the railings to get out of the pool are metal and your hands stick to them, so be creative crawling your way out of the pool.
Minuses:
- nothing is included: you have to pay for breakfast which is expensive, for sauna, for health club, for parking, for wi-fi ($9 a day)
- rooms are overpriced - you get an average quality room for over $300-$500 a night
- as mentioned earlier, it's almost impossible to get reimbursement for the room, should you check in later than planned due to flight delays and such
- the heater in the room didn't work well. room service brought a portable one, which struggled to keep the room warm
- the room of our friends was on the first floor (#101) and a few times people tried to walk through the room to get to the balcony to clean the snow off the roof - super weird
- management is very hard to find and is not friendly
- hotel restaurant - Brother's Grille - is just bad and overpriced. avoid even if you are starving. By the way, there's a grocery store, which free village shuttle can easily take you to, where you can get the food you need.

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by Lenuca on January 2, 2009

Silvertree Hotel
100 Elbert Lane Snowmass Village, Colorado 81615
970-923-3520

Aspen Mountain

Attraction | "Amazing Scenery, Fun Trails and One-of-a-Kind Town Experience"

20 minutes away from Snowmass is Aspen Mountain - a must experience for that part of Colorado. The tickets your purchase at any of four Aspen/Snowmass resorts give you access to all four of them. If you know you are going to stay in the area for a few days, buy multi-day tickets. The lines to the ticket booths can be long and with resorts being open only for a limited number of hours each day (8 a.m. to the last lifts at around 3:30 p.m. and no night skiing) you don't want to waste your time.

What makes Aspen different is the town experience. It's not a fake, Disney like arrangement of houses around the mountain (Snowmass, Beaver Creek and Vail), Aspen is an actual real living town. Aspen is full of expensive high end shops - Prada, Gucci - and restaurants but also has many charming private houses. A nice area to walk around trying to spot celebrities. All locals are super proud of their town and don't ski anywhere else, so don't ask for skiing advice - even Snowmass is too far for them ; )) Talking about fancy, even Aspen police is driving Volvo SUVs.

Aspen Mountain has amazing scenic views almost at any corner. Bring your camera to take pictures. However, it is not a place for beginners (in that case go to Buttermilk or to Snowmass). Aspen Mountain is compact enough to be able to explore in one full day of skiing. Don't plan to stay more than 2 days there - you will be bored. Here's a detailed review of the Aspen Mountain experience.
Positive:
+ awesome view
+ quick lifts
+ fun challenging trails
+ super condition of snow - great groom
+ loved by locals
+ wonderful dining opportunities on the mountain. We ate at Bonnie's and enjoyed home made taste of food. Every dish was beyond expectations. Food there is not cheap - about $10-20 per person depending on what you take, but worth it.
+ great underground parking in town (around $2 per hour), from there a shuttle bus takes you to the mountain every 10 minutes
Negative:
- no easy trails, most of the trails are rather narrow
- sometimes feels crowded, due to the small size of the mountain
- everything in town is super overpriced - hotels, restaurants, shops
- small, you will quickly explore all the trails for you level of skiing

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by Lenuca on January 3, 2009

Aspen Mountain
Durant St Aspen, Colorado 81611
+1 970 925 1220; +1

Il Poggio Ristorante

Restaurant | "Popular Italian Restaurant in Snowmass Village That's Worth the Buck"

The restaurant is located in the heart of Snowmass Village in one of the smaller houses, 20 steps away from the Silvertree hotel. Being a popular location, reservation is a must. Restaurant has two areas: cafe area and the main dining room which fills up quicker. Both are cozy and pleasant to be at. You might be able to get to the cafe area without reservation. Here's what we liked about it:
+ wonderful innovative food
+ great collection of wines (Chianti) and not that expensive. Our server suggested Saint Christina wine and it was very good for the moderate price
+ attentive service
+ tasty deserts
What could be better:
- small menu
- loud
- not cheap (but worth it)
- need reservation

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by Lenuca on January 3, 2009

Il Poggio Ristorante
57 Elbert Lane Snowmass Village 81615
(970) 923-4292

Driving to Vail from Aspen

Story/Tip

Vail Mountain = unexpected Highlight of our trip

Skiing in Aspen we happened to talk to the locals. Hearing about our plans to go to Vail, we got a "violent" reaction - Vail sucks, nothing to do there, trucks drive right through the town and etc... How glad we were that we didn't listen - Vail was just amazing.

Getting to Vail takes about an hour from Glenwood Springs, and 2 - 3 hours from Snowmass. Leave early since you'll want to treasure every hour there.

Arriving to Vail we parked our car at the nearby parking lot - walking distance away from the mountain and bought tickets - $97 per person. If going there for just one day, try to get a feel of each of 3 skiing areas - the Front Side of the mountain including the NEST area, the Back Bowls and the Blue Sky. We have arrived at around 11 a.m. and could not make it to the Blue Sky but saw the rest.

The Vail experience is just amazing. The mountain is vast and a variety of terrains is mind blowing. Everything is well maintained and groomed. You can easily spend a week there and never ride the same trail twice. If you have limited time, make sure to experience the Back Bowls - take the Sleepy Time trail from lifts 4, or 5 or 11 and enjoy the scenery. The Back Bowls is a huge open area where pretty much every piece of the mountain is a trail - you can ski with your eyes closed ; ) My husband tried but didn't make far ; ) We got so impressed by Vail, that next year hopefully are going to spend their most of our vacation. (asides from Vail, they say Telluride is amazing).

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Vail Ski Resort

Attraction | "An Absolute Highlight of Our Ski Trip to Colorado"

The Vail experience is just amazing. The mountain is vast and a variety of terrains is mind blowing. Everything is well maintained and groomed. You can easily spend a week there and never ride the same trail again. If you have limited time, make sure to experience the Back Bowls - take the Sleepy Time trail from lifts 4, or 5 or 11 and enjoy the scenery. The Back Bowls is a huge open area where pretty much every piece of the mountain is a trail - you can ski with your eyes closed ; )

Here's the review of the ski areas in Vail.
Pluses:
+ grand size and variety - open spaces, paths through the evergreen trees, etc.
+ great groom
+ best signage - everything is well marked and the lifts are numbered
+ multitude of long trails
+ easy parking and close proximity to the mountain - no need in taking a shuttle
+ easy parking and close proximity to the mountain - no need in taking a shuttle
Minuses:
- crowded at the lifts during the weekends or holidays, in general felt like there were not enough lifts for the resort of that size (you can see the size of line in the photo to the left), sometimes it took us up to 40 min to stand in line
- most expensive tickets so far
- all lifts except for the main gondola are open (for that price Vail could do something more fancy)
- size overwhelms you if you come for just one day - we got really greedy trying to see everything - I guess our problem, not the mountain's ; )
Can't comment about the food, since had no time for it - we were too greedy to ski.

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by Lenuca on January 3, 2009

Vail Ski Resort
Vail Mountain Vail, Colorado 81657

Village Steakhouse

Restaurant | "Carnivorous Experience for Exhausted Skiers"

What's different about Village Steak House, is that it has a separate salad bar, which you get an access to when ordering any entree. The bar is superb with many fine choices. Here are the pluses and minuses of the place.
Pluses:
+ salad bar is great
+ spacious and no need in reservation
+ good service and quick
+ great desert - we ordered strawberry shortcake and it came in a huge martini shape glass - easily feds five people
+ large wine selection (many types of French Bordeaux)
Minuses:
- steaks were ok, but nothing extraordinary and small. Not a good comment for a steakhouse but I guess a reality for a place like Snowmass.
- super expensive (steaks about $35-$38 per serving)

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by Lenuca on January 3, 2009

Village Steakhouse
40 Elbert Lane Snowmass, Colorado 81615
+1 970 923 8289

Aspen Highlands

Attraction | "The Most Challenging of Four Aspen/Snowmass Resorts"

Aspen Highlands is the mountain with the most expert terrain in the Aspen/Snowmass area - a lot of black diamonds and based on a couple conversations with the locals - their favorite place to ski.

To start off the day, the computers at the ticket offices were down and we waited for an hour before they got fixed. Not to be picky, but the staff lacked training. The base of the mountain is smaller than the rest of the resorts and there are fewer dining opportunities and shops.

Parking is nearby and since we had five people in the car we didn't have to pay. When parking, make sure to choose the most right lane or the covered area, otherwise you have to walk quite far to the escalator to the village. In any case it's a walkable distance, no need in the shuttle.
Here's the review of the mountain.
Pluses:
+ different kind of view - the top of the mountain has large cliffs of rusty color and exposed edges - they reminded our friends of skiing in the Alps in Europe where trails are right on the edge of the mountain and you are afraid to fall off ; )
+ trails are a lot of fun for an experienced skier - you can gain a lot of speed
+ easy parking
+ not as crowded
+ plenty of lifts, though all are open
+ good quality of terrain - groomed
Minuses:
- very, very, very small signs
- small resort in general (can see it all in one day)
- not a family place unless your kids are skiing "monsters" (like a lot are in CO)
In general a must try if you are an experienced skier.

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by Lenuca on January 3, 2009

Aspen Highlands
1498 Maroon Creek Road Aspen, Colorado 81612
+1 970 925 1220; +1

Matsuhisa

Restaurant | "So Overrated"

The restaurant is supposedly run by a super well-known Japanese chef and serves the best ever sushi. It's almost impossible to get there. If you are dining in the main area - reservation is a must, if you are dining in the bar area - first come first serve which encourages a lot of unhealthy competition. However, the hostess was amazing - she pretty much commanded the entire place, and was very nice to us setting us up at a table in less than an hour of wait. So how was it you ask?
Pluses:
+ great appetizers and not too small
+ deserts to die for - innovative and tasty
+ patient service
Minuses:
- difficult to choose from menu - no traditional sushi or sashimi dinners, or other options you usually get at the sushi restaurants
- super frugal sushi - thinnest possible slices of fish. I guess rice was good ; )
- super crowded and loud, not a pleasant place to have a conversation with the friends
- impossible to park nearby (closest place - the underground parking area 20 min of walking)
- expensive
As a side note, if you for some reason still decide to go there, order a Japanese soda drink in a fancy glass bottle - tastes like an old style soda and the bottle is sci-fi. See for yourself.

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by Lenuca on January 3, 2009

Matsuhisa
303 East Main St Aspen, Colorado 81611
+1 970 544 6628

IgoUgo

Colorado

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Colorado Skiing 08: Tips from Frequent CO Skiers

Prep for the trip: car rental advice

Getting Ready for the Trip

Day 1 in CO: Ski at Sunlight and dine at Glenwood

Sunlight Mountain Inn

Sunlight Mountain Resort

Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse

Day 2 in CO: still ski Sunlight and dine Glenwood Springs

Taipei Tokyo

Day 3 in CO: same plan - Sunlight and Glenwood dining

Riviera Supper Club

Day 4: moving to Glenwood Springs

Holiday Inn Express-Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Caverns

Brothers' Grille

Days 5 and 6: Skiing at Snowmass

Snowmass Mountain Skiing

Day 7: Hanging out at Silvertree hotel in Snowmass

Silvertree Hotel

Day 8: Skiing Aspen Mountain, dining at Snowmass

Aspen Mountain

Il Poggio Ristorante

Day 9: We are going to Vail

Driving to Vail from Aspen

Vail Ski Resort

Village Steakhouse

Day 10: Skiing at Aspen Highlands, dining Aspen

Aspen Highlands

Matsuhisa

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