March 5,6,10,11, 2008 Vail,Copper,Keystone,Beaver

The harddrive on our laptop crashed a couple of weeks ago and we've had to focus on skiing. We spent a couple of the coldest weeks ever skiing in CO. I'll bet that's what killed the harddrive.

March 5: We met our friends in Fairplay and found one of the coldest spots in CO. We drove to Vail and parked in East Vail at one of the few, small, free lots still available to the public. The free bus took us to the Transportation Center where we took another free bus to the Riva Bahn Express chair. This is uaually the quickest route up the mountain. You then take the Northwoods Express to the top for access to the back bowls. Vail received 3 inches of new snow and the temperature was -2 degrees F. Lift tickets were $90, but we skied for free with our Heavenly passes. Yeah! The fresh snow covered a firm base and it was a cruiser day. Vail is enormous with great, long runs.

March 6: This has to be one of the coldest days I've skied since retirement 7 years ago! We woke up at 6 am and it was -20 degrees F. That's 52 degress below freezing! Our friends suggested that we enjoy a late breakfast and relax before driving to Copper. We arrived at the ski area and it was ONLY -7 degrees F (and windy). We used a Phillip's 2 for 1 coupon and saved $86. Copper has some large upper bowls and offers a free cat shuttle up the ridge for access to them. There is also a high access poma. With cold temperatures, wind and snow squalls, we cruised the lower treed terrain. We stopped early for lunch and to thaw out, and finished early in the afernoon when we couldn't feel our toes or fingers anymore. The upper bowls would be enjoyable on a warmer day.

March 10: Keystone is another Vail Assoc resort so we were able to again ski for free with our Heavenly passes. A high pressure system provided another cold, cruiser day. The advanced upper bowls are accessible by snowcat or hiking. Today was a flat light day so we cruised the treed terrain. Another mega resort with mega pricing.

March 11: We've been in CO for two plus weeks of cold temperatures and decided it was time to head west. We spent a pleasant day at Beaver Creek, another Vail Assoc mega resort. We also saved the $90 lift price and skied for free with our Heavenly passes. These passes cost us $319 apiece with no additional tax and paid for themselves during our CO trip. With temperatures in the low 20s and sunshine, it was a pleasant high speed cruising day on the groomers. But catastrophe struck - the harddrive on our laptop has crashed! I'm blind to the approach of any storms! A call to Perlin and we are directed to leave immediately for the Wasatch as a storm cycle is approaching that area.

Wow. I went to the Heavenly website after reading your post and discovered that for $579 you can buy an "Epic" pass for next year and have unlimited skiing at Heavenly, Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and A-Basin with no blackout dates! And you don't even have to book a room through them to ski "free."

In light of the Boyne policy of "free" skiing at Big Sky only if you book a room through Boyne, and as I am retiring in 2 months, 22 days, and 14 hours, this is leading me to seriously consider a Crystal mid-week pass and investing the price difference between the mid-week and full time Crystal pass in a Heavenly Pass and spending time at Tahoe and in Colorado.

Anybody else considering this?

Keith, The Epic pass is new and is a great deal when you're retired or just ski bumming. There is also a CO Front Range pass for under $400 that must be purchased in person the first year and can be renewed online thereafter. It is good for unlimited days at Breck, Keystone and A-Basin plus 10 days at Vail or Beaver Creek. Not sure if they will offer that next year along with the Epic pass.

The Tahoe area has lots of ski areas and lots of competition which has kept season passes rather reasonable. We also have a Kirkwood midweek pass for $199. They usually have the most snow, a high base elevation and a friendly backcountry access policy. There's plenty of deals around. We skied Homewood on Thursday for $10 when we showed one of our season passes. It was a powder day and deserted as usual. Things are changing at Homewood now that they are owned by the same firm that owns Alpine Meadows.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement - you made it !