Moving to Denver, where to ski?

My daughter is moving there, wondering about where to get a season pass? Where to go backcountry too? I surfed around a bit, found cheap pass at A Basin, only 70mi from Denver, says 376" per year, lots more than other Colorado areas, very high 10-13000' altitude?! Still open until June 4 this year!

Thoughts from you experienced Colorado skiers, front and backcountry?

I went to CU/Boulder and always enjoyed skiing at Copper Mountain...A Basin is great: excellent inbounds expert terrain and gate access to wonderful backcountry.  Snowpack (continental) at that altitude and latitude is tricky and much less "predictable" than in the NW...scary layers tend to last much longer and seem more prone to catastrophic slides than I've experienced up here...tell  her to be careful!!!

I think Colorado has something called a "Summit Pass" that gives access to a variety of resorts in Summit County. Good luck to her down there...it's a great part of the world. 
-Bill

Hmm, tough call. I used to live in CO Springs, and I had the Colorado Pass for 2 seasons. It's a very worthwhile pass. Unlimited skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone, and A-basin, plus 10 days to split between Vail and Beaver Creek (some black out days for V and BCreek). It was $300 when I lived there, but I think it's gone up a little.

Keep in mind that these are all along the i-70 corridor, which means heavy traffic on the weekends. If she's planning on doing her skiing off-weekend, then it would be perfect. Otherwise, she'll need to watch the peak ski traffic times: Sat. morning, and Sunday afternoon. If you get stuck in a bad bout of ski traffic, you can double your commute time back to the city.

Will she be in Denver, or Boulder, or some other nearby area? I know a lot of Boulderites that get their season pass to Winter Park/Mary Jane specifically to stay off I-70 most of the way. They love the ski area too, there's plenty of terrain. I think they do a deal with Copper too, so you can get a few days at Copper when you buy a season pass at WP/MJ. I'm not sure of the cost though?

If you are used to powder skiing in the PNW you will be disapointed with Colorado skiing. Average (and good) bases there are about 1/4 the snow depth totals averaged in the PNW. It just doesn't snow that much. But you won't mind the sun. Trade off?

If you are used to powder skiing in the PNW you will be disapointed with Colorado skiing. Average (and good) bases there are about 1/4 the snow depth totals averaged in the PNW. It just doesn't snow that much. But you won't mind the sun. Trade off?

Yeah, the Colorado snow also has that tendency to blow up all around you like smoke when you ski it, she might not like that if she's used to the Cascades.

A-Basin was my mountain of choice when I was at CU-Boulder ten years ago.
The back and front country terrain is great, and it is less crowded than the bigger CO areas (or at least it was ten years ago). Also its a little closer to Denver than Vail, Breck, and Copper, at least when Loveland Pass is open...by the way...there's great lazy (car shuttle) BC skiing at Loveland pass.

It did snow a lot more in the Front Range of Colorado ten years ago. Now it is wind transport that creates the "powder day."