[nemi west]

Hey frontrangers.... Question for ya Got a co worker flying to the dirty d for one weekend only. He has kids who are gonna be skiing their first time. They are gonna drive from the town of Loveland Saturday morning in febuary. Not presidents day thankfully.

Where should they go..... Besides back to Kansas city. Eldora and avoid the I 70 traffic to winter park or Loveland can suck for sure. I was thinking Eldora. Any traffic from Loveland to Eldora?

This is not a debate about what place is better..... They are from Kansas for gods sake. Echo mt would blow them away.

 

[DanOrion]

I like your Eldora plan. Might check the weather before going to be sure the winds are sub 70 mph.

 

[Jensjustduckie]

Traffic and the drive in general is better from Loveland - Eldora than anything on I-70. Unless you leave well before dawn you will sit in traffic getting to the other Loveland at that time of the year, not sure how the drive up to WP would be.

 

[bobbuilds]

first time skiers will love eldora, it has a huge beginner area right at the base on the left and 1 chair over is not too bad for a beginner either. loveland resort on i-70 is my 2nd choice with a good area at the valley and a curve ball, if you want to leave at 8 am and hit no traffic go up to wyoming to the snowy range. great for a beginner as well.

so you can do eldora in about 1 hour. loveland to loveland in just under 2 hours with good flow of traffic, or head north to snowy range 1.5 hrs.

best bet is eldora, best traffic to snowy range and ll in the middle.

 

[BarryDingle]

You'll still have to deal with some traffic,and driving thru any town will always slow you down. And goin up boulder canyon isn't exactly "quick." ESP if your stuck behind someone.

As far as being closest,it's eldora. But you'd be surprised,it's not by much. ESP if there's no traffic on 70. I leave at 5am on busy days,so not always a huge concern :lol: Nothing to see at Loveland,move along....


Then they gotta go back to Kansas.

 

[g.soutiere]

as long as you leave d town by 6am and leave the resorts on the other side of the tunnel by 2pm the traffic isn't bad. eldora is nice and you can get a bus from denver to boulder than boulder to eldora so you don't hvae to drive. loveland you can leave a bit later than the others but have to be out of there by 3pm. make sure if you go up 70, bring beau jo's idaho springs phone number so if you get stuck in traffic you can make reservations. normal weekend flow about an hour from the tunnel to beau jo's. you get right in and piss off the people who have been waiting for a long time. hope they have fun

 

[captishmael]

OK, Alright, I'm gonna give you and your guests the real scoop, just 'cuz you're a Buzzard. Ski Cooper. Two and a half hour drive from Loveland, I live here too. Relatively inexpensive tickets. Superb snow. No, I don't mean almost as good as Copper, WP, A Basin, Aspen, Vail, etc. I mean blow them all away good snow, owing to the high elevation, lack of traffic, and zero snowmaking. No lift lines, park at the lift, no Fashion Show on the slopes. 'Tude? What's that? That wind polished glaze at Eldora? I haven't been there since the early 80's, just because of that. If I remember right, Eldo is about 1.5 to 2 hrs from here. The drive homefrom Cooper is usually challenging, though. Due to those that go to WP, Copper, A Basin, Vail, etc. Do your guests a favor, take them over Loveland Pass one way or the other. Let's them know for sure that they are not in Kansas anymore. Maybe do them a real favor, spend the night in Leadville. If you are there the 1st weekend in March the Carnival is way cool. Skijoring. Those dudes fly! Check it out on YouTube. No matter when you are there, go see the Evergreen cemetery, possibly even better than the famous New Orleans cemeteries. Seriously. And eat at High Mountain Pies, maybe the best pizza in CO. If not the best, it's the second best only to Amici's in BV. OK, that's my two cents worth. Peace.

 

[Andy H.]

Ditto on Ski Cooper, if they don't mind leaving a couple of hours before dawn. The I-70 traffic blows a lot worse than the wind at Eldo. You can get a cheap room at the Silver King in Deadville too. Otherwise for a more relaxing trip skiing, Eldo's the place. Even being in heavy traffic up Boulder Canyon, its not nearly as bad as sitting in the I-70 gridlock on a Saturday morning or a Sunday afternoon.

If they just need a place with beginner runs and either will do, but Eldo's gonna be a lot easier for them. Then they can go out in Boulder and enjoy the mall, etc. afterward. Beats the heck out of sitting in traffic.

 

[g.soutiere]

I almost completely agree with Capt. Come up to the ville and stay a weekend especially if they are beginning Cooper has awesome natural snow, a little flat but good and cheap. I used to recommend high mountain pies till I got sick the last two times I ate there. Best option to show off the mountains.

 

[captishmael]

When I go to Cooper, I leave Loveland at 5:30ayem (hopefully) and no later than 5:40 ayem. The trick is to avoid the bottlenecks at the top of Floyd Hill (3 lanes into two) or at the bottom (where Hwy 40?) joins I-70. If you beat those two, I have made it from Loveland to Leadville in 2hrs 5 minutes. I stop for breakfast in Silverthorne (Village Inn) or Leadville (Doc Holiday-now gone) and still park at the lifts just before 9:00. No shuttle bus, no pay parking, 30 yard walk to the lifts, just the way God intended. If you leave Loveland later than that, you're screwed. If that sounds too early, just reflect on that when you are in a 30 minute lift line somewhere else. Don't downplay the historical aspect of Leadville/Matchless Mine/Baby Doe/10th Mtn Division etc. for a total Colorado experience.

Snowy Range (just west of Laramie) is a good option also, if they have decent snow. Being a low altitude area, the snow is sometimes good, sometimes not. When the snow is good, it's hard to beat for beginner/intermediate. Price is right as well.

 

[g.soutiere]

if you plan on doing cooper I would suggest to head up friday evening, stay fri and sat nights. Than head back down before 1pm so you can hit up Q4U in frisco, get some awesome bbq and beat the traffic.

 

[lmyers]

You might think about getting them "Gems" cards while they are here. $10 gets them a free day at Ski Cooper, as well as discount deals at all the areas that would be suitable for them, Eldora, Cooper, Loveland, Monarch, Echo....

Shop Colorado Ski.com

 

[powdahound76]

FWIW. Skip Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs. When they are busy the quality is crap, IMO, and not that great even if its slow.
Try the Mountain Buzz Cafe in Georgetown. Fresh dough that is made daily tossed when you order, fresh ingredients and lots of them, beer or cocktails, ski movies on the TV. Its cheaper than BJ's too.
Owned by a Buzzard. Support the small local business!

 

[nemi west]

. Thanks all. I should have specified they truly only have one day to ski. I know.... All that day to ski one day.
Thanks for all the info. Gonna have them wait till the day before they go to pick a place. Eldora will be close and easy. Make sure the winds will be light. Loveland sure is convenient if they decide to do the I 70 shuffle.
Thanks also for the tip on beers and food.
And Ski Cooper sounds better than I remember it! Gotta say your right..... That would be just about perfect for beginners. Just far for 1 day.

Again thanks. Gotta say this group is awesome for this kind of stuff.

All we need now is some freaking snow.

 

[g.soutiere]

its been 15+ years since I've been to beau jo's. (I think it was more fun pissing off the tourons, walking right in at 15-20 years old.) I have not delt with 70 traffic in about as long. when i lived in the shitty I would be at the mountain 45 min- hour before the lifts opened, and was on the road by 2pm so I could snag Q4U and miss the traffic. Glad I have not had to deal with any ski traffic in 7 years. Eldora is a good bump if it isn't windy, the advanced can hit the backside for a few and meet back up pritty quick. neopolitans in nederland has good itialian.
p.s. thanks powdahound for the info, I always try to buy localy and from the little guy.