Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 17, 1993 TAG: 9310180289
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
And the skiers find what they're looking for much easier and in much more abundance than the miners found what they wanted.
Skiing in Colorado is one of the most exhilarating winter experiences. The air is crisp and dry, annual sunny days top 300, and breathtaking views of rugged mountains and unspoiled wilderness define ski country.
Last season's snowfall broke all records with as much as 400 inches in some areas and more than 300 in most. While only 5 percent of the country's ski areas are in Colorado, they command nearly 20 percent of the skier market nationwide.
Like most industries, skiing has become high tech business with snowmaking equipment and state-of-the-art, high speed lifts and gondolas. Although snowfall is abundant, snowmaking capabilities are used to create an early base and to groom trails for a safer and more enjoyable skiing experience.
Along with some of the most challenging skiing in the world, Colorado ski areas offer many family-oriented programs, excellent ski schools and ski trails for all abilities. Snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country and heli-skiing - getting away from it all by helicopter to remote national forest areas - add new dimensions to skiing.
Lift tickets for the 1993-94 season are $30-45 per single day with multiday rate breaks and packages that include air fare, lodging, dining, special events and lift tickets or any combination thereof. Early and late season packages are the most economical, and many people do not realize that March and April offer some of the best skiing days.
But if you're a nonskier among skiers, go to Colorado anyway. There are fabulous sleigh rides, marvelous shops, ice skating, dog sled rides, health clubs, hot tubs the size of swimming pools, great restaurants, and above all, spectacular scenery.\ \ Arapahoe Basin
Probably the favorite among locals in Summit County, which is also home to Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Keystone, Arapahoe Basin does not have condominiums at its base. It's claim to fame as one of the most challenging ski areas is being the recipient of the greatest amount of powder snow.
Because much of the activity is open-bowl skiing at the top, and the top is the Continental Divide, A-Basin has "far and away some of the most beautiful scenery in the world," according to Colorado resident skier Keith Brown. "On a clear day, it feels like you can reach out and touch the peaks around you." Of course, because of the openness, it's one the worst places to be in bad weather.\ \ Aspen
There are four ski areas in and around this former silver mining camp. The most famous is Aspen Mountain, in the center of town. It has no skiing for beginners and not much for elementary intermediate skiers, a fact that contributes to its exclusivity as world-class ski experience.
Buttermilk, on the other hand, is all beginner and intermediate, with about 50 trails on 410 acres. It's located a few miles from town, and there is shuttle service between all the areas. Aspen Highlands has more than 50 percent intermediate ski runs.
Snowmass, with its elegant slopeside village and condominiums, is one of the finest areas for everyone. Only 10 percent of the trails are rated easy, but more than half are intermediate, and its greatest asset is the generous open width of the ski runs. For the experts in the crowd, there are plenty of black diamond and double diamond trails, too.
Aspen ranks among the most expensive places to ski, stay and dine in the country, and there's always the question of whether people go to Aspen to ski or to be seen skiing.\ \ Breckenridge
The first gold discovery on Colorado's western slope was recorded here in 1859. The town retains some of its Victorian architecture in more than 250 buildings in its historic district.
Breckenridge seems to be the main magnet for destination skiers to Summit County. The town has many shops and the best selection of restaurants and bars for miles around. It is compact, making it easy to get about town on foot.
The skiing encompasses three mountain peaks, 112 trails and a top elevation just shy of 13,000 feet. The lifts are laid out in a seemingly random manner, and capacity at the top is not good enough to avoid long lift lines. The terrain ranges from gentle to steep, with lots of ski runs for all levels of skier.\ \ Copper Mountain
Brown explained why Copper Mountain has become his favorite ski area. "Most of the trails are on the north side of the mountain, so you have consistent packed powder conditions. The ski runs follow the natural fall line of the slope, making it easy and fun to ski at any ability. And the trails are laid out in a natural progression from west to east, easier to more difficult."
Copper Mountain's nationally recognized Women's Skiing Seminars are taught by women, for women and are being offered in two-and three-day packages five times during the 1993-94 season.
Of the 98 trails, half are advanced and around 25 percent each are beginning and intermediate. Annual snowfall is around 250 inches, with a record 370 last year. Copper Mountain is rated four-diamond resort by the American Automobile Association.\ \ Crested Butte
A butte is a mountain that stands alone, and Crested Butte Mountain rises majestically from the gentle river valley that cradles the Crested Butte town. It is a solitary mountain with a peak more than two miles high.
Crested Butte Mountain is open for skiing Nov. 19 through April 3 every day 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Its 13 lifts can carry more than 16,000 skiers per hour. Fifty-seven percent of the ski runs are intermediate and an extra 550 acres, appropriately called The Extreme Limits, provide 100 percent double black diamond ungroomed skiing terrain for the super experts.
Thirty miles north of Gunnison, Crested Butte is served by major airlines arriving at the Gunnison Airport nonstop from Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and Houston.\ \ Keystone
You can ski a 13-hour day at Keystone because 13 of its 68 trails are lighted after dark. Keystone has opened a lot of new terrain over the past few years, including The Outback, a remote area of 300 acres and 21 ungroomed steep and challenging trails.
Keystone has some of the best snow making capabilities in Colorado and more than half its trails are intermediate, making it one of the most crowded ski areas. The opening of a second gondola has eased the lift lines, but it's still a busy place.\ \ Purgatory
Created from a series of glacier-carved benches that run horizontally across the mountain, the roller coaster fall lines at Purgatory-Durango Ski Resort have forged an appealing mix of 70 ski trails: 50 percent intermediate and 25 percent each beginner and advanced.
The resort has a long-established reputation as a bargain hunter's paradise, and lodging and lift tickets cost less than at other areas with no sacrifice in snow quality or ski challenges.
The area is 25 miles north of the frontier town of Durango, which has as many saloons today as 100 years ago, about two dozen. The community is a unique blend of Victorian heritage and Old Southwest flavor.
The Durango-La Plata County Airport receives 14 inbound flights a day from Denver, Phoenix and Albuquerque.\ \ Steamboat Springs
Hot springs are the common bonds between Virginia and Steamboat. Legend has it that fur trappers heard a chug-chug sound like a steamboat and found the bubbling hot springs.
Steamboat is actually a mountain range with four peaks, 2,500 acres of ski terrain and more than 100 ski trails. More than 30,000 skiers per hour are moved uphill on 20 lifts.
Steamboat Springs is 157 miles northwest of Denver. More than 34 nonstop flights per week from major cities arrive at Steamboat's Yampa Valley Regional Airport.\ \ Vail and Beaver Creek
Vail ranks up there with Aspen for expensive and prestigious, but its popularity is somewhat perplexing. The area has a real manmade feeling, and, according to Virginia Tech professor Bob Heller, Vail is "ritzier and more developed than other places. Much of the advanced skiing is at the bottom of the mountain, instead of at the top," which is not so thrilling.
Vail has lots of catwalks - long, narrow, almost level pathways that connect trails. The bridge across Gore Creek near the bottom acts as a funnel through which all skiers going down must pass.
Beaver Creek, on the other hand, is a favorite for both Heller and Brown. Besides having one the most beautiful on-slope restaurants, Beaver Creek gives the skier a sense of harmony with nature. It is how one would imagine skiing before the development, said Brown.\ \ Winter Park
A favorite among Denver skiers, Winter Park is 67 miles west of Denver and has more than 100 trails of diversified ski terrain. The area is consistently blanketed with 350 inches of snow; a record 450 was recorded last season.
Winter Park has many trails built on the traverse, that is, horizontally around the mountain instead of down the natural fall line. This creates double pitched runs, and skiers are going both across and down the mountain slopes, which is not as easy to ski.
The area will well-known for its disabled skier program, and even advanced skiers stand in awe at the precision skiing of blind and amputee skiers.
\ If you go:\ Aspen Central Reservations: 800-262-7736
Breckenridge Central Reservations: 800-221-1091
Copper Mountain Resort: 800-525-3891
Crested Butte Mountain Resort: 800-341-5431
Keystone Resort: 800-222-0188
Purgatory-Durango Reservations: 800-525-0892
Steamboat Springs Central Reservations: 800-922-2722
Vail Resort Association: 800-824-5737
Winter Park Central Reservations: 800-453-2525
by CNB