Admittedly, I had no idea what I was signing up for when I agreed to go on my first ski trip out West. As I sat looking out the window of the car the only thing I could think to myself as we entered the Rockies was, “Wow, those really ARE some big mountains.”
As our Fall semester was coming to an end, my roomates and I were discussing our New Year’s plans, or lack there of, and decided to book a ski trip together in Colorado to celebrate the New Year.
My roomate, was already planning to go skiing in Colorado with her brother when he went back to college, so Maddie and I made plans to tag along.
We stayed in The Village at Breckenridge for New Years Eve, and split an Airbnb in Silverthorne, Colorado, for the other five nights of our trip.
I booked a 3 day Epic Pass, and decided to ski at both Vail and Breckenridge Ski Resorts during the trip. In Colorado, most people would choose between this, or an Ikon pass, unless the mountain you want to ski sells their lift tickets independently.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, most ski resorts were asking visitors to schedule reservations in advance to the date they want to ski. This keeps them from exceeding capacity limits, and helps to keep visitors safe.
Vail Ski Resort
We spent the first two days of our pass skiing at Vail.
Until this point I had only been skiing one time in the past 7 years. While I used to do ski club in middle school, moving to North Carolina for high school made skiing a bit less accessible. This was also my first time ever skiing out West.
Having never skied out West before I was a bit intimidated by the size of the mountains. It felt a lot different from the small mountains I remembered skiing out East when I was younger.
In regards to the snow, I was prepared to see the fluffy “powder” I’ve always associated with skiing out west. Sadly, Vail had received a below average amount of snowfall so far this year, and was suffering from some patchy spots because of it. Still, there was no ice, which was a major upgrade compared to conditions out East.
Here’s a video I took skiing through one of the Catwalks at Vail!
Specifically, I think it was the Timberline Catwalk by the top of the Northwoods Express lift.
Breckenridge Ski Resort
Breckenridge was interesting. It was definitely less beginner friendly than Vail, and much of the mountain was closed when we went. I believe this was again because of the lack of snowfall Colorado has seen this year.
It did start snowing while we were skiing at Breckenridge, so I finally got my chance to experience skiing in the fresh “powder” out West!
The snow did lead to complications on our way back to Denver that afternoon though. We had rented a 2WD car, and because of the snow, Colorados chain laws went into effect. This means all 2WD vehicles were required to have chains on them.
This left us stranded off an empty exit on I-70, struggling to put chains on ourself. We eventually gave up and asked a semi-truck driver if he could help us get them on.
And yes, I made a TikTok out of the whole ordeal… pics or it didn’t happen right?
If you’re planning a ski trip out west make sure you know how to put chains on your tires in advance. Or save yourself the trouble and just rent a 4WD car.
Lesson learned.
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