Best Colorado Beginner Skiing
Winter Park
Winter Park is one of the best beginner ski resorts in Colorado. There are several areas of the mountain that are designed specifically for beginners like Sorenson Park and Discovery Park. There are several surface carpet lifts at the base of Winter Park and there are also beginner ski trails higher up on the mountain.
Breckenridge
This ski resort has every different type of ski terrain that you can imagine, but the majority of the ski trails here are for beginners and intermediate skiers. The top of the mountain has some great expert ski terrain as well, but I recommend this resort mostly for beginners and families with children. It also has a great terrain park, great nightlife, and it is one of the best Colorado ski resorts for apres ski activities.
Breckenridge Ski Vacation Guide
Buttermilk (Aspen/Snowmass Area)
Buttermilk is known as the beginner’s ski resort of the Roaring Fork Valley. This is a small ski area with mild terrain. Snowmass is located just down the road from buttermilk and this resort has more beginner ski terrain than Buttermilk. However, Buttermilk is a smaller ski area with less skier traffic, so it can be a more comfortable place for beginners to learn to ski.
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Beginner Skiing Advice
Whatever ski resort you’re on in Colorado, if you’re not doing a ski-school (and we highly recommend you make this investment), one of the best things you can do is ski with someone that’s going to push you and loves to ski themselves. There’s no better motivation than knowing someone else is waiting on you, though don’t expect that to be the case if it’s pooping snow.
When I started to ski, I was fortunate ski with a best friend who grew up skiing. It also didn’t hurt that I had a girlfriend at the time that was a very good skier and I had to make sure I didn’t embarrass her. My friend was named Gabe, and he could do whatever he wanted to on skis. He also had this child-like joyness that he exuded when he was doing it, and it was infectious.
He Always had an ear-to-ear smile, didn’t matter what the conditions were. So not only was he pushing me and giving me advice along the way, he was doing even more through the happiness he showed while doing it. When your feet are killing you, and your legs are rubber, and the decision is between beer-30 or another couple runs, having someone like Gabe push you to keep going with a smile on his face is exactly what you need when you’re learning this sport.
So get some discount lift tickets, get a lesson or two from a ski-school, and find a Gabe out there that will go skiing with you. This formula will guarantee to shorten the learning curve.