Trip Report: Multi-Resort Skiing in the Colorado Rockies

I'd heard so many positive things from my Ski Safari colleagues about skiing in the States that I couldn't wait to get to the Rockies. I was there as a guest of Vail Resorts along with other ski tour operators from around the world.

In just one week and in two resorts, I experienced a remarkable variety of skiing, from fun-filled sunlit slopes in Breckenridge to a steep and deep powder day in Vail.

And it wasn't just the skiing that impressed me! I was very fortunate to be treated to 5* luxury hotels in both resorts with the most beautifully scenic transfer in between stays.

I found the United States to be an infectiously energetic country with friendly locals who will eagerly strike up conversations with perfect strangers on shuttle buses, chairlifts and in lift lines, eager to know where you're from and what brought you to their resort. 

I'd highly recommend booking your own trip to Colorado, and if you want to ski multiple resorts, make sure you plan in advance and buy an Epic Pass! This allows you to save on skiing in up to five resorts in Colorado - choosing one resort as a base or moving around on a multi-resort ski safari. Enquire online or call 01273 224060 for help from our friendly team.

Being rather fond of staring out the window on public transport, I thoroughly enjoyed the ten-hour flight from Heathrow to Denver.

After traversing the Atlantic, you're flown across Canada where you see icebergs floating far beneath you on Hudson Bay and bands of long frozen lakes streaking across the landscape. Then you're over the States and cruise for hours over the empty plains of the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado before the snowy peaks of the Rockies rise up through the right-hand window.

The transfer into the mountains is simple and fast. After touching down in Denver, I boarded the Epic Mountain Express, a medium-sized van which takes you directly from the airport through Denver and up to Breckenridge in just two hours. It was dark when I arrived, so I didn't get to see the majesty of the mountains on the way to the resort - that would come later.

I then arrived at my accommodation, the 5* One Ski Hill Place, a hotel with a lavish and imposing lobby that was very prettily decorated for Christmas.

The hotel provides the perfect position from which to access the slopes, with lifts going up to a variety of positions on Peak 8. It's also fantastically luxurious and I had the pleasure of staying in a very spacious two-bedroom condo with a valley view. With spectacular views from every window, it doesn't matter too much whether you have a mountain or valley view room - you'll be spoilt for scenery whichever side of the hotel you stay on.

Having not skied since last season, I knew that Breckenridge would be the ideal place to get that feel for skiing back in my legs. The resort is an intermediate's paradise with a range of fun-filled green and blue runs that make you feel like a really good skier - little wonder it's a favourite in the UK!

When picking up my rentals from Breck Sports, I decided to opt for some Performance skis, which were a step up from the beginner skis that I'd been used to. Designed to help intermediates like myself feel sturdy while going that little bit faster, I noticed that I could pick up speed a lot quicker, even on Breckenridge's gentle green and blue runs (go for these skis if you're an ambitious intermediate!).

On my first morning after a quick shuttle from my hotel to the base of Peak 9, I and a group of other Colorado first-timers joined up with Hannah and Amanda from Vail Resorts who would be our guides both on and off the mountains for the week.

We ascended the Beaver Run Super Chair which provides access to a network of inviting blue runs that interweave down Peak 9, the perfect way for me to get back into the swing of things. The fact that the resort was drenched in sunlight didn't hurt either, the rays cutting through the dense fir trees creating gorgeous blue and white patterns on the snow.

The Breckenridge ski area stretches for nearly three miles across the Tenmile Range, but all of its 2,908 acres are easily accessible via its interlinking lift system. I was able to zig-zag my way across the peaks and ski back to One Ski Hill Place from the top of Peak 9 by utilising the Peak 8 Super Connect.

In the evening I had the opportunity to stroll down Breckenridge's historic Main Street. The town pays homage to its frontier history and builds its bars, houses and shops in the style of the Old West. I was lucky to experience it when I did, with the town decorated in a dazzling display of Christmas lights.

After a short walk, we stopped in at the Briar Rose Chophouse & Saloon where I had an extremely nice and extremely large steak. The service there was typical of what you'd expect in America. The waiter came over to our table, gave us a warm welcome to the town and proceeded to run through the entire menu, pointing out which dishes he recommended and how they were cooked. This is possibly the biggest culture shock Brits can expect in America!

The next morning, after I'd eaten a bowl of Froot Loops (because when in Rome...), I and the rest of my visiting group were able to bid Breckenridge the perfect goodbye. We viewed the astonishing Tenmile Range from the other side of the valley. The scenery is one of the best reasons to visit Breckenridge and is spectacular whether you're on the mountain or in the valley.

The transfers on this trip were a joy rather than a chore. The journey westwards from Breckenridge along Interstate 70 was extremely pretty, with views of soaring mountains and other ski resorts whizzing by the windows before we reached Vail.

The village of Vail felt very different to Breckenridge. Whereas Breckenridge is a former gold-mining town, Vail is a purpose-built ski resort and everything here is built with the experience of ski holidayers in mind.

I was lucky to stay for three nights at the 5*+ Grand Hyatt Vail, one of many highly prestigious hotels in the resort.

This hotel enjoys a secluded location in Cascade Village, away from the main hub of the resort. With a chairlift providing direct access to the main ski area right outside the hotel, you can be skiing in no time. To get back to the hotel it's then a simple matter of taking the regular shuttle bus which runs through the village every twenty minutes or so.

The vast majority of skiers I met in Vail were Americans, many of whom were Colorado locals who come to the resort to ski on the weekends and during the holidays. You'd be surprised by how easily Americans enthusiastically strike up conversations with perfect strangers and I eventually learned to drop my British reserve and do the same. After talking for a while to a gentleman on a shuttle bus, he got up for his stop, fist-bumped me and said "Welcome to America, this is the greatest country in the world"... I'm about 80% sure he was just being funny.

The locals in Vail were delighted with the heavy snowfall they were having while I was in the resort. They'd had 15cm of fresh snow the night before my first day on the slopes which made for some excellent early-season powder conditions.

Vail is a steeper mountain than Breckenridge and offers plenty of exhilarating challenges for intermediate and advanced skiers. With my guide Hannah and the rest of my intermediate group, I skied runs which tested my abilities. I really got my heart rate up descending a steep black bump run which was covered in fresh snow, only falling once which I viewed as a colossal achievement.

After skiing the area around Eagles Nest, we took the Mountaintop Express Lift up to the lip of Vail's famous back bowls, now named 'The Legendary Back Bowls'. I was looking forward to trying my hand at the back bowls but they were still waiting for a couple more storms to safely open them.

After a couple more laps of the Northwood and Mountaintop Express Lifts, we had a well-earned lunch at the mid-mountain restaurant, The 10th, which had fantastic views and served really nice burgers... and chips... and pizza... and ice cream. Don't look at me like that, bump runs are tiring!

After I'd said goodbye to my travelling party the next morning, I took the scenic transfer back to Denver airport, this time in daylight so I could properly take in the Rocky Mountains in all their glory.

The journey back from Vail to Heathrow was almost seamless. After the traffic-free two-hour transfer to Denver, I took an eight-hour flight back to Heathrow (thanks to a strong tail wind) followed by a bus journey home.

It may seem like a long way to go for a ski trip, but getting to the Colorado Rockies was actually pretty easy and well worth the trip!

The Colorado Rockies have such a good snow record that you can reliably ski from December often right through to May. And with so many resorts close together, I'd say it's well worth skiing more than one while you're out there.

If you'd like to ski in Colorado yourself then your next steps are simple. Enquire online or call 01273 224060 to speak to our friendly team and they'll help you tailor-make your perfect multi-resort Colorado ski trip.

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