Ski Resorts for Newbs/General Recommendations

Mike Lane wrote: Re read my post. It said GET INSTRUCTED in backcountry. Jerk.

Have you ever seen someone in the Backcountry who doesn't know how to ski? It is a disaster. Also he comments about cost so you suggest he just go right into one of the most expensive ways to start from scratch. I am not being a jerk, your advice is bad.

Learn to ski in the resort. Rick has good info.

I am a former ski and snowboard instructor and I personally think it is easier to get the hang of skiing and be able to putz around on greens then snowboarding. Most people take 2-3 solid days of snowboarding to be able to link some skid turns and not be falling all the time. Depending on the person that can be very frustrating.

I was racing with the Eskimos and then later for Copper before you were even born son. Don't pull that bullshit 'I'm an instructor' crap on me. There are easy XC tracks all over the place. I'm not talking about sending him teleskiing down Berthoud Pass FFS.
If he isn't planning on 2 week ski vacations every year or moving to CO/UT/CA, then he isn't getting as much of a ROI with downhill, which is more costly per outing than XC is

So you are suggesting he CC ski instead of downhill. Got it.

Do you have kids? If you do be prepared for a day on the slopes listening to shit like Mike and Parker go back and forth about one being better than the other.
If you've never skied before, pretty much any resort will entertain you for a day or 2. Take an intro lesson so you learn the basic body mechanics.
Mike was right in that resort skiing is just below yacht racing as far as expenses. Parker was right in that learning to ski in the backcountry sucks.
Enjoy

Before I could learn to telemark, I needed to know how to do a simple snowplow stop and turn so that I'd stop running into trees. Two hours of instruction on the bunny slope at Eldora did the trick. I highly recommend it.

I learned to ski as an adult. My strategy was to get a pass at the local, "cheap", resort and go as much as possible. Most days I would only ski 2 hours, but the daily repitition really helped. This was possible for me because we have a ski hill 10 minutes from our house, so I don't know how it might work in CO. Also, although I never took a formal lesson, I would recommend one. Whoever said that lifetime skiers don't always know how to teach, and don't always know what beginner terrain looks like, was totally right! I have some stories to prove it.

So, I would recommend that if there is a small, cheapish, resort near you, then buy a pass and go as much as possible, even if it's jut for a couple of hours most days! Also, I would NOT recommend trying to learn to downhill ski in the backcountry. Powder skiing involves a different skill set, and I think It is WAY harder to learn to turn in powder than it is on groomed runs. Furthermore, you have avalanche conditions to worry about out of bounds. Get your skills down inbounds first then take them out. Again, I say this from personal experience...

After starting out with a snowboard I ended up learning to ski as an adult. What gave me the confidence that I wasn't going to end up in a pretzel with my tips crossed was taking a cross country ski lesson. After that, I read all the writing on this site* before eventually doing green runs at a small ski hill.

As Rick said, take lessons. If you can, try to get at least a solid week in to make sure things stick.

*That link might be giving any actual ski instructors here a bit of a "oh god, not that again" moment. It may be dated or even give you bad habits, but for me it was useful.

Good advice so far, you can tell lots of opinions in the ski community.

The best way to get into skiing is set yourself up to have fun. I few things I mention to new ski/snowboard folks.

Make sure you have plenty of warm water proof clothes. Buy thin ski/ board socks, heavy socks cutoff blood = cold feet.

Be prepared to suck. As others mentioned it is a weird body control sport.

Get a half day or more instruction. Usually mornings with the rest of the day to work on your own. It is nice to be fresh for instruction.

Take breaks and enjoy the place. Crowds can be wild, find that Zen.

I recommend skiing bc it will be more practical for mtn travel. Snowboarding is good too, be prepared to be sore the first 10 days. Hard falls. Wrist, brain, and butt protection is strongly advised.

Be heads UP!! The mountain has a flow, and there are good places to stop and traverse the ski run, and places that will get you run over. Others and trees are the most dangerous things you will encounter.

Be ready to, and practice falling and self arrest. When shit goes sideways falling is a great way to avoid a worse accident.

Don't worry about gear yet too much. Rent, make sure boots are snug. Rental boots are a pain to find, try on multiple pairs even in the same size. It will help to find a good fit.

HAVE FUN!! This will get you into it. Keep perspective (this shit is hard) and enjoy the process and location. Similarity to climbing is high, just relax, it will come.

John above had a lot of good stuff to add.

The very beginning of learning to ski can be a bit frustrating an boring to be honest. A good immediate goal is to be able to do some long green cruisers. Once you get some mileage and you can stop looking at your feet :-) you can start enjoying the views, travelling on skis, the environment etc and then you will learn a lot faster.

In Colorado, check the weather the morning you go out. It is really easy to be too hot or too cold here. The first day, plan on layers, you may be cold in the beginning standing around some, then hot later as you over exert yourself.

With some exceptions, women pick up skiing initially, faster than men. Don't get frustrated if you are with a group of women and you are the slow learner.

Steamboat has an all-inclusive 3-day learn-to-ski package including lessons, lift tickets and gear rental for $499, which is very good value for a destination resort. (Even at a smaller hill like Eldora you'll pay $149 a day for a beginner package). See steamboat.com/plan-your-tri…. I have a niece and nephew who were first-time skiers and it worked really well for them. They started on the bunny slopes and by the end of 3 days they were skiing blue runs from the summit. Steamboat's about 3 hours from Denver, which is far enough that it doesn't get crowded like the I70 resorts, and it's a pretty reliable area for early-season snow.

Martin le Roux wrote:Steamboat has an all-inclusive 3-day learn-to-ski package including lessons, lift tickets and gear rental for $499, which is very good value for a destination resort. (Even at a smaller hill like Eldora you'll pay $149 a day for a beginner package). See steamboat.com/plan-your-tri…. I have a niece and nephew who were first-time skiers and it worked really well for them. They started on the bunny slopes and by the end of 3 days they were skiing blue runs from the summit. Steamboat's about 3 hours from Denver, which is far enough that it doesn't get crowded like the I70 resorts, and it's a pretty reliable area for early-season snow.

Jeebus, that's expensive. NY State has great programs that does 3 days of skiing with rental and lessons for $169 and it doesn't have to be consecutive.

doligo wrote: Jeebus, that's expensive. NY State has great programs that does 3 days of skiing with rental and lessons for $169 and it doesn't have to be consecutive.

Have you looked at day ticket prices in CO? $150+ is pretty standard for a lot of the season at some places.

Spend the money on a day of instruction. Trust me.

Parker Wrozek wrote: Have you looked at day ticket prices in CO? $150+ is pretty standard for a lot of the season at some places.

Yes, I happen to live here, but I also lived in NY and the OP is in NJ. Belleayre Mountain which is only 2hr drive from NYC offers a beginner package for $169. No need to spend big bucks if you are trying to learn, plus if you're going to Steamboat, you need to spend money traveling and lodging.

doligo wrote:No need to spend big bucks if you are trying to learn, plus if you're going to Steamboat, you need to spend money traveling and lodging.

OP was specifically asking about CO resorts.

Shop around but this Loveland deal sounds good and you get a pass.
skiloveland.com/newcomers-3…

Doligo's idea is not a bad one either, go local before you come here.

doligo I agree about learning in the east I even suggested it in a post further up.

climbing friend,

be prepare to spend excessive obscene amounts of money

One more idea. If you have any place to ice skate where you live, that is as close to skiing as you can come without actually skiing. If you can pump turn on skates, that is 100% identical to a ski turn. Most hockey players can go direct to parallel.

Please report back what you end up doing.

Rick Blair wrote:One more idea. If you have any place to ice skate where you live, that is as close to skiing as you can come without actually skiing. If you can pump turn on skates, that is 100% identical to a ski turn. Most hockey players can go direct to parallel. Please report back what you end up doing.

Based on what I saw when I was a ski instructor, ice skating, roller blading, soccer and surfing all involve movement patterns that translate very nicely to skiing.