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Anniversary Ski Trip

dmansprincess

Certified Ski Diva
Divas,
My husband and I are approaching our 10 year wedding anniversary in January (one of the main reasons that I wanted a January wedding was so we could go skiing on our anniversary). We have 3 girls, Maylee (9) can ski some of the easier blues and Albany (6) and Rori (4) are still on the bunny slope. I know it sounds silly to some, but we do everything with our kids hoping that the future will hold plenty of time for us to do things without them later when they have their own families. We live in the Denver metro and have skied Keystone, Ski Cooper and Granby with our kids and when we were kids we both skied Wolf Creek. So here is my question, if you could go on a budget friendly but, still a little more extravagant then your normal, fun ski holiday within driving distance with 3 kids where would you go? I'm thinking driving Thursday and Sunday, ski Friday and Saturday.

Thanks everyone in advance. I know you divas will have fabulous suggestions.
 

mustski

Angel Diva
I have no suggestions on ski areas in CO, but I wanted to say that it is not silly at all to plan for the family anniversary thing. We did that always and we only have 1. This year (he is 17), he suggested we should go on our own. We just looked at him and said ...NO. It wouldn't be our anniversary without you. He was thrilled and he thoroughly enjoys our anniversaries. We have tons of nights to celebrate things on our own and have no regrets for making our anniversary an annual family celebration.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hm. I don't have kids, but I'd like to chime in! Do you want a place with lots of non-ski options in case the kids need something different, or are you just looking at skiing? Because if you're not concerned about other amenities, Wolf Creek really is very nice and uncrowded.
 

dmansprincess

Certified Ski Diva
I'm glad that somebody else does anniversary celebrations with their kids in tow as I don't get a lot of support with that decision! I have actually thought of Wolf Creek as I loved it the one time I went as a kid. But I have also thought about maybe going someplace with more to do. Maybe some place with a tubing hill as we haven't taken the kids tubing yet. (We have only lived in CO for 20 mths, we were both raised in small farming towns in KS.) I was doing a quick search last night and thought about Jackson Hole and then we could do a sleigh ride to the wild elk refuge. No matter where we go we will probably get a condo so we can eat most meals in to help with food costs. But I am open to any suggestions as I want it to be a memorable trip for all of us.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Steamboat is the prototypical family-friendly vacation destination. But it's at a relatively low altitude, so it can be affected by unseasonable temps. I'm particularly cranky about that because it caught me out last season.

What about Winter Park? Pretty close, family friendly, has a tubing hill and lots of condos ...
 

Inoffensive Nickname

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Winter Park and Eldora were the only areas in CO we've visited. Eldora is also subject to unseasonable temps and isn't really a resort as much as it's a ski area.

Winter Park is really nice. The town is within 5 minutes of the village and there are a lot of family friendly places both in town and in the village. The staff there were very helpful and friendly, as well. It seemed more like a family atmosphere than a party place, which was fine with us. I didn't travel with children, so YMMV.
 

skibum4ever

Angel Diva
Telluride? What a gorgeous setting.

Snowmass?

You can drive there, has a variety of skiing for all levels, you could also try Buttermilk, or whatever it's currently called.

A non-ski day or afternoon could be spent exploring the town of Aspen.
 

callmijane

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm glad that somebody else does anniversary celebrations with their kids in tow as I don't get a lot of support with that decision! I have actually thought of Wolf Creek as I loved it the one time I went as a kid. But I have also thought about maybe going someplace with more to do. Maybe some place with a tubing hill as we haven't taken the kids tubing yet.

There is actually a tubing hill right outside of Pagosa.
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Steamboat is the prototypical family-friendly vacation destination. But it's at a relatively low altitude, so it can be affected by unseasonable temps. I'm particularly cranky about that because it caught me out last season.

What about Winter Park? Pretty close, family friendly, has a tubing hill and lots of condos ...

Steamboat is fairly foolproof in Dec and Jan, though. I mean, anywhere can suck because of weather. But there is a lot of fun stuff to do for families there. It isn't particularly budget friendly, but if you buy early and do a package, you can get it cheaper. If you don't go through a package, there is the 4x40 pass for adults, which is $199 for 2 days at Steamboat and 2 days at Winter Park. Do you have any sort of pass product for CO resorts yet?
 

dmansprincess

Certified Ski Diva
We don't do passes yet as we don't ski enough days right now. We also don't have our own equipment yet (except for helmets). We just moved here about 20 mths ago and we just sold our house out in KS, moved out of our rental and into our new house in the last 6 weeks. Life has been moving lightening speed and hopefully it will start slowing down so we can spend more time in the mountains. Plus as the girls get older it is becoming easier to do ski days.
 

mustski

Angel Diva
Don't hesitate to get your kids into it now. That's when we started our little guy and even though we only skied a few days a year to start with, it has stuck beautifully as a family activity. The family that skis together, stays together. I am not familiar with a lot of the CO deals, though I am sure others will chime in. In California, our son skied free until 6yrs. Also, there are a variety of package ski passes which are cheaper early and then disappear as the season approaches.
 

dmansprincess

Certified Ski Diva
It has already become a family activity. All of my kids ski, which is awesome, we are still on the bunny hill but I don't kind. Hopefully life has settled down enough (especially not owning and be responsible for 2 houses) will allow us to get a few extra days this year!
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
PM me if you have questions about Jackson Hole as it has been my home base for the past 13 years. Our ski school gets great reviews for the kids, this in spite of our reputation as a challenging mountain. There is also a fun outing which is snowmobiling to Granite Hot springs and swimming in the pool there for the day, or you can do it via dog sleds. A fun kids museum from what I hear too. Not a ton of deals, but kids under five do ski I think for free. Check out the web page for pricing info.
 

dmansprincess

Certified Ski Diva
That would be awesome. Jackson Hole is definitely at the top of our list right now. I'm sure I will have questions the closer we get.
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
We've done both Steamboat and Jackson Hole (DS was 10) with our son, (he's 10 now) and both are great. But since this is an anniversary trip I'd add a vote for Jackson Hole. It's a great mountain, an even though it's vast, it's quick and easy to get from one part of the mountain to another. The kids ski school is amazing, one of the best that we've come across, and they have a really good system for getting younger kids out on the mountain safely.

If the weather is good, and the queues not too long then a ride up the gondola for waffles at Corbett's Cabin is a hit with kids, and off the mountain, the Elk Sanctuary Sleigh Ride is great.
 

Moonrocket

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We love Winter Park as super family friendly.

What about a cabin at the Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA? We have had a blast there - sleigh rides, indoor pool and roller skating. 20 minutes to Winter Park and drivable to Steamboat. Great cross country trails too.
 

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