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Aspen or DV

bawc

Certified Ski Diva
This year's decision is between Deer Valley and Aspen, (which I haven't skied in years) in mid-March. It's just DH and me, since DS is being a pill and refuses to ski this year. I need to keep DH safe-he is not as good as he think he is, but he is probably a high intermediate or low advanced skier, and I'm an expert. I'm intrigued to try Aspen again, but DV is so easy to access. Any thoughts on comparative conditions and cost? If we stay in DV, it would be at Silver Lake area, and in Aspen in the town at the Gant.

I should add that I've been fortunate to ski the Dolomites in January and will be in Lech in April, on professional trips w/o DH.
 

SkiGAP

Angel Diva
No comment on the DV vs Aspen, but how were the conditions in the Dolomites and when were you there? I'll be going back in a few weeks - conditions will have changes by then but am curious as to what you exerienced...
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Deer Valley has perfect fall lines. I loved it. They limit daily skiers so it is not crowded. If you have IKON pass and a car you can easily visit Alta/Bird, Brighton, Solitude in the same trip.

Aspen is Aspen. Fantastic with 4 Mts to ski, fun town and Mt. bases. awesome bus service and ski valet! I love snowmass huge groomers and highlands, steep groomers. My next trip I probably will fly into Aspen and skip Denver and i-70 or have the timing down to get up to the Mt and back to Denver airport. (4hr in good weather)
 

bawc

Certified Ski Diva
No comment on the DV vs Aspen, but how were the conditions in the Dolomites and when were you there? I'll be going back in a few weeks - conditions will have changes by then but am curious as to what you exerienced...

I was there about 1 month ago. They hadn't had snow in a long time, but the snow making is among the best I have seen. There was no off piste skiing available due to the conditions, but the runs were lovely, very few are steep except near Arabba, and no moguls. I loved the area, and the food in the refugios. A guide is invaluable.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
This year's decision is between Deer Valley and Aspen, (which I haven't skied in years) in mid-March. It's just DH and me, since DS is being a pill and refuses to ski this year. I need to keep DH safe-he is not as good as he think he is, but he is probably a high intermediate or low advanced skier, and I'm an expert.
Going to check the Daly Chutes and such at DV this morning. Second time at DV because of Ikon. So I'll have a more informed opinion tonight.

For keeping DH happy and safe without having to say "umm, maybe not" it's no contest, DV doesn't have places that can be dangerous to an ambitious low advanced skier. I know that based on the opinion of a L3 instructor from the mid-Atlantic who was an instructor at DV after retiring from his day job. He pretty much told me that skiing anywhere "off the map" is fine. It's what he did with all the kids in private lessons who could ski trees. The list of tree areas he talked about what all over the peaks.

For the Aspen mountains, lots of places where an advanced skier who has to think when in steep off-piste terrain could get pretty tired before getting to the bottom. Only Buttermilk has blacks that are all relatively fun and easier, especially with fresh powder that's leftover from a storm. Says something that there are no green trails at Ajax aka Aspen Mountain in town.
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Skied both in early Jan. DV the runs are short and I felt like I spent most of my time poling to lift chairs. Thoroughly enjoyed my 3 days at Snowmass. We stayed in Basalt and parked at the Rec. Center lot. Shuttle system is fantastic.
 

Cantabrigienne

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
No comment on the DV vs Aspen, but how were the conditions in the Dolomites and when were you there? I'll be going back in a few weeks - conditions will have changes by then but am curious as to what you exerienced...

They were great in the last week of January - very little new snow but in general the Sella Ronda is sufficiently high altitude that snow preservation is great & temps had stayed low enough that conditions were fine (the snowmaking is topnotch). HOWEVER the weekend of Feb 1st when I left, it was 16C (60F) in Munich and probably 10C in the valley in Corvara - it was 7C at one of the sunnier chairs I rode in the Pralongia plateau above Corvara on Jan31st. Temps have come down since then tho & are back to normal from what I can gather. Agree with @bawc that a guide is helpful - the area is a bit confusing and it would be a worthwhile investment in getting the lay of the land early in your stay.

One great place to check up on conditions is in the Snowheads forum - there's a thread on conditions in the Dolomites & since the Sella Ronda resorts in particular are a real favourite with the Brits, there is usually a very current update from someone (there's 50k people in this forum) eg https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=149243&start=520
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
This year's decision is between Deer Valley and Aspen, (which I haven't skied in years) in mid-March.
Having had a chance to ski more black runs, as well as the steeper trees at DV today, I would say go to Aspen. Bill and I looked at the Daly Chutes and Daly Bowl but opted out. Need more new snow to make it worth the effort for me. The snow in the X File trees was far more fun than just going down a steep slope.

Far more variety at the four Aspen mountains than just spending a week at DV.

The advantage for DV is that you can't really get into much trouble jumping into any of the tree areas. Although there are places that someone could end up climbing out.
 

j’aime skier

Certified Ski Diva
I really can’t say enough wonderful things about Aspen. The town is fun and charming, the airport is mere minutes from town, the people are interesting and friendly, Snowmass has a wonderful variety of terrain for intermediates & advanced, and there is something truly magical about lapping the Silver Queen gondola on a powder day. I do enjoy Deer Valley, but given the choice… Aspen every time.
 

bawc

Certified Ski Diva
So we decided on Aspen for a week. Thanks for the help and guidance here! I'm thinking of getting a private lesson one day for DH and I might tag along. Any specific recommendations? I usually ask for level 3, but that doesn't guarantee the quality of instructor.
 

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