Colorado Breckenridge Recommendations

[MikeW Philly]

So my wife and I had a turn in life, that now has us looking at a ski trip, mid-January, for relaxation. A lot of our planned next targets off list for various reasons and I’ve more or less settled in on Denver and have essentially set on Breck which I’ve never done before. The mountain has a lot of what we look for - ski in (thinking beaver run at the moment), fair amount of blue for her and some decent fun stuff for me like the north bowl and some of the just below extreme runs.

this trip has literally come up in last 24 hours, looking at Jan 10-15 and still trying to figure o it a few things.

• Rentals, bringing the new stockli AR for two of the days I’ll be skiing with my wife but one day I’ll likely rent for a solo day. Is Christy the place to go? it seems to be but unlike Alpine can’t seem to find what brands they carry.
• Ski instructor recommendations? Actually would truly appreciate multiple for this as we’ll have on instructor over 3 days for my wife but I was thinking about one for my self on the day I sneak out.

We are planning to ski mid-week, so crowds should not be an issue. Probably renting a car as expensive as it is doesn’t seem to be to much more over other options. We have one day down i between the 3 days, anything else non-ski related we should think about?

 

[Jim Kenney]

Breck can be great in January and your dates should be good for modest crowds on all the terrain that interests you. Here's a report on a visit I made to the area in Jan 2020:

Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone in Late January

Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone in Late January February 7, 2020 By Jim Kenney PugSki Travel Correspondent I visited Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas in Colorado during mid-week in late January 2020. I skied two days at Breckenridge...

www.skitalk.com

So this is a four day visit?
Breck is very high elevation, even at the base. You might consider making your off-day the one just after your first ski day to help acclimate to altitude, then ski like tigers on 2nd and last ski days. Breck is a fun town to stroll/shop and you might just stay there for your off-day, but Vail's not far away and you could visit it and take a stroll there on your off-day.

 

[Eric@ict]

Beaver Run is our go to. Great place and easy walk to Main Street and they have a free shuttle. We used Alpine for rentals the last couple of years. I used Christy’s back in the early 2000s with no issues. I know Alpine has discounts if you do it all on line.

Fred Zapp or Jane Tarlow are the two instructors my wife and I use. Both are excellent people and have been instructing for 25+ years.
If you are a vet, call Beaver Run to book and ask about vet rates. Typically 50% of advertised rates. The ski in/ ski out in bldg 4 is nice, but wasn’t worth it for us. If you can get bldg 3 it’s the closest to the ski lockers and the hub. You walk out of the locker room and across the patio and your in snow. Bldg 1 and 2 are fine, but we prefer 3. 1,2,3 all use the same ski locker room.

You can book a shuttle ( https://www.epicmountainexpress.com/) (https://www.summitexpress.com/) to drive you up from the airport to Beaver run. Beaver helped some of our family members book it and got them some discounts. If you are staying in Breck, you don’t need a car once you get there. Very little free parking in town, even the resort charges per day. Some others will chime in about travel to the other ski areas. Summit county has free buses to use as well.

 

[MikeW Philly]

Breck can be great in January and your dates should be good for modest crowds on all the terrain that interests you. Here's a report on a visit I made to the area in Jan 2020:

Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone in Late January

Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone in Late January February 7, 2020 By Jim Kenney PugSki Travel Correspondent I visited Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas in Colorado during mid-week in late January 2020. I skied two days at Breckenridge...

www.skitalk.com

So this is a four day visit?
Breck is very high elevation, even at the base. You might consider making your off-day the one just after your first ski day to help acclimate to altitude, then ski like tigers on 2nd and last ski days. Breck is a fun town to stroll/shop and you might just stay there for your off-day, but Vail's not far away and you could visit it and take a stroll there on your off-day.

Thanks. It’s 4 active days but the plan is to fly in Monday and head out Saturday. Tuesday - Friday will be all the skiing or off day. I never had an issue at beaver Creek but I recognize it’s about another 1500 feet up so it’s a good point on the elevation and using the day off as our second day. Appreciate the advice.

Beaver Run is our go to. Great place and easy walk to Main Street and they have a free shuttle. We used Alpine for rentals the last couple of years. I used Christy’s back in the early 2000s with no issues. I know Alpine has discounts if you do it all on line.

Fred Zapp or Jane Tarlow are the two instructors my wife and I use. Both are excellent people and have been instructing for 25+ years.
If you are a vet, call Beaver Run to book and ask about vet rates. Typically 50% of advertised rates. The ski in/ ski out in bldg 4 is nice, but wasn’t worth it for us. If you can get bldg 3 it’s the closest to the ski lockers and the hub. You walk out of the locker room and across the patio and your in snow. Bldg 1 and 2 are fine, but we prefer 3. 1,2,3 all use the same ski locker room.

You can book a shuttle ( https://www.epicmountainexpress.com/) (https://www.summitexpress.com/) to drive you up from the airport to Beaver run. Beaver helped some of our family members book it and got them some discounts. If you are staying in Breck, you don’t need a car once you get there. Very little free parking in town, even the resort charges per day. Some others will chime in about travel to the other ski areas. Summit county has free buses to use as well.

I’ve debated back and forth on the shuttle vs car. And given how accessible Breck is, know I won’t have to use car once there but I usually prefer car for flexibility on airport returns. Thanks for the instructors recommendations. It’s funny I’ve seen both those names in searches against skitalk (even popped up against skidivas when google searching), so I’ll definitely add those two to my list.

 

[Nancy Hummel]

Randy Brooks and Rick Herwehe are awesome instructors.

 

[Wannabeskibum]

Randy Brooks and Rick Herwehe are awesome instructors.

As are Jenn Losch and Patrick Gilbert at Breckenridge. I will be there the week of Jan. 8 - 15th.

 

[BTaylor]

Lots of terrific instructors at Breck. Including:

Jane Hamlin. She's been doing women's ski camps at Breck for maybe 25-30 years.
Pete Schmidt
Doug Berg

 

[rcc55125]

I'll post a second for Jenn Losch.
I've had the pleasure of doing several days with Jenn.
I've also had the distinct honor of doing a run (yes one run) with her husband Ingemar. He's worked in the ski school for close to 40 years I think. He is now in the ski school administration and doesn't teach any more.

 

[ScottB]

You can buy aerosol cans of oxygen at the oxygen bar in town. I had some dizzy spells up at 13000 ft and taking a shot of O2 cured it. Buy the end of the week I aclumated, but going to the top of peak 8 the first two days caused altitude symptoms for me. That was a first for me. The base is 10,000 ft which is the highest in the US.
We rented a car and on our off day we did a snowmobile trip in another canyon area that was fun.

 

[MikeW Philly]

Thanks all for the suggestions. in regards to lessons it’s been awhile since I’ve been on Epic (been on ikon primarily). Whats the best way to get connected with the caches you recommend? Not sure i trust epic to reserve it ahead of time. But maybe thats the only way?

 

[Wannabeskibum]

I'll post a second for Jenn Losch.
I've had the pleasure of doing several days with Jenn.
I've also had the distinct honor of doing a run (yes one run) with her husband Ingemar. He's worked in the ski school for close to 40 years I think. He is now in the ski school administration and doesn't teach any more.

Ingemar was teaching last spring when I last skied with Jenn. He had been running the advanced group lessons out of Vista Haus in previous years, but last year those lessons were meeting at Beaver Run and he was teaching not administrating. Incidentally if you are considered level 9 in the ski school (all terrain, all snow conditions) and you sign up for an all day group lesson, it will be generally be an all day private lesson or at the most 2 others and the instructor. There is generally a ski off if they have 7/8/9 and they group the 7 and 8 together and dedicate one instructor to the one or two 9’s. This is how I met Jenn and Ingemar several few years ago. Another good instructor is JJ (forget his last name - maybe Hong). He is Korean and another fabulous skier/instructor.

 

[Nancy Hummel]

As are Jenn Losch and Patrick Gilbert at Breckenridge. I will be there the week of Jan. 8 - 15th.

Ingemar was teaching last spring when I last skied with Jenn. He had been running the advanced group lessons out of Vista Haus in previous years, but last year those lessons were meeting at Beaver Run and he was teaching not administrating. Incidentally if you are considered level 9 in the ski school (all terrain, all snow conditions) and you sign up for an all day group lesson, it will be generally be an all day private lesson or at the most 2 others and the instructor. There is generally a ski off if they have 7/8/9 and they group the 7 and 8 together and dedicate one instructor to the one or two 9’s. This is how I met Jenn and Ingemar several few years ago. Another good instructor is JJ (forget his last name - maybe Hong). He is Korean and another fabulous skier/instructor.

JJ

I know most of the people mentioned above. Happy to connect you.

 

[Wannabeskibum]

Thanks all for the suggestions. in regards to lessons it’s been awhile since I’ve been on Epic (been on ikon primarily). Whats the best way to get connected with the caches you recommend? Not sure i trust epic to reserve it ahead of time. But maybe thats the only way?

Mike, what level skier are you? Are you 7,8, or 9? These coaches when not doing privates are generally staffing the advanced lessons out of Vista Haus (top of peak 8 lift). You can’t go wrong with any of the coaches that I have mentioned.

 

[Prosper]

Incidentally if you are considered level 9 in the ski school (all terrain, all snow conditions) and you sign up for an all day group lesson, it will be generally be an all day private lesson or at the most 2 others and the instructor. There is generally a ski off if they have 7/8/9 and they group the 7 and 8 together and dedicate one instructor to the one or two 9’s. .

I haven’t had this experience at Breck. The last couple of times I took a group lesson (the 2nd was a comp from the 1st one) I was pretty clearly the strongest skier among the advanced group. There were two instructors for the advanced students with one taking the group who wanted to ski slower and the other with those who wanted to ski faster which was skier designated. It looked to my untrained eye that the actual technical skill of skiers in the two groups was about the same. There were definitely lower level 7s in my group who were not terribly comfortable in Horseshoe Bowl or Breck’s black diamond mogul runs. I think it depends a bit on staffing and how many students are in the advanced group. YMMV.

 

[MikeW Philly]

Mike, what level skier are you? Are you 7,8, or 9? These coaches when not doing privates are generally staffing the advanced lessons out of Vista Haus (top of peak 8 lift). You can’t go wrong with any of the coaches that I have mentioned.

Level 7 skier trying to work hard at becoming an 8. Just need more bump work in particular, but also more experience off-piste. while the group approach isn’t a bad option mid-week it’s just not for this trip. My wife needs the continued instruction and I found on the bigger mountains out west it’s been a dramatic improvement for her confidence on the blues.

For my one day out, I just want to get in to specific work with an instructor for the day. Don’t think I’ll be getting a second west trip this year (Vermont A few times) so I want to make sure i make the most of it - especially with such a crummy season last year.

 

[Johnfmh]

RE: Shuttle Vs. Car rental.

There’s a third option—the United bus connection. It allows you to check luggage all the way to Breck and picks you up at the gates, obviating the need to pick up your bags at luggage claim. The bus itself has just three seats across and most importantly, has a bathroom—something the Epic Mountain Express vans do not have. The Points Guy describes how it works:

Review: United’s brand-new bus service between Denver and Breckenridge - The Points Guy

Review of United Airlines' new partnership with bus operator Landline that offers one-stop shuttle service to two Colorado destinations, Fort Collins and Breckenridge.

thepointsguy.com

 

[Eric@ict]

Thanks all for the suggestions. in regards to lessons it’s been awhile since I’ve been on Epic (been on ikon primarily). Whats the best way to get connected with the caches you recommend? Not sure i trust epic to reserve it ahead of time. But maybe thats the only way?

Since you don’t know them, call the ski school and make the request to use the instructor you want and the day. They will help you coordinate, or take Nancy up on her offer. Have a great time.

 

[Wannabeskibum]

Level 7 skier trying to work hard at becoming an 8. Just need more bump work in particular, but also more experience off-piste. while the group approach isn’t a bad option mid-week it’s just not for this trip. My wife needs the continued instruction and I found on the bigger mountains out west it’s been a dramatic improvement for her confidence on the blues.

For my one day out, I just want to get in to specific work with an instructor for the day. Don’t think I’ll be getting a second west trip this year (Vermont A few times) so I want to make sure i make the most of it - especially with such a crummy season last year.

Ok, best option for you for one on one will be a private. Weekday level 7/8 group lesson will be a group of 4 or so with the instructor.

 

[Quandary]

Do you want restaurant recommendations? If so what type of food would be looking for?

 

[MikeW Philly]

Just wanted to thank everybody for the recommendations. I know I went dark for a little while but this time of year is essentially busiest time of the year for me at work; and even that is an understatement.

took the holiday break today to schedule Breck for Jan 10-15th. Looking forward to our trip out there.