My wife and I have a son that will be 7 years old and a 3 year old daughter and we plan to go skiing over Spring Break (second week of March). We live in Plano, outside Dallas.

My wife grew up skiing, but I've been once (not counting Mt Aggie). We spoke to 2 families and agreed to look at houses in Crested Butte.

Any advice? Anything you wish you knew? Or things you couldn't believe first timers didn't know? I know next to nothing. We'd appreciate house recommendations for 6 adults and 8 kids, equipment rental/purchase recommendations, ski recs, or general recs.

We plan to get a house near the lifts, and expect to have everybody in lessons for at least one day. We'll try to drive to Colorado Springs one day, and finish the trip the next day. We hope to go with three ski days, resting one day in between.

My assumption was that we'd start at Red River or Angel Fire before we "graduated" to nicer mountains, but my wife would rather go somewhere with our friends and she's been to Crested Butte several times so is comfortable there. Is it crazy to start at Crested Butte?

Crested Butte is one of the nicest mountain towns in Colorado. I've been a ton during the summer, but never skied there. Have heard it's a difficult mountain, and it certainly looks like this is true having mountain biked and hiked on it during the summer. It isn't crazy to learn there, just might not be as enjoyable for novices as somewhere less steep. Is there a reason you're choosing to stop in Colorado Springs? It isn't really on your way.

Crusty Butt is pretty steep for beginners…. It's steep for locals. It's a fun hill but it's more on the Taos side of the equation than the Granby Ranch or Red River.

If you're taking lessons and not planning on dead ripping the face of things it doesn't really matter where you take lessons. If you were a beginner skier and weren't planning on taking lessons, I'd tell you to make sure you lower your deductible and have Aflac.

Here's the powder hound review:

https://www.powderhounds.com/usa/colorado/crestedbutte/ski-resort.aspx

Thanks for the response. Honestly one of the couples were going with said they stop in Colorado Springs to spend a night adjusting to the altitude, and then we'd arrive in Crested Butte during the day - better than arriving to the mountain at night. Now that you mention it I don't know if they were talking about Crested Butte - I know last year they went to Keystone.

This is a great review. I, too, learned to ski at Crested Butte in the early 80s and there are plenty of greens and blues to have fun. I appreciate you mentioning the base hill at the bottom. I remember thinking as a kid, "this looks like a pretty steep hill to dump this green out onto…and all of these people!"

Brought back great memories and is all someone needs to know if thinking about CB.

Willy Wonka said:

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This is a great review. I, too, learned to ski at Crested Butte in the early 80s and there are plenty of greens and blues to have fun. I appreciate you mentioning the base hill at the bottom. I remember thinking as a kid, "this looks like a pretty steep hill to dump this green out onto…and all of these people!"

Brought back great memories and is all someone needs to know if thinking about CB.

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I mentioned it because for both my sister and my wife, it was the one part of the trails they never really got over and got comfortable with. Both were hesitant about making turns while carrying too much speed, so the steepness gave them issues. But if you go left down to the other side between silver queen and peachtree, and then sweep back across, it is fine.

ETA: For the OP, don't worry, the steep hill we are talking about is not part of the beginner area. That area around the peachtree lift is very gentle and easy to learn on.

You'll want/need to purchase Epic passes (lift tickets) online before you go. They say that they're limiting the number of passes this year, which I can only think would mean getting passes once you get there might be challenging/unavailable - especially during spring break. Make sure you buy the right pass - it looks like the Epic Day Pass for 3 days is $228/$117 (adult/child) right now. Prices go up on Dec. 4th.

The Epic pass gives you 20% off equipment rentals at the mountain rental center. There are a few other rental places available, but the prices at the CB rental center, especially with the 20% discount, can't be beat. The rental process itself is a bit of a beating as the lines can get long, but it looks like they've added a delivery option this year for a few more bucks per day. There have been competitors popping up that provide this service (they come to your condo/house/etc. and fit you in your room) so I guess CB decided to get in on that game. We're going in Feb. and will probably try that option this year to avoid the lines.

Kids ski free at Keystone. Go there. Now that CB is owned by Vail it's just as expensive as the others.

If you choose that route, you can stay at Keystone or Breck/Dillon area.

For a house that size (5bedrooms at least), your options will be limited in CB unless you're ok with renting a $3k+ night house in the back side of the mountain.

Driving to CB also sucks, in my opinion. You're either going over LaVeta Pass and then up and over Saguache into Gunnison. LOTS of 2 lane road in rural areas. Or you're going over the beast known as Monarch pass.

With a group that big and some beginners, I'd choose Breckenridge.

Also, get ready to shell out some serious coin. The cost to ski in CO for Texans has probably doubled in the last 5 years.

It doesn't matter where you go for beginner skiing. Yes CB is a hard mountain, but your kids aren't going to be on the hard parts, they will be on the bunny slopes. Just in case you don't know, when taking a lesson they need a lift ticket as well. The combo is crazy money. Day care gets them skiing, they love it, and is way cheaper.

Only negative with CB right now is that they have been hit harder than most places with the labor shortages so it is really hard to get into a restaurant. If you reserve a room there the second thing you need to do is make dinner reservations. Otherwise you will be eating a lot in your room (which is probably better anyway)

Thanks for all the info. At this point I'm not worried it's too tough for beginners.

Now I'm trying to price out hotels/condos in case a house doesn't work out. Any advice?

It turns out one of my good A&M buddies basically did this same trip last year and he stayed at Elevation Hotel and Spa. It seems pretty great - let me know if there's something else I should look at.

He also recommended the restaurant The Slogar, but it's already booked for the whole month of March. I'll be checking occasionally to try to get in.

We rented a 1br unit in the lodge at mountaineer square back in 2020 and it was great. I believe they have 2 and 3 BR units as well. Very convenient short walk to the lifts, right around the corner from the rental shop, and right next to the shuttle bus stop.

gvine07 said:

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Thanks for all the info. At this point I'm not worried it's too tough for beginners.

Now I'm trying to price out hotels/condos in case a house doesn't work out. Any advice?

It turns out one of my good A&M buddies basically did this same trip last year and he stayed at Elevation Hotel and Spa. It seems pretty great - let me know if there's something else I should look at.

He also recommended the restaurant The Slogar, but it's already booked for the whole month of March. I'll be checking occasionally to try to get in.

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Elevation is great. Pricey. But great.

If you're flying in Montrose, Telluride > CB all day.

CB actually has been better staffed then most of the other mountain towns because it's a heavily deed restricted community with far fewer outside investors in the housing market.

Vail Sports (CB Sports) typically rents very low tech and old equipment. The 20% discount is great if the gears worth it but not if it's 3-4 season old foam core Rossy RTLs.

I've gone to CB the past 3 years during Christmas to ski with my kids.

I've rented skis on the slope and in Gunnison. Gene Taylor's in Gunnison is a third of the cost for equipment but if something breaks or turns out the wrong size then that's a 30 minute drive one way to get it swapped out. Never had issues at either so do as you wish.

There are plenty of easy runs for the kids. They are likely going to want to do the terrain park a lot but the Painter Boy lift is a big log jam and I avoid it as much as possible. Gold Link and Prospect are great for avoiding the crowds and giving the kids a little room to learn. The bunny slope on the front side is good but it's a busy area. Red Lady is the busiest lift by far, if you can ski just use Silver Queen and go to the top every time. Teocali lift is slow and busy, I try to avoid it too. Paradise Express is a high speed lift and not too busy of an area.

I've stayed at the Grand Lodge, a condo by the West Wall lift, and a house on the back side by the Gold Link lift.

Grand lodge is the most affordable option and a short walk to the lift, not ski in/out though. They have a big tent set up by the Red Lady lift where you can check you skis in and out for free if you rent for them or are a resort property guest

Condos down by the bunny slope and West Wall are really easy for ski in, but you have to carry you skis up a small hill to ski out. Very convenient and a solid option.

Two years ago we split a bigger house on the back side with another family. It was nice to have space and not be in the hustle and bustle of the main resort. We would walk or have a non skiing wife drop us off about 2/3rds if they way down Gold Link and ski to the lift. We could ski all the way back to the house a variety of ways.

I drive to Trinidad and stay the night there, you're at plenty of elevation to start adjusting. I then take Hwy 69 in Walsenburg over to Cotapaxi where you get on the main highway. Try to find some -25ish washer fluid to put in your car. All the stuff around here will freeze and you will not enjoy it. Either way you go you'll go through Monarch Pass. It is the sketchy part of the trip and will close with heavy snow. It did last year on Christmas Day when I was trying to get home. Use the COTrip website and monitor it while you're traveling.

Restaurants are expensive and busy so be prepared to deal with that. I know the owners of Butte Bagel in town, good breakfast and coffee, but not overly convenient if you're staying on the hill.

Free shuttle bus from the main lodge into town that is frequent and reliable.

Stop in Gunnison for groceries on your way in, CB doesn't have the best grocery store.

I've got some ski stuff that my kids have outgrown if you're interested, I'm in Frisco.

Let me know if you want any other info.

JustPanda said:

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CB actually has been better staffed then most of the other mountain towns because it's a heavily deed restricted community with far fewer outside investors in the housing market.

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You should tell that to the restaurants in crested butte since half of them are closed and the other half have reserved all their dinner spots through the end of ski season.

Here are my 2 units at Grand Lodge in Mt Crested Butte: great heated pool/hot tub, 2 minute walk to base lifts. I'll offer an Aggie discount if anyone is ever interested in staying.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35655070?source_impression_id=p3_1669744967_roZZJU0r9pUrm4cj

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/26236370?source_impression_id=p3_1669744937_1VOYiuxru%2BrspLR6

I'm planning to make a trip to CB next week. From what I've heard, almost all restaurants should be open for the ski season. It is frustrating that CB has struggled the last couple years with staffing for restaurants and lodging, especially considering the 3-4k students that attend Western State 25-30 minutes away.

Will do

Edit: if your driving you definitely wouldn't go to COS.

I wouldn't fly to COS to get to CB. Fly directly to Gunnison and prebook a ride to CB with Mointain shuttle express. You don't need a car. You can take free shuttles from CB to Mt CB.

We reserved a house on AirBNB - we're staying with another Aggie family with three kids.

Has anybody done private group lessons with different ability levels? The other family skied last year - mine has not. We'll have a 3 year old, two 7 year olds, an 8th grader, and two adults take a half day. The website says we should do a private class, but I'm wondering if we should be in different groups.

And where is the best place to rent equipment? And where should we keep it overnight? Apparently there's numerous options for valet/storage at the base of the mountain.

I wouldn't do a private if you have more than a couple skier level differences. The things that would worry me most is the age range even though you're all beginners.

I would also do full day lessons if you haven't skied before maybe 2 full days or a full and half but at least one. Half day lessons don't get you nearly as much instruction for the price.

Ski storage depends on the hill.

Since you're at an AirBnB you'll either need to haul your gear in the car or leave it in a ski locker at the base of the hill. Some ski shops (ours) will let you store skis and poles but not helmets or boots. Most of our renters that stay off the hill take that option because it's free and just leaves them w their boots.

Ski rentals - since you're beginners any base level foam core performance ski will do and you won't need a high R rated boot for the adults so anything from like an R60-90.

How are you getting to CB? Flying? Driving? If flying - into what airport?

If you end up driving through Poncha Springs, Mountain Sports Haus has great daily rates and solid gear along with super nice people. It's a small town local rental place that's been around since I was born.

https://mountainsportshaus.net/rentals

The easiest storage option is to rent equipment from the skicb.com website. The shop is about 50' from the two big lifts at the base. When you rent from them they offer a free overnight equipment valet on the slope. It's not the cheapest option but it's the most convenient and if something needs adjusting then it's right there. The cheapest option is to rent from Gene Taylor's in Gunnison but you have to have room in the vehicle to transport them 25 minutes up the road. There are a couple other options in the town of Crested Butte as well.

As for lessons, we did the group lessons at CB for my two sons a few years ago and it was garbage. The private lessons could be good but probably not as bad as the standard group stuff.

I appreciate all the answers to questions!

We're driving our 2013 Toyota Highlander - no chance we'll have enough room for all the equipment. Our friends have a Suburban, but there are 5 of them.

I'm definitely doing at least a day of lessons.

cadetjay - knowing what you know, what would you do for lessons if you were in my situation?

JustPanda - when you said "ours" did you mean you own/work at one, or just shop at one? Name of shop will help

Trying to fly in tomorrow. I prefer ski rental on the mountain. Get them in the PM for the early morning lift the next day.

It has gotten expensive for lessons my word. We got a 4 day epic pass for ~$230 in October. I don't feel bad seeing how one of our kids does and only skiing part of a day at that lift ticket price.

Rentals, lessons, lifts are all high. Just sign of the times. We ended up buying all of our gear this last summer after renting the first year. Was able to pick up nice used gear and a few new items for less than a three day rental. Only downside is having to fix your own gear if it breaks and lug it to the mountain. Upside is not waiting on fittings. We ski at Beaver Creek and rental fittings during spring break was crazy.

If you have the coin, upgrade to a private lesson and hope you get a person that is adaptable and can meet the needs of multiple levels of skier. They just regraded the beginner slope a couple years ago and it is a nice little area to figure things out as well.

I would plan on taking a full day of lessons on day 1 and at least half day lessons on day 2 and 3. Only 1 day of lessons isn't enough to get you to advanced beginner / intermediate level which is where you want to be so you can have fun getting down blues without too much effort. If you are skiing for 5 days, I would do private / small group lessons for 2 or 3 days, and then you can ski on your own for days 4 and 5. And then these lessons will carry over to next time you go skiing so it is worth the time / cost investment.

This is great advice.

I used to teach privates and I think you're better off putting the younger kids into group lessons. IMO kids learn best from watching others and then embodying the behaviors. Adults, private. Adults in group lessons are tough.

I work PT and help w the books at a ski shop out of Vail called Charter Sports. We don't have a local CB shop but may be opening one soon. Christy Sports is a solid gear spot close to the hill but they have some of the steeper prices.

We're lucky enough to get to ski all over the state because one of our best friends has a puddle jumper that we take all over from CB to Aspen/Snowmass to Breck to Steamboat, we live outside GWS and still have our place outside Telly. We have lifetime epic passes and I get chamber discounts for Aspen and Steamboat for the family. Plus the other half is an ex pro so between her discounts and the ski shop it makes getting in the hill and gear very affordable.