I have two kids Im taking for the first time and the wife is an ok skier but it looks like a good mountain for beginners with an entire area of greens.

Does crested butte have a good town? Or is it more just a ski resort similar to copper mountain and winter park? Been to a lot of places but want to try something new and a little off the beaten path with less crowds.

So it's been years since I skied there, but that's where I grew up skiing and learned to ski. We went to a church retreat there in '92 and my grandparents bought a house in Almont that year. I went skiing there every year from '93-2010 when we sold the house. Crested Butte is my happy place. The town is awesome and fun, and the mountain is great for different skill levels. I will say, it's a smaller mountain. You can ski the whole thing in a day, so with beginner skiers, there will be lots of repeat runs. Not a bad thing, but just something to be aware of. I honestly love CB more in the summer than the winter, but it's a great mountain.

We've been going to CB at Christmas several years now and will back next month.

Skiing- typically really good snow but last year was a little light, a lot more came later in the season. There is a decent amount of beginner/intermediate, but a lot of blacks. Base area has 2 main lifts, Red Lady goes half way up, collects most of the beginners, and can be a decent line. Silver Queen goes all the way up, only 1 easyish way down, not really a line. I like the back side with paradise express and no crowds. Painter Boy lift is the biggest choke point on the mountain, avoid if possible.

City-
Gunnison is the main city for the region and where your should do most of your grocery shopping. 30ish minutes from CB. I make sure to eat at Mario's pizza at some point each trip. Liquor store across the street from City Market is well stocked.
Crested Butte itself is a couple miles from the base, nice town with some good restaurants and free shuttle buses from town to base area. Small grocery store in town but expensive.
Mt. Crested Butte is its own town at the base area. There are a couple little convenience stores and restaurants but nothing great.

Rentals-
I've rented from the big shop at the base area, the Alpiner in CB, and Gene Taylor's in Gunnison. Pros and cons to all. Most convenient and expensive at base. Alpiner in CB is a Christy's store. Gene Taylor's is super cheap but need to factor transportation and return times in Gunnison.

Overall, mountain is a nice low key ski vacation with good amenities without the big crowds of Bruce/Keystone. It's a Vail Resort, so good infrastructure but you pay for it.

I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Email is username @ hotmail

I went there a lot in high school and college and learned to ski there. My wife and I have been there a couple of times, most recently in 2020 the week before Covid shut everything down. I love the place because of how easy everything is. You can fly into Gunnison, arrange a relatively inexpensive shuttle from the airport directly to your hotel or condos, rent directly at the base of the mountain, and ride the free shuttle around the base area and into town for meals and shopping. As long as your hotel or condo is somewhere near the shuttle route, you have no need for a rental car.