Breckenridge, CO 4/1 - 4/6/12

CMR, I and the kids just spent the past week in Breckenridge, CO.  We skied all 6 days at Breck since everyone around told us that the snow was better there than at the surrounding mountains.  Breckenridge has 4 separate peaks: 7, 8, 9 and 10.  We stayed at the base of Peak 9 and moved around the mountain each day.  The snow was fine, as long as it softened up but we knew to avoid any north-facing trails, even later in the day.  Peak 10 has a lot of black diamond cruising trails, and a glade. We spent a lot of time there. Peak 9 is  mostly blue trails with a few nice black trails a the top.  Peak 8 has a variety of terrain, with a separate summit area that is all expert terrain. Peak 7 is mostly easy blue trails. The lower part of the mountain is really flat. When you look at it from the summit, it just looks like a flat field - this was a problem on the warm days, as we had to traverse a lot of slush to get to some of the lower lifts.

Sunday, April 1, was our first ski day.  I was surprised to see so many people dressed in really strange ski outfits, including lots of funny hats and wigs.  It turns out that it was "gapers day" so that was not the normal dress code for Breckenridge.  It was a beautiful, warm day, so we spent a lot of time at the summit.  The views from the top are incredible, but the air is really thin.  Everyone except Will, our 10 year old, spent the week struggling with the altitude.  

The snow is definitely retreating, but we could still ski the imperial bowl.

One of our favorite spots on the mountain is the trails off of the T-bar.  This lift is really wild - its a two-person lift that goes up 1200 vertical in 7 minutes.  We rarely saw a snowboarder who could make it to the top.  We discovered that it is much easer if the two people are of similar height, so the kids rode together:




Horseshoe Bowl, on the top of Peak 8, was really fun too:

The weather was all over the place this week - blazing hot, then overcast and cold, back to hot again, and then windy.  We spent a lot of time on the groomed runs, because anything ungroomed was not skiable until it warmed up.

As the week wore on, the kids needed some variety, so we hit the NASTAR course and the terrain parks. Fortunately, the kids miraculously tied each other in their race and won gold medals, so there was no whining there.  It's amazing how much time you can spend standing around in a terrain park, but we got some nice photos as a reward:



We had a great time this week.  Since the kids spend all of their time at Gore in the Mountain Adventure program, we don't ski together very often. It was so fun watching how good they have become.  Breckenridge is a great place for a family vacation.  


The town is so much fun, with lots of shops and great restaurants.  The town is right at the base of the mountain, and we could walk to all of the shops and to the lift so we didn't need the car at all.  We even went into town for lunch while skiing a few times.  The on-mountain food at Breck is ridiculously expensive and not very good. We were longing for the Gore cafeteria each day.  This was an interesting week, because not very many American schools had vacation, but all of the schools in Mexico and the UK were on break. We heard a lot of British accents and Spanish being spoken.  We'll have a lot of great memories from this trip.  Everyone was pretty tired by Friday afternoon.



Would we come back? Possibly - the altitude really was a killer for us. We have skied other places in Colorado, and everywhere in Utah, and have never felt this bad before. I was never so glad to land in NY and take a deep breath of smoggy air.

If you go again, ask your doctor about using a medication called "Diamox" to help with the altitude.  Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the TR.  How was the cover?  Looks kinda thin from the photos yet Breck is still reporting 44".  

What kind of skis would you suggest?  Debating between 88 and 82mm wide boards under foot for Breck based on your report.

What was the temps like at the summit when it was 50 degrees at the base?  Weather looks like it is trending cooler.

For altitude you can also try taking the suplement Ginko which many studies have proved it lessens atitude related issues.  They also say Viagra has the same effect plus others of course.

Coach Z wrote

 They also say Viagra has the same effect plus others of course.

That may help Mr. Poindexter, but I think Poindexter is too busy skiing!  

The cover was pretty thin.  44" is an extremely generous estimate.  We did one tree run (called The Burn) that trashed our skis.The top still has enough snow to ski, but some of the trails on the bottom are suffering. Breckenridge obviously did a fair amount of snowmaking this year, because some trails had decent snow and others right next to them were completely bare.

I ski on Volkl Fuegos, which are 72 mm wide and heavy and they were great.  CMR said his 90mm Line Prophets were also fine.  The conditions range from crust to corn to slush.  No powder in sight, but we weren't expecting any.  The top of the mountain softened later than the bottom.  I'm guessing that if it doesn't reach at least mid 40s to 50 at the bottom, the top might not be skiable.  The summit lifts usually didn't open until late morning, and some days not at all. There's plenty to ski lower down though.  

I'll try the Ginko next time, and I'll pass on the Viagra suggestion to CMR, although I might be regretting that one!

Coach Z wrote

What kind of skis would you suggest?  Debating between 88 and 82mm wide boards under foot for Breck based on your report.

For altitude you can also try taking the suplement Ginko which many studies have proved it lessens atitude related issues.  They also say Viagra has the same effect plus others of course.

I'd definitely go for the fatter skis.  By 10 am, the entire mountain, save the bowls, was entering creamed corn territory.  So much fun to float through.  

BTW, I hear Cialis is the drug of choice.  No need to decide WHEN you're going to experience altitude sickness symptoms.  Always best to be prepared.  And, definitely look out for the two bathtubs at the top of Horseshoe bowl.  What a view!

Good to see "The Rumor" club jackets out there. Thanks for the report.

CMR wrote

I'd definitely go for the fatter skis.  By 10 am, the entire mountain, save the bowls, was entering creamed corn territory.  So much fun to float through.  

Thanks for the ski advice. I'll bring my 2 yr old Elan Apex - 88mm under foot instead of my new boards that are 82mm.  I love good corn snow and it seems like we missed that this year.  It went right from ice to slush.

Did you have any wind issues with lifts?  Breck is known for wind issues and they forecast looks breezy.

I'm really looking forward to skiing with my son.  Since he is in Nysef I don't get to do that as much as when I was coaching him in Cloudsplitter Club.  My wife is staying home so this will be a fun guys trip. We are only skiing 4 days.

You'll definitely appreciate the 88's.  I wouldn't worry much about wind.  We had a couple of days with gusts  35-45 mph.  The lifts never closed.

Food suggestions:  Empire Burger offers really excellent burgers and hand cut fries.  We went one day for lunch.  Would be great for an inexpensive dinner as well.   It's in town just off the Quicksilver lift (4-5 min walk in boots).  Had the Kona Burger (burger, ham, pineapple, and hot sauce) and loved it.  South Ridge Seafood was great for dinner.  It's a really old bar with great food.  In general, bring your lunch if you can.  The on-mountain  grub is very expensive and not very good.  We longed for the food at Gore.  You also must try the crepe cart in town ... as long as you can stand a 45 minute wait.  Kids thought it was worth it.

Hope you and your son have a great time!