first trip to Breckenridge for christmas

My bf and I are going Breckenridge Dec 21-25. He's a rather new
snowboarder. He's basically had one season in Tahoe, last year, where
he was spoiled rotten by boarding on uncrowded slopes in powderstorms.
I'm afraid he's deluded it's always that way :-O

I, on the other hand, skiied on the east coast as a kid so I'm grateful
for just about anything better than ice and crust. I'd like advice on
how I can make this trip enjoyable for both of us. For instance: I
understand Breck can be rather flat for snowboarders and I hate having
to tow him with my pole. Also, if there is any powder on easy blue runs
for him how can we get to it before it's gone? I'm looking for advice
from snowboarders because I still think like a skier (hey those bumps
look fun, etc). Any advice from folks who know Breck really appreciated.

"furfin" wrote in message
oups.com...
My bf and I are going Breckenridge Dec 21-25. He's a rather new
snowboarder. He's basically had one season in Tahoe, last year, where
he was spoiled rotten by boarding on uncrowded slopes in powderstorms.
I'm afraid he's deluded it's always that way :-O

I, on the other hand, skiied on the east coast as a kid so I'm grateful
for just about anything better than ice and crust. I'd like advice on
how I can make this trip enjoyable for both of us. For instance: I
understand Breck can be rather flat for snowboarders and I hate having
to tow him with my pole. Also, if there is any powder on easy blue runs
for him how can we get to it before it's gone? I'm looking for advice
from snowboarders because I still think like a skier (hey those bumps
look fun, etc). Any advice from folks who know Breck really appreciated.


Over the past 4 years that I've rode, I have been to breckenridge 3 times.
It has some really flat spots on the greens so avoid them like the plague
unless you really meant to say "I enjoy towing him all the time". This was
the first resort that I learned to ride and my friends, who had already been
skiing at least a year or more than me 'encouraged' me to go on the blues
after two runs on the greens. I, of course, being a pushover said,
"alright, but if I die, none of you get anything." It turns out that blues
were probably the best thing for me and what I've told every snowboarder
since that if you're going to learn, you better learn on blues. Greens just
don't allow you to get up to speed fast enough and without the ability to
gain speed, you're dead in the (frozen) water. I tried convincing my friend
of that and he was too scared to get off the bunny hill and onto some real
powder. He was tired by lunchtime and still couldn't stay on his feet.

Do you and your boyfriend a favor and convince him that he should get on a
blue. Yeah, catching an edge hurts, but it's the school of hard knocks that
really teaches. There probably won't be much powder but packed snow isn't
bad to ride on.

If you have an all mountain pass, I'd take a shuttle to Keystone too.
There's a run called, "Schoolmarm" that is nice riding for an hour if you
take it easy.

Good luck and have fun.

-Bruce

I don't get it!
Most snowboarders, after one year at Tahoe, can easily ride anything
any normal skier can ski, except maybe moguls.
Why are you treating him like a retarded invalid?
Can he snowboard or not?
EVERYONE I know who gets in 15 snowboarding days can ride any run at
Brecks, at least according to one of my former boss's who OWNED a
snowboard/windsurf shop.
And likely, he'll leave you in the dust thru the trees!

Thanks guys,
I will try to avoid the flats. I certainly don't want to treat him
like a...what you said
He's actually quite comfortable on the blues already and was doing some
easy blacks in Tahoe last year.
I guess I'm just not used to how much faster a person can pick up
snowboarding than skiing. One season of skiing and you are whooo-hoooo
a rank beginner. Maybe you can stem christie. At the end of last season
my guy was definitely a snowboarder.
Yeah he caught his edges and fell a lot, but now he can board. He
didn't even take lessons, though I thought he should. The sports are
really different!

furfin wrote:
I guess I'm just not used to how much faster a person can pick up
snowboarding than skiing. One season of skiing and you are whooo-hoooo
a rank beginner. Maybe you can stem christie. At the end of last season
my guy was definitely a snowboarder.

Well the path to the intermediate rut is faster than in skiing. It's
easier to survive a steep hill as a 1 year snowboarder than a 1 year
skier. But the real skills take a while to develop just the same, as
evidenced by the fact that most riders don't look at a bump run like you
(and I) do and think "whoo-hoo, that looks like fun".

Neil

LeeD wrote:
I don't get it!
Most snowboarders, after one year at Tahoe, can easily ride anything
any normal skier can ski, except maybe moguls.
Why are you treating him like a retarded invalid?
Can he snowboard or not?
EVERYONE I know who gets in 15 snowboarding days can ride any run at
Brecks, at least according to one of my former boss's who OWNED a
snowboard/windsurf shop.
And likely, he'll leave you in the dust thru the trees!

Well, I can see you have never actually boarded at Breck because what
you claim couldn't be more wrong. Breck has some of the steepest
inbounds skiing in Colorado off of the Lake Chutes on Peak 8.

So, here's the real story for the OP from someone who lives in Breck.
Breck does get the mostly unwarranted rep of being flat. But that's
from people who don't know the mountain or are to lazy to look at a
trail map. Granted, the bottom of Peak 9 is rather flat but that's the
beginner area. So people ride the beginner area and then complain that
the mountain is flat, go figure.

The only reason I say the rep is mostly unwarranted is because there is
one long flat trail when you are headed from Peak 8 to Peak 9. It
sucks on both skis and boards. Just make sure you waxed if you need to
take that trail. Once xmas comes around they open E Chair so you don't
need to take the long flat trail (sawmill or something like that). The
problem is that they don't open E Chair early enough. Any time Peak 8
is open, E Chair should be running but the management for the mountain
have no idea about how traffic flows so they sometimes only open it on
the weekend. Bottom line, if you need to get from Peak 8 to Peak 9
take E Chair and eliminate the one run that gives Breck that 'flat'
rep.

So here's the lowdown for trails you can both enjoy:
Peak 7 - The lower part served by the Independence Chair is all blue
groomers with some nice rollers. These are the trails where you can
both have fun and not worry about towing anybody. The upper part is
served by the T-Bar and requires a traverse to the closest chutes and
then a short hike the the bigger chutes. In either case, it's not
something I would recomend to blue skiers/boarders.

Peak 8 - The lower part is mostly blue with a couple of greens and easy
blacks. It's all groomed except for a couple of blues that they let
bump up on the side. The upper part is accessed by the T-Bar, 6 Chair
and the new Imperial Express.
The T-bar is tough for most boarders to ride so I would avoid that
unless your bf can ride it. There are some nice trails to the north of
the t-bar that are now black but at one time they were rated blue so
even though the sign at the bottom says black only, there really are a
couple of bluish trails.
6 chair is boarders paradise. Great snow and mainly easy blacks. It
does get tracked out quickly on a powder day so get there early (open @
10) to get the good snow. The easiest way down from 6 is via 4 0'clock
which is a blue run and you can usually find great snow if you get off
the groomed run and into some of the sparse trees.
I'm not sure about the Imperial since this is it's first year.
Imperial Bowl is black but anyone who is comfortable with blues can get
down it. You can also hike a short distance to the top and get some
steeper terrian including the Lake Chutes which is expert only. I'm
not sure how the snow will hold up now that there is lots more traffic
up there. In the past, the snow was almost always great but who knows
now.

Peak 9 - Lots more blue groomers. Use the Mercury Chair here and don't
go all the way to the bottom. The north side under E Chair has some
really great steeps that hold the snow well because of the northern
exposure.

Peak 10 - A few fairly steep blue groomers down the front side and
steeps on the north and south side. North side holds snow and has some
great trees on the Burn. If the snow is good, even a blue rider should
enjoy it. The south side has some great trees, rocks and steeps but
there is a bit of a traverse to get back out so many boarders avoid it
which means it usually holds snow longer but once the sun comes out, it
gets baked pretty quickly.

Hope that all helps. Just remember to stay off the bottom of Peak 9
and take E Chair when you want to go from 8 to 9. That pretty much
eliminates any place where you might need to lend a pole to the bf.

snoig

Geez, did you read the part where I said ..."at least according
to......"
No, I haven't been to Breck, but said boss, a former owner of
Windsports in SanRafael, is an intermediate rider at best, and rode
what he said was pretty easy for him, and he said he hardly ever rode
the same runs twice. He stayed at Breckenridge for 6 days.
Most of our friends got much better than him after one season, easily
handling GraniteChief at Squaw, any way down SummitSix chair at Alpine,
easy cruising thru the backside pow at Northstar, Chairs 11 and 6 at
Kirkwood, and trying the dropoffs at DonnerSkiRanchs frontside face.
But not moguls, that's just for a few snowboarders to try......and
conquer.....

Snoig, Nice job on the Breck review, love your insiders perspective on the
four peaks.

We are going to Copper Mountain this year...is there anyone who can give the
same type insiders review on Copper? What to look for, what to avoid. We
will have all levels of boarders/skiers in our group, from novice green
slope skiers on up, so any advice would be appreciated.

Rei.

"snoig" wrote in message
ups.com...

LeeD wrote:
I don't get it!
Most snowboarders, after one year at Tahoe, can easily ride anything
any normal skier can ski, except maybe moguls.
Why are you treating him like a retarded invalid?
Can he snowboard or not?
EVERYONE I know who gets in 15 snowboarding days can ride any run at
Brecks, at least according to one of my former boss's who OWNED a
snowboard/windsurf shop.
And likely, he'll leave you in the dust thru the trees!

Well, I can see you have never actually boarded at Breck because what
you claim couldn't be more wrong. Breck has some of the steepest
inbounds skiing in Colorado off of the Lake Chutes on Peak 8.

So, here's the real story for the OP from someone who lives in Breck.
Breck does get the mostly unwarranted rep of being flat. But that's
from people who don't know the mountain or are to lazy to look at a
trail map. Granted, the bottom of Peak 9 is rather flat but that's the
beginner area. So people ride the beginner area and then complain that
the mountain is flat, go figure.

The only reason I say the rep is mostly unwarranted is because there is
one long flat trail when you are headed from Peak 8 to Peak 9. It
sucks on both skis and boards. Just make sure you waxed if you need to
take that trail. Once xmas comes around they open E Chair so you don't
need to take the long flat trail (sawmill or something like that). The
problem is that they don't open E Chair early enough. Any time Peak 8
is open, E Chair should be running but the management for the mountain
have no idea about how traffic flows so they sometimes only open it on
the weekend. Bottom line, if you need to get from Peak 8 to Peak 9
take E Chair and eliminate the one run that gives Breck that 'flat'
rep.

So here's the lowdown for trails you can both enjoy:
Peak 7 - The lower part served by the Independence Chair is all blue
groomers with some nice rollers. These are the trails where you can
both have fun and not worry about towing anybody. The upper part is
served by the T-Bar and requires a traverse to the closest chutes and
then a short hike the the bigger chutes. In either case, it's not
something I would recomend to blue skiers/boarders.

Peak 8 - The lower part is mostly blue with a couple of greens and easy
blacks. It's all groomed except for a couple of blues that they let
bump up on the side. The upper part is accessed by the T-Bar, 6 Chair
and the new Imperial Express.
The T-bar is tough for most boarders to ride so I would avoid that
unless your bf can ride it. There are some nice trails to the north of
the t-bar that are now black but at one time they were rated blue so
even though the sign at the bottom says black only, there really are a
couple of bluish trails.
6 chair is boarders paradise. Great snow and mainly easy blacks. It
does get tracked out quickly on a powder day so get there early (open @
10) to get the good snow. The easiest way down from 6 is via 4 0'clock
which is a blue run and you can usually find great snow if you get off
the groomed run and into some of the sparse trees.
I'm not sure about the Imperial since this is it's first year.
Imperial Bowl is black but anyone who is comfortable with blues can get
down it. You can also hike a short distance to the top and get some
steeper terrian including the Lake Chutes which is expert only. I'm
not sure how the snow will hold up now that there is lots more traffic
up there. In the past, the snow was almost always great but who knows
now.

Peak 9 - Lots more blue groomers. Use the Mercury Chair here and don't
go all the way to the bottom. The north side under E Chair has some
really great steeps that hold the snow well because of the northern
exposure.

Peak 10 - A few fairly steep blue groomers down the front side and
steeps on the north and south side. North side holds snow and has some
great trees on the Burn. If the snow is good, even a blue rider should
enjoy it. The south side has some great trees, rocks and steeps but
there is a bit of a traverse to get back out so many boarders avoid it
which means it usually holds snow longer but once the sun comes out, it
gets baked pretty quickly.

Hope that all helps. Just remember to stay off the bottom of Peak 9
and take E Chair when you want to go from 8 to 9. That pretty much
eliminates any place where you might need to lend a pole to the bf.

snoig

LeeD wrote:
Geez, did you read the part where I said ..."at least according
to......"
No, I haven't been to Breck, but said boss, a former owner of
Windsports in SanRafael, is an intermediate rider at best, and rode
what he said was pretty easy for him, and he said he hardly ever rode
the same runs twice. He stayed at Breckenridge for 6 days.
Most of our friends got much better than him after one season, easily
handling GraniteChief at Squaw, any way down SummitSix chair at Alpine,
easy cruising thru the backside pow at Northstar, Chairs 11 and 6 at
Kirkwood, and trying the dropoffs at DonnerSkiRanchs frontside face.
But not moguls, that's just for a few snowboarders to try......and
conquer.....

Hi Lee,
I think you are missing my point here. It's about your quote:

"EVERYONE I know who gets in 15 snowboarding days can ride any run at
Brecks,...."

It really doesn't matter who said it, what matters is that this is
dangerous advice. There are plenty of places at Breck where I would
never take someone who only has a couple of weeks experience. I would
hate to see the OP come to Breck with the idea that she can take her bf
down any trail here. That's really just an invatation for a free sled
ride.

Plus, I'm sure your evaluation of 15 days is a bit skewed. Remember,
your friends get much better when they need to keep up with you and you
know the mountain well. The vast majority of tourists don't get that
advantage and more than likely will never venture off groomed blues or
easy blacks during their entire stay.

How's the riding in Tahoe anyway. Breck has some of the best pre-xmas
conditions that I have seen in 20 years. Should be a great week for
the OP and her bf.

snoig

To the OP, unless you have already bought Breck tickets, I would
consider hitting Copper and maybe Vail while you are there too. All 3
are world class resorts and withing reasonable distance of each other.
If you have a car, Copper is like 20 mins, Vail under an hour. There
is also a pretty good bus system in Summit County, with free rides from
Breck to Copper, not sure about Vail.

I've done all of them and for your beginner friend, there are plenty of
suitable areas at all of them. For the most part, the biggest thing to
avoid is just like anywhere else on a snowboard: the green transverse
trails that cut across the side of the mountain. They can have pitch
sideways across the trail and little pitch straight ahead. That leaves
you on one side of the board for a long time. Sometimes they look like
the most direct way back to where you want to go, but if you look at
the trail map most times there is an alternate, like taking a lift back
up and coming down another way on a blue.

I also agree with the advice that people with 15 days experience are
not ready to ride all the trails at Breck. Aside from the issue of
getting hurt, it ain't much fun coming down a double black sideways on
a snowboard. The amount of energy you waste on one run like that could
be spent on 5 nice enjoyable runs on terrain suited to a beginner,
where you can improve your skills.