Big bang for your buck!
Written: Jan 25 '00 (Updated Jan 25 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Bargain, Fantastic Slopes, Modern Equipment
Cons: Low Snowfall, Mild Drive
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| thagale's Full Review: Breckenridge |
I've been skiing since I was five. I've seen a lot of the good, and a lot of the bad. Breck is definitely "one of the best." It's an all-around good resort. It has everything from the most basic of first-timers, to some of the hardest slopes in Colorado. It's a great bargain, too, because your lift ticket is good at Keystone and Arapahoe Basin as well, and Keystone has night skiing. But I'll get to that in a second. What I'm getting at here, is that my family liked making trips to Breck so much, that we decided to spend a LOT of time there. Nowadays, we typically spend about a month up there every winter, a few months each summer, and a few other assorted weeks during ski season. I'll get into the itemized stuff now:
PROS
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Great bargain
--The lift tickets at breck are more than reasonable. You get a full day pass, for an adult (13+ as I remember) for $53. That's good 9am-4pm at Breck, Keystone, and A. Basin. And then it's good again that night at Keystone. There are half day (12pm-4pm) and late arrival passes (2pm-4pm) as well. Note that the late arrival passes do not allow you to ski at Keystone that night. Overall, you get a LOT of great skiing for a good price. Keep in mind that a lot of the supposedly more prestigious resorts can charge well above that price for marginal skiing conditions.
Great Slopes
--Breck really does have it all. I hoped to teach my 9 year old cousin how to ski this past winter, but she couldn't make it up. There is a great ski school, for toddlers through adults. There are plenty of green circles, with the majority of the slopes being blue squares. There are a number of black diamonds, and a handful of double blacks. If expert and backcountry skiing is your cup of tea, there are some great runs at Breck. My personal two favorites are "Devil's Crotch" and "Mineshaft." Which are two of the hardest standard slopes you'll find in Colorado. A. Basin also offers a lot of quality expert slopes. If blues and greens are your forte, plenty of the super chairs run exclusively to them, as well.
Long Season
--Breck has artificial snowmaking capabilities, and so they try to keep the resort open October to April. It's a long ski season, and it gives you an opportunity to get up there when your schedule, or your budget, allows. It's also not out of the question to come up twice in a season, to test out all the runs.
Modern Equipment
--If memory serves, there are 2 quad super chairs and 4 six-seat super chairs that run up to the tops of the peaks. In addition, there are dozens of lifts that go shorter distances, and take you up to, on the lower end a handful of greens, or on the upper end, the E lift up to the expert slopes.
Ski-in-ski-out
--Breck is radically different from many other ski resorts in that what I would estimate to be around 80% of the resorts and townhomes are TRULY ski-in-ski-out. Snow permitting, I can ski directly to my door. Under adverse conditions, I have to walk a measely 20 feet. This holds true across many of the lodges and hotels as well.
CONS
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Low Snofall
--Every once and a while Breck has to rely heavily upon artificial snow. This past Christmas, we only got about 33" of snow on the slopes before the big rush. It was a little disappointing to have a lot of artificial snow. On the other hand, the novice to intermediate skier really can't tell the difference. The trouble was with the expert slopes. With artificial snow, or grooming machines, there were a lot of barren spots and exposed obstacles. It's to be expected, but it's still a bit dangerous. Not to worry though, you won't find ANY of that on the beginner and intermediate slopes, which are usually groomed nightly.
Mild Drive
--The closet airport of any consequence is Denver. There are a variety of van services which will take you directly to your door. On the other hand, its about 1.5 hours driving yourself, if you choose to do so. It gets a little tedious making that drive every time you need to get from the airport to home. On the other hand, most people are vacationing, and it'll just be a one-time affair.
OVERALL
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Breckenridge is one of the best ski resorts around. I can't think of a better deal for your money. It's a great way to get away from the frustrations of city life, and hit the slopes. even if you don't ski, there's plenty of stuff to do in Breck. From snowmobiling to dog sledding. There's a really nice Rec Center in town, with an olympic size pool and lots of equipment. The town itself is nice, and has lots of shopping areas. All in all, I guaruntee you that Breck is a place you won't regret going.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
thagale
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Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 27 members
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