With the ski and snowboard season in full swing, the decision gets harder: mountains or books this weekend. Powder days are nice but so is studying and paying the bills.
There are eight major ski resorts within three hours of Boulder. Many CU students spend their time in the mountains, but with so many options it can be hard to decide which resort to hit up.
Eldora Mountain is the closest resort to Boulder, located 21 miles up Boulder Canyon. The convenience of location is crucial for a quick afternoon excursion.
“It only takes me an hour, even in awful weather,” said Eric Boxer, a senior architectural engineering major.
Eldora is also benefiting from the snow bogging down the city of Boulder. The mountain boasts a large mid-mountain base of 60 inches, larger than the mountains in the Summit and Grand country regions.
Due to the amount of snow at Eldora, Whitney Taylor, a junior news-editorial major and intern with FREESKIER Magazine, said, “more people are flocking to Eldora.”
The 680 skiiable acres of Eldora makes the ski area larger than Arapahoe Basin.
Arapahoe Basin is located 80 miles west of Boulder on I-70 and has the highest summit elevation of any ski resort in North America at 13,050 feet. The resort provides a place to catch summer runs, as it is open until late June.
Chelsea Morgan, former director of the Backcountry Club and senior biological sciences major, likes Arapahoe Basin for the “steep and bumpy terrain.” But, she said, “don’t try it on a snowboard.”
Winter Park is located 77 miles from Boulder. In its 68th season, Winter Park is the oldest continuously-operated resort in Colorado. New trails and a new chairlift are part of the $4.8 million in improvements at Winter Park this year.
Winter Park offers a “variety of terrain and good snow,” according to Walker Bradly, a junior international affairs and economics major.
The mountain also offers a discounted lift ticket to those who fly Frontier Airlines.
“Bring your boarding pass and you can get a buy-one-get-one free deal,” Bradley said.
Planning a trip to one of these resorts can be costly though and can take some work time away from people.
“If I am skiing, I can’t be working,” said Chrissy Rogel, a senior creative writing and English major.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Kathleen Straney at kathleen.straney@thecampuspress.com.
