By Nancy Coulter-Parker
Planning a snow day or weekend with older kids? I asked some of my favorite young skiers about which mountains they like to go to and why. Here’s what they had to say:
Kai Parker – Eldora & Steamboat Springs
“I spend a lot of time at Eldora because it’s easy to get to and I train there for ski racing. But my favorite run to ski at Eldora is Moose Glades when there is powder. It’s right against the ski area boundary past Corona and West Ridge. It’s in the trees, but they are relatively open. There are some cliffs and it’s steep. And normally the line for the lift on Corona isn’t bad.”
“We go to Steamboat each year to ski. I love it just because it has everything terrain wise. Tree skiing is super fun because it’s primarily through Aspen trees, so it’s not too tight and the snow is usually super light. On one of my favorite days at Steamboat, we skied No Names at the end of the day, which is about a 10 or 15-minute hike from the Morningside Lift. It is at the high point of the resort. It’s steep and has tighter trees, but the snow was good. When we got back out to the main run, we discovered we were the last ones on the mountain. It was a bit of a long flat run from there getting off the mountain, but it was super cool skiing with no one else around.”
Marco Vogel – Eldora
“I like Eldora because it’s convenient and I can take the bus up from Boulder with all my friends and it’s a mountain that I know very well. I like to be in the park when the snow isn’t that good. But when the snow’s good, I don’t even step in the park.”
Jack Vincent – Winter Park
“I would definitely say the best runs at Winter Park and certainly the most enjoyable are on the Mary Jane side. These runs maybe a little more difficult but are definitely worth it in their diversity. Some of these runs are like Outrigger or Hole in the Wall. Mary Jane is more of a mogul and steep area. The best run to go fast on is Cranmer, which is a groomed steep run on the front side of the mountain. Dark Territory is the terrain park that you have to sign a waiver to do the jumps. It is known for the biggest jumps in Colorado. It’s very fun, it really gets your heart racing!”
Sienna Swann – Copper Mountain
“My favorite runs at Copper are Polar Bear, Back Bowles and American Flyer. I like Polar Bear because it is not too tight in the trees and there are fun slopes you can ski down. I like the Back Bowles because there is powder and it is steeper than the other runs. I like American Flyer because it’s an easy blue and you can speed down it. I like Copper overall because it has Woodward, so there are fun runs and parks. At Copper, they don’t just groom their runs, they make fun little jumps. Copper’s chairlifts are fast so you don’t spend all your time on the chairlift, and the mountain keeps the runs and chairlifts clean. I like the ski school because you learn cool tricks and the ski instructors make it fun and show you places on the mountain that I didn’t even know existed.”
Curtis Zanni– Steamboat Springs
“My favorite runs at Steamboat have to be either East Face off Morningside lift or Nelson’s run off of Four Points! On a great powder day both of the runs are amazing and have lots of fun terrain to catch air off of. Some things that I love about Steamboat are the proximity from town to the mountain and the amazing snow quality throughout the season.”
