# Breckenridge/Vail Late January



## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I first decided on Breck but I just can't shake the urge to take a peek at Vail.
Going with about 20 peeps. From beginners to guys that'll go down anything. I'm leaning Breck, but wondering if there is anyone who says we must do Vail.

Crowds are crowds, we understand we'll have to deal with it. We'll gravitate towards the areas with less crowds. I've done searches and searches but still can't decide.

We are doing Loveland first.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Fuck Breck go to Vail.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I've seen you say that quite a bit. I know you've said you stick around because of the park. But is it that bad? :laugh:

If so, I wonder how the nightlife and cabin rental will be.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Vail will be a lot less crowded than Breck. The only spot on the mountain itself that sees crowds is Mid Vail. Which is central point mid mountain. The rest of it is a breeze. Vail village though super touristy, has it's charms. 

Both places have plenty to do at night. Especially if drinking is your thing...


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## maybeitsjustme (Dec 1, 2008)

Last year we stayed in Breck--awesome little town. The second day we were there, we drove to Vail, and proceeded to spend the remaining 4 days at Vail. 

Breck is fun, but Vail is insane. HUGE. You could spend a season or 5 there and not see everything. 

Definitely go with Vail. The size of the mountain, variety of terrain, and overall WOW factor all blow away what Breck has to offer, IMHO.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

maybeitsjustme said:


> Last year we stayed in Breck--awesome little town. The second day we were there, we drove to Vail, and proceeded to spend the remaining 4 days at Vail.
> 
> Breck is fun, but Vail is insane. HUGE. You could spend a season or 5 there and not see everything.
> 
> Definitely go with Vail. The size of the mountain, variety of terrain, and overall WOW factor all blow away what Breck has to offer, IMHO.


I will say that Vail is huge. It's large, but variety of terrain isn't so much it's strong point. The saying is "same 'ol blue Vail" and it's pretty true. It's not a very steep mountain. Fun? Yes. A huge variety of terrain? Not really. Breck has much steeper and more challenging lines than Vail does. At least in bounds.


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## maybeitsjustme (Dec 1, 2008)

Maybe variety is an over enthusiastic response. I'll give you that. 

Just huge, large, open expanses. There are some steeps if you are looking for them as well. Blue Sky is tree heaven. I can just say this--I had a lot more fun at Vail than at Breck. We rode the front and back of the main peak at Breck on a very windy day (see: Breckenfridge), and it was not fun. 

Vail seemed to be a little more protected--could have just been that we got nicer weather though.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Vail is better than Breck on super cold windy days. No doubt. Overall all though Breck has a greater variety of terrain than Vail. Even though it's smaller.


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## BarrettDSP (May 10, 2009)

We go wk 4 in January every year and stay at Beaver Creek but normally spend a day or 2 at Vail depending on conditions. Don't let crowds be a factor for you because during the week the crowds are not bad compared to other times of the year. You can actually find some good lodging deals during this time frame as well.


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

jdang307 said:


> I first decided on Breck but I just can't shake the urge to take a peek at Vail.
> Going with about 20 peeps. From beginners to guys that'll go down anything. I'm leaning Breck, but wondering if there is anyone who says we must do Vail.
> 
> Crowds are crowds, we understand we'll have to deal with it. We'll gravitate towards the areas with less crowds. I've done searches and searches but still can't decide.
> ...


Sounds like a good tour! I say check-out all 3. Be sure to focus your time on the back-side at Vail. Baby's got back, for sure!!! Also, at Breck, if you get a softer day, hike the peak out the top of Imperial, Traverse, and hit the Chutes for some silly fun terrain. Or Go over Whale's Tale....I think I need to return to Breck for a day or two....Sorry, BA!


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

neednsnow said:


> Sounds like a good tour! I say check-out all 3. Be sure to focus your time on the back-side at Vail. Baby's got back, for sure!!! Also, at Breck, if you get a softer day, hike the peak out the top of Imperial, Traverse, and hit the Chutes for some silly fun terrain. Or Go over Whale's Tale....I think I need to return to Breck for a day or two....Sorry, BA!


I want to hit Vail. but not finding accommodations to easy to book. Might be stuck with Breck for this trip as I've already lined up a cabin (20+ people, and only two nights, which makes it hard).

Vail looks crazy though. Denver looks to be a yearly thing with us so that's my #1 target next year.


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

jdang307 said:


> I want to hit Vail. but not finding accommodations to easy to book. Might be stuck with Breck for this trip as I've already lined up a cabin (20+ people, and only two nights, which makes it hard).
> 
> Vail looks crazy though. Denver looks to be a yearly thing with us so that's my #1 target next year.


If only two or three days then, yeah, just stick with Breck.


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## B-T (Oct 19, 2011)

I've spent some time in breck and vail, breck was harder for me to find good runs with anything to jump off and generally, I was more beginner by then and i didn't go to peak 10 cause i thought it was all for skiers and i didn't do the imperial bowl cause i was scared just by looking at it from mid mountain. All i can say is brick is fun and really crowded. This year I went to vail and loved it! found some good jumps built between trails on the front side of the mountain. The back bowls are nice but they do get somewhat boring. Blue sky is where its at for me. Found good powder stashes pretty much no crowds and rides that would put big smile on my face. the drop to the right of the lift is short but amazing!! I'm lodging in keystone this year and I've only been to the front side of the mountain, but from the looks of videos I've seen I'm going to enjoy the back of keystone more than breck. Ive got 6 days to ride I'm thinking ill do probably 2-3 days keystone 1 day A-bay and one day breck and 1-2 days vail. Assuming the snow is good at keystone.


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## element (Feb 7, 2011)

Any good lunch spots near the mountain in Vail?


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## mzaucha (Nov 11, 2011)

Im currently planning a trip to Vail/Breck at the end of January also. Never been to either so all the info is making me definitely lean towards Vail.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

maybeitsjustme said:


> Maybe variety is an over enthusiastic response. I'll give you that.
> 
> Just huge, large, open expanses. There are some steeps if you are looking for them as well. Blue Sky is tree heaven. I can just say this--I had a lot more fun at Vail than at Breck. We rode the front and back of the main peak at Breck on a very windy day (see: Breckenfridge), and it was not fun.
> 
> Vail seemed to be a little more protected--could have just been that we got nicer weather though.


What front and back Breck faces east and runs north to south. I really want to know what back you dropped unless you did sky chutes.


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

BurtonAvenger said:


> What front and back Breck faces east and runs north to south. I really want to know what back you dropped unless you did sky chutes.


I'm going to assume....and I could be wrong, that Front is Whales Tail/North Bowl and Back is Imperial Bowl....maybe.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

BurtonAvenger said:


> What front and back Breck faces east and runs north to south. I really want to know what back you dropped unless you did sky chutes.


I'm betting he's talking about Imperial.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

That's like a side bowl or side front.


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## B-T (Oct 19, 2011)

wanted to ask since I've never been above the tree line in breck, whats it like? i see videos where imperial bowl looks pretty mellow and the chutes look pretty insane. Since back bowls itsnt correct I'm just gonna say the top of breck, how cool is breck above the tree lines? and is peak 10 fun for boarders?


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

Imperial Bowl is ok, gets skied-out pretty quickly. From the top, if you go skiers left over to North Bowl and keep traversing left, you might find some decent snow. Hiking above imperial and traversing lookers left will bring you to the chutes which range from tiny-gnar to wider and doable. There is some pitch, and they aren't too bad. There are bail-out options if you decide that you aren't up for the chutes.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

B-T said:


> wanted to ask since I've never been above the tree line in breck, whats it like? i see videos where imperial bowl looks pretty mellow and the chutes look pretty insane. Since back bowls itsnt correct I'm just gonna say the top of breck, how cool is breck above the tree lines? and is peak 10 fun for boarders?


Lets put it this way I live here and I only go up there maybe 6 days of the year. It's just not that great unless the snow/winds are perfect. Last year was the exception.


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## B-T (Oct 19, 2011)

thanks guys, i'm gonna head to breck for one day to try it out, maybe i get lucky.


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## that_guy (Jan 17, 2010)

Be prepared for Brecken-fridge, it can get downright cold in January.

The wind is pretty fierce up at the top of Breck, if the Imperial Express lift is running and the wind is blowing, you could be getting fresh tracks with every ride, or you could be getting zero visibility and ice. It's a crapshoot.

Not a fan of Vail, great variety of terrain, but the parking fee gets me every time. Oh, and the free parking at Breck is as far away as Siberia.

Breck's dining / drinking options are second to none, it's a pretty town, especially once you go east of Main Street into the residential district.


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## WasatchMan (Aug 30, 2011)

They _charge_ you for parking...ouch


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

20 or 25 bucks for the day unless you get there early. Gotta know the ticket trick.


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## B-T (Oct 19, 2011)

I'll be staying in keystone so i get free rides to breck and a-bay. really looking forward to shredding keystone/a-bay. back side of keystone seems fun and not very crowded. Where is my best chance for finding small cliffs/features to jump off?


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

A basin if you know where to go.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

BurtonAvenger said:


> 20 or 25 bucks for the day unless you get there early. Gotta know the ticket trick.


LOL

I remember when you first posted the trick. I was severely disappointed in myself that I'd never thought of that. So simple, so obvious, it'd just never dawned on me.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

I love sticking it to Vail Resorts.


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## nevrsumrrider (Nov 21, 2011)

both have crazy night life, breck is stupid busy and congested, the people who suck aren't going to like it because they won't be able to escape that. For the good people its not usually an issue, you can just stay high and avoid the newbies. They both are world class mountains, but blue sky basin at vail is where its at. some nice pow stashes, nice hike to terrain. and the newbies can just go down below the lifts. It is going to take them a while to get back there, so you may just want to meet them there as you are just going to want to rip down the back bowls to get there quickly. I would hit them both up and make your own decision. neither one sucks. its summit county, its busy, you mostly go there to party and embrace the crowds, maybe get some good riding in. If you just wanted to ride you would go to jackson or maybe big sky, and leave the lift lines behind in summit county.


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## CalvaryCougar (Nov 3, 2009)

nevrsumrrider said:


> both have crazy night life, breck is stupid busy and congested, the people who suck aren't going to like it because they won't be able to escape that. For the good people its not usually an issue, you can just stay high and avoid the newbies. They both are world class mountains, but blue sky basin at vail is where its at. some nice pow stashes, nice hike to terrain. and the newbies can just go down below the lifts. It is going to take them a while to get back there, so you may just want to meet them there as you are just going to want to rip down the back bowls to get there quickly. I would hit them both up and make your own decision. neither one sucks. its summit county, its busy, you mostly go there to party and embrace the crowds, maybe get some good riding in. If you just wanted to ride you would go to jackson or maybe big sky, and leave the lift lines behind in summit county.


i have a trip planned in late december and i keep hearing about the lines at breck. How long are we talking here? im from the midwest and we have loads of lines out here cause there are only like 3 or 4 lifts, so are our terms of long different? 5-10 mins to me is not a long wait


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## nevrsumrrider (Nov 21, 2011)

30-45 at some bottom lifts. mostly just the ones that access beginner terrain, stay as far away from the quicksilver lift at bottom of peak 9 as you can.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

Wow this is a great, informative thread.

I WAAASSSS planning a trip to breck actually for january, but now i might reconsider. Shit

Well actually i was planning on booking slopeside lodging and devoting my stay @ breck for 4-5 days. From the sounds of it, ill prob look for some holiday inn that situated in between breck or vail or another mountain close by.

QUESTION FOR THE LOCALS:

Like when i was in downtown salt lake city where its situated 30-45 min away from most of the resorts.....is there a town or good city to stay in thats within driving distance of those major resorts?

(sorry for sabotaging OP)


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne are right in the middle of Summit county. Not quite the party show that Breck is, but plenty to do. Keystone, Copper, Loveland, A-Basin, Breckenridge are all with a 15 minute drive of each other if you stay in one of those towns. Vail would be about 30 maybe 45 minutes depending on weather and traffic. Beaver Creek is just 10 minutes or so further than Vail. Winterpark would be about an hour, Steamboat a little under 2. 

You can book slope side lodging at Breck and you'll be fine. All of the Summit county areas are plenty close. So if you wanted to go that route, do it. Especially if you want to enjoy the nightlife/party scene. Breck is a good spot to stay as you can walk to all the bars and not have to worry about driving. Just don't pass out in a snowbank like a lot of the east coasters and mid western guys seem to like to do every other year. They don't usually get dug out until the spring and the life is generally long out of them by then. Plus the wildlife might nibble on you and we all know it's not good to feed the wildlife...


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

killclimbz said:


> Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne are right in the middle of Summit county. Not quite the party show that Breck is, but plenty to do. Keystone, Copper, Loveland, A-Basin, Breckenridge are all with a 15 minute drive of each other if you stay in one of those towns. Vail would be about 30 maybe 45 minutes depending on weather and traffic. Beaver Creek is just 10 minutes or so further than Vail. Winterpark would be about an hour, Steamboat a little under 2.
> 
> You can book slope side lodging at Breck and you'll be fine. All of the Summit county areas are plenty close. So if you wanted to go that route, do it. Especially if you want to enjoy the nightlife/party scene. Breck is a good spot to stay as you can walk to all the bars and not have to worry about driving. Just don't pass out in a snowbank like a lot of the east coasters and mid western guys seem to like to do every other year. They don't usually get dug out until the spring and the life is generally long out of them by then. Plus the wildlife might nibble on you and we all know it's not good to feed the wildlife...


sounds good Killz. thanks:thumbsup:


I will PM you in advance once everything is set in stone and we shall shred


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## deke191 (Nov 22, 2011)

Vail... 3 words BLUE SKY BASIN


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

If you're looking for the fun and riding, grab a place in Breck. It really doesn't even need to be slopeside as breck has a shuttle that goes through town. Breck also has a drunk taxi (at least they did a few years ago) that runs late night. It is worth the extra drive to be stationed in town for evening festivities. Plus, it would suck to get there and have two or 3 days or horrible conditions and not be able to party your misery away. Thats just not going to happen in Frisco like it'll happen in Breck.

Kill, how many times have they had a human popsicle? I know the story of the guy from 08, but have there been that many others in Breck?


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

It's happened more times than I care to remember. Not always in Summit County. Maybe a half dozen since the mid 1990's? Pretty sure Steamboat and Crested Butte have both had frozen meat at some point or the other. I seem to remember Vail having one too. Aspen had a drunk dude fall of a bridge and take a dirt nap last year. Not quite the same, but similar actions led to his demise. The guy in 08 was unusual because it took so long to find him. I can tell you that he wasn't the first in Summit to freeze himself either.


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

We had a NYE Absolut Freezepop in Philly a few years ago. Bummer way to go! I digress.

Well, at least there wont be any snow-burials in the near future. Where is the figgin snoW~!??!


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yeah, it's a late start for a lot of places. Southern Colorado is doing pretty darn well actually. If the forecasts are to be believed, it could get pretty wild for most of the usual places after the 17th. We'll see...


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

Please Obi-wan, let us in on your relied forecasters. Link, please.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Just reading Joel Gratz's report. He's one of the best in the biz, though he's been off a bit this season compared to last. Still, he seems to nail it more often than naught.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Another good place for forecasts is the local avalanche centers for each state. I don't think there are any for the East but the Western states all have one. The only thing about the avalanche geeks is that they don't tend to forecast out more than a few days, on occasion giving a long term synopsis, but not very often.


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

"The next big story is the COLD, with -20 to -30 degrees (F) as the lows on Monday night into Tuesday morning for some mountain valleys."

There is the Colorado that we all know and love! Ugh!


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Oh yeah, the temps have dropped into the dangerous cold territory, no doubt. Nothing that people in Canada and Alaska aren't used to either. 

The high temp I saw today for Denver was 7 degrees. 

On the other hand. We had a cold snap like this in early December last season. It lasted about 5 days or so. Which is about how long this one is going to last. 50's by the weekend. After that snap, it started to snow like hell in the mountains and never quit. My last powder day was May 20th, and it was a ridiculously deep day. So if it wants to delay a little and take off like it did last year, that's alright by me...


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

killclimbz said:


> Oh yeah, the temps have dropped into the dangerous cold territory, no doubt. Nothing that people in Canada and Alaska aren't used to either.
> 
> The high temp I saw today for Denver was 7 degrees.
> 
> On the other hand. We had a cold snap like this in early December last season. It lasted about 5 days or so. Which is about how long this one is going to last. 50's by the weekend. After that snap, it started to snow like hell in the mountains and never quit. My last powder day was May 20th, and it was a ridiculously deep day. So if it wants to delay a little and take off like it did last year, that's alright by me...


Yea it was 14F down in the Salt Lake valley today , coldest by far it's been since we arrived.


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## onel0wcubn (Oct 8, 2009)

ill be up in breck at the end of jan as well..


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## nevrsumrrider (Nov 21, 2011)

I like using this page for weather/forecasts Ski and Snowboard Weather Reports

Most mountains in one place so you can see where the goods are. I talked to the moderator of the site and they are adding more mountains to it soon as well. Pretty cool to compare multiple mountains from one site instead of bouncing all around searching.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Nice balmy negative 6 degrees at 10 a.m. when I decided to go ride the stunt park. Bring the Puffy and man pants cause it's going to be frigid!


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## jflint (Dec 6, 2011)

First time to Colorado.. heading to Breck/Keystone Januaury 6-11th so the plan goes.. unless Vail gets dumped on in the next week or two. How is Breck village for the twenties crowd? Good atmosphere/clubs/pubs?


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

nevrsumrrider said:


> I like using this page for weather/forecasts Ski and Snowboard Weather Reports


Man you're really working at plugging that site, aren't you? You wouldn't happen to be really good friends, co-founder, with the moderator would you?:laugh:


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

neednsnow said:


> Man you're really working at plugging that site, aren't you? You wouldn't happen to be really good friends, co-founder, with the moderator would you?:laugh:


That and all it shows for the forecast is the NOAA report, which I sure hope everyone already knows how to use. The thing is, the point forecasts are not nearly as good as when a meteorologist takes it and makes their forecast based on local terrain and previous history, like Joel Gratz and the CAIC...


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## nevrsumrrider (Nov 21, 2011)

nah don't know them, just thought their site is cool, and thought I would share it with others. Just like how it put all the noaa reports in one place, makes it quicker to search.
Joel Gratz is awesome, if your going to colorado. sweet site OpenSnow 
You will notice all his weather reports outside of colorado are also provided by noaa.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Joel doesn't really do forecasts for anything outside of Colorado. He's looking for local guys to take that for each region. So yeah, NOAA is about the only option.


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

jflint said:


> First time to Colorado.. heading to Breck/Keystone Januaury 6-11th so the plan goes.. unless Vail gets dumped on in the next week or two. How is Breck village for the twenties crowd? Good atmosphere/clubs/pubs?


Rest assured, you will not get bored in Breckenridge during the tourist season. It might be a little tough for you to find hotties to chat up (ski town!), but there is no shortage of people out milling about main street. For kicks, go check out the emo dude who works at the post office (or at least did back when I visited).


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## jflint (Dec 6, 2011)

Thanks.. wonder if it will start snowing anytime soon sounds like the conditions are poor and not much base yet. Forecast for all of Summit Co does not look good for snow yet.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

The conditions are not great for anywhere in the whole US from what I can tell. The PNW started off with a bang, but it seems to have dried up there too. Probably still your best bet coverage wise. Europe is apparently hurting too. When it starts, we're probably all going to be wishing it'd give us a break every now and then. Kind of like a dam that is ready to burst. It's a drought downhill of it for now...


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

The 10-day for Teton Village and Breck shows tentative snow showers on/around the 14th.

I guess the NOAA prediction from a few weeks ago is turning out to be fairly accurate so far.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yeah, hoping that the season starts in earnest around that date. Just in time for Christmas!


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## loonies (Dec 2, 2011)

My bro and I went to Copper last year. We have a trip planned to Vail late January.

What is the ticket trick?


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## AcroPhile (Dec 3, 2010)

loonies said:


> My bro and I went to Copper last year. We have a trip planned to Vail late January.
> 
> What is the ticket trick?


Do a quick search for Vail parking on this site. I think I started a thread about parking there last year and had BA explain it to me. I have to admit, I haven't had the balls to try it yet.


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## loonies (Dec 2, 2011)

Oh...its a parking trick. I thought it might have been a lift ticket trick.

I booked a condo a few miles away (in east Vail) but its supposedly on the free bus route. We were just planning on taking the bus into town.

On a side note, how is Beaver Creek compared to Vail? Is it worth a day to check out the mountain or just do Vail everyday were there?


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

Beaver Creek> Vail


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## loonies (Dec 2, 2011)

BurtonAvenger said:


> Beaver Creek> Vail


Cool...we will definitely check it out.


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