# loveland or A-Basin



## DrGreeNThumB420

alright im about to buy a season pass to either Loveland or A-Basin?? never been to either so any advice? i was more into loveland until i saw Abasin has a deal to go to breck or keystone 5 times and vail once...but thats 50$ more then loveland.....helppppp


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## shredbetties

I guess it's a bit of a toss-up. They are both really fun mountains, though because it's on the 5 mountain pass a-basin tends to get more crowded. Loveland is way less crowded early season, but a-basin is open about a month longer in the spring.

Is this going to be your only pass? These are both pretty small resorts, and you might get bored, but I guess it'll depend on how many days you ride. Loveland is maybe 500 acres bigger, so i guess it gets you a bit more terrain for your $, though you may be wishing you had those 5 days at breck halfway through the season... or even the 5 mountain or wp/copper pass. When I was living in denver I usually got an a-basin or loveland pass along with another pass (usualy the rocky mountain super pass). 

One thing with a-basin: you can buy a pass in mid-april at a-basin that's good for the rest of the season (half of april, may, and june) as well as all of the next season - so you could always hold off on the a-basin pass until then, because that gets you plenty of days to get your $ worth.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

hmmm yeah im also buyin season pass at echo 109$ ......i dont see myself gettin sick of loveland or abasin even if i rode them everyday lol i use to ride a mountain in MA that only had like 20 trails went there every night n loved it


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## shredbetties

yeah, but it's a bit different when you have huge resorts all over and everyone you know has the rocky mountain superpass or 5 mountain pass...


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## DrGreeNThumB420

well i dont know anyone in CO ^^ so i dont care what everyone has.....just wondering where people would pick if it was between Loveland or Abasin?


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## shredbetties

ok, i kinda meant if you moved you'd get to know people... sorry...

either one would be fine... and if you get a-basin, $50 for 5 days at breck is insanely cheap, so i'd get it. you never know, you might make some friends or something.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

my only friend im conserned bout is my board 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i wanna get loveland pass but breck 5 times would be nice


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## killclimbz

I am not a big fan of Breck. Though I do know they added some better quality terrain with the addition of horshoe bowl. They also do have a crazy smoke shack on the mountain. It looks like a mountain lodge. A couple of stories tall and such. I think it survived the ski patrol take down of a few. Bad press will do that.
So anyway, I would go with Loveland between the two. Slight more spread out and a lot less crowded. Less crowded on weekends by far, and less crowded mid week. It's less of a drive too.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

yea i like i may be pickin loveland ......loveland pass comes with 4 free days at monarch mountain ...nice resort also?


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## killclimbz

Monarch is pretty nice and super uncrowded. I haven't been there since they opened the Mirkwood Basin stuff, but it looks super nice from across the highway. Lot's of small cliffs and chutes,plus some good looking trees. Worth a visit or two for sure. You can stay in Salida for around $40 a night and it's a 15 minute drive from there to Monarch Ski area.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

^^^nice thanks for info!


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## killclimbz

Here is a shot of the Monarch Ski area from the other side of the highway.








If you look to the far right of the pic you can start to see some of the steep stuff. That is the beginning of the Mirkwood area. It's a short hike from the lift on that side of the mountain. Definitely looks good, and that spot gets some of the best snow in the state imho.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

nice pic.....so monarch has lot of backcountry type of terrain? how far is monarch from evergreen area??


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## killclimbz

That shot is from the last ridge of a 5-6 hour tour we do starting from the top of Monarch Pass. The hike to stuff at the resort starts from the peak with the obvious ski runs down it. Hike over lookers right and pick your line. 
Monarch is about a 3 hour drive from the Metro area.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

yo kill or anyone from CO i was readin another post form different forum and they said loveland is extremely windy all the time?? is that true? if so is it alot more windy then most other resorts?


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## killclimbz

Loveland or A-Basin can be extremely windy. The problem is those resorts start just below treeline. So a large portion of them is pretty wide open terrain with no to small trees. Nothing to cut the wind. It's not an everyday thing, but both places sit on the divide so they see more than their fair share of windy days. Breck from what I remember is a cup of suck when it's windy there too. Keystone, Copper, and Winterpark have plenty of quality below treeline runs where you can get away from it to some degree. Winterpark being the place where I gravitate to if it's windy as hell.

So yeah, wind can be a serious factor at either A-Basin or Loveland. If one is suffering so is the other. I've been at the parking lot of either place and could barely see the lift (20yards away) due to high winds and blowing snow. I went somewhere else...


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## DrGreeNThumB420

damn oh well as long as abasin n loveland both have same problem....cause this person was saying to get a pass at abasin because loveland is always windy....winter park ill have to look at prices for season pass.....its seems the 259$ at loveland n abasin is hard to beat


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## killclimbz

Dude for around $100 more you get both Winterpark and Copper mtn. 4x the terrain, plus I hang at those resorts and know them better than most of the locals. Well especially true for Winterpark.


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## DrGreeNThumB420

i would love to get that pass but im going to be broke by the time im done with my move to CO....i dont know how im affording lovelands pass but i need something!


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## Mr. Right

I've had passes to A-basin and Loveland. I'm going with Loveland this year. Loveland just doesn't get boring to me, A-basin tends to get old towards the mid-end of the season but I cry when Loveland closes down. Also for the quiet you can hike Berthoud pass for some good riding and you can also ride Loveland pass. My friend and I used to take sleds up on Guanella pass to go ride the closed down ski resort up there. You are on actual ski runs and there is NEVER a crowd, you just need a sled to really enjoy it.


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## killclimbz

DrGreeNThumB420 said:


> i would love to get that pass but im going to be broke by the time im done with my move to CO....i dont know how im affording lovelands pass but i need something!



If that's the case I would do Loveland over A-Basin. Both have the same challenges as far as weather and wind go. Loveland has half the crowds and a bit more terrain to I believe. That may not be as true with the terrain expansion at A-Basin. I do find Loveland to be a fun hill. I spent a season riding there and never regretted it. It's also a shorter, easier drive than A-Basin.


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## Guest

*a-basin!!!!!!!*

a-basin has a back bowl now!

loveland gets great snow but if you like trees and bowls...

and you can ride loveland pass for FREE!!!

i miss free days at loveland pass...

sob - sob-


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## Mr. Right

I heard Montezuma is going to be cool, but hard to keep open. A-Basin is one windy mo-fo, and usually packed with herds of ski schools etc. At loveland they have their own hill completely.


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## killclimbz

Mr. Right I have to go rigt there with you. At least half that bowl faces the wrong direction (south) and is very wind exposed. With the rider traffic it should keep an alright base, if they can get people out there before it's blown off. Expect it to open late and close early during the season.


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