TR- 2/28-Copper Mountain- Newbie Edition

[WVULINK]

Sorry for the delay but here is the TR for my first-ever ski experience in Colorado. For you pros and veterans of skiing out west this will seem pretty basic to you. You may scoff at me or just be bored reading this. That's fine. I hope this board can be for skiers of all skill levels and experience to share their trips. I've been skiing for many years but I'm only a 1-2 time a year guy. Despite the years, I still consider myself a beginner skier. I love to ski but just lack the skills to get much better. However I didn't let that stop me from taking advantage of a routine business trip to Denver and making a side trip up to the mountains for a day at Copper Mountain. I picked Copper because it seemed to be beginner friendly and several of my co-workers in Colorado recommended it.



Got into DIA at 8 PM on Saturday, grabbed the rental car and headed up I-70. Got into my my friend's condo in Dillon around 11 PM. Promptly had a beer and then crashed. Unfortunately the sleep didn't last long because I was so excited about skiing the next day. Tossed and turned all night.



Got up early (cause I couldn't sleep) and went to go meet up with some friends from work. Before I went to Copper I stopped at Columbine Ski and Sport in Dillon to grab some rentals. Man did those guys hook me up. Got a K-2 demo package and a helmet for only $24. Extremely professional and helpful. I'll definitely will go back to those guys.



I got to Copper and was shocked at the number of cars/people already there. This lead me to think he slopes would be packed and the lines would be horrendous. I found my friends, got my lift ticket ($55 thanks to the coupon from davidski) and was ready to roll. The next 6 hours still seem like a dream. Long wide open runs. Beautiful scenery. Fast lifts. Little crowds on the slopes. Little/no lines (5 min max). Sure it was mostly packed powder and the locals were complaining, but it was perfect for my skill level. There was plenty of powder to be found, unfortunately when I found it, I couldn't seem to get a handle on it. Only wipeouts I had were on the loose stuff.



Sure I kept myself on the west side of the mountain and stayed on the blue/green trails (while my friends were out on the blacks), but I still had a great time. I really improved my skills and for the first time in my life felt confident in my ability to ski parallel and carve my turns. I did venture up to the Rendezvous lift so I could say I skied from the top of the mountain (never skied at 12 K before). Yes, the altitude combined with the long runs did kick my butt and my legs were dead by 2 PM. Unfortunately this was the same time the snow started falling (about 2-3 inches while I was there). We left Copper around 3 and I left Dillon around 4:30 (enough time to grab some excellent grubb from Jersey Boys). It took about 3 hours to get back to Denver due to the snow and traffic (see pics), but that wasn't enough to ruin my day.



Okay, since I'm dragging on I 'll wrap it up here and leave you with the pictures. You may think a day of green runs on packed powder is boring, but this was a dream for me and it was everything and more than I had expected. Skiing is a sport that I've come to love, even though I'm not great at it. Skiing a big resort on big mountains was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again. Of course I won't stop skiing the southeast. This has only made me want to ski more, no matter where I might be.



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[SteepNdeep]

Nice job!



Glad you are stoked to be skiing.

[jamsandwich]

awesome! that's a great price on rentals too

[Ski Bunny]

Enjoyed the TR and pics. Glad you had fun!

[SKISC]

Happy for you that you enjoy the sport. At least now you know what everyones been talking about.

[Copper Mtn Fan]

Nice TR and pics. Glad you had such an awesome experience out there.



As you can probably tell from my user ID, Copper is one of my faves out there (we also ski Breck, Keystone and Loveland). Glad to hear your confidence and skill level improved so much. Same thing happened to me first time I went out West approx 15 years ago.



Have a safe trip home from DEN.

[davidski]

Glad you could make use of the coupon and that you had a great time -- the continental divide photo in the tunnel ammuses me -- I never noticed it



Directly above your head epic turns were being made off the ridge at Loveland

[skipink]

Great times. Welcome to the addiction!