Powder Day
Beaver Creek has far fewer skiers than it’s neighbors to the east, so it's easier to find powder even late in the day. Get a grooming report before taking the first chairlift ride of the day, so you'll know where the powder isn’t. Many days only half of Larkspur Bowl is groomed and the rest is pure powder, so it's a good choice for warm-up runs, and for groups, when some want powder and the rest prefer groomed. If the Centennial trail isn't groomed, catch one of the first chairlifts up, turn around and head right back down for an extended powder romp.
Cruisers lap the powder on Harrier and Redtail, two intermediate runs that get less traffic. Cut left on the Dally track and you'll ski to the base of three chairlifts on the upper mountain. Ski to the bottom of the these trails and there's a long run out to the base of the mountain.
When it snows all day, you'll even find advanced skiers floating through powder on the green runs off the Cinch Express, at the very top of Beaver Creek. The new high-speed quad in Rose Bowl promises powder much of the day, too.
On big powder days the runs under the Birds of Prey chairlift are tempting, but be aware that the fluffy looking surface usually hides big moguls. Experts race to Grouse Mountain early for freshies on Royal Oak Glade and Black Bear Glade, both double-black diamonds.
Groomers and Family
Latigo and Gold Dust on Beaver Creek Mountain are long, easy intermediate trails, wide enough to make big turns. The entrances to Red Tail and Upper Harrier aren't obvious, so many skiers pass by leaving these intermediate trails less tracked. The biggest spread of beginner and easy intermediate trails surround the Bachelor Express and Arrow Bahn Express lifts that are a cat-track away from the main mountain. If you're lodging in Bachelor Gulch or Arrowhead Village, just look uphill. Some beginner trails here curve through wooded areas so skiers and riders get a sense of what it's like to ski through the trees.
Beaver Creek is one of the rare mountains where novices and intermediates head straight to the mountaintop for 360-degree views while skiing on a network of green and intermediate trails. Halfway down some of the green runs off the Cinch Express lift, skiers exiting off lifts from more advanced trails spill onto the runs. From the top, go skier's right to Red Buffalo, Booth Gardens and the other trails off the Drink of Water lift for a more isolated beginner's playground.
Beaver Creek was ranked number one in Ski Magazine's readers' poll of the most family friendly resorts. Kids Adventure Zones are placed around the mountain. Youngsters can ski or snowboard on runs with names like Wild West Trail, with its teepee and gold mine, Tombstone Territory and Wolverine Ravine, all designed to hold kids' interest and improve skiing skills. Maps are available at the Children's Center.
Parks
Consider Beaver Creek a learning mountain for freestyle skiers and riders who want to play in the parks. In fact, features were downsized in 2011, according to Kevin Rowe, director of park operations at the resort. He says the terrain parks are set up to reflect the resort's desire to cater to the park users here who tend to be in the beginning and intermediate learning stages. But, he stresses, the features in all the parks are changed from year to year, some during the season, and all well maintained.
Park 101's small features are designed for newbies just starting to learn. Features include right-on/right-off rails and small jumps. In the Zoom Room Park the features are bigger and they include tables, boxes, logs, stalls and longer stretches of jumps. Rodeo Park, which is designed to cater to intermediate and experts, has a mix of spines, boxes, tables, log slides, large and technical rails, and 40-foot-long jumps.
The Half Barrel half-pipe is located at the base of Rodeo. In 2011 it stretched 300 feet and had 13-foot-high walls.
The Ski & Ride School offers Parkology classes at least once a week, so kids can start learning the basics of playing in the parks.
All Mountain
From the primarily beginner and intermediate terrain above the Arrowhead and Bachelor Gulch mini-villages to the terrain sprawling across the peaks above Beaver Creek village, you can go from cruising to bumps to tree skiing quickly. Centennial is the mountain's best cruising run because it's steep enough for advanced skiers to build up speed but wide enough for intermediate skiers to make lots of turns. Wide-open Larkspur Bowl is prime turf for big GS turns.
When enough snow has fallen, the only smooth area on Double Eagle is the steep portion near the top, where the starting gate is placed during the early-winter World Cup downhill race. On the rest of Golden Eagle, Peregrine and Goshawk, all off the Birds of Prey lift, you bump your way downhill wondering if motorcycles and dune buggies have been buried under the snow.
Cataract, Spider and Web, under the new Rose Bowl express lift, offer shorter mogul shots. Plus, anyone in your group who is anti-bumps has a way around them and can meet you at the base of the lift.
The trees between most runs at Beaver Creek are tight, so make sure your skills are advanced enough to cope before steering off a run. Midseason, when the snow is good, intermediates can try Yonder Trees, Coyote Glade or Vitro's. Royal Elk Glade and Keller are for experts.
If chutes are your game, the Upper and Lower Stone Creek Chutes are steep, narrow and the snow is often deep. Cliff bands mixed with glades give skiers shots from 400- to 600-vertical feet, with pitches up to 45 degrees.
