• Overall Rating 2
• Family Friendly 4
• All-Mtn. Terrain 3
• Terrain Park 3
• Nightlife 4

Pros: better than the midwest.


Cons: Expensive! Colorado is severely overrated = understatement


Recommended For: Family Friendly


Date Visited: Jan 1, 2010

Full review

In short, save yourself some money and ski better lines/deeper powder elsewhere. You may get lucky and get snow, but compared to Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee and Utah (Little Cottonwood Canyon), you'll see that Colorado consistently receives about 150 inches less of total snowfall annually. Exactly how do they justify the extreme lift ticket prices?

I hear nothing but raves about Colorado. I'm guessing it's because I live in Minnesota, and Colorado is the nearest getaway to the mountains. I hear nothing but good things from people about Colorado.
I think maybe those who rave have never been elsewhere. Or have endless $$. Or prefer mellow groomers over back country.
Maybe I say this because the other places I've been to have been Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee, and Utah. All I can say, is compared to those, I felt depressed and robbed at Steamboat
The part that really got to me was how I ended up in Steamboat. I helped my girlfriend drive her car out to UCLA, and so I brought my new rockered fat skis. We stayed in SLC on New Years Eve, and although l could have bought lift tickets to Park City, Snowbird or Brighton for $45 (Alta for $62), I would have felt bad making my girlfriend spend the $90-$100 to rent skis and get a lift ticket to ski by herself most of the day since she didn't have her own gear and can't do the terrain I do. (I know, I'm a bad boyfiriend, keep in mind I'm in college) It was snowing nicely too in Utah

On the way back to Minnesota I made a detour to Colorado to spend my birthday with my cousin and her school friends. Although I knew in advance that lift tickets to Steamboat ran for $95, I figured I had three weeks to find a cheap ticket. I was WRONG. I ended up spending $95 on my birthday to ski crappy snow and unexciting terrain (relative to the places I've been)

In short, I would have been far better off just paying the $90 for my girlfriend to rent skis and ski by herself in Utah. The $135-$140 for two skiing epic powder on beautiful terrain would have been faaaaaaaaaaaar more valuable than the $95 it costs to ski junk at Steamboat.

I wish I could have made this review shorter, but Steamboat/Colorado ruined my birthday. Never again.
Argh.......


but hey, on the positive side, they had a pretty decent progression terrain park, and the big park had some nice rails with big tabletop style landings.