Copper Mountain Ski Resort

Great slope quality and amenities, without the hordes that descend on many other resorts.

by Contributor

The Scene
Beautiful people may crowd the slopes and villages of more glitzy resorts, but those who are serious about skiing--and getting good deals--head to Copper Mountain. Copper's easily accessible location also makes it a fave for Front Range day skiers and their families.

The Slopes
Huge and varied, Copper is nonetheless easy to navigate. All the beginner terrain is at the west end of the lift network, all the steep terrain at the east end and all the intermediate cruisers in between. On top, like icing on a cake, are Spaulding, Copper and Union--sizable powder bowls well above the timberline. New skiers and families with small children should go straight to Lift H or turn right from the top of Flyer and move down to Timberline Express. This high-speed lift serves an isolated network of easy meadows and rolling, low-angle cruisers.

Vital Stats
Vertical drop: 2,601 feet
Base elevation: 9,712 feet
Top elevation: 12,313 feet
Lifts: 22
Number of trails: 125
Skiable acres: 2,433
Beginner terrain: 21 percent
Intermediate terrain: 25 percent
Advanced terrain: 36 percent
Expert terrain: 18 percent
Snowboarding: Full facilities

01/28/03

Copper Mountain is Changing

by ConsumerProtector

Copper Mountain was once the ski resort without a base area. No longer. It's terrain is defined by a black, blue, and green striped mountain moving from left to right (looking from the North to South). Beginners can ski from the top on the Western side. Busy? Depends on when you go. Weekends, every ski resort is busy and I-70 is a nightmare after 3pm as a result of all the immigration that has occurred in Denver over the last 8 years. Good skiing and fun....it is all up to you what it is.

• Pros: Terrain Segmentation, Snow, Fun
• Cons: Horrible Skiing

01/18/03

snow, sun, and terrain

by polkski

This is my favorite resort in the world! Great snow, sun and terrain!

11/13/02

Copper deserves GOLD!

by celester09

Copper Mountain is such an amazing resort. The town, the skiing, it has it all!

• Pros: Good value
• Cons: Parking

11/13/02

Copper Is Best

by sal_avalanche

I've been skiing and snowboarding for many years and have, in fact, taught both professionally. I love Vail, but Copper wins my vote as the best all around resort in Colorado. Here's why... Copper is designed with a family in mind - the mountain is roughly divided by terrain so that beginners will not get caught on something too difficult, and vice-versa for experts. Copper has a great learning center away from the main mountain putting both beginners and everyone else at ease. The snow is great and so are the runs. Great new bowls also make the experience great for experts. Finally, the trip from Denver is just over 1.5 hours so it's very convenient for day skiing.

• Pros: great design, beginner friendly, not too crowded

11/12/02

NO! NO! NO!

by craigdev

I stopped here on the way back from Aspen with my kids to do a little change of pace skiing, on recommendation of freinds.

Change of pace...for sure. Every run was wall to wall people. If you stop on the slope be prepared to be creamed....and don't fall!!!

We took two runs and ate the lift tickets. Too crowded to be fun...but that's me...I love open slopes, and detest crowded runs...I love the rush and solitude of downhilling...that is not what you get at Copper....

Just too darn close to Denver...do NOT venture here on weekends. Most over rated ski area I've visited in 40 years of skiing (for what I love about the sport...I realize lot's of folks just love Copper..so to each his own)

11/12/02

Copper Mountain Rules

by ice_chill

I like to go there because it is a good place to learn how to be an intermediate skier without any lessons.

10/14/02

Unpretentious and fun

by Jim_L

I love skiing Copper. It's closer that Vail and easier to get to than Breck, Keystone or Winter Park. But the best part is when you get there, the lift lines are the shortest in Summit County and the snow is always great. Even last year when some resorts had snow problems, Copper had great skiing the whole year. Since Interwest took over the parking situation kind of stinks, but there is free parking if you park out in the remote lot and take the shuttle. But the extra lifts and the terrain parks they added(for both skiers and snowboarders) makes the mountain a whole lot of fun!

• Pros: Friendly, Great Snow
• Cons: parking

09/18/02

Local Fave

by whmonroe

Copper is a great, unpretentious ski resort! There are plenty of runs that are laid out great so that beginners and advanced skiers can head to different parts of the mountain. And Copper gets some great snowfall. The new village that they are building is pretty nice, too, with shops and restaurants and lots of accomodations (for the out-of-towners).

• Pros: Snow conditions, Great runs, Reasonable prices
• Cons: I-70 drive

05/16/02

Copper's the best

by FlorrieBurch_Citysearch

I like Copper so much better than Vail--I don't see why Vail gets such raves. Sure, it's big. But the lines are ridiculous and the people tend to be snobby. Copper has a great variety of terrain, the lines are usually short and the jerk factor is definitely lower.