Vail/Breck/Keystone trip

Originally posted by dimm0k Me and a friend of mine are planning to fly over to Colorado early March and was wondering if you guys had any tips/info to make our trip out west a memorable one.  I heard snow conditions haven't been that good, but they should hopefully best anything we have here in the icy east coast.  We're planning on renting a car, stopping at a hotel and driving over to the mountains each day.  We picked up 4 day lift tickets from Vail and are looking to hit Vail for a possible 2 days with the remainder for Breck and Keystone.  Any recommendations on how we should split up the 4 days and what are some nice trails to go after?

The best way to split the 4 days is to watch the forecast and go to whichever mtns get the most snow. Storms hit the summit differently, so sometimes Vail/Beaver Creek will get a foot+ and Key/Breck will get nothing and vice versa. So, the best way to plan is to wait until you get here and ride based on weather. 2012 has been decent for snowfall in Colorado, it's not as epic as last season, but we've consistently got a few inches every night or every other night so it's been better than it was the beginning of season.

are you staying in denver? it might be worth staying in dillion or frisco if you are going to vail. traffic should be a little less by the time you get to march but still it can get backed up and it will be hard to make it to vail early. The reason you want to get there early besides the obvious is that there is no free parking at vail. However there are a few spots, maybe 50, on the N frontage road and then you take a bus to the mountain. Saves you 25 bucks per day but since they are limited you have to get there around 9. Breck has some free parking but you have to take a shuttle also if not you will be paying between 5-10 bucks a day to park near the gondola. Keystone has free parking that is within walking distance. Vail is the best on powder days. blue sky basin and the other bowls are insane on good days. breck also has some cool spots. breck is not as steep at the other two. keystone typically has less snow than the others but you cant go wrong. They are all pretty sweet.

Thanks for all the responses.  It does make a whole lot of sense to "chase" the snow by paying close attention to the forecast during the four days.

Originally posted by gunda pickle Any tips on getting discounted tickets to Vail, Breck, or Copper? liftopia doesn't have much.

The Vail mtns (breck, key, vail, bc) do NOT usually have discounted tickets other than buddy passes that come with people's season passes. However, Copper usually partners with Shell, so if you fill up at a Front Range shell some have buy one/get one lift ticket coupons for Copper.

Are any mountains doing the free lift ticket when you show a same day boarding pass?