| Location | Age(s) I Visited | Rating (1-5) | Reason for Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Creek, CO | 7 | 2 | Too remote, lacked conveniences like restaurants (in 2007), and the on-mountain facilities were disgusting. |
| Breckenridge, CO | 8, 21 | 2.75 | Too crowded, hated it both times I went. Unbelievably overrated. However, the skiing is good, if you could get away from everyone. |
| Vail, CO | 9, 10, 11, 13, 20 | 4 | I fell in love with skiing here, so I am a little biased towards this place. The town is magical, and the skiing is incredible. Loses a point for having an unreliable bus system, and the crowds have become too large to tolerate. |
| Beaver Creek, CO | 10, 11 | 3 | I honestly don't remember much from BC, all I remember is that I didn't like the town. It felt like it was trying too hard to be Vail, instead of having its own vibe. |
| Winter Park, CO | 13 | 3.5 | I barely remember anything from here, because I only went for one weekend, but it was nice. Loses 1.5 points for getting down to -17ºF during the day. |
| Park City, UT | 19 | 4 | The town is awesome, but like Vail and Breckenridge, it is extremely overcrowded. |
| Sun Valley, ID | 21 | 4.25 | Hands down the best on-mountain facilities and concessions I have ever experienced. Loses .75 points for being a bit too remote, the local bus only stopping at each stop once per hour, and the skiing is challenging. |
| Telluride, CO | 21 | 4.5 | This place has a gondola system instead of a bus system, which is extremely efficient. The skiing was awesome, and the crowds weren't too bad. Loses half a point for being too remote; you have to fly Austin --> Denver --> Montrose, and then drive an extra 1.5 hours, or pay a small fortune and get a "direct" from Denver to Telluride. Other than that, Telluride is one of my favorite places. |
I starting skiing spring break of 2007, when I was in the second grade. I was seven years old, and I was ecstatic to be finally seeing real snow for the first time. We drove all the way from The Woodlands to Wolf Creek, Colorado, which I believe we split up over two days. The moment we pulled into the hotel, I sprinted out of the car to go play in the snow. I had no idea that snow can't hold you up, so I found myself knee-deep in powder pretty quickly. I vividly remember having these hot pink L.L. Bean snow boots that had blue LEDs on the heels that would light up whenever I would walk. There is a lost photo of me somewhere in ski school with a "wolf pup" vest on, and I looked super cute, just like this kid.
I didn't particularly enjoy skiing the first two times I went. There were a lot of reasons why, but some of the big ones were not being able to tolerate the cold, and the uncomfortable boots. However, I did fall in love with skiing when I went to Vail for Christmas in the fourth grade (2008). I know, I know, I have expensive taste, but there is something magical about the town, especially around Christmas. During the winter, the town has the trees wrapped in blue, green, red, and yellow lights, and it is truly a sight to see. The colors look beautiful reflected off the snow.
My family took a hiatus from skiing while I was in high school, and I was finally able to go again during Christmas break my Sophomore year of college. We went to Park City, Utah and rented a house with some family friends from Houston. This trip was the first trip that I felt confident in my skiing skills, because I had finished growing since my last trip and I finally had enough muscle mass to be able to take on harder terrain. While on the lifts, I picked out the good skiers and watched what they did on the hill, and tried to mimic their technique on my way down. I'm glad I watched them, because my dad said that he had never seen me ski as well as I had on this trip.