Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

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cougar
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by cougar »

If you're new, go to one of the smaller areas for cheaper lessons. Although smaller doesn't always mean easier terrain. Loveland and A Basin are good examples. Not much interesting beginning terrain at Loveland, and none at all at A Basin, even intermediate is limited there. Ski Cooper is a nice small area to learn, but too small to progress or keep going to.

I'd recommend getting a used setup to start, a few outdoor resale shops carry decent selections. To progress after the basics, Copper is good. Easy access, well arranged, hard to wander into stuff over your head, top down skiing from green to black, gradual progression. Accurate trail ratings. Just not on Epic. I've heard their lessons are good though. Keystone has a lot of easy runs and you can avoid the tunnel.
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by XterraRob »

Picked this used set up for $500 yesterday at Powder 7:

https://www.powder7.com/sale-skis/skis_ ... d-out=true

Didn't realize their boot fittings were booked out, so I'll be back in a week or so for that. So much to learn about skiing.

I'll probably go to ABasin or Loveland to learn the ropes.

Considering I live up in Erie now, I might get the IKON pass since Eldora is close. But open to thoughts on that. I have every other Friday off so hoping I70 won't be too bad if I want to hit something else.
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by constipated_pete »

IKON would be worth it for how short your commute to Eldora would be -- like pvnisher said, go to the the easiest place to get to bc the more you go the better you'll get. A basin and lovalnd have cheaper season passes, and if you don't wanna spring for season pas sjust yet both of those mountains have cheap multiday day packs available too.

Angles in Longmont has a great selection of used gear (super cheap!) and Crystal ski shop in Boulder has cheap day rentals if you still need those. Have fun learning to ski!
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by XterraRob »

constipated_pete wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:24 pm IKON would be worth it for how short your commute to Eldora would be -- like pvnisher said, go to the the easiest place to get to bc the more you go the better you'll get. A basin and lovalnd have cheaper season passes, and if you don't wanna spring for season pas sjust yet both of those mountains have cheap multiday day packs available too.

Angles in Longmont has a great selection of used gear (super cheap!) and Crystal ski shop in Boulder has cheap day rentals if you still need those. Have fun learning to ski!
Thanks Pete!
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by mtree »

You need to evaluate cost for lessons AND a season pass. I know Loveland offers a 3-class for first timers at $607. It includes 3 half day lessons and rental gear. After that, you can purchase a season pass for $100. Not bad. Not sure what A-Basin offers. Those are the 2 places I'd recommend for lessons. Also consider access and drive time. Loveland is closest to Denver area. Eldora closest to Boulder area. Getting to A-basin during snow can be a hassle whether using Loveland Pass or the tunnel. Not sure how much lessons are or if they have a deal. You probably only need a few lessons to get started. The rest is up to you. Practice practice practice! Once you get to a certain level you can always take a day lesson to sharpen your skills.

A season pass by itself at Loveland is $549 right now. I think A-Basin is $639. Both offer mid-week passes for cheaper. A-Basin offers a Sunday only pass as well. Another thing to consider is terrain for a beginner and moving to intermediate. Loveland offers much more beginner terrain and lots of intermediate stuff. A-Basin offers alot of intermediate and advanced/expert terrain. I think only 1 easy run from top to bottom. That can be an issue when you're learning. Their intermediate stuff is typically more difficult than Loveland's. I wouldn't worry about advanced or expert this year. If you get there, good for you.

As for equipment, lots of choices. You can usually get a season rental at resorts and shops all over town. The nice thing about rentals is if something breaks, they replace it. Some will even let you switch equipment if needed. If you want to go the purchase route, I'd find a buddy to give you tips and search Craigslist and the discount rack at the various stores like REI, Dick's, and Christy's. You'd be surprised what you can find at a low price. Once you figure out what you like you can search for better equipment later. Many of the resorts will unload gear toward the end of the season. In towns like Breck, Steamboat, and Aspen you can find gear for dirt cheap in early summer! Sidewalk sales everywhere. And I mean CHEAP!

Good luck and enjoy!
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by Jim Davies »

I learned at Ski Cooper. It's a great place for a first-year skier, although a longer drive from the Denver area. Lots of fun easy terrain, and their ski school is good, plus it's been reasonably priced, although apparently not any more (Loveland is a better deal now).

We ski at Loveland mostly, and while there isn't a ton of easy terrain, there's enough (especially if you progress quickly). Plus, once you can handle it, you can challenge yourself on harder stuff than Ski Cooper has.

As I read it, the Loveland 3-class-pass deal is $607 total: $169 each for three lessons, then $100 extra to get the pass. It's a great deal, even if you've got your own gear already. You can pre-purchase the whole package and practice in between the lessons (at the Valley), or you can buy one lesson at a time and get the $100 pass after the third one. Definitely a best buy. https://skiloveland.com/rentals-lessons ... /#tab-id-2
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by XterraRob »

Jim Davies wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 3:20 pm I learned at Ski Cooper. It's a great place for a first-year skier, although a longer drive from the Denver area. Lots of fun easy terrain, and their ski school is good, plus it's been reasonably priced, although apparently not any more (Loveland is a better deal now).

We ski at Loveland mostly, and while there isn't a ton of easy terrain, there's enough (especially if you progress quickly). Plus, once you can handle it, you can challenge yourself on harder stuff than Ski Cooper has.

As I read it, the Loveland 3-class-pass deal is $607 total: $169 each for three lessons, then $100 extra to get the pass. It's a great deal, even if you've got your own gear already. You can pre-purchase the whole package and practice in between the lessons (at the Valley), or you can buy one lesson at a time and get the $100 pass after the third one. Definitely a best buy. https://skiloveland.com/rentals-lessons ... /#tab-id-2
Thank you and that's good to know. Didn't realize Ikon and Epic pass sales ended this week, bummer on missing that. I'll probably just grab a season pass to Copper or Winter Park, still determining what would be best.

Completed a group lesson in A-basin this morning around 9am. It was pretty cool getting used to trusting your feet to guide the skis, and to turn, and slow down. Found it much easier to ski without poles than with them.

I did run into an issue with my turning though, I can always get my outside foot/ski to turn the way I want, but I always have a problem getting my inside foot/ski to do the same. So if turning right, my left ski will be pointed into the turn, and my right ski might be more fixed looking down the mountain. Couldn't figure it out for the life of me why it was doing that. Maybe I'm not applying pressure to the right areas, causing it to not pivot as well.
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by snacktime »

I'll echo everyone else's recommendations of Powder7 - they have excellent customer service and spent a LOT of time with me making sure I was comfortable with my new touring boots and working with me to get them dialed in. I also have had great experiences with Cripple Creek Backcountry - they're super nice and knowledgeable.
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by XterraRob »

snacktime wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:11 pm I'll echo everyone else's recommendations of Powder7 - they have excellent customer service and spent a LOT of time with me making sure I was comfortable with my new touring boots and working with me to get them dialed in. I also have had great experiences with Cripple Creek Backcountry - they're super nice and knowledgeable.
Powder 7 was great, purchased some demo skis on Black Friday, then grabbed a helmet, overalls, and boots last Friday.

Very, very helpful and knowledgeable.
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by constipated_pete »

[/quote]

I did run into an issue with my turning though, I can always get my outside foot/ski to turn the way I want, but I always have a problem getting my inside foot/ski to do the same. So if turning right, my left ski will be pointed into the turn, and my right ski might be more fixed looking down the mountain. Couldn't figure it out for the life of me why it was doing that. Maybe I'm not applying pressure to the right areas, causing it to not pivot as well.
[/quote]

Tough to give advice on over the interwebs, but generally the outside ski is the one that does all the turning. When turning to the right you should be able to pick up your right foot without making much difference to the turn. I'm sure you'll figure it out
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by JacobW »

XterraRob wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 2:40 pm
snacktime wrote: Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:11 pm I'll echo everyone else's recommendations of Powder7 - they have excellent customer service and spent a LOT of time with me making sure I was comfortable with my new touring boots and working with me to get them dialed in. I also have had great experiences with Cripple Creek Backcountry - they're super nice and knowledgeable.
Powder 7 was great, purchased some demo skis on Black Friday, then grabbed a helmet, overalls, and boots last Friday.

Very, very helpful and knowledgeable.
Keep in mind that Powder 7 does participate in price gouging. They'll list the items at "discounted" when it's just discounted to the list price. For example the QST 106's on Powder 7 are listed at $750 at 17% off from $900. Meanwhile the MSRP of that ski is actually $750. It's a crappy sales practice, so that always leaves a sour taste in my mouth when I buy from them.
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Re: Recommended Ski Shops, Passes, & Ski Lessons

Post by Dave B »

XterraRob wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 3:38 pm I did run into an issue with my turning though, I can always get my outside foot/ski to turn the way I want, but I always have a problem getting my inside foot/ski to do the same. So if turning right, my left ski will be pointed into the turn, and my right ski might be more fixed looking down the mountain. Couldn't figure it out for the life of me why it was doing that. Maybe I'm not applying pressure to the right areas, causing it to not pivot as well.
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