Good Skiing in Denver?

[+ Coolwave35]

So I’m planning my annual holiday house of escorts over Christmas and want to do it in Denver close to a ski resort. 
 

Does anyone have recommendations for good mountains near Denver that I can try and get an Airbnb close to?  
 

Anyone have any recommendations for good Denver escorts that I could throw in the mix?  
 

thanks in advance! 

[+ nycman]

The obvious choice would be Vail.

Its about 2 hours away from Denver.
Not sure if that’s "too far".
Lots of direct flights into Vail/Eagle Airport though.

Here’s the best resource I found:
https://www.uncovercolorado.com/ski-resorts-near-denver-co/

The right spot mostly depends on the level of your skiers, how important 
is good skiing versus proximity to Denver, and how importment is 
the near by area (town, restaurants, other things to do, etc).

I’d pick Vail (actually I’d pick Aspen, but that’s me), but your priorities may be different. 

If you locate any escorts that are into skiing, please let me know.
I’ve been looking for a winter ski buddy escort for years, to no avail. 

[+ WilliamM]

Agree about Vail. But, I have not been there in a while.

[Rod Hagen]

haven't been to Vail since the early 80s.  I loved it.  I've been to Aspen many times, including this last winter.  It's amazing.  If you want closer to Denver, consider Breckenridge (you can leave Denver in the early morning and get a full day of skiing in, easily), ONLY if you handle altitude well (it's very very very high) or you know how to dose Diamox.  Really any of the other slightly lower altitude ridge resorts (Keystone, Copper Mountain) are less than 2 hours from Denver so you can get a full day in on arrival and departure days.  Skiing is great at all the places I've listed.  A-basin is great, but also very high.

Farther from Denver, I'd recommend Aspen.  Farther (much) still I'd recommend Telluride and Crested Butte and Purgatory/Durango.  Have fun!

[+ keroscenefire]

Just a quick reminder that Denver is not close to any ski resorts. Even the closest ones are at least an hour or more drive from the city. 

I like Winter Park quite a lot and it's pretty much the only one accessible via train from Denver. It's a big mountain and there's lots of different types of runs there. The town definitely has some condos.

Summit and Eagle counties are where most of the "close" ski resorts to Denver are located but they all involve driving on I-70 which gets quite busy during ski season. Technically it's only 90mins-2 hours but with traffic it truly can be 3-4 hours or even more. Christmas season is the busiest time of the year. It'll be jam packed.

There definitely are some AirBnBs up in Summit and Eagle counties though they will probably be pretty pricy. Local governments in the area have been really cracking down on a state law that prevents people from permanently renting out "unoccupied" condos. In Colorado, you're supposed to only be able to do short-term rentals if you actually live in the property itself at least part-time. There's a big housing crunch up in the mountain towns so they have been trying to encourage more long-term rentals. That said you can still find plenty of Condos. You might try a local web site like: https://www.coloradormr.com/ 

As for escorts, I found out the hard way that some of them apparently have drama with each other and do not like to work together. But here are some that I know are at least outdoorsy and might be interested in a ski trip type thing:

https://app.rent.men/SportyGuyUSA

https://app.rent.men/MountainManLink (expired ad but I think he's still active)

https://app.rent.men/JustjakeNY

https://app.rent.men/NaturalDano

These two are also a couple, so that might work too:

https://app.rent.men/ErikShelly

https://rent.men/BenHarding

Good luck on your outing and I'm happy to help if you have any more questions. 

[Erikshelly]

Just to add, we love to ski and anything outdoors! Hiking trails, national parks, hitting the slopes, and little fun between the sheets at the end of the day is something we both enjoy!

[+ purplekow]

If money is not an object, and in this case it does not seem to be as you are taking a bedload of escorts with you, I would opt for Aspen.  I must admit that I had altitude sickness the first day there but after that, it was great.  It should be noted that altitude sickness is not just for the sick or unfit, it can happen to anyone.