Every year, as winter rolls in, skiers and snowboarders start gearing up for another season on the slopes. As we get our snowboards and skis tuned up, we start envisioning making fresh tracks through runs filled with powder. We’re also thinking about buying season passes and deciding which resorts we’ll be spending most of our time over the upcoming season.
I’ve been fortunate enough to ride most of the resorts in CO over the years and, like most frequent riders and skiers, I have developed my favorites. While I can honestly say I have had fantastic experiences at literally every ski mountain that I have ridden in CO, there are still a few destinations that stand out for me as a snowboard. Many skiers and other boarders would almost certainly have different favorites, based on their own experiences. So, here’s my list of 4 great snowboarding mountains in CO, in no particular order.
Copper Mountain
This mountain will always have a special place in my heart since it is where I really learned how to snowboard. While my first lesson was at Keystone, I ended up spending many of the following days that season at Copper Mountain, experiencing the amazing ‘light bulb’ moment that happens for most boarders when things start to click into place. However, taking that particular moment aside, Copper is still a real favorite of mine. I have had passes there on multiple seasons, which helped me really come to understand the terrain, the best places to find untouched powder, and the easiest ways to get from the base to some of the more challenging runs in the back bowls.
Copper also has arguably the best mountain layout of any resort in CO, where the runs are largely separated on the mountain by difficult, with the greens (easiest) on the west side, the blues (intermediate) in the middle, and the black diamonds (most difficult) mainly on the east side and back bowl areas. This natural separation makes the mountain great for riders of all skill levels, as there is little chance of a newbie coming to the end of a green run and having no options by expert trails to get back to the chair lift. Similarly, expert riders will rarely find themselves on a flat catwalk or green ‘groomer’ run, unless they actively look for it.
For many years, Copper was more of a locals mountain, meaning there were fewer out-of-state tourists on the mountain. This also kept the mountain less crowded and easy for Coloradans to get on the snow without facing some of the super long lift lines that were more common at some of the more well-known resorts like Vail or Breckenridge.
Vail
Speaking of the more famous Colorado resorts, it would be hard to make a list of favorite snowboarding mountains and not include Vail. There’s a good reason so many tourists flock to Vail every season. The mountain is fantastic. It’s hard to beat so many reasons, starting with its sheer size (over 5,000 acres of skiable terrain and 195 runs) that make it the third-largest single mountain ski resort in the US. With all that room, it’s easy for riders to find fresh powder and less crowded runs, even when the mountain is at capacity. The runs are also more wide open than many other resorts, making it feel that much more expansive.
But, size alone doesn’t account for Vail being one of my favorite resorts. Some of the runs are simply amazing, especially in the back bowls and Blue Sky Basin. While many resorts offer these types of open terrain outside of the busier runs, Vail takes it to another level. You can easily spend your entire day in these parts of the mountain, only making your way back to the front of the mountain when you are headed down to end the day, with your legs burning and a giant exhausted smile on your face.
Winter Park/Mary Jane
This is a funny one for me to add to the list, since the first time I rode Winter Park, I was fairly new to snowboarding and I honestly didn’t have much fun that day. It’s not surprising that the first time you ride a new mountain, you may not have your best day. You don’t know your way around and on a snowboard, this can sometimes lead to you ending up on runs you really want to avoid. For more snowboarders (even beginners) the worst possible runs are ones that are overly flat. Between that and flat catwalk trails between runs, you can have a pretty tiring and miserable day on the board. Anytime you are forced to take off your board and hike to the next run, you know you’re not having fun (unless you’re hiking up a ridge along a big back bowl, getting ready to drop in for an epic run).
On my first day at Winter Park, I must have found every flat green run and catwalk on the entire mountain. I remember spending more time walking with my board or using the awkward ‘one-foot-strapped-in’ slide that all boarders learn. I ended the day less than enthused about ever coming back to the resort. But, when I did return sometime later, I was an experienced snowboarder, happy to spend my time on tree runs and steep blues and black diamonds. This opened up a bunch of terrain that I was not ready for on that previous visit. With that being the case, I suddenly found the mountain to be an absolute blast, especially the Mary Jane side, where most of the runs are steep.
So, while I don’t necessarily recommend it to newbie boarders, once you get your legs under you and are looking for a challenge, head on over to Mary Jane and have a blast.
Steamboat
Last on this list, but certainly, not least is Steamboat. I’ve probably spent less time riding Steamboat than any of the others I mentioned, but that should give you some idea of how amazing the mountain really is. It isn’t nearly as big as Vail (‘only’ 3,000 acres and 169 runs) but it packs a lot of punch into a bit smaller package (smaller than Vail anyway). Steamboat coined the term Champaign Powder to describe the snow the mountain receives every year and marketing spin aside, it’s hard to argue that the snow isn’t amazing.
The mountain has some of the best tree runs you will ever find, where you can ride through a forest of pine trees, spaced just far enough apart to let an experienced skier or rider make their way through without having getting hung up on branches. When you get a big powder day the tree runs become some of the most spectacular places to ride.
Steamboat is also off the beaten path just a bit, as it is farther from Denver (3+ hours) than many of the front-range resorts like Vail or Copper (more like 2 hours). The extra drive time makes it a bit more of a destination mountain for Coloradans, rather than a day-trip mountain. This tends to keep the crowds down a bit. Steamboat also has a reputation as a challenging mountain and while it does have numerous green runs, less than 20% of the runs are rated for beginners, and nearly half are rated for experts. This makes it a paradise for experienced riders who want to challenge themselves.
