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Breckenridge, Colorado With Teens
What if you asked your teen how he liked his family vacation and he answered: “Breckenridge has to be the best ski mountain I have ever been to in my life. It has everything I would look for in a good ski resort, a big mountain with plenty of different trails, a variety of terrain parks with different size features, a good ski/riding school program, nice places to stay, and a nice town." That’s the review we got about our winter 2005 trip to Breckenridge, Colorado.
When my husband and I took our 13-year-old son, Regan, and his 14-year-old buddy to Breck, little did we know that we would uncover a friendly mountain town that turned away from silver mining to go for the gold – as a major ski and snowboard resort.
Breckenridge: The Mountain
Regan notes, “Breckenridge has over 155 trails (this might not seem like that many, but each trail is extremely long, some going for over three miles) on four peaks. Each trail had a different feeling, yet all were well groomed and fun to ride.” As skiers, my husband and I enjoyed the variety of trails, especially the “classic” terrain on Peak 7. The boys thought it was very Old School to leave slopes in a more natural state, with powder drifts, rolls and bumps.
We also liked the fact that Breckenridge had fewer chair lifts crossing its 2,208 acres, giving it a more open, less crowded feel than most Eastern resorts. Yet we learn that the tippy-top of Peak 8 at this high-altitude resort, where we used to squint at the silhouettes of experts hiking up to powdery back bowls, double black diamond and extreme terrain, will have its own new chairlift. Breckenridge Ski Resort's newest chairlift, Imperial Express, a high-speed quad is one of the highest chairlifts in North America, reaching 12,840 feet. A new gondola also links Peak 7 and 8 to base camp.
Regan really appreciated the four terrain parks, ranging from the beginner park, El Dorado, to the Freeway and Gold King Parks, said to be among the most challenging parks in the world. Everyone seems genuinely proud that a visit by Jake Burton (of Burton Snowboards’ fame) more than 20 years ago led Breckenridge to become one of the first slopes to welcome the new sport.
“The Intro to Terrain Park class I took was very well taught,” Regan commented, as his friend nodded. “In one day I learned to 'nose-slide a fun box' and a variety of grabs.” We were all impressed with the friendly Ski & Ride School but from other vacations, our family has found that excellent instruction is a hallmark of all the Vail Resorts.
Breckenridge’s school operates from mid-December to mid-April with a wide variety of programs for ages 3-12 years, broken down by ages 3-6 and 7-12 and by ski or snowboard interest. Helmets are recommended and available for rent. Making these programs even more fun is Ripperoo, the costumed "dog" who skis and snowboards around the resort each day, in addition to making appearances in the very cute, gladed Enchanted Forest beginner area and at the base villages. He fits in well with Breckenridge’s laid-back style.
Breckenridge's other very impressive instructional programs include private lessons, K2's Learn to Ski and Burton's Learn to Ride programs for beginners, women's clinics, terrain park lessons and camps for over-50s. The active and popular adaptive skiing program is run by the Breckeridge Outdoors Education Center (970/453-5633) and it’s very inspiring to watch.
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