When I lived in Grand Junction, CO it was a 2.5 hour drive to Telluride. We would leave at 4am and ski til dark and then return both days. The drive was beautiful (one of my favorite scenic routes through the San Juans) but we missed most of it driving at night. Powderhorn was only a half hour drive but the runs were all intermediate level at best (they claim a few advanced and expert but barely so) and the drop is at most around 1500' I think so it was only popular because it nearby. From Denver and Boulder, there are numerous ski runs within a couple of hours drive as well (WinterPark and Loveland the most popular and the most crowded back then). Never had to pay lodging, but then just skiing was expensive enough! I stayed away from Snowmass because the crowds made it a miserable experience. My sister tells me that all of the runs are like that now. Just too many people can afford to ski these days!



>>My favorite slope is actually in the U.S. - Telluride's Plunge... :o) I was fortunate to be able to do a lot of downhill skiing in Colorado because I lived there during my teen years.
>>Never skiid (skiied ? skied ) in the US - I usually went to TexMex areas. Since you have so much more of a continent it is probably not only gorgeous but also less crowded than it is over here.
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>took a peek via the net and from the looks there it should be GREAT. A few 3000m mountain stations and they are boasting the lift capacity exceeds the bed capacity 4-fold. No wonder lift prices seem steep to european eyes, but might be worth it.
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>regards
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>thomas