Sharing is Caring: You too can afford to ski Breckenridge, CO, and even stay right on the slopes. Here's how we've been doing it for years!
Are you the type of person that puts off awesome vacation trips indefinitely because you feel like you're never financially ready to go? Well, let me explain to you the means and methods of a small group of my friends and I, and how we have figured out the secret formula to ski Breckenridge, CO on a Budget.
Find a Dependable Group of Friends
For 6 of the past 8 years, in January/February, I've been going to Colorado to go snowboard the Rockies with a group of friends. Our group has evolved over the years but has maintained the same crew the past 3 years, other than a one-off here and there. Over the years, we've learned what amenities are more important to us than others and have developed a short list of must-haves. By no means are any of us that go on these trips rich at all. We have just figured out a way to experience snowboarding at some of the best locations in Colorado as regular people. Here is a timeline of the different trips out west to snowboard in Colorado with my friends and how we managed to do it on a budget.
Timeline of Trips
My first trip, back in 2014, was to Breckenridge as an add-on to an already established group. It was actually my first ever trip to Colorado as well. We stayed in the Sundowner Condominiums and had to take a short bus ride to the lifts, and a short walk outside to the hot tubs. Since this was my first trip snowboarding out west, I thought everything was awesome! If you've never been to Breckenridge before, I call it the Disney World of ski resorts. It's massive, with more runs than you can hit on a 3-day trip, and so picturesque from every angle from top to bottom. I remember the snow being very plentiful and learning to weave between the trees with my buddies Brad and Cory. But, as a single 30-year-old, as long as I had a bed to lay my head down on each night, I was in it to win it. I shared a loft room with my friend Josh and slept on a twin-sized bed.
The next year, in 2015, I initiated the trip with some of the same people, and some new friends. To try and minimize costs, we ended up staying with Cory and Kevin, in Arvada, and planned to drive to Loveland Ski Area each of the 3 days. Loveland is a cheaper option for both skiing and snowboarding, located right off the highway on the east (Denver) side of the Continental Divide, right by tunnel. You can't miss it if you're approaching the tunnel from Denver. The best part about Loveland is how cheap it is, but the worst part of Loveland is that there's really no place to stay nearby, hence why we stayed with Cory and Kevin. That's probably why they are much cheaper than other mountains, less overhead. The snow on the mountain was great. Riding to the top of the mountain was the smartest move, as apparently no one seemed to have gone up there, and every time you come down you were carving your own new path through about a foot of fresh powder. It was epic. Ashley, Tommy, and I were the only ones that could make the turn to get to the lift that took us up to the top. We thought Tommy's GoPro was recording, so I decided to push my limits and try and jump over where the CAT had made what looked like a road. Mid-air, I started turning 90 degrees and ended up biffing and summersaulting a few times, getting covered in fresh powder. Unfortunately, the GoPro wasn't recording, so we only have our memories to go by.
It wasn't until 2018 that we made our next trip back out to Colorado. In 2016, I won a trip to the Marlboro Ranch (I'll have to explain that in another post.) and, in 2017, we ended up going to Sugar Mountain, NC. Sugar Mountain is a much smaller mountain than anything in Colorado. The peak is only at 5,300' as opposed to some of the 12,000' and 13,000' Rocky Mountains. A trip to Sugar Mountain is already a budget ski trip, so I won't go into any more detail here. Anywho, in 2018, our trip led us to Keystone, CO. By now, we knew that access to a hot tub was a must-have, so we found a place on the 2nd floor in the Silvermill Condominiums, with a balcony that overlooked the hot tubs. The condo was awesome. Everyone that wanted their own room got one, and everyone that didn't mind sharing a room did. But everyone got a say as to what kind of bed they were going to get during the booking process. We all knew what we were getting ourselves into from the get-go. We had about a 750' walk to the closest lift. The snow was OK. It was actually pretty good, but there were a few big patches of ice that were in locations hard to see when coming flying down the mountain. I slipped on a patch, got airborne, and slammed down onto my knees. I pulled a Peter Griffin, from Family Guy, and sat there for a few minutes, hugging my knees, rocking forward and back, and inhaling through my teeth. I caught it all on my GoPro, and had a good laugh showing my funny reaction to my friends that night. The worst part about the fall was that for the rest of the trip, every time I saw a shadow, I was convinced it was ice and never allowed myself to snowboard to the best of my abilities.
The year 2019 brought us back to Breckenridge, CO, but this time I was planning it. Actually, Tommy and I planned it, but I wasn't just invited, I took part in planning it. This trip, more or less, solidified the core group of repeat offenders with several of us flying in from Florida, and one of my best friends Scott, and his wife Rachel, would drive over from Denver and stay with us. My cousin Chris from Michigan joined us on this trip. It was his first trip snowboarding the Rockies. We stayed in the Four O'clock Lodge, just a 600' walk to the closest slope. If you haven't noticed yet, finding a place within a very short walk to the closest lift has been added to the list of must-haves. Once again, those of us who wanted our own rooms got them, and those who didn't mind sharing did so to save money. Scott and Rachel slept on an air mattress in the living room and saved the most. When we went grocery shopping, it was every man for themselves. I remember buying a bunch of groceries that I thought I was going to need throughout the trip. But I ended up sending Scott and Rachel home with a bunch of extra food at the end of our stay. We all pitched in on the alcohol and beer together to help save money as well. The snow was amazing. Not only was there a great base already down before we got there, but it snowed quite a bit while we were there, so every run was epic. The longest run on the mountain, almost to the very end, ran right by the back of our condo with a perfectly shaped launch ramp aimed right toward our back patio. And yes, we took advantage of it every day. The only downside of this trip was the lengthy walk to the hot tub. It was down and across the street in front of our condo, and then all the way behind the condo complex across the street. Half of the group decided to sit out on the hot tub because of the walk, so we knew that we needed to start looking for an on-site hot tub going forward.
Not only did we make our way back to Breckenridge again in 2020, but we stayed only 3 buildings over from our last trip, in the Tyra Condominiums. This time, when we were planning the logistics of the trip, Scott suggested he pick me up from the airport so that I could go and see Cory for lunch, since he wasn't going to be joining us on the mountain. This saved me the cost of a one-way trip on the 3.5-hour shuttle bus from the airport to Breckenridge, and I got to spend good quality time with 2 of my best friends for lunch. I then rode out to the mountain with Scott and Rachel, who again slept on an air mattress in the living room to save money. Another way we were able to cut costs, and make the trip more affordable, was how we addressed the food this trip. We decided to go grocery shopping as a group again, but this time, everyone got what they wanted for themselves for breakfasts and any lunch items, and we bought split the cost of dinners for 2 nights. Frozen pizzas for that first night, and Rachel had offered to make lasagna one of the nights. There were a few other snack items, like Goldfish, Chips Ahoy! soft batch cookies, cases of water, and the liquor and beer that we also split the cost of multiple ways to save even more. The snow was as good as it ever is at Breckenridge and continued to snow on and off the entire trip. This year's location was, once again, a step up from the previous trip, only lying about 360' to the closest lift. We also hit the nail on the head when it comes to hot tub convenience with the hot tub at this place only about 40' from our front door.
...I call it the Disney World of ski resorts.
With the pandemic in full bloom, we didn't know if we were even going to be able to go in 2021. Travel was barely open, and the majority of people were still hunkering down and staying home. Because of this, we put off booking our trip until later into 2020, so as to not tie up money for a reservation that we weren't going to be able to use. Eventually, the excitement from the timing of our previous trips upon us, we started looking for a place to stay. Remembering back to our past trips, we know we needed to find a place with a great location with easy access to a hot tub. Well, what do you know, we found a place! There was one BIG catch....we all had to share a room. No one could get their own room, and we all had to share the bathrooms. BUT the location was the best of any other place we've ever looked at, and trumped the catch. It is the 2nd to last building you ski past on your way down to the Peak 8 Base lifts. And the hot tub, is litteraly on the slope, you can high five someone sitting in the hot tub as you ski by. So, since we all had to sacrifice privacy, and had to share a room with others, we figured that we'd split the cost evenly by the # of beds. Masks were required everywhere, except when actively eating or drinking. The employees were quick to ask you to cover up if they saw you weren't wearing your mask properly. With the VID keeping business to a minimum, there were not many restaurants open, so we only went out to eat the one night. We ate at home every other night - pizza one night, chili in the slow cooker another night, and store-bought lasagna the other night. The snow was OK this trip, ironically not dumping snow on us until the last night of our trip. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. At least we found a great place to stay with all the required amenities that our group desires.
In Conclusion
So, after pretty much just reading about me bragging about how awesome my annual snowboard trips with my friends are, the moral of the story here is that there IS a way for YOU to take a ski/snowboard trip with YOUR friends that you can all afford, no matter what your financial situation looks like. All you have to do is find a great group of friends that like to adventure, pick a non-holiday time to go, and start looking for an Airbnb or Vrbo that suits the needs of your group. The hot tub feels amazing on your muscles after a day on the slopes, so I highly recommend including one in your search. Share at-home dinners with your friends and drink at home, instead of out at bars, to cut back on the biggest of all costs, food and drinks. And above all else, remember: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!
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