Purg, Wolf Creek, & Loveland haven't had big lines any times I've been there. My mother said Los Alamos, Santa Fe, & Taos lift lines are far better now on powder days than when she grew up thanks to more chairs on lifts + high speed lifts.
In the case of Loveland, you just have to contend with the snarl of traffic on I70. It's right before the Eisenhower tunnel, so it isn't as bad as Vail or Copper just up the road, but I70 traffic has gotten pretty brutal over the years. I've had routine 1 hour drives to/from a resort turn into 3-4+ hours more often than not.
Wolf Creek makes sense though - that's a bit more of a commitment. Your typical skier is probably going to be there for a few days and not just swinging up for a Saturday (at least coming from the front range.)
I-70 is the reason I didn't apply to jobs in Colorado. I don't know how much people carpool, but at least there's some infrastructure for it now. I just wish the state would put some extra tax on the resorts to fund a free ski bus with dedicated lanes where convenient. How sick would that be?
I liked what Vail resorts (and maybe others, dunno) implemented last year due to COVID: a reservation system to limit the number of people on the mountain. Lines during the middle few hours of the day were still pretty bad, but not the 30 minute logjams we've been seeing during the last decade. Early and late in the days, no lines at all. I wish they'd kept the reservation system this year. I fear we'll be back to the usual circus this season.
garren|4 years ago
Wolf Creek makes sense though - that's a bit more of a commitment. Your typical skier is probably going to be there for a few days and not just swinging up for a Saturday (at least coming from the front range.)
hamolton|4 years ago
ryandrake|4 years ago
rsync|4 years ago
You'd hate it there.
dkarp|4 years ago