’Tis the Skison

Calling all shredders: This one’s for you.

Staff November 10, 2022

The white room at Beaver Creek. Getty Images

Colorado skiing and boarding are different. It starts with the snow, of course, which is less precipitation than it is frozen air sent down to us from the heavens. Slash a turn in Centennial State blower powder and you’ll feel like an astronaut floating in space. Then there’s the tree skiing—the never-ending aspen glades that hide pockets of fresh snow all winter if you know where to look. There are bald ridgelines with see-forever vistas and ridable bowls that look like God took an ice cream scoop to the flank of a 12,000-foot peak.

Yes, the mountains here are huge, both in elevation and surface area, but not every run needs to be hardcore. At Colorado resorts—which often encompass several peaks—there’s something for everyone, whether you’re a purveyor of long, arcing turns on corduroy or a surfer of the deep stuff. Either way, there is no better place to experience the art of sliding across snow on fiberglass than under the Colorado sunshine.

But Colorado skiing isn’t just about the hill: It’s also about the lodges, top-notch equipment rentals and shops, delicious (and plentiful) eats, renowned après, and its surplus of ski schools. The stories that follow celebrate Colorado’s favorite pastime and everything that makes skiing here so special. —Maren Horjus, digital director