Denver Area Skiing - Newbie question

Sup guys,

I signed up here last year when I was first looking for a place to Ski. I'll quickly reintroduce myself since I haven't been posting since: I'm from Italy and have been skiing in the Alps for over 18 years, moved to Florida 3 years ago for College, I'm a backcountry / powder fanatic and did mostly ski touring and high-altitude mountaineering in the alps.

I have a few off days over Thanksgiving break, being italian I don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so I wanna go skiing ;)

I was looking at flying into Denver or Salt Lake City, the former having cheaper flights. I'm looking to do ski touring mostly, maybe get a lift ticket for 1 day only. I need some information on:

1) How do I get to the mountains from Denver / SLC?
2) Which mountains are recommended for touring / backcountry close to Denver?
3) Are there any 'cabins' or 'lodges' in the Denver / SLC area mountains like I'm used to in the Alps, where I pay 5-10 bucks to sleep in bunk-beds, that are right in the mountains where I can start my tours right away in the morning?
4) Are there any ski touring resources for those areas, including recommended tours / routes, avalanche information, mountian rescue numbers, etc?
5) How is the snow around Thanksgiving time, and can anybody recommend other places to go skiing around that time - maybe in CA somewhere?

As I said, Denver would be prefered because I found several flights on the exact days I need (Nov 22nd - Nov 25th) for pretty cheap (~$222).

Any input is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Bernardo

Oh god, this one could be good.:D

great ... 30seconds into my post and I already have to expect some major flaming ... shit :D

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

great ... 30seconds into my post and I already have to expect some major flaming ... shit :D

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Well at least you are preparing yourself for it. And you have a sense of humor, so it shouldn't be too bad.

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

1) How do I get to the mountains from Denver / SLC?

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From Denver, go West.
From SLC, go East.

Shit, even a JONG from PA knows that! ;)

CO sucks. I hear Killington is where it's at these days.

Are you hot? A lot of Italian guys are hot.

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

Sup guys,

1) How do I get to the mountains from Denver / SLC?

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Hi Bernardo, I'll do my best to fill you in on the Denver aspect of things.

In Denver you need a car one way or the other, either renting or getting a ride.

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

2) Which mountains are recommended for touring / backcountry close to Denver?

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Unlike the alps, the backcountry tends to get accessed from resorts some what, but primarily from roads, generally ones that cross or are near high mountain passes, or by going a little deeper into the backcountry and staying at a hut (more below). Many resorts have gates which access good backcountry terrain, but it is kind of a crapshoot on whether those gates will be accessible during the thanksgiving time frame due to the fact thaty they are often situated at places on the moutains that may not be open yet. Also, it doesn't sound like you are really interested in "sidecounty" resort skiing as much as you are in getting out and really doing some touring.

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

3) Are there any 'cabins' or 'lodges' in the Denver / SLC area mountains like I'm used to in the Alps, where I pay 5-10 bucks to sleep in bunk-beds, that are right in the mountains where I can start my tours right away in the morning?

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We have a rather nice system of backcountry huts in Colorado, but they are a little different from those you might be used to in Europe. They are unstaffed, you need to bring your own food, they are fairly remote, and they are a little more expensiive, $30/night generally. Some of them are better for skiing, some of them offer great opportunities for linking a series of huts together, some of them offer good access to peak bagging, depending on what you are looking to do. They are a little more demanding in erms of logistics than what i understand of euro huts only because you need to bring in your own food and a bit more gear...e.g. sleeping bag. They have well stocked kitchens with all the pots, pans, utensils, etc as well as both wood burning and gas stoves.

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

4) Are there any ski touring resources for those areas, including recommended tours / routes, avalanche information, mountian rescue numbers, etc?

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Some links to get you started:
http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche/
www.huts.org

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Originally Posted by Bernardo

5) How is the snow around Thanksgiving time, and can anybody recommend other places to go skiing around that time - maybe in CA somewhere?

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Snow can be great around thanksgiving...or it can suck. Thus far Colorado is tending toward the great category, but who really knows what is in store for the next month...we might go dry. I would say that given snowfall to date, CO is your best option for getting in some touring.

I would reccommend that you look in to doing a hut trip in CO...though you really do need a partner. If you have three days you could easily rent a car, drive to any number of hut trailheads w/in two hours of Denver, park, spend three days and two nights at one or a couple of closely spaced huts, come out and drive back to Denver for your flight. I'm happy to reccommend specific huts and routes that might fit this description. Check out huts.org for starters though.

PS: The weakness in this sceario is that, for better or worse, you are coming from Florida and most of these huts are situated at 11,000 feet. You have zero time to adjust to altitude which will have quite an affect on how much you are able to tackle. Just a thought for your planning.

Of course I'm hot ;) Why, you have an apartment somewhere with an available bed/couch? ... I'd only take if if you're hot, too, though - and female, obviously :D

Thanks a bunch for all the replies so far, thanks especially to pde20.

I am 21 - renting a car, unfortunately, is out of the question, given the rental rates for under-25 people.

You are right, I'm more interested in getting out and doing some serious touring. I generally detest the chaos around organized resorts, although I wouldn't mind skiing off the lifts for one day.

I've looked at huts.org - Thank you SO MUCH, that site is awesome! I have somewhat of an idea now what to look for and what to expect. I wouldn't want more - that kind of 'huts' was exactly what I was hoping for. I will bring food for 3-5 days along with me, hoping that water will be available 'on-the-go'. The price is very acceptable.

Why do you say I really do need a partner - mostly for safety reasons, I assume? I'm bringing my avalanche beacon with me, hoping to hook up on a tour with someone at the huts.

Regarding the elevation problem - you are absolutely right, and I don't know how strongly it will affect my body. Previous to these past 3 years I had been living at 2000ft and used to mountaineer in the 10-16k ft range. I am a runner and do ~45 miles a week on average. But again, I don't know how strongly I will be affected, and I will plan the first day accordingly.

I will definitely get in touch with you to talk about specific huts / routes - the idea of jumpin from hut to hut for several days is really appealing. Maybe there's a train or a ski shuttle that can take me out from Denver.

Thanks a lot for your input ...
Bernardo

EDIT: ALSO, I wouldn't mind at all having to walk/hike some parts of the hut-tour if the snow is bad. I'm looking at this trip mostly as a training and exploration trip for later adventures (I might be moving to Boulder, CO for work mid next year).

Copper Mountain Shuttle and Colorado Mountain Express both shuttle from DIA to the mountains, much cheaper than renting a car.
People certainly ski to the huts solo, although its' more fun with friends. All the 10th Mtn huts have access routes with minimal avalanche danger. Huts are typically reserved already for weekends, but midweek nights aren't a problem. All the huts have water supply, even if it is melting snow on a woodstove.

my recommendation - go to Loveland (the ski resort). A relatively good place to meet someone that wants to ski the pass (Loveland - not the ski resort). Caveat - there may not be enough snow at Thanksgiving to really access backcountry.

You're not really gonna find huts in the way you're thinking.

Also consider alpen hutte in dillon - it's the closest thing to a hostel in the mountains close to Denver. website

Thanks a bunch again for the info!

Again, those huts sounds EXTREMELY appealing to me. That's exactly what I was looking for, low profile, low access huts that don't have too much of a crowd, have the essentials I need to cook, and offer a true backcountry experience.

I am looking into it and I will try to come up with a plan to tour a few huts or maybe ski a few peaks from the same hut.

Tommy, thanks a bunch, I will look into those shuttle services from DIA - at the rate I'm getting info at from you guys, I will end up buyng the flight tickets tomorrow :D

Thanks again,
Bernardo