Our family wrapped up the 2023 ski season with a trip to Copper Mountain. I’d never skied at Copper, and Mark hadn’t in many years. Because we so often see signs for Copper on our way to points farther west on I-70, it seemed like an attractive, simple Spring Break choice. We made the trip, as we often do, with our friends and neighbors, Katie and Jared, and their three kids, and we were lucky to find a great ski-in/ski-out VRBO rental nestled between Center and West Village at Copper’s base.

Copper has a vibrant snowboarding scene thanks to its many parks and the Woodward presence there. Though none in our group are boarders, the energy they bring is undeniable. The fact that the resort was playing host to the USASA National Championship’s snowboarding events during our visit added to the vibe and the snowboard-heavy crowd. The western portion of the mountain, especially the parks, felt the effects of the event the most.

For our kids, who love messing around on smaller park elements but aren’t super experienced, the heavy presence of aggressive, experienced boarders in the parks was a little intimidating at first, but most were very much in control and navigated the mountain and park elements with a careful eye toward other skiers and riders on the hill. Whatever tropes may exist about “crazy snowboarders,” it’s just as easy to find irresponsible skiers, so it’s always important to keep one’s head on a swivel, no matter who’s around.

Highlights at Copper Mountain

1. Ski Beach

The ski beach at T-Rex Grill near the base of the Timberline Express lift was a favorite spot for our skiers to hang out, enjoy a quick beer and a bite, and regather. We were fortunate to have quite a bit of sunshine during our trip, and it was the perfect on-mountain pit stop.

2. Blues Off American Eagle and American Flyer/Timberline Express

While Mark and H enjoy gnarlier stuff, too, the bulk of our group loves blue and black groomers, and Copper has several excellent blue pods worth exploring. Our usual mountain M.O. is to pick a lift and ski all the attractive terrain off that lift before moving on. With five or six blue runs to enjoy off each of these lifts, we were able to spend more time skiing and less time traversing from lift to lift. It’s worth noting that the runs off Flyer/Timberline aren’t particularly long, but they’re awfully fun.

3. Super Bee, Rosi’s Run, and the Best of the East

My favorite part of the mountain is accessed off the Super Bee lift on the eastern side of the resort. The runs off Super Bee, both blue and black, are wonderfully long, and big, wide blacks like Rosi’s Run are a treat to ski. Because there’s so much room to turn on runs like Rosi’s, the pitch was less intimidating to our younger skiers. Since most of the USASA action was on the other side of the resort, this part of the mountain was less crowded, too.

4. Taco Tuesday and an Amazing Lesson

Both H and Z took full-day lessons on this trip, and both had great experiences. H’s in particular was exceptional. Sometimes, in group lessons, kids can’t really grow their skills because the progress of the group is necessarily limited by the comfort of its least experienced skier. This time, however, H and another boy were the only expert kids signed up, and their truly fantastic instructor, Tyler Griffin, decided to make the most of their collective skill and daring. The trio headed up Tucker Mountain on the Three Bears lift and skied the Taco and its double-black neighbors, jumping off little ledges and learning to negotiate the exposed, wind-blown steeps one encounters above tree line. H was pretty proud of himself at day’s end, and we were treated to some great video.

5. Double Zero and Some Fresh Snow

Toward the end of the week, after H’s lesson, he and Mark spent the morning investigating the expert terrain in Spaulding Bowl. The timing of H’s lesson had been perfect; it helped him realize that he was capable of skiing anything on the mountain and made Mark confident that there was nowhere they couldn’t explore. Spaulding Bowl was a great place to spend the morning for a pair of expert skiers. Its frontside location, easily accessible off Super Bee, meant less time wasted getting to and from the terrain and more time spent actually skiing it. 8” of fresh snow made lapping the handful of double-black runs off the Resolution Triple Chair, including favorite Double Zero, even more fun. When their legs were spent by midday, skiing home for lunch was quick and easy.

6. Cafeteria Break

One ski trip staple noticeably absent on this trip for us was cafeteria-style dining. While Copper has many counter service options, we found it just as easy (and a better value) to ski back to our condo for lunch or enjoy a quick sit-down bite in Center Village. The more opportunities we’ve had to enjoy slopeside lodging, the more we’ve come to appreciate it (especially with kids, who may declare themselves worn out at any time).

Worth Considering

Overnight Parking

Since our party was large (nine) with plenty of gear, we needed two vehicles. Our condo rental only allowed parking for one in its garage, so we had to park our second car overnight in Copper’s Alpine Lot. This seemed to be the only lot that offered overnight parking at the resort during our stay, and it was also the farthest from our condo (though not far). We secured a dash pass form the Welcome Center at the Alpine lot and were good to go—for free.

The Best Laid Plans…

If you often rent through short-term rental booking sites like VRBO or Airbnb, keep in mind that individual owners and/or managers may have little control over community features outside their own units. Because there are so many players involved in these rental situations, when amenities are down for repair or no longer available, this information may never reach the owner—or the renter. We were looking forward to the hot tub at our rental, but it was out of service throughout our stay. Ultimately, the unit’s owners credited a portion of our rental fee to compensate us.

Even when renting a standalone unit directly from a management company, sometimes things break, and getting them repaired quickly isn’t always easy. There’s no way to avoid every bump in the rental road, but it’s always good practice to carefully check a listing’s past reviews and communicate early, often, and politely when things aren’t as you expected.

Out of Our Ski Boots

Tubing is more affordable (and just as fun) at nearby Frisco Adventure Park as it is at Copper. We took our crew tubing in Frisco, but we closed out our week back at the resort with rides on Copper’s Rocky Mountain Coaster. Both activities were trip highlights for the kids. These activities can (and should) be booked in advance.

Trip Take: Copper Mountain

Highlights at Copper Mountain

Worth Considering

A Season in Numbers

Trip Take: Jackson Hole