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  After skiing NZ for 25 consecutive winters I decided it was time to fufill a life time passion to have a northern hemisphere ski holiday.We are a family of five with two 15 yr olds and one 17 yr old.We belong to a Ruapahue ski club and I had seen some info kicking around the club about ski holidays but everytime I multiplied the cost by five I just about fell over.Last winter I saw a ski holiday featured in the herald travel section.This was run by Lianne Stott at Ski Traveller in Auckland.I began to email Lianne and with the benefit of her advise and experience we decided that our destination would be Copper Mountian in Colorado.  Copper mountian is an area called Summit County that includes the towns of Silverthorne, Dillon, Breckinridge and Frisco.The adjoining ski fields are Breckinridge, Keystone, Araprahoe Basin and Copper Mountian.These are all within a 15-40 minute drive from Frisco.From Frisco is a free bus service that runs between all these towns and ski fields that runs for about 19 hours a day.Brilliant.We never felt the need for a hire car at all and still managed to see a lot of the local area.Vail, reputed to be Americas largest ski field is only 20 minutes down the road from copper mountian but is not included in the Summit County area but easily accessible.  We booked 12 nights at Copper in a two bedroom, two bathroom, pull out sofa bed, fully equiped kitchen condo that was about 2-3 minutes walk to the chair lift.Copper village was very quaint, spotlessly clean, zero litter,comes with all the restaurants, shops, hot tubs, lap pool, skating rink, medical center and hire shops.For a family ski holiday this was fantastic.The ski field was supurb with great variety of beutifully groomed to challenging moguled steeps.The facilities on field were excellent.Copper had a deal Mt Ruapehue where we were able to ski on our 2009 seasons pass.This made to holiday way more affordable than I thought possible.  Liannes booking and airport advise was right on the button.Also her advise on comprehensive travel insurace was invaluble.Dont skimp on insurance.We had a great time, really loved it, and I cant wait to plan the next one.  Go Ski TravellerMark.

Hi Lianne,
 
This was my first trip to Copper Mountain.  I have previously skied Keystone (3x) and Breckenridge(1x) when I lived in the US.  I must say that I was a bit hestant as my general perception of Copper developed over the years was that it represented a smaller mountain with less challenging trails (I’m an expert skier) and less exciting nightlife. 
 
Boy was I completely wrong.  I found the mountain fabulous. Staff were very friendly, the sking great and the range of expert trails super.  As an added bonus the mountain was extensive enough to hide a crowd of skiers. …but that wouldn’t have mattered as the lodge/ski pass combination provided a “fast pass” electronic ski pass that vertually put you in the front of any lift line.  Add two days of fresh powder …what more can you ask for.
 
The lodge (single bedroom with murphy bed) was also super.  Easy check-in, 5 minute walk to the lift with views from our room of the slopes.  The village bars and restaurants were also great.  My wife and I also took day trips to Aspen and Breckenridge to view the shops and the slopes and concluded that Copper was definitely our choice.  
So an emphatic 10. 
Cheers,
Terry P

Do you have your Mt Ruapehu Season or Life Pass?

YES…..did you know you qualify for FREE Skiing at Winter Park and Copper Mountain in Colorado - GREAT Mountains!!!!

Sarah and I have both skied & stayed at Copper Mountain and Winter Park…..get yourself booked ASAP as your accommodation is discounted too if you book before October and it is filling very quickly.

Talk to us about Copper & Winter Park FREE Skiing….why not book yourself in to take advantage of this FREE Skiing for 2009 before they take away this great offer - it will not last forever!
Make the most of the FREE Skiing while you can!

Talk again soon,
Lianne