Blog

  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.

Greetings from Aspen/Snowmass,

We have received over 34 inches (86 cm) in the last week and the mountains are bottomless!! Powder shots were everywhere and the new snow definitely made everyone smile! This is a fantastic base for the spring skiing that is coming up so make sure to let everyone know that the skiing in Aspen/Snowmass can’t be beat!!! Here are some pictures from our recent storm.

TELLURIDE, CO (Feb. 24, 2010) – Reflecting a European skiing experience found in Chamonix, France, the Telluride Ski Resort airlifted a new bridge and staircase to the left shoulder of Palmyra Peak this morning at approximately 8 am. Heliqwest, a helicopter company based out of Canada, airlifted two steel staircases and bridge over the ski resort to its final resting place – the span between Gold Hill Chutes 8 and 9.

“This addition is a continuation of our efforts to provide ski experience which is ‘Unmatched in North America,’” said Dave Riley, CEO of the resort. “This project was extremely technical, and our in house staff has done a phenomenal job in both planning and execution. The Telluride Ski Resort is thrilled to once again expand easy access into epic inbounds terrain.”

Happy snow day!

We’re excited to announce the opening of Crested Butte’s famed black and double black diamond terrain, accessed by the High Lift and North Face Lift.  Waist deep powder awaits…. Eye candy is attached. 

As always, we’re here to answer questions and tell you all about our snow “product testing.”

Kind regards,

Tim, Geoff, and Lindsay

Crested Butte

Winter Park Resort reported 7.5 inches of fresh powder this morning and 9 inches in the past 48 hours!  Mary Jane is open and additional terrain will be opening today and this week!  It’s still snowing and the conditions are fantastic – 30 inch base, 12 lifts and 30+ trails are currently open! Remember all Mt Ruapehu Season, Life, Ultimate etc pass holders ski for FREE at Winter Park is you book via Ski Traveller. 
Toll Free 0800 11 22 99 for more information.’

Greetings from a snowy Aspen/Snowmass,   All four mountains (Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk) are now open for the season! We have had a very steady flow of storms that have made conditions in Aspen/Snowmass fantastic! We have had over 30 inches (75 cm) in the last couple days and our streak of powder days has been great! Buttermilk opened with almost 100% of the terrain open and Aspen Highlands had the Highlands Bowl open for opening day.  The conditions are incredible all over so make sure that everyone knows Aspen/Snowmass is the place for good snow!  Below are some pictures from opening day at Aspen Highlands:

Check out the amazing powder conditions in early December at Crested Butte in Colorado…..they received over 18 inches in 24 hours!

Greetings from Aspen/Snowmass! 

We received over two feet (60 cm) of snow this past weekend! It looks like February in town with so much snow covering everything.  We are only 9 days away from opening the lifts and everyone in Aspen/Snowmass can’t wait! Opening weekend we have the return of the FIS Alpine Women’s World Cup race on Aspen Mountain and it’s a great way to kick off the season.  

Check out these pictures taken in Aspen / Snowmass this week.

Aspen’s Sky Hotel is rated by Playboy Magazine as the sexiest ski hotel in North America.

Ski Traveller has return flights in premium economy class, 7 nights with 6 days skiing at Aspen’s Sky Hotel:
http://www.skitraveller.co.nz/best_deals

We think March is the best month to ski at Vail….great snow, blue sky days and a fantastic March ski airfare.  Experience Vail in 2010…some of our staff have lived in Vail we know this ski resort better than anyone else!

NZ$ 5594 + airline taxes $130 per adult
price based on two adults travelling together
includes -
* Return flight in economy class from New Zealand to Denver with Air New Zealand
* Free Koru Club for 2 months
* Shuttle transfer Denver Airport to Vail
* 10 nights in a studio condo with full kitchen at Antler at Vail (3.5 star accommodation) 
   located only 150m from the gondola with a heated pool and hot-tubs
* 9 day Vail Resorts lift pass - valid at: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin
* Shuttle transfer Vail to Denver Airport

Valid for travel: 01 March - 3 April 2010
Vaild for sale:    19 October 2009
Subject to availability at the time of booking, price subject to increase or decrease due to currency until paid in full.

Email: info@skitraveller.co.nz
Toll Free NZ: 0800 11 22 99 talk to Lianne or Sarah.
Sarah has lived in Vail and Lianne has stayed & skied there several times.