How is Eldora Resort?

I'm assuming it doesn't compare to anything in Summit county but how is it? Looking to get a pass for either there or I'll possibly splurge for an epic pass if necessary.

oops wrong forum, can someone move this to general colorado please?

On the plus side:
close to Boulder (if you live there)
cheap
Tends to get really good snow in the spring (unlike summit county)
Has some backcountry access

On the down side:
It lacks a lot of steep runs

If you mostly ski/ride on blues and easy blacks then it is fine resort

Nick,

Skiing in Colorado sucks unless you live by a resort or can exclusively ski on weekdays. I-70 on the weekends really sucks. You spend far more time driving (edit: sitting) than actually enjoying the crowded runs.

Eldora get's it done but yes, doesn't compare to anything in the high country.

If you're just leaning to ski or aren't very good, then Eldora is exactly what you're looking for, considering the alternatives.

I've been snowboarding 13 years. Haven't had a problem on any of the double blacks in summit county so far, and I've been out there about a half a dozen times. I'll only be working a couple days a week and should have a lot of midweek time free too. Not necessarily looking for really steep stuff just good snow and long runs makes me happy. Trying to judge if the epic pass is worth it. Seems like it'll be a 2+ hour drive to summit county from boulder depending on traffic and weather am I right? I'd want to be able to get out at least 20 times.

I'm used to driving 3.5 hours for a shitty midwest hill so 2 hours isn't too bad, gas money is more of an issue.

Any decent tree riding at Eldora? I want to stay out of the back country until I get a little more avalanche experience... I know nothing lol.

Suggest you use Eldora for daily jaunts, and do destination week trips out to Summit county. Anything is better than those days and dollars wasted here at Alpine Valley or Wilmot!

Don't forget about the slow as molasses lifts and the wind!!! Sometimes it gets so windy up there they have to shut down the lifts for safety reasons. And I find that it takes more time to get up the mountain than getting back down. But I've heard they may be putting in some high-speed lifts. No real long runs at Eldora in my opinion. That being said the back-side trees are steep and deep on a good powder day but because of the small size of the place it gets tracked out fast. The thing I most enjoy about Eldora is the nordic center. I think it's awesome and I believe the Eldora pass is good for both the downhill and nordic trails.

You ever consider the Winter Park pass? Considerably less time spent on I-70 driving there. I-70 BLOWS! I quit going to summit county on the weekends ten years ago and I can only imagine that it has gotten worse since then.

If I had unlimited funds and time to travel I would get this pass
skimonarch.com/index.php/ti…
26 Resorts and Four Countries!!! Wow!

Oh yeah,

By far the best part of Eldora is clipping bolts on your way back to Boulder.

Izza wrote:Don't forget about the slow as molasses lifts and the wind!!! Sometimes it gets so windy up there they have to shut down the lifts for safety reasons. And I find that it takes more time to get up the mountain than getting back down. But I've heard they may be putting in some high-speed lifts. No real long runs at Eldora in my opinion. That being said the back-side trees are steep and deep on a good powder day but because of the small size of the place it gets tracked out fast. The thing I most enjoy about Eldora is the nordic center. I think it's awesome and I believe the Eldora pass is good for both the downhill and nordic trails. You ever consider the Winter Park pass? Considerably less time spent on I-70 driving there. I-70 BLOWS! I quit going to summit county on the weekends ten years ago and I can only imagine that it has gotten worse since then. If I had unlimited funds and time to travel I would get this pass skimonarch.com/index.php/ti… 26 Resorts and Four Countries!!! Wow!

Winter Park (Mary Jane) is where Coloradoans ski. Then to a lesser extent, Copper. Loveland is better than Eldora for a close one. A-Basin rocks too. Its a long drive from the metro area, but Monarch usually has great snow.

Mike Lane wrote:Winter Park (Mary Jane) is where Coloradoans ski. Then to a lesser extent, Copper. Loveland is better than Eldora for a close one. A-Basin rocks too. Its a long drive from the metro area, but Monarch usually has great snow.

Nothing rocks better in the spring than A-Basin: the parking lot and east wall. Long ski season too, and also at Loveland which is closer than any of Summit County. Loveland has come a long way since being a 'family' place through the 90's. Yeah, you deal with I-70 but at least you skip the tunnel and traffic beyond that. Just leave early and nap in the parking lot until they open up.

The most epic powder days I've had in CO have been at Eldora. Small mountain with endless stashes of the goods, even on weekends. Makes Boulder feel like a little more like a mountain town.
When the wind blows, it's almost as bad as Loveland. Some of the lifts are slow, which can either be charming or hypothermic. Last time I had a pass there, they were $200, which was worth every penny.
Beats anything (except the Cat II at Vail) on I-70 on a powder day. 40 minutes from B-town, an hour from Denver.
Do it man!
Edited to clairify: Best powder days in CO, except for the back of Vail.

I ski (tele) and snowboard. Winter Park/Mary Jane is one of my favorite places to ski, but not snowboard.

The Winter Park side has a lot of cat walks and traversing

The Jane side is great, with lots of trees, steeps, and tons and tons of bumps. If you enjoy to ride bumps you'll have no issue. However, if you are like 90% of snowboarders (myself included)endless bumps runs are hell.

However, Winter Park has consistant good snow. Plus, you can easily ski Berthoud Pass if the resort is too crowed.

If you've been riding for 13 year and can ride every double black in Summit I don't think you should waste your time with an Eldora pass. Put that money towards gas.

It is smaller, sometimes windy, can get icy when the powder blows off. But there is no traffic. And that's my #1 concern.

Loveland is an option if you're worried about travel time, and a pass there would be cheaper than the epic pass. A-Basin passes are also less than the epic pass, and you also get a few days at the other Vail Resorts owned areas. Breckenridge just raised their parking rates, and the free lots are a ways from the hill.

Based on your description of your riding style, you would probably be happier with a pass to one of the Summit County areas, if you can work out the transportation. There are charter buses running to the Summit county areas all winter, it would take longer than driving but you could sleep/read/whatever on the way up and down. Carpools are another option. Copper is probably the easiest of the Summit County areas to get to.

I-70 on Sunday afternoon can really suck, and so can Saturday morning, or any morning after a big dump. Weekdays are much more manageable than weekends, though.

Just as a reference point, it took me 1:20 to get from Frisco to the park & ride where you turn off CO 93 to go to Eldo. I wasn't the fastest car on the road, but I wasn't the slowest either. I figure 1:30 to 1:45 to get from Frisco to Boulder.

IMO you'd get bored to tears with the small areas after 3-4 trips. People get passes to Eldo/Loveland to teach their kids to ski.

I don't ride, but can imagine how the severe bumps at Mary Jane would just beat you up. Ever tried skis?

Be sure to try to get on Pallavichini at A-Basin after a big dump. And even on weekdays powder days are 'over' (runs tracked up) by 10, so be sure to be the 1st on the lift.

Whats up w/ living in Boulder? I thought you were aiming for South Metro b/c of the pit.

Boulder is cool with pits! Gonna be a long commute (my wife to denver, me to thornton) but i think it'll be worth it. I might skip on a pass this year and just try to hit everything to figure out what I like.

I skiied for 2 years but that was almost 14 years ago. i was thinking about demoing some skis again actually. My board is pretty short for powder and it's pretty beat.

Mike McHugh wrote: Grew up on Sugarloaf, spent part of my pre-adolescence falling on the "snow" at Eldora. Carry an edge sharpener.

Ah, one of the small joys of living on the western slope.

I grew up in Boulder, and yes, my parents made me ski at Eldora every damn weekend as soon as I could kinda walk. I moved to Breckenridge and skied around Summit and up in Teton counties for years, and then came back here and got to get re-acquainted with my childhood mountain. So here's my take as a former professional ski bum, Eldora is OK. There are a few sections of steep and tight trees, a couple shitty cliff drops, and short but fun hike to steeps out of bounds. I will admit I have skied some deep ass snow there, but only once or twice a year in the spring when the upslope storms hit hard and I had weekday freedom. Usually Eldo is windy as hell, icy, crowded as all get out and sickeningly competitive for fresh tracks, much more so than at bigger resorts. This is likely because there are literally only a few good lines for expert skiers on the whole mountain. Also, the drive up and down Boulder canyon on the weekends is just as bad as I-70 :(, only physically a little shorter. The Epic pass is sweet, Breck is actually one of the best ski hills in the state, A-Basin needs no introduction, on a big snow day Vail is as good as it gets, Copper has an abundance of good, steep double black terrain, etc. This year I did the Winter Park / Copper pass because my friend has a place to stay in Granby. If that were not the case, to be honest I would have just bought a Loveland midweek pass ($250) and taken trips down to Wolf Creek (best snow and least crowded in the inter-mountain west) and wherever else it snows when it does. That being said, a weekday commute to Summit or Grand county (Winter Park) is not a big deal, as long as the roads aren't bad. Good luck, ride lots...

Eldora sucks. Ski Vail! Everybody go to Vail.