Breckenridge

Breckenridge is high, and by high we mean excessively so. The village base is just shy of 3000m and the top station is just shy of 4000m. Altitude sickness can be a problem here and it has no bias to its victims regardless of your fitness levels; uffering is a bit of a lottery.

The former mining town, founded in 1859,  still displays older properties retaining that cowboy feel with clapboard lodges and cabins lining the high street. It seems as if the planning of the town was very random in the 80s but the newer construction over the last 10 years seems to have brough the resort together with a much more compact and constructed feel.There is always a buzz about town and the fact that the illuminations are on all through the winter makes the resort sparkle at night.

From the village the mountains look as uninspiring as their names, Peaks 7-10, however, this is very misleading as they have great skiing to offer both on piste and back country. 2,358 acres are on offer which is a fairly decent size by North American standards.

Beginners have a great nursery area and lots of runs that they can steadily progress to. There are plenty of green runs to allow novices to peak 9 and the lower half of peak 8 from Vista Haus and below. From there natural progression would be to the blues on Peak 7.

Intermediates will find lots of cruisey blue runs to entertain them and progession to the gladed off-piste will be a great introduction to those skiers unused to powder and more familiar with the groomed runs.  Peak 10 has some blacks that are midway between the black and blue grading so again this is s good area for those cutting their teeth on the harder slopes.

Advanced skiers will love Breck. It's true that the runs are shorter than in other resorts but at this altitude that can be a good thing! Over 50% of this ski domain claims to be black, so that's some going. The double black diamond runs off the back of Peak 7 are serious black runs and the forest trails off Peak 6 are great fun, a favourite place for Nick from Snowfinders. Guests staying here for a while would do well to also ski Vail, Keystone, A Basin and Copper – all within 40 mins drive.

Boarders will be in their element in Breckenridge, with the perfect mixture of groomed runs and fresh powder to hand. Throw in a few funparks (4 at last count) and you have the ultimate blend for all riders.