Family-Friendly Skiing at Colorado’s Copper Mountain

I’m holding fast to the brakes of a roller coaster that races above the treetops of the winter wonderland that’s Copper Mountain, a Colorado ski resort. My 15-year-old daughter speeds ahead of me, more of an adrenaline junkie than me. I hurl expletives at the track as my car careens at precipitous slants along winding curves until I finally come to a stop after the heart-thumping ride. We’re having a little break from our morning of skiing the two of us, then once again we don our skis and head toward the peaks of Colorado’s highest-base-elevation ski resort at 9700 feet, towering to 12,441 at the top. My daughter insists that we hit that tippy top to get Instagram-worthy panoramic views, even as blustering winds warn us to remain where we are. It’s all part of my quest to experience a family-friendly ski resort within easy driving distance from Denver. It turns out that Copper Mountain delivers more than I expected.

Unique Character

We started out from the airport on a scenic ride that wound its way for an hour and 45 minutes past old mining towns and fields of buffalo grazing in the shadow of the mountains. Copper Mountain is a condo resort, which lends to it a family feel, though the resort is set to open its first hotel in 2020. I quickly discover that it’s by no means a cookie-cutter ski resort like many in the Colorado Rockies that are all filled with the same shops, restaurants and hotel chains. The management has intentionally aimed to keep more individual character to it. To that end, I meet the father of a family from Brooklyn Heights who describes the situation well. He says he’s drawn to Copper because “I’m not interested in a lot of bars and Bogner retail.”

The resort has three sections – West Village, Center Village and East Village – each small and quaint, and there’s a free shuttle that transports guests from one section to the other for various activities. Our condo in Central Village looks out over the mountains, and it’s steps from the main lifts.

Cruising, Moguls and Back Bowls

Skiing, naturally, is our priority, and our private instructor, Scott De Palma, guides us through the first day on the slopes. Scott, who hails from San Diego, says Copper is his favorite ski resort. He especially likes the mountain layout:  advanced trails mostly to the left, blues in the middle, and greens to the right. “It doesn’t really happen here that you end up on the wrong trail by mistake,” he says.

There’s ample terrain – 148 trails in total – with 2,490 skiable acres, six terrain parks for snowboarding and freestyle skiing, as well as a 22-foot championship superpipe. Over several days of skiing, I feel like I never ski the same trail twice, except perhaps to get to the bottom for lunch at Jack’s (my favorite place with an excellent food court). I prefer the nicely groomed runs while my daughter raves about the back bowls, like Copper Bowl, as well as fun mogul runs and narrow trails through the pines.

In the evening, we take a few spins ice skating on the frozen pond a few hundred yards from our condo. And, we luxuriate in the finest dining Copper has to offer at C.B. Grille, with its eclectic contemporary American offerings like a starter of dates stuffed with Colorado goat cheese and wrapped in bacon, and entrees like a maple glazed duck with blueberry sauce, or scallops in a saffron-infused risotto.

Dog Days at Copper – Avalanche Rescue Dogs

The next day, we have the privilege of personally meeting an avalanche rescue dog, Mason, and his handler Abby Seymour. Copper Mountain was one of the first ski resorts in Colorado to employ such dogs and now has five of various breeds. Mason is an adorable four-year-old Golden Retriever, and when we meet him, he has just finished his big drill of the day – the “rescue” of a member of the ski patrol. The patrolman was buried deep in the snow and upon Abby’s command of “Search!,” Mason was thrust into action, on the hunt for the human scent he could detect. Then Mason began furiously digging, finding his target, who was holding a towel that Mason immediately began tugging at to free him.

“It’s like hide-and-seek and tug-of-war, and Mason thinks it’s a giant game,” says Abby. Our time with the animal proves to be a fascinating lesson in dog training – and advanced approaches to avalanche rescue.

A Whirlwind of Winter Activities

Late in the day, we head over to the East Village to enjoy a few rides down the tubing hill. There are kids galore laughing up their spinning rides down the tracks. Adjacent, for those too young to spin, is a park called Critterland with tiny crooked houses for kids to bop in and out of, along with a miniature sledding hill.

At this point, Olivia and I are beginning to question our energy levels, given all these activities. But there’s one more place we want to see and experience, the Woodward Copper Barn, a 19,400-square-foot indoor training facility that attracts world-class snowboarders and freestyle skiers interested in honing their techniques. It’s an amazing facility with high ramps from which skiers and snowboarders can try out new tricks and safely land in foam pits; there’s a large assortment of trampolines for practicing flips and twists; and, there are also bike and skateboard zones for those less interested in snow. Just one hour into Olivia’s intro session, following some fine coaching, she’s six feet airborne doing backflips on the trampoline. (Fortunately for my nerves, she has no intention of trying this on skis.)

All in all, Copper Mountain proves to be a whirlwind family-friendly ski trip for the two of us. Another family we meet, while relaxing in our condo’s outdoor hot tub, echoes our positive sentiments. The father says he and his wife and two kids have been coming to Copper for 18 years. “It’s a great value,” the father insists. “I bought four-day lift passes for $209 each online.” Meanwhile, I’m told that nearby Vail broke the $200 mark for a one-day pass.

There’s a lot of family fun to be had skiing here and at a great value. Add in coasters and tubing, skating spins and snowboarding flips and it’s no wonder families return time and again. And then there’s Mason.