If you picture snow falling everywhere, bright white skies and everything in sight covered in beautiful powdery snow, then you’re thinking of Breckenridge, Co. During Christmas break, I went on a ski trip to Breckenridge, CO. Today, I am giving you a guide on what you should do while staying in Breckenridge.

December is Breckenridge, CO’s busiest time of the year due to all of the tourists visiting to ski. On the first day of our vacation in Breckenridge, my family had a hard time finding tickets for the ski lifts and openings for ski lessons due to almost everything being booked

Winter break was my first time ever skiing, I was super nervous about it, but I was able to get lessons with an instructor on my first day in order to gain confidence. The lessons we took were phenomenal. The instructor was a delightful man who was also very helpful in teaching us how to ski. He taught us the pizza method which is when both skis are faced inward and it causes us to slow down and stop and the french fry method which is when both skis are parallel which causes us to go straight. He was also cracking jokes throughout the whole lesson which made it so much more enjoyable.

When we first started skiing with the instructor and practiced basic ski moves, I hated it because it was super challenging. I remember thinking to myself, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do for the next three ski days, I hate this so much.” When we finally stopped practicing basic moves we started skiing down a slope and at that point, I loved it. I had so much fun skiing and couldn’t get enough of it.

The next two days I went back to Copper Mountain for more skiing and I improved greatly while also having so much fun. The second day I went back, my sister and I decided to go on a new ski lift to a different slope. The lift ride was very long which gave me a hint that the slope would be steep. When I got off the lift I saw a sign that said “Easy Way Down” so I decided to take it. Looking down, from the top of the mountain I was so scared, the slope was way too steep for my beginner ski level, and it took my sister and me almost 45 minutes to get down the slope.

Copper Mountain had free bus rides to different parts of the resort to go skiing on different mountains on different levels, and they had many slopes suitable for all ages. It had a variety of slopes and many ski lifts as well. Copper Mountain was not too busy when we went, the ski lifts were all almost walk-on, so we barely had to wait in line. Reasons, why the ski resort was not crowded, could be due to the time of year since we went skiing on the last two days of 2021, and the first day in 2022. Another reason it wasn’t too crowded could be because Copper Mountain prices are slightly higher than they are in Breckenridge, and the Copper Mountain ski resort is more of a down low place since it’s not directly in Breckenridge so not as many people know about it. At the bottom of the mountain, there was a place for ski rentals, lockers, a gift store that sold souvenirs, and ski clothing gear, there was also a giant cafeteria with a variety of different types of food, as well as a bar for the adults.

After spending a couple of days skiing at Copper Mountain, we decided to spend a day skiing in Breckenridge. When we arrived at the parking lot for skiing in Breckenridge, it was like a zoo. There were so many people, and it was difficult to find a parking space. After parking, we got on a bus that took us to the ski site, and the bus was packed full of people as well. When we finally got to the resort, there were crazy long lines for the ski lifts, and the line for ski rentals was over an hour and a half wait. I waited there for about thirty minutes while we figured out how to cancel our tickets and get refunded on everything. Once our tickets were canceled, we decided to head back to our rental house; at the ski resort, they had gondola rides, so we took a ride back to the parking garage to get our car. When I was riding in the gondola, I saw many people snowshoeing, cross country skiing and I also saw three moose laying in the snow.

The next day we decided to return to Copper Mountain for skiing. When we got to Copper Mountain, it was almost completely empty. Not too many people were there so I got onto the ski lift so fast each time, never having to wait to get on it.

Fun places to go to:

Downtown Breckenridge, CO- In downtown Breck, there are many restaurants, cute stores, souvenir shops, and it is a nice place to walk around and enjoy the view of the mountains.
Copper Mountain, CO- Copper Mountain is a great place near Breckenridge with fun activities such as: skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tubing, and there there is also a mountain roller coaster.
BreckConnect Gondola: The gondolas take people to and from the ski resort, and also take people to the walking trails. The ride is free, and you can also just go on it for fun and relax while enjoying the scenery.

Besides skiing, Copper Mountain also has sledding, snowboarding, snow tubing, and a ski school for children so parents can go skiing while their kids are being watched and taught how to ski. Copper Mountain was such a great place to ski, and if I were to ever go back I would definitely choose Copper Mountain skiing rather than Breckenridge skiing.