Question For Boulder people!

AltaUtah

AltaUtah

Member
ok so im considering going to CU boulder and ive got a question about the skiing situation.
so i know the resorts are give or take 1.5 hours away from boulder but i was wondering if people ski backcountry no where near a resort and if so is it closer than breck and those areas???

thanks.
 
there are backcountry spots all around the front range and boulder areai haven't explored too much of it, but there is lots to be had
If you are thinking about getting into backcountry skiing make sure to be aware of the avalanche danger and current conditions. If you haven't already i would very highly suggest that you take an avalanche level one course. I'm not sure of your avalanche knowledge or where you are from, but its no joke out here.
 
sorry for dub post,but that sounded real lame, but seriously you shouldn't go out and ski something if you don't know what you are doing. Colorado has the most avalanche fatalities per year in the US
 
There is some good stuff to be found in Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park which is not far at all from Boulder (especially Indian Peaks). Then there's always Loveland Pass and Vail backcountry. But yeah, this part of Colorado can be super sketchy as far as backcountry, but CU is pretty dope so you should probably just go here anyway.
 
^these guys know what's up. CU is pretty sick. There's some good places if ya know where to look.

If you get the 5 mtn pass which is super cheap, you can get an 8 month season, October through may.

If you aren't too set on a big school you should check Fort Lewis College http://explore.fortlewis.edu/ It's in the san juans in southern colorado. 2 hours to telluride, hour and a half to wolf creek, and durango mtn is only about 25 min away. There's some pretty good back country too.
 
Also check out Western, which is basically in Crested Butte's backyard. But I love CU, good vibes, and tons of chill people. But yeah, we do have to drive a little.
 
thanks guys..
yeah i used to live in alta, ut so i know a good amount about backcountry....
but ya the school im going to is boulder or vermont...
 
are people at boulder who are backcountry people like me at boulder? like people who would hike and camp alot?
 
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boulder is a big school, its got a lot of everything. There will be people who will bw ok with earning their turns, there are also a lot of kids who drive around in big suv's that daddy bought, with a never used snowboard on top, who claim to be hardcore riders
 
Id definitely advise looking at both cu and western. Iv had a great time at CU but for me at least it hasn't been as much skiing as i want. Western gives you a sick mountain in crested butte and more die hard skiers (not saying there aren't die hard skiers in boulder) and easier access to better backcountry in the irwin area right next to resort, some crazy scary fun shit. Basically if your looking for a better degree, more of a city/party environment, and all the fun stuff that comes with boulder go to CU. If all you want is skiing, which iv recently realized is what would have been better suited for me going to college, go to western, lot less distractions and easier school, makes it alot easier to just focus on skiing. Oh and yes, be wary of what people have posted, our avy dangers sucks cock had some very scary experiences myself so far and gotten really lucky that i have no dead friends, DO NOT TAKE THAT SHIT LIGHTLY!!
 
thats the thing im afraid of, not enough skiing...
can freshman bring thier cars? if not how do i get the mountain after a big dump?
 
Freshman can bring cars. I went to DU but took courses at CU and lived up there one summer. Still go up a lot. The drive to get to the areas or places where there is good back country is easy especially if you leave early. If you leave after 7:00 am on a Saturday morning; you're going to get hosed by gaper traffic. It's the drive home that's usually the bigger pain in the ass. 3 to 4 hours in the parade of tards, if you try to head back around 4. Best bet is to wait, have dinner up there and then head back when traffic is lighter. There is some unbelievable back country, that's about an hours drive from Boulder or Denver.
 
ok so heres the question-
UVM OR BOULDER?
vermont- burlington, on lake, 30 mins from stowe, hour and a half from jay peak and its vermont so its cool
colorado- boulder, western skiing, waterski team (i waterski competetivley) colorado is awesome, good camping, and mnt biking..

 
Both of those schools are sick. Personally I go to UVM and I love it. I got a pass to Stowe and its like 45 mins away. Get like 3-4 days a week with a full course load so thats pretty sweet. With colorado you'll probably get better skiing but it will just be harder to get out there as much. It probably just comes down to personal preference
 
i haven't really been to the east except when i was little, but i live in boulder, and its a pretty sick town, hard to beat boulder IMO
 
go to boulder and be a weekend warrior like the rest of the state.

uvm seems to be a better bet.

BTW if you get up at 630 to shread and ski till the end of the day and it takes till 8 to get home....when do you do homework?
 
Go to boulder. You can set up your classes for only tuesday thursdays and ski 5 days a week. I know dozens of people who do it. Boulder is the best. I have spent time in utah, cali, east coast, and co. Boulder is defiantly the illest
 
I'm from the east coast and I would definitely go for Boulder. UVM is definitely a great place, dont get me wrong. But CO has great sports to watch, a very sick campus and town, and the ski season is longer and better :)
 
word, my good friend at boulder is a freshman and he still had no prob setting his classes up for tuesday thursday.

And you can bring your car but it's expensive as shit. like prob $550 minimum.
 
Now that my wife isn't watching I can post the other reason to go to CU. When I was there, every day I walked to class there were chicks everywhere who could have been in SI Swimsuit issue. It's unreal. Tough to walk around campus without developing a spontaneous limp.
 
Is it really that much? When I was a freshman the parking pass was about $100 a semester.

In terms of BC close to boulder, I wouldn't say its that great, especially during winter. Most of the high mountains close to Boulder get such fierce some winds that the snow is pretty blasted most of the time, and access is pretty difficult, but in spring(March - June) when the weather and avalanche danger chills out there is some amazing backcountry skiing in the Front Range. We go to this BC zone near eldo where we build jumps that is only 40 min from Boulder though. But berthoud and loveland pass have oodles of fun stuff. RMNP has lots of options too, but its not really any closer than Berthoud.
 
Boulder for sure. I'm at boulder now and my sister went to UVM so I went up there a bunch, plus I'm an east coaster originally. UVM is a really cool school and it is very similar to Boulder. Like everywhere theres gonna b d-bags at either place but you don't have to hang out with them. You might get in more days at UVM but the quality will be no where close to the Rockies. Either way you're going to be in a good spot it just depends on if you want to cruise ice or ski deep pow. I left the east for better skiing and every time I go back there I'm depressed when I ski it just isn't as good. What can I say I'm spoiled now.
 
where in VT (unless you meant UVM) mountains are closer but there isn't really backcountry around here.
 
I made that same decision and ended up going to Boulder, it's disappointing going from Utah to anywhere else for skiing IMO, because when you ski Utah pow all your life you don't realize how spoiled you are until you go somewhere else. But the for skiing in CO the 5mtn pass is a sick deal (for Breck/Keystone/A-Basin/Vail/Beaver Creek), and Breck / Key have sick parks - if you have a car you can ski 5 days a week, but if you don't it can be difficult to get up to the mountains.. There are a lot of outdoorsy people in Boulder, the campus is big so I'm sure you'll meet a like-minded crowd. Oh and the marijuana laws are MUCH better in Boulder than the crazy laws of Utah (if that is of any concern).
 
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