Day 3 -
Keystone Resort
February 19th
Today we hit Keystone...nice place. Better than Breckenridge, but nothing so far has beaten Copper. Keystone's design is interesting...it has a front side, then two other skiable peaks behind it (North Peak and Outback). Most of the front side was solid beginner/intermediate, with difficulty gradually increasing the further back you go.
Keystone's strong suit is its high capacity, fast lifts...including two gondolas, a six passenger detachable, and 5 high speed quads. There was hardly a lift line at all today, a big change from Breckenridge.
Some areas of the mountain get quite congested...such as the Summit House area, where 8 (!) lifts converge in one place. Also, there was a lot of funneling, with often times just one groomed intermediate trail allowing mid-level skiers to connect to the rest of the mountain.
Here are some pictures.
| Here's a view of the mountain from the base...showing the area around the River Run base area, near the Gondola. | |
| Here's Betsy in between snow showers, which dropped about an inch of new snow. |  |
| Inside the Outpost restaurant...at 11,600 feet in elevation. Great food, and a spacious summit lodge. |  |
| Here's the large crowd near the Summit House...jam packed with people! |  |
| At the end of the day we visited, but didn't ski, Arapahoe Basin...what a place! Comparable to Mad River Glen...just fixed grip lifts and gnarly terrain. |  |