How to Ski the Colorado Rockies on a Tight Budget

Anyone looking to ski the Colorado Rockies on a tight budget needs to take a trip down US Highway 6 to the Loveland Pass and Loveland Ski Area. Situated just northeast of Keystone on US 6 you will find a “locals” place that provides free back country skiing and a low-cost big-mountain experience; adding Loveland Ski Area and Loveland Pass to your trip can be an absolute gem of a solution by providing an authentic “out west” skiing experience for a fraction of the cost.

When traveling out west one Spring Break with some college buddies, we stumbled upon Loveland Ski Area due to its cheap ticket prices and close proximity to Keystone (where we were staying at the time). We were welcomed by a smaller, less crowded resort with a lot of open skiing area. For its size, Loveland Ski Area boasts a variety of long groomed runs, off-trail glades, and wide-open bowls. When we took the lift to the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a continuous loop of snowmobiles that offered to tow us across the face to find a fresh line. The knowledgeable guides were able to provide us with a day of fresh tracks of all styles and difficulties; Loveland quickly became our favorite resort of the trip (even more so than Keystone).

While at Loveland, one of the guides gave us the idea to simply drive to the top of Loveland Pass on Highway 6, park our car, ski down, and “thumb” a ride back up for another run. Taking his advice the next day, we set out for our first backcountry adventure. We were surprised to see a number of skiers already there and finding fresh paths to take down. We hiked for a bit (mostly level and not a bad hike) to find a fresh run and dropped in. It was an incredible experience. The entire valley funnels into a trough that dumped us back to the same place at the bottom of Loveland Pass no matter where we dropped in, and the friendly locals allowed us to hitch a ride with no more than a 15 minute wait. Loveland Pass offered a variety of steep cliff terrain, wide open bowls, and technical glades that never presented a dull run – a definite success and a FREE day of skiing.

If I were lucky enough to make it out to Colorado again, there is a 120% percent choice that I would visit these two places. With a free backcountry experience and Loveland Ski Area being a third of the cost of bigger resorts, it was definitely an authentic “out west” skiing experience that provided days of fun and didn’t break our piggy banks – a no-question “five out of five stars” for skiing the Colorado Rockies on a budget.


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