travel question (Denver, Steamboat Springs, Vail: ski resorts, hotels, live)

[jennifer s]

help - my family and i are taking our first vacation to colorado...vail. we are going the week before christmas. can anyone tell me what the weather is like that time of year? will it likely be snowing? will the ground be covered in snow? will we be able to drive on the streets or should we stay at a hotel in the city center so we can just walk? your information is much appreciated!!!!

[wanneroo]

It is a ski resort so of course there will be snow. Dress and be prepared accordingly.

[Dogmama50]

We already have snow on the ground, here's a link to Vail's webcams, take a look during daylight and you'll have some great views. Official Vail® Ski Resort Web Cams | Mountain Cams | Vail.com

You should be able to get a good deal the week before Christmas, look for hotels is Vail Village or Lionshead, Beaver Creek is worth a look also. Vail.com and Beavercreek.com can help you with planning. You won't need your car, so you can park it and walk or take the free bus.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Assuming you are flying in to Denver. How will you be getting to Vail?

If you don't have reservations already, your choices may be limited. And did you know that the prices on lodging will skyrocket that time of year? Anything within walking distance of lifts and shopping will be outrageous.

Whether or no snow will be falling or covering the streets at any given time is a crap-shoot. You would hope that the ground will be covered with snow, since the town sits at the base of the ski area. I lived in Steamboat Springs for three years and one Christmas we got rain! You can do a little on-line research yourself and see what the average snowfall rates are for that time of year.

[jazzlover]

Northwest Colorado--basically from I-70 north--is better favored for getting early season snow than is the southern portion of Colorado, but December snowfall can be notoriously unreliable in any part of Colorado. One of Denver's most major snowstorms/blizzards occurred in December 1913, but many years see scant snow accumulations until after December, even in the mountains. That is why the ski areas have invested so much in artificial snow-making equipment. Some Colorado native buddies of mine who ski--which I do not--call the Christmas period the "sucker" weeks because it is when the ski resorts price gouge the "pilgrims" to the max and the skiing conditions are often the worst of the season.

As for road conditions, they can be dry and fine, or completely terrible. All one can do is check on them frequently. As I have posted umpteen times before, Colorado is no place for inexperienced winter drivers if road conditions are adverse--especially along the I-70 corridor. There, one has to constantly contend with legions of idiot drivers even when the roads are dry. Add winter conditions and it can be a challenge for even seasoned winter drivers to stay out of trouble. I have to travel the state fairly frequently and--in winter, especially--I avoid the I-70 corridor if at all possible because of the massive number of complete driving idiots on that road, not because of the road condition itself.

[neuro]

I think at least some of the people on you vacation will be dissapointed if the ground is not covered in snow. you expressed some reservations on your ability to travel in the snow. On thing to keep in mind is this is not texas the town of vail is prepaired for a lot of snow and they view it as a priority to make sure you can get around. they will plow/sand/salt the streets and roads they will be passable in Dec.

Vail at Christmas is a wonderful vacation and you will build family memories that will last a life time.

Only in Colorado -Vail, the largest ski mountain in the world

[wanneroo]

The thing with Vail at that time of the year is that it doesn't get a lot of direct sunshine, so what snow has fallen, it will be there and it will be cold. You don't actually see the sun itself in Vail Village until around 9 AM and it's gone by 3:30-4 pm. Not necessarily daylight but the actual sun. And due to the high altitude when that sun is not on you, you immediately feel the difference in the air temp.

I found in my years during Christmas season(one week before and one week after Christmas) was that there was always some snowfall. Some years were more clear than others, some were filled with daily high snowfall where it looked like Siberia.

Basically you just have to be prepared for cold "real" winter conditions. Daily highs 10F-30F, nightly lows almost always lower than 20F, sometimes down to -10. The big chill periods in Vail are after big snowstorms when everything is covered in frozen precip and if the weather clears out late in the day and you have a cloudless night, it will be pretty darn cold.