As a new skier, the goal is to get as good as possible… as fast as possible. I visited Beaver Creek this January for the first time, and right away, I was hooked. After two days of lessons, I was ready to venture onto the mountain on my own. My only problem? How do I know which runs to start with? Which green is the hardest? Once I master that, which blue is the easiest? I scoured the web for answers, and found little helpful information. After asking a few instructors, and hitting the mountain for 9 days, I put together a guide for those of you ready to hit the slopes in BC for the first time.
A word of advice: As an absolute beginner, lessons are highly recommended. If only for one day, lessons will teach you the important foundations like how to put on your skis, how to turn, and how to stop. The instructors can also function as guides, and will give you the inside scoop on which lifts are the fastest lines, which ones will be busy at which times, and the best routes. Even as an advanced skier, I’d recommend an instructor to help guide you around any new mountains.
Green Runs
Beaver Creek has an amazing section of the mountain full of greens for every beginner. Start by heading up the Centennial lift. If it’s a cold day, hop in the Gondola for a warmer ride. From there, jump on Cinch to take you to the top of the mountain. Here you’ll be able to enter the three easiest runs on the mountain, Powell, Piney, and Booth Gardens. All three of these end at the Drink of Water lift, which takes you right back up to the top of the mountain.
Once you’ve mastered these three, try out Solitude and Red Buffalo. These two are a bit more challenging, and will prepare you to start your first blue run. To really get ready for a blue, take each of the above runs to the Cinch catwalk, and then try taking the harder, steeper ways down to the Cinch lift.
Blue Runs
The easiest blue run on the mountain is Stone Creek Meadows, which can be accessed at the bottom of Cinch. After taking the Rose Bowl Express back up the mountain, and Powell/Cinch down to the bottom of the Cinch lift, you can try out Gold Dust and Latigo. These two are both quite steep, so make sure you’ve mastered Stone Creek at it’s steepest points before moving on.
A word of advice: Stone Creek Meadows is the only way into the Rose Bowl, which is a collection of VERY difficult black runs. Because of this, a lot of experienced skiers will be speeding through this “easy” run to get to their destination. While the rule is always to yield to skiers ahead of you, keep an eye out for some of this traffic, especially earlier on in the day.
If you’re nervous about the steepness, you can also head over to Arrowhead after Stone Creek Meadows, and ski Little Brave. It starts out with a steep blue, and ends as a more challenging green. Another plus – Arrowhead tends to be less crowded, which can be more comfortable for a beginner.
After that, you can try out Gunder’s from the Bachelor Gulch/Arrow Bahn lifts, or Larkspur from the Larkspur Express for more of a challenge.
The Fun Stuff
Make sure you download the EpicMix app and connect it to your ski pass so you can track all of the progress you’ve made. It tracks each lift you take and shows your daily, yearly, and lifetime vertical feet.
After a long day of skiing, there isn’t much better than aprés ski drinks followed by an incredible dinner. Check out the best restaurants in Beaver Creek for some great ideas for food and drink.
Been to Beaver Creek and have some tips for navigating the mountain? About to head out on your first ski trip? Let us know in the comments!
