March 16, 2018 Breckenridge

We arrived in Breckenridge on the 15th. I needed a new trail map as the map I had was from our last visit in 2007/2008. New stuff and lots of changes in 10 years. I stopped in the Breck Connect Gondola parking lot which used to be free, but is now a fee lot. I went to the ticket counter and found the oldest attendant there to get a new trail map and some info. I have learned that smiles and being nice really helps. It was afternoon and no customers were in line so we talked for about 15 minutes. She told me about the best place to park free, which has a shuttle bus stop by every 10 minutes. The trail info was great. Jill stayed in the campervan in case she had to move the rig from the 15" load-unload spot. There was a small storm coming that night. We parked in Dillon at a place designated for overnight parking (sleeping in rigs allowed).

Morning arrived with 3" overnight, 15 degrees, and breezy. We wore our heavy-duty, warmest storm clothes, and used our Epic Passes to go directly to the chair. The best place to park free is at the Ice Rink - a perfect spot and a short ride to the Quicksilver Super Chair. We got off at the top and skied down to the Peak 8 Super Connect lift to the Vista Haus. I stopped at a map board and an Info employee provided the best way to get to Peak 6, i.e. take Independence Super and ski to Zendo chair and to Kensho Super Chair to Peak 6. The top of the lift is at 12,030', and we arrived there with the wind blowing and fresh powder and Jill with a big smile. I realize that it may sound like a lot of work to get there, but from the local in the ticket office - it was fast. We had a great time with the fresh powder and did a couple of runs off the top. We started working our way back to Peak 7, then Peak 8, and then Peak 9. The backcountry/hike terrain was closed due to the high winds and no visibility above the tree line. This was a great day.

Now, here is some feedback about the employees working the mountains at Breck. We again rode using the "singles line", and there was an employee directing folks to get on the chairs. The line moved fast and was organized. They usually had 1 or 2 employees walking behind each chair to help the little kids get on their seat. Cool. There was also an employee with a long pole near the large maps at the top of each lift to answer questions, point out trails to use on the map board, and how to get back to the base areas. Also, the large ski school trails had banners to instruct riders to slow down that it was a teaching area, and there was usually an employee standing behind/near the banner. The resort is enormous and crowded in certain areas, but we were impressed with the customer service. It will be interesting to see if this is an Epic management culture... We really like the small ski areas, especially on a powder day midweek, but we also really enjoyed our day at Breckenridge.

Breck 12,302 ft