Your Winter Travel Bulletin

What to know and where to go when it's time to play in the snow.

Springfield has a lot of things to do. One of those things, sadly, is not skiing. Our terrain is to flat and our snowfall far too sporadic to provide much in the way of winter sports outside of the occasional snowball fight.

There are some nearby exceptions (see sidebar), but for the most part we must travel. Fortunately, there are lots of people in town who can help you plan a trip on any budget. Matt O’Reilly and company at Dynamic Earth can set you up with all the apparel and know-how you could ever ask for. Greg Mustain and Rich Crum at The Ski Shack can hook anyone up with gear; they’ll also give you tons of travel advice, order deep-discounted lift tickets and help you find the cheapest places to stay—even if it means you sleep on the floor in a crowded room with eight of your friends. Some people go for the luxury—others could care less.

O’Reilly helped us out with some top destinations and vital beginner tips.

Matt O’Reilly’s Top Five Slopes

O’Reilly is an avid skier and has some handy recommendations on where to find great slopes, from easy to hard black-diamond slopes. The man knows his stuff. These are his top five ski slopes and where they can be found.

• Jackson Hole, Wyoming: Super-remote, O’Reilly says, and really good quality skiing with the kind of grassroots feel that’s hard to come by anywhere else. (jacksonhole.com)

• Vail, Colorado: They have Blue Sky Basin, a ski mountain with a 1,900-foot vertical drop. (vail.com)

• Keystone, Colorado: It’s not as confusing as Breckenridge, O’Reilly says. It has longer ski runs, it’s more accessible, the people are nicer, and your dollar will
stretch further. Plus, it’s only 10 minutes from Breckenridge, if you want to enjoy that town’s hyper nightlife. (keystone.snow.com)

• Steamboat Springs, Colorado: O’Reilly says this is the place to hit if you want great snow and that hometown feel without feeling like a tourist. (steamboat.com)

• Salt Lake City, Utah: Any of the mountains around Salt Lake have fantastic amounts of snow, O’Reilly says. (visit saltlake.com)

Matt O’Reilly’s Top Five Après-Ski Places to Relax

• Parrot Eyes, River Run Village, Keystone: Huge margaritas and a crazy-fun place, O’Reilly says. (970-496-386)

• Bridge Street, Vail: This open, outdoor pedestrian mall is the place to go for New Year’s Eve. To find it, just look for the parking structure in the center of town. Bridge Street starts there. (vail.com)

• Beau Jo’s Pizza, Idaho Springs, Colorado: O’Reilly says this is the place to get great gigantic pizzas, and there are even locations in other parts of Colorado (such as ski town Steamboat Springs). (1517 Miner St., Idaho Springs, Colorado, 303-567-4376, beaujos.com)

• Kickapoo Tavern, Keystone: This bar and grill serves American food and Colorado microbrews. (129 River Run Rd., Keystone, Colorado, 970-468-4601)

• Sherpa and Yeti’s, Breckenridge: For the music-minded, this is a great place to go if you want to drink and see some good shows, O’Reilly says. (320 S. Main St., Breckenridge, Colorado, 970-547-9299, sherpaandyetis.com)

7 Tips for Ski-Beginners

O’Reilly says skiing is easy enough to learn quickly, but you have to stick with it to be good. If you can make it past day three, then you’ll have it down in no time.

Some other O’Reilly pointers:

• Get waterproof pants. You’ll be falling down a lot if you’re just learning.

• Buy goggles, not sunglasses. They keep your face warmer and protect the eyes.

• If you get a chance, O’Reilly says, try learning on Schoolmarm Slope in Summit County, Colorado. You can cruise most of the way down.

• Layer your clothes correctly. Don’t put cotton next to your skin. It holds water and will cause you to lose heat.

• Get a pro to show you the ropes.

• Don’t be afraid to go fast. You’ll get the motion quicker and not sit down as much.

• Learn how to stop correctly.

Ski Near Springfield

Ski Shack’s Rich Crum says if you don’t want to travel far to hit the slopes, you don’t have to. Missouri offers some nice slopes for the Midwest as well. He recommends Hidden Valley in Eureka Springs and Snow Creek north of Kansas City if you want to brush up on your skiing or learn the sport.

Skiing isn’t the only thing the snow has to offer, says Crum. New trends are popping up all the time. There’s tubing, ice skating, snowmobiles and the newer sport of snow skating, which Crum says is a cross between snowboarding and a bi-level skateboard with a rail instead of wheels. These are becoming popular in snowboard parks.

Crum also says that Springfield is pretty central to everything we need for the winter sport. Denver is only a 12-hour drive from Springfield. You could travel there for a long weekend. O’Reilly says there are some great direct flights from nearby airports. Great Southern Travel travel agent Diane Wray can put together a complete, elite four-night ski excursion to Breckenridge for around $4,730 for two people or a four-night getaway to Keystone for $2,775 for two people. If you haven’t booked your trip yet, don’t despair, Wray says. It’s never too late to make a Missouri winter into an extreme one.

Sidebar: Where to stay?

Diana Wray, a travel agent with Great Southern Travel, can book your trip in the mountains of Colorado.

The only question you need to ask yourself is, “Where do I want to ski?” It seems like an easy question, but as Wray showed us, you have many choices to make before you head off on your ski pilgrimage. First you’ll need to book your trip. Lodges fill up quickly, as the peak time to ski is between Thanksgiving and the second week in April. But it’s still not too late to book a trip, Wray says. Ask for it, and your travel agent can put it together.

There are so many lodges and towns to pick from, the winter traveler may become a little worked up. As Wray, O’Reilly and Crum pored over each great slope, resort and town many of the same places kept getting mentioned. These folks know what Springfield travelers want, and they know where to send them.

Top Five Lodges

• The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek in Beaver Creek, Colorado: Expect to pay more here, Wray says. If you want high-end lodging, this is the place to stay. (50 W. Thomas Pl., Avon, Colorado, 970-949-1234, beavercreek.hyatt.com, beavercreek.snow.com)

• The Chateau Chamonix in Steamboat Springs, Colorado: Not only is there good snow, it’s cowboy country meets ski country here. (2340 Apres Ski Way, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 970-879-7511, chateau-chamonix.com)

• Lone Eagle Condominiums at River Run Village in Keystone, Colorado: This is condo living in a town that has a little bit of everything to offer, and it may not break the bank. (970-262-9845 or 1-877-753-9786, keystone.snow.com)

• The Lodge at Vail: Wray says Vail is a favorite among many of her clients. Vail is the largest ski resort in the USA, and it’s just a quick shuttle from the lodge. (174 E. Gore Creek Dr., Vail, Colorado, 970-476-5011, lodgeatvail.rockresorts.com, vail.com)

• Hotel Park City in Park City, Utah: You’ll find many different levels of lodging here, says Wray. Park City was host to the recent winter Olympics, and this still draws visitors in. (2001 Park Avenue, Park City, Utah, 435-200-2000, hotelparkcity .com, parkcityinfo.com)