Winter Park is connected to another mountain called Marry Jane. You’ll see bumper stickers proudly explaining Mary Jane “is a hooker, not a drug” often followed by “and I ride her every day.” The main mountain has lots of enjoyable runs and is well designed for beginners. It drops about 1700 feet and has roughly the same amount of beginner, intermediate, and advanced runs. Mary Jane, on the other hand, drops over 2600 feet and is 80 percent advanced runs.

The mountain has a handful of terrain parks and usually sports a nice half pipe. Some of the larger jumps I’ve ever tried were during the new years trip at Winter Park. There are usually a variety of jumps, big and small. They did have some rails, although not a lot. The locals are good riders and can be really fun to watch. I did notice, however, that the locals aren’t very eager to give riding advice to Texans.

One of my favorite things about Winter Park is the base camp area. They’ve got a nice fire pit, lots of stores, and a nice open area to hang out in and compare stories with your friends. All of the staff I’ve interacted with have been great – some of them just down right fun. Unfortunately, I’ve never stayed in one of the rooms on the slopes, so I can’t really comment on them. I know the whole area is currently under heavy renovation so I’m sure things are getting even better. Apparently the company doing a lot of the improvements is the same company that did Whistler.

I think, for the most part, Winter Park is known for getting good snow. I have found resorts such as Wolf Creek that simply have better average conditions. My biggest complaint about Winter Park has to be the crowds. Even if you get away from the base camp area, you’re still likely to see lines on the lifts – especially around holidays. They do have some nice high speed lifts.

The most interesting thing I’ve heard about at Winter Park are the hidden huts. I’ve yet to look for them. They are apparently out of bounds and often stocked with emergency… medical?… supplies by the locals. I’ve seen photos of these huts so I’m sure they exist. I might try looking for one on my next trip out.

All in all, it’s one of the better places I’ve been. If you don’t mind a very commercial experience, you’ll probably love Winter Park. If you hate commercial, maybe you can just try and stay on the Marry Jane side of things. If you find a hut, give me directions! On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Winter Park an 8.5.

The resort was far less commercial than most of the resorts I’ve visited. My group of 4 ended up staying in an older slope side unit with two beds, a fireplace, and a kitchenette. Room and lift tickets for three days cost us less than $200 per person. This was, by far, the best deal I’ve found at any snow park. We found the resort itself to be more than adequate. While our unit was slightly older, everything was clean and in good repair. We had access to hot tubs as well as an indoor/outdoor heated pool.

Two feet of fresh powder fell the night before we arrived. As we entered the park, a sign read “4×4 and chains only beyond this point”. I was stoked! Inches of snow continued to fall at periodic times during our stay.

The first big day time snow storm lead me and my girlfriend to another good surprise. Being blinded on the mountain and in need of some good goggles, we headed down to the strip of shops at the base of the mountain. Traditionally, mountainside shops tend to be expensive. For about $20 each, we both walked away with a very comfortable pair of good quality goggles. In general, we found all the shops to be fairly well priced. Even better, we found most of the merchants and employees to be very pleasant.

The resort and shops were fantastic, but you probably want to know about the mountain. In short, it’s fantastic. The mountain was huge with a wide variety of trails. I was please to find a wide variety of long runs and various levels of challenge. I was only disappointed by one thing; as I mentioned, the terrain park was closed during our visit. The snow cats were busy building a new park on the front side of the mountain as they flatted out the one in the back. On the other hand, the park was littered with a wide variety of small jibs, jumps, and side trails through the trees.

There is but one more wonderful aspect of Purgatory I’d like to discuss. More so than any other park I’ve ever attended, Purgatory was packed with exceptional riders. Watching the performance of riders with mad skills can make a good trip even better. Given the large number of extremely talented riders, I tend to think Purgatory may have a large local hardcore snowboarding community.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I give it a 9.

If you’re interested in night life, there is none. The resort has a bar that’s usually sparsely populated (aside from – maybe – spring break) and there’s never anything going on in town. You might be able to find something going on in a nearby town such as Red River.

If you’re planning a trip, here are my suggestions: Watch the snow report – obviously. Call and ask several times for deals, sometimes they fail to offer you the best rates. Once on the mountain, head to the back. The back of the mountain has the best runs and is usually less crowded. If possible, bring food or head into town for food. I usually pack my coat with snacks while I’m boarding to avoid having to eat in one of the high priced restaurants.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I give it a 6.