Snowboarding is by far one of my biggest passions and when my trip to Big Sky, Montana fell through I had to scramble to make something happen. Thankfully the Internet exists and we have these things called Facebook and Twitter.

Back in 2007 I met Espree Devora (@espreedevora) in South Lake Tahoe and during that trip she met Mascha van Tongeren (@xadness). I only know Mascha through Espree and have become friends with her through the usual social channels. Since my trip wasn’t happening I checked to see if she was doing anything and what do you know some of her friends were going to Colorado. Her friend Sarah Vergara (@nosaltadded) who is also a Twitter friend of mine and Kristen Ruiz (@kruiz) had a trip planned and they extended an offer to me and things were looking up.

I immediately bought a Epic Local Pass which is good at all Vail Resorts (Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Northstar and Heavenly) plus Arapahoe Basin and Sierra at Tahoe  is thrown in there for an extra benefit. It’s an incredible deal that really can’t be beat. Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Day tickets for each Vail resort we went to were $116 at Vail, $111 at Breckenridge, $116 at Beaver Creek and $107 at Keystone. That’s $450 to ride each of those resorts 1 time. It was also $79 at Arapahoe Basin so going to all five Colorado resorts would cost $529 and I paid $520 for my season pass. On top of that if you buy your pass early enough you get 4 “Buddy Passes” which allow you to purchase up to 4 tickets for a friend at $69. If you wait too long that price goes up to $93, but that’s still between $14-23 less than full price. You also get 6 “Ski with a Friend Passes” which give you discounted tickets as well. The point is that the Epic Local Pass offers tremendous value and essentially pays for itself in five days. On this trip alone I got 10 days on the mountain so I already saved at least $500.

If you make it out to Denver or these Colorado mountains here are some things I would recommend.

• We went to Steuben’s for dinner which happened to be on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Super cool place so if you are in Denver.
• Moe’s Original BBQ in Lionshead at Vail.
• Beavertails at Keystone. Do yourself a favor if you are there and get one.
• Fresh cookies are served outside at Beaver Creek at 3pm.
• Go to Garfinkel’s in Lionshead at Vail for sports and nachos.

I’m heading back out in late February for Part 2 so until then it’s back to work.