I'm headed to Keystone in March. Never been. I see the park has created some mixed feelings here..
But for those of you who have been to Keystone, do you have any tips or suggestions?
Thanks!
First of all, skiing anywhere in the rockies is fantastic, at least for me. A lot of the debates I see are debating between a range of good to amazing. So don't let any one place or comment detour from something you want to try.
Keystone is a great resort with a good variety. If you're a beginner, there are some nice long/wide green runs on the front side that you can practice up your turns and get a feel for your ski legs. I'd recommend getting there right when the lifts open and do those right away. The closer you get to noon, the more packed those runs are.
If you're more of an intermediate, I agree with what's been said that you should definitely make your way down Mozart (backside of the front peak) and enjoy the back two peaks (North Peak and then The Outback). Some of my favorite runs on North Peak are Prospector, Last Alamo, and Starfire. Starfire is a black, but it's not too terrible and is pretty wide. The best part about it being a black is it keeps a lot of people off it, so if you catch it on a day that it's groomed, you can fly. The Outback has good variety. You can take decently challenging blues such as Bighorn, Elkrun, or Porcupine. Porcupine is a lot of fun because you can play in an out of the trees. If you're a seasoned vet, give Wolverine a try. It's a run completely through the trees.
After lunch, we've always gone back to the front mountain when it's cleared out some and enjoyed the runs there. They all intervene so you feel like you never take the same path down twice. If you take the Peru Express lift, you can enjoy watching people do tricks at the Terrain Park from below.
Few other tips:
1. I'm assuming you're staying right at Keystone so you don't have to worry about parking. If you do have to park, we've found its best to pay and be super close than walk from the free lot.
2. The Summit Express Lift is faster than the Gondola at the front. If you're trying to maximize runs, just keep that in mind. However, the Gondola is nice on a windy day.
3. At the top of The Outback you'll look off to the Southwest and you can see Breckenridge. Cool spot for a group photo.
4. The food is pricy (as you'd expect at a ski resort), but I've had good luck with their personal pizzas.
5. You can pay a few bucks and have a snowcat drop you at the top of the bowls if you're into that.
6. Watch out for some of the frontside runs at the end of the day. We ran into a couple with ice. Haywood and River Run come to mind as they are traveled a ton.