For years we’ve skied in Colorado (starting from EDI) as it has much more reliable snow than Europe throughout the whole season and 10 days in the right resort is often cheaper than 6 days in a European resort. The best bit for me is avoiding the whole “changeover day” nonsense that makes flights/travel busy and costly.
We’ve gone on a few group holidays to Copper Mountain and whilst it is a bit odd, it is one of my favourite places to ski in the whole of North America. When I say “odd”, what I mean is that it doesn’t have a town at the base, just condos and about 4 restaurants. However it genuinely has something for everyone and is truly ski-in/out. The whole mountain is incredibly well laid out and has miles and miles of green runs for the beginners in your group, although if you put them in ski school for a week, they will be doing the blacks by the end of it!
It is an easy place to leave loved ones in ski school for the morning whilst you go and do the back bowls, before joining them for lunch and it is a very large ski area. We’ve been 7 or 8 times and love it and it is about 2 hours drive or shuttle from Denver. So my advice would be to get some flight to Denver and then choose a resort from the below:
1) Copper Mountain - 2 hours from Denver on I-70 Accommodation self catering condo with a handful of restaurants, but a free bus service to the town of Frisco if you need some variety or want to do some shopping. There is now a hotel but we haven’t tried that yet.
Pros - easy to get to, some of the best skiing for all abilities, relatively inexpensive. Brilliant snow up until mid-April when it shuts due to being in the National park. We typically get there by doing a one way car rental from DIA to Frisco and same again to get back. Ski in/ski out. On mountain dining has something for everyone but is inexpensive. Oh, and the runs never get busy.
Cons - No nightlife really, limited local restaurant options, base area has no “alpine prettiness”, on mountain dining options are a bit cafeteria like.
2) Breckenridge or “Breckenfridge” as it is known. Again, just over 2 hours from DIA but unlike Copper it is a proper town. We’re not as fond of the skiing although it is still better than most.
Pros - great old Western Town, good range of accommodation, lots of shops and restaurants. Runs are never as busy as Europe.
Cons - layout of the mountain makes it slightly harder to meet up if you are in a mixed group, more expensive, faces North so can be bloody cold!
3) Vail, is about half an hour past Copper on I-70 and is one of the most major resorts.
Pros - something for everyone, good range of skiing and apres, decent accommodation choices.
Cons - dearer and a lot busier. It sometimes gets “Courchevel busy”. You also have to be a bit careful about where your accommodation is as the Vail town is now about six miles long and winds alongside I-70. You could spend quite a bit of time getting to and from your accommodation each day.
4) Steamboat is about 5 hours drive from DIA depending on the weather.
Pros - interesting town with a bit of history, good hotel and accommodation choices, decent ski area.
Cons - we’ve only been once, but it was our iciest experience in Colorado and we’ve been in Copper in every month of the season. You need a car to get there and get around (depending on where you stay) and the drive can be truly terrifying if the weather closes in. It is also on the dearer side.
5) Aspen, probably the most famous place to ski in North America. About 4.5 hours drive from DIA
Pros - great skiing spread across 4 mountains, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. Great town and good accommodation and dining options, both on and off the mountain.
Cons - brutally expensive! This is where the richest people in the World go skiing - Gates, Bezos etc. Depending on dates you may easily be looking at £600-1000 per room per night for what may feel like a fairly average hotel, passes are dear etc etc. Also the mountain layout does not lend itself easily to mixed ability groups. Buttermilk is great for kids, Aspen Highland is pretty much black runs and back bowls only. As a result families might find they spend all their time at Snowmass which is great, but you are missing out on a lot of the Aspen experience.
You have loads of other options within a couple of hours of Denver such as Winter Park and Keystone, but I have no direct experience of them yet.
As you are in Glasgow you are probably in the same boat as we are - not that many direct options to Europe without a long drive first. This has been a major factor in why we’ve skied more in North America than in Europe over the last 20 years. I’ve had WT tickets to Denver for less than EasyJet to Geneva at peak times from EDI and the snow is far more reliable.