Hi Guys,

I'm based in Champaign, IL and am new to skiing.

I'd like to seek your opinion what you feel is the best place to ski (and learn to ski) for two 21-year old guys who want to depart during their Spring break (16 March - 24 March).
I've already read this thread, but feel snow fall might be very different for Spring than for Fall/Winter

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Timberline on Mt. Hood in Oregon is AWESOME for Spring/Summer skiing. We have one of the only mountains in North America with a solid snow base year round. We usually see some FIS racers and Olympic racers training there when snow is scarce in other places. Flights to PDX are pretty reasonable from ORD or MDW.

Late March is really not so late in the season. I've been to the Salt Lake City area several times in late March with excellent snowfall throughout the trip. For the lowest cost for several people look at a condo in Sandy, Utah and ski at Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, and Brighton. For more of a party scene stay in Park City.

Late season is more like mid-April onwards, and then there's Arapahoe Basin in Colorado plus the Oregon/Washington areas.

What?!? You aren't going to follow the Illini to wherever their one NIT road game will be?

March is still good snow season in most of the big western U.S. ski areas.

How ''bout Tahoe? We've done two March Madness trips there in the past and the snow was excellent on that exact weekend you're talking about. We'd be there 4 days...we would ski 3 and golf one. (Yes, you're on a very good snow mountain...and you're 45 minutes from some desert courses that are playable in March.)

You'd ideally fly into Reno, although Sacramento also works. Probably one-stop from CMI or IND, but maybe nonstop from ORD.

You could even pair it up with a couple days in the Bay Area if you're really planning on being out there a week.

There are lots of condos around colorado for rent if you check craigslist (ski in/ski out) and great coupons like bogo such as

"Ski Free Colorado" : good at the following resorts and dates. You can choose 1 of the followingCopper Mountain - Valid 7 days a week. Blackout: 3/9-16.Crested Butte - Valid 7 days a week. Blackout: 2/16-17, 3/10-13.Winter Park - Valid Monday thru Friday. Blackout: 1/2-4, 1/21, 2/18, 3/11-15, 3/25-29.Loveland Ski Area - Valid Sunday thru Thursday. Blackout: 1/19-21, 2/16-18, 3/24-28 .Monarch Mountain - Valid 7 days a week. Blackout: 1/19-20, 2/16-18, 3/9-23.Powderhorn Mtn Resort - Valid Tuesday thru Thursday. Blackout: None

IMO those are good more "local" type places to go.... and by no means inferior to newbie skiers.

Any of the decent-sized Colorado resorts will have a good ski school for beginners. I learned to ride at Copper as an adult...they seemed to have classes going all the time.

I highly recommend the greater Salt Lake City area, and, in particular, Alta, where you can not only get affordable lessons, but you can get a "Beginner Area" lift ticket for only $40 per day. Once you get the lessons and skiing under your belt at Alta (and don't let the "beginner" moniker scare you off; the green runs it accesses are excellent), you can move over to Park City and try the resorts (Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, and/or The Canyons) there.

Wow thanks for the help guys. I know I can count on the experience of the veterans here.
I think budget is the main constraint here as I'll be travelling with my buddy and he's more concerned about the wallet. That being said, I'd definitely love to experience Copper Mountain.

We we're in Park City last year for our nationals for hockey. Park City was nice, but if you we're looking to go out and do a little partying afterwards, IMO not the most ideal place. Some good fares to SLC though.

Tahoe, in my opinion is the best value and a 10 on the awesome scale.

As a PDXer myself, I love the summer snow at T-line and in a good snow year, ski bowl has the best steeps anywhere. Unfortunately my last three Mt. Hood ski days were rained on. It was even raining on Palmer.

Get thee to Whistler. It holds its snow late, there's a top notch ski school and the village nightlife was the regret of many Olympic visitors the next morning.

Tahoe is not a good value. It's extraordinarily expensive, very crowded, and the snow is not very good (Sierra Cement). The views can be beautiful, though.

The snow on Oregon's mountains can also be icy (less so on Bachelor), but Mt. Hood can be much less expensive and is easily accessible from Portland. Twenty years ago I would take off from work at 3:30 to go night skiing at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, which at the time was the nation's largest night ski area. I would get to the resort at about 4:30 and ski until 8 or 9. It was around $25 all in (including ski rentals and lift ticket) and I often had full runs without seeing another person on the mountain. Aside from the often icy conditions, these still rank highly as some of my best skiing experiences (second only to Snowmass, which is not in any way a "value").

Of course, rain is a big problem in March, and it's possible that places like Ski Bowl will be unacceptably warm. If you can book last minute, check the conditions and get yourself on a plane.

Our Tahoe trips were a pretty good value...but we had 12-16 guys and a very experienced organizer in our group so I'm sure that helped. Two guys would probably be looking at a hotel; we were booking large condos that kept the price per person down. I'm almost 100% sure I spent more on beer than on lodging on those trips.

And the town was awesome, primarily because during March Madness I *will* bet on anything that moves. Nightlife was, of course, quite good as well.

Tahoe = expensive. Flights from ORD will cost you. $50+ bus ride up the mountain from RNO and $100 a day to ski - not to mention equipment rental. IMO, if you want ski on the cheap, hit up SLC, or PDX. The Park City area is a pretty OK value and Hood for sure is killer value for sure.