Mountain Layout—Skiing

Breckenridge's skiable terrain spans four interconnected mountains: Peaks 7, 8, 9 and 10 in the Ten Mile Range of Summit County. Skiers can load lifts from four base areas: The Village in town at the bottom of Peak 9; Beaver Run, also on Peak 9; the base of Peak 8 (this was the original ski area that opened in 1961); and the Snowflake base on Four O'Clock Road. While this sounds exhausting, it's just a matter of deciding from which base you want to start and then hop a free shuttle from your closest stop in town or from the free parking lots. (Note: close-in pay lots fill by 9:30 a.m. most days.) Even though the Peak 8 SuperConnect makes peak-to-peak skiing easy, get a map anyway. It can be daunting.

To help guests negotiate from peak to peak, free mountain tours are offered from the bases of Peaks 8 and 9 every morning. And now you can ski and ride straight to town from Peak 8 via a bridge called the Skyway Skiway, eliminating the need to ride a bus down. This and the new gondola are the resort's efforts to smoothly connect the dots from mountain to town.

Here's a larger trail map.

Expert, Advanced: Breckenridge has a very high percentage of black-diamond terrain (55 percent overall) and some of the highest in-bounds skiing in North America. The high Alpine bowls of Peaks 7 and 8, the steep treed trails on the North Face of Peak 9, and the mogul runs spilling off the sides of Peak 10 make up most of the hundreds of acres of expert, steep terrain. The new Imperial Express chairlift now carries skiers and riders to Imperial Bowl, crowning Peak 8 and topping out at nearly 13,000 feet. A previously out-of-bounds cache of 150 acres called Snow White is now open to experts from Imperial Express along with 400 acres of double-black terrain. This lift also dramatically shortens the hike to the top of Peak 7. If the lift is closed, you can still get to sensational snow on Peaks 7 and 8 via a long, curving T-bar. "Skiing the T-bar" all day is the expert's mantra during apres-ski. The North Face on the back of Peak 9 also is expert territory. Powder builds up in the trees on its steep north side, and the 15-minute hike keeps it fresh. On Peak 10 you'll find Mustang, Dark Rider and Blackhawk sporting monstrous bumps. Skiers looking for bumps and powder typically hang out on Peak 8, where they split their time between Chair 6—a separate area that is seldom crowded—and the above-treeline terrain off the T-Bar. The first four lines to skiers' right off the T-Bar are loads of fun. Lower Peak 8 has some good bump runs, including the double fall-line of Little Johnny, and High Anxiety and Rounders. Another good spot for bumps is off the E Chair on Peak 9. Peak 10 is evenly split between black and blue runs. Cimarron, marked black on the map, often is groomed because of race training that takes place here. The Burn, dropping to skier's left of the high-speed lift, offers short-but-sweet tree skiing and is great on a powder day. Hiding among the blue runs on Peak 7 is a secret powder stash in the trees called Ore Bucket, the only black in this area. It's a blast. [TOP]

Intermediate: The face of Peak 9 is ballroom skiing at its best. Consistently smooth grooming on perfectly pitched terrain makes it ideal for moderate ability levels on runs like Cashier, Columbia and Sundown. Avoid Bonanza, a slow-skiing area packed with practicing skiers. Advanced-intermediates enjoy the blue/black terrain of American, Gold King, Peerless and Volunteer, which often sprout mild bumps. A few nice intermediate runs spill down Peak 8—North Star, Duke's and Claimjumper. Right next door the trails on Peak 7 rock and roll for excellent cruising. In a separate area, they funnel down to their own six-pack, the Independence—or the "Indie," as locals have dubbed it. That was the first name given to the mining town. For steeper cruising, head to Peak 10 and alternate between Centennial, Doublejack and Crystal. The pairing of a high-speed lift and mostly expert-marked terrain keeps crowds minimized here. [TOP]

Beginner, First-timer: The beginner terrain on Peak 8 is shorter, but usually less crowded, than on Peak 9. The trails are away from traffic, offering a perfect place to practice turns and cruising. The only thing that might make you nervous are the snowboarders heading to the terrain parks. Peak 9 has the most terrain for beginners, but it can get very busy. The trails here are wide and gradual, especially Silverthorne. Watch out for fast skiers and boarders who cut through to get back to the base, especially at the end of the day. Stick to the Quicksilver lift and Chair A here; avoid the Beaver Run and Peak 8 SuperConnect lifts, they will take you higher to steeper terrain. Adventurous beginners might prefer to head to the blues on Peak 7. The trails are never crowded, loads of fun, and are served by a six-pack chair. First-timers will want to practice on the moving carpets at either Peak 8 or 9 before tackling anything off the other beginner lifts. You'll find the first-timer area separate and roped off on Peak 9, immensely reducing the intimidation factor. [TOP]