Skiing deep powder without the high price

We all know how it feels to ski or snowboard deep powder. The sheer bliss of winding down the ski slopes without a care in the world. The peace, the quiet, and the fluffy snow blowing back on your face. You want it? Open you wallet.

Not true at many of Colorado's ski resorts. Sure, you can spend big bucks heli-skiing or chartering a snow cat for a full day of fun, but what if you were to just get your fill on a few ski runs and don't want to pay for a full day of such bliss?

Enter Keystone Resort Colorado. Keystone is known for their legendary 3 mountains, Dercum Mountain, North Peak, and the Outback. Keystone Resort caters to groups of people who vary widely in skiing ability. Beginner skiers usually stick to the front side of Dercum Mountain, yet if you're looking for the powder it's not too hard to find close by.

Secret Stash #1: The Windows at Keystone. It's a slight walk from the top of Dercum Mountain, but it's a really easy hike and you can call it quits and start making turns any time you want right off into the trees on a little-known run called The Windows. Steep, Deep and full of sparsely populated trees, you'll be in heaven for a good 1500 feet of vertical. Best of all, it looks like much more work than it really is on the map. The trail to hike is a snowcat trail and very well packed down and easy to walk on. It's a slight uphill, but not bad and easy if you are from a lower altitude.

Secret Stash #2: Timberwolf at Keystone's Outback. This one is lift-served so it gets skied off pretty quickly, but some great powder can be found in this area if you hit it right after a snowstorm. The best part is that the outback usually gets about 20-30% more snow than what Keystone officially reports in it's daily snow report. So….even if there is only 6 inches of fresh powder, count on a good 7-8 inches of fresh powder in Keystone's Outback area.

Secret Stash #3: At the very top of Keystone's Outback, there is a trail that you can hike up to the top of the next peak at 12,354 feet. Right in the middle is a small saddle where you can drop off to the South and hit the biggest powder stash Keystone has to offer and grab nearly 2000 vertical feet of sweet bliss. Sounds great doesn't it? Be warned…it's a really hard hike and takes a good 30 minutes. If you're not used to the altitude, you can kiss the rest of your day away from being so exhausted.

In recent years, Keystone found that they can actually make quite a lot of money giving people a ride on a snowcat so that they can grab some powder without having to hike much. For a mere $5.00 per run, you can grab a seat on a snowcat and do the same terrain as all those fit people are hiking to. This is a phenomenal opportunity to ski or snowboard some perfect powder without the high price of a full day trip….or maybe even get a taste of snowcat skiing to see what it is like.

Don’t miss the powder skiing for the upcoming ski season. Think Keystone when you come to Colorado and remember the tips for finding the powder stashes. You just have to look for them.

Peter Reeburgh is an avid Mountain Biker, Snowboarder, and owner of SummitCove.com which provides affordable luxury lodging in Keystone Resort Colorado.