By Heather Burke
Photos By Greg Burke

Watching my nine-year-old daughter bungee bounce was not an anticipated ski vacation activity. But there I was looking 50-feet up in the air at my little girl flying above the Keystone condominium village. When we arrived at this wonderful Colorado resort, she had expressed interest in looking at some of the shops; I wonder if this was the angle she had planned.

Keystone is one of several ski resorts in the Front Range of Colorado’s Rockies within two hour’s drive of Denver. We chose to stay at Keystone’s River Run slopeside village. The resort has been remodeled by Intrawest, which means classy condos and a tastefully planned pedestrian village à la Whistler, Tremblant and Copper style.

From our beautifully decorated, mountain themed two-bedroom, two bath condo, we could walk through the resort village, with skis in hand, to Keystone’s gondola for a day of skiing this 1,861-acre ski area.

A bonus with our lodging package at Keystone was the Mountain Passport we received. Each member of our family was entitled to a choice of activities from a long list of fun.

We actually all agreed (a rarity) on the NASTAR race, which is usually $8 per person – but free with our Passport. We converted our freebie into Gold with our gung ho runs, my ten-year-old son beat me – ah the rewards of parenting.

The race was a fun perk and the kids treasure their medals as Keystone keepsakes. We could have opted for a sleigh ride, skating, cross country skiing, a ski boot fitting consultation, wine tasting, and the offerings go on.

Keystone is comprised of three mountains, a tame front side offering dozens of pleasant crusiers, North Peak with more challenging terrain, and the Outpost where you find steeps and glades or you can access backcountry bowl skiing (for those up for a little hike).

We loved the Outpost area, and the views from this peak over to sister resort Breckenridge are phenomenal.

Your Keystone lift ticket is good from 8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m., so that ought to satisfy the vertical fanatics in your family. With such an entertaining base village, I had no need for night skiing.

Walking the village, browsing the shops, and scooping out the best dinner spots are favored après ski activities.

While our daughter bounced on the bungee apparatus, my husband and I enjoyed a drink by the open campfire in the Village plaza listening to a live band playing some great "oldies." Our son was eager to hit the outdoor heated pool, where he made some new friends his age.

A genius marketing program at all Vail resorts, which includes Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek, is the Peaks lift card. Our multi-day ticket was good for skiing at all these mountains, and the pass also serves as an on-mountain charge card. We could swipe our cards for hot cocoas and lunches, and earn points while doing so.

During our week we earned enough Peaks credit for a romantic dinner at the charming Ski Tips Lodge (well, fifty dollars towards dinner), while our kids had their own kids night out free of charge and free of parents.

Since our Peaks tickets were interchangeable at five resorts, we took a day to drive to nearby family-friendly Breckenridge to explore the 2,208-acres of skiing there.

And we skied one afternoon at the more hard-core above tree-line terrain of A-Basin (that is local speak for Arapahoe Basin). Hearty skiers and riders revere this grass roots ski area. A run down the double black diamond alleys of Pallavicini is a Colorado right of passage.