We found our favorite new place to ski

We skied Cooper for the first time this season and, boy, are we glad we did! With an overall vibe of old school skiing that got its beginning during World War II as a training ground for the 10th Mountain Division, Ski Cooper has a lot to offer for the skiing family. Let’s take a look at the break down.

Cost
At Ski Cooper kids up to age 14 fall under the umbrella of child day ticket. Noteworthy is the half day ticket option for those days when it takes a little longer to drag the kids to the slopes and you don’t get there until after lunch.
Their season pass, we found, has the most partner resorts without any blackout dates, basically mirroring the 5th Grade Passport.

  • Adults (15-59): $56
  • Adults (half day): $45
  • Kids (6-14): $35
  • Kids (half day): $30
  • Family of 5 Total: $217
  • Adults (15-59): $429
  • Children (6-14): $149
  • Family of 5 Season Pass Total: $1,305
  • Hamburgers: $7
  • Hot Dogs: $3
  • Ski With Your Family Lunch Total: $23

 

Parking
We have skied at Cooper for 4 weekend days this season, arriving between 8:30am and 10am. We never had to park farther away than about 300ft from the lift. The parking lot can hold a lot of cars but even if you parked at the far end, you could probably reach the lift in under 5 minutes. That’s what we like to see.

Arriving at 9:15 on a Sunday, we basically got front row parking

 

Lifts
Ski Cooper has 2 chair lifts, one t-bar lift and the state’s longest magic carpet. While the lifts serve the purpose, they are Cooper’s weakness. There is only a 2 seater at the base. If you have more than one child per parent to help onto the lift you’re out of luck. Fortunately, our two older boys don’t need any help getting on anymore so it worked for us.
The lifts are sloooow! No high speed lifts here. But having the choice of high speed lift with a long wait to get on or a slow lift with no lines, we prefer this scenario.
On our busiest Saturday we once experienced a short wait of under 5 minutes which basically qualifies as no lift lines. And the lifties asked every single time if we wanted the lift slowed down for getting on with the kids. While we didn’t need them to, we thought it showed the focus on family at this resort.

 

Crowds
Ski Cooper just doesn’t seem to get as busy as the big resorts. And that is a big plus for our family. At times it felt like we were the only people on the mountain and that on a weekend. There no long lines at the lift and when it was time to eat, we were in and out of the cafeteria in no time.

 

Terrain
There are a total of 41 trails at Ski Cooper with varying degrees of difficulty. Overall, their difficulty designation seem to be upgraded (their blues might be challenging greens at other resorts etc) and they don’t have the most extreme runs. In other words, perfect for our family as we can ski the whole mountain. Having said that, they do offer snow cat skiing on the Chicago Ridge. Due to the required level of skill, our family will be skipping that option… for now!

 

The Lodge
Ski Cooper has a good size lodge with plenty of seating and tables. It feels very inviting and it’s a good space to put on your gear. There are some cubbies for your bags.

 

Good to Know
  • The farthest you might be from a bathroom is under 10 minutes.
  • We have never smelled smelled Marijuana at the parking lot or on the mountain.