Beaver Creek or Snowbird?

Neither resort is a swimming destination. Both are high in the mountains and far from any sea, and in practice swimming means a heated pool. In summer, Beaver Creek families can use the small sandy area at Nottingham Lake down in Avon. From Snowbird you have to drive an hour to the cold reservoirs of the Heber Valley, and the Great Salt Lake is somewhere to look at rather than swim.

Beaver Creek offers clearly better food. Its mountain restaurants serve elk, Colorado lamb and trout with long wine lists, and you can ride a chairlift or a snowcat sleigh up to dinner at an on-mountain lodge. Taquerias and brewpubs in Avon and Edwards, and the restaurants of Vail, add variety without a long drive.

Snowbird has only a small group of lodge restaurants and the dining room at the top of the tram, plus burger-and-pizza après-ski bars. Utah's liquor laws shape how drinks are served there. Most guests head down the canyon to Salt Lake City for a night or two of proper choice.

Neither resort is a place for sightseeing. Both are purpose-built ski resorts. Beaver Creek's stone-and-timber village with its outdoor art makes a pleasant hour's stroll, while Snowbird's angular concrete lodges are built to withstand avalanches rather than to be admired. Snowbird's real history is in Salt Lake City at the bottom of the canyon, while Beaver Creek's is in the old mining towns, an hour or so's drive away.

Nights are short at both resorts and revolve around après-ski. Beaver Creek's version is a little more refined, with wine or cocktails by fire pits on the plaza and a few hotel lounges, and Vail is close if you want something livelier. Snowbird's après-ski means lodge bars and a sunny deck full of skiers who want an early tram. A proper night out means driving a mountain road to Salt Lake City or Park City.

Both are top-class mountains, and they differ in character. Beaver Creek is known for long groomed cruisers, glades and quiet slopes, it links to Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead, and Vail's terrain is next door. Snowbird is wilder and steeper, with chutes and bowls reached by the tram to Hidden Peak, a link to Alta, and deeper snow that often lasts into late spring.

In summer, Beaver Creek has the wider range. It offers gold-medal fly-fishing and rafting on the Eagle and Colorado Rivers, the Holy Cross Wilderness and Glenwood Canyon. Snowbird has the Albion Basin wildflower meadows, granite climbing and the Lone Peak wilderness.

Snowbird has the better outings, mainly because a real city is forty minutes away. Salt Lake City has Temple Square, the domed State Capitol and its museums. Park City's Victorian Main Street, Midway and Sundance are within reach too.

From Beaver Creek, the choice is a string of similar mountain towns. Vail, Leadville's silver-mining street, Breckenridge's gold-rush centre and the old spa town of Glenwood Springs are all pleasant, but none of them changes the scene much.

Beaver Creek is far easier with small children. It has a large, well-run ski school with gentle learning areas, an ice rink, escalators up from the car parks, warm cookies when the lifts close, and in summer a hilltop adventure area with ropes courses and mini golf.

Snowbird's steep mountain suits teenagers and capable young skiers better. Its summer coaster, alpine slide and tram rides are fun, but the zoo and children's museums are down in Salt Lake City. At both resorts, the altitude can tire little ones at first.

On foot, the two are much alike. Both have car-free cores and many ski-in, ski-out rooms. Beaver Creek adds outdoor escalators and free shuttles to the hillside lodges and Avon.

The real difference is how you get in and out. Snowbird is close to Salt Lake City's airport, but its single canyon road clogs on powder mornings and avalanche control can close it. Beaver Creek is linked to Vail by valley buses, and Eagle airport is near. Denver, though, is two hours away over passes that storms can shut.

Beaver Creek is better for browsing. Around its plaza are luxury outerwear shops, western boots and leather, jewellery, and galleries selling bronzes and landscape paintings, all expensive but worth an hour on a rest day. At Snowbird the shops sell gear and logo clothing, useful if you've forgotten your goggles, so for real shopping you have to go to Salt Lake City's malls or Park City's main street.

Neither is cheap, but Snowbird hurts less. Multi-resort season passes bring down the cost of lift tickets there, and staying in a Salt Lake City hotel is a genuine saving if you don't mind the daily drive. Beaver Creek is one of the most expensive resorts on the continent. Lodging in Avon or Edwards and buying passes early help only a little, though summer is cheaper at both.

Beaver Creek has a real cultural calendar for a resort. The Vilar Performing Arts Center in the village hosts concerts, comedy and dance, and in summer, Vail's amphitheatre hosts the Bravo! Vail orchestras and the Vail Dance Festival.

Snowbird offers outdoor plaza concerts, its oompah-band Oktoberfest and the odd après-ski band. For symphony, opera or theatre, you have to drive to Salt Lake City.

Beaver Creek is the more restful choice. Several large resort spas offer outdoor hot tubs in the snow, the evenings in the village are quiet, and the historic hot springs pool at Glenwood Springs is an hour away.

Snowbird has one good spa, on the roof of its main lodge, where you can soak in the pool facing the canyon walls at dusk. For something different, there's the warm crater at Homestead in Midway, under its limestone dome. The canyon itself is very still at night, but the powder-morning rush makes it less calm by day.