Copper Mountain or Snowbird?

Neither has swimming worth travelling for. Copper's Summit County reservoirs stay cold from snowmelt and are used for boating, so a swim means a heated lodge pool. Snowbird has its own heated pools too, and the Heber Valley reservoirs about an hour away have small beaches and cold water. The Great Salt Lake is a sight to look at, not a place to bathe.

The eating is much the same at both: resort food that fills you up after skiing, with nothing local to seek out. Snowbird has one extra in its dining room at the top of the tram, with views across the range, and Utah's liquor laws shape how drinks are served there.

Where they differ is in where you go for a change. From Copper you drive to the small-town restaurant streets of Frisco or Breckenridge, while Snowbird guests go about forty minutes down the canyon to the restaurant districts of Salt Lake City, a proper city.

Neither resort has sights of its own. Copper is a village of condos and lodges around the lifts, and its region's Victorian streets and old mine works belong to Breckenridge and Leadville. Snowbird's angular concrete lodges, built in 1971 to withstand avalanches, are about as far as its sights go. Almost nothing remains of the canyon's silver-mining past, so museums mean a trip to Salt Lake City.

Both end the day with après-ski, are quiet by late evening and have no clubs. Copper's village plaza can get noisy with music on busy winter weekends, and Breckenridge, half an hour away, is there for a later night.

At Snowbird, après-ski means a couple of lodge bars and a sunny deck before an early night ahead of the first tram. Anything livelier means driving the mountain road to Salt Lake City or Park City.

Both are serious mountains and the reason to go at all. Snowbird's appeal rests on its snow, some of the deepest and driest in North America, and on the steep chutes and bowls reached by the tram to Hidden Peak. Its terrain runs on through Mineral Basin to Alta, and skiing often lasts into late spring.

Copper Mountain offers breadth instead: terrain that separates cleanly by ability, treeless bowls high on the Tenmile Range, and several other Summit County areas plus Vail within a short drive. In summer it has the Colorado Trail, the paved path over Vail Pass and fourteeners such as Mount Elbert. Snowbird has wilderness hiking, the wildflowers of Albion Basin and climbing on canyon granite.

Copper Mountain has the richer choice of outings. Breckenridge and Leadville, each about half an hour away, are two real mining towns with Victorian streets, and Vail is just over the pass. Georgetown's narrow-gauge railway and Denver lie towards the plains, though weekend traffic on I-70 can stretch the drive.

From Snowbird, the obvious outing is Salt Lake City, for Temple Square and the State Capitol, and Park City's Victorian Main Street is about an hour away. Beyond those two, Midway, Sundance and Ogden's 25th Street are pleasant but slight.

Copper Mountain is the easier family base. Its car-free core, slopes divided by ability and central children's ski school suit young beginners. In winter, snow tubing, a mountain coaster and an indoor centre with trampolines and foam pits keep children busy off the slopes.

Snowbird suits teenagers and confident young skiers best, since its reputation rests on steep terrain, though summer brings an alpine slide, a ropes course and tram rides. Altitude tires small children at both resorts, and from Snowbird the zoo, aquarium and children's museums mean a trip to Salt Lake City.

Both are car-free and easy to walk within the resort. Copper also has a free shuttle between its villages and free county buses to Frisco, Breckenridge and Keystone, so a car can sit untouched for days. The catch is that Denver's airport is about two hours away, and I-70 can be slow in winter.

Snowbird's airport is much closer, about forty minutes away, but everything depends on a single canyon road. It jams on powder mornings and avalanche control can close it, sometimes keeping guests indoors for hours. Ski buses come up from the valley in winter, but most outings need a car.

At both, shopping means ski gear and rental, sunglasses and resort-branded clothing at the base. The nearest real browsing differs. From Copper you go to the Silverthorne outlet mall or Breckenridge's galleries, and from Snowbird you go to Salt Lake City's malls and independent shops or Park City's boutique main street.

Both are costly in winter, with lift access, slopeside rooms, equipment rental and resort meals all adding up, and both are noticeably cheaper in summer.

You save money in different ways. At Copper, condos with kitchens help, and so do the cheaper beds in Frisco or Silverthorne. At Snowbird, many visitors stay in Salt Lake City hotels and drive up each morning, and passes that cover several resorts cut lift costs for frequent skiers.

Neither has a theatre or concert hall, and live music at both mostly means summer concerts on the plaza and the odd après-ski band. Snowbird adds its long-running Oktoberfest, with oompah bands at weekends, and has Salt Lake City's symphony, opera and theatre within driving distance. From Copper, the nearest programme is Breckenridge's summer classical season and small theatre.

Snowbird is the better place to unwind. The large spa on top of its main lodge has a rooftop pool and hot tubs facing the canyon walls, as well as steam rooms and a full treatment menu. About an hour away, the geothermal crater at Homestead in Midway lets you soak in warm mineral water inside a limestone dome.

At Copper, relaxing mostly means an outdoor hot tub at your condo plus the athletic club's pools and massages, and the nearest hot springs are a long drive across the mountains.