Copper Mountain or Telluride?

Neither is a place to swim. At Copper Mountain the Summit County reservoirs stay cold from snowmelt and are used for boating, so a swim means a heated lodge pool or a hot tub. Telluride's nearest bathing is a small swimming area at the reservoir near Ridgway, about an hour away, and people there spend summer on the water rafting, paddling and fishing instead.

Copper Mountain's food is fuel for skiers: burgers and chilli at the mid-mountain lodges, pizza, Mexican and pub food in the village, and many visitors cooking in their condos. For a proper dinner out, people drive to Frisco or Breckenridge.

Telluride eats noticeably better. Serious kitchens on Colorado Avenue and up in Mountain Village cook with Colorado lamb, elk, trout and Western Slope produce, and the wine lists run deeper than you would expect in a small town. The limit is choice, because a week means going back to the same small circle of tables.

Copper Mountain is a lift village of condos and lodges with nothing to visit, and the area's Victorian main streets and mine works belong to its neighbours. Telluride is the sight in itself. Its grid of clapboard houses and brick mining-boom blocks is a National Historic Landmark, the Historical Museum in the old miners' hospital covers the mines and the labour wars, and mill ruins cling to the canyon walls above.

Even so, Telluride's history fills an hour or two of wandering rather than a whole trip.

Both run on après-ski and neither has clubs, but Telluride's evenings have more character. At Copper the bars at the base of the lifts fill with skiers in boots and empty early, and anyone wanting a later night drives to Breckenridge. Telluride's historic saloons on Colorado Avenue mix skiers, locals and seasonal workers in Victorian back rooms, and in peak weeks and on festival weekends the main street stays busy until late.

Both are first-rate mountain bases, and the difference is in kind. Copper Mountain offers variety. It has treeless bowls above 3,600m and terrain that separates neatly by ability, with Vail and the other Summit County ski areas a short drive away. In summer you can follow the Colorado Trail, ride the paved path over Vail Pass or climb fourteen-thousand-foot peaks such as Mount Elbert.

Telluride offers drama on the doorstep. Cliffs and peaks above 4,000m rise from the end of the main street, and Bridal Veil Falls is a walk from town. Summer brings a via ferrata, fly fishing on the San Miguel and jeep roads over Imogene Pass, winter brings steep hike-to skiing, and autumn turns the aspen forests gold.

Copper Mountain is much better placed. Breckenridge's Victorian main street and silver-boom Leadville are each about half an hour away, and Vail is just over the pass. Georgetown's narrow-gauge railway and Denver's museums can be reached along I-70, if weekend traffic allows.

Telluride's options are few and spread across mountain roads. Ridgway and Ouray are within about an hour and a quarter, Silverton lies over Red Mountain Pass, and the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are at the very edge of a day out. In winter the passes can slow or close any of these routes.

Copper Mountain is built more deliberately for children. It has a car-free core, slopes divided by ability and a ski school at the centre of the resort, plus snow tubing, a mountain coaster and an indoor action-sports centre for time off the slopes.

Telluride suits active families who enjoy simple pleasures, such as the free gondola ride, beginner slopes around Mountain Village, river walks and fishing. On a wet day there is little to do indoors, and the cost hits families hard. At both, the first days at altitude can bring headaches and poor sleep.

Copper Mountain works well within the resort, where walkways, lifts and a free shuttle link the villages and free county buses run to Frisco. Beyond that you need a car, Denver airport is about two hours away and winter driving on I-70 can be slow.

Telluride is easier once you are there. You can cross the historic grid on foot in a quarter of an hour, and the free gondola links it with Mountain Village, so many visitors never drive at all. The hard part is getting there, because the local airport is prone to weather and the larger ones are one to two hours away.

Copper Mountain's shops stop at ski and snowboard rental, outdoor gear, sunglasses and resort-branded clothing, so anyone wanting more drives to the Silverthorne outlets or the boutiques of Breckenridge. Telluride gives you a few blocks of Colorado Avenue to browse, with art galleries, Western clothing, jewellery boutiques and a couple of good bookshops, though prices are high and it is not a reason to make the trip.

A winter week at Copper Mountain will still cost a lot, yet it is the easier of the two on the wallet. It runs somewhat below the grandest resorts nearby, and a condo with a kitchen, a cheaper bed in Frisco or Silverthorne, or a visit in summer or the shoulder seasons all bring the bill down.

Telluride sits at the very top of the North American market. Its scarce rooms are priced for second-home owners, and the Christmas and New Year weeks and summer festival weekends push them higher still. Staying in Ridgway saves money, but it means a daily drive.

Copper Mountain offers bands on the village plaza on summer concert weekends and acoustic sets at après-ski, but no stage of any kind.

Telluride's summer is a real reason to go. The Bluegrass Festival has filled Town Park since the 1970s, and the season adds jazz, blues and chamber music festivals as well as the film festival over Labor Day weekend. Outside the festivals it is quieter, though the Sheridan Opera House still puts on concerts, theatre and comedy through the year.

At Copper Mountain, unwinding means an outdoor hot tub facing the slopes or the athletic club's pools and massages, and the nearest hot springs are a long drive across the mountains. Telluride gives you more. The Mountain Village hotels have full spas, and both the public hot springs pool in Ouray and the clothing-optional springs near Ridgway are about an hour away. At both, the altitude can make the first nights restless.