Keystone or Snowbird?

Neither place is anywhere near a sea, and in both cases a swim means a heated pool or a hot tub. The difference lies in the lakes nearby. Dillon Reservoir sits right below Keystone and is good for sailing and paddleboarding, but its snowmelt water is mostly off limits for swimming. From Snowbird you can drive about an hour to the Heber Valley reservoirs, which have small beaches and very cold water. The Great Salt Lake is a sight to look at, not a place to bathe.

Keystone eats a little better, mostly because its menus have some regional character: Colorado lamb, elk and trout, and craft beer from the state's breweries. If you tire of the resort, Dillon, Frisco and Breckenridge are only a short drive away. There is also a dining room up at the summit, reached by gondola.

Snowbird's food is resort food and nothing more: lodge restaurants, slopeside cafeterias and a dining room at the top of the tram with views of the range. Utah's liquor laws affect how drinks are served. Real variety means the forty-minute drive down the canyon to Salt Lake City, which most guests plan for once or twice a week.

Neither resort has much to sightsee, since both were built for skiing in the early 1970s. The traces of the past around them still differ. Near Keystone, mining-era cabins and ruins survive along the Snake River valley above Montezuma, and Victorian towns are close by. At Snowbird the silver-mining history of Little Cottonwood Canyon has almost vanished, and the most interesting building is the resort's own concrete lodges, designed to withstand avalanches. Its real culture lies down in Salt Lake City.

Both are early-to-bed resorts where the evening peaks at après-ski. At Keystone the decks at River Run fill with skiers still in their boots. At Snowbird it is a couple of lodge bars and a sunny deck at the base. The difference is how far a real night out is. From Keystone, Breckenridge's Main Street is a short bus ride away. From Snowbird you have to drive a mountain road to Salt Lake City or Park City.

These are two of the great mountain bases in the American West, and the difference is in the type of skiing. Keystone has long groomed runs, tree skiing and high bowls on three peaks, with Arapahoe Basin minutes away and Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Vail within an hour. That makes it a base for sampling several mountains.

Snowbird is the more extreme mountain: a tram to Hidden Peak, steep chutes and some of the deepest dry snow on the continent, often more than 12m in a season, with a season that runs late into spring. In summer, Keystone offers fourteen-thousand-foot summits, sailing on the reservoir and a paved bike path between towns. Snowbird offers wilderness trails, the wildflowers of Albion Basin and climbing on granite.

Keystone has the better range of outings. Breckenridge's Victorian centre is about half an hour away, and Georgetown and Silver Plume are joined by their historic loop railway. Leadville has its mining-boom streets and opera house, and Vail's village is under an hour west. Denver is further off, and I-70 traffic can stretch the drive.

Snowbird has two strong options, Salt Lake City's Temple Square and Capitol at the bottom of the canyon, and Park City's old Main Street. After that come gentler outings like Midway, Sundance and Ogden's 25th Street, with a lot of open country in between.

Keystone is much the easier choice with children. It is designed around them, with gentle terrain on the lower mountain, a big ski school, tubing, a snow fort up on the mountain and a huge skating rink on the frozen lake at Lakeside. Condos with kitchens and short walks to the lifts make the days simpler.

Snowbird has a ski school and some easy runs near the base, but the mountain's steep reputation makes it a better fit for teenagers and capable young skiers. Its compact, car-free base is a real plus, and in summer it does well with a mountain coaster, alpine slide and ropes course. Zoos and children's museums are down in the city.

Keystone is less tied to a car. Free shuttles link its three bases, and free county buses go to Dillon, Silverthorne, Frisco and Breckenridge. The weak link is the trip up from Denver over I-70, with chain rules and slow weekend traffic in winter.

Snowbird is simpler on foot, since the lodges, tram and lifts are a short walk apart along a car-free base. Everything beyond hangs on one winding canyon road, which jams on powder mornings and can be closed for avalanche control. In practice you need a car or a shuttle to leave.

Neither is a shopping trip, but Keystone gives you more to do. Besides gear and gift shops in River Run Village, the large outlet centre in Silverthorne is ten minutes away for brand-name clothes and outdoor wear. Snowbird's few base stores are where you replace forgotten goggles. For browsing you have to go to Park City's boutique main street or the malls of Salt Lake City.

Both are costly ski resorts, especially at peak winter weeks, and both are noticeably cheaper in summer. The ways to save are different. At Keystone, the free buses, condo kitchens and supermarkets in Dillon and Silverthorne make self-catering easy. At Snowbird, the bigger saving is staying in a Salt Lake City hotel and driving up each morning, or using a multi-resort season pass. That means giving up life on the slopes.

Keystone is within reach of a real summer arts season. There are outdoor stages in the village, concerts at Dillon's amphitheatre by the reservoir, and Breckenridge's long-running classical festival at the Riverwalk Center. All year round, Silverthorne's professional theatre company stages plays and musicals ten minutes away.

At Snowbird, live performance is limited to summer concerts on the plaza, the weekend oompah bands of its long-running Oktoberfest and the odd après-ski band. Symphony, opera and theatre mean a trip down to Salt Lake City.

Snowbird is the better place to unwind, thanks to the large spa on top of its main lodge. It has a rooftop pool and hot tubs facing the canyon walls, steam rooms and a full treatment menu, and the car-free canyon is very quiet at night. The warm mineral water of the Homestead crater in Midway is about an hour away.

Keystone's version is more scattered. There are resort spas and a hot tub at nearly every lodge, which is lovely in falling snow. For natural hot springs, though, you have to drive over the pass to Idaho Springs.