Chasing Snow: Colorado 2022 Trip Report

As any of my friends and family know, I plan most of my trips surrounding nature. Whether it’s the beach, the desert, or the mountains, I love seeing the natural world around us. This also means that in addition to being a beach bum, I am a ski bum.

After my amazing trip to French Polynesia in December, I wanted to try to hit the slopes one time during my extended winter break before heading back to school. It’s a lot more difficult to get away for the weekend when I am not located in a major city, so the optimal time was over MLK weekend in January.

After finally finishing the much-delayed trip report for my French Polynesia trip, including my new favorite hotel: the St. Regis Bora Bora, I am excited to share my Colorado trip report. Let’s hope it won’t take too long to finish.

(Writer’s note: it’s funny to be writing about snow from the top deck of a cruise ship in the Bahamas… yeah, I’m a little bit behind on the trip reports. Check out my Instagram @nonstoppoints for more up-to-date details on my travels).

Trip Outline

The goal of the Colorado trip was simple: skiing. However, the second aspect I tried to maintain was budget. Although we were able to do Bora Bora hotels and flights on points, that trip was still pricey, and given current industry conditions, a quick ski weekend could easily run you $4,000+.

After my household got the Venture X card last year, and having heard good things about booking via Vacasa vacation rentals using points from Frequent Miler, I wanted to try a booking for myself. Additionally, while we originally wanted to maximize our double temporary-companion passes with Southwest, unfortunately they had no available times that worked well for us to get to and from Denver.

However, when Frontier ran an amazing 100% OFF Black Friday deal back in November, it was too good of an offer to pass up. We had the convenience of DCA, well timed flights, and the price.

The Colorado Trip Report includes:

• Flight Review: Frontier Economy DCA-DEN
• How I Flew the Family to Colorado for $225 WITHOUT Points
• Epic Pass Take 2023: My Thoughts
• Booking a Vacation Rental with Points: My Thoughts
• Lounge Review: Centurion Lounge DEN

The Last Point

This mini ski vacation trip has a short trip-report, though I may write more about saving money while skiing since I have had multiple questions about this lately. We only spent four days in Colorado, and while not the best ski conditions we’ve ever had, I wouldn’t have traded it for being on the cold East Coast without snow.

I look forward to sharing this experience. Let me know in the comments if there are any questions or topics you want me to address during this report.