This isn't Colorado, but I used to live 10 minutes from one of the best ski hills I have been on. It's called Big Mountain and it is in Whitefish, Mt.....close to Kalispell. Next to that, when I lived in Calgary we used to hit Banff and Lake Louise every weekend. Those two places are the best there is. My daughter used to go to Vail with her friends...that's close to Denver.