Colorado, hands down, is one of the best places for skiing anywhere. With all of those high mountain peaks and plenty of snow, the skiing scene is quite amazing. Whether you're a total newbie or an expert, you'll find something to like in Colorado.
skiing in Colorado I agree with you wholeheartedly wanderer! I love skiing in Eldora ski resort, which is about 30 miles west of Boulder. It has gotten great snow this year, though the resort is small and not very well thought of by the serious ski/snowboard crowd.
ski areas in Colorado I think keystone is one of the best ski resorts in Colorado for families and people learning to ski for the first time, though most of the large ski resorts in Colorado have comfortable ski-in/ski-out accomodations, and they mostly cater to families.
ski for beginners if you're a beginner skier I wouldn't recommend Aspen because it doesn't offer good ski-in/ski-out accessibility to easy slopes (everything on Aspen mountain is intermediate or above). If you do, you would need to take a shuttle to Buttermilk for good beginner skiing.
cheap ski areas resorts in Colorado I would say either go to Keystone, Winter Park, or Copper Mountain if you want an inexpensive ski vacation. The plus side is that all of these have good access to beginner slopes, however, the negative side is that they don't offer as much in the way of amenities.
Eldora does welcome beginners and it has a special section for families called the Little Hawk Family Zone and the Little Tykes Terrain Zone. Beginners also can sign up for lessons to learn the ropes.