A friend's planning on taking his family skiing in the US in February. Currently, he's looking at either Winter Park or Steamboat. I don't think he's looking at other options, so does any-one here know enough about either resort to give me some pointers that I can give him?

I've skied 4 times at Winter Park but only visited Steamboat during late summer. Skiing wise I think they would be similar - I've heard Steamboat gets more powder and would probably track out slower, but Winter Park definitely has good beginner and intermediate terrain for the kids. Winter Park is my #1 suggestion for easier skiing in CO. Other things to consider:

Winter Park is about 1 hour from Denver, Steamboat would be ~2.5
Winter Park has a village, but no real town around it, Steamboat has a nice little mountain town with shops
Steamboat has Strawberry Hot Springs (must do), Winter Park has hot tubs in hotels
Winter Park is closer to other resorts/towns like Breckenridge/Dillon/Frisco, Steamboat is fairly isolated
Both have good skiing
Both have good scenery
Both would be a good ski destination

Heh. I read the title, and my first thought was "who says 'Winter Park'"? I mean... growing up, we only ever used "steamboats".

No help on recommendations, though.

Point him to this blog post on my website I kinda documented where I went this year in CO and where I want to go. I've been to 8 resorts here in CO but I've also heard a lot about the others. Where he should be looking depends on what the goals are for the trip - good skiing, nightlife, shopping, family atmosphere, non-ski activities, etc. If I had to plan a trip to ski here I would either go to Breck or Vail. Those two places have pretty complete packages in terms of terrain, amenities, etc.