Going skiing between Christmas and New Years. I have never driven in any real snow/ice. Need TFF help on which vehicle to take:

Acura MDX - has all-wheel drive and tires have good tread, but tires do not have the "M+S" designation for driving in snow

Silverado 2500 - has 4x4 and tires with good tread and the M+S rating and I could add weight to the bed and air down the tires

We are going to Wolf Creek and staying in South Fork, so I think the roads will be well-maintained. Will I be fine in either, or is the M+S tire rating important, or would I be better having AWD and even weight on all wheels?

With good driving skills, you should be fine in either as long as the tires are in good shape.
I drove all over the Rockies for 15 years in a front wheel drive Saturn SL2 with regular tires, sometimes in terrible conditions.
In icy conditions, AWD is better than 4X4.

More important, imo, are to make sure you have the windshield wiper fluid topped off with deicing fluid (RainX -30 is widely available) and that your windshield wipers are in good working order and to have a spare set of wipers in case.

Windshield scraper also in the trunk.

Car battery in good shape with a fully charged battery jumper in case.

If I were going that far I would drive the MDX without a doubt.

Have not driven in much snow at all. Just guessing I would take the Silverado 2500 pick-up. To me it would seem that a truck would hold the road better in snow and ice conditions. Just my two cents.

MDX probably has a lower center of gravity, when combined with AWD should be very stable.

One of the worst spins I’ve been in was in a buddy’s 4X4 truck when he put it in four wheel drive and stepped on the gas in icy conditions. Yes, he was from a small 1000 population town in far west Texas and thought it was fun.

For starters, the roads are maintained well in places like that. Second, the snow is different than what we get here usually. It’s crunchier and not as slick. Different than driving on a street in the summer with no snow, but not as bad as driving in snow here, which tends to be slicker and we get ice, which is the real problem.

Be cautious, give yourself space to slow down, don’t go crazy, and take whichever vehicle you’re most comfortable in. When I was in Breckinridge to ski about five years ago, our rental was an Impala and I never had any issues. It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t have much experience driving in snow or in places like that where snow is normal in winter. Plus, the low humidity of the Rockies creates a dryer snow. The only word I can use describe it is crunchy.

Heck we hardly ever get snow down here but we get ice on occasions.

Back in my snow skiing days, south fork area for lodging and wolf creek skiing was my absolute favorite. Either vehicle will be fine.

Not sure they still have it as it has been years since I've been skiing there, but they used to have a 4x4 parking lot above the ski lodge. As vehicles are pulling in, the 4x4's went right up the hill and all others went left below the lodge. Fill your ride up with all the drinks and eats you can handle. As you ski down the hill you could ski right to your vehicle, eat and drink your own grub, then ski right back down to the lift and go another round.

Some mountain passes you are required to have snow chains on. Might be a good idea to not only get a set but actually try to put them on so no surprises

Acura for sure

The Acura AWD.

I would take the 2500 with chains. You ever skied before because wolf creek is pretty serious I hear brother.

We got caught in a quick snow dump in September up there and a dodge 2500 and my 1500 chevy were fine with all terrains. The plows work great

Either should be fine but I would take the Acura.

take the truck, go to lowes or home depot and buy 2 bags of play sand and put one over each tire in the bed. should you get stuck you can use the sand for a traction aid.
roads will be plowed well but chains or 4 wheel drive could be required on the mt.
watch out for black ice, shady corners in the afternoon will be the worst but are probably sanded well, just be careful.

2 things about the snow up there, hard pack is not bad to drive on, slow down to a comfortable speed but don't granma it and do 25 in a 70.
if you do have to lock in 4x use 4 hi and take er easy. 4x4 or all wheel drive will help you get moving and help with steering but it will not slow you down any better on snow or ice.

been over wolf creek once or twice and they take great care of it in winter, drove from durango to south fork aug to march once a week while working on summitville gold mine, all I had was a 2 wheel drive f250 4 speed manual.

you can also check for shuttles to the mt. they used to run them hrly out of pagosa and south fork but with the wuhan bs may have them shut down.

like said, I hope you already know how to ski. they had a couple of easy greens for beginners but most of the mt. is dark blue or black trails, not rooky stuff.

one important thing, DO NOT EXERT YOURSELF for at least the first couple of days or you could have problems from the altitude, acclimate and take it easy.
should you start feeling queasy or sick GET YOUR BUTT OFF THE MT. to a lower altitude and be ready to go even lower if need be, altitude sickness is some serious stuff and happens a lot when you go from 5-600' to almost 12,000', wolf creek is the continental divide. and the base area is at about 10,500'.

drink lots of water too, you won't sweat but you can dehydrate quick up there. lay off the booze till afternoon, one beer up there will be like a 30 of natty down here.