# SKI magazine 2013/14 Best Ski Areas in West



## Nick (Sep 18, 2013)

http://www.skinet.com/ski/galleries...-west?brn=ski&src=email&date=091613&lnk=image

Complementing DHS's east coast thread, we can cover the west coast resorts here. 

Hopefully I didn't miss this and it's not a repost


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## Smellytele (Sep 18, 2013)

Never heard anyone say Park City is better than Alta or Snowbird but what do I know I have only skied Snowbird.


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## Puck it (Sep 18, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> Never heard anyone say Park City is better than Alta or Snowbird but what do I know I have only skied Snowbird.




I prefer Snowbird over Alta.


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## wa-loaf (Sep 18, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> Never heard anyone say Park City is better than Alta or Snowbird but what do I know I have only skied Snowbird.



From a terrain perspective it isn't, but having a cool town right at the base goes a long way. I'm surprised none of the Utah resorts made the top ten.


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## Smellytele (Sep 18, 2013)

wa-loaf said:


> From a terrain perspective it isn't, but having a cool town right at the base goes a long way. I'm surprised none of the Utah resorts made the top ten.



They did Deer Valley at 2, Park City at 5 and Canyons at 10


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## wa-loaf (Sep 18, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> They did Deer Valley at 2, Park City at 5 and Canyons at 10



Doh, think I saw Alta, Snowbird and others at the bottom and quit paying attention.


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## ScottySkis (Sep 18, 2013)

My list for Utah for the places I have skiied is 
1 Alta
2 Snowbird

3 Snowbasin
4 Solitude
5 Brighton 
I haven't ski any other mountains in Utah yet.


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## HowieT2 (Sep 18, 2013)

Puck it said:


> I prefer Snowbird over Alta.



totally agree.

and any list that has Alta 27th and snowbird 17th is not about the skiing experience.
and I love sun valley and have a good friend living out there, but they get less snow than stratton.  just sayin'


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## skinowworklater (Sep 18, 2013)

Scotty, I like your list of places skied in Utah, just add Powder Mountain, the Canyons and Park City and you'll have my list.  On your next trip to Utah, you have to try Powder, especially Powder country!  Have to agree with Wa-loaf,  the only place with any cool town at the base would be in Park City/Canyons.


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## St. Bear (Sep 18, 2013)

I'm going to Utah this season.
I'm going to Utah this season.
I'm going to Utah this season.

They say if you write down your goals, you're more likely to realize them.


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## jaytrem (Sep 18, 2013)

HowieT2 said:


> and any list that has Alta 27th and snowbird 17th is not about the skiing experience.



27 sounds about right to me, and the only thing I care about is the skiing experience.  Lots of negative points for crowds, even on weekdays.  There's just people hiking everywhere to get to every possible inch of powder.  The mountain itself is pretty nice and the snow is great, but it gets tracked out a lot faster than many other places.  Especially when you take Canada into consideration.


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## 4aprice (Sep 18, 2013)

I'll take any of the 4 canyon areas over the 3 Park City areas anyday.  Just my opinion.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## thetrailboss (Sep 18, 2013)

Not surprised by J-Hole and Deer Valley being Nos. 1 and 2.  PCMR, for whatever reason, and Canyons both rate higher than the LCC areas.  If I had to guess it is because of more resort amenitites and more folks going to those resorts and voting in the poll.


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## skiNEwhere (Sep 18, 2013)

Damit Nick you beat me to the punch.

Squaw Valley ranked 24th? I can see that they simply picked the top 5 or so, and picked the rest of them out of a hat at random.

I HATED Beaver Creek with a passion when I went last year. Very Icy, and the people were very rude, and worst of all......I DIDN'T GET A COOKIE AT 3:00PM!

I'd like to see Mt.Baker in Washington make the list. Pretty small by western standards, but seeing as it gets dumped on multiple times a season and has challenging terrain, it should at least be an honorable mention


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## thetrailboss (Sep 18, 2013)

jaytrem said:


> 27 sounds about right to me, and the only thing I care about is the skiing experience. Lots of negative points for crowds, even on weekdays. There's just people hiking everywhere to get to every possible inch of powder. The mountain itself is pretty nice and the snow is great, but it gets tracked out a lot faster than many other places. Especially when you take Canada into consideration.



I wonder why Alta was ranked so low here...although we had another low snow year here.  

As to crowds, my experience at both Snowbird and Alta is that there are no crowds per se, but the terrain does get skied out like any other place.  I think folks need to set their expectations accordingly since both are so close to SLC and the masses of skiers and riders who can be up there pretty easily.  I would not expect virgin powder unless (1) I was at the right place, right time, for the ropes dropping, (2) I was earning turns way out in the middle of the Wasatch, or (3) I was paying big bucks for cat skiing at Snowbird, Alta, or Pow Mow.  

But getting back to these rankings: what I come back to is the poll that is the basis for these "results".  When I took it this summer, they focus a lot of things such as (1) off-slope amentities, (2) lodging, (3) restaurants and night-life, etc.  The PC resorts definitely have a leg-up in these areas.  But also a lot more of the "resort types" are going to go to PC and rank those areas higher than the LCC and BCC areas where skiing is the focus.


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## thetrailboss (Sep 18, 2013)

skiNEwhere said:


> Damit Nick you beat me to the punch.
> 
> Squaw Valley ranked 24th? I can see that they simply picked the top 5 or so, and picked the rest of them out of a hat at random.
> 
> ...



Squaw was another one that surprised me.  It was the second place I skied out west and it kicks ass.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 18, 2013)

What I find interesting is the bit of a shake up at the top.  This has to be a first for Jackson Hole.  Can't ever remember the top spot not being occupied by either Whistler, Vail or Deer Valley.  You could bank on that just like you could always bank on Tremblant getting the number 1 spot in the East.


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## ScottySkis (Sep 18, 2013)

thetrailboss said:


> I wonder why Alta was ranked so low here...although we had another low snow year here.
> 
> As to crowds, my experience at both Snowbird and Alta is that there are no crowds per se, but the terrain does get skied out like any other place.  I think folks need to set their expectations accordingly since both are so close to SLC and the masses of skiers and riders who can be up there pretty easily.  I would not expect virgin powder unless (1) I was at the right place, right time, for the ropes dropping, (2) I was earning turns way out in the middle of the Wasatch, or (3) I was paying big bucks for cat skiing at Snowbird, Alta, or Pow Mow.
> 
> ...


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## Edd (Sep 18, 2013)

thetrailboss said:


> Squaw was another one that surprised me.  It was the second place I skied out west and it kicks ass.



It seriously does.


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## thetrailboss (Sep 18, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> What I find interesting is the bit of a shake up at the top. This has to be a first for Jackson Hole. Can't ever remember the top spot not being occupied by either Whistler, Vail or Deer Valley. You could bank on that just like you could always bank on Tremblant getting the number 1 spot in the East.




The new owners of J-Hole have spent a ton of money up there and it shows.


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## snoseek (Sep 18, 2013)

Sorta surprised that Kirkwood isn't even on that list but also kinda happy in the end


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## Smellytele (Sep 18, 2013)

They need a ski area poll not a resort poll


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## skiNEwhere (Sep 18, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> They need a ski area poll not a resort poll



Yes, but where is the line in the sand drawn between area and resort? Gray area right there. 

I think there was a thread about this not too long ago, I can't remember what it is called though.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 18, 2013)

thetrailboss said:


> When I took it this summer, they focus a lot of things such as (1) off-slope amentities, (2) lodging, (3) restaurants and night-life, etc.  The PC resorts definitely have a leg-up in these areas.  But also a lot more of the "resort types" are going to go to PC and rank those areas higher than the LCC and BCC areas where skiing is the focus.



Out of curiosity, how were you selected to participate in the poll?  Is it something people sign up for?  Random selection of Ski Magazine subscribers?   

I've never contributed to the poll, nor known anyone else who has in the past until now.


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## WWF-VT (Sep 18, 2013)

I have been a subscriber to SKI for a long time and have gotten an email invite to participate in the poll for many years


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## thetrailboss (Sep 18, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> Out of curiosity, how were you selected to participate in the poll?  Is it something people sign up for?  Random selection of Ski Magazine subscribers?
> 
> I've never contributed to the poll, nor known anyone else who has in the past until now.





WWF-VT said:


> I have been a subscriber to SKI for a long time and have gotten an email invite to participate in the poll for many years



Like WWF, I got an Email from SKI.


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## Cornhead (Sep 19, 2013)

Scotty said:


> thetrailboss said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder why Alta was ranked so low here...although we had another low snow year here.
> ...


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## St. Bear (Sep 19, 2013)

Cornhead said:


> Scotty said:
> 
> 
> > I think Scotty's account has been hacked! I nominate this as Scotty's most coherent post of all time!  per se? OK who is this? :wink:
> ...


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## fbrissette (Sep 19, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> They need a ski area poll not a resort poll



Agreed.


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## fbrissette (Sep 19, 2013)

Seriously... only one Canadian mountain in there ???  Kicking horse and especially Revelstoke are undoubtedly top 10 ski mountains (not resorts)  in North America, and Revelstoke is a legitimate contender for no 1.   There is nothing to do there outside of skiing, and I understand this is a critical component of this poll.   Still, not in the top 30 ??????    This is even more mind-boggling than Holiday Valley in the top 5 in the east.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 19, 2013)

All that really says is not too many Ski Subscribers have been to Revelstoke or Kicking Horse and many Ski Subscribers have been to Holiday Valley.

In the end, it's pretty much a popularity contest.


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## Smellytele (Sep 19, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> All that really says is not too many Ski Subscribers have been to Revelstoke or Kicking Horse and many Ski Subscribers have been to Holiday Valley.
> 
> In the end, it's pretty much a popularity contest.


  And most of us on here do not like SKI magazine anyway. Although I do get it for free (actually we get 2 for some reason at our house). I rarely more than browse through it.


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## MadMadWorld (Sep 19, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> All that really says is not too many Ski Subscribers have been to Revelstoke or Kicking Horse and many Ski Subscribers have been to Holiday Valley.
> 
> In the end, it's pretty much a popularity contest.



People that ski Stoke and Kicking Horse do not read SKI! Well except me and maybe a few of us here. I do think it's ridiculous that they didn't make the top 30 for terrain alone. Let's face it, when you ski either of those mountains you don't really need any ammenities other than a hot tub because all you want to do is sleep.


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## thetrailboss (Sep 19, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> All that really says is not too many Ski Subscribers have been to Revelstoke or Kicking Horse and many Ski Subscribers have been to Holiday Valley.
> 
> In the end, it's pretty much a popularity contest.



Exactly.


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## jaytrem (Sep 19, 2013)

MadMadWorld said:


> People that ski Stoke and Kicking Horse do not read SKI! Well except me and maybe a few of us here. I do think it's ridiculous that they didn't make the top 30 for terrain alone. Let's face it, when you ski either of those mountains you don't really need any ammenities other than a hot tub because all you want to do is sleep.



Even the more resorty Canadian places don't seem to be getting on the list much these days.  Examples...

Sunshine Village
Lake Louise
Sun Peaks
Big White
Silver Star
Fernie
Panorama

Do Canadians read Ski magazine even less than Americans these days?


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## thetrailboss (Sep 19, 2013)

jaytrem said:


> Even the more resorty Canadian places don't seem to be getting on the list much these days. Examples...
> 
> Sunshine Village
> Lake Louise
> ...




They probably just don't read SKI.


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## 4aprice (Sep 19, 2013)

thetrailboss said:


> They probably just don't read SKI.



What is attendance at these places?  No matter how wonderful they are, they are remote.  I used to get Ski and thought they did a pretty good job of exposing places from local to afar.  I have taken the survey and its all subjective.  IIRC you're only supposed to vote on areas you have actually skied.  I would love to get to each and everyone but it ain't happening. 

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## jaytrem (Sep 19, 2013)

4aprice said:


> What is attendance at these places? No matter how wonderful they are, they are remote.



Attendance is probably higher than you'd think.  Just not many Americans except for Lake Louise, Sunshine and Fernie to a lesser extent. Those are an easy ride from Calgary.  Then you look at a place like Big White, they have 6 high speed lifts, so you know somebody skis there.


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## HowieT2 (Sep 19, 2013)

jaytrem said:


> 27 sounds about right to me, and the only thing I care about is the skiing experience.  Lots of negative points for crowds, even on weekdays.  There's just people hiking everywhere to get to every possible inch of powder.  The mountain itself is pretty nice and the snow is great, but it gets tracked out a lot faster than many other places.  Especially when you take Canada into consideration.



I havent been there in 4 years, so maybe things have gotten more crowded, but even so, I go out west for snow.  sure the mountains are bigger and the terrain more expansive, but what a skier really needs is good fresh snow.  and for that, it doesnt get much better than alta/snowbird.  there may be a handful of places that get almost as much and as consistently as they do, but there arent 17.


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## MadMadWorld (Sep 19, 2013)

4aprice said:


> What is attendance at these places?  No matter how wonderful they are, they are remote.  I used to get Ski and thought they did a pretty good job of exposing places from local to afar.  I have taken the survey and its all subjective.  IIRC you're only supposed to vote on areas you have actually skied.  I would love to get to each and everyone but it ain't happening.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ



Not as remote as you think. Sunshine is 1.5 hrs from Calgary. Lake Louise is probably 2 hrs. Kicking Horse is probably 2.5 but only an hour from Banff. Revelstoke is the furthest of those resorts at 4.5 hrs from Calgary.  You have cat only skiing at Fortress and some amazing BC terrain at Rogers Pass all within reasonable distance.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## jaytrem (Sep 19, 2013)

HowieT2 said:


> I havent been there in 4 years, so maybe things have gotten more crowded, but even so, I go out west for snow. sure the mountains are bigger and the terrain more expansive, but what a skier really needs is good fresh snow. and for that, it doesnt get much better than alta/snowbird. there may be a handful of places that get almost as much and as consistently as they do, but there arent 17.



I actually haven't been to Alta since 2003.  I found a lot of other places where the power doesn't get tracked out so fast and just have less crowds in general.  For the really good snow I've done much better at places that are less expansive than Alta.  But there are also plenty of big ones that hold the snow real well, they're just not so close to a major airport.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Alta, and I'd love to get back there one of these days.  I just don't rank it any where near the top for untracked powder per minute.

Same deal with Whitewater in BC, it's like the Alta of Canada.  Everybody is ready to go 1/2 an hour before the lifts open and ready to hike all over the place.  Was a bit more shocking at Whitewater though.


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## from_the_NEK (Sep 19, 2013)

jaytrem said:


> Even the more resorty Canadian places don't seem to be getting on the list much these days.  Examples...
> 
> Sunshine Village
> Lake Louise
> ...


I'd imagine the even exchange rate from the last 5 years or so has made going to Canada to ski less attractive to Americans as well.


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## HowieT2 (Sep 19, 2013)

jaytrem said:


> I actually haven't been to Alta since 2003.  I found a lot of other places where the power doesn't get tracked out so fast and just have less crowds in general.  For the really good snow I've done much better at places that are less expansive than Alta.  But there are also plenty of big ones that hold the snow real well, they're just not so close to a major airport.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Alta, and I'd love to get back there one of these days.  I just don't rank it any where near the top for untracked powder per minute.
> 
> Same deal with Whitewater in BC, it's like the Alta of Canada.  Everybody is ready to go 1/2 an hour before the lifts open and ready to hike all over the place.  Was a bit more shocking at Whitewater though.



Going to whitewater for the first time in January.  Just give me powder and I'll deal with finding untracked lines.  Early bird catches the worm.


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## MadPadraic (Sep 25, 2013)

I know that ALL ski areas in the West are better than ALL ski areas in the East, but I'd take a day at Sugarloaf over Northstar. The situation is also somewhat murky with regards to Keystone: Bracket Basin is better than Keystone's North Bowl, but the South Bowl is a bit more fun than Sugarloaf's snowfields. However, I've not found anything trails at Keystone on par with the King Pine pod.


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## 4aprice (Sep 25, 2013)

MadPadraic said:


> I know that ALL ski areas in the West are better than ALL ski areas in the East, but I'd take a day at Sugarloaf over Northstar. The situation is also somewhat murky with regards to Keystone: Bracket Basin is better than Keystone's North Bowl, but the South Bowl is a bit more fun than Sugarloaf's snowfields. However, I've not found anything trails at Keystone on par with the King Pine pod.



The snow is better in the west not necessarily the terrain.  I've never been to Northstar but kind of agree with your opinion on Keystone though the addition of the back areas made it better.  In many ways eastern tree skiing is unique and different from anything in the west and I've had days in the east that rival the west.  Overall though you can't beat elevation when it comes to snow and snow quality and there the east will never catch the west.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2013)

4aprice said:


> The snow is better in the west not necessarily the terrain. I've never been to Northstar but kind of agree with your opinion on Keystone though the addition of the back areas made it better. In many ways eastern tree skiing is unique and different from anything in the west and I've had days in the east that rival the west. Overall though you can't beat elevation when it comes to snow and snow quality and there the east will never catch the west.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ




Two major key differences:

Elevation keeps the precipitation as snow, and instead of recovering from NCP events and freeze/thaws, you're adding to your skiable base.  The best conditions in the East are the stretches of consistently cold temps with light refreshers every day or two.  Those are the times when the East skis like the West (in terms of snow).

A close second is the much lower skier density.


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## fbrissette (Sep 25, 2013)

4aprice said:


> The snow is better in the west not necessarily the terrain.  I've never been to Northstar but kind of agree with your opinion on Keystone though the addition of the back areas made it better.  In many ways eastern tree skiing is unique and different from anything in the west and I've had days in the east that rival the west.  Overall though you can't beat elevation when it comes to snow and snow quality and there the east will never catch the west.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ



Very fair assessment.  I would add that the total acreage of major western ski mountains dwarfs their eastern counterparts (Whistler-Blackomb 8000+ skiable acres vs 700 in Killington for example.  Plus near limitless slackcountry/backcountry opportunities.


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2013)

fbrissette said:


> Very fair assessment. I would add that the total acreage of major western ski mountains dwarfs their eastern counterparts (Whistler-Blackomb 8000+ skiable acres vs 700 in Killington for example. Plus near limitless slackcountry/backcountry opportunities.



I saw an interesting comment on EpicSki from Tony Crocker that the way Eastern and Western areas calculate size are very different, and in general Eastern resorts ski bigger than their reported acreage and Western resorts ski smaller.

Obviously, Eastern resorts are still smaller, but not to the extreme that it seems by looking at the numbers.


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## Smellytele (Sep 25, 2013)

St. Bear said:


> Two major key differences:
> 
> Elevation keeps the precipitation as snow, and instead of recovering from NCP events and freeze/thaws, you're adding to your skiable base.  The best conditions in the East are the stretches of consistently cold temps with light refreshers every day or two.  Those are the times when the East skis like the West (in terms of snow).
> 
> A close second is the much lower skier density.



If you include Tahoe in the West they do have rain and Sierra Cement which is worse than anything you can experience in the east.


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2013)

Link to the comment.
http://www.epicski.com/t/113869/best-resort-to-ski-powder/210#post_1494901



> It would take a panel of well travelled skiers to do this exercise properly.  Acreage is not always calculated consistently.  Eastern numbers look tiny because it's usually only trail acreage.  But when the trees are skiable to some extent and not counted an adjustment is needed.  The published 485 acres for Stowe is IMHO a massive understatement. One of the Vermont snow geeks loaded a Google Map and calculated that boundary to boundary Stowe had 2,500 acres.  IMHO Stowe doesn't ski like a 2,500 acre western area, but I do think it skis like a 1,500 acre western area.  These are the kind of subjective judgments that the "panel" would go through to compile a consistent database of ski area extent.


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> If you include Tahoe in the West they do have rain and Sierra Cement which is worse than anything you can experience in the east.



I thought we were generalizing?


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## MadMadWorld (Sep 25, 2013)

4aprice said:


> The snow is better in the west not necessarily the terrain.  I've never been to Northstar but kind of agree with your opinion on Keystone though the addition of the back areas made it better.  In many ways eastern tree skiing is unique and different from anything in the west and I've had days in the east that rival the west.  Overall though you can't beat elevation when it comes to snow and snow quality and there the east will never catch the west.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ





I have a hard time going along with that. There are very few times that I have passed up a line on the east coast because it was out of my league. On the other hand, there were plenty of times at KH and Revelstoke where I chickened out. East coast definitely offers up a unique experience that is much different than the west but I don't think you can compare the terrain.


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## fbrissette (Sep 25, 2013)

St. Bear said:


> I saw an interesting comment on EpicSki from Tony Crocker that the way Eastern and Western areas calculate size are very different, and in general Eastern resorts ski bigger than their reported acreage and Western resorts ski smaller.
> 
> Obviously, Eastern resorts are still smaller, but not to the extreme that it seems by looking at the numbers.



Interesting, I would have thought (based on nothing else than my gut feeling and experience out west) that it was the other way around.


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2013)

MadMadWorld said:


> I have a hard time going along with that. There are very few times that I have passed up a line on the east coast because it was out of my league. On the other hand, there were plenty of times at KH and Revelstoke where I chickened out. East coast definitely offers up a unique experience that is much different than the west but I don't think you can compare the terrain.



Wouldn't you say that many of the Western resorts that we think of and travel to are more the exception than the rule?  There is also a selection bias, because if we're spending all the money to travel out West, of course we're going to KH, Revelstoke, JH, or Snowbird, but there are hundreds of other resorts.


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## MadMadWorld (Sep 25, 2013)

St. Bear said:


> Wouldn't you say that many of the Western resorts that we think of and travel to are more the exception than the rule? There is also a selection bias, because if we're spending all the money to travel out West, of course we're going to KH, Revelstoke, JH, or Snowbird, but there are hundreds of other resorts.



I don't know about that. Even if you looked at just the most popular destinations like SLC and Tahoe, I think it would be hard to argue that East coast terrain is harder. Maybe if people cherry pick resorts like Northstar or mountains in Oregon.


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## Cannonball (Sep 25, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> And most of us on here do not like SKI magazine anyway. Although I do get it for free (actually we get 2 for some reason at our house). I rarely more than browse through it.



Exactly!  SKI might be the worst publication I've ever opened.  Might as well have the top 30 ski resorts as voted by Cat Fancy magazine.


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2013)

Cannonball said:


> Exactly! SKI might be the worst publication I've ever opened. Might as well have the top 30 ski resorts as voted by Cat Fancy magazine.



Wildcat!


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## 4aprice (Sep 25, 2013)

MadMadWorld said:


> I have a hard time going along with that.* There are very few times that I have passed up a line on the east coast because it was out of my league. On the other hand, there were plenty of times at KH and Revelstoke where I chickened out*. East coast definitely offers up a unique experience that is much different than the west but I don't think you can compare the terrain.



I'm almost the complete opposite, doing things in the west that I probably wouldn't do in the east due to snow conditions.  Outside of something like Colbert's (Sp?) at Jackson Hole, which lets face it is a cliff at the top, I find the steeps much more skiable in the west.  I find a trail like the top of Starr at Stowe to be much more intimidating then High Rustler at Alta.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## Cannonball (Sep 25, 2013)

Skiing Colbert's....


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## bruno1 (Sep 25, 2013)

jaytrem said:


> I actually haven't been to Alta since 2003.  I found a lot of other places where the power doesn't get tracked out so fast and just have less crowds in general.  For the really good snow I've done much better at places that are less expansive than Alta.  But there are also plenty of big ones that hold the snow real well, they're just not so close to a major airport.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Alta, and I'd love to get back there one of these days.  I just don't rank it any where near the top for untracked powder per minute.
> 
> Same deal with Whitewater in BC, it's like the Alta of Canada.  Everybody is ready to go 1/2 an hour before the lifts open and ready to hike all over the place.  Was a bit more shocking at Whitewater though.



The Ogden resorts (powder and snow basin)are great and way less crowded the little cottonwood. Big cottonwood (solitude and Brighton) are also less crowded but all in all Utah is great no matter what. I've skied almost all except brian head and wolf creek and you can't go wrong. The parkcity resorts do get less snow but you get great nightlife, plus every time I'm in PC ill ski the daly chutes at deer valley, killer steep chutes!!


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## Smellytele (Sep 25, 2013)

bruno1 said:


> The Ogden resorts (powder and snow basin)are great and way less crowded the little cottonwood. Big cottonwood (solitude and Brighton) are also less crowded but all in all Utah is great no matter what. I've skied almost all except brian head and wolf creek and you can't go wrong. The parkcity resorts do get less snow but you get great nightlife, plus every time I'm in PC ill ski the daly chutes at deer valley, killer steep chutes!!


I thought Wolf Creek was in CO.


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## bruno1 (Sep 25, 2013)

It is but there's one near powder mnt. It's a small family ski area


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## 4aprice (Sep 25, 2013)

bruno1 said:


> The Ogden resorts (powder and snow basin)are great and way less crowded the little cottonwood. Big cottonwood (solitude and Brighton) are also less crowded but all in all Utah is great no matter what. I've skied almost all except brian head and wolf creek and you can't go wrong. The parkcity resorts do get less snow but you get great nightlife, plus every time I'm in PC ill ski the daly chutes at deer valley, killer steep chutes!!



Quiet Bruno.  Nobody wants to go to the BCC resorts.  :wink:  Much easier drive up LCC, everyone go there.  BTW its Wolf Mountain in Utah.  Great view of it from the top of Pow Mow.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## bruno1 (Sep 25, 2013)

Wolf mountain Wolf creek whatever!


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## bruno1 (Sep 25, 2013)

What's wrong with the BCC?


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## Smellytele (Sep 25, 2013)

bruno1 said:


> What's wrong with the BCC?



He goes there and doesn't want anyone else to go.


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## darent (Sep 25, 2013)

from_the_NEK said:


> I'd imagine the even exchange rate from the last 5 years or so has made going to Canada to ski less attractive to Americans as well.



check out the rates for flying into Calgary, $700-$800 range, you can fly to Vancover for half that. was thinking of skiing Banff area this winter,but I will go to Oregon again and ski with my son.Use the flight savings to stay longer.


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## ScottySkis (Sep 25, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> He goes there and doesn't want anyone else to go.



Don't go to Alta or any of the cannon mountain their snow average is so bad.


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## 4aprice (Sep 26, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> He goes there and doesn't want anyone else to go.



You make me sound like a snob ST.  I'm not that bad, just trying to save some freshies for me.  Always enjoy any of the front 4.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## MadMadWorld (Sep 26, 2013)

4aprice said:


> I'm almost the complete opposite, doing things in the west that I probably wouldn't do in the east due to snow conditions.  Outside of something like Colbert's (Sp?) at Jackson Hole, which lets face it is a cliff at the top, I find the steeps much more skiable in the west.  I find a trail like the top of Starr at Stowe to be much more intimidating then High Rustler at Alta.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ




Interesting. I skied Corbet's once and I managed to make it down without falling. The entrance is very intimidating but if you can come your mind to just getting through the first 1 or 2 turns your home free. I have found lots of in bound stuff out west that scared me a lot more than Corbet's. Steep chutes that have sharp rocks protruding from the snow is what scares me. I took a spill at KH that caused me to slide out of control for 30 seconds. The whole time I was just waiting for the moment I hit a massive rock or went over a cliff (all caught on my helmet cam too!). I've never had that experience in East coast inbound terrain (and hope I never do).


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## Smellytele (Sep 26, 2013)

4aprice said:


> You make me sound like a snob ST.  I'm not that bad, just trying to save some freshies for me.  Always enjoy any of the front 4.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ



Didn't mean it that way. I understand and feel that way about my favorite spots as well.


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## SnowRock (Sep 26, 2013)

When I think of Aspen at this point I think of it as all 4 mountains (though in my two trips Ive never done buttermilk) not really one or the other. Its interesting to me that Aspen/Snowmass/Highlands all get ranked individually within the top 30.


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## St. Bear (Sep 26, 2013)

SnowRock said:


> When I think of Aspen at this point I think of it as all 4 mountains (though in my two trips Ive never done buttermilk) not really one or the other. Its interesting to me that Aspen/Snowmass/Highlands all get ranked individually within the top 30.



Do they sell individual lift tickets?  That's the only reason I could think of as to way they're seperate.


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## SnowRock (Sep 26, 2013)

St. Bear said:


> Do they sell individual lift tickets?  That's the only reason I could think of as to way they're seperate.



No... its one for all 4.


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## MadPadraic (Sep 26, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> If you include Tahoe in the West they do have rain and Sierra Cement which is worse than anything you can experience in the east.



Look, Sierra Cement exists, but you can't really contend that it is any worse than a freeze thaw or even a typical scraped off Saturday afternoon in the East?



Cannonball said:


> Exactly!  SKI might be the worst publication I've ever opened.  Might as well have the top 30 ski resorts as voted by Cat Fancy magazine.



JH is #1 and you say that? Worst publication? Have you never opened a Boston Herald? We got a free subscription to Wine Spectator once, far worse than Ski.   Also: http://www.wallpaper.com/


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## Smellytele (Sep 26, 2013)

MadPadraic said:


> Look, Sierra Cement exists, but you can't really contend that it is any worse than a freeze thaw or even a typical scraped off Saturday afternoon in the East?



That is like saying a freeze thaw or even a typical scraped off Saturday afternoon in the East exists but you can't really contend that it is any worse than Sierra Cement. :-o


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## MadPadraic (Sep 26, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> That is like saying a freeze thaw or even a typical scraped off Saturday afternoon in the East exists but you can't really contend that it is any worse than Sierra Cement. :-o



I contend that East Coast hardpack is much worse than Sierra Cement or Cascade Concrete. Also, the cookies at Beaver Creek are overrated.


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## snoseek (Sep 27, 2013)

Most of the snow that is labeled sierra cement skis pretty fantastic IMO.


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## ScottySkis (Sep 27, 2013)

snoseek said:


> Most of the snow that is labeled sierra cement skis pretty fantastic IMO.



I need to find out by experience, Caly home to what started medical plant of mind, and great skiing mountains.


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## Smellytele (Sep 27, 2013)

snoseek said:


> Most of the snow that is labeled sierra cement skis pretty fantastic IMO.



That has not been my experience with it but...


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## Smellytele (Sep 27, 2013)

MadPadraic said:


> I contend that East Coast hardpack is much worse than Sierra Cement or Cascade Concrete. Also, the cookies at Beaver Creek are overrated.



Maybe it has to do with I have had more experience with East Coast Hardpack and know how to deal with it better than 12 inches of thick ski stopping mash potatoes.


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## snoseek (Sep 27, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> Maybe it has to do with I have had more experience with East Coast Hardpack and know how to deal with it better than 12 inches of thick ski stopping mash potatoes.


I only have two winters experience, but have only ran into this once or twice and yeah it kind of sucked. The rest of the time it was dry but usually denser snow....real surfy stuff that skis great. for the most part what falls seems quite a bit drier than what falls in New England.


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## fbrissette (Sep 27, 2013)

snoseek said:


> Most of the snow that is labeled sierra cement skis pretty fantastic IMO.



I haven't experienced the Sierra Cement but have lots of experience with the Whistler cement.  While it skis a bit better than it used to with fat boys, calling it fantastic is perplexing at best.

As to whether or not it is better than an eastern freeze-thaw, frankly I think they both suck and that either condition calls for a very early beer.


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## Smellytele (Sep 27, 2013)

fbrissette said:


> As to whether or not it is better than an eastern freeze-thaw, frankly I think they both suck and that either condition calls for a very early beer.


+1


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## snoseek (Sep 27, 2013)

fbrissette said:


> I haven't experienced the Sierra Cement but have lots of experience with the Whistler cement.  While it skis a bit better than it used to with fat boys, calling it fantastic is perplexing at best.
> 
> As to whether or not it is better than an eastern freeze-thaw, frankly I think they both suck and that either condition calls for a very early beer.



Yeah but Whistler is like 2000 feet at the base, tops out well under 8k and is closer to the ocean. Kirkwood is my goto hill and the base sits higher than the top of whistler. Same with Heavenly. I haven't been to Whistler but I would imagine that would make a pretty big difference. In two years and 200 plus days Of skiing Tahoe I can think of two days that were unpleasant due to sticky snow and yeah they were pretty awful, then again the past couple years were pretty light snow years so there's that.


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## MadPadraic (Sep 28, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> Maybe it has to do with I have had more experience with East Coast Hardpack and know how to deal with it better than 12 inches of thick ski stopping mash potatoes.





fbrissette said:


> I haven't experienced the Sierra Cement but have lots of experience with the Whistler cement.  While it skis a bit better than it used to with fat boys, calling it fantastic is perplexing at best.
> 
> As to whether or not it is better than an eastern freeze-thaw, frankly I think they both suck and that either condition calls for a very early beer.



Are you two fans of Spring conditions? How do the conditions above differ? More grippy?


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## snoseek (Sep 28, 2013)

MadPadraic said:


> Are you two fans of Spring conditions? How do the conditions above differ? More grippy?


Would you say those few days you had last December in Tahoe were cement? I mean that day at Kirkwood...


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## Smellytele (Sep 28, 2013)

MadPadraic said:


> Are you two fans of Spring conditions? How do the conditions above differ? More grippy?



I love spring corn. It was not even close to spring corn. It was thick heavy grippy mash potatoes with not enough milk. Not whipped but mash potatoes.


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## MadPadraic (Sep 28, 2013)

snoseek said:


> Would you say those few days you had last December in Tahoe were cement? I mean that day at Kirkwood...



No, the powder at Kirkwood was exceptional. The stuff at Heavenly was heavier, but nice and surfy. Absolutely great conditions.


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## dlague (Sep 30, 2013)

Speaking of the West. Check this out!

http://www.earlyups.com/videos/storm-the-pacific-northwest-gets-hit/


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