That's too bad. We were there the week before and Deer Valley was in decent shape, all things considered. This was our third year in a row and this year is not up to the standards of the last two but still pretty good.
Ranking Ski Resorts
- Thread starter Triggermv
- Start date
That's too bad. We were there the week before and Deer Valley was in decent shape, all things considered. This was our third year in a row and this year is not up to the standards of the last two but still pretty good.
So, I just got back yesterday from my 3-day Whistler-Blackcomb ski trip. While the snow base is really large there this year, we unfortunately didn't get any new fresh new snow while we were there, which kind of sucked. Therefore, things were just fairly icy overall for the most part and it wasn't help along by the fact that it was pretty cold while we were there, meaning the snow had a hard time softening up. It did soften up some though when it got good sun, so it wasn't all too bad.
Snow aside though, we still had a blast and one positive of a cold-weather high pressure system was the blue-bird clear skies we had there, which isn't super common around there. This meant that the views we experienced the whole time there were simply amazing. In fact, I'm debating whether they are the best I've ever experienced. There is just so many amazing peaks around there to look at, and that isn't even counting the unparalleled views you get along the ocean while you drive up there.
As for the mountain itself, it is definitely up there with the best. Size-wise, the place is ginormous. We skied one day Whistler, one day Blackcomb and one day hitting our favorite places of both (rode the peak to peak gondola), so 3 days was about perfect. Comparing the two mountains, I actually preferred Whistler even though it was probably busier than Blackcomb overall, but both had some really great runs, especially if you stick to the top. In the end, Whistler just had more open-faced bowl runs at the top I liked more-so than what Blackcomb provided. From a difficulty standpoint, I thought the mountain was definitely upper-half of the places I've been, but it overall just had a lot of options for everyone, so I wouldn't really call it crazy difficult at all. Some of my favorite areas were the Blackcomb Glacier, Glacier Express, 7th Heaven Express (way too busy though), the whole Symphony and Harmony area (magical tree runs here, the Whistler Bowl, the Saddle, the Peak to Creek and the Dave Murray Downhill (Olympic Downhill run).
In the end, it was a great trip and there is no doubt Whistler-Blackcomb is up there with the best of them when you factor in everything, even though I'm not sure it will end up my #1 overall. I do wish we had better snow while we were there, but that is just part of it. On the accommodations front, we were at the Crystal Lodge, which is 100 yards from both mountain's gondolas, so we had a crazy good location. The village is also up there with the best of them too, so that was pretty fun, especially seeing the Olympic Plaza. Lastly, as for adding it to my rankings, I'll let it sink in a bit and then update them.
Oh yeah, the peak to peak gondola...... two big thumbs up. That thing gets you scary high that you almost swear you are looking down from a helicopter. Talk about an engineering feat on that one.
Snow aside though, we still had a blast and one positive of a cold-weather high pressure system was the blue-bird clear skies we had there, which isn't super common around there. This meant that the views we experienced the whole time there were simply amazing. In fact, I'm debating whether they are the best I've ever experienced. There is just so many amazing peaks around there to look at, and that isn't even counting the unparalleled views you get along the ocean while you drive up there.
As for the mountain itself, it is definitely up there with the best. Size-wise, the place is ginormous. We skied one day Whistler, one day Blackcomb and one day hitting our favorite places of both (rode the peak to peak gondola), so 3 days was about perfect. Comparing the two mountains, I actually preferred Whistler even though it was probably busier than Blackcomb overall, but both had some really great runs, especially if you stick to the top. In the end, Whistler just had more open-faced bowl runs at the top I liked more-so than what Blackcomb provided. From a difficulty standpoint, I thought the mountain was definitely upper-half of the places I've been, but it overall just had a lot of options for everyone, so I wouldn't really call it crazy difficult at all. Some of my favorite areas were the Blackcomb Glacier, Glacier Express, 7th Heaven Express (way too busy though), the whole Symphony and Harmony area (magical tree runs here, the Whistler Bowl, the Saddle, the Peak to Creek and the Dave Murray Downhill (Olympic Downhill run).
In the end, it was a great trip and there is no doubt Whistler-Blackcomb is up there with the best of them when you factor in everything, even though I'm not sure it will end up my #1 overall. I do wish we had better snow while we were there, but that is just part of it. On the accommodations front, we were at the Crystal Lodge, which is 100 yards from both mountain's gondolas, so we had a crazy good location. The village is also up there with the best of them too, so that was pretty fun, especially seeing the Olympic Plaza. Lastly, as for adding it to my rankings, I'll let it sink in a bit and then update them.
Oh yeah, the peak to peak gondola...... two big thumbs up. That thing gets you scary high that you almost swear you are looking down from a helicopter. Talk about an engineering feat on that one.
All of the BC Resorts are full of Aussies. If you can get there for an "Australia Day", Its pretty crazy.
I also just got back from BC Last Week, Thankfully, we got the snow, and the warmth and left before the cold set in. Pow everyday for a week. Canada Mountains crush the Colorado and Utah options IMO. WAY Cheaper, just as easy to get to, more consistent snow, and no lift lines! Whistler being the only exception to that. Although Whistler is so big, the lift lines aren't too bad.
If you all want some mountains to explore in BC, Check out:
Revelstoke
Kicking Horse
Red Mountain
Big White
Whitewater
Those 5 might be the best mountains you could ever go to and most have never heard of.
Oh yeah, one really cool thing is the crazy amount of vertical you get with some of the Canada mountains, which means you get some amazingly long runs that seem to go on forever. For instance, the Peak to Creek run at Whistler gives you a whopping 5,234 feet of vertical in one run, whereas the closest comparison I had experienced up that point was at Snowbird with 3,243 feet. That is a pretty big difference. Revelstoke apparently has an even bigger vertical.
http://mountainvertical.com/
I now have three kids in tow on all my trips so I’m not the best for advice on having an adult only trip anymore.
One piece of advice is depending on what time you are heading up the foot hills make time to stop at Little Bear in Evergreen. Great place to stop for a beer and food if you have the time.
In Breckinridge Eric’s is a fun place to eat and grab a beer. If you’re looking for a nicer meal I like Blue River Bistro. Once again I have kids with me so I have no advice for nightlife anymore.
For skiing if you are looking to ski elsewhere but staying in Breckinridge I’d take a good look at A-Basin.
The best advice I can give is to sample the Colorado cafes!!
Just returned from Keystone - my thoughts. I loved it! Have never gone skiing out west before, so I'm sure I'd like anything. The back side BBQ joint was a great place to grab a beer. Some favorite runs - Wild Irishman, Frenchman, Mozart and Prospector. My friends loved Starfire, but I'm too much of a noob for that one.
Come out another year when there is more snow! This has been the worst year for skiing in the 6 I've lived here. I hit a patch of ice on Peak 10 at Breck last Friday and probably bit it as hard as I ever have.
Got back from Copper last week.
Had 2 days with a couple fresh inches and 2 days of sun. Conditions weren’t as bad as I was expecting. Just had to be willing to get off the beaten track. Sunny days were a great time to cruise the blues. There were a handful of closed runs under Superbee lift due to a ski race, so that kind of sucked. But Timberline’s blues were in great condition.
Also heard about somebody hitting a tree and dying at Keystone the same weekend we were at Copper. It was on Elk Run. And as many of you know that’s been to Keystone, you can bomb that run and there are patches of trees scattered about. I can see how somebody could catch an edge or patch of ice and go head first into a tree going 40+ mph.
Had 2 days with a couple fresh inches and 2 days of sun. Conditions weren’t as bad as I was expecting. Just had to be willing to get off the beaten track. Sunny days were a great time to cruise the blues. There were a handful of closed runs under Superbee lift due to a ski race, so that kind of sucked. But Timberline’s blues were in great condition.
Also heard about somebody hitting a tree and dying at Keystone the same weekend we were at Copper. It was on Elk Run. And as many of you know that’s been to Keystone, you can bomb that run and there are patches of trees scattered about. I can see how somebody could catch an edge or patch of ice and go head first into a tree going 40+ mph.
Yeah, this latest one was apparently a really good skier as well.
Side note: I tried out some Volkl Kendo skis these last few days. Awesome ski -- I think I'm going to get some.
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Just got back from Keystone. Overheard some people at lunch that the guy who was killed was borderline a pro.
We got one day of good skiing on Friday. Saturday as the temps rose and the crowd grew the conditions got bad fast. I pulled the kids at 1:00 as it just wasn’t worth it anymore. I believe they were supposed to get snow this week which they desperately need. To make it worse my kids are at the point we are working on parallel turning and never snowplowing. Which meant I spent most of the trip on Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon so they could work on turns and stay under control.
So, my wife's family is all going skiing up in Mankato, MN at Mount Kato this weekend, and I'm planning on teaching my 3 year old to ski for the first time myself while I'm there. I've bought her some used skis that should work really good as well as a ski tip training clip to use too. With that said, does anyone have any good training tips for me? I've heard that 4 is more the ideal age to get them started, but 3 year olds can learn too, but you just need to keep it in mind that it is a 3 year old, so make it fun.
Now that I've posted my full-out review of my Whistler-Blackcomb trip and after giving myself a little time to dwell on it, I figured it was about time I toss my new updated rankings up with it included. For kicks and giggles, I've since took a little family vacation to Mount Kato too up in Minnesota, so I tossed it on there as well.
- Snowbird (Utah) - 4-way tie for best snow, Best Terrain, Steepest terrain, Best for expert skiers, 2nd best views, good lifts with a tram, fun tunnel to backside, crowds can get bad
- Whistler Blackcomb - Biggest resort in North America, Longest vertical feet by far, Crazy-long fun Peak to Creek run to do 5,000 vertical feet, Best views, 3rd best terrain, Best ski village, Good lifts, Good value (due to US dollar), Decent snow, Little crowded
- Alta (Utah) - 4-way tie for best snow, 2nd best terrain (fairly extreme terrain), Good for Expert Skiers (hard terrain, but a little lighter than Snowbird), Best Value, No boarders allowed
- Solitude (Utah) - 4-way tie for best snow, Awesome terrain, highest chance of getting untouched terrain, 2nd Smallest Lines, Best tree Runs, Too Many Slow Lifts, 2nd Best Value, Similar to Brighton, only a little bigger, and a little more challenging
- Keystone (Colorado) - 2nd Best Tree Runs, Best Lifts, Best Night Skiing, Fun Snowcat Skiing
- Vail (Colorado) - 3rd Biggest Resort, Nicest Resort, Great Runs, Best Back Bowls, One of the Best Ski Towns, Too Many Catwalks
- Brighton (Utah) - Very Simple and Laid Back (I like), 4-way tie for Best Snow, Great Tree Runs, Smallest Lines, 3nd Best Value, Best Place to Take Young Family For Value Skiing
- Kirkwood - (California) - Almost an exact blend of Alta and Brighton, only with not as good and consistent of snow and too many slow lifts, 3nd Smallest Lines, 4th Best Value, Very Laid-Back, Fairly Challenging Terrain, Not great lifts
- Heavenly - (California) - 3rd Best Views (mostly due to the lake), Nice Resort, One of Best Ski Towns, 4th Largest Resort, Great Runs, Great Lifts, Good Tree Runs, Best for Skiing in T-Shirt, Worst Consistent Snow
- Copper Mountain (Colorado) - 4th Best Value (best in Colorado, especially when using coupons), Nice Runs Overall, Smaller Lift Lines, Free Snowcat Skiing, More Laid-Back
- Park City Mountain Resort (Utah) - 2nd Biggest Resort Now That Combined With Canyons (I skied it prior to being combined), Coolest Town Setting, 3rd Nicest Resort, Great Lifts, So-So Views, Decent Snow
- Breckenridge (Colorado) - Decent Overall, Very Busy, Too Many Boarders, Good Lifts, Cool Ski Town
- A-Basin (Colorado) - Very High Altitude, Very Cold, Great Views, Smaller Resort, Great Terrain, Fairly Difficult Overall, Best Food, Cheapest Food, Terrible Lifts (only one speed lift), 2nd Best Value in Colorado, Very Laid-Back, Kind of a Blend of Kirkwood and Alta With Less Speed Lifts
- Loveland - Very High Altitude, Very Cold, So-So Views, Smaller Resort, So-So Terrain, Not Super Difficult, Great Food, Worst Lifts (zero speed lifts), Very Laid-Back, Good Value
- Sunrise Park (Arizona) - Fun Place, Not Colorado or Utah, Still Lots Better Than Iowa
- Chestnut Mountain (Illinois) - I Like the Runs, Resort Area, and Views Better than Sundown, Little further drive than Sundown, Underrated for being in Midwest
- Sundown (Iowa) - Closest Ski Resort, Best in Iowa, Rentals are terrible and the place is kind of a dump, but decent runs for Iowa
- Mount Kato (Minnesota) - Better and larger than expected, but has half the vertical feet of both Sundown and Chestnut. Kind of a bit of a dump similar to Sundown.
Just got back from Steamboat. Had great weather and good snow. As far as favorite places Telluride in southern Colorado is great. Has started to get busier the past few years but not nearly as traveled to as the other Colorado mountains.
We did Park City (Canyons one day, Park City side another), Brighton, and Solitude. I'll post a more lengthy report sometime soon with my total rankings, but I would definitely put Brighton ahead of Solitude by far based on our experience. Was fun to try new places!
As you can see I don't get on too much. Sorry for the late reply. I've only skied Tignes/ValDSere and Innsbruck area. I'd have to give the nod to Tignes for skiing, but Innsbruck for total experience (ie nightlife included)