A Basin is awesome if your a good skier/rider. If you like to hike and explore. If your average and you just go down blues it might not be the place for you. The lifts are slow.
Ranking Ski Resorts
- Thread starter Triggermv
- Start date
A Basin is awesome if your a good skier/rider. If you like to hike and explore. If your average and you just go down blues it might not be the place for you. The lifts are slow.
I would recommend everyone skip the lift lines of summit county and SLC Area this year all together.
Instead explore Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and hit every place in BC! No lift lines, better terrain, no altitude sickness. Oh and about 50% the cost, only exception on cost is Jackson Hole, but that place rules and is worth the money.
Instead explore Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and hit every place in BC! No lift lines, better terrain, no altitude sickness. Oh and about 50% the cost, only exception on cost is Jackson Hole, but that place rules and is worth the money.
This is a bad year to go to Colorado. Same for next year....
As someone who has lived in NW Montana for many years now, I enjoy skiing Whitefish Mountain. However over the holidays when I want to avoid crowds I head to Blacktail Mountain in Lakeside MT. Some days it feels like I am the only one on the mountain. Plus it is a lot cheaper than Whitefish.
If anyone skis here without there own gear, it is a always cheaper to rent from a local shop in Kalispell or Whitefish as opposed to on either mountain. When my dad comes to visit he spends $20-25 on rentals for a day.
Flights will be more expensive than going to Colorado but Whitefish was just rated #3 in the West by ski magazine.
https://www.skimag.com/ski-resort-life/best-ski-resorts-in-the-west-2020
If anyone skis here without there own gear, it is a always cheaper to rent from a local shop in Kalispell or Whitefish as opposed to on either mountain. When my dad comes to visit he spends $20-25 on rentals for a day.
Flights will be more expensive than going to Colorado but Whitefish was just rated #3 in the West by ski magazine.
https://www.skimag.com/ski-resort-life/best-ski-resorts-in-the-west-2020
Copper: Copper is a unique mountain in the fact that is set up as such where it pretty much gradually goes from green to blue to black from right to left on the mountain. Therefore, it is nicely kind of sectioned off by skill level. There is a couple decent back bowls to check out at Copper as well, and I believe it still enjoys maybe the only free place that offers a free snowcat ride to some terrain back there. By way of snow, Copper tends to be on the lower end of things there, so you kind of just have to hope for the best of getting some fresh snow while you are there. Lastly, with tickets, there used to be pretty good coupons offered locally or in Denver at certain gas stations where it was as low as like $50 lift tickets or something like 30-40 percent off. Don't know if it is still available. Since I didn't live around there, I actually would buy the coupons ahead of time for a few bucks on ebay.
A-Basin: This is a smaller mountain with only one speed lift, so if you like lots of fast lifts, this isn't the place to go. However, outside of that, there is some great terrain to be found here and crowds are low filled by mostly locals. The vibe here is great. Plus, they just opened a whole new bowl on the backside with a new lift. Just be prepared that A-Basin is one of the highest altitude skiing in all of North America, so it can be tiring and it can be cold. There is a lot of above-treeline skiing too which is where it gets most cold. Depends on the weather you get. Otherwise, prices are lower at A-Basin for everything whether that be lift tickets or food/drinks. In fact, at their mid-mountain lodge, their rib platter was no-joke the best ribs I've ever had anywhere, so it is a must-have for me. Its only like $20 too, which is crazy for a whole rack and sides. As for ticket deals, depending on how many people you are going with and how many days you are skiing, this gems card is great: https://www.coloradoski.com/store/gems-card-2019-2020 . You buy it for $30, but it gets you 2 for 1 lift tickets at certain resorts including A-Basin or 30% off single tickets. Just do the math and you can see if it is worth it for you.
What did you think of Snowbasin and how does it rank in your list? I will be in the area for work this winter and might have to make an extended trip out of it.
I really enjoyed Snowbasin. Its middle of the pack by way of terrain, but the top is fairly pretty, lifts are good, and crowds are much lower, except at the base lift sometimes. We had great snow while I was there that made it really fun. It also has this ancient tram at the top you can take to the top of the Olympic downhill course, which is kind of fun to experience. While it is further from SLC than most of the resorts, when weather is rough and it is tough to get up the canyons to Snowbird, Alta, Brighton or Solitude, due to its access, it seems like you can always get to Snowbasin easy, which is a positive. Traffic to get there and back isn't even remotely bad either, so that was really nice to experience. Honestly, if I had to make an underrated list, I'd throw Snowbasin on there.
I'm hoping to getting on 2-3 trips this winter, but only have one booked as of right now to Oregon. I've got a cousin who lives out there in the mountains and we are planning on skiing both Mt Bachelor and Mt. Hood Meadows. I've never skied a volcano and looking at a trail map of skiing one is kind of cool with the setup of it. I can't wait.
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Schweitzer is my home mountain - highly rated for tree skiing, low altitude, short lift lines and all the stuff a little ski village can offer....
It is cool to see other people on here who branch outside of Colorado and encourage it. It is interesting how fixated people in Iowa are that skiing=Colorado. I think all of us, including myself, just grew up with that being our annual ski road trip, beings how it is technically the closest place to drive, even though it isn't even that close. In the meantime, Vail has bought everything, jacking up prices, and every millennial has moved to Colorado in the past 10 years, making crowds and traffic almost insufferable. This isn't even counting how narrow a view of skiing only Colorado is, especially when there are equally good if not better to much better options out there in North America. Don't get me wrong, Colorado is still good and fun, and I still ski there some, but many people are really missing out if that is all they know. I think you'll find the more you branch out and try other stuff, the less inclined you will be to go back to Colorado.
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I ski Copper regularly. A-Basin here and there. If you're experienced A-Basin is great, but make sure you get there early for a decent parking pass. They're off the EPIC Pass, but it'll still be busy. The main base parking fills up fast but is usually filled with people tailgating all day. It's fun.
As for Copper, there is free parking to the east of the resort and you can catch a bus to the East (Black/Blue), Main (Mixed), and West (Green) lodges. If you're going on a weekend I'd advise just going to the east lot as the initial lift will likely have less of a line. At the Main lodge area, to the east side of it is a little BBQ place with a bar right at the bottom of the run. It's kind of tucked away, but I highly suggest going here for a beer as it's the cheapest in the resort area that I've found. The foods pricey, but the beer is definitely cheaper
As for Copper, there is free parking to the east of the resort and you can catch a bus to the East (Black/Blue), Main (Mixed), and West (Green) lodges. If you're going on a weekend I'd advise just going to the east lot as the initial lift will likely have less of a line. At the Main lodge area, to the east side of it is a little BBQ place with a bar right at the bottom of the run. It's kind of tucked away, but I highly suggest going here for a beer as it's the cheapest in the resort area that I've found. The foods pricey, but the beer is definitely cheaper
I ski Copper regularly. A-Basin here and there. If you're experienced A-Basin is great, but make sure you get there early for a decent parking pass. They're off the EPIC Pass, but it'll still be busy. The main base parking fills up fast but is usually filled with people tailgating all day. It's fun.
As for Copper, there is free parking to the east of the resort and you can catch a bus to the East (Black/Blue), Main (Mixed), and West (Green) lodges. If you're going on a weekend I'd advise just going to the east lot as the initial lift will likely have less of a line. At the Main lodge area, to the east side of it is a little BBQ place with a bar right at the bottom of the run. It's kind of tucked away, but I highly suggest going here for a beer as it's the cheapest in the resort area that I've found. The foods pricey, but the beer is definitely cheaper
Thanks for the advice!
I'm an average skier and haven't been to all these resorts, but when I've been out to Colorado the last few times I went to Loveland and Cooper (not Copper) primarily due to cost and fewer people. I also thought Cooper was great when the kids were smaller because it seemed like it would be less likely to lose them. It cost a small fortune to take the family out to the well-known mountains and ski for a few days.
Could any of you well-traveled skiers list your favorite lower-cost ski slopes (base lift ticket price under $75 not including discounts)?
Could any of you well-traveled skiers list your favorite lower-cost ski slopes (base lift ticket price under $75 not including discounts)?
My rankings as of today:
1. Vail (expensive as heck but the back bowls/blue sky = take my money please)
2. Brighton
3. Deer Valley
4. Alta
5. Keystone
6. Solitude
7. Park City
8. Breckenridge
9. Copper Mountain
10. Snowbird
11. A-Basin
12. Afton
13. Welch Village
14. Sundown
15. Mt Kato
16. Seven Oaks
1. Vail (expensive as heck but the back bowls/blue sky = take my money please)
2. Brighton
3. Deer Valley
4. Alta
5. Keystone
6. Solitude
7. Park City
8. Breckenridge
9. Copper Mountain
10. Snowbird
11. A-Basin
12. Afton
13. Welch Village
14. Sundown
15. Mt Kato
16. Seven Oaks
We did Utah the last two years and loved it. The group wanted to go back and do Colorado this year which is fine with me. I love the convenience of Utah and being closer to SLC. Also love how the places are generally less busy and less expensive. That being said, the biggest thing I've learned the past decade is if you have good snow and you go on week days, you can have a blast just about anywhere. Also, fireball is a must.
I have been interested in going to Welch Village. I see you have that right below Afton. Are they about the same or is Afton that much better?
This list isn’t worth reading if you don’t have Montezuma’s Fun Valley in the top 2....
It was weird that day. Got to the top and the winds were ridiculous and I dropped my ID in the middle of the snow. So bad vibes from the start. Later on I ventured to Alta, found some great runs and got a call from my buddy he randomly found my ID! So a lot of my list is back to how I felt at the time.
Overall though Alta seemed to have more runs that I like vs. Snowbird.