For those who don't/haven't skied out west.

[snoseek]

kirkwood over 5 feet now and still snowing! an amazing week here!

 

[kingslug]

Wow.....

 

[snowmonster]

Looks like all your waiting has paid dividends, snoseek. Go get it!

 

[CapyB]

Maybe we all forgot about some fantastic conditions last year, I doubt if anybody flies east from Colorado to ski, but hey their bagels suck and I can ski there and here.

I actually met a guy at Cannon that lives near Whistler/Blackcomb that comes out to Cannon just to ski the ice some days. I thought that was interesting.

 

[Angus]

One MRG guy I know just got back from Park City he liked skiing Deer Valley the most. Counterintuitive? didn't have the nerve to tell him Deer Valley is the king of Western Snow Making.

my single best day of skiing out west 20+ days including Taos, all the SLC areas, JH, etc was at DV when it dumped 2 feet during the day. DV is definitely over the top when it comes amenities/accomodations but they certainly seem to be prospering so there is a market. Ther place does ski more like an eastern ski area with the trail network but there are plenty of steeps and good tree skiing. The snow making system services the trail network for the $10mm homes located at lower elevations.

This year, Snowbasin and DV have both needed their extensive snowmaking, the lack of snow is amazing not withstanding what is falling right now.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I just got back from my AB/BC trip and I already am planning another trip for next year. I recommend a trip out west for any person, regardless of their ability. The scenery alone is worth it!

 

[Wavewheeler]

I promised my daughter I'd take her out west skiing next year when she is in college. To be out there in that amazing scenery will be worth the trip.

That said, I hate flying. It's a giant PITA. I prefer to just hop in my car and go. Plus, I never ski on weekends. I work for myself and purposely take off Thurs and Fridays (as well as weekends) so I can do mid week ski trips (and camping, kayaking, hiking during the warm months).

I will often just run out for a day trip to the Poconos or up to Mountain Creek or even the Catskills for an overnighter when we have a "normal" winter. This winter I could only do it once because it warmed up and stayed warm during this so called winter. So most of my ski trips have been overnighters that required 4+ hour drives at increased cost so I didn't ski as often as I wanted to this season. .

But I don't mind groomers and even icy conditions so I found the skiing even this year to be ok. The drive time and cost were the problems and going out west is even more difficult because it's hard to take a week or more off in one shot. I have two kids in school and a business to run so taking that much time off is hard. Taking a few days off, even midweek is much easier and more affordable.

But I still want to go out west and now that my kids are getting older I can see doing it more in the future.

 

[kingslug]

Big Sky Montana...is now on my short list of repeat places to go. While they didn't get the amount of snow others got in this storm the snow was very good, the place is huge,and they had miles of moguls to bounce around on...like the vibe as well, very down to earth. Highly recommended.

 

[dropKickMurphy]

...
If you want to justify NOT going west, you can dig up a couple of bad examples out west. And if you try hard enough, you can also name some good days in the east..

True. But not all western areas are created equal. The snow conditions in the Big and Little Cottonwood areas are typically among the very best of any resorts in the world. From my own experiences, I would say that 90% of the ski days at Alta would be in the top 10% of ski days in New England.

 

[ScottySkis]

True. But not all western areas are created equal. The snow conditions in the Big and Little Cottonwood areas are typically among the very best of any resorts in the world. From my own experiences, I would say that 90% of the ski days at Alta would be in the top 10% of ski days in New England.

+1+1+1+1+11000000000 east is nice, West is amazing!!!

 

[vdk03]

Big Sky Montana...is now on my short list of repeat places to go. While they didn't get the amount of snow others got in this storm the snow was very good, the place is huge,and they had miles of moguls to bounce around on...like the vibe as well, very down to earth. Highly recommended.

+1
One of the things I appreciated most about Big Sky (other than the size and challenging terrain) is the lack of gapers. When we were there it seemed like almost everyone there could rip. Kind of like the exact opposite of most major resorts in that regard.

 

[kingslug]

Probably due to it being hard to get to.