If you could move mountains . . .

[kingslug]

Snowbird..and hope that Alta got dragged along in the process.
And from what I hear, Sugarbush is the place to be in the east, so that gets moved too.

 

[MarkC]

Hands down A-Basin

 

[ctenidae]

Mt Everest.
It'd be pretty interesting to see what it would do to local weather patterns.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

tough call...but probably Whislter/Blackcomb...as long at that counts as one...if not, Snow Basin...less crowded than the rest of the wasatch areas, great lifts, great terrain and plenty of the greatest snow on earth.

 

[big_vert]

tough call...but probably Whislter/Blackcomb...as long at that counts as one...if not, Snow Basin...less crowded than the rest of the wasatch areas, great lifts, great terrain and plenty of the greatest snow on earth.

Whistler/Blackcomb counts as one, particularly with the new peak-to peak gondola going in. My mountain guide buddy who does summer hiking tours tells me that the foundations for the p2p are already in, and they're motoring through the installation.

Oh - you forgot about the Snowbasin food (and its price).

 

[kingslug]

Whistler/Blackcomb counts as one, particularly with the new peak-to peak gondola going in. My mountain guide buddy who does summer hiking tours tells me that the foundations for the p2p are already in, and they're motoring through the installation.

Oh - you forgot about the Snowbasin food (and its price).

But they do have nice marble floors to slide across.

 

[big_vert]

No, the floors are covered in deep pile carpets, and your first reaction is to take your boots off. The customer service gal told me that was one of their most FAQ - do I have to take my boots off.

Then, the lavatories remind you of a high class country club - very posh.

The marble is one the top of the tables in the three lodges that serve first class food for very reasonable prices. Three gondolas and a high speed quad get you where you want to go fast.

 

[snoseek]

No, the floors are covered in deep pile carpets, and your first reaction is to take your boots off. The customer service gal told me that was one of their most FAQ - do I have to take my boots off.

Then, the lavatories remind you of a high class country club - very posh.

The marble is one the top of the tables in the three lodges that serve first class food for very reasonable prices. Three gondolas and a high speed quad get you where you want to go fast.

best ski area $hitters on the planet! skiings pretty good too.

 

[dmc]

Hands down A-Basin

Interesting choice...

Small enough that it wouldn't take up too much room.. Crazy enough to keep you occupied... Lots of fun in the parking lot(beach)... Ski the backside and hitchhike back (to your house)

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

best ski area $hitters on the planet! skiings pretty good too.

Yeah, I was so impressed I washed my hands BEFORE I used the urinal...after too of course. BigVert is right...I forgot about the food...great stuff for ~20% less than you'd expect to pay at your average ski area never mind one like snowbasin. Some of the hike to terrain up top rivals Alta and the bird...and it had the best halfpipe in the SLC area...with a rope tow right next to it for plenty of laps. Would love to be there on a classic utah pow day.

 

[MarkC]

Interesting choice...

Small enough that it wouldn't take up too much room.. Crazy enough to keep you occupied... Lots of fun in the parking lot(beach)... Ski the backside and hitchhike back (to your house)

Exactly. The beach was a big part of that decision.

 

[koreshot]

No brainer...

Silverton. Arguably the best terrain in the US. Pretty good and plentifyl snow. No crowds.

If it was a more conventional Western resort, I go with Andy's pick: Solitude.
East Coast resort: Sugarbush.

 

[wintersyndrome]

East: 'bush or Jay
West: Whistler Balckcomb or
Blue Sky Basin, don't get me wrong the rest of Vail is fun, but BSB is what I go there for.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Moving Mountains?

I'd rather just move to the mountains...

I took Hammer's advice. I moved to the mountains. Alta and Snowbird are now about 20 minutes away from my house in Draper UT.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

No brainer...

Silverton. Arguably the best terrain in the US. Pretty good and plentifyl snow. No crowds.

.

I've never been there and have heard alot of great things, but also some negatives. Would you tell us more about your experience(s) there?

 

[koreshot]

I've never been there and have heard alot of great things, but also some negatives. Would you tell us more about your experience(s) there?

Sure...

I can start with the bad stuff first and then move on to the good stuff:
- Pain in the butt to get to. Gotta fly into Denver and then drive a good 6+ hours to get into Silverton.
- If you get a guided day (which I think you still have to do during high season) you will be grouped with a bunch of people, based on skill and how insane they are about getting as much vertical as possible. Sometimes there is a pretty bad mismatch between skill/speed and shape. In my case, I felt like I could have gone for more challenging terrain and ski down faster. But on the other hand I felt terrible every time we hiked cause I was so much slower than everone else. I was grouped with a bunch of Denver, Aspen and Breckenridge locals - the altitude was killing me on the hikes since I had flown in from sea level the day before.
- Long runouts on some runs and a short bus ride back to the base after most runs. On a couple of runs that we did, it seemed that the last 1/3 of the vertical was a tracked out, beat up runout. It was still fun (imagine castlerock or green berret at jay 2 days after a strom), but I didn't need to travel to in the middle of nowhere CO to ski those types of runs.
- No facilities. I am not asking for much at all - I just want a bathroom that won't cause my gag reflex to start going off the second I walk in. It was amazing how badly their bathroom stunk, especially when its 10 degrees out. I can only imagine how horrible it must get in march and april. This is a minor complaint though.
- If it hasn't snowed in a while, they will make you hike, which is fine by me on the EC, but going from sea level to 12,500 feet in one day and then doing hikes up to 13,300 every other run, was getting old quick . They also tell you exactly where to ski because of avy danger and snow pack. Sometimes that combined for a pretty narrow skiing run in a huge bowl.

Now the good stuff:
- The town of Silverton rocks! It is as good as it can get. All those movies you see about small, rustic towns that serve as bases for various extreme sports, exploration and what not... that is Silverton. Simply beautiful. The best historic town I have been to anywhere in the states. If I could get a decent job there (which I can't) I would move there in a heartbeat. Great bars in real wild west, cowboy settings. There are lots of visitors (for a small town like this) but everyone is pretty low key and chill. They are there to ski and have a good time. No annoying designer jeans and Ugg boots, no fur coats or cowboy hats. None of that. Just a hardcore skiing crowd drinking beers and eating buffalo wings. Really liked the atmosphere.

- The mountain and the terrain simply rock. As I said, their "runouts" were almost as challenging and steep as some of the most difficult runs on the East Coast (although there were a couple of runouts that were painfully boring too). There is everything from wide open bowls with deep deep powder to amazing tree runs. The best tree run I have ever done was in Silverton. I just can't say enough about the terrain, the challenge and the snow. The snow was not the best ever, but it was amazing considering it hadn't snowed in at least a week. We still got mostly fresh tracks until the runout. The tree run we did seemed like about 2000 vertical of 45 degree steep waist deep and I never crossed anyone's tracks.

- Amazing scenery all the way around. The beauty of the San Juan mountains around Silverton is just amazing. Really great picture opportunities. No civilization in sight, being on the top of the mountain really feels like you are all alone in the world.

- Average of 80 people per day so it was so peaceful. No lines, no people trying to pass you on a traverse to beat you to the last fresh tracks. Just good old skiing with 5 other people.

I know there are more negatives I listed than positives, but to some people my "negatives" might not be negatives at all. The bottom line is that the actual skiing, the "extreme" atmosphere, the scenery and the great atmosphere in the town combine for one of the most memorable ski experiences I have had.

Disclaimer: This is based on a visit to Silverton in 2005. I later visited in 2007, stayed in the town but didn't actually ski Silverton - we chose to instead go 10 miles south of there and do a day of cat skiing.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Sure...

I can start with the bad stuff first and then move on to the good stuff:
- Pain in the butt to get to. Gotta fly into Denver and then drive a good 6+ hours to get into Silverton.
- If you get a guided day (which I think you still have to do during high season) you will be grouped with a bunch of people, based on skill and how insane they are about getting as much vertical as possible. Sometimes there is a pretty bad mismatch between skill/speed and shape. In my case, I felt like I could have gone for more challenging terrain and ski down faster. But on the other hand I felt terrible every time we hiked cause I was so much slower than everone else. I was grouped with a bunch of Denver, Aspen and Breckenridge locals - the altitude was killing me on the hikes since I had flown in from sea level the day before.
- Long runouts on some runs and a short bus ride back to the base after most runs. On a couple of runs that we did, it seemed that the last 1/3 of the vertical was a tracked out, beat up runout. It was still fun (imagine castlerock or green berret at jay 2 days after a strom), but I didn't need to travel to in the middle of nowhere CO to ski those types of runs.
- No facilities. I am not asking for much at all - I just want a bathroom that won't cause my gag reflex to start going off the second I walk in. It was amazing how badly their bathroom stunk, especially when its 10 degrees out. I can only imagine how horrible it must get in march and april. This is a minor complaint though.
- If it hasn't snowed in a while, they will make you hike, which is fine by me on the EC, but going from sea level to 12,500 feet in one day and then doing hikes up to 13,300 every other run, was getting old quick . They also tell you exactly where to ski because of avy danger and snow pack. Sometimes that combined for a pretty narrow skiing run in a huge bowl.

Now the good stuff:
- The town of Silverton rocks! It is as good as it can get. All those movies you see about small, rustic towns that serve as bases for various extreme sports, exploration and what not... that is Silverton. Simply beautiful. The best historic town I have been to anywhere in the states. If I could get a decent job there (which I can't) I would move there in a heartbeat. Great bars in real wild west, cowboy settings. There are lots of visitors (for a small town like this) but everyone is pretty low key and chill. They are there to ski and have a good time. No annoying designer jeans and Ugg boots, no fur coats or cowboy hats. None of that. Just a hardcore skiing crowd drinking beers and eating buffalo wings. Really liked the atmosphere.

- The mountain and the terrain simply rock. As I said, their "runouts" were almost as challenging and steep as some of the most difficult runs on the East Coast (although there were a couple of runouts that were painfully boring too). There is everything from wide open bowls with deep deep powder to amazing tree runs. The best tree run I have ever done was in Silverton. I just can't say enough about the terrain, the challenge and the snow. The snow was not the best ever, but it was amazing considering it hadn't snowed in at least a week. We still got mostly fresh tracks until the runout. The tree run we did seemed like about 2000 vertical of 45 degree steep waist deep and I never crossed anyone's tracks.

- Amazing scenery all the way around. The beauty of the San Juan mountains around Silverton is just amazing. Really great picture opportunities. No civilization in sight, being on the top of the mountain really feels like you are all alone in the world.

- Average of 80 people per day so it was so peaceful. No lines, no people trying to pass you on a traverse to beat you to the last fresh tracks. Just good old skiing with 5 other people.

I know there are more negatives I listed than positives, but to some people my "negatives" might not be negatives at all. The bottom line is that the actual skiing, the "extreme" atmosphere, the scenery and the great atmosphere in the town combine for one of the most memorable ski experiences I have had.

Disclaimer: This is based on a visit to Silverton in 2005. I later visited in 2007, stayed in the town but didn't actually ski Silverton - we chose to instead go 10 miles south of there and do a day of cat skiing.

Very interesting, honest and thorough review. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[big_vert]

Hands down A-Basin

If they moved A-Basin to Holland, and Amsterdam was its village, everything would be right with the world.

 

[ajl50]

Koreshot...nice review.
Perhaps moving silverton would kill it...you know..take away the town and the san juan range and it just isn't the same.

 

[koreshot]

Koreshot...nice review.
Perhaps moving silverton would kill it...you know..take away the town and the san juan range and it just isn't the same.

Agreed. Last time I was there, February 2007, it was starting to look a bit more "mainstream" - it is still very very much a hardcore rustic feel (the only gas station in town closed at 7pm on Saturday night), but I can see how over time the atmosphere will change. I just hope the rules will stay strict regarding skiing and mountaineering in the area so that the Vail/Crested Butte/Aspen crowds are kept away. Not that there is anything wrong with wearing an animal on your head to make a fashion statement....