Mountains comparison?

[Haksaw]

Hi, I'd like to hear some views comparing the mountains in New England, with those in the west. Topics such as climate and weather, elevation differences, recreation opportunities (canoeing kayaking,camping, hiking, skiing), hunting opportunities, destination distance from where you live. If you have or had a choice, and were from the Midwest (where I am :-D) would you move to New England, the Rockies, or the Cascades? ( I will never move to Kalifornya! I am getting ready to leave here, (southern Wisconsin), and welcome your opinions. Where should I go? :-D

 

[awf170]

Salt Lake City, everything is so close, you get to huge mountains in like 15 minutes. Theres awsome skiing hiking and climbing/bouldering and probably everything else.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

You forgot to list cost of housing. Many of the more secluded resort towns, especially out west, have exorbinate living expenses.

Cost of housing at places like Aspen, Jackson Hole is thru the roof. I bought my place in Vermont at probably 1/4 of the price of a comparable place out west. Rent...same thing but not as drastic. Something to consider.

 

[Bumpsis]

It all depends on what's most important to you.

If you want to center your life around skiing and I mean, great skiing and all that big mountains offer, go for the Rockies.

If skiing is your thing and you live for it, don't come east. It's crowded, expensive and frankly, most of the time, it sucks. I mean, a foot of snow falls once in a blue moon and it IS a major cause for excitement.
Otherwise you ski on frozen, condensed pollution called "man made snow" and instead of fresh powder ski areas woo you with "fresh corduroy".
What passes for an expert slope here is generally a decent blue out west, with some notable exceptions.
A hardly detecable scoop in terrain becomes a "bowl", barely thinned out woods, a glade and to evoke a sense of a wild experience, ski areas will name their otherwise mundane trails with outlandish names (i.e. Jordan Bowl or Oz).

Don't get me wrong, people here passionately enjoy what we have, but it just doesn't compare to the Rockies (or the Sierras).

Of course, there is plenty of wonderful things about New England that makes it a great place to live but skiing is mediocre at best.

Just write down a list of the most important things in your life and then look for the best palce that may match your wish list.

 

[Caleb]

Hi, I'd like to hear some views comparing the mountains in New England, with those in the west. Topics such as climate and weather, elevation differences, recreation opportunities (canoeing kayaking,camping, hiking, skiing), hunting opportunities, destination distance from where you live. If you have or had a choice, and were from the Midwest (where I am :-D) would you move to New England, the Rockies, or the Cascades? ( I will never move to Kalifornya! I am getting ready to leave here, (southern Wisconsin), and welcome your opinions. Where should I go? :-D

Dude, i started to answer your question, but I realized any response I could offer would tend to direct you away from what could and should be the best experiences of your life. SEE THEM ALL FOR YOURSELF, in no particular order. This country is amazing and wild and it just goes on and on and on. Get yourself to New Mexico and head North. Hitchhike there if you have too...folks are still decent and truckers love company. In the desert make a campfire out of juniper. pretend you're alive. look up in the sky and you'll see satelites and shooting stars every 15 minutes. In the Gila you'll encounter Elk and javilina and the occasional Apache. Then go west into the Arizona and Utah canyonlands and see If you ever want to leave. Many don't. Work your way up thru Colorado and the San Juans and see if anything there grabs ya. Keep going up thru Colorado and into Wyoming. Make a pilgramage to the Winds. buy some winter gear and keep heading North..the Tetons,the Bob M Wilderness, Glacier. keep going...Banff you only live once. hop a train back east for more of the same. hike the AT, ice climb Tuckerman, canoe the Wilderness trail..the list is endless Get out there its all good. C

 

[Haksaw]

Tank you! keep it coming...

in short - very short... I have travelled extensively thru Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Texas, Wahington (both DC and State), and too many other states to talk about. I very much appreciate all of anyone's input! :-D I haven't skiied much since I was "clipped" by a novice skiier (which tore all the ligaments out of my left knee :-( ) but I'm still interested in anyone's (and everyone's) comparisons of the mountains "out east" and "out west"! Which do you prefer? Does the "climate" and how wet it is make a difference? Do you think there is a "4 season" difference between the East and West? (here in southern wisconsin, we (snow lovers) are thrilled with a major snowstorm. But there are 4 seasons, and all year activity recreation. I'm interested in what everyone thinks... Thanks!!! :-D

 

[Caleb]

are you writing a report for school?

 

[ChileMass]

I love the Rockies, but have to admit how biased I am towards New England. Probably your work opportunities will have a big impact on your destination, and New England has more professional opportunities than anyplace in the Rockies except for the Denver and Salt Lake metros.

Personally, I like small New England towns with access to all the big cities on the East Coast in the amount of time it takes to drive from anywhere to anyplace else out west. In 5 hours you can go from the Boston metro to DC, while out west people think nothing of driving from Salt Lake to Moab or the national parks in southern Utah, which are 6 hours each way. It depends on what you want out of life. The west offers the wide open spaces. The east offers big cities and more urban options. Snow and sunshine out west are a lot more reliable and the natural recreation options are practically unlimited. The mountains of the northeast are smaller, more crowded, and less extensive but easier to access in most cases. I guess it really comes down to whether you want to be a cowboy (go west) or a semi-urbanite (go east). But believe me, there are lots of out-of-the-way places to get lost in the east. Anything north of a line from Saratoga, NY to Manchester NH to Portland ME is the middle of nowhere, and life is slower and less expensive.

Remember - Salt Lake and Utah as a whole is 85% Mormon, so factor that into your considerations. Schools out west generally can't hold a candle to eastern schools, so if you got kids think about where you want them educated. Pay scales are higher in the east, and although it costs a lot to buy a house or condo here, the west is catching up quickly, especially in areas where professional people live (Boulder, Golden, Morrison, SLC, Santa Fe, etc).

Love to visit out west, but this boy is a dedicated Northeasterner and always will be......

 

[ski_resort_observer]

14 best ski towns

http://www.skimag.com/skimag/feature/article/0,12795,410175,00.html

When I moved from Vermont to Wyoming in 1973 access to the info you seek was dificult. With the internet the resources are almost overwhelming. To get a feel for any area you can go to the local newspapers website. The classified sections, letters to the editor, etc are very informative.

 

[BeanoNYC]

14 best ski towns

http://www.skimag.com/skimag/feature/article/0,12795,410175,00.html

You just have to believe anything wriiten about skiing by someone with the last name Nordhaus.