Top 10 Ski Resorts in North America by snowbrains

[Savemeasammy]

More thoughts from me: I have a friend who did a Whistler trip a few years back, and he said they had some pretty crazy lift lines (although the skiing/riding was awesome). I am personally intrigued by Revelstoke, but it's more of a pipe dream! It's probably not somewhere I would bring the family (unless the boys turn out to be rippers!). Jackson Hole is on my personal list. It's huge, and looks pretty bad ass. I'm not sure how important the weather is to you, but Tahoe is pretty mild. Usually in the mid/upper 30's on the hill during the day. I remember it once got below zero, and it seemed like an event for them! I was a pass holder at Alpine Meadows for a year, and I don't recall any wind holds unless it was during a huge storm. One other thing I love about Tahoe is that there are a ton of resorts within reasonable driving distance. I've skied Squaw, Alpine and Kirkwood, and I would recommend all of them. Heavenly is on the south shore. I never went, but that is a good one, too. Ok, enough from me...!

 

[KevinF]

I've only been to Jackson Hole and only once but what a place. All areas have some green and blue terrain - Jackson is no exception. On a day off from skiing we took a snowmobile tour at Yellowstone (don't know if they do that anymore) that was a blast. If I had the money I'd go back.

More as a trivia point than anything else, but Aspen Mountain does not have a single green trail (although, in fairness, the other three Aspen mountains do).

 

[SIKSKIER]

Interior BC is the best North America has to offer.Been to this catskiing operation(Mustang Powder) 8 years right near Revelstoke.

 

[Cannonball]

From this list I've done Whistler, Baker, Taos, and Snowbird. They were all amazing. But for a week long family trip, the only one I'd recommend is Snowbird.
-Baker is too isolated,
-Taos is too isolated in a different sense. Although there are lots of cool non skiing things to do in the area.
- Whistler is far. And it can have very unpredictable conditions. Gets a ton of snow but Rain is not uncommon.

Snowbird (or anywhere in UT).... so easy to get to. Lots of options. And the worst conditions you'll get are sunny and dry.

 

[AdironRider]

From this list I've done Whistler, Baker, Taos, and Snowbird. They were all amazing. But for a week long family trip, the only one I'd recommend is Snowbird.
-Baker is too isolated,
-Taos is too isolated in a different sense. Although there are lots of cool non skiing things to do in the area.
- Whistler is far. And it can have very unpredictable conditions. Gets a ton of snow but Rain is not uncommon.

Snowbird (or anywhere in UT).... so easy to get to. Lots of options. And the worst conditions you'll get are sunny and dry.

The problem with Baker is they get like 100" of rain every winter as well.

 

[Angus]

I did not experience crazy lines at Whistler/Blackcomb but certainly on day it snowed hard and top of mountain was shut down, the lines were longer but also needed more time to recover between runs. Whistler/Blackcomb dwarfs anything else in terms of size. JH is awesome and big (until you get to Whistler) and you can stay relatively cheap in Jackson. Agree with comments made above about Taos and Baker. Baker has great in-bounds terrain but not enough for more than 2 days of consecutive skiing. I don't think you can beat Utah for first time western skiing, multiple resorts easily accessible, great snow, reasonably priced accommodations in SLC and 'burbs and easy travel links.

 

[Conrad]

northEAST skiing and snowboarding forum?

Top 10 Ski Resorts in North America

 

[ScottySkis]

Top 10 Ski Resorts in North America

If Killington was on it he be happy.

 

[Conrad]

If Killington was on it he be happy.

Yeah, it would be hilarious if Sugarloaf was on it, but not Killington.

 

[ss20]

No Jay? 400 inches in a good year, 380 average. That's comparable to the West. And the glades, and tram.

 

[Gilligan]

If Killington was on it he be happy.

If you took the time to proofread your posts before submitting them, then maybe I be happy.

 

[AdironRider]

No Jay? 400 inches in a good year, 380 average. That's comparable to the West. And the glades, and tram.

You ski out West much?

 

[Gilligan]

You ski out West much?

Look at his sig. He does not even ski at Jay much.

 

[ss20]

No Jay? 400 inches in a good year, 380 average. That's comparable to the West. And the glades, and tram.

I'm talking snowfall-wise.

 

[Gilligan]

Jay is great and it certainly compares well to many western resorts, but not even close to the top 10.

 

[ScottySkis]

I'm talking snowfall-wise.

More snow fall at Jay then some Colorado resorts.

 

[AdironRider]

I'm talking snowfall-wise.

400" (which is inflated) on the East Coast doesnt hold a candle to 400" out West. You would know this if you had experience.

 

[drjeff]

400" (which is inflated) on the East Coast doesnt hold a candle to 400" out West. You would know this if you had experience.

Bingo! On any given year, AT LEAST 25% (often much more) of the annual snowfall will melt out due to "non frozen" events during the season, whereas out West, that mid season melt out is essentially a non issue.

400" out West would take 500-550" in the East to even begin to compare

 

[Conrad]

Obviously no ski areas in the East can compare to all the Little Cottonwood Canyon's of the world or all the Lake Tahoe's or Pacific Northwest, but if you look at some ski areas you can find some that are at least comparable (Vail 200", Park City 250"). Not 100% sure if those are accurate, but that is what I found. But I do think Jay Peak's snowfall totals must be inflated at least a little...although the time I visited there this April they reported 8" over the weekend even though it felt like we got at least 6" on both days for a total of 12+.

 

[steamboat1]

If you like it out west so much you should move there.

I'm very happy with what we have on the east coast.

Not knocking out west but it's not all it's made up to be.

I've had great days here & there, not so great days too.