Unusual Ski Areas \ Locations

[RIDEr]

While flying back from Tahoe I decided to purchase the TRANSWORLD SNOWBOARDING (Vol 19 Feb 06 Edition) Magazine.

The front cover showed a boarder getting a board grab from over the rocks. My girlfriend, friends and I thought the picture was taken from Jackson Hole, but was suprised by the cover being from Snowbowl in Arizona (http://www.arizonasnowbowl.com/index.html).

With Arizona being most desert, I don't hear people bragging about or traveling to Arizona for skiing.

Other than Arizona, have you or can you think about other unusual resorts out there that aren't in your top 10... however, are some decent terrain.

 

[riverc0il]

sled hauler has indicated there is excellent skiing to be had in new mexico.

 

[awf170]

Other than Arizona, have you or can you think about other unusual resorts out there that aren't in your top 10... however, are some decent terrain.

Australia, It looks like there is some decent skiing there actually.

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/perisher main.jpg

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/thredbo.jpg

Also there is one ski area in africa, doesnt look good at all, but hey its in africa

 

[Rushski]

Was out in Flagstaff, AZ in October for yearly vacation with the wife and the peaks just west of Flagstaff are near 12,000 feet above sea level and had some snow on them then (less than usual I was told).

Guess AZ Snowbowl had a record snowfall last year.

 

[RIDEr]

Looks similar to European skiing... would have never thought of Australia even though there is some great skiing in New Zealand.

 

[eatskisleep]

I've heard about an old ski resort on Hawaii?

 

[blacknblue]

The skiing in Australia is nominal at best, due to snow conditions mostly. There is decent skiing in the Atlas Mtns of Morocco, though. Taos in New Mexico can be phenomenal with good snow.
I think it would be fun to ski the volcano in Hawaii sometime! I've been to an old Soviet ski area in Kazakstan, which was pretty interesting. 3100' vertical on an old fixed-grip double.

 

[John84]

There's skiing in Lebanon... http://www.skileb.com/

 

[LVNLARG]

Other than Arizona, have you or can you think about other unusual resorts out there that aren't in your top 10... however, are some decent terrain.

Australia, It looks like there is some decent skiing there actually.

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/perisher main.jpg

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/thredbo.jpg

Also there is one ski area in africa, doesnt look good at all, but hey its in africa

Australian trail maps make the resorts look monsterous but the verts are tiny and the lifts are for the most part T-bars or antiques. Perisher (which is most likely what that is a map of) looks bigger thn K-mart on paper but is a joke in comparison. The season is really short (usually only 3 months tops) which does not allow them to make the money required to put in a lot of new lifts etc. Any skiing is better than no skiing though 8)

 

[awf170]

Other than Arizona, have you or can you think about other unusual resorts out there that aren't in your top 10... however, are some decent terrain.

Australia, It looks like there is some decent skiing there actually.

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/perisher main.jpg

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/thredbo.jpg

Also there is one ski area in africa, doesnt look good at all, but hey its in africa

Australian trail maps make the resorts look monsterous but the verts are tiny and the lifts are for the most part T-bars or antiques. Perisher (which is most likely what that is a map of) looks bigger thn K-mart on paper but is a joke in comparison. The season is really short (usually only 3 months tops) which does not allow them to make the money required to put in a lot of new lifts etc. Any skiing is better than no skiing though 8)

ummm, the ski area in the second map has a vertical over 2000 ft.


perish blue has 3 HS lifts, which is a decent amount IMO. And they are 3,000 acres which is actually bigger than k-mart(I know it isntas big as k-mart but it defiantly isnt that small)

 

[ChileMass]

When I lived in Tucson back in 1979-80, occasionally we would go up to Mt. Lemmon and scrape together enough snow to have a snowball fight for an hour or so, and then we'd head back down to the desert for a dip in the pool. That made for some very weird Saturday afternoons. Never did actually ski at Mt. Lemmon, but drove by it a few times and it was open sporadically. Still the southernmost ski area in the US, approx 90 miles north of the Mexican border......

http://www.go-arizona.com/Mount-Lemmon-Ski-Valley

 

[loafer89]

Arizona Snowbowl has been dealing with drought conditions for several years and they want to install expanded snowmaking to ensure that there is reliable snow. They owners have had a long fight with native americans who consider the mountain peak sacred and do not want snowmaking to be allowed at the area. Part of the problem is that the ski area wants to use reclaimed wastewater for the snowmaking system, which I could see as being offensive to any natives.

Judging by the webcam, which is snowless, they really need the snowmaking, and according to the internet articles I have read they just won the right to expand the system in March 2005.

As for exotic skiing is concerned, there are a few areas in Iceland, which I did not visit when I was there, but I did go snowmobiling on Europe's largest glacier instead. Despite the country's name, Iceland is fairly temperate, and the ski area's recieve alot of rain as well as snow.

There is also skiing in Bolivia on the Chacaltaya Glacier at 17,785' (oxygen please ) which has the highest ski lift in the world and is also the closest ski area to the equator. Because it is so high up they can only operate during the southern hemipshere summer (november - March) The glacier is melting fast due to global warming and is expected to be gone in 20 years time.

 

[Geoff]

All the Australians I talked to while skiing in New Zealand said their skiing sucked compared to the Southern Alps.

I don't exactly think of New Mexico as exotic. Taos is about as mainstream as you can get and suffers from too many skiers on too few acres. I prefer Ski Santa Fe. That's a fun little mountain with great terrain and no people.

The most unusual places I've been:

Ohau Ski Field, New Zealand. A 1000 vertical foot diesel T-bar. About as retro as you can get.

Ski Santa Fe. In good snow, I'd recommend it to anybody. Interesting terrain. Tons of tree skiing. Delightfully uncrowded.

Wolf Creek. 1600 vertical feet along a ridgeline on the continental divide. The most snow in Colorado. Very much a throwback ski area.

Termas de Chillan, Chile. 5 hours from Santiago so almost no Americans go there. Big vertical. Totally ignored off piste terrain. A pretty nice full-service resort-spa hotel at the bottom.

 

[EPB]

Theres some skiing in Scotland that looks pretty cool, but not really worth the trip out....
http://ski.visitscotland.com/conditions/

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

I don't exactly think of New Mexico as exotic. Taos is about as mainstream as you can get and suffers from too many skiers on too few acres. I prefer Ski Santa Fe. That's a fun little mountain with great terrain and no people.


Ski Santa Fe. In good snow, I'd recommend it to anybody. Interesting terrain. Tons of tree skiing. Delightfully uncrowded.

WHile Taos is a large resort, I don't think I;d describe it as "Mainstream". Never hit any crowds, some great "Side Country", a near retro feel and the pluse of being able to get green chiles on your cheeseburger.

Ski Santa Fe is a jem. One of the best 2000' vertical areas you could ever ski. Get there when Big Tesuche is skiable and you're really in for a treat.

Ski Apache is quite a hoot. All of maybe 120 miles from the Mexican Border and the base area is at 10,000'. Not a lot of killer terrain, but wide open bowls, a lot of hidden tree shots and a backcountry paradice that no one will spill the beans on, Sierra Blanca. All that and the wildest access road I've driven (granted, w/o snow).

Oh yeah. I still haven't hit Pajarito when it's open.

 

[LVNLARG]

Other than Arizona, have you or can you think about other unusual resorts out there that aren't in your top 10... however, are some decent terrain.

Australia, It looks like there is some decent skiing there actually.

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/perisher main.jpg

http://skimaps.com/images/skimaps/fullsize/thredbo.jpg

Also there is one ski area in africa, doesnt look good at all, but hey its in africa

Australian trail maps make the resorts look monsterous but the verts are tiny and the lifts are for the most part T-bars or antiques. Perisher (which is most likely what that is a map of) looks bigger thn K-mart on paper but is a joke in comparison. The season is really short (usually only 3 months tops) which does not allow them to make the money required to put in a lot of new lifts etc. Any skiing is better than no skiing though 8)

ummm, the ski area in the second map has a vertical over 2000 ft.


perish blue has 3 HS lifts, which is a decent amount IMO. And they are 3,000 acres which is actually bigger than k-mart(I know it isntas big as k-mart but it defiantly isnt that small)

Their claim to 2000 vert is kinda like K's claim to 200 trails. Their 2000 vert is not skiable at once (It's taking into account another peak) and bottems out in the village which is so low in elevation it sometimes doesn't open at all in the run of a season. Generally Perisher has more vert open and they're only 700 at best. Someone else said Aussis all go to NZ.. which is the truth. NZ resorts generally don't have 16 run down lifts but instead have 3 or 4 run down lifts but a lot of vert and good snow. :beer:

 

[shenty]

A friend of mine was stationed at the U.S. Embassy at Beirut about three years ago and told us about his experiences Skiing in Lebanon.

Skiing in Lebanon. I don't rememeber what mountians he skiied since it really didn't mean much to me, but what I did find interesting is that he had to have armed handlers that were there to watch for snipers.

I guess that's extereme skiing on a whole level.

 

[Geoff]

I don't exactly think of New Mexico as exotic. Taos is about as mainstream as you can get and suffers from too many skiers on too few acres. I prefer Ski Santa Fe. That's a fun little mountain with great terrain and no people.


Ski Santa Fe. In good snow, I'd recommend it to anybody. Interesting terrain. Tons of tree skiing. Delightfully uncrowded.

WHile Taos is a large resort, I don't think I;d describe it as "Mainstream". Never hit any crowds, some great "Side Country", a near retro feel and the pluse of being able to get green chiles on your cheeseburger.

Ski Santa Fe is a jem. One of the best 2000' vertical areas you could ever ski. Get there when Big Tesuche is skiable and you're really in for a treat.

When were you last at Taos? I was there last January. I'd just skied a totally empty Ski Santa Fe on a Saturday on a fantastic skiing surface. Taos was mobbed on a Sunday and quite busy midweek. The entire state of Texas was there. There was a butt in every quad chair with 10 minute liftlines and the conditions had degraded to eastern hardpack 5 days after a major dump. Even the hike-to was completely packed out. This was January. The slow season. I'm not planning to ever go back unless it's to grab a day in transit between Ski Santa Fe and Wolf Creek. Taos just isn't retro enough given the number of acres thay have. With double chairs instead of quads, they'd likely have a better product.

 

[LineSki15]

What about Wyoming? I've heard there is great snow there. Or Idaho? I saw some thing on the travel channel about best ski resorts and I think this one in Idaho was on their list!
http://www.sunvalley.com/index.cfm

 

[blacknblue]

What about Wyoming? I've heard there is great snow there. Or Idaho? I saw some thing on the travel channel about best ski resorts and I think this one in Idaho was on their list!
http://www.sunvalley.com/index.cfm

Grand Targhee in Wyoming has some of best snow anywhere, and Jackson Hole is pretty darn good, too, for snow quality.
Sun Valley doesn't get much snow. The terrain is cool, but mostly groomers. And the resort and town is waaay expensive. A cool venue, but not really my cup of tea. It probably made the list b/c of the plethora a celebrities that go there, and the Sun Valley Lodge is pretty phenomenal.