Just took another trip to Utah where I hit up Alta again, and then finally hit up both Snowbird and Solitude as well, which were new ones for me. With that said, I thought I might drag out this old thread again to update my rankings for anyone interest. Spoiler alert: Snowbird and Solitude were pretty amazing. I see why they get ranked so high, especially Snowbird.
1. Snowbird (Utah) - 4-way tie for best snow, Best Terrain, Steepest terrain, Best for expert skiers, best views by far (amazing), good lifts with a tram, fun tunnel to backside, crowds can get bad
2. Alta (Utah) - 4-way tie for best snow, 2nd best terrain (fairly extreme terrain), Good for Expert Skiers (hard terrain, but a little lighter than Snowbird), Best Value,
No boarders allowed
3. Solitude (Utah) - 4-way tie for best snow, Awesome terrain, highest chance of getting untouched terrain, 2nd Smallest Lines, Best tree Runs, Too Many Slow Lifts, 2nd Best Value, Similar to Brighton, only a little bigger, and a little more challenging
4.. Keystone (Colorado) - 2nd Best Tree Runs, Best Lifts, Best Night Skiing, Fun Snowcat Skiing
5. Vail (Colorado) - 2nd Biggest Resort, Nicest Resort, Great Runs, Best Back Bowls, One of the Best Ski Towns, Too Many Catwalks
6. Brighton (Utah) - Very Simple and Laid Back (I like), 4-way tie for Best Snow, Great Tree Runs, Smallest Lines, 3nd Best Value, Best Place to Take Young Family For Value Skiing
5. Kirkwood - (California) - Almost an exact blend of Alta and Brighton, only with not as good and consistent of snow and too many slow lifts, 3nd Smallest Lines, 4th Best Value, Very Laid-Back, Fairly Challenging Terrain, Worst Lifts
6. Heavenly - (California) - 3nd Best Views (mostly due to the lake), 2nd Nicest Resort, One of Best Ski Towns, 2nd Largest Resort, Great Runs, Great Lifts, Good Tree Runs, Best for Skiing in T-Shirt, Worst Consistent Snow
7. Copper Mountain (Colorado) - 4th Best Value (best in Colorado, especially when using coupons), Nice Runs Overall, Smaller Lift Lines, Free Snowcat Skiing, More Laid-Back
8. Park City Mountain Resort (Utah) - Biggest Resort Now That Combined With Canyons (I skied it prior to being combined) Coolest Town Setting, 3rd Nicest Resort, Great Lifts, So-So Views, Decent Snow
9. Breckenridge (Colorado) - Decent Overall, Very Busy,
Too Many Boarders, Good Lifts, Cool Ski Town
10. Sunrise Park (Arizona) - Fun Place, Not Colorado or Utah, Still Lots Better Than Iowa
11. Chestnut Mountain (Illinois) - I Like the Runs, Resort Area, and Views Better than Sundown, Little further drive than Sundown, Underrated for being in Midwest
12. Sundown (Iowa) - Closest Ski Resort, Best in Iowa, Rentals are terrible and the place is kind of a dump, but decent runs for Iowa
Again, from a comparison to expert's rankings, I always like to see how my thoughts compare to this particular website, which is the best at measuring all the factors out to come out with an overall ranking.
https://www.zrankings.com/