Rank Your Favorite Ski Resorts

[Gunnerclone]

Forgot to add a personal favorite and a guilty pleasure of mine that I haven't been to in awhile:
Wolf Creek
Angel Fire

Wild West skiing/riding down in the Southwest.

 

[DurangoCy]

Durangocy's "Been to" List:
Developed Resorts
1. Steamboat
2. Breckenridge
3. Copper
4. Telluride
5. Keystone
6. DMR
7. Monarch

Undeveloped Areas:
1. Silverton
2. Loveland
3. A-Basin
4. Wolf Creek
5. Hesperus

Which made me realize I have work to do...
Wishlist in no particular order:
Aspen, Vail, Winter Park, Crested Butte, Whistler, Alta, Park City, Taos, Jackson Hole, Mount Hood, Mammoth, Squaw Valley, Revelstoke.

And anything with a Helicopter.

 

[IASTATE4LIFE]

1.Jackson Hole
2.Telluride
3.Big Sky
4.Kicking Horse, Canada
5.Powder Mtn, Utah
6.Canyons
7.Vail
8.Tahoe Area
9.Whistler
10.Breckenridge

 

[oldwiseman]

1) Whistler

Largest ski resort in NA but only 2 mountains so none of that peak to peak to peak crap. Also Whistler village is awesome as is the drive up there.

 

[ty4cy90]

I've skied so many different places that all I really want like most people is a couple of feet if powder. If conditions are the same everywhere then give me the nice place with good food and short lines.

I have no problem with boarders, but Deer Valley is better for skiing enjoyment because the lack of snow boarding keeps the runs in better shape because there's no 'shaving' the hill of boards sliding down on edge. My priority is most snow plain and simple, but all things being equal, nothing wrong with amenities. Of course none of this applies to Jackson Hole as I just unconditionally love that mountain.

Deer Valley does have some spectacular views on the far side which you can't see from PC. It has the huge bonus of not being anywhere close as crowded as PC or The Canyons on the weekend.. or ever.. I do like PC by the way. Hate the Canyons.

Going to JH for spring break with a bunch of friends. Any recommendations?

 

[cowboycurtis]

I ski quite a bit for a farm boy from Iowa. 20 days +- almost every year since I was 5. All I have ever skied was Colorado. I would love to try Utah, Montana, etc but hard to do with 3 kids. Luckily my wife also grew up skiing so we love teaching our kids and watching them get better. I'll give my opinion on where I've been.

1 Steamboat. Great town, great snow, great mountain. No crowds. Kids ski free. I've hit so many storms here. I had a 36" pow day with steamboat powdercats. My guide said that day was in his top 3 and he had been working there for 10 years, 100 days a year. I would move there today if I could grow corn there. Maybe someday I will own a place there. It's only an extra hour or so from summit county

2. Vail. This place is huge. So many different runs. Could ski this all winter and not ski it all.

3. Aspen/Snowmass. Snowmass is awesome. Lots of variety and you can hike to some expert/back country stuff in 15 minutes. Can spot some celebrities every now and then. When you go out here you realize how much money people can acquire. The airport is a private jet parking lot and nannies make more money than I do.

4. Beaver Creek. I can't believe no one has mentioned this place. Escalators and warm cookies. They love to groom here.

5. Copper mountain. I have fun every time I go here but it can busy. No nightlife.

6. Keystone. Good variety. Great for kids.

7. Winter park. Good mountain. Ride the train at least one time.

8. Breckinridge. I really don't like this place at all. So busy. Windy. To many catwalks trying to get from here to there. Snowboarders suck. Spring break is awful. Full of arrogant ******** from Texas wearing longhorn or a&m gear and they are horrible skiers. I guess the town is cool but for some reason this place just doesn't get my vote.

I want to ski telluride bad. I go there every summer for the bluegrass festival and the mountain looks awesome in the summer but it is so far out there.

 

[Triggermv]

Glad you made it to Brighton in Utah. Brighton is easily my favorite, but I haven't been to a ton outside of Utah, and can't go to Alta because I snowboard.

1)Brighton (Utah) No crowds, great snow, love the backwoods runs.
2)Solitude (Utah)
3)Whistler/Blackcomb (BC Canada)
4)Park City (Utah)
5)Canyons (Utah)
6)Vail (CO)
7) Breckinridge (CO)
8) Mt. Baker (WA)
9) Snowbird (Utah)

Baker and Snowbird at the bottom, just because each time I have been there it was awful snow. Either would be nice with good snow.

Yeah, I absolutely loved Brighton as I was worried a little bit going into it as NOBODY we talked to in Utah would even mention Brighton when talking to them about skiing. This was our first Utah trip. We quickly learned that Alta and Snowbird are the trendy places to talk about (justifiably so). Also, when we would say we were going to Brighton, nobody seemed remotely interested. With that said, we were pleasantly surprised and it turned into one of my all-time favorites for sure. In fact, I decided that if I was a ski resort, I would probably be Brighton. The place isn't big and flashy, but it is big enough, has some super solid runs, great terrain, amazing snow, good lifts, great tree runs, inexpensive and is not crowded, especially if you stay away from the middle lifts. We went there on a Saturday and there were no lines. Also, after the fact, I kind of like how great the place is yet nobody talks about it. Isn't that the way we kind of are as Cyclones right? Fits me perfect.

 

[Triggermv]

Let's get this thread rolling. I need to get my mind off of that egg both Ejim and Niang laid. That was awful.

 

[mj4cy]

I ski quite a bit for a farm boy from Iowa. 20 days +- almost every year since I was 5. All I have ever skied was Colorado. I would love to try Utah, Montana, etc but hard to do with 3 kids. Luckily my wife also grew up skiing so we love teaching our kids and watching them get better. I'll give my opinion on where I've been.

1 Steamboat. Great town, great snow, great mountain. No crowds. Kids ski free. I've hit so many storms here. I had a 36" pow day with steamboat powdercats. My guide said that day was in his top 3 and he had been working there for 10 years, 100 days a year. I would move there today if I could grow corn there. Maybe someday I will own a place there. It's only an extra hour or so from summit county

2. Vail. This place is huge. So many different runs. Could ski this all winter and not ski it all.

3. Aspen/Snowmass. Snowmass is awesome. Lots of variety and you can hike to some expert/back country stuff in 15 minutes. Can spot some celebrities every now and then. When you go out here you realize how much money people can acquire. The airport is a private jet parking lot and nannies make more money than I do.

4. Beaver Creek. I can't believe no one has mentioned this place. Escalators and warm cookies. They love to groom here.

5. Copper mountain. I have fun every time I go here but it can busy. No nightlife.

6. Keystone. Good variety. Great for kids.

7. Winter park. Good mountain. Ride the train at least one time.

8. Breckinridge. I really don't like this place at all. So busy. Windy. To many catwalks trying to get from here to there. Snowboarders suck. Spring break is awful. Full of arrogant ******** from Texas wearing longhorn or a&m gear and they are horrible skiers. I guess the town is cool but for some reason this place just doesn't get my vote.

I want to ski telluride bad. I go there every summer for the bluegrass festival and the mountain looks awesome in the summer but it is so far out there.

How can you say Breck has too many catwalks when Vail has 10x as many?

 

[mj4cy]

Best runs at places you've been??


1. Vail - Cloud 9 at blue sky basin
2. Keystone - Starfire/Prospector at North Peak
3. Breck - Wirepatch on peak 7 and any of the blacks on peak 10. Also love anything up at the Imperial Express chair.

 

[digZ]

How can you say Breck has too many catwalks when Vail has 10x as many?

I was thinking the same thing. Breck has like one catwalk(from peak 8 to 10). Vail has like 900 all over the mountain. Don't get me wrong Vail has some sweet terrain, but sometimes when I'm there I feel like I spend more time getting to where I want to ride than riding. I like Breck a lot, but people are right it has a tendency to get a bit crowded. Best night life of the Eagle/Summit county resorts though.

 

[mj4cy]

I was thinking the same thing. Breck has like one catwalk(from peak 8 to 10). Vail has like 900 all over the mountain. Don't get me wrong Vail has some sweet terrain, but sometimes when I'm there I feel like I spend more time getting to where I want to ride than riding. I like Breck a lot, but people are right it has a tendency to get a bit crowded. Best night life of the Eagle/Summit county resorts though.

I enjoy the Vail catwalks, but I know my way around enough to know which ones I need to pick up speed to get into. The boarders hate it, which I understand.

This thread makes me so excited to talk skiing yet so bummed. First time in 5 years I can't go and our group always goes this week.

 

[digZ]

Best runs at places you've been??


1. Vail - Cloud 9 at blue sky basin
2. Keystone - Starfire/Prospector at North Peak
3. Breck - Wirepatch on peak 7 and any of the blacks on peak 10. Also love anything up at the Imperial Express chair.

1. Breckenridge - The Burn
2. Vail - Iron Mask/Lover's Leap
3. A Basin - North Pole Chutes
4. Mary Jane - Challenger Chutes
5. Keystone - Starfire

Never been to southwestern Colorado or Utah, so maybe my judgement is clouded by the northern CO mountains. i'd love to visit T-ride, wolf creek, and silverton sometime though.

 

[cowboycurtis]

How can you say Breck has too many catwalks when Vail has 10x as many?

i guess i didn't notice that many catwalks at vail. Maybe because I was to busy skiing instead of standing in lines. Breckinridge has left a real sour taste with me and I don't think anyone will be able to change it.

 

[cowboycurtis]

Best runs at places you've been??


1. Vail - Cloud 9 at blue sky basin
2. Keystone - Starfire/Prospector at North Peak
3. Breck - Wirepatch on peak 7 and any of the blacks on peak 10. Also love anything up at the Imperial Express chair.

Cyclone @ Steamboat.....duh!

 

[cyclonedave25]

Best runs at places you've been??


1. Vail - Cloud 9 at blue sky basin
2. Keystone - Starfire/Prospector at North Peak
3. Breck - Wirepatch on peak 7 and any of the blacks on peak 10. Also love anything up at the Imperial Express chair.

Vail - My favorite tree run is Champagne Glade, especially on a powder day. Lover's Leap is also a fun one.
Keystone - My favorite tree run is Wolverine. My favorite Blue is Elk Run.
Breck - Favorite tree run is Ore Bucket or The Burn. Favorite blue is anything on Peak 7.

Can't remember any runs at Winter Park and Copper Mtn, I do remember doing my first ever double black at Copper though. It was the Upper Enchanted Forest and it was a sheet of ice. Not fun.

 

[Triggermv]

Keystone- Wildfire

 

[cyclonedave25]

i guess i didn't notice that many catwalks at vail. Maybe because I was to busy skiing instead of standing in lines. Breckinridge has left a real sour taste with me and I don't think anyone will be able to change it.

There's basically a catwalk at the bottom of every single back bowl. And if you want to get across the mtn anywhere on the front side, you have to take a catwalk. I understand it though, because the place is so damn big, they have to have catwalks or they would need 5x as many lifts.

And you're lucky you weren't at Vail on some of the epic powder days this year:

 

[cyclonedave25]

Keystone- Wildfire

Wildfire and Wolverine are next to each other and are some of the best tree runs I have ever done in my life.

 

[Triggermv]

Wildfire and Wolverine are next to each other and are some of the best tree runs I have ever done in my life.

Agreed. These runs alone are a lot of the reason why I have Keystone at #2 in my rankings above Vail, and why I give the resort "the best tree runs" designation. These things are a thing of beauty, especially with fresh powder.