As a destination powder skier from flyover land, I'm generally willing to trade some terrain for lower skier density and increased chances of scoring lots of low-stress fresh tracks. For example, on SLC trips I've often chosen Solitude or Powder Mountain over Alta on powder days and have generally been satisfied with my choice.
I'm flying into Spokane on Wednesday and a friend from Seattle will be picking me up. We have four whole ski days: 2/27, 2/28, 3/1 and 3/2. We have decided to play everything by ear so as to stay optimally flexible in pursuit of the best conditions, but we had envisioned choosing between too loops: (1) Red/Whitewater and Schweitzer/49 Degrees North, or (2) Whitefish, Fernie/Castle and Schweitzer. Both of these loops offer access to some fantastic terrain and, given recent snowfall and weather history, are likely to have good overall conditions, but are less likely to enjoy much new snow in the coming days. We skied at Whitewater and Schweitzer last year, but I've never been to Red, Fernie, Castle or Whitefish.
Forecasts right now are showing better chances of at least moderate snow along I-90 and in West-Central Montana throughout the week. These areas have also received more snow the last couple days that the regions we would visit on the loops described above. So I've begun to consider a third option along the lines of: Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Montana Snow Bowl, Ski Discovery and Silver/Lookout Pass. On paper, Lost Trail is particularly appealing as it is snowing there now and it is only opened Thursday - Sunday. I've never skied any of these resorts, but skier density is reputed to be very low at all of them.
I understand that the terrain trade-off from, say . . . Red or Castle to these much smaller (but with respectable verticals) Montana resorts would be significant, but never having been to any of these resorts, it is difficult for me to gauge just how significant.
I realize this all boils down to personal preference, but I'm curious: how much terrain would you trade for increased chances of fresh tracks on a destination trip?
I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has skied all or some of the above-mentioned areas.
I'm flying into Spokane on Wednesday and a friend from Seattle will be picking me up. We have four whole ski days: 2/27, 2/28, 3/1 and 3/2. We have decided to play everything by ear so as to stay optimally flexible in pursuit of the best conditions, but we had envisioned choosing between too loops: (1) Red/Whitewater and Schweitzer/49 Degrees North, or (2) Whitefish, Fernie/Castle and Schweitzer. Both of these loops offer access to some fantastic terrain and, given recent snowfall and weather history, are likely to have good overall conditions, but are less likely to enjoy much new snow in the coming days. We skied at Whitewater and Schweitzer last year, but I've never been to Red, Fernie, Castle or Whitefish.
Forecasts right now are showing better chances of at least moderate snow along I-90 and in West-Central Montana throughout the week. These areas have also received more snow the last couple days that the regions we would visit on the loops described above. So I've begun to consider a third option along the lines of: Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Montana Snow Bowl, Ski Discovery and Silver/Lookout Pass. On paper, Lost Trail is particularly appealing as it is snowing there now and it is only opened Thursday - Sunday. I've never skied any of these resorts, but skier density is reputed to be very low at all of them.
I understand that the terrain trade-off from, say . . . Red or Castle to these much smaller (but with respectable verticals) Montana resorts would be significant, but never having been to any of these resorts, it is difficult for me to gauge just how significant.
I realize this all boils down to personal preference, but I'm curious: how much terrain would you trade for increased chances of fresh tracks on a destination trip?
I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has skied all or some of the above-mentioned areas.
