The Great Ski Area Count

[riverc0il]

count me in!

 

[ChrisC]

Largest/most interesting areas not skied are places like Mt. Baker/Loveland/Sundance/Homewood/Marmot (I'm open to suggestions).

Mt. Baker.
It's definitely worth a day trip. Only about 2.5 hrs from Vancouver - maybe less. Just add it to a Whistler trip someday. I like it when it's moist -- Dec/Jan/Feb....spring skiing is not so fun.

Loveland.
Frankly, I like it A LOT better than A-Basin. Why? Open spaces. It's not steep, but you can hike along the ridge and ski powder all the time. It's like the Vail Back Bowls. I would almost rather ski here than A-basin, Keystone, Breck or Copper. Try a sunny, low-wind day....and you might agree.

Sundance.
Very, very scenic. The upper mountain is the best. When high winds closed down most of Snowbird -- turning it to ice before a storm -- I was here in an one hour or so. Definitely worth a day.

Homewood.
I really think the place is depressing. Slow lifts. Great views of the lake. But the trees are too tight to ski. The trails cut horribly - maximizing traverses and eroding fall line skiing. Not a fan.
The south-facing Ellis (???) is the best. Otherwise, the High-Speed Lift machine (with perfect tree-spacing) that is NorthStar is much better.

 

[Patrick]

the best skiing experience around is right next door (see Jay Peak and Burke). Although, for the near future I have a decent list of places that I would really like to try out (not counting numerous western resorts): Sugarloaf, Saddleback, Wildcat, Orford, Le Massif, Magic, and Whiteface. Maybe I?ll have to team up with Riverc0il to hit some more of these.

If you're in North East Vermont you (and river) can definitely have a good access to great skiing.

Although it's not in your list, Sunday River isn't too far and has some fun terrain. Definitely closer than Sugarloaf, even if it is my favorite place in the East (with Stowe). Balsam Wilderness also seem like a tiny fun place for a few hours.

On the Canadian side of the border (very close) is Owl's Head. Cheap liftticket for a decent mountain with great views on Lake Memphremagog.

Although it isn't on our list, Sutton should definitely not be missed (only close to the border). Some people prefer it to Orford.

Le Massif is a long drive away past Quebec City, there is also Ste-Anne (my favorite Quebec ski area). In the Appalachian on the south side of the St. Lawrence and Quebec City there is le Massif du Sud. I've never been but I believe that Admin and Frankontour really like this place.

 

[Patrick]

Are there any alternative attractions (skiing or otherwise) in the Lutsen/Duluth area to lure me there?

I hear the nightlife is pretty good in Duluth.

i've had fun looking how far was Mt.Bohemia from Ottawa. 695miles which is about the same to get to the extremity of the Gaspe peninsula. :shock:

Let's put some skiers in the Midwest, say Chicago, and give them 10 flights to say, Reno, SLC, Burlington or Quebec City. How many skiers would use even one of the 10 flights to one of the eastern cities?

I believe that you often have to be an Eastern skiers to fully appreciate what it has to offer. Although I love the West and Europe, I cannot say that they are better than the East. Sure the terrain is so much bigger in the West, but if that would the case then the European area would be much better than the North American ones.

Largest/most interesting areas not skied are places like Mt. Baker/Loveland/Sundance/Homewood/Marmot (I'm open to suggestions).

Is that Marmot Basin, Alberta?

If so, the views are probably are among the most spectacular in North America in my opinion. The drive between Jasper and Lake Louise is still my favorite that I've seen anywhere.

The skiiing isn't bad either. Great new terrain, not a large place, but definitely alot of fun. The inconvience is that it far from other areas and of a major airport. I did it in 6 day combo Jasper-Banff trip (Marmot 3 days + LL, Sunshine, Norquay with an extra day at Fortress).

 

[From_the_NEK]

Sooo many places to try Thanks for the recommendations Patrick!

 

[Patrick]

Sooo many places to try Thanks for the recommendations Patrick!

Glad i could be of an assistance.

Of course there are so many places to try, especially if you're 100 short from Admin and Tony. :wink:

 

[JimG.]

If the skiing in Minnesota is that bad, you could always drive up to Mt. Bohemia

Better review your geography. They are on opposite sides of Lake Superior, 309 miles of secondary roads apart according to Mapquest.

I didn't say it was close, but it is in the area. When else in the near future would you even be close enough to give it a shot? I'll drive 7 hours to go to Mt. Washington and hike up to ski...at Bohemia you'll have lifts. Look at it as an adventure. It is a beautiful area, worth visiting without the skiing. In fact, the only time I was up there was on a fishing trip in the late summer.

Maybe it's an Eastern thing...I don't mind long drives, especially if it's to go somewhere I may never have a chance to return to. Sounds to me like you're looking for reasons not to go.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I am in fact much more likely than the average skier to go visit someplace "in the area" that I haven't been before. And we westerners often have longer distances to drive. I've often pointed out that families in particular should drive to Rockies destinations for week in order to save $ and preserve flexibility.

From the West Coast you can do a full-price week in Utah or interior B.C. for the same price as a subsidized week back East. So I'm not that surprised that not many NASJA West members went to Quebec in 2003, and I'll bet even fewer sign up for Bretton Woods. I predict dismal attendance at Lutsen from both eastern and western members unless the meeting is much more subsidized than normal.

While the eastern ski areas do not compare to ours, they are sufficiently interesting that it's worth it to me once every 5 years with the partial comps. I've seriously never heard of anyone in the West going back East to ski on their own dime unless it was tied to a business trip, visiting friends or family etc. People don't fly in here to ski SoCal areas either for the same reasons.

The Europe vs. West comparison offers a choice between scale and more reliable snow, thus apples and oranges. Since the East is lesser than the West on both counts, we don't see western skiers paying to go East, and we even see some more affluent skiers that live in the East but do all their skiing in the West or the Alps.

With the possible exception of Bohemia Midwest skiing makes Mt. High and Big Bear look like AltaBird from what I've heard. So the price in both time and $ needs to be even lower than for a trip to the Northeast. My current inclination is to consider the Lutsen trip if it's cheap and I'm retired by then, but not if I'm using vacation time for it. Being retired would allow for the time to go visit Bohemia and/or other attractions farther away from the meeting itself.

 

[ChrisC]

I haven't been to either but my feeling is that Val d'Isere/Tignes should be 2 and Trois Vallees 3. I think Whistler/Blackcomb is the only place in North America where this discussion applies. It should be 2 because the mountains are physically separate and either one alone would be in top 10 in size in North America.
quote]

The 3 Valleys should be considered 4 areas:
Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens and Les Menuires. Les Menuires does not get a lot of press, but it's amazing! Le Masse is one of the best places to ski in the 3 valleys. All are huge and bigger than America's best.

The Brevent-Flegere = 1 is fine. However, Val/Tignes is definitely 2, but the 3 valleys are almost 5 different areas, at least 4.

 

[ChrisC]

I've been to a ton. I grew up in the Northeast, went Dartmouth College, NH, and lived in WashDC, Boston, Seattle and now SF.

NY
Greek Peak
Bristol
Swain
Song Mt.
Labrador Mt.
Deer Run
Hunter
Belleayre
Highmont (closed)
Windham
Big Birch
Sterling Forest
Bobcat

NJ
Vernon Valley/Great Gorge

PA
Elk Mt
Montage
Camelback
Whitetail

MD
Wisp

VA
Bryce
Wintergreen

WVA
Snowshoe
Canaan Valley

CT
Mohawk Mt.

MA
Nashoba
Catamount
Butternut
Berkshire East
Jiminy Peak
Brodie Mt.
Bosquet

VT
Haystack
Mt. Snow
Stratton
Bromely
Magic Mt.
Okemo
Ascutney
Killington
Pico
Sugarbush
Mad River Glen
Stowe
Smugglers' Noch
Burke
Jay Peak
Middlebury

NH
Dartmouth Skiway
Mt. Sunappee
Ragged Mt.
Waterville Valley
Loon Mt.
Tenney Mt.
Gunstock.
Cannon Mt.
Attitash
Mt. Cranmore
Wildcat
Bretton Woods

ME
Sunday River
Saddleback
Sugarloaf

WA
Crystal Mt
White Pass
Snoqualmie/Alpental
Stevens Pass
Mt. Baker

OR
Mt Hood Meadows
Timberline
Mt. Bachelor

CA
Sugar Bowl
Squaw Valley
Alpine Meadows
Homewood
Northstar
Heavenly
Kirkwood
Sierra Snow-bowl
Mammoth Mt.
June Mt.
Bear Valley
Dodge Ridge

NV
Incline/Diamond Peak
Mt. Rose

AZ
Arizona Snowbowl

NM
Taos
Sant Fe

CO
Steamboat
Winter Park
Loveland
A-Basin
Keystone
Breckenridge
Copper Mt.
Vail
Beaver Creek
Crested Butte
Telluride *My favorite*
Purgatory
Wolf Creek
Aspen
Asoen Highlands
Buttermil
Snowmass

UT
Powder Mt.
Snowbasin
Park City
Deer Valley
The Canyons
Brighton
Solitude
Snowbird
Alta
Sundance
Brian Head

WY
Jackson Hole
Gran Targhee

MT
Big Sky
Bridger

ID
Sun Valley
Schweitzer

Canada - AB
Lake Louise
Sunshine

BC
Fernie
Kicking Horse
Panorama
Whistler
Blackcomb
Big White
Apex
Silver Star
Sun Peaks

France
Les Grande Montets
Les Tours
Brevent
Flagere
Mt. Blanc Tram
Megeve
Tignes
Val d'Isere
Courchevel
Meribel
Val Thorens
Les Menuires
La Grave
Serre Chevalier
Les Deux Alpes

Switzerland
Verbier
Zermatt

Italy
Cervinia
Courmayeur

 

[Admin]

I've been to a ton.

152, by my quick count.

:shock:

<ding!><ding!><ding!>

We have a winner!!

 

[ChrisC]

I haven't been to either but my feeling is that Val d'Isere/Tignes should be 2 and Trois Vallees 3. I think Whistler/Blackcomb is the only place in North America where this discussion applies. It should be 2 because the mountains are physically separate and either one alone would be in top 10 in size in North America.

quote]

The 3 Valleys should be considered 4 areas:
Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens and Les Menuires. Les Menuires does not get a lot of press, but it's amazing! Le Masse is one of the best places to ski in the 3 valleys. All are huge and bigger than America's best.

The Brevent-Flegere = 1 is fine. However, Val/Tignes is definitely 2, but the 3 valleys are almost 5 different areas, at least 4.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Yes we have a winner. Chris' eastern list is about as long as admin's, with Chris having more mid-Atlantic but admin having Quebec and some Midwest.

Chris' western list is for most states/provinces even more complete than mine except for SoCal (understandable) and B.C.

Chris is way ahead of both us in Europe. But he hasn't skied in the Southern Hemisphere yet.

There was a similar thread on Epic where someone was over 200. But he said a lot of those were one-day race stops where he didn't get to see much of the ski area.

 

[Patrick]

Yes we have a winner.

Chris' eastern list is about as long as admin's, with Chris having more mid-Atlantic but admin having Quebec and some Midwest.

Chris' western list is for most states/provinces even more complete than mine except for SoCal (understandable) and B.C.

Chris is way ahead of both us in Europe. But he hasn't skied in the Southern Hemisphere yet.

There was a similar thread on Epic where someone was over 200. But he said a lot of those were one-day race stops where he didn't get to see much of the ski area.

Yes, we have a winner. =D> I'm impressed.

But in each of the top 3 (Chris, Admin and Tony) who have skied well over 100 areas. there are surprising missed areas.

Southern Hemisphere wasn't skied by two of them and Tony need to start exploring the real and typical Alps areas. Chamonix is classic, but is far for typical in terrain, installations and size.

I was surprise to see that Admin hadn't gone to Whistler/Blackcomb, probably one of the best ski areas in North America. That is a huge gap.

Chris on the other hand has an impressive list (East, West and Europe) which is missing all of Quebec and Whiteface and somehow skipped Red Mtn (BC) while living in Seattle.

And Tony...we'll he's a bit weak in the East (why bother, right? :wink. He also need to return to South America and start attacking Europe in the coming years.

And I haven't even mentioned Alaska, Asia and some more exotic places.

We'll done guys!!! \/

 

[powwow]

I should edit that.
You guys must very financially stable.Or broke,livin in a van.
I'll put the number of days boarded each,instead
of number of areas cause thats a lost cause.LOL!

Wisconnie.
Alpine Valley 50+ days
Devils Head 10+-days
Americana 5 days
Lil Switz 1
Mt La crosse 5

Colonotsorado.
Wanker Prk 300+days
Copper 1
Loveland 1
Breck 1
Steamboast 20 days
Berthoud 200+ [closed] days

Wyoming
Aspen hole 5 days
Teton pass 15 or so

Washington
Mt.Baker 4days

BC
Whistler/Black 8 days
Whitewater 4 days

Good ol Montucky (goin down the highway ,90 miles an hour, got a beer in my lap,got a gun in the rack,got a deer in the back,beer in my lap.)
oops got off track

Bridger Blow 375 days
Big Lie 30 days
Moonlight 10 days
Lost Vail 12 days
Disco 8 day
Big Mtn 1 day

north bridger backcountry 40 days,snowmoboardin
unknown backcountry 10 days, snowmoboardin
Backcountry snowmobiling (sledneckin) (lips zipped) 175 days

coming soon
Secret Idaho backcountry.

I cant even cross tracks anymore
spoiled for life
and I havent even been to Utah or California,someday maybe.
one thing I havent seen In a while??
A crowded ski slope.
Or let alone another person LOL

 

[Patrick]

You guys must very financially stable.Or broke,livin in a van.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm very financially stable. Stabily broke. :roll:

 

[Admin]

I can only speak for myself, but I'm very financially stable. Stabily broke. :roll:

Ditto. The passion has no respect for my checkbook.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Since this thread has essentially become one about "counting" and I will never in my life get close to skiing as many places/areas as these guys, I am posting this just to bump up my "post count." I'm nearly an "intermediate." Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I've just updated my ski records through 2006: http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm .

The totals page shows how many new areas I've added each season. 1996-97 represents the start of "the Warren Miller years" (If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do) and I've added 58 areas since then. At age 53 I'm no doubt older than most of the posters here.

Many people with long lists have lived first in the East, and then in the West. That's how Chris' list got so long, and I predict admin's list will be similar before too long. But all 3 of us obviously put some priority on trying new places. The wanderlust gene, as admin called it.

 

[Admin]

I hit #122 today: The Canyons.