Opinions - Snow Skiing

[cruise_bone]

Originally Posted by Blansky

My opinion is that skiing was invented for people who aren't coordinated enough to play hockey.

There I said it.

Care to race down a Double Black to see who is more coordinated?

[mcnealstash]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

No one has mentioned Montana, but Big Sky and Whitefish are both great mountain resorts too.

Shhhh

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by cruise_bone

Care to race down a Double Black to see who is more coordinated?

I would love for anyone to try and keep up with my 10 year old daughter. She is doing the competitive mogul program at Winter Park and it scares the heck out of me what these kids are doing.

[mannyv11]

go to maine - and go to sunday river. Mountain is a ton of fun - snow making is incredible there and their are always a ton of trails open.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Blansky

My opinion is that skiing was invented for people who aren't coordinated enough to play hockey. There I said it.

I’ve found skiing to be much more difficult to do well than playing hockey or skating. And the potential for disaster is much higher in skiing. I broke eight bones in one skiing crash in 2017.

[bobernet]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I’ve found skiing to be much more difficult to do well than playing hockey or skating. And the potential for disaster is much higher in skiing. I broke eight bones in one skiing crash in 2017.

Pretty sure that was tongue in cheek.

[CamSLC]

Logistically. I don't know how you haven't skied in Utah. ALT to SLC is a direct flight and you can stay downtown and get to 7 resorts within an hour. You have everything in reach for any level of experience.

[Blansky]

I agree Whitefish Montana is a pretty great ski area. I grew up around Banff and Lake Louise.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I grew up around Banff and Lake Louise.

One of my favorite areas on the planet.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

One of my favorite areas on the planet.

Yeah, it's pretty spectacular during all seasons.

And easy to get to for tourists. Fly to Calgary and a couple of hours on good highways.

[joeychitwood]

Cold and snowing yesterday with six inches of new powder in three hours. Working with a new patroller too. It's so invigorating to gain new, excited people to help remind us how lucky we are to do what we do.

[Blansky]

I posted this on another thread but it may be interesting:

For those of you who take the ski slopes for granted there was a documentary I saw a while back called Climb to Glory that told the story of the 10th Mountain Division put together during World War 2 to be able to fight in the mountain regions of Europe.

These were the guys in the white outfits you now see in action movies who fight on skis engaging the enemy.

So the story goes after WW2 they came home and were some of the movers and shakers in what would become the great ski resorts in the US that didn't previously exist. After a couple of Hollywood movie star became know as skiers the general public started to learn to ski and what you enjoy today started out due to the 10th Mountain Division.

If you enjoy the sport it's worthwhile to research it's genesis in the US.

https://snowbrains.com/10th-mountain...fire-mountain/

[joeychitwood]

It’s a great story, Blansky. Thanks for posting. They essentially started the ski industry in North America. And 10th Mountain veteran Charles “Minnie” Dole founded the National Ski Patrol.

[Blansky]

The link may have gone south.....

https://snowbrains.com/10th-mountain...fire-mountain/

If it did just do the search in the snowbrains site for 10th Mountain Division.

Here's also a video documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0F6eDDsVZw

[BigAppleBill]

Out west I’ve skied Steamboat, Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, Snowmass and Park City. I also skied Killington VT, Windham NY, and Snowshoe WV. The best skiing by far is out west. Better snow, much longer runs, much wider runs, less crowded, better ski villages. In the East I experienced much icier runs, except right after a huge snowfall. But even if the snow is good, it gets chopped up by the afternoon and so crowded you’re constantly having to be aware of people all around you. The only negative with skiing out west is if you’re sensitive to altitude, which takes at least a day to get used to for some people.

Purely for skiing long, uncrowded blue & black runs all day long, I’d rank Steamboat the best, then Vail, Snowmass and Breckenridge. Park City is nice also, and you don’t have as much altitude to deal with. One last note, since Colorado legalized marijuana, I noticed on my last visit to Breckenridge that it’s become a bit of a haven for pot culture. If you’re into it, then bonus for you. But it’s not my thing, so I haven’t been back and now opt to ski elsewhere.

[89Sem]

Been to Jackson Hole Wyoming a few times absolutely amazing out there. The Town is great, the skiing was phenomenal and you can take a snowmobile ride through Yellowstone National Park when you want to take a day off from skiing.

As far as the east coast Killington Vermont has also been awesome. A lot of great recommendations from others on here.

[cruise_bone]

Originally Posted by CamSLC

Logistically. I don't know how you haven't skied in Utah. ALT to SLC is a direct flight and you can stay downtown and get to 7 resorts within an hour. You have everything in reach for any level of experience.

AND You get to ski free the afternoon of arrival when you present your boarding card!

[JBZ]

East coaster here. There's always a potential for icy conditions, and you never get the wonderful powder here that you get out west (never skied out there unfortunately, but I've heard enough stories). And you also don't have the open bowl skiing - trails here are all comparatively narrow.

I live in CT, so VT is the most convenient for us. We've skied Killington, Mt. Snow, Okemo, and Stratton. Enjoyed them all. I also skied Magic Mountain once - never going back.

Gun to my head, I'd vote for Stratton if I had to pick just one. Big enough to keep you interested, but not so big that you feel overwhelmed. It also has a large number of intermediate trails and "easy" blacks if you're not an expert. Lots of people prefer Okemo, but I've had a few mediocre experiences there. Killington is worth it for the variety it provides (we're going there just after Xmas).

Never been up to Stowe or Jay's (which I hear terrific things about). And Mad River is supposed to be great, but the trails are known for being challenging and ungroomed. I skied Smuggler's Notch once, but it was over 20 years ago.

Don't know much about NH or ME skiing, but I hear good things about both depending on the resort.

[Laszlo]

Skied Whistler on Monday. Was absolutely amazing.




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[joeychitwood]

That looks amazing, Laszlo!

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

That looks amazing, Laszlo!

It was Joey

Have a wonderful New Years!

[Gravity]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

Skied Whistler on Monday. Was absolutely amazing.


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Had some of the best boarding in my life in Whistler years ago. Such an amazing mountain with endless runs and off piece routes to tackle. I love Colorado as well but crazy as it is, Mammoth has constantly had the best base in the country for years now and luckily for me it's a 45 min flight or 5 hour drive away. Been twice already this year. I stay away as much as I can from east coast destinations as they just don't hold a candle to the conditions out here, not to mention I'm a boarder now for the last 12 years and snowboarding and ice just don't mix.

[Fabrice M]

Western snow and eastern snow definitely feel different. It's a matter of test, but skiing is fun everywhere. Frankly my favorite snow is the one they have in Europe. But living in Denver we are lucky we can go ski every single weekends.

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by Gravity

Had some of the best boarding in my life in Whistler years ago. Such an amazing mountain with endless runs and off piece routes to tackle. I love Colorado as well but crazy as it is, Mammoth has constantly had the best base in the country for years now and luckily for me it's a 45 min flight or 5 hour drive away. Been twice already this year. I stay away as much as I can from east coast destinations as they just don't hold a candle to the conditions out here, not to mention I'm a boarder now for the last 12 years and snowboarding and ice just don't mix.

I’m totally going to hit Mammoth this year and it’s funny you mention this today because there was a recent article published about how unique Mammoth is and how it just so happens to be in a prime geographic location for incredible snow falls.

[Laszlo]

Originally Posted by Fabrice M

Western snow and eastern snow definitely feel different. It's a matter of test, but skiing is fun everywhere. Frankly my favorite snow is the one they have in Europe. But living in Denver we are lucky we can go ski every single weekends.

Skiing back East is great also and grew up skiing East coast mountains. Would love to ski Europe, one day I’ll take my son.

[joeychitwood]

Another flat light day in Minnesota. Powder day, 16 degrees and no wind.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by Gravity

Had some of the best boarding in my life in Whistler years ago. Such an amazing mountain with endless runs and off piece routes to tackle. I love Colorado as well but crazy as it is, Mammoth has constantly had the best base in the country for years now and luckily for me it's a 45 min flight or 5 hour drive away. Been twice already this year. I stay away as much as I can from east coast destinations as they just don't hold a candle to the conditions out here, not to mention I'm a boarder now for the last 12 years and snowboarding and ice just don't mix.

I ski, but my son wants to learn to board...So I guess that means I'm learning to snowboard too. Conveniently, we live right down the hill from Baldy, notorious for tearing up skis (and skiers.) I don't know if it's as rough on snowboarders. Wish me luck!

[SPMN]

I just came back from my first trip to Jackson Hole. WOW! Spectacular place. I like long, blue cruisers, so I didn't cover as much of the mountain as I'd like, but the scenery made up for it, and the wildlife was incredible. We don't have very many moose left here in Minnesota, so it was great being surrounded by them in Jackson. A few were even wandering around the gondolas and green runs last Wednesday. Very cool!

[Blansky]

It's been a while, what it the percentage of skiers vs snowboarders these days?

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Blansky

It's been a while, what it the percentage of skiers vs snowboarders these days?

Today at my resort, I’d place the ratio at about 40% boards and 60% skis.