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Best scenery @ a ski resort - Page 2

post #31 of 76
8/2/04 at 6:25am
On the small potatoes end of the world, I was pleasantly surprised of the view at Jack Frost. All you see is undeveloped land. A rarity for the east, especially in the poconos.
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post #32 of 76
8/2/04 at 7:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by marta
On the small potatoes end of the world, I was pleasantly surprised of the view at Jack Frost. All you see is undeveloped land. A rarity for the east, especially in the poconos.
Actually, if you avoid obvious offenders like Killington, Sunday River, or Okemo, from the summits of all my eastern favorites -- Whiteface, Gore, Belleayre, Plattekill, Bobcat, Orford, Sutton, Burke, Cannon, Sugarbush, MRG -- you won't see ANY hotels or condos or other development.

You can't say that about many western ski areas.
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post #33 of 76
8/2/04 at 8:23am
Ayup, every time I look down from the top of Sunday River, I think to myself, "Thickly Settled".

Tom / PM

PS - For those that haven't traveled much around rural Maine, "Thickly Settled" seems to be the favorite road sign to put up whenever there is a concentration of more than about 3 houses in the middle of nowhere.
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post #34 of 76
8/2/04 at 9:28am
PM, thanks for the additional heads up on the Oly Penn. Your area sounds stunning as well and the next time there I'll check it out. Eye of the beholder and all that aside, are you really near sighted?? In my humble opinion the view I was refering to(of course from the observation area, I don't think you can see the Ridge at all from the northern coast of the penninsula) is easily beautiful enough to rate with many(not all) of the places others have enjoyed and posted about. Since I wasn't in "competition" with all the other posters, I thought I'd put one up that I figured fewer people would've run into with a ski area that even fewer knew existed(if indeed it still does). Thanks for the tip, places like you refer to are all too easy to miss when you don't live in the area.

joel
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post #35 of 76
8/2/04 at 10:15am

Reply to skicougar re: Banff

Quote:
Originally Posted by skicougar
hey rquick,

how long is the ride up the lift to where you can actually start skiing ? and how long does the line get to get on the one lift up to the mountain get ?(looks like it may take 30 minutes to get from the base to the trails.
and last, can you ski all the way down to the base ?
It's been a while since I was there last, so someone local might want to respond to this. I think your estimate is about right. The initial gondola to their real base is about a 15-20 minute ride. From there you have your choice of several different chairs so depending on your choice, it could be 30 minutes from the parking lot to skiing down a run. It was worth it, in my opinion.

I skiied back down to the base, but I wouldn't recommend it. There is a mid-way station on the gondola where there is some decent terrain, but below that point, you just follow a fire road the rest of the way down. The road had quite a few rocks on it and my skis kind of got messed up.
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post #36 of 76
8/2/04 at 10:22am
The Pintail Peak area of Nub's Nob in MI has a rather beautiful view over the Little Traverse Bay...
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post #37 of 76
8/2/04 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by marta
On the small potatoes end of the world, I was pleasantly surprised of the view at Jack Frost. All you see is undeveloped land. A rarity for the east, especially in the poconos.
Jack Frost much like Snowshoe in WV is an upsidedown mtn with the lodge at the top. This adds to the view, but makes the lodge area very cold and windy during the winter...................
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post #38 of 76
8/2/04 at 2:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marta
On the small potatoes end of the world, I was pleasantly surprised of the view at Jack Frost. All you see is undeveloped land. A rarity for the east, especially in the poconos.
I assume you're referring to East Mountain at Jack Frost where you get an excellent view of the Lehigh. Also in the Pocs, the summit of Camelback Mtn. is a State Park (Big Pocono) which isnt lift served. You have to drive to the top but once on the top look South and you get a great view of the Delaware Water Gap, Blue Mountain and some lakes. And while on the subject if Camelback utilized this State park area and pushed the lifts up to the summit they would probably enjoy another 200 or so vertical feet. But I'm sure the state would never let it happen.
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post #39 of 76
8/4/04 at 12:31pm
I am surprised no northwest skiers mentioned the view of Rainier from the top of Crystal Mt. I am sorry I have no digital photos to post- it is spectacular on a (ok, perhaps rare) clear day.
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post #40 of 76
8/4/04 at 1:56pm
I think the March issue of SKI magazine does a piece on Crystal and the picture they have (from one of the trails) of the river and Mt. Ranier sitting in the distance is arguable one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen.
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post #41 of 76
8/4/04 at 4:00pm

I don't ski "resorts," what do you mean?

on the ski hills I like to ride, the scenery is sublime. none of 'em is a "resort" by Joe Sixpack standards. the kids have no McDonaldland, the non-skiing Stepford Wives have to settle for whittling and knitting humorous cummerbunds for Raul & Congolia Breckenridge's divorce ceremony.

why would anyone want to ski at a "resort," that's my question. :
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post #42 of 76
8/4/04 at 6:40pm
I'll reiterate the votes for Telluride..... and nobody has mentioned Whistler Blackcomb..... just spectacular. The views from WB had endless glaciers, and blue glacier lakes just everywhere.
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post #43 of 76
8/5/04 at 4:53am
Thread Starter 
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...31680773rdRTJB Mt. Ranier from Crystal Mtn

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...33031662bwOZcP Maroon Bells from Aspen Highlands
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post #44 of 76
8/5/04 at 7:03am
Lake Louise. That is all.
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post #45 of 76
8/5/04 at 2:05pm
Awesome pics JamesJ. It's official. Crystal is now on my list of places to ski.
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post #46 of 76
8/5/04 at 6:06pm
Crystal has some awesome views of Rainier, I liked the view from the top of Alpental also. Abasin is super as is the view from the top of Copper, and the view from the top of Blackcomb, as is the view from the Outback, as is the view from Breck, as is the view from Vail, as is the view from Snowbird, ETC.

Whoever said the view from the top of whatever mountain you are is the best view at the time is right in my book.
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post #47 of 76
8/6/04 at 7:31pm
My personal favorite scenery at a ski resort:

Snowboarder chicks with exposed midriff shirts on a warm spring day.

Of the other kind of scenery:

The top of the Peak Chair at Whistler looking south towards Black Tusk.

Heavenly where you get the illusion that you're going to ski right into Lake Tahoe.
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post #48 of 76
8/7/04 at 8:31am
Coming from a flat-lander who thinks a river levee looks pretty good...

1st. pick would have to be Kachina peak, Taos, N.M. ( I had no business hiking up there, but Taos had a 9" dump the night before. We all figured it would slow us down a bit on the steep upper section. Yeah, right! It was my first and still looks like my last time up there.)

2nd. Maroon Bells from Highlands

3rd. Tesuque Peak, Ski Santa Fe, N.M.
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post #49 of 76
8/7/04 at 8:25pm
Top of chair 9 at Loveland. The ride up chair 1 or 2 at Loveland.

Nine is the highest lift service in North Ameriaca (12,700-hike to 13,000) with a view to the west of A-Basin, Keystone, and Breck.

Here is a shot from lift 1

http://www.skiloveland.com/photogall...op_chair_1.jpg
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post #50 of 76
8/12/04 at 9:58am
Thread Starter 
Here's a great pan shot of the 360 deg view atop Loveland's quad chair 9, elv 12,700'. Loveland ski terrain descends beneath chair attendant station to both sides of I70. Distant ski area to the west of the Continental Divide is Keystone. http://bdagger.colorado.edu/~wachter...587-98_PAN.jpg
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post #51 of 76
8/12/04 at 2:46pm
stevens pass if you look of the back side there are butifull jagged peaks for miles

also sugar bowl is fabulus expesialy right after they have ade 10 feet of snow ya .
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post #52 of 76
8/12/04 at 3:07pm

Its funny how seeing something so many times becomes accepted as ordinary. One of the best views is seeing Mt. Shasta from Mt. Ashland (where I skied most of my life).
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post #53 of 76
8/12/04 at 4:57pm
rio i agree that is my home mountain it breth taking
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post #54 of 76
8/12/04 at 8:05pm

Lech Austria

If you're in the East, go farther east to Europe (this coming from one who's never skied the Rockies). I have never seen anyplace as beautiful as Lech, Austria, either from the village or the mountains. The village is like a caricature of an Alpine village, river through the middle, covered bridge, mountains everywhere, etc., looks like a fake Hollywood set but it's real and it's been there for a really long time. The mountains are spectacular, and you can take a free shuttle to Zurs or St. Anton, too, to ride to the top of the Valluga. It's like being on the top of Mt. Everest (but perhaps only to one who's never been there.) And you can have lunch up there, totally crazy. Someday maybe I'll be capable of skiing down from there...

Anyway, for us East Coast types, it's often no more expensive to go to Europe than to the Rockies.
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post #55 of 76
8/12/04 at 8:46pm
How about the drive into Grand Targhee???? That is an awsome sight of the Tetons from the Western Slopes!!

Ed
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post #56 of 76
8/20/04 at 8:07am
My vote goes to the view from the Top at Zermatt, Switzerland. I have skied all over the US but nothing seems to compare to a 360 degree view of the alps at 13,000+ feet on a blue bird day. I stood in amazement for 20 minutes just admiring the scenery. Someone later told me that there is no better view of the alps in Europe unless you are a climber. Oh yeah they also have that little mtn called the Matterhorn.

A close second goes to the three chicks ripping down 4 O'clock run on a sunny april afternoon at Breckenridge wearing nothing but bikinis.
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post #57 of 76
8/28/04 at 10:39pm

Reply to skicougar re: Banff

As rquick said, it's about 15 minutes from the Gondola base to the village. Then another 10 up Angel Chair to 3/4 of the way up Lookout Mtn. The picture posted is actually looking through the Teepee double chair, but it ends up in the same general area as the Angel Quad. Of course if you ski down to the Divide chair and take it up to the top of Lookout, you'll get the full view which is much more magnificent than the one posted. Imagine a sea of snow clad peaks with Mt. Assiniboine (Canada's Matterhorn) dominating to the south. On a sunlit, clear day there's nothing better.

There are two routes down to the base, the fire road "Banff Avenue" or the more difficult "Canyon" run that follows the creek bed down. You can also shave time from the gondola ride up by getting out at the Goat's Eye station and taking the quad up that mountain.
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post #58 of 76
8/29/04 at 11:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skicougar
hey rquick,

banff looks like it rocks ! getting above the clouds, lots of trails, isolated. all good, but how long is the ride up the lift to where you can actually start skiing ? and how long does the line get to get on the one lift up to the mountain get ?(looks like it may take 30 minutes to get from the base to the trails.
and last, can you ski all the way down to the base ?
Sunshine near Banff has a gondola that takes 15 - 20 minutes to get up to where the skiing really is. The line for the gondola can be brutal at Christmas and family day long weekend past 9:30. Other days and getting there early, no problem.

You can ski down to the bottom no problem from about Dec to april just not very exciting.

Lake Louise is the view posted by Moose. I think this thread is for most scenic skiing and i think Moose's photo covers it. Lake Louise is about 40 minutes from Banff. You drive to the base area and skiing starts and ends there.
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post #59 of 76
8/30/04 at 7:09pm
The view of Moosehead Lake and Mount Katahdin from Squaw Mountain (Greenville, Maine) is pretty spectacular.
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post #60 of 76
9/3/04 at 5:00pm
Jackson baby, inversions and the Big Breasts aka Grand Tetons
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