2008-2009 Resort Rankings - Page 3

PCMR over Aspen, Steamboat, Telluride ?!?!?!?

No Tahoe on the list eh ... wow! I dunno about this list folks ....

I almost wasted a mouthful of beer right there

I'd ski any of hte places on the list at least once if I had the chance.

I was adressing the OP, not necessarily the mag article in question. Sorry if I was confusing ya. It just bothers me sometimes how the elitists "own" skiing when the people who have the most emotional and spiritual connection with the mountain and the skiing itself make the least amount on money, stretch themselves to the brink just so they can do what they love most: ski.

Oh, me too absolutely! I just feel like it is biased towards the ad-spending mtns when some more obscure places with better skiing might not get on the list because they "don't give good facials" this is just my humble/purist observation, not really a dis to any of the mtns on the list. I mean, Jackson isn't even on it! WTF!?!?!?

It could be that the ecosystem of Ski magazine is self sustaining. That is the readers of Ski ski the most at the places that are advertised and consequently vote for them as their favorites. Ski magazine is lame, the people that subscribe are also lame and therefore vote for lame mountains.

What if a poll of the Kiss Army was done, asking all members to name their favorite band. I think we'd all know the results.

Same concept, free elections do not necessarily pick the best candidate, but who the voters in question feel is the best candidate.

The list is hardly surprising. Be glad that your favorite area, whatever it is, isn't on it.

A number of years ago, the Denver Post ran an article on the "perfect" ski vacation. They interviewed a number of Denver residents to find out their ideas on the subject.

Not one of these "perfect" ski vacations involved more than four hours of skiing per day!

Ski Ragazine knows its audience.

Anybody good at cooking up a quick poll (Trots?) so the Epic gang can vote their own top ten list? Here's a list of many North American ski areas if this helps.

Alpine Meadows
Alta
Alyeska
Arapahoe Basin
Aspen
Aspen Highlands
Beaver Creek, Colo.
Big Sky/Moonlight
Big White
Breckenridge, Colo.
Brighton
Cannon
Copper
The Canyons
Crested Butte
Crystal Mtn
Deer Valley
Fernie, BC
Grand Targhee
Heavenly
Jackson, WY
Jay Peak
Keystone
Kicking Horse
Killington
Kirkwood
Lake Louise
Le Massif
Loon
Loveland
Mad River Glen
Mammoth
Marmot Basin
Montana Snowbowl
Mont Sainte Anne
Mont Tremblant
Mount Bachelor
Mount Baker
Mount Hood Meadows
Mount Snow
Northstar
Okemo
Panorama
Park City Mountain Resort
Powder Mountain
Red Mtn
Revelstoke
Schweitzer
Silver Mtn
Silverton, CO
Smugglers Notch
Snowbasin
Snowbird
Snowmass
Solitude
Squaw
Steamboat, Colo.
Stowe
Stratton
Sugarbush
Sugarloaf
Sundance
Sunday River
Sun Peaks
Sunshine
Sun Valley
Taos, NM
Telluride, CO
Vail
Whitefish Mtn Resort (Big Mtn)
Whitewater
Whistler/Blackcomb, BC
Wildcat
Winter Park
Wolf Creek

You forgot Buck Hill

hey - we could charge for it to help fund the site - Epicski rated golden bear/best of guide.

Best powder, best overall resort, best bar with the best beer apres ski, best chili, best fat ski rentals on the hill ...

Then we could move on to more controversial topics: best places rated by BWPA not named Snowbird ... (are there any?! , best skinny non-cambered powder skis rated by Michael Barrett ... even fewer!

This list would work very well for me, four i've been to and six I'd like to.




JamesJ you forgot Snowshoe, tehy are as good at taking bunches of tourist/ski vactioners money as any of those Colorado Resorts .

BushwackerinPA i prefer Snowbird to Alta does that mean ime a good skier?

Speaking as someone who has worked in the newspaper/publishing industry for about 26 years, I really can't see what the problem is with the poll.

Whenever (in the days when I was just a normal two-week a year skier, sometimes one, four if I could swing it) I was organising a ski holiday for myself and friends I looked at every aspect of a destination ... because choosing purely what I wanted would be what is technically known as selfish. So I looked at resorts with a variety of trails and ideally good grooming, plus restaurants and bars and whathaveyou. So that mag (and its British equivalents) would have been aimed at me.

Now, I ski where I work and vice versa. On my days off, depending on transport and snow conditions, I try other places or I investigate my own area more fully.

As a PCMR instructor I can tell you that that includes going over to Bambi Basin. And they have some bloody excellent skiing there, at any level.

The clientele they aim for tends to guarantee you'll find stashes days after PC and the Canyons are skied out. The trees are empty, the chutes are cool, the Empire Bowl bumps have generally been formed by people who know how to ski.

And on one day a year we go over for One-Piece Wednesday, armed with our charity shop favourites ... and we blend right in!

This thread is an annual tradition on this forum. Nothing brings out the bile of impatient skier awaiting ski season like a fluff survey biased towards tourists who happen to ski.

About 95 per cent of the market, and they keep me in work. I'm not going to ignore them or diss them, frankly.

And I'm definitely not going to rate them on their choice of skiing destination. I'd, you know, like to actually see them ski.

I'm old fashioned like that.

I just want to add my annual (actually this would be a perennial, wouldn't it? ) note on Deer Valley.

I've probably skied there a total of 20 days or so over the years and I've never had a bad day there. I love the grooming, I love the trees, I love the service, and I love the way the mountain is set up with different "sections" so you can pick someplace that's not busy. I'm apparently not a good enough skier to "need" (versus "want"?) super-steep terrain all the time.

There's a lot of excellent skiing at Deer Valley and they know how to treat their guests.

I skied there once several years ago when they were doing their 20/20 promotion. It was their 20th anniversary and they were selling lift tickets for $20. Now THAT was a deal.

(And bwipa... I really think a public mea culpa might be in order. Those posts weren't your finest hour.)

Funny, but Deer Valley and PCMR don't even make my top 7 in UT:
1)Alta/Bird
2) Soli.
3)Snowbasin
4)The Can.
5)Pow. Mow.
6)Brighton

December Vacation

Hey Guys,

What would you suggest to be a safe bet for mid-December skiing; I have skied aspen/alta at those times in the past and am looking from something new that's accommodating for families (a 6yr old/10 yr old).

Right now, Steamboat is something I am considering; any recommendations?

Thanks!

Enjoy Fall!

I don't know that anything is a safe bet, but I would recommend Solitude or Snowbird.

This is pretty close to my been there loved it/really wanna go list:
1. Aspen Highlands, CO-I enjoyed skiing more here than anywhere I've ever been.
2. Squaw Valley, CA-olympic history, Hot Dog, killer bump runs
3. Jackson, WY-Duh!
4. Steamboat, CO-just to see where Billy Kidd hangs
5. Taos, NM pretty cool, Hit Pajarito also of you get out this way, very nostalgic.
6. Mammoth, CA- in mid june
7. Whiteface NY-Just cause they've hosted the olympics and EC love.
8. Breckenridge, CO -Something really nice for everyone there
9. Winter Park/Mary Jane, CO- heard it's nice
10. Alyeska, AK-heliskiing anybody?
11. Chamonix, France when I hit the lottery

My understanding, and this is only quoting Tony Crocker, is that Brighton and Alta would be the better bets.

Forget Ski magazine. I get my resort rankings from Outside. Or Men's Journal. Or Stuff. That's where it's at.

Off topic a bit -- I get Outside for free somehow...not really sure how, it just keeps coming. Once in a while they have some interesting articles, but I can't really imagine who their target audience is.

I'm guessing the kind of people who ski Deer Valley

I would suggest you digest Tony Crocker's data.

My opinion would only be warmed over Crocker anyway.

1. Jackson Hole
2. Snowbasin
3. Solitude
4. Alta
5. Loveland
6. Grand Targhee
7. A Basin

Those are the 7 ski resorts I would go visit beside the bird. and several on the east coast would be these

1. Stowe
2. MRG
3. Smugglers Notch
4. Jay Peak


and jimmy more than likely your preference means that you at least not a racist(vs snowboarders) and probably are a better skier. The majority of people that I have meet that proclaim that alta is the "best' in the world, arent the best skier. They can be good skiers but they are not what I would consider great skiers. Alta is to small with to much limited fall line especially for the amount of work involved getting to the steep stuff to be better than the bird or snowbasin.

with that said I like as noted its one of my favorite places to ski. but its overrated. Alot like Moab is quite possiablely the most overrated MTB place in the world. Its still good but people are overrating it.

On to the Ski resort list. I was agreeing with it. It doesnt matter to me. I was only stating the list is right on for thier readers. If you read ski mag and blindly follow that. I wouldnt want you as client anyways heck I probably would have tough time being your friend. People that cant make choices on thier own IMO are weak minded and you would not mesh well with me.

Now let take MTBing I much worse MTBer than a skier. The trails I prefer are on the easier side of thing. If somone told me that hey this trail has big drops, skinny ladder bridges, and steep granite roll downs maybe this isnt the best trail for you. Guess what I am not going to call them 'elistist" and run off and cry. Most likely I will ask where a long flowly singletrack is and go enjoy myself where I would have the most fun not where they would have the most fun at.

Just because my opinion is DV sucks and alta is the second best resort in LCC doenst mean that has to be yours. What I like it what I like because thats how I ski. If you ski differently and like some place else so be it.

It's a pretty safe bet and a darn good place for kids, they're free!

Huh? How, in any manner, shape or form can exclusion of boarders be equated with racism? Pathetic.

Hell, if I couldn't pass off warmed over Crocker as my own insights, I'd have about 20 posts here.

Off topic
PA, we all makes typos, some more than others, but as much as I try I have a hard time reading your threads.....do what I did, get the google toolbar, its free and you can spell check anything with it, its super easy to use and will make things easy for everyone else to catch your drift. Unfortunately and ironically I dont have it at work, and the ITs dont let us add programs to the office PCs so during the day my posts are more typo prone than otherwise. Back to the regularly scheduled program.....

Nice top 7. The freesking comps are held at Bird, not alta. If alta were the most rad palce they would be there instead.

I think at least part of the reason many people like Alta more than bird is not (just) no snowboards but that alta has alot more good intermediate runs than bird does. I sent my inlaws who live in DC at sea level are a couple of intermeidate skiers. They loved going to Alta last year on their first visit to UT becuase they could get in a nice blue form every lift at the place without getting totally worked. I think for the average person, if they ski the bird its defineately somethign they have to build up to unless already they are pretty stong skiers.

Personally, I don't make lists, and don't really read them. I could care less about Ski's list not so much because I have a different approach, but because I find "list making" a somewhat OCD behavior anyway.

If I get the chance to ski JH, or Snowbird, or La Thuile, I'll jump on it. If I happened to be in Burlington I would go ski Stowe. I don't care a bit whether one is "better" than any other, in anyone else's mind or my own.

Let's face it...if Kirkwood is #27 on your list, would you not ski it?

Ill ski anything other than Mountain Creek....words cannot explain...

While, I prefer Snowbird to Alta, I think that the comps are more concerned with access, not radness. One of the great things about Snowbird is how easily accessible the goods are.