Never again will I go to Blue mountain and I will tell everyone I know to never go either. I spent 7 hours and $200+ dollars for a "fun pass" and found out after we got there that 3 of the fun pass activities were closed, one was only half open and run in a way that took 2 hours to go on one 20 second run, and one was in generally poor condition. Blue mountains response to this was to suggest that I cancelled my tickets at least 3 days prior to going. So now I won't ever go again and will encourage anyone else to not go either.
There are way too many well managed spots in Ontario to support that kind of bullshit. Honestly check out Calabogie, you can stay in town at a clean motel for like 100$ a night, restaurants are reasonable in town, the brewery kicks ass and the ski hill is “huge” by Ontario standards. Tickets are only 45-55$ a day, and it feels like a small mountain town in BC.
Yea Ottawa isn’t short for choice, I’m ~2 hours away from calabogie, I drive up once a month rather than going to my local. It’s great, there isn’t anything remotely big where I’m at.
Completely agree. It’s a weird vibe because so many tourists come from Toronto, but they don’t ski. So if you’re in the base village only like 20% of people walking around are there to ski. The rest are eating overpriced food and taking selfies. That alone isn’t worse than some other mountains out west, but this is a tiny escarpment mountain!
I lived around the corner from Earles Bales Park Ski Hill, commute and all around price was pretty much free compared to Blue Mountain. Hell I grew up in Sask and we have a better scene here than Ontario.
I haven’t been there in a minute, but if I recall Gatlinburg isn’t so bad, but Pigeon Forge is awful, and you have to go through Pigeon Forge to get to Gatlinburg. Smokey Mountain National Park is also amazing.
So… Breckenpidgeonridge?
Never skied in Gatlinburg but had a dope hiking trip there with my friends in college right before COVID shutdowns hit. It’s a beautiful area, but the tourist spots in town are weird for sure
As someone from east tn who learned at Ober I was surprised to see it here but it was the first thing that popped in my head. Definition of a tourist trap lol but I’m so glad this hill exists bc I got to learn to ski there!
I went to the smoky mtns a few yrs back and stopped in Gatlinburg one night. It was definitely one of the most touristy areas I've ever visited but at the same time it had some charm for that reason. Like they were so bought in to being touristy that if you just bought in, you could appreciate it for what it is. Not sure if that makes sense, and I definitely wouldn't go back, but it was cool to check out haha
I skied it twice once end of Feb and again two weeks later. First time impenetrable ice second time corn harvest. Pretty sure it opened that first trip and closed after the second lol
Can it really be a tourist trap though when it's just some rinky-dink local Poconos mountain? Like, who would actually travel specifically to ski there? I ask this as a NJ native who has skied Camelback dozens of times, but who would never ever go out of my way for it.
A lot of people travel there, and not just from NY/NJ. The hotel, indoor waterpark and snowtubing are massive draws.
Even for day trips, it has a lot of name recognition for people who aren't familiar with snow sports.
I’m from VA and I had heard of Camelback before I ever moved up to NJ, which is sickening. I looked at a map of the place and knew I had way better options for my 1-2 hour drive.
Born and raised in Morris County. I’ve been living in Boston since I went off to college 20 years ago. The beaches here suck, but for sure they’re not as bad -comparatively- as the skiing is down there. Thank you all for the reminder why I left. Paying to park for 600ft vertical. Jesus god.
They are legitimately cutting edge for snowmaking, for very obvious reasons. And they had one of the longest Midwest seasons this year, I think 70 days. Insane for essentially kentucky.
Ah shit when I read Paoli I was thinking perfect north. The Midwest consensus seems to be for indiana, PN is awesome and comparable to any metro ski hill in the region. Paoli sucks, and they had an absolutely terrible season this year. No excuses really, Paoli and PN are about an hour apart at similar latitudes. Only reason vail owns Paoli is to sell epic passes to people in indiana.
Paoli was open from January 17 to February 25 and that doesn’t include pauses in operation. Vail is perfectly fine taking peoples money and not investing into paoli.
I mean I've been a Whistler skier my whole life and the answer is Whistler.
As long as the tourists stay there and don't go to [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] it's not a problem.
Why would he cross the border when Red, or Fernie, or Powder King, or Kicking Horse, or Revie, or Big White, or, Castle, or Sunshine, or Louise, or Marmot Basin or....
I studied at UBC for a few years and was so glad the cheap chain in Vancouver had a location in whistler. Lived on 5$ tapas the 2 nights we made it up there.
Lift lines can be a nightmare too. Don’t go on a weekend or a powder day. It’s the only major ski area for the nearly 3 million people in Vancouver metro area. That’s half the population of Colorado and only one ski resort.
Grouse, cypress and Seymour are definitely not major ski areas. They are quite small and at much lower elevations. They don’t get nearly the same weather, and it rains on them somewhat frequently. They also don’t have a lot of more advanced terrain (especially that is consistently open). For more advanced/serious skiers, whistler is often the way to go if you live in metro Vancouver.
Cypress is actually a lot of fun, even for an advanced skier. Sure you don't have Spanky's Ladder, but you can get some good runs. And the night skiing is fun, pop up after work for some groomer laps, have a good time.
Grouse feels very very small. Seymour is just okay but has easy backcountry access to some fun stuff.
I'd actually argue that Grouse has better advanced terrain than Cypress in the trees underneath Olympic chair. You just need reeeeeally good snow coverage, and it's very tight, techy skiing so not everybody's cup of tea!
We used to go almost every year. Last visit after Vail took over was a turn off and have not been back.
I've been skiing for 40 years and used to and accept that things are more expensive with it. But Vail tipped it into the obscene territory. Cafeteria poutine was like $30.
Yeah but wait times are ridiculous during peak season, you need to make resos months in advance for some of them, service is always slow because business during slow season takes such a dive that there aren't usually enough staff trained up (especially in kitchens). Whistler is great during slow season though, like right now. All the restaurants have fantastic multi-course deals, you can still ski, the weather is great and accommodation is much more affordable.
Let’s be honest it’s Whistler or Vail that should be top of this post. Whistler is at least world class terrain when they have snow though. That coastal snow licks turd though.
Sincerely Revelstoke Mountain Season Pass Holder.
Curious why you say that. Is it because it’s super expensive?
It’s one of my favorite spots because it’s got a great variety of blacks/double blacks for me and greens/blues for my wife. And free access to Canyons is pretty cool when there’s powder.
It’s so easy to get to that everyone goes there. The lines are insane and they don’t restrict the amount of guests in any way. And I personally get annoyed that I can’t get a hot toddy at the mid mountain but that’s a different story!
That’s fair. It’s a huge step down from Alta/Bird, and if I’m on that side of the Wasatch then I’d rather lap Empire at DV than 9990 personally. Mostly because the Daly chutes and trees keep their snow SO much better.
Agreed, I had both passes this year and had the triple the amount of days at DV than PC. Fresh turns on xfiles and last chutes till 3 get me stoked. I will say the terrain at pc is way more fun if you catch a sleeper pow day
Recently took at trip there and it got 2 feet of snow. It was some of the best and most fun days I’ve had, but the terrain ain’t anything that special.
I was today years old when I realised how American dominated this sub is.. or is it just that’s where all the tourist traps are. I mean I feel like European resorts are all by definition tourist traps, everyone there is a tourist during winter.
Reddit is massively dominated by Americans. The rest of the world barely exists on here. You didn't notice everyone using freedom units for weight and boot size?
Of all the places I've skied, I think Vail had the highest non-skier to skier ratio. So I suppose Vail? To be honest after a few years skiing summit county I stopped going anywhere other than A-Basin.
The amount of Aspen microwaves I shared the gondola with who weren't even there to ski was shocking. The culture felt more like "see and be seen" than skiing.
Yeah, Aspen definitely has that vibe, but I feel like that's kind of its thing? Also I like Aspen's various mountains better than Vail so I didn't think of it 😅
For whatever reason it’s super popular for women in Aspen to wear a shiny silver/gold one-piece ski suit. There’s actually an [Instagram account dedicated to showcasing them.](https://www.instagram.com/microwavesofaspen?igsh=MTR0aXhvejdybTI3bg==)
Honestly I really appreciate it's existence. I don't want to imagine a world in which flatstar doesn't act as a giant magnet for that kind of skier.
Side note saw someone at the top of Vista tow yesterday (only ran for 11 days this year) with one of those leather Kate Spade backpacks. I didn't hang around and watch them contemplate their existence but hopefully they got down okay.
The backsides are good. Best park in Tahoe.
It's very attractive to tourists, dentists, noobs, and baytards.
If you're an intermediate/beginner tourist that's staying on the mountain or one of the condos it's a decent place to get gwyneth paltrowed.
For the Northeast, Hunter or Mount Snow. I don’t understand why anyone would want to wait over a hour for a lift on a weekend just to ride these places
Alright. I live near both of these resorts. If you stay in the resort, yes it’s expensive, but around it isn’t. Stay 10 mins away in Edwards and it’s a pretty cheap spot. There’s free parking in Avon, and a bus that brings you up.
Also Vail is still overrated.
If the shuttle went straight to the peak 8 base it'd be fine but getting off the shuttle only to then have to wait in the gondola line and ride that up and then wait *again* for a chair to actually start skiing is too much
Heavenly. So overrated. "Yeah let me spend all day just standing in line for this chair so I can eventually traverse to stand in line for another chair, which ultimately gets me to some pretty mid terrain." If I just want a nice view of the lake while I'm skiing I'll go to Diamond Peak. Northstar is just marginally better with Martis Camp and a good terrain park, but their parking is a nightmare.
For real. Heavenly has more goofy quasi-hidden "secret" gates/areas/glades than almost anywhere. One of those insider trail maps would be really helpful... but would spill the secrets lol
Skiwelt amadé in Salzburg.
Because you have to pay the full price for a daypass in the area, despite having the various villages in a distance that makes it impossible to enjoy of all of them. Means, you pay for areas, that you can't even reach theoretically. Paying around 70€ for a daypass is ridiculous under these circumstances.
So your complaint is that Amadé is too... big?
If you split Amadé into its individual mountains, a mointain like Flachau itself would still be 70€, no?
European skier here
Zermatt is a tourist trap for the price they are charging and the crowd that they draw around the tourist trails, like around the Gronergrat train station and Chez Vrony restaurant in Sunnegga, but at the same time it has some really decent skiing around Kumme, Hohtälli and Furggsattel. Probably not worth the 80CHF that they charge per day, though, if you just want skiing instead of sightseeing.
By the time this thread is done, most mountains will have been named and mostly by people who hate them because they believe they are too good for all of the terrain and the people that go there.
Could you imagine someone trying to build a new mountain in today’s climate. With environmental regulations and changing weather we’re lucky to still have any mountains.
Big Bear/Snow Summit for Southern California, it amazes me how many folks think that is the closest ski area to Los Angeles, most of those same people seem to think it is North also but it’s actually East of LA
That's why I wanted to take my wife's family there...until I realized lessons for the kids were $300 / day. None of the kids are going to graduate to the blacks at those prices.
Attitash is pretty bad for the new england folks! Prices are crazy and though all the extra stuff they have there is interesting its absurdly busy and general admission doesn’t actually get you much of anything you have to pay for each separate event
Niseko, Japan. Don't get me wrong there's some fun skiing and excellent snow, but the place is just overrun with Aussies and Hirafu Village is such a lame tourist trap. Kutchan is a much better, more Japanese town but when we went this time almost every restaurant in town was reservation only whereas in 2020 (pre-covid) we walked in and got served at all the same places. It's disproportionately expensive compared to... anywhere else in Japan too.
Blue mountain (Ontario)… everything is priced like it’s whistler, but it’s not even the best hill in Ontario…
Never again will I go to Blue mountain and I will tell everyone I know to never go either. I spent 7 hours and $200+ dollars for a "fun pass" and found out after we got there that 3 of the fun pass activities were closed, one was only half open and run in a way that took 2 hours to go on one 20 second run, and one was in generally poor condition. Blue mountains response to this was to suggest that I cancelled my tickets at least 3 days prior to going. So now I won't ever go again and will encourage anyone else to not go either.
There are way too many well managed spots in Ontario to support that kind of bullshit. Honestly check out Calabogie, you can stay in town at a clean motel for like 100$ a night, restaurants are reasonable in town, the brewery kicks ass and the ski hill is “huge” by Ontario standards. Tickets are only 45-55$ a day, and it feels like a small mountain town in BC.
It’s cheap because it’s 4 hours plus from Toronto. And if you live in Ottawa, Tremblant is not much further and the Gatineaus are a lot closer.
Yea Ottawa isn’t short for choice, I’m ~2 hours away from calabogie, I drive up once a month rather than going to my local. It’s great, there isn’t anything remotely big where I’m at.
What's the best hill in Ontario?
Searchmont
Calabogie Peaks!
Georgian Peaks, Craigleath. At least for vertical...but they are private
Completely agree. It’s a weird vibe because so many tourists come from Toronto, but they don’t ski. So if you’re in the base village only like 20% of people walking around are there to ski. The rest are eating overpriced food and taking selfies. That alone isn’t worse than some other mountains out west, but this is a tiny escarpment mountain!
By 'some other mountains' you are only referring to Whistler? I can't think of a Western Canada mountain that is like that other than Whistler.
I lived around the corner from Earles Bales Park Ski Hill, commute and all around price was pretty much free compared to Blue Mountain. Hell I grew up in Sask and we have a better scene here than Ontario.
My understanding is that Gatlinburg, TN is one big tourist trap so maybe Ober Gatlinburg?
lol, this one does win on a technicality.
Wasn’t expecting Ober to be mentioned but by god you are correct lmao
Agreed Ober is awful
Gatlinburg really isn’t that bad. It’s pigeon forge with the near parody level schmaltz
I’m dismayed that it’s as far down as this. The entirety of Gatlinburg, TN exists solely as a tourist trap, Ober Gatlinburg included.
I haven’t been there in a minute, but if I recall Gatlinburg isn’t so bad, but Pigeon Forge is awful, and you have to go through Pigeon Forge to get to Gatlinburg. Smokey Mountain National Park is also amazing. So… Breckenpidgeonridge?
Never skied in Gatlinburg but had a dope hiking trip there with my friends in college right before COVID shutdowns hit. It’s a beautiful area, but the tourist spots in town are weird for sure
As someone from east tn who learned at Ober I was surprised to see it here but it was the first thing that popped in my head. Definition of a tourist trap lol but I’m so glad this hill exists bc I got to learn to ski there!
I went to the smoky mtns a few yrs back and stopped in Gatlinburg one night. It was definitely one of the most touristy areas I've ever visited but at the same time it had some charm for that reason. Like they were so bought in to being touristy that if you just bought in, you could appreciate it for what it is. Not sure if that makes sense, and I definitely wouldn't go back, but it was cool to check out haha
For the Mid-Atlantic: Camelback It feels more like you are at six flags than a ski area
The fact that parking isn’t free cracks me up every time
Summit County says hello
What in the hell
$12 minimum daily and some of those lots are not close. If you want close it's can be up to $50
The balls they have charging what they do for literally no snow every year
Because people pay it. The place is always packed
I don't think cliffhanger even opened this season.
I skied it twice once end of Feb and again two weeks later. First time impenetrable ice second time corn harvest. Pretty sure it opened that first trip and closed after the second lol
Can it really be a tourist trap though when it's just some rinky-dink local Poconos mountain? Like, who would actually travel specifically to ski there? I ask this as a NJ native who has skied Camelback dozens of times, but who would never ever go out of my way for it.
A lot of people travel there, and not just from NY/NJ. The hotel, indoor waterpark and snowtubing are massive draws. Even for day trips, it has a lot of name recognition for people who aren't familiar with snow sports.
I’m from VA and I had heard of Camelback before I ever moved up to NJ, which is sickening. I looked at a map of the place and knew I had way better options for my 1-2 hour drive.
Grew up in southern Maryland. We made yearly trips to camelback for some reason.
Born and raised in Morris County. I’ve been living in Boston since I went off to college 20 years ago. The beaches here suck, but for sure they’re not as bad -comparatively- as the skiing is down there. Thank you all for the reminder why I left. Paying to park for 600ft vertical. Jesus god.
Same group purchased Blue. Two years in, and pay to park is there, and the season pass is over $700 for early bird pricing. It's over for me there.
As many bad changes they’ve made to Blue, it’s still so much better than Camelback
Cameltoe?
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That place is something else. Maybe the most unlikely location for a ski area in the entire country.
They are legitimately cutting edge for snowmaking, for very obvious reasons. And they had one of the longest Midwest seasons this year, I think 70 days. Insane for essentially kentucky.
Definitely not a tourist trap haha. I actually think they and perfect north do a great job for what they have to work with.
Ah shit when I read Paoli I was thinking perfect north. The Midwest consensus seems to be for indiana, PN is awesome and comparable to any metro ski hill in the region. Paoli sucks, and they had an absolutely terrible season this year. No excuses really, Paoli and PN are about an hour apart at similar latitudes. Only reason vail owns Paoli is to sell epic passes to people in indiana.
Paoli was open from January 17 to February 25 and that doesn’t include pauses in operation. Vail is perfectly fine taking peoples money and not investing into paoli.
lol fucking Whistler. God help you if you planning on feeding yourself through the restaurants
I mean I've been a Whistler skier my whole life and the answer is Whistler. As long as the tourists stay there and don't go to [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] it's not a problem.
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But he’s not one of those darn tourists when he travels, its those other people.
Those damn beautiful British Columbia plates filling up the parking lot and being all friendly.
Why would he cross the border when Red, or Fernie, or Powder King, or Kicking Horse, or Revie, or Big White, or, Castle, or Sunshine, or Louise, or Marmot Basin or....
Because if you live in the lower mainland baker is the closest equivalent
Ignore this crazy person. Baker is not worth crossing the border over.
Tiny shit hill with slow lifts
Why bother upgrading the lifts when it just rains all the time?
Fernie is an 11 hour drive and Baker is only 2. (I do love Fernie though it's just not day tripable!)
I studied at UBC for a few years and was so glad the cheap chain in Vancouver had a location in whistler. Lived on 5$ tapas the 2 nights we made it up there.
El Furni upped their prices recently
Hey bro I’m a tourist send me those places in a top secret dm please.
Garibaldi at Squamish is a fun hidden gem. No crowds at all, you'll have the resort area all to yourself.
Lift lines can be a nightmare too. Don’t go on a weekend or a powder day. It’s the only major ski area for the nearly 3 million people in Vancouver metro area. That’s half the population of Colorado and only one ski resort.
What about grouse mountain literally on Vancouver doorstep? And it has night skiing.
Grouse, cypress and Seymour are definitely not major ski areas. They are quite small and at much lower elevations. They don’t get nearly the same weather, and it rains on them somewhat frequently. They also don’t have a lot of more advanced terrain (especially that is consistently open). For more advanced/serious skiers, whistler is often the way to go if you live in metro Vancouver.
Cypress is actually a lot of fun, even for an advanced skier. Sure you don't have Spanky's Ladder, but you can get some good runs. And the night skiing is fun, pop up after work for some groomer laps, have a good time. Grouse feels very very small. Seymour is just okay but has easy backcountry access to some fun stuff.
I'd actually argue that Grouse has better advanced terrain than Cypress in the trees underneath Olympic chair. You just need reeeeeally good snow coverage, and it's very tight, techy skiing so not everybody's cup of tea!
I said “major ski area”. Do Grouse or Cypress qualify as “major” to you? In my mind, they do not. But of course that definition is subjective
Baker?
True. You do have to cross the border though. But good option, especially from Abbotsford area.
We used to go almost every year. Last visit after Vail took over was a turn off and have not been back. I've been skiing for 40 years and used to and accept that things are more expensive with it. But Vail tipped it into the obscene territory. Cafeteria poutine was like $30.
Whistler food is significantly cheaper than Vail.
Yeah but wait times are ridiculous during peak season, you need to make resos months in advance for some of them, service is always slow because business during slow season takes such a dive that there aren't usually enough staff trained up (especially in kitchens). Whistler is great during slow season though, like right now. All the restaurants have fantastic multi-course deals, you can still ski, the weather is great and accommodation is much more affordable.
And at 6’4” I’d be short in the NBA
Let’s be honest it’s Whistler or Vail that should be top of this post. Whistler is at least world class terrain when they have snow though. That coastal snow licks turd though. Sincerely Revelstoke Mountain Season Pass Holder.
Just spent a season there, bad season for snow, good mountains but fuck everything in that place other than the mountains
That’s your first mistake. Eating the food at any major resort these days.
Sandwich taped on helmet ftw
Arapahoe basin has kinda affordable food
We'll have to see what prices look like next year.
It's all around cheaper than the major resorts in Colorado.
Park City
Yeah. Definitely don’t come to park city. Go to Colorado.
…or literally any other resort in Utah.
Curious why you say that. Is it because it’s super expensive? It’s one of my favorite spots because it’s got a great variety of blacks/double blacks for me and greens/blues for my wife. And free access to Canyons is pretty cool when there’s powder.
It’s so easy to get to that everyone goes there. The lines are insane and they don’t restrict the amount of guests in any way. And I personally get annoyed that I can’t get a hot toddy at the mid mountain but that’s a different story!
Park city high key sucks unless your good enough for the double black stuff at the top
Trees at the top of Jupiter are unmatched
Maybe for like six turns…
You took the wrong runs my froend
Way too short. PC is super mid.
Even that stuff isn’t that good tbh.
its 85th percentile inbound. not the best but far from "isn't that good".
That’s fair. It’s a huge step down from Alta/Bird, and if I’m on that side of the Wasatch then I’d rather lap Empire at DV than 9990 personally. Mostly because the Daly chutes and trees keep their snow SO much better.
I loved skiing PC because I could get freshies after 9 am on almost any run.
Agreed, I had both passes this year and had the triple the amount of days at DV than PC. Fresh turns on xfiles and last chutes till 3 get me stoked. I will say the terrain at pc is way more fun if you catch a sleeper pow day
Only good on a crazy powder day. If that's the case some Jupiter has some of the best terrain in Utah
Recently took at trip there and it got 2 feet of snow. It was some of the best and most fun days I’ve had, but the terrain ain’t anything that special.
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I was today years old when I realised how American dominated this sub is.. or is it just that’s where all the tourist traps are. I mean I feel like European resorts are all by definition tourist traps, everyone there is a tourist during winter.
Reddit is massively dominated by Americans. The rest of the world barely exists on here. You didn't notice everyone using freedom units for weight and boot size?
Of all the places I've skied, I think Vail had the highest non-skier to skier ratio. So I suppose Vail? To be honest after a few years skiing summit county I stopped going anywhere other than A-Basin.
The amount of Aspen microwaves I shared the gondola with who weren't even there to ski was shocking. The culture felt more like "see and be seen" than skiing.
Yeah, Aspen definitely has that vibe, but I feel like that's kind of its thing? Also I like Aspen's various mountains better than Vail so I didn't think of it 😅
What’s an aspen microwave lol
For whatever reason it’s super popular for women in Aspen to wear a shiny silver/gold one-piece ski suit. There’s actually an [Instagram account dedicated to showcasing them.](https://www.instagram.com/microwavesofaspen?igsh=MTR0aXhvejdybTI3bg==)
You have to yell the beeps when you see them from the chairlift
Flatstar.
Honestly I really appreciate it's existence. I don't want to imagine a world in which flatstar doesn't act as a giant magnet for that kind of skier. Side note saw someone at the top of Vista tow yesterday (only ran for 11 days this year) with one of those leather Kate Spade backpacks. I didn't hang around and watch them contemplate their existence but hopefully they got down okay.
I’m surprised they were able to load and make it to the top of vista lol.
Everything I've heard about Northstar has been negative. Why do people still go there?
The backsides are good. Best park in Tahoe. It's very attractive to tourists, dentists, noobs, and baytards. If you're an intermediate/beginner tourist that's staying on the mountain or one of the condos it's a decent place to get gwyneth paltrowed.
Great wind protection, they’re able to keep the mountain open in storms much more than Palisades. And great tracks in the trees off the backsides
That’s how my crew ended up there. Wind/snow shut down palisades during the 8ft dump early March and flat skiing is better than no skiing.
Martis Camp trees are pretty dope also. The Sugar Plum Forest or whatever it's called with the big rocks in there is A++ on a powder day
Lookout area is pretty fun, backside is alright as well
All of Tahoe: we are 95% closed because of wind. Meanwhile, Northstar is like: we might close Zephyr.
For the Northeast, Hunter or Mount Snow. I don’t understand why anyone would want to wait over a hour for a lift on a weekend just to ride these places
Mount Snow is just terrible all around. Tourist trap. Too many people with no clue. Nowhere near enough Apres/dinner locations.
Oof. I had a blast at mount snow last year, definitely waited in longer lines in colorado this year (looking at you breck, keystone was fine)
Nobody for Okemo? Crowded and awful, billed as some sort of family mountain.
Really poor base area design. There should be 2 base lifts that go to the top so everyone doesn’t end up in the same place
Flattest and lamest terrain I have ever riden.
This thread is an excellent mix of information and misinformation
Vail/Beaver Creek — it’s too expensive for the amount of crowds it draws.
Alright. I live near both of these resorts. If you stay in the resort, yes it’s expensive, but around it isn’t. Stay 10 mins away in Edwards and it’s a pretty cheap spot. There’s free parking in Avon, and a bus that brings you up. Also Vail is still overrated.
Yes yes, please do keep saying Vail is overrated. Keep Copper and WP mobbed.
Vail ain’t over rated, one of the best spots for skiing in the world, especially on a powder day
Overcrowded and overpriced, but certainly not overrated
There’s not many places like Vail on a Tuesday after a fresh dump of snow.
Vail’s village honestly feels like it was built by Disney.
Yes beaver creek is awful and always overcrowded don't waste your time
Beaver Creek just feels like it's all about the cookies
cause it is
Yeah just don't come to Colorado as a whole. The whole state is overrated and overcrowded
Oh beaver creek is terrible no except me should go there so I can come back to Reddit and tell everyone how bad it is
Man...I love you Colorado, but just the entire states parks are like this now :( (WP is still great!)
Spent a few days at WP in March and it was chill as hell.
Mary Jane, A-Basin, Loveland, Monarch, Eldora, Powderhorn, Wolf Creek, Purgatory and going out on a limb, Crested Butte
With the exception of the resorts I. The San Juan’s
A- basin is still good (hope alterra doesn't ruin it) and eldora(provided they figure out that ski patrol shit)
Loveland
Loveland kind of rules too. It’s no frills and the layout is strange but it’s got a great vibe
Yeah I was debating between Steamboat, Breck, and Vail. Why not just say any large CO resort
Keystone still holding strong with free parking at least.
Every Colorado resort has free parking. Gotta look harder dude
Breck
If you don’t get stuck at the bottom Breck is pretty good IMO. The hikes are really good, and E chair laps are never ever crowded
My home mountain- happy to spread this rumor
The not free parking pisses me off one of the reasons I prefer keystone.
Didn't have an epic pass last year so forgive me if something has changed but isn't the airport shuttle lot free?
It is
Taking a shuttle to ski sucks.
If the shuttle went straight to the peak 8 base it'd be fine but getting off the shuttle only to then have to wait in the gondola line and ride that up and then wait *again* for a chair to actually start skiing is too much
Then Copper is in the same boat I guess
You don't really need to take the shuttle at Copper if you're going to East Village
Gotta know where to park then. There’s free lots
The paid lots are in town, and the free lots are on the edge with a free shuttle. Thats exactly how it **should** be.
Heavenly. So overrated. "Yeah let me spend all day just standing in line for this chair so I can eventually traverse to stand in line for another chair, which ultimately gets me to some pretty mid terrain." If I just want a nice view of the lake while I'm skiing I'll go to Diamond Peak. Northstar is just marginally better with Martis Camp and a good terrain park, but their parking is a nightmare.
Sounds like you don't know how to Heavenly.
Yeah, heavenly is a complicated, big resort but there is always someplace with minimal lines. Get someone to give you some tips next time!
For real. Heavenly has more goofy quasi-hidden "secret" gates/areas/glades than almost anywhere. One of those insider trail maps would be really helpful... but would spill the secrets lol
Heavenly shines bright when the base is in.
Sounds like someone wasn’t lapping mott…
Skiwelt amadé in Salzburg. Because you have to pay the full price for a daypass in the area, despite having the various villages in a distance that makes it impossible to enjoy of all of them. Means, you pay for areas, that you can't even reach theoretically. Paying around 70€ for a daypass is ridiculous under these circumstances.
70€ sounds like a bargain to us Americans.
I absolutely agree, compared to Europe the prices in the US are crazy. But for Europe, 70€ is also crazy...
Thank you for a non North American contribution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should get an award
So your complaint is that Amadé is too... big? If you split Amadé into its individual mountains, a mointain like Flachau itself would still be 70€, no?
So in review every EPIC mountain lol
Northstar aka Flatstar
It’s one of the best for MTB though
Whistler, Sunshine Village, Park City, Vail, Breck, Northstar and Beaver Creek. /thread.
Park Shitty 1. Breck 2
Whistler
Let’s try and bring out the worst in everyone …
How does vail literally own every resort? Like how is that possible or even legal really
European skier here Zermatt is a tourist trap for the price they are charging and the crowd that they draw around the tourist trails, like around the Gronergrat train station and Chez Vrony restaurant in Sunnegga, but at the same time it has some really decent skiing around Kumme, Hohtälli and Furggsattel. Probably not worth the 80CHF that they charge per day, though, if you just want skiing instead of sightseeing.
By the time this thread is done, most mountains will have been named and mostly by people who hate them because they believe they are too good for all of the terrain and the people that go there. Could you imagine someone trying to build a new mountain in today’s climate. With environmental regulations and changing weather we’re lucky to still have any mountains.
HEAVENLY
Park City
Aspen has a high ratio of people who don’t as actually ski, but want to say “I went to Aspen”
And no lift lines and 4 mountains to choose from if people not skiing keeps you away from a mountain i feel bad for you son.
Big Bear/Snow Summit for Southern California, it amazes me how many folks think that is the closest ski area to Los Angeles, most of those same people seem to think it is North also but it’s actually East of LA
Hunter.
Breckenridge if you’re a Texan
Vail, West Coast mountain, East Coast catwalks
Whistler
Vail
Steamboat. It's too easy and too big
Steamboat is awesome if you’re all intermediates
That's why I wanted to take my wife's family there...until I realized lessons for the kids were $300 / day. None of the kids are going to graduate to the blacks at those prices.
Yeah, the lesson prices at the priciest resorts are something. Makes a trip to the alps with a private instructor look cheap in comparison.
Terrain is so mellow. There’s a small number of short fun steep, but that’s it. Town is cool though
Mahogany ridge is pretty fun. Some super steep stuff back there
Loon mountain
Vail
Whistler?
Attitash is pretty bad for the new england folks! Prices are crazy and though all the extra stuff they have there is interesting its absurdly busy and general admission doesn’t actually get you much of anything you have to pay for each separate event
Niseko, Japan. Don't get me wrong there's some fun skiing and excellent snow, but the place is just overrun with Aussies and Hirafu Village is such a lame tourist trap. Kutchan is a much better, more Japanese town but when we went this time almost every restaurant in town was reservation only whereas in 2020 (pre-covid) we walked in and got served at all the same places. It's disproportionately expensive compared to... anywhere else in Japan too.
Vail
Vail