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Europe vs North America

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Right then....I've skied in Europe many times over the years, but have never gone across the pond and tried the skiing on offer over there. I would love to one day-how does it compare overall to Europe? I've heard many people say that theres a lot less vertical/(challenging) runs. However i've also heard that the snow is almost always v. good. Is this true? How good is the skiing in places such as Utah and Colorado-is there enough skiing in resorts such as Park City to stay there for long periods of time and not get bored?
...Off we go......
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Europe for me Exclamation
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Chris_5000, it's all boring here. No good skiing at all. Wink
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.....oh! You were serious!

First, any skiing is great! I grew up skiing 200 vertical foot hills in Michigan and having a great time doing it. So, as long as we're sliding, it's all good.

I have never skied Europe, so I can't compare. There are many on this list who can help you with the strict comparison.

What I can tell you is that skiing in the US is a great experience, and different parts of the US have very different characteristics. I have skied in the East (NY, Vermont, NH), midwest (Michigan and Ontario in Canada), far west (Lake Tahoe region) and Rockies (Utah and Colorado). I now live in Boulder, about 2 hours from some of the greatest skiing in the world at places like Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, A Basin, Vail, and so on.

Typical real vertical drop in the Rockies is around 1,500-2,000 vertical feet. Runs range from flat to steep Shocked. The snow is universally good due either to the really great natural snow or to the ability of the groomers to really make a difference. You always have to watch for rocks on blacks and above, no matter how deep the snow is.

Park City has so many areas around it that I don't think you'd get bored. Same with Summit County or Vail or Aspen in Colorado. We are planning a snowHeads trip to Colorado next year. Why not come and try it out with the group?! Cool
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Vertical seem to me to be a strange way of gauging a resort. Say a reasonable size resort has a 1Km (5/8 mile for ssh Smile ) vertical, are you really going to ski that all in one go top to bottom? (unless you are a downhill racer).
As far as challenging runs go, I found KT22 at Squaw pretty challenging, and I don't think I'll be good enough to get bored with the runs at Whistler/Blackcomb for a long time!! Smile Smile
That said, I also really enjoyed skiing the 3 Vallees this year, not so much so Val d'Isere.

So far I think I prefer Canada to the US, though apart from Tahoe (Kirkwood, Heavenly, Sugar Bowl, Squaw, Alpine, Northstar, Sierra), I haven't skied anywhere else in the US. I wouldn't want to stay at tahoe that long though as the nightlife seems a bit limited/spread out unless you like casinos
Due my recent cure to pineophobia (fear of trees), I would say that the tree skiing in N. America is very good. snowHead snowHead

Guess the awnswer is you just need to give it a try!! snowHead snowHead


Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 24-03-04 18:07; edited 1 time in total
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Sounds like a trip to Quebec is on the cards too....

CANADA REPORT

Better conditions there at the moment than at a number of US resorts..
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ssh,
I have skied Breckenridge and loved it, have you skied Utah?
If so how does it compare, is the snow better, as they claim?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Bend Zinees, I've skiied Breck and Winter Park in Colorado, and several of the resorts in Utah. To be honest, a powder day in Alta is an amazing experience. The snow is lighter, and there's more of it there than in the Colorado resorts. (Saying that, I do tink that the Co resorts are excellent - there's a lot of steeps, tree skiing, etc)
Chris_5000, there is plenty of skiing in Park City, and Deer Valley is 10 minutes up the road, so you could ski there for a couple of weeks. (The Canyons ski resort is about 15 mins down the road) BUT, if you're going for good skiing, I would forget about PC or DV - you need to go to Snowbird/Alta - which are linked resorts, and you could ski there for a couple of weeks easily. The next valley to them also has Solitude and Brighton. You could stay at resort in Snowbird, or you could stay down in Salt Lake City and drive/get the bus up each day - it's about 20-30mins. If you stay in Salt Lake, then most of the resorts are within easy reach - even Deer Valley is only about 50 minutes away.
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If I had to compare the finest skiing in Colorado and Utah with the finest skiing in France and Switzerland I wouldn't hesitate in choosing...

...France and Switzerland.

A US ski trip is great when tagged on to other reasons for visiting the States, but the terrain just doesn't compare. I've not skied Jackson Hole (Wyoming) or Whistler (Canada), which have bigger vertical. Of the US resorts I've skied, Snowbird and Alta were the finest and I believe they're now lift-linked (they're about a mile apart, up the legendary Little Cottonwood Canyon above Salt Lake City). An interesting place to visit - check out the massive open-cast copper mine in that area if you want a non-skiing day. It is the most mind-bogglingly huge crater. But I digress....
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Yeha, DG, they are linked through Mineral Basin, which is a massive powder bowl of mainly blue to red steepness
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David Goldsmith, orWear The Fox Hat,
If you were to go for 10 days, where would you base yourself?
sounds like skiing is best in snowbird/alta,but have heard that Park City is good for general base/resort/restaurants etc.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
David Goldsmith, I have yet to ski America (never been across the pond at all!) and have heard such mixed reports. You vote Europe for Terraine. Is that scenery or variety of runs?
What I have gleaned is:
Good points: speak English, better accomodation, cheap abundant food, well prepared piste, civilised lift queues, lots of lovely powder
Bad point: boring food, boring mountain restaurants, boring slopes, lifts close early, long journey and large time change with sleep-lag.
So, like you, I am looking for some other excuse to go: I am waiting for a good anaesthetic conference in an American ski resort. Then maybe....
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Bend Zinees,
Park City has more of the Euro ski-resort feel to it - a main street, loads of restaurants/bars/etc.
If I were going to 10 days, I'd stay in Midvale or Sandy (at the mouth of LCC) and drive or get the bus up to Snowbird/Alta, and maybe do a day or two in some of the otehr resorts to experience them. You can then go in to SLC for big nightlife, or just to some of the local bars if you want. (There's a few bars at Alta/Bird, such as Goldminers Daughter which are excellent for an apres ski beer, but quieten down after about 7pm)
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You know it makes sense.
Based on my experience in Panorama (details ad nauseam: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=460), I'd agree with jonpim's good and bad points - bar 'boring slopes' which certainly wasn't true.
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Jonpim, for someone who's never been there, you seem to have heard a lot of negative stuff.
Yes, the food is boring if you only eat at McDonalds while you're there. Try some of the good restaurants if you want good food - and the great thing is that given the current exchange rate, a good meal in Utah will cost you less than a bad one in France.
The mountain restaurants are mainly cafeteria style (unless you go to Deer Valley, and remortgage your house), which may be perceived as boring, but then again, most people in the US go to ski on the mountains, not have a five course lunch while discussing the finer points of trainspotting.
The lifts do close earlier - maybe around 4.30, and only open 8-8.30, apart from resorts with night skiing.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Thanks Wear The Fox Hat, maybe the punters who enjoy the states dont want the rest of us proles going over and ruining it for them, and so paint a negative picture. I just never hear anyone raving about the states in the same way people rave about Europe. See "Mottaret/3V rocks!"
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I've skied in Canada (and US) every year for the last 10 years and, obviously, I think it's great. We're pretty much stuck with school Easter hols, and the snow there tends to be more reliable then, and the slopes and lifts emptier. There are resorts to suit all abilities; there's plenty of difficult stuff if that's what you want. The people are pleasanter and it's better value for money if you want a reasonably comfortable hotel with a pool blah blah blah. Ski school for the kids is much better than my recollection of ski school in Europe. You get to drive a 4x4 without feeling like a total eejit. You avoid the worst of the Brits - the vomiting morons and the braying Henrys (and of course the vomiting, braying, moronic Henrys). I've had a few weekends in various European resorts over the last few years and they've done nothing to change my view that N.America is better for me.

But... we spent a week in Val Claret last month and it was fantastic. The lift system is much better than I remember (although not up to N.American standards), and despite it being half term week, there were only a few bad queues and only a few overcrowded pistes. The skiing was fantastic. On piste manners seemed to have improved as well. Our apartment was ridiculously small, and the staff running it were gratifyingly rude and unhelpful, but I'd go back any time.

In N.America, you miss out on the 'Alpine charm' (just as you do in most of the Alps) and you can't ski to that SUPER little restaurant in wherever for lunch, you know, the one where Arabella put the ice bucket on Justin's head, it was SOOooo funny. Rarely can you ski to and from the door, and the apres ski is (in my experience) more sedate than in Europe.

If you haven't tried N.America, you should do.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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One thing that I really liked about skiing in the US is the inbounds/outbounds concept. That is, you can go offpiste (chutes, trees etc) but still be in an avalanche-controlled (and I think patrolled) zone - so you can ski by yourself and not pay for a guide. Given how often I ski alone, this is important.

To be honest, I end up going offpiste by myself in Europe, too, but I always have to be mindful to be in sight of a marked run, preferably with people on it, and the risks I take are higher anyway.

Yes, I would pick Europe over the States in terms of size and variety of terrain, but there is something special to that Utah powder (I was wondering how come I was skiing so well, then it struck me: all that unavoidable training on European slush, crud, cut-up, refrozen, etc...).

The culture of skiing seems different...as WTFH says above, they go mainly to ski in the US, here it's far more of a social sport / pastime - as this forum proves.

Anyway, an ideal season would comprise both a trip to the US/Canada and one in Europe. Just like this winter Very Happy
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This is Alta...
http://www.theskishop.co.uk/stewart/images/epic04/108_0807.JPG
http://www.theskishop.co.uk/stewart/images/epic04/cath04.jpg
http://www.theskishop.co.uk/stewart/images/epic04/wildcat04.jpg
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I have to stick my two pence worth in. I have skiied a couple of the Colorado resorts, and Whistler at least once a year for past 9 years. In last few years have tried to fit in extra trips to Europe as well, but i keep going back toWhistler, Canada. Sure, it costs more to get there, but is fairly good value once in resort. It dosent have the alpine charm or abundance of small restaurant on the hill, but, then it dosent have the lift lines, rude people, overpriced drinks etc, either. I love it, and keep going back. It is huge, certainly enough skiing for 10 or 14 days. I wouldn't take a young family though, it is a long jounrey and the 8 hr time difference can be hard to adjust to. Hope this helps. snowHead
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Well Ive never had a bad ski holiday in europe- always come home desperate to go back!
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I like North America and Europe - if I can I go to both each year.

My North American experience is limited to 4 trips - Whistler, Fernie (including day trips to Kimberley and Big Mountain), Vail (including day trips to Beaver Creek) and Utah (Canyons, Park City, Deer Valley, Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Sundance). Probably around 40-50 days in total.

In Europe I've skied a lot more but mainly in France.

In my experience the quantity and quality of snow in North America is better. Obviously this is always down to luck for any particular trip and I may have just got lucky (and I did choose resorts renowned for good snow). The conditions on an average day in North America have been better than an average European day. On a good day then I don't think it matters. I've experienced powder in St Anton and Deux Alpes to equal (or better) anything I've skied in North America, including Utah.

The snow seems to keep well in North America. A couple of days after a good dump in Europe I often find that you wouldn't think it had snowed recently. In North America, this hasn't been my experience. I've no idea whether this is just my imagination, or down to good grooming or to resort temperatures.

I agree with Fox that Utah has more than enough to keep someone occupied (as would Vail or Whistler). I stayed in The Canyons which was good but I don't think I'd stay there again. Park City is a decent location, as Fox mentions, for Park City, Deer Valley and The Canyons. There are local minibus companies that run trips to Alta, Snowbird and the rest. It's a great area and I look forward to going back one day.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
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I know this answer may seem like a bit of a cop-out, but I really wouldn't like to say that US is better than Europe, or vice-versa. You should definitely try the US if you haven't already been, and if you can afford to take 2wks to do it. I had a week in Wengen and 2wks in Utah this season, and the Utah skiing was MUCH better if you're a good skier, but only marginally better if you're an intermediate. Of course the scenery doesn't even begin to compare, but then again the queues are smaller in the US...

There are so many differences between countries and I enjoy the contrasts - last season I had weeks in 4 different countries and intangibles like weather, snow conditions and who you're with make more difference than where you are. But then again I'm already hungry for some Austrian Weissbier, Schnitzels and table-dancing next year!
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N America / Canada skiing is a completely different league to Europe. If you want everything laid on for ya, crammed runs, english apres ski, more lifts than you can shake your skis at, etc, then sure, Europe is the best option. If, you want to go skiing for the "skiing" & adventure, disappear where you want, handle proper snow, etc then head across the pond. You have to do a bit of the hard work yourself but theres so much more to offer, & the snows (almost) always great! Haven't heard much about the East coast, but totally deny that the West is boring! To be fair there are less lifts, but thats the point. Its up to you to go & be adventurous. European resorts seem all pisted out, wheres the real snow?
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Cedric wrote:


Anyway, an ideal season would comprise both a trip to the US/Canada and one in Europe. Just like this winter Very Happy


Yep I've had a pretty ideal season - started with a great week in the 3Vallees (perfect timing/good luck with the snow), a weekend in tahoe, then 2 weeks in whistler, followed by 2 more tahoe weekends. All in all not bad!! snowHead snowHead Very Happy

Given the choice of where to do a season, I know where it would be - Give me Whistler any day!!
Jonpim, I challenge you to ski there and say that the runs are boring (Spankies ladder (for the walk up as much as skiing down), the blowhole, the coffin, etc, etc, etc) Cool
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Wear The Fox Hat, fantastic pictures. Very Happy You're tempting me to go.

Cedric wrote:

To be honest, I end up going offpiste by myself in Europe, too, but I always have to be mindful to be in sight of a marked run, preferably with people on it,
Cedric, I'm a great fan of off-piste, and happily career around the between-piste-off-piste without a guide, but I would never ski there alone. Even if you can see the piste when you are skiing, no one will see you when you fall. Please, take a buddy with you next time. (I sound more like my grandpa every day)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I'll take a buddy, ONLY if they ski behind me, and far enough away that I can enjoy the sound of the snow. snowHead
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Wear The Fox Hat, OK, deal! Let's go! snowHead
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I am not convinced by people who claim US ski resorts are superior. They cannot evade facts about number of lifts and size of individual areas

Now they say that US has tougher skiing. (Subtext being they are hotshots and have skied everything Europe has to offer ? )

Wengen and Alta , to take one example, are completely different sorts of resort. Wengen is an old, traditional, car-free European Winter Sports destination. It is not somewhere people go for really challenging runs.

Alta is not somewhere I personally would want to stay for a week. I treat it as a day resort to commute into. I actually like Brighton too. It has no pretensions and though it is small, the runs are interesting to do several times. Having said that, I would prefer to ski Alta and Brighton than base myself in Park City which has pretensions to be a major destination resort. The snow is better in the Cottonwood Canyons, as any Utah local will confirm.

Utah used to advertise greatest snow on earth on the car number plates but then ,so I hear, Colorado took exception to the claim .

Anyway, I agree that for transatlantic skiing (alone) Canada is better than America . Except I would not want to go to Banff before March, in case it was too cold.

Whistler is more like a ‘one stop’ European resort. You could actually stay there for a fortnight without getting bored. And guess what ? It consistently gets the vote for best ski resort in North America. I am now waiting for someone to come along and argue the case for Alaskan skiing being the best.

You can avoid Brit yobs by going to the less popular resorts, or one of the better Swiss resorts, like Davos. However, I quite like the differences in Europe . I am comfortable in France and I can speak some French. If you only want to hear English, the US may be preferable - but if you are that much of a xenophobe ,you may well develop some antipathy towards Americans after a few trips.

As for the claim that lifts in US are better than in Val Claret, do they mean Val Claret, as in Tignes ? If yes, then I personally would not give too much credence to anything else they have to say.

The bottom line is if you have only skied Europe, don’t believe anyone who tells you that it is far better in the US. Sure you will enjoy the trip, just don’t buy the hype.

Read the American guides to skiing in Europe to see things from a different perspective http://skisnowboardeurope.com

Like a previous correspondent says ‘any skiing is great’
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Having jst returned from Austria, I would have to say that on-piste skiing is more difficult in Europe than in the US. The US runs I have been on tended to be in better condition. Ice, grass, and slush are unheard of in Colorado or Utah (and from what I've seen, if there is grass showing through, the run is closed)
Hardpack in Austria is harder than in Co/Ut. I have enormous respect for skiers who can ski euro conditions well. I am not that good a skier, but I also want to enjoy resorts which aren't blighted with hundreds of lifts, neither am I someone who likes to measure the quality of a resort by its size, or the quality of my holiday by the number of runs I do (unless it's for charity Wink )
Then again, I've never skiied in Switzerland, mainly because I hear it is very expensive. Perhaps it is different to the Austrian and French resorts I have skiied.
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 Poster: A snowHead
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I didn't mean to slate Europe skiing at all, its just in my view it is quite a different ball game to across the pond. Personally I've never skiied in the states & was referring to Western Canada. There are so many resorts that no one ever hears about in the Rockies/Interior BC, one of my favourites is Fortress Mountain near Nakiska.

Just don't expect lifts to everything & well marked defined runs, you'll be sunk!

As for Banff being cold before March, you're not wrong! I do remember once gettting off a chair lift at Lake Louise reading the thermom that said -28C, but then put the snow & howling gale into the equation & the caribbean suddenly seems quite appealing! Anything exposed, you'll know about it! A house with an open log fire essential. Shocked
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The weather and snow can be variable wherever you go. This year in Banff/Lake Louise mid January for 2 weeks the typical temperature was -2C. One day it was even above freezing. Not much sun though. North America's fabled powder? Again we were out of luck. Our trip was mid Jan to coincide with birthdays, we were lucky with the temperatures, unlucky with the snow. Expensive holiday in some respects, cheap in others. Well worth the experience.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
As for the claim that lifts in US are better than in Val Claret, do they mean Val Claret, as in Tignes ? If yes, then I personally would not give too much credence to anything else they have to say.

Harsh! Yep, that's the Val Claret I meant. I didn't say that the lifts are better in N.America (they're remarkably similar), I said that the lift systems are; the queues are shorter, QED. N.American facilities tend to be adequate for the number of users; this is rarely the case in Europe.

I thought Espace Killy was superb (in spite of its absurd name), probably better skiing than anywhere I've been in N.America, and I doubt that N.American resorts would cope better with that number of skiers; the point is that they don't have to. Waiting 10/15 mins (or more) to get on lift is a pain, however varied and challenging the skiing is once you get to it. I suspect that Espace Killy is one of the best, if not the best, organised large European resort. You can spend half your day queuing in some places; Verbier and Lech spring to mind (admittedly from 10+ years ago).

The fact that most lifts in N.America seem to service several runs of different standards, and that the topography means that those runs usually end in the same place, means that a group of different abilities can ski together quite happily, not easy in Europe.

The idea that either continent has a monopoly on good resorts is ridiculous. There is a distinct difference in styles, though, which everyone should experience if they can.
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On the Alta vs Wengen quote, I deliberately used this comparison because these were 2 resorts I had skied this season, but more because it illustrates the huge contrasts between different areas (which is a good thing). I certainly would not say that for all types of skiers who stay for a week in 1 place, Alta is better than Wengen! For most in fact it would be far worse!

I see US resorts as more like Austrian ones - tiny areas that can make a fantastically varied holiday for touring around and seeing a different area each day. I would not even consider going to even the biggest resort in Utah (Canyons) and staying there for a week.

For what it's worth my favourite resorts are Chamonix, Courchevel, Val d'Isere and Zermatt, in that order.
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I have only done Whistler and none of the Americans. However, basing on the 7 European and Scandinavian countries already visited I would think Plake’s comment that USA resorts are more like Austrians, being smaller and in better controlled, is probably accurate. This is based on the claim that Whistler is the largest in the North America.

The biggest Austrian resort is the Ski Welt Wider Kaiser Brixentale comprising of 7 fully linked resorts plus one unlinked. It is a respectable size (probably with about 175km piste if I have to guess) well maintained and well managed and you do get a good week of skiing out of it.

I have a strange passion of driving around to try as many different skiing resorts as I could managed with a fully equipped 4x4 (snow tyres, chains etc) and have skied about one resort per day in the last few seasons. I would say the newly linked French Paradiski (Les Arc+La Plagne) with 420km piste to be bigger than Whistler/Blackcomb, which would probably have difficulty to compare in size with the Tignes+Val D’lsere’s 300km resort.

The Italian Dolomites, which I haven’t done yet, claims its 1200km piste size to be the largest in Europe, followed by the 620km Porte Du Soleil and then by the 600km 3-Valleys. The 3-Valleys is probably the biggest fully linked resort. It is definitely for those who do not want to ski with the same chairlift repeatedly. If any skier wants to sketch himself over distance then there is no better place than doing it in Europe.

I am sure we can have great skiing in America but Europe does have a big variety of choices. It is a strange experience to ski from country to another seeing different sign conventions and languages on the slopes. Between Val D’lsere to Valmorel of the French Tarentaise there is no less than 9 resorts each with an average 150km piste between a distance of about 100km or 60 miles.

North Americans like to measure their skiing resorts in area with the maximum number of runs served by the minimum number of chairlifts. Europeans trend to stretch out a bit with smaller runs and a lot of interlinked chairlifts. The two are not the same. For example a beginner skier may find the short European green and blue slope accurately graded but the same long North American slopes can have frequent spots of difficulty uncommon in Europe (based on Whistler experience). People doing a black run in America is equivalent to skiing a European red, as the Americans reserve double diamond black for the really difficult ones.

When the snow condition is right skiing can be fantastic anywhere. There will always be unforgettable scenery near lakes and mountains. But if a skier wants to experience what the skiing world can offer then he/she must visit both North America and Europe.
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Despite being a committed fan of North American skiing, I don't want to say it's necessarily better. It's different. And it suits me better. I guess a lot comes down to personality and preference.

What do I like about it?

First, it's where I learnt to ski, and my experience of the quality of instruction in the US and Canada has been uniformly good.

Second, I'm not a fan of the 2-hour lunch. I've paid for my ticket to ride the lifts, dammit, not to sit in a restaurant eating a 5-star meal. A quick refuelling on the mountain is all I need. If I want to eat well, I can do that in the evening, and most of the N. American resorts I've been to have a pretty good range of restaurants. (The Post Hotel at Lake Louise will stand up against most European competition).

Third, I've paid my money to RIDE the lifts: not indulge in a rolling maul with Gauloises. What European resorts need is a large Aussie wielding a ski pole to instil some discipline into the line-up Twisted Evil

Fourth, the jet-lag thing isn't so bad, really. In fact I find it sets me up nicely for a day's skiing. After all, travelling west is just a very long day, followed by a collapse into bed by 10pm. Every morning I'm up bright and early and ready to ride the first lift (imperative if you have freshies).

Fifth, I like the service culture. OK, in the US a lot of this is because someone's after a tip (less prevalent in Canada, which is one of the things I like about that country), but nevertheless, there's the definite impression that people want to meet the needs of you, the customer, rather than regarding service as somehow demeaning.

Sixth, the language. It's (almost) the same. No problem with trying to make someone understand my strangely accented and overly formal schoolboy French.

And to address the original question: Yes. There is undoubtedly enough varied skiing in the SLC/Park City area to keep you going without getting bored. In fact, this area is the closest you'll find to an interlinked European area (in that the individual resorts are really close by) except that they aren't lift-linked (FRUSTRATING!!!!): however there's a guided back-country tour you can take of the area ("The Utah Interconnect") that gives you some idea of the scope of the available skiing. As for Canada, well, I've been spending 2 weeks in Banff/LL on a regular basis for the last 6 years, without once getting bored: in addition to the relatively local hills it's a good base to travel to slightly more distant destinations like Nakiska/Fortress, Panorama, Kicking Horse and Jasper.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Acacia, interesting... I figure if you're going to take some time to travel, anyway, why not try the various different environments for playing with our sport...
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Acacia, I agree with every word you've said! I too have spent a lot of time at LL and still have not done every run, however I recently did a week in Italy and did the whole mountain in 2days! Shocked
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
With over one hundred weeks skiing in North America and twenty in Europe I can say "On any given day either North American or Europe can be better than the other". I can say the on the mountain food in Europe is much better than here in the States. Some of the runs I've done are the "Wall of Death" in Avoriaz, "Corbet's" in Jackson and the "Headwall" at Tuckerman. Most, and I do mean most, of the European Resorts I've skiied don't have anything like these three. Still they are all good on any given day. Lunches are better in Europe, cookies are better in the States. Most beer in better in the Alps, but more different beers are available in the States and at a much better price. I've had wonderful powder days in Cham, Val D and Zermatt. I've also had boiler plate and breakable crust at these areas as well as the States. High altitude snow holds up better than lower altitude snow. Hell, ski them all there all good. Bob in the States.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Jean Claude Mogul, would you by any chance go under the name of "West Virginia Skier" over on Epic?


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Sat 17-04-04 14:59; edited 1 time in total
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