 Poster: A snowHead
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Litigation worries??? Yeah, we are all poo-poo scared when we ski over the pond. 
horses for courses - you dont get any of the tradition in North Am but do you get that in VT?
A good few reasons to ski North Am -
Whistler
Vail
Aspen
Park City
But then there is queue free lifts
Endless powder
Off piste
Skiing a run that no one else is on (A la Champoluc)
Friendly lifties and locals
Cheap food and drink
But I still prefer Europe for teh overall experience!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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queen bodecia,
Alas trains in the UK are never cheaper or quicker than driving, unless the start or destination is central London. I'm going to a stag do in Fort William next month, the train takes 3hrs 45mins...from Glasgow (a 2hr drive). And flying MAN-GLA was cheaper than taking the train!!! So car it is yet again.
Edinburgh famously has no decent roads to it from the south & takes forever to get to. The A702 is so slow.
Stranraer is further from the Motorway network than Glencoe (95mi vs 70mi) so the map is somewhat deceptive. The A82/3/5 are all quite quick if you're not stuck behind a caravan/HGV so Glencoe is only about 30mins extra travel time.
If there are cheap flights to Inverness, then that's probably the best alternative (Cairngorm - 35mi, Lecht 50mi, Nevis - 60mi) but the Scottish weather isn't conducive to early planning.
Sorry for drifting seriously off-topic, interested but not qualified to comment on skiing in the USA.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I love both, but for many different reasons. Me and +1 live and ski mostly in western USA and BC, but also jump on a plane for 2 weeks-ish to Austria's snowsure and powdery places (Arlberg, etc - reluctant to go to places that promise lower quality snow on average as we have to book somewhat in advance).
The experiences are completely different, as we tend to follow the snow here locally and ski small hills a lot. But here's some comments on North American offerings - please forgive generalities, as in reality everyone's comments are pretty vague with specific contexts:
-safe challenge: I learned to ski steeps and pow and gnarly stuff in North America where I don't have to worry about avie danger. I can now go to Europe and translate those abilities to obviously safe off/between piste without a guide. And in my experiences of last 3 years, this is very rewarding indeed 
-snow quality: it is higher quality than Europe in my experience, certainly powder wise, as it snows more often in general and is colder, and gets less traffic
-mining new lines: hills are smaller here, but also a lot less crowded in general. For example, go to somewhere like Kicking Horse or Big Sky or Red, and lap a lift with interesting terrain, finding new lines, areas, snow off-piste and in the trees. It's the north american equivalent of piste touring- it's just self-guided and not on the trail map, but equally rewarding.
-food: on hill options do tend to be 'functional', but in most ski towns there's good local and relatively inexpensive dishes to be had (game, fish, cowboy food!). There is food culture here, just like in Europe, but you just have to look around a little more as burgers and fries predominate if you don't try. And seriously high quality restaurants abound in most decent resorts if you enjoy the pricier end of cuisine.
-beer: I laugh when Brits say American beer is crap, just like I laugh when I hear American's say English beer is warm. Drinking Bud and Kokanee here is like Americans going to London and drinking Boddingtons and Tenants. Explore the micros. there's a great variety, some truly wonderful, mostly good. In both US and Canada. And if you like wine, there as much variety as Europe.
-British lager louts: pretty much outside Breckenridge and Whister, you're safe 
I think I appreciate skiing in both places more because I somewhat understand the differences, and can enjoy the nuances of both equally.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have skied most of the western US and Western Canada, live near Seattle Washington now. It is very interesting reading, am scratching my head thinking the other way; US to Europe to ski a winter, so I am trying to read your comparisions. Here is what I know. Skied this part of the world 50 years+.
The Western inland Canadian areas are colder (north cold), spring is warmer. Our pista rating is different, so what, start easy and figure it out from there.Out lieing lifts may close at 3:00 but they start turning at 8:30 or 9:00. The west has way better snow and skiing.
Drinking age in US 21. Canada 18-19. Our food is all I know so will leave it alone, on the mt is normally get it done dinning.
Drink the microbrewry beers They will run with the european beers (many I am a beer junkie) I have had. Eat at the microbrewries too, never had a bad meal at one. Only cross state ski area I am aware of is Heavenly Vally CA.
Our Customs is a royal pain in the a@%$$#@%#^. I hate paranoia. If you don't like Yanks, don't come, I don't like some of either.
The farther you are from the coast the better quality of snow, altitude will make up for part of it. Weather not the issue as in Europe the trees are part of it we have more. The western inland part of NA has very little ice. Lift tickets cost too much. but I don't want to climb for turns. Mostly chairs but most areas in the 1000 meters vertical range. Our geology and climit does not lend itself to many interconecting mountains, but we have established ski regions like Europe.
Hope to see you here or there.
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