US resort advice please

A snowHead

Hi, im looking to SKI in the North America for the first time in late Feb, my son and I are very competent and have regular visits to resorts in Europe such as Engelberg for back country / touring, however my wife is beginner / early intermediate (this will be her 3rd ski trip).

Can anyone recommend any resorts in the NA that will match both mine/sons and my wife's skill set and that has accommodation that is close to the resort / lift system so we dont have to bus it in.

Any advice appreciated

Thanks

Fez

A snowHead

Jackson Hole, Whistler or Aspen.

Rent a car.

If it must be SISO, then Big White in Canada is Europe-like.

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Hi, thanks for the tips, i will check out Big White.

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It's being discussed in a few threads at the moment, I'd consider Canada over the US at moment due to the Canadian $ being weaker than the US $.

Whislter is certainly worth a look, it has extensive network of piste for your wife, and plenty of off piste inc heliskiing for you and your son to have fun in. As you may already know in North America everything inbounds is patrolled and avalanche checked so if you can see it you can ski it. You'll also find that a good number of pistes aren't bashed everyday some not at all so it makes it a bit more interesting too.

I've skied a few of the BC ski areas, Fernie was about 8 years ago now so my info might be out of date but they don't groom many runs there from my experience. I really liked Big White it's a short drive from where some family live and it was like having your own private ski resort at times it was that quiet. There isn't a huge amount of steep terrain but there was that much snow there I didn't care. Big White you can easily combine a split trip with Silver Star for a bit of variety (about a 1.5 hour drive) both towns are low key if you're looking for a bit of an apres scene-similar you could combine Big White and Whistler easy enough. You can fly into Kelowna rather than drive from Vacouver, there's also Revelstoke which like Fernie is further into the interior of BC. You and your son would love Relvelstoke but I don't think your wife would thank you for a visit with only 3 weeks under her belt.

Hope this gives some food for thought.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Great advice, thanks for this I am also thinking Canada due to the current exchange rate, so really appreciated.

I will get on the net and start to check out the resorts you have mentioned.

Thanks

Fez

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@fezmanoid, no problem, if you have the time set aside sometime to see Vancouver, there are actually a few local ski hills you can access from the city using public transport.

There is of course the Banff area which I didn't mention as using buses is required but it's a nice town IMO with access to Lake Louise and Sunshine but again by bus (if not staying there).

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@fezmanoid, I would give Jackson Hole a serious look. They've added/upgraded a couple of lifts in recent years and the resort now has some relaxed intermediate skiing for your wife, but you and your son will probably have the best skiing of your life with endless in-bounds off-piste (trees, powder, steeps, chutes, awesome!) to keep you amused. Bob Peter's classic guide to Jackson is a little out of date these days, but it will whet your appetite for the glories the resort has for a decent skier.

I appreciate that this breaks one of your requirements, but consider staying in the town if you go to Jackson. Shuttles between the town and the hill are pretty frequent (although we prefer to hire a 4x4 and drive), but you get the massive benefit of staying in a real town with masses of character and life. Also, accommodation is exceptionally cheap in the town, as winter is low season in Jackson - it's primarily a summer resort for visiting Yellowstone. They also do big discounts on lift passes if you book from the UK and kids/youths also get big discounts, so the usual horrors of North American ticket prices don't apply. Although flights are expensive, we have had some incredibly cheap trips there.

After all it is free

Whistler definitely hits all the boxes for what you are looking for.

Whistler, without a doubt. Lots to do/see in the town too. When I went we had an inexperienced skier with us who took some time off and loved teh activities in the town.
With the strong US$ and weak Canadian Dollar Canada makes sense. Check out the recent Whistler thread on cheap flights/ accomodation through Canadian Affair. The added bonus of Whistler is a day or so in Vancouver. Lovely place.

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Thanks to all, great advice and much appreciated, it's given me some options but Whistler looks pretty good!

Cheers

fez

snow reports

Personally, having been twice to JH I wouldn't bother with car hire. Far easier to let the free local shuttle (usually from the hotel door to the bottom of the lift and ~30 mins) take the strain and most hotels do airport pick up and drop . Even going to Targhee is a doddle by bus. There are very low speed limits out there (fairly well adhered to) so it won't be any quicker by car - it's just another cost IMHO

As I mentioned in an other post, I've just come back from a trip organised by American Ski Classics and would definitely recommend as a TO

You know it makes sense.

Yes, Jackson Hole definitely better than Whistler and should be first on the to-do list.

A car is not essential for JH, but it is useful for trips outside the town to go see the elk, bison, forest, rivers etc. (if bus tour not available).

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@dsoutar, car hire works for us as a family of five. Spreading the cost among 5, car hire is very cheap and gives that extra chillout factor - your own music, own timetable, etc. Definitely an unnecessary luxury, though.

A snowHead

Many thanks again to all for such great advice.

Fez

A snowHead

Fez.............. While I am an American, I am objective and have skied so may places over so many years. Factor your family's convenience first and foremost. Some resorts however attractive lose a bit of their charm when one realizes what is required to get there and back...................
British Colombia and Alberta are not without their relative ease of access vis-a-vis direct nonstop flights ex LHR. So too California (SFO, LAX) and Colorado (Denver). All locations open the door to several possibilities. Also, consider your NA gateway city as per its potential for at least one day's visit here and there............ Exchange rate is also a factor.

So far this year winter has been kind to the west coast and west of NA and traditionally in the west coast, February and March tend to be big snow months if tradition holds which I hope it does for their needful sake precipitation/reservoir wise............ It is very common in a good year to have a solid twenty plus feet - 600 plus cm of anchored snow throughout the west coast by late Feb on to April. So keep abreast of conditions and forthcoming weather trends/temps up to that decision point of making reservations. Also, and this IS a biggy. US Spring Break starts around March 6th or so and that is not a good time to be anywhere vacation-wise in the USA.

Vancouver as a gateway is a lovely town and offers great skiing call it one hour away, plus............... Calgary, while not an attractive city has great skiing about two to three hours away.
Denver, while not that attractive a city offers skiing, call it by car two to four hours away. You can drive further in the state (I'm in Snowmass where we have ski in/ski out) and within that two to four hour range you have a number of nice locations depending upon your needs. Case in point............. Working out of Dillon/Frisco (two hours from Denver) one has by car no less than 7-8 resorts at most one hour from this central operational point if such would serve as interest. You did state you'd like to be right at a mountain, but you still might want to consider that. You will want to check out prices as the better resorts - an effective monopoly - do not hold back on costs anywhere.
California............. SFO has Tahoe in all its glory which is realistically four hours from San Francisco and speaks for itself in terms of its unique tourism draw. Tahoe demands a car, period. Los Angeles is your gateway to Mammoth Mountain which, while a single location with essentially nothing other than the mountain is one helluva place to ski if it's running on all cylinders.......... Mammoth is a solid five hour drive by the way and on weekends gets v. busy as does Tahoe.

In consideration to your wife, any number of facilities will more than accommodate her needs. You and your son should not be left shortchanged by any NA facility either. The west coast resorts are open, essentially trail-less, more akin to Europe, South America and New Zealand. Whereas central west Rockie Mountain resorts are heavily trailed here and there with several resorts open at the top

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Hi there, again thanks for the great advice, it's really appreciated.

Thanks

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