 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi!
I have taken leave for March for 3 weeks in 2024 and want to do a ski trip. Cannot decide whether I should book a trip to the USA (thinking UTAH or Mammoth or Colorado) or Japan (Hakuba). My preference is really the USA (as I want to visit a friend in NYC also) but if there is not going to be any snow (main focus for the trip is skiing), I don't want to spend the money for a bad season. Obviously, it's impossible to predict March snow fall, but does anyone have a good idea of what the predictions are or what the conditions are currently like in the US. Looks like Japan is pumping!
Thank you friends!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Japan but not just Hakuba - combine Hakuba with Hokkaido if you have 3 weeks
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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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Thanks BobinCH. I have actually skied in Niseko, Myoko and Nozawa so was thinking somewhere different.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Is March not a bit late for Japan? At least for powder, and without fresh snow Japanese resorts probably aren't worth the travel from Europe
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| snowislife wrote: |
| Thanks BobinCH. I have actually skied in Niseko, Myoko and Nozawa so was thinking somewhere different. |
Ah ok. Much more to Hokkaido than Niseko though. Although good point above about March possibly being a bit late
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If March is the time frame then USA. Whilst you may get lucky in Japan the chances of rain increases at that time. You could fly into Salt Lake City and ski the planet's best lift served combination of snow quality and snow quality and ski terrain at Alta/Snowbird. If equipped with an Ikon Pass you could then drive to Colorado via Arches National Park and ski at Aspen and Arapahoe Basin and Copper Mountain. Drive back via Canyonlands National Park to get some ski days Solitude, Brighton. Snowbasin and Deer Valley. The other option is to head north from Salt Lake and visit Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole, Big Sky and Grand Targhee but Jackson's orientation (south west facing) isn't ideal in spring. Either way you'll have to try very hard not to have a flipping ball. Enjoy!
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USA easily at that time. It's a bit late for Japan if you want guaranteed jappow. Since you've already been try somewhere new stateside. Whistler is also doable but might rule out a stop to NY and could be hit and miss with the snow.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sun 14-01-24 0:13; edited 1 time in total
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| Gainz wrote: |
| USA easily at that time. It's a bit late for Japan if you want guaranteed snow. . |
Think the snow should be guaranteed in Japan though it may not be fresh powder.
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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.
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| Gainz wrote: |
| Whistler is also doable but might rule out a stop to NY. |
Totally not!
Catching a flight from New York to Vancouver is just as easy as flight to Denver!
For that matter, if the OP is stopping at New York, it’s the best time to do some of the harder to reach destinations without direct international flights connection, such as Big Sky, Aspen or Reno!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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As S Booker called it - Colorado, Utah & are fantastic. Colorado is exceptional and not to far from Utah.. Alta is crazy, Park is a good all rounder.
Pre book epic or ikon pass early - it can be very expensive daily !!!
‘Aspen, Abasin & Steamboat are gems’.
Deer Valley is a worthy destination and snowbird
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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.
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PremsUltim8, Too late for any of the Multi resort passes - stopped selling them now for the season 
The only option would be to purchase discounted ones where avaialoble. Park City is out as its a Vail resort. Window rate all the way.
Better and more snow in the cottonwoods anyway really, so not really worth going.
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| abc wrote: |
| Gainz wrote: |
| Whistler is also doable but might rule out a stop to NY. |
Totally not!
Catching a flight from New York to Vancouver is just as easy as flight to Denver!
For that matter, if the OP is stopping at New York, it’s the best time to do some of the harder to reach destinations without direct international flights connection, such as Big Sky, Aspen or Reno! |
So 'might' is the key word here. A direct flight to Van from London is 9hrs. If going to NY then thats 7-8rs on its own plus 6 hrs direct flight to Van or a further 9hrs indirect. If its worth the extra hours then fine but I wouldn't. But obviously it depends what the OP wants and where he's flying from.
Last edited by 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  on Sun 14-01-24 19:36; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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1. Aspen
2. Jackson Hole
3. Kagura
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Gainz wrote: |
| abc wrote: |
| Gainz wrote: |
| Whistler is also doable but might rule out a stop to NY. |
Totally not!
Catching a flight from New York to Vancouver is just as easy as flight to Denver!
For that matter, if the OP is stopping at New York, it’s the best time to do some of the harder to reach destinations without direct international flights connection, such as Big Sky, Aspen or Reno! |
So 'might' is the key work here. A direct flight to Van from London is 9hrs. If going to NY then thats 7-8rs on its own plus 6 hrs direct flight to Van or a further 9hrs indirect. If it’s worth the extra hours then fine but I wouldn't. But obviously it depends what the OP wants and where he's flying from. |
First of all, London to New York is not 7-8 hr. ~6 to be accurate.
Second, the same can also be said about flying to Denver with vs without a stopover at New York.
So Once the OP indicated he wishes to stop at New York to visit his mate, whatever ski destination he chooses, Vancouver or Denver or Salt Lake City, will necessarily take longer than flying directly from UK. Why single out Vancouver against any other destinations?
Hence my suggestion he would do “better” by choosing a destination not served by directly international flights, leaving ANY directly served destination for future trips (assuming he’s not a once-and-done with regard to skiing North America).
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Poster: A snowHead
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@abc, I think you need to get out more and perhaps get your leg over.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mammoth probably isn't really a good choice. Hard to get to. I'd recommend one of the easier to get to resorts in Colorado. Utah has some gnarly terrain, but a lot of the resorts which are very close to SLC aren't proper resorts. You'll have to deal with driving - which is problem. It's a pain, traffic can be terrible, and I wouldn't want to drive in Utah with a rental vehicle. There is of course the Bus, but ... they have lowered capacity and and you'd have to be near a bus stop. Of course you could do Park City/Deer Valley which is a proper ski town/resort and 45 min Uber from the airport.
Keep in mind that days passes are absurdly expensive for most big resorts in the US unless you planned ahead, which you haven't.
If you're not price sensitive, I can give you good recommendations for US resorts depending on what you are looking for.
The start of our season in the US was awful but things have started to turn around. March can often bring lots of snow at many resorts here, and the elevation is probably much higher than Japan.
I can't speak about Japan other than that I worry about resorts being tiny and small vertical.
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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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| Quote: |
| I can't speak about Japan other than that I worry about resorts being tiny and small vertical |
Yes, we found those aspects very worrying indeed on our first ski trip to Hokkaido last winter 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I can't speak about Japan other than that I worry about resorts being tiny and small vertical |
Yes, we found those aspects very worrying indeed on our first ski trip to Hokkaido last winter
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We are heading to Hokkaido on 25th February. Fingers crossed for some of that, mountainaddict.
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snowislife, Plenty of snow in UT - just had around 40 inches in 2 days, plus the other 12 the day before.
Driving in UT is easy, your best bet is to stay Sandy/ Midvale and ski the Cottonwoods - you'll need to get discounted tickets as I mentioned from a ski store or other outlet, or pay the eye watering ticket window day rate.
Never had a problem driving arental in UT in all the years we've been btw
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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.
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Stick with Japan until the USA sort out (if ever) their lift pass systems
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Mosha Marc wrote: |
| Stick with Japan until the USA sort out (if ever) their lift pass systems |
There’s nothing to “sort out”. Rather, Brit’s need to learn how to work it out.
Or I could say the same about the Europeans needing to sort out their off-piste system. 
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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.
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| Mosha Marc wrote: |
| Stick with Japan until the USA sort out (if ever) their lift pass systems |
I understand but disagree.
It isn't broken, its just unfamiliar, and wide open to criticism from those who haven't figured it out yet. But when they do, they'll save almost every season. For me, I lost my ass one season and have been very happy otherwise. Perhaps like you, we initially didn't like it. But the math wins out.
I've never been to Japan. Looks like the pow capital of the world, but how is the skiing without the pow? Can you have fun if all there is is cruising? Is the vert and are the lift systems worthy? Long way to go if not.
Since I've admitted my ignorance about Japan, obviously I can't make this call. But if it helps. March is still very good in the US. Utah typically gets more snow in March than J or F. Not quite as light in March, but by Alpine standards nothing to grouse about. Better weather by then too.
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@Bones, @abc, @Scooter in Seattle, really?
I'm sure it works if you buy season tickets for your own hill. But for a short term visitor, trying to ski a variety of hills in one area, it's stupidly expensive.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Mosha Marc wrote: |
@Bones, @abc, @Scooter in Seattle, really?
I'm sure it works if you buy season tickets for your own hill. But for a short term visitor, trying to ski a variety of hills in one area, it's stupidly expensive. |
Nope!
If you buy the Epic pass, you can ski Vail, Breckenrige, Keystone, Beaver Creek, which are all within easy day trip distance.
Similarly, an Ikon pass will allow the passholder to sample Alta, Snorbird, Solitude, Bridghten, Deer Valley. All easily reachable from Salt Lake City.
Alternatively, the Ikon Pass can also be used to ski Jackson Hole and Big Sky. Both are fantastic destinations.
Need more examples of what you don’t know? I can go on…
Last but not least, ski passes are always more expensive in North America, because you can ski off piste without paying for a guide. Whether that’s worth it is for you too decide. I for one, prefer it our way. (Though that doesn’t stop me from wishing it cost the same as European resort, while still providing the off piste advantage  )
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| abc wrote: |
| Mosha Marc wrote: |
@Bones, @abc, @Scooter in Seattle, really?
I'm sure it works if you buy season tickets for your own hill. But for a short term visitor, trying to ski a variety of hills in one area, it's stupidly expensive. |
Nope!
If you buy the Epic pass, you can ski Vail, Breckenrige, Keystone, Beaver Creek, which are all within easy day trip distance.
Similarly, an Ikon pass will allow the passholder to sample Alta, Snorbird, Solitude, Bridghten, Deer Valley. All easily reachable from Salt Lake City.
Alternatively, the Ikon Pass can also be used to ski Jackson Hole and Big Sky. Both are fantastic destinations.
Need more examples of what you don’t know? I can go on…
Last but not least, ski passes are always more expensive in North America, because you can ski off piste without paying for a guide. Whether that’s worth it is for you too decide. I for one, prefer it our way. (Though that doesn’t stop me from wishing it cost the same as European resort, while still providing the off piste advantage ) |
So for a person staying in Park City Utah, you need an Epic pass to ski the area around the town and an Ikon pass to ski the other resorts in the region. You need to buy the tickets way in advance of the trip for a definite number of days (so you can't really storm chase) and you really don't want to keep a day or so free without a pre-purchased pass to go chasing snow as the day pass prices are ridiculous. The drive times to some areas covered on Ikon mean VERY early starts in the morning, if it actually snows you have to queue in traffic for a loooong time to get to the lifts and you may not find a car parking space when you get there.
what did i miss?
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Poster: A snowHead
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You miss the “for Brits to work it out” part!
You pick out examples on combinations that it wouldn’t work instead of figuring out how to take advantage of it.
(If you must stay in Park City, it’s better to get an Ikon pass and ski Deer Valley, which is also “around town”. The pass would also allow you to sample all of the Salt Lake city side. And if you must ski Park City for a few days, you can add one of those Epic Session pass in advance.
Moreover, that combination pass strategy would work quite well if the snow turn out to be better at Colorado than in Utah, or Tahoe/Tahoe. So much for having to commit to the passes in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| abc wrote: |
You pick out examples on combinations that it wouldn’t work instead of figuring out how to take advantage of it. |
Concur. You can try to get to "no", or you can try to get to "yes". You've shown us the former, now show us the latter.
Yeah, its new/different/unwanted. But if I can adjust, surely you can too. Stay engaged, we'll get you there.
One more thing: this might be more than a UK or Euro-based person wants to tackle, but I get an Ikon and a 2-4 day Epic. That way I'm focused primarily on the resorts I know I'll be going to (which for me are Ikon), with a spring option for Heavenly, which is Epic (I just prefer H so much over PT these days that I gotta do it!). Still good savings even on that little Epic vs. the "rack rates" that we all write about but (almost) never pay!
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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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@Bergmeister, nice shots and reasonable sarcasm, but please enlighten at least two of us on the notion of antiquated lifts and low vert. With pow like you had, it doesn't matter much and even helps (slow lifts=slow track-up). Is it always pow? If not, is it worthy?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Bergmeister, sorry, got the quote wrong. Hope it is fab.
@mountainaddict, see above, meant for you.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
@abc, I think you need to get out more and perhaps get your leg over
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And you could usefully be less rude, @Gainz.
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No fooling. I didn't know that one. Unsupported.
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| Quote: |
nice shots and reasonable sarcasm, but please enlighten at least two of us on the notion of antiquated lifts and low vert. With pow like you had, it doesn't matter much and even helps (slow lifts=slow track-up). Is it always pow? If not, is it worthy?
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I aim to please on the sarcasm @Scooter in Seattle
Unfortunately our Feb 2023 Hokkaido trip was curtailed by a serious injury suffered by my wife (covered in a thread on here at the time)  As a result, we skied only four days in total - two each at Sapporo Kokusai and Kiroro. Still, we can only speak on what we found and it was incredible. The rest of our group managed the full 10 days' skiing that we had booked and managed wall to wall powder in that time, at four different ski areas (in total).
Sapporo Kokusai has a vertical of about 700m; Kiroro vertical is about 600m. Given the epic conditions, every run (apart from one or two warm up runs on piste each day) was an off piste powder run. As a result we (and our guided group) were done in every day - so we all certainly found the available vertical to be plenty.
We rode gondolas and fast chairs at both areas, so no issues at all with the speed of the uplift.
It was our first trip to Hokkaido but we did speak to Aussies who were regular visitors and who told us that, in their experience, the island always delivers on powder and that it's as near as you can get to guaranteed.
- One owned a property there and said they've skied powder regularly for about 10 years.
- One had made 7 or 8 trips in 10 years and said they'd scored wall to wall powder every trip - hence the repeated trips.
So it does look like Hokkaido can be reasonably relied on for powder - particularly in January and February.
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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.
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@mountainaddict, thanks for that. I gotta get there before I'm too old, so, next year. Hope your wife has mended well.
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FAQ
