 Poster: A snowHead
|
What a decision to make. Do we go to Jackson Hole, Snowbird or Kicking Horse. Taking a time out from Europe this year. Begginning of March is the time, extreme off piste skiing in powder (ever hopeful) is the plan. Any local info out there that will help to make up our minds. Thanks guys. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
JayJay, ooh, a toughie for sure. Can't comment on kicking horse. Jackson looks most impressive but have only seen it out of season. The back country around the Tetons is tremendous though.
My vote though would be for Snowbird (based out of Park City). Actually, I wasn't nearly as impressed with Snowbird as with Solitude. And if you're in Utah you can chase the snowfalls around the canyons depending on forecast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
did you know that this season is a la nina year, which means loads a snow for western usa and canada ,the height of this years lanina is dec/jan.. bring on the pow and get to kicking horse
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Sunshine Village has already had a dusting !!!!!!!!!
Yeah we'll be there in 14 weeks - not that I'm counting.
We are going to do an away day at Kicking Horse, heard lot's of good reports.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| bhmandminx wrote: |
Sunshine Village has already had a dusting !!!!!!!!!
Yeah we'll be there in 14 weeks - not that I'm counting.
We are going to do an away day at Kicking Horse, heard lot's of good reports. |
Best way to get more guaranteed pow is to fly to somewhere like Salt Lake or Calgary and figure it out when you get there, rental car and internet connection in hand following storms. Accommodation is never a problem at any of these places at the last minute - you even get good deals in March.
Snowbird/Alta easy from Salt Lake, but not much to keep you up on the hill for apres (wot apres?). Park City's DMZ (de-mormonized zone) is fun to stay at, but skiing very average compared to Snowbird/Alta, and its a long drive around especially if its dumping. North of SLC Snowbasin has some expert terrain worth exploring, and its rarely busy even on big pow days.
Jackson is about 5 hours north of SLC - easy drive. It's a bit further to Big Sky - another place for extreme off-piste stuff. A bit of hiking at Bridger Bowl an hour north of Big Sky reveals some scary steep chutes.
From Calgary, easy to follow the dumps out to KH, lake Louise and Sunshine - all have excellent expert terrain - and Revelstoke may be the business this year too. Fernie and castle mountain might fit your targets too.
Flexibility usually pays off if you have the time and are up for a bit of an adventure 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
All else being equal:
If you want the best chance of powder (and if you have to book early without the benefit of snow reports), Snowbird will give you the best odds.
If you want Western ambience, JH is the place.
If you want to escape the crowds, KH is the one.
If you have never skied in N America before, JH would probably provide the best all-round experience. (Elk, bison, wolves, etc.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| JayJay wrote: |
| Definitely need some après ski, |
Then it has to be Jackson. With that statement you have eliminated the other two candidates 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Martin Bell wrote: |
| JayJay wrote: |
| Definitely need some après ski, |
Then it has to be Jackson. With that statement you have eliminated the other two candidates |
Kicking Horse yes up to a point Martin. Still a really good vibe in the Lodge, Packer's, the Moberly though.
Snowbird et al, not if you base yourself in Park City. Plenty of restaurants and bars. There's the Sundance Film Festival too in January.
In no particular order. And although there are more resorts that I'm highlighting, if I haven't mentioned it I don't rate it.
CALGARY, CANADA
Flying into Calgary and renting a vehicle will give you access to East to West, north to south, west to east:
Fortress (if it opens this winter), Sunshine, Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Red Mountain, Whitewater, Panorama, Fernie & Castle.
Plenty of opportunity for cheap to extortionate accommodation - Chateau Lake Louise.
Driving time between resorts is never more than 4 hrs.
DENVER, COLORADO
Flying into Denver and renting a vehicle will give you access to East to West, north to south, west to east:
Loveland, A-Basin, Keystone, Vail, Beaver Creek, Sunlight, Aspen (x4), Steamboat, Crested Butte, Telluride, Monarch.
More driving on this one.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
Flying into SLC and renting a vehicle will give you access to the following resorts in a 90 minute radius:
Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Deer Valley, Solitude, Brighton, Alta, Snowbird, Sundance
Base yourself in SLC or Park City
Least amount of driving for the most amount of variety.
Arguably the most consistent and best snow.
BOZEMAN, MONTANA
Flying into Bozeman and renting a vehicle will give you access to:
Bridger Bowl, Lost Trail, Big Sky, Moonlight Basin, Grand Targhee, Jackson Hole
Great mix of Mom & Pop to full on resort.
Arguably the most challenging terrain.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Flying into Seattle and renting a vehicle will give you access to:
Snoqualamie, Alpental, Stevens Pass, Crystal Mountain, Mt. Baker
Snoqualamie, Alpental and Stevens Pass can be done as day trips from Seattle.
Crystal and Baker are 3-4 hrs each way from Seattle and can be done as day trips. Long days. Better off driving there early on day 1, skiing on day 1, staying the night, skiing day 2 and heading back to Seattle at the end of the day.
VERY underrated destination.
La Nina year. Last La Nina resulted in Mt Baker getting the world's record snowfall in a season - over 1,000 inches.
Loads of snow and not as heavy as everyone goes on about.
Steep terrain, but not the vert of the Rockies and Wasatch.
Definitely the best night life.
Pick any one of these gateways and you will not be disappointed with snow, challenge, variety and nightlife.
Renting a vehicle is key.
All gateways have resort, backcountry, cat-skiing and heli-skiing operations too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
I really want to go to Jackson Hole for a couple of weeks - might road trip down there via KH this season (I'm gonna be living in Fernie, so I'd recommend there too but it's not on the list  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DaveC, Do it - you know you should!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Never been to JH - but apparently their famous tram is out of action next season whilst a replacement is built.
So I would go for Kicking Horse - plenty steeps both in and out of bounds to keep you amused.
Though the interior climate can be a little dry.
Revelstoke opens next year as well - which isnt far from KH.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Haggis_Trap, The lack of the Tram makes no difference. It wasn't available last year and has been running slow and with lower loads for a few years and there was usually a 30-40 minute queue for it. They have put extra chairs on other lifts and a new chair at the top which means that the uphaul capacity is the same as before the tram went. What it does mean perhaps is that fewer people ski the Hobacks at the bottom and tend to stay on the upper 2/3 of the hill unless they go out the back.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| DaveC wrote: |
| I really want to go to Jackson Hole for a couple of weeks - might road trip down there via KH this season (I'm gonna be living in Fernie, so I'd recommend there too but it's not on the list ) |
When I lived in Whitefish, Montana (about 2hrs from Fernie) I always wanted to head down to Jackson Hole.
But never could because it shuts the same time as Big Mountain - early April.
So if you can't get away from Fernie before then forget JH.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
JayJay, my 2p.
JH for the all round experience and chance of powder. I was there for 11 days and saw the sun twice. To be honest for Apres in the evening we found the town pretty quiet. Straight off the slopes Mangy Moose was fantastic and I hreard pretty lively in the evening. About an hour and a half away you have Grand Targhee, even better chance of fresh snow and relatively cheap Cat skiing.
KH has got some very serious skiing, even more than JH ?? but the runs at the top are very short, it's also got some very serious skiers (one guy I saw there used to do 360/540 of a lip on every run down to the base) so even though it's very quiet by European stds, if it's skiable, someone has skied it already. You get a lot of mogul runs lower down, apart from Wiley Coyote I think it was, which was the M1 back to the gondola base. Apres ski is pretty quiet. Assuming you've got a car though you can also do Panorama, just over 1.5 hours away, Fernie, Panorama, LL, Sunshine etc. If you went this way make it a road trip, accom. is easy to get. Apres ski in Banff rocks btw.
Not been Snowbird.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Hi,
My name is CHuck Gorton, I own Canadian Powder Adventures, a off piste / backcountry guiding operation based out of Golden, BC (Kicking Horse resort). I have skied in the states a little (not JH or Snowbird) and in Western Canada a lot. Obviously i am biased as i set up my business where i thought was the best skiing, specifically the best steep terrain and easily accessed backcountry. It's great here and you are going at the optimal time of year in terms of snow and avalanche conditions. I can't really compare as i haven't checked out the other resorts but if you want specific information on this area let me know.
Cheers
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Mike Pow - I'd second you Washington State recommendations. Crystal has some of the best terrain anywhere, has a new lift this year opening up the North backcountry, and during the week is deserted. Hit it on a pow day and you're in heaven - it's the Cascades so can be a little wet, but this is the exception not the rule. Snow is pretty much the same as Europe in my experience!
Some pics of Crystal from last Dec at
http://gortonator.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!AF2DD3CC35CC7ADF!491/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm from Seattle, and while the skiing can be very good and is quite underrated, I'm not sure it fits JayJay's criteria.
These are not destination resorts. He would have to stay off the mountain, in some cases by a rather long distance. Crystal is the only one with accomidations, not counting the lone dumpy hotel at Snoqualmie. Furthermore, Crystal is the only one with any apres ski to speak of (not surprising, as the others require a long drive after a days skiing). And Crystal's nightlife consist of two bars, one of which closes as 8:00 PM. Yes, Seattle has great nightlife, but it is decidedly not a ski village and staying there would require a minimum one hour drive each morning.
A roadtrip taking Crystal, Alpental (forget the rest of Snoqualmie), Mission Ridge, Stevens and Baker could be a lot of fun. But it would be, well, a roadtrip, which it does not sound like JayJay is looking for.
And a note on La Nina: La Nina does not mean loads of snow for the western USA. It CAN mean loads of snow for the Pacific Northwest. Locations farther south (ie Tahoe) actually tend to do quite poorly in La Nina years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Have to agree with ami in berlin La nina is more specific to the PNW. With the desire for apres activities and backcountry skiing JH is a great Mtn. for both, but need to watch what happens with the La Nina this year, may shut out JH for good snow, skiied there many a year and when it's bad it's base eating bad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
What are the Salt Lake City resorts like in La nina years?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
hardlife, More 50/50 I used to ski S. ID and N. Ut before moving up to N. ID and we got snow some La Nina's and not so others. Worse year was when I came back to S. Id when the N. ID and WA got record amounts of snow (96/97) and we limped through the winter down in the southern part of Idaho, and N. UT. At least the areas around SLC UT have that wonderful lake effect to help out. Still waiting to see how strong the La Nina ends up, never trust those forecasters and 50% results.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Guys - This thread has been worth its weight in gold as thinking about Utah and JH over New Year - thanks for all the info. Couple of further questions:
1. Gortonator you said accomodation is always available last minute - does that go for over New Year week (which is when we'll be there) as well as other times?
2. Any good value accomodation reccomendations for Park City. Snowbird or JH? We'd ideally do cheap, but can splurge if somewhere is particularly recommended as great value.
Thanks,
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| mwinram wrote: |
Guys - This thread has been worth its weight in gold as thinking about Utah and JH over New Year - thanks for all the info. Couple of further questions:
1. Gortonator you said accomodation is always available last minute - does that go for over New Year week (which is when we'll be there) as well as other times?
Thanks, |
always - apart from NY holidays and preseident week These are the two busiest times for North American skiing, and while you get places to stay, choice will be very limited and it's expensive. They're the only 2 times I book ahead
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
mwinram,
For cheap accommodation in PC, try the Chateau Apres Ski lodge (http://www.chateauapres.com/).
Accomodation is pretty basic (make your own breakfast with what they provide), and for really cheap they have bunkhous accomodation in addition to individual rooms. Quite well located for the PC base area (a few minutes walk) and free town shuttle bus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Acacia - thanks, will check them out for a night in Park City - if the skiing there is worth it?.
Have decided that we are doing 4 days in Utah and then driving across for 4 days in Jackson 1st week Jan. Had thought about staying in SLC for the Utah segment so can go to a different area each day, depending on snow etc, but if Park City is worth a couple of days it might be nice to spend a night there. From this thread it seems that Snowbird, Alta and Solitude are suggested - are they the 3 best areas in Utah, is it a day in each? and what would you add as a 4th day? Is Park city worth it? We're looking for expert terrain on and off piste.
Any specific recomendations for Jackson both in skiing and eating/bars? Is Corbetts doable by ordinarily good skiers without roping in (saw comment somewhere about being roped in on a Steep and Deeps course)? The drop in looks absolutely terrifying but below that a v nice gully. The steepest we've skied before is the Hotel Face in Cham - its 40ish degs and has a narrowish band between rocks to access.
So many questions....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| mwinram wrote: |
From this thread it seems that Snowbird, Alta and Solitude are suggested - are they the 3 best areas in Utah, is it a day in each? and what would you add as a 4th day? Is Park city worth it? We're looking for expert terrain on and off piste.
|
PC is flat compared to Cottonwood Canyon resorts. In 4 days, you'll have time to get a little taste of some of the steeps at Snowbird/Alta. There's huge amounts of serious skiing there - a day at each you wouldn't get chance to explore much. And these places reward exploration.
Another option - Snowbasin, north of SLC, could ski it and then keep driving to Jackson. Save you an hour, and it has some excellent terrain, no crowds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Good call from Gortonator.
I would stay in SLC and ski Alta/Snowbird and Solitude (day each) then drive up to Ogden and stay there to ski Snowbasin and Powder Mountain (day each) before heading to JH.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
By staying in SLC instead of Park City, how much do you lose out on the ski resort, nightlife, staying up in the mountains experience? Assuming SLC means sleeping in a generic motel by a main road with no cluster of bars/restaurants nearby a la Park City main street.
For this reason is it better to stay in Park City?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| hd wrote: |
By staying in SLC instead of Park City, how much do you lose out on the ski resort, nightlife, staying up in the mountains experience? Assuming SLC means sleeping in a generic motel by a main road with no cluster of bars/restaurants nearby a la Park City main street.
For this reason is it better to stay in Park City? |
There's some nice hotels in downtown SLC, and good restaurants/bars. A surprising amount of fun to be had - Utah might be conservative mormom but SLC votes democrat! It's not a bad town to stay in at all if you stay right in middle.
Park city is fun to stay in, but I wouldn't if you want to ski Snowbird/Alta. It takes an hour-ish to drive around, and if it dumps, pow goes quickly, and getting up the canyon can be slow with road conditions and traffic.
My advise - if you seriously want pow, stay in Snowbird, sacrifice a bit of nightlife as a trade-off - unexciting as it is, that's what we do as we go for snow/steeps. If you want variety and some nightlife, stay in SLC. If you want nightlife and average terrain but good chance of pow, and good nightlife, stay in the DMZ (demormonized zone - PC)
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Guys -
Really useful info, thank you. We're less bothered about nightlife in Utah as will get some in in Jackson. So I think we'll do a day each in Snowbird, Alta, Solitude (depending on snow ofcourse) and then take up the suggestion of doing Snowbasin en route to Jackson.
Have a great season all, (only 9 weeks 'till we're off!!!!)
M
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Off to Barcelona now so will catch up with the info next week. Cheers.