 Poster: A snowHead
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We normally go to France in March and were thinking of a change next year. My opinion of the season in Europe is:
January can be cold with poor visibility, you might get fresh snow, the snow level is increasing but you're not guaranteed to have loads
February is not worth considering unless you have kids and can only go then due to everything being more expensive and slopes more crowded
March usually has good snow, weather is warmer, chance of sunshine but lower slopes may be suffering
April is a bit more risky, best to choose the highest resorts or those with a glacier
You might disagree with my logic, but you can see why I prefer March. But if we go to america or canada next year how does the season work over there, would one of the other months work just as well? Also does this depend on the location of the resorts.
I appreciate your suggestions...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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February may well be a busy time over there (especially around the Presidents Day holiday in the US) but they dont tend to have the school holiday issues of Europe as I dont believe that they get an equivalent to the UK half term holiday (or the European equivalent). What they do get is what they call "Spring Break" which seems to occur in March but on different dates in different areas I think. So I am not sure that your approach would be directly applicable. Bits of February may be preferable to bits of March.
Also it tends to vary in differing areas, over the 7 day week depending on how close you are to major urban centres eg weekends are busy at Mammoth/Tahoe/Whistler because people come up from LA/San Francisco/Vancouver/Seattle. Conversely somewhere like Jackson Hole which is not close to a major town may see less of a differential as they will have destination visitors as opposed to day trippers.
Also, because the holiday entitlement in the US is a lot less than elsewhere they dont tend to take 7 days breaks. I think that I read somewhere that the typical trip is 3/4 days with an effort to get some skiing done if the can on the first and last day. That is why a lot of the ski school stuff is 2/3/4 day options.
Some areas are exceptions. Whistler for example gets a lot of destination visitors from the UK/ FarEast/ Australia/NZ who can be there for 10-14 days or longer plus they get the day trippers at the weekend.
A lot of places begin to wind down in early April due to reduced numbers as opposed to no snow. Other places stay open and you can get great snow and very low crowds
A lot depends on the specific resort, no doubt about that.
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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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Stay away from President's Week, which is usually around February 21st - all the ski programs run that week and it's just not worth putting up with small children skiing very fast!
Apart from that week, any other time is a good time to come to Squaw! We get a little busier at Easter, and our weekends are busier than mid-week, but the lift lines are usually not much longer than a few minutes wait. Squaw is generally open the first weekend in December, and the season runs into May (gets a bit slushy), but we don't usually get our first major storms until the week between Christmas and New Years! California doesn't get the same sort of snow as Utah and Colorado, but neither does it get the really cold temperatures.
Mammoth has a season similar to Squaw, although they are often open longer because of their higher elevation. They do tend to get slightly busier at weekends because they draw people from both the LA and San Francisco areas.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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OK thanks guys, that's given me something to think about and good to know about the President's day and spring break. I'll have to do some research to learn what the different resorts and parts of the country are like.
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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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Go to Colorado the first two weeks in March.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I try to always go in November.  No crowds, cheap lift tickets, hotels.
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Also try to avoid Martin Luther King day (MLK day) in the US resorts. This is another public holiday, so more crowds, and also they make the lift tickets more expensive for that weekend. It is January 19th 2009.
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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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zebedee,
January can be So cold you think you are in a freezer having Ice shoved somwhere uncomfortable but you will have the place to yourself
FebruaryCan be just as bad in some resorts with temps hitting -40
March Is the best time to hit N.America and Canadian resorts. Wouldnt worry about spring break to much most of them head to warmer climes (Mexico) Plus if you avoid the obvious Tahoe/whistler etc you wont see to many spring breakers.
April most of the places close up because of lack of crowds even though they have plenty of snow
Best advice I can give is if you have the time and patience to hit somwhere a little away from big towns Jackson/Big Sky you wont have the crowds and you will minimize the day trippers and the crowds. Having said that it is no where near as bad as Europe at any time of the year.
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late Jan/early Feb virtually everywhere for best snow, lowest crowds and costs. Delay until March if going to Banff/Lake Louise.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Tony Crocker has an interesting website. www.bestsnow.net that give the best months to hit many of the major US resorts (in terms of expected snow quality)...others have pointed out holidays to avoid (which affect some resorts more than others as noted).
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