what resort in N America

A snowHead

Hi Snowheads who have N American experience. Would appreciate your advice

Would like to go to N America next year. Was thinking 1st 2 weeks of jan so kids only miss one week of school (but could be flexible here). Maybe time to get first day of skiing jan 2, when hopefully New Year rush settling, and come back Fri11 so get good 9-10 days.

Kids are 7 and 9 and skiied twice before.

What I want to get out of this most of all is chance to ski lots of powder, steep and deep powder, to try and improve my technique. I have recently started off-piste, but I am struggling with powder and this is mainly due to not enough practice, and not enough confidence (which I am sure I can correct with practice). In Europe you have to go with a group, and while the guide can bring you exciting places, this for me turns into an exercise of surviving the epic journey. I do revert to old habits and lose my mojo, and I think this is mostly due to lack of experience. I basically want to go somewhere where I can find powder in-bounds, so I can go up and down the same run (if it is a good one) a dozen times or more, on my own, to practise my technique. Then hopefully I go back to European resorts next year and maintain my form on the powder better so I am no longer the one holding the group up!

So for me, what is important is RELIABLE powder, plenty of it in-bounds that isn't all tracked out by mid-morning, that I can do safely to my hearts content without fear of getting lost or buried. Also I would like a reasonably big resort, because I don't want to do same runs every day. I was thinking Whistler would be the best for this, but this is why I am asking advice!

My OH is intermediate, she would kill me for saying, but she is timid intermediate. She would not like flat light and white-out conditions Whistler is known for, (she would be fine with instructor, but not with me! Go figure). She would also love to do powder (with instructor..)

However she agrees no point going to an American resort which is only offering us what we could have got in Europe, so would be willing to put up with Whistler's flat light if it gave us best guarantee of snow.

Re kids - I think kids will do well in any resort (except maybe Banff), but we would love to stay in a hotel very near slopes or lifts, and preferably with some kind of kids club set up, if American hotels do that kind of stuff.

Also, I HATE crowds and queues for lifts

Would appreciate any advice

A snowHead

patricksh, I've only skied Lake Louise and Crystal mountain resorts- both of which had heaps of fantastic powder and a vast panorama of terrain to suit you and your wife. I'd go back to both in a heartbeat and would also love to do Utah too.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

patricksh, Never any guarantee of fresh powder anywhere. Whistler can be moist even in January due to proximity to the coast so any powder can soon turn to cement. It did when we were last there in January.

Colorado may fit your requirements, Vails is ok but flatish so easy skiing really and would allow you to ski at other places on the same lift ticket. Aspen is another good bet, giving you 4 different mountains to go at so releaving the bordom factor.

Utah would probably fit the bill too wink

Stay around the Salt Lake City area rather than on the hill, allowing you to ski any resort you wish - the powder is so much lighter and dryer than most places. you would need to travel to ski but thats fun too.

Different people will tell you to head to different places so all you can do is listen and take your chances - having skied all of the above and more I know where I would head. Unfortunately I dont kids to contend with so that wouldnt effect me. Not sure usual hotels provide the ' baby sitting' services you require, however the mountains usually provide ski schools which do a similar program.

Ask away for any more advice or indepth info. Good luck with your trip Smile

We've had fresh powder tracks 2 days after the storm on a weekend under blue skies before

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patricksh, Bones, Is correct never can guarantee anything regards to powder, I have also a nine year old daughter and wife who is also a good but timid intermediate, on your requirement I would head to Tahoe, goods runs to suit all abilities and good powder if the powder gods are smiling, plus pack a couple of days in at San Francisco and great trip.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

leedsunited, Ah Tahoe, another place we had mostly fresh powder days in two weeks, often with blue skies too. Unfortunately most people who head there only here about Heavenly wink

when there is so much more to offer.

However since Vail Resorts have aquired Kirkwood too the epic pass does make sense if there for two weeks. The downside is you probably wouldnt ski the other mountains.

Interior BC is probably where its really at, but can be more difficult to get to and not so much a holiday destination, more of a true skiers paradise. So many choices so little time.

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I wouldn't recommond Tahoe as the place to get comfident in powder. Tahoe weather is often feast and famine. So you end up with no powder for a few weeks, followed by feet of wet heavy cement like snow which challenges even the experienced powder skiers!

I'd say Colorado would be one of the better bet. No guarantee after all. But it probably has a better chance than many. Except Utah, that is.

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

Bones, Very good points well made, was in Whistler last February and had 3 great powder days, family loved it and in the 3 times we have been never had the flat light issues and now the peak to peak is running very easy to move mountain quickly if conditions change, best powder day for me ever was Grand Targhee but that is a bit of a slog with kids involved.

After all it is free

abc, It wasn't champagne but it was good snowHead

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Bones, No I didn't but I now know why it was a bit froggy when I was there, day trip from Jackson and only skiied one pisted run and that was the last one to get the bus back.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

I'll second Interior BC as one of the places to go for light champagne powder. Big White, Silver Star and loads of smaller resorts around the Okanagan Valley. Been going there for years now and had more quality powder days than I can possibly remember. Mid-late Feb this year was exceptionally good for powder. The Alberta resorts are good too i.e. Banff/Lake Loiuse, Fernie etc. but it can get seriously cold over there.

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patricksh, I wet to Banff this year and really enjoyed it. Fernie was a great resort too - worth putting on the list i reckon. Of the two I would go for Fernie - really good on a powder day, and allegedly gets more powder too, which brings me to the point of my post. I hae been told by loads of people that Jan is really too early for 'reliable' powder. Later in the season (end of feb and on) has been recommended. It worked this year for me..... snowHead

rogg, The problem in Jan is often more a lack of decent base coverage than fresh powder. I've experienced quite a few epic powder days in Jan, but the underlying snow base wasn't always that great (still sometimes under 1m) so lots of hidden surprises. By mid Feb, the base is usually packed down at well over 2m, making the off-piste much more consistent when you get a fresh dump on top. Also seem to get more fog early season too, which can be a pain. Late Feb is about as snow sure as it gets.

You know it makes sense.

Utah fits the OP's wish list best, IMO. Followed by cat skiing in Revelstoke.

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

Thanks for tips

I had thought Whistler and other Canadian resorts would have guaranteed good powder in jan. But I guess they are considerably lower than many Alpine resorts

With kids, we really want to just go to one place, reasonably accessible, and get settled, and not be dependent on car hire or anything else. Does this rule out Utah?

A snowHead

A snowHead

patricksh, I had much the same wish as you and went to Utah early this January: "powder capital of the world", but skied mainly on artificial snow! There are just no guarantees I'm afraid, but hope you have better luck than me. BTW, we had a great time regardless.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

laundryman, I know what you're saying. Never any guarantees.

That's why for me Whistler still winning. Like Ireland it has ocean climate. 10 days are just not going to pass without some kind of precipitation which I am hoping would translate into powder at altitude. Also seems such a big vast resort there will always be something on offer and something different to do

Bones, what's wrong with driving is my kids!!

I think bringing kids would also put me off going somewhere in interior Canada where it could be very cold

From my research, other place I like sound of is Snowmass. Anyone been here?

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We were at Whistler second week Jan quite few years ago now. Snow wasn't goog; bwols didn't open until last day of week I think and it was very crowded mid week with aussies on their long vacation and japenese.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

patricksh, Snowmass is one of the 4 mountains at Aspen had a couple of trips that way. Decent size mountain with plenty of variety. Good bus service to get you to the other mountains too and all on the one lift pass. It can be a bit pricey due to it being Aspen but a great place.

Also the town is more of a traditional town without the purpose built resort so giving your kids a taste of real rural America rather than Disneyland of the purpose built places like Whistler

It wont be crowded at all either due to the nature of the place.

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patricksh, i think having the kids with you is a limiter, have you considered Breckenridge, everything in one place and if you want to try other areas you can take the free regular bus service to Keystone, Beaver Creek, Copper or Arapahoe without to much hassle add to that Vail less than an hour away and you have a lot of choice, powder when there very good but back to first comment of the post, it cannot be guaranteed anywhere at any time.

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

After all it is free

leedsunited, I have not considered Breckenridge. I had 2 days of hell in Tignes last year which I blame on altitude adjustment. No way am I going to 2900m.

Snowmass / Aspen is 2300m, so might have to write off first two days again if we go there (or just hydrate better next time), but if going to be staying for 10 days I'll have plenty of time left. The resort height there is the same as highest point in Whistler! Hmm... Maybe best bet for good snow in early jan will be altitude, just like in Europe.

I am beginning to veer towards Colorado, and maybe in future when kids are older go for either Banff or Fernie.

patricksh, No need to right off the first two days, we never have skiing Aspen or Breck - just take it easy and plenty of water.

You will probably be flying into Denver so long as you have plenty of water on the plane - lay off the booze - you are already getting aclimatised enroute. Be warned if flying into Aspen airport they often delay the flight due to storms etc as its fun to get into.
We spent the night in Denver airport and got on an 8 am flight. We were on the slopes by 10 am having had breakfast and skied all day. We never suffered from any time delay or jetlag as a result, all we missed was an evening meal and a nighjt in the bed Toofy Grin

But again maybe not the best for young kids.

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I wouldn't worry abouth that. I have stayed in airport hotels in US before and they are better than 4star hotels here with free coffee/ breakfasts/shuttles/newspapers etc for peanut price. My OH will be in bed with kids at 10am and I will be on slopes, working up a sweat and getting dehydrated, and when I collapse with exhaustion I will blame it on altitude

Is flying best way to get to aspen or ground transfer?

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patricksh, I didnt say hotel - it was the airport, we just kipped down on the floor. The airport hotels were located in Denver and we couldnt be bothered at 11pm to go to one only to be back before 8 am for the flight. Aspen is a 4 hour ground transfer from Denver, Aspen airport is about 40mins flight IIRC then 20mins transfer.

You can fly into Eagle airport which is about 1.5 hrs drive from Aspen.

But you dont have to go through Denver to go via Eagle, we wnet via a main US hub then direct to Eagle the first time, and decided to fly into Aspen the second.

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I wud say 11pm till 6 am would be very worthwhile sleep!

Anyway with kids I would fly into denver, as they will be somewhat entertained by the in-flight entertainment for the journey. Internal US flights can be little better than ryanair for how you are cramped in and treated like dirt. They are worse in fact cos they can sometimes be 5 or 6 hours long.

To counter the altitude issue, spend a night in Denver is a good advice. That should help a lot.

Aspen/Snowmass is probably one of the best in the US. It's high enough to get a fair bit of nice fluffy snow. It's never crowded so you don't have to hurry to get to the new snow. The reason for its uncrowdedness? It's a bit hard to get to, and it's one of the more expensive resort! That said, you quite often do get what you pay (extra) for: uncrowded slope full of powder!

You know it makes sense.

Sun Peaks, Silver Star, Big White and Whistler or a combination of 2 of the 4. Fly to either Calgary or Vancouver then fly to Kelowna or Kamloops. Then shuttle bus to one of the resorts after a week move to 2nd resort. Ski school is great in all the resorts for kids and adults. If you go to Sun Peaks there is a shuttle to Whistler or Whistler to Sun Peaks.

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

Summit County, Colorado (Beaver Creek, Vail, Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone, A-Basin).

Park City area of Utah (Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons).

Outside of your brief

Niseko Resort Area, Hokkaido, Japan

A snowHead

Surely heli-skiing is the only way to go for almost guaranteed powder (assuming the heli doesn't get grounded for the weather) .
Perhaps two trips is the way to go?

A snowHead

patricksh, Bones, Is right you do not need to write of any days for altitude if you prepare properly, on 10 days we stay at the Holiday Inn on the Airport after picking rental up on arrival, set off early next morning and already getting climatised since landing, water water and more water and if you wish nip into WalMart next door and pick up a couple of oxygen cans, $10 size of a can of deodorant, fit in your pocket and give yourself a blast if you feel the need, don't write Breckenridge off just because of Altitude of resort.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Another vote for interior BC - Big White, Silver Star, Sun Peaks or some combination of these - for lighter snow than you'll get at Whistler, less crowds, and more chance of finding untracked areas.

Have a look at http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/compare/50:11?sfld1=Big%20White%20Ski%20Resort,%20Canada&sfld2=Banff,%20Canada&clocid1=50:11 for a quick temperature comparison between Big White and Banff for example (you can toggle the chart to show high and low temperatures) to see for yourself that this part of interior BC isn't as cold as you probably think. In fact, look at http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/compare/50:11?sfld1=Big%20White%20Ski%20Resort,%20Canada&sfld2=Innsbruck,%20Austria&clocid1=50:11 to compare Big White to Innsbruck (bearing in mind that it's comparing mountain to town as this site doesn't have average data for the European mountain resorts conditions which will be a few degres cooler ) and you'll see it's pretty close to what you might expect to find in Austria.

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patricksh, I've been in a similar position to you for the past 8 years: desperately seeking in-bounds off-piste powder to ski with my kids. Here are some of my learnings.

First, I wouldn't recommend an early January break. The powder you seek will mostly be found on double-black runs, and you can't rely on these being fully open until early February. You might get lucky earlier, but it's far from guaranteed. We always go at half term and extend the break by a couple of days. Unlike Europe, prices and crowds aren't much higher at half term, except for the couple of days either side of President's Day (the crowds usually run from Saturday to Tuesday), which often clashes with our break. If that falls in your break, Canada might be a better option unless you clash with the Ontario half term and/or the BC/Alberta half term according to your resort. Accommodation prices are your best guide to how likely you are to find crowds.

For many North American resorts, snow falls in a different pattern from Europe. Lengthy dry, sunny spells of up to 2 weeks are common, followed by epic storms that dump truly vast amounts of powder - if you're lucky, you might see several metres over 4-5 days. I've found a storm systems every time I've crossed the pond, but it's quite possible to miss them entirely and for the powder to be tracked out. What you need is to choose a resort where skier numbers are low in relation to the skiable area, or, if you're a confident skier, where there's plenty of advanced skiing that frightens intermediates. You also don't want to choose a resort near a big city: when storms are forecast, the entire population of places like Denver pull a quick sickie and head to the hills.

Based on my own slightly limited personal experience, all this means that I'd avoid places like Breckenridge (too many skiers and too close to Denver), Vail (ditto), the places in close proximity to Salt Lake City, or the nearest resorts to Calgary. Go out into the wilds of Montana, Wyoming or interior British Columbia instead. Even in President's week, I've seen fresh powder on lesser known blue runs in Big Sky remain largely untracked 24 hours after a snowfall; the black runs stay clear for longer. In Panorama, I've cut endless fresh tracks 48 hours after a snowfall in the Taynton Bowl; similarly in Grand Targhee - a day trip from Jackson Hole - powder is abundant ages after a storm. Jackson Hole is busier, but has a huge amount of expert terrain and the opportunity to seek powder in Targhee.

Another factor is lift passes. Many North American resorts offer free passes to kids your age. I don't think that the biggest Colorado resorts have that kind of deal, though.

Out of all these places, I'd probably recommend Big Sky at half term to someone in your position. Just remember to take the kids to Yellowstone for a day trip.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Speaking of snowfall, buried somewhere in this thread, is a over-looked post from Mike Pow suggesting Japan. That's a particularly important post. The snow pattern in N.America is for the best snow to be in February and March. So January isn't the best month for powder. But Japan get the most snow fall in December and January!

If you still prefer N. America and wants to do January, resort that has particular edge are Steamboat Springs. It somehow gets most of its snow early in most years. It also fits your requrirement quite well. The runs are cut from the forest so no worry about white outs. If snow does fall, there will be lots of inbound powder and it doesn't get track out too terribly fast. The terrain is not very steep which is good for your timid wife but less good for you. Most advanced skiers goes into the trees (glade) for the challenge. It's a lovely historical mining town. So a bit different experience after the lift closes.

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From advice coming through on thread looks like feb would be better option for me in N America. I have avoided feb ski holidays in europe due to mid term madness but that wouldn't be issue in US, and with kids off for week in feb again they would miss only one week school.

Looking at it I can't see how America won't cost a bomb so may as well try to optimize timing to make it as worthwhile as possible. So thinking of feb now.

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

patricksh, We usually go Feb, fly out Presidents Weekend, its busy by US standards but not by European plus gear shops have rediculous sales on too

After all it is free

Snowbasin and Powder Mtn, out of Ogden, UT can ski Snowbasin with all its improvements for the Olympics, and go to Powder Mtn when storms roll through.

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pinhead, Well off the tourist routes, really needing a car which the OP doesnt want, and the locals will flame you for mentioning those places Toofy Grin

Please dont send anyone else there, it gets crowded as it is wink

Help!!

what resort in N America

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