 Poster: A snowHead
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I think I've just got my head around US East v West Coast ski-ing, but which compares to the majority of Alps resorts?
Or is it oranges, apples, pears?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ratae Corieltauvorum, I don't think you can even make those generalisations (depending on your criteria).
East vs West coast US maybe.
In Europe, FR, CH and IT are, I am led to believe, quite different to AT.
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
Ratae Corieltauvorum, I don't think you can even make those generalisations (depending on your criteria).
East vs West coast US maybe.
In Europe, FR, CH and IT are, I am led to believe, quite different to AT. |
Indeed you may be absolutely right, but when you read some American forums they talk about certain skis suiting East Coast, so I'm presuming that West is more off piste, powder, back country types stuff and East Coast is a tad like well......English snow, sloppy slushy poo-poo
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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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from what I've heard (here on SHs and from an experienced friend who just went there once and said never again....) the east coast tends to ice. and more ice. He was a guy who regularly sails dinghies all through the English winter but said he'd never felt so cold. He was not impressed.
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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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pam w, Yes, that was the general impression I got, wet precipitation that approaches snow then freezes, bit like Jan 1995:) in England
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ratae Corieltauvorum,
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English snow, sloppy slushy poo-poo
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As Pam mentions, quite the reverse. East coast skis tend to be race oriented and more easily capable of spending all the time on hard, icy pistes.
West coast is much more as you describe (although coastal type mountains e.g. Whistler can be quite, errr, humid).
Continental Europe tends to much more variety of conditions through the season and doesn't so often see the really dry powder than can appear prety reliably in the Rockies.
Other differences tend to the infrastructure. N.A. resorts tend to utilise terrain more efficiently - a single fast high capacity chair will often serve whole mountains (e.g. a la Kicking Horse). They are more active in "glading" the trees to make them more skiable (thinning them out) and have a somewhat different set of policies regarding in and out of bounds.
It is difficult to find a really good, good value for money lunch with a decent bottle of wine and a cheery grappy or two on NA ski hills.
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Ratae Corieltauvorum, well, there's no point flying that far and going to an east coast resort. I've done a lot of them and had variable conditions ranging from squeaky packed powder and -40 (doesn't matter which scale) to spring slush and hot sunshine and just about everything inbetween. I really like places like Stowe but pound for pound better off flying the extra few hours to Denver or Salt Lake and taking your pick from there.
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| Ratae Corieltauvorum wrote: |
| oranges, apples, pears? |
You sum it up perfectly
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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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Depends what your perception of the majority of euro resorts is. If you mean 100kms of piste is tiny then nowhere in the US compares. If you like mini golfing and can find plenty of fun off a single lift then anywhere west of Denver might be a laugh.
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The East Coast has low base elevations, generally under 2,000 feet and peak elevations generally < 4,000. Some are a bit higher. Stowe for example has about 2,100 feet of vertical and the highest lift is < 4,000 feet. The weather is very variable. It can be very cold, warm and rainy, and you can have deep powder -- all in the same week. Some years there's actually a lot of tree skiing. This year the natural snow pack is pretty poor so not much is open in terms of skiing in the trees. In general the snow conditions are harder than out in the rockies. Eastern skiing can be great but the weather is very fickle. The Rockies, (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana) are much higher, especially Colorado. Many base elevations are over 9,000 feet in Colorado. Rain is very rare and snow tends to be pretty dry. Conditions are generally more consistent and you're much more likely to get powder days, soft bumps, etc. The resorts are generally larger. The West coast (California, Oregon, Washington, but mostly thinking California) is somewhat less consistent than the Rockies but can get huge snowfalls. The snow is generally wetter than in the Rockies but probably generally drier than the East Coast. The individual resorts, even the largest like Vail, are generally small in comparison to the big ski domains in the Alps.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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As a native Northeast American, I can confirm a lot of the opinions expressed. East Coast US skiing can be extremely variable. This year 2013, January and February were very light on snow so icy conditions prevailed. However weather patterns changed late in season and March even into early April had some exceptional conditions.
Many resorts in the US West are at high altitude between 7-10,000 feet. Snow conditions generally will be better than the East Coast although the winter of 2012 had many resorts lacking snow during parts of the winter. Some resorts on the West Coast in California/Nevada get great snow at lower elevations. I would recommend a visit to the US West, but if you are going to altitude plan to spend a day or two just getting used to the elevation and drink plenty of water in addition to all of the other fluids you like. Altitude sickness is not very fun.
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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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campbellmi, welcome to snowheads.  A very useful first post!
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