karens

I am not well traveled, skiing-wise, but I think the Park City/Deer Valley would be hard to beat for great snow, great skiing and great location close to the airport.

So, where's your favorite ski place?

egret

I, too vote for Park City. I also have to add the little resort of Sundance.
It may be small, but has great slopes and beautiful scenery.

enzian

Alta!

furledleader

I love Aspen, Telluride, and Durango Mountain Park..... but they can be expensive to fly into unless you're willing to pay the big bucks to fly into their small airports.

lizziea06

I second Alta! It feels like you're in Europe b/c of the trees. I also like not skiing with snowboarders (nothing against the sport!).

girlwilltravel

I would have to vote for Park City. Snow is great and I'm in love with Sundance. Charming. In fact, I love Park City in all seasons.

enzian

lizziea06---too right!

Nothing against snowboarders---my grown sons are both riders. I love them dearly, and ski with them happily when we are not at Alta. But I would rather not ski with beginning riders, or risk-takers. I'm just recovering from a minor whiplash injury incurred when I was run into by an out-of-control boarder at Whistler. This was in a "slow---family" zone near the bottom of the lift.

skipop

To paraphrase Jan Brady: "Alta, Alta, Alta." Just don't go there for wild nightlife. It's all about the skiing.

yale

As a snowboarder (former skier), I have to chime in on this thread. I too, have been involved in accidents on the slopes. In January, in fact, I was hit by a fellow snowboarder and taken down the mountain in a toboggan. Do I think the circumstances of my accident were completely beyond his control? No. But I'm not blaming the accident on him because he's a snowboarder. Under the same circumstances, he could have been a skier and I probably still would have been riding down that mountain in a toboggan.

You may say you have nothing against snowboarders, but you've just ridiculously singled us out. As a Colorado native, I've been witness to several accidents on the slopes, and by no means have they all been caused by snowboarders. If there's one thing that bothers me about skiing vs. snowboarding, it's this. There are responsible snowboarders out there, just like there are irresponsible skiers. You'd be better off blaming irresponsible/careless skiers AND snowboarders for the many accidents that happen on the slopes.

enzian

I believe I did acknowledge that there are many responsibile snowboarders when I said my own grown sons are riders. I actually love to watch a good boarder---it looks so graceful, and I have a great deal of appreciation for the athleticism.

And of course there are irresponsible skiers too.

But---I think there is a higher rate of reckless behavior among the young boarders. "'tude" is part of it for some of the teens. I've been on the receiving end of insults as well as collisions that were entirely the boarder's fault, in each case because they were going too fast and out of control.

So I'm not criticising the whole snowboarder population by any means, just a particular segment of it with a bad attitude and disregard for others. In all honesty, I haven't seen that kind of behavior among the teens who choose to ski rather than board. Or, for that matter, among most of the boarders I have encountered. But the few bad apples have made me wary of slopes crowded with beginning to intermediate teenage boarders.

karens

I prefer not to be on the slopes with snowboarders - not because I've personally witnessed much attitude (I don't ski a whole lot, but I really can't say I've seen irresponsible snowboarders) - it's just that the sound freaks me out. I'm still in that beginner stage (I refer to myself as a beginning intermediate!) and don't like a whole lot of people around me. Snowboarders make more noise and sound like they are going to plow into me even when they are in total control.

fmpden

Ah !!!! Personal opinion !!!! As someone who lives in Colorado and skis annually in Park City and surrounds, my single, favorite ski area is Snowmass followed closely by Vail and Beaver Creek. I do like Alta and Snowbird but my knock (and it is small knock) on Park City, Deer Valley, and Canyons is that the runs are relatively short so that you spend a lot of time standing in lines and riding chairs. Many of the runs are off of ridges where you ski the top to get to the run, have a nice drop off the ridge, and then down to a collector road and back to the chair. And the terrin is not varied -- it is almost all of the same. Nothing in Utah matches the back bowls of Vail. Just the personal opinion from 40+ years of sking.

KMK

I've met very few ski areas I didn't like, but, favorites are:

Snowmass. Huge, tons of interesting terrains of all sorts. Tons of ski-in, ski-out lodging. And, the advantage of NOT flying into a major airport means no large city nearby to pull in hoards of local weekend skiers to crowd the slopes. Oh, and you also get the other 3 Aspen properties on the same lift ticket, and great public transportation so no car rental is needed. I'd recommend Snowmass to just about anyone wanting a ski vacation, it's got something for every level of skier.

I also love my home resort - Alyeska - lots of snow, long season, lots of advanced/expert terrain, no crowds. But, I wouldn't recommend it in general as a vacation - long flight to get up here, and very limited beginner/intermediate terrain (at least now, the new ownership promises to change that.) Oh, and yeah, it is maritime/coastal snow, not the real light Utah powder, for anyone who wants to be a snob about that.

karens

KMK - where is Alyeska?

And when you say you never met a ski place you didn't like - have you skied the Poconos...lol...

frumpden - I am not yet worthy for the back bowls of Vail! I have heard they are amazing. And I can see you, too, have not skied the "long" runs of the Poconos!

All you west coast skiers are SO LUCKY!!

Cargillman

here is a vote for Steamboat Springs

Ike

Park City can't hold a candle to CO. Fly to Denver, rent a car, drive to Snowmass, ski your heart out, go into Aspen, shop, drink, eat, have fun then maybe spend a night or two in Vail either on the way in or the way back and ski there. Have fun. Utah can't compete.

abram

I like Park City/Deer Valley, Snowmass, Vail, Steamboat, Winter Park, Big Sky, Squaw Valley, Heavenly, Copper, Breckenridge--but my favorite is Whistler. Tons of terrain, huge vertical, great village at the base.

The only ski area I haven't liked is Alta.

fmpden

I like IKE

fmpden

Karens, there are immediate bowls at Vail that are very nice and good beginners can handle. China bowl is wonderful. You don't have ski the big ones. And just how long is the "longs runs" in the Poconos? How would it compare to coming off the top of Big Burn at Snowmass? I am not talking about skid roads. Talking about truely big slopes that you can actually ski.

The only advantage to Park City/Deer Valley is the airport. Will give you that one. Although it is pretty easy to fly in to Eagle/Vail.

I would even suggest that Breckenridge and Copper are better mountains than Park City

KMK

To answer another poster, Alyeska is 45 minutes south of Anchorage, Alaska. 2500 feet of vertical, plus the longest ungroomed double black run in North America. U.S. Alpine Skiing Nationals are being held here next week.

And, I've met *very few* ski areas I didn't like - not none.

I used to live in Ohio, so while I never did get to the Poconos, I skied Alpine Valley Ohio (because it had night skiing, was close to home, & I worked there as an instructor for a while), Peek-N-Peak, Kissing Bridge, Holiday Valley, Holimont in NY, and Seven Springs in PA. Managed to have great fun at all of these - but would never recommend anyone travel great distances for a ski vacation to any of these places!!! They are obviously not in the same class as the resorts in Vermont, let alone anything out West. But, they're still skiing!!!

There are 2 places I truly disliked, both for very different reasons. Snowshoe in West Virginia and Silverton in Colorado. Your mileage may vary, both of these mountains have ardent supporters.