Heavenly, Purgatory and Vail

[thyme4change]

What is your favorite ski resort? We are planning a ski trip for winter and it looks like we are headed to Utah. It's not my first choice, but I'm not the main decision maker on this one. Although, they are asking for input - so...I'll ask for your input.

[milee]

Utah? I guess my favorites were Deer Valley and the old fashioned one (think it's Alta?). Utah has really awesome snow, but frankly I didn't think the resorts and restaurants there were as nice as Colorado. Then again, one of the most interesting after ski dinners we ever did was in Utah. You cross country ski by starlight - luckily a short distance since wine is involved - to a yurt where they prepare a gourmet dinner for you.

I think this was it: www.skisolitude.com/dining/yurt.php

[thyme4change]

I didn't think the resorts and restaurants there were as nice as Colorado

That is my thinking too. The person making the decisions is more focused on the cost and the skiing vs. the eating and the drinking. What's up with that?!

[milee]

Well, Utah was much less expensive, so you'll have more $$$ to spend on good wine. That's a plus.

[milee]

PS - I think they changed Purgatory to Durango Mountain Ski Resort.

Don't remember where it fell in prices, but is Taos out of the question? I remember that as being fun and out of the way.

Oh, and if price is the thing, nix that Deer Valley suggestion.

[doxieluvr]

Sept 16, 2012 15:21:12 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

What is your favorite ski resort? We are planning a ski trip for winter and it looks like we are headed to Utah. It's not my first choice, but I'm not the main decision maker on this one. Although, they are asking for input - so...I'll ask for your input.

None. I would rather have a one way ticket to hell in lieu of ever going skiing again.

[thyme4change]

PS - I think they changed Purgatory to Durango Mountain Ski Resort.

Yes, they did. But I'm old school.

Don't remember where it fell in prices, but is Taos out of the question?

Does Taos still ban snowboarders? We have a big crew and some use the board - so we have qualifications.

[Deleted]

Ski Mt. Shasta!

skipark.com/

About 1.5 hours north is Mount Ashland in Oregon.

I don't ski but I have heard both places are excellent for powder in the winters.

[swamp]

Red Mountain in Rossland, BC is my favorite.
Www.red resort.com

Come to whiteface in Lake Placid and we cam meet up!!!

[2kids10horses]

Aspen.

[lynnerself]

Whistler in Canada.
2 great mountains, good lifts, ski-in lodging and a really cute little town.

[thyme4change]

Whistler is awesome. I've only been there in the summer.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 16, 2012 18:51:17 GMT -5 swamp said:

Red Mountain in Rossland, BC is my favorite.
Www.red resort.com

Come to whiteface in Lake Placid and we cam meet up!!!

If you like skiing on ice!

[Loopdilou]

All of the Tahoe resorts are great.. I prefer north tahoe, but south tahoe has casinos for added fun.

[lynnerself]

Sept 16, 2012 18:48:39 GMT -5 @goldpanninggirl said:

Ski Mt. Shasta!

skipark.com/

About 1.5 hours north is Mount Ashland in Oregon.

I don't ski but I have heard both places are excellent for powder in the winters.

Mount Ashland is tiny. Not a real resort.
Best skiing in Oregon is Mount Bachelor or Mount Hood. But neither is much of a destination resort.

[tskeeter]

My brothers and I have been skiing in the Salt Lake City/Park City area regularly for over 30 years. Here are some of my thoughts.

Greatest snow around! I like it better than Tahoe, Vail area, Banff area, Whistler/Blackcomb, or northern MN.

We stay in the Park City area. Within 20 minutes of the Park City ski areas and about an hour to the Cottonwood Canyons on the edge of Salt Lake City.

Deer Valley - best grooming, best food, nicest chalet facilities. The beach in front of Silver Lake Lodge is a nice place to chill out with a beer on a sunny afternoon. If you are new to real mountain skiing, the runs that end in front of Silver Lake Lodge are a great combination of well groomed steeps and flats that will help you adjust to higher speeds and learn the control for steeper slopes. No boards, ski only
Park City - large, with plenty of challenging terrain
The Canyons - approaches Deer Valley for plush amenities, grabbed some great powder on a little used run here last February, got in four passes before it started to get chewed up
Brighton - the locals area, less expensive, more modest facilities, we'll probably ski here twice during a 7 day trip
Snow Bird - lots of fun, we seem to have run into snow storms that dropped lots of powder here more often than other areas
Alta - probably the oldest ski area, DW's favorite, runs are a bit more narrow than newer areas, which provides a skiing in the woods experience.
Helicopter skiing is available in the area

For discounted lift tickets, we buy them at the ski shop next to the 7-11 just before you enter Big Cottonwood Canyon. We ski Big Cottonwood or Little Cottonwood Canyon the first day and pick up lift tickets for the Park City areas when we are there. We usually buy lift tickets the first day, them again toward the middle of the week. That allows us to spend more time at the areas with the best snow and to match tickets with how many days each of us is going to ski.

If you are planning to go up one of the Cottonwood Canyons on a day when it is snowing, you will be required to have four wheel drive or to put on chains. Rental companies usually prohibit use of chains on their cars.

As for the Tahoe area, you can get enormous amounts of snow in a single storm (think 2 - 3 feet) (85 feet, yes feet, season total winter before last), but it is almost always pretty wet. There is a reason why it's called Sierra Cement. When solidly frozen, it gets hard, hard, hard. But, it's warm enough in this area that the snow starts to soften up pretty well by about 10 AM and turns to spring skiing conditions by about 2 PM. Ski the slopes exposed to the eastern sun in the AM and move to more shaded slopes in the PM. Light jackets are appropriate for most days. I usually wear an uninsulated shell over a long sleeved t-shirt, a pair of bibs, and ski with the jacket unzipped much of the day. (Sub zero temps are possible, but usually happen only a couple of days a years.)

Several ski areas to choose from. I think 13 in total. Since I live in the area, we buy a season pass that is good at both Northstar and Heavenly.

Squaw Valley - home of the 1960 Olympics
Northstar - our favorite, but you have to walk from one end of the village to the other to get from the bus drop off to the first lift, added a nice, new chalet last winter
Diamond Peak - the city ski area for Incline Village, spectacular views of Lake Tahoe
Mount Rose - the closest to Reno, I haven't skied there is many years, but one of the super skiers from work gets a season pass year after year
Heavenly - I prefer to ski the Nevada side of the ski area, unless you are really an expert skier or you want to take several miles of cat track, take one of the gondolas down into South Lake Tahoe. The bottom station for the newest gondola is right in the middle of a plaza that is bordered by shops, restaurants, and a Marriott timeshare resort. Casinos are just across the state line, a couple of blocks from the new gondola. We prefer to park at the old base area where we can get on a gondola or chair lift at the edge of the parking lot (free parking, I'm too cheap to pay to use the parking ramp next to the new gondola and don't want to walk the block or so from the bus drop to the new gondola (a bus runs from the old base area to the new gondola area)). Expanded Nevada side chalet last year
Kirkwood - south of Lake Tahoe, will have snow when the areas farther north are suffering

Never skied Purgatory, so have no input.