by Skiasaurus Rex » Sun Jan 12, 2014 10:57 am
It was interesting to read a magazine listing that apparently put some primacy on challenging terrain and snow in the evaluations (instead of gourmet pizza and wifi availability!).
Still,
I am not sure if top ten 'resorts' is the right categorization for most of these ski areas...I think top ten destination ski areas for expert skiers might have made more sense.
I'm a lover of unheralded second and third tier mountains, so I liked seeing Solitude on the list, and, I think on a powder day it's the best bet in Utah to make quality fresh runs for much of the day (now if I could find a list with Schweitzer, Monarch, Kirkwood, Red and Le massif I'd be set!).
Vail certainly fits the 'Resort' part of the list, but seems out of place with the rest of the qualitative reviews.
The Squaw review sounded about right, great terrain and sucky crowds. Not sure it's 'the best resort in California, Oregon, and Washington' though...I am hoping to ski in Washington later this season (Crystal/ Baker) so I guess I'll find out.
Neat list, I like Forbe's ratings for these sort of things better than most, like their college rankings (with a detailed ROI) pisses all over US NEWS and World Report college rankings.
Bowlhiker is miostly right about Jackson, though it is a bit more bad ass than he let's on.
The only two places on that list I haven't skied are Mammoth and Telluride. I think I am far more eager to ski Telluride however, it sounds pretty great,