BCC = Big Cottonwood Canyon = Solitude and Brighton
LCC = Little Cottonwood Canyon = Alta and Snowbird
LCC = Little Cottonwood Canyon = Alta and Snowbird
If that's your standard, you will not be impressed by Park City's skiing. I see another Alta/Snowbird aficionado in the making.Most skied mountains are Verbier followed by Chamonix and Val D'Isere.
Yes take advantage of that. You can probably get efficiently to some more remote resorts with good air service, notably Aspen and Jackson. Those are both places that you should love.the OP, if s/he is in NYC....... close to a major gateway.
Just say NO to this idea unless it's a refundable ticket. How often did you ski in November from Geneva? Was it ever worth the cost of a flight? Thanksgiving is the worst of all worlds: a long shot anywhere for travel-worthy ski conditions combined with holiday airfare pricing. Don't do it! Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the dead zone of the travel business. Once you see where there is snow on the ground, you can often score last minute deals on both air and lodging.Ok - last question for everyone - if you were gonna roll the dice and book some flights for Thanksgiving weekend - where would you fly? Salt Lake or Denver?
I have updated that table. If you look at the actual recent seasons at the top, you will see that end of November is "A" or "B" only 5 of the past 13 seasons. Furthermore that applies only to Alta and Brighton, which ski fairly well on a 3 foot base. Snowbird gets a lot of snow but needs a 5 foot base with its relentlessly steep and rocky terrain. I would not bet far advance purchased airfare on those odds.If you must choose though, look on Tony Crocker's bestsnow site for past years, though, Utah (specifically alta snowbird) is ranked a "B" end of november while colorado is still a "D" or at best a "C'.
Thanks Jim, will check them out.After Vegas, you have a number of options for a couple days of skiing on the way towards Aspen. You could visit small but scenic Brian Head ski area in southern Utah. It would be only a minor deviation from direct route to Aspen and good for a couple of days "tune-up" skiing. Or you could go to Alta/Bird or Telluride, these would take you a few hours out of your way, but are both spectacular and challenging. BTW, Aspen is one of my favorites so I think you've made a good choice to make it a cornerstone of your trip.
Some photos and commentary on Aspen ski areas:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170427135036/http://www.epicski.com/a/aspen-highlands-co-a-pictorial
https://web.archive.org/web/20170427141406/http://www.epicski.com/a/snowmass-co-a-pictorial
https://web.archive.org/web/20170427124951/http://www.epicski.com/a/aspen-mountain-co-a-pictorial
Came to post this. Mt. Rose is 24 minutes from the airport..26 if you hit the lights.What about Reno? Ski Tahoe? Lots of flights sometimes $$$$ though but w/casinos can sometimes find cheap rooms..
I have updated that table. If you look at the actual recent seasons at the top, you will see that end of November is "A" or "B" only 5 of the past 13 seasons. Furthermore that applies only to Alta and Brighton, which ski fairly well on a 3 foot base. Snowbird gets a lot of snow but needs a 5 foot base with its relentlessly steep and rocky terrain. I would not bet far advance purchased airfare on those odds.
As far as terrain, the reason I like my most frequented mountains in Europe is that there is plenty of wiiide open terrain - which means I can include my friends of all ski levels in a day of good skiing - but there is also very easy access to off-piste skiing with a relatively small amount of hiking required. I definitely don't need the steepest and deepest to be happy. Though of course the bigger the mountain and wider the variety - I will not complain!
But what is also very important to me is the idea of getting to access the American ski culture out West.
I'm targeting the places I can get in and out of the fastest first.
Your skiing desires are a little hard to decipher. As a result, you are getting all kinds of different suggestions.
It sounds like you may be going with a group with varying skiing skills. If so, what are those skills? A expert that wants to ski the steepest stuff, will hate Vail and love Snowbird. But a beginner or intermediate skier would love Vail and hate Snowbird.
All of these observations are spot-on IMHO.I really don't think an expert will hate Vail and especially not if you add in Beaver Creek. I absolutely feel that Vail (and definitely Beaver Creek) have significantly more expert level skiing than Park City/Deer Valley. Talking lift served only here. I'm an expert skier. Vail and Beaver Creek are WAY more fun than PC/Deer Valley. Are they Snowbird? No, not close. But Vail and BC offer plenty of fun for the expert. I do think a beginner may hate Snowbird though.
How are the Aspen flights these days? In the past I've seen Aspen luggage stacked on the pavement at DEN when the Aspen plane maxed it's weight limit..
Don't plan to drive straight to your flight! I am sure it's the same story in Salt Lake City.
In my experience flights from MSP (Minneapolis) to Denver are half the cost of flying to SLC. I've done that trip for $160 pp round trip, not including bag fees. Cheapest I've seen SLC for was over $400
I agree that lots of experts will enjoy Vail but "an expert that wants to ski the steepest stuff" will be disappointed with Vail. Snowbird, Taos, Crested Butte, Jackson... These are the places for people who must have the steepest stuff.I really don't think an expert will hate Vail and especially not if you add in Beaver Creek.