Northern Rockies/Alberta JH GROOMERS COMPARED TO SUN VALLEY

[Codger]

“What are the JH GROOMER/ cruiser trails(blue double blue) trails like (length steepness crowd snow quality) like compared to those at SV?

 

[at_nyc]

Sun Valley is famous for having the longest and steepest groomers of any mountains.

Jackson? Its groomers are more "normal" as the rest of the mountains. Most of Jackson's steeper runs are UN-groomered.

So, on average, SV has steeper groomers, and many more long ones too.

 

[Norther1]

I found the groomers at Jackson to be lots more crowded than those at Sun Valley. I was actually surprised by how crowded the groomers at Jackson were compared to some of the other other places I've skied out west (given that Jackson is more touted as an expert resort, more focus on off piste etc--I guess I just didn't expect to find so many people on the groomers at that particular resort--when the groomers at other places seem less crowded).

Agree with at_nyc that Sun Valley has longer and steeper groomers overall.

 

[DanoT]

I was told by a Sun Valley ski instructor one time that you can go as fast as you want without the ski patrol bothering you as long as you are not a danger to yourself or others.

 

[at_nyc]

I was told by a Sun Valley ski instructor one time that you can go as fast as you want without the ski patrol bothering you as long as you are not a danger to yourself or others

Yes, I was told by the former ski school director of the same.

 

[aveski]

Having skied both areas last winter, I would say the groomers at Sun Valley are better. The Challenger chair give you over 3,000 feet of vertical in around 10 minutes. I was there midweek and at times the trails were empty. Lots of fun.

 

[Bill Miles]

Sun Valley is my home mountain and I have skied Jackson on and off over the years. I agree with the above that Sun Valley has better groomers, especially longish, steepish ones. Better lift system too. If you like to pile up the groomer vertical, Sun Valley can't be beat.

Of course, there is not much comparison for steep off-piste terrain. Jackson all the way.

 

[sbooker]

I could’t tell you about groomers at Sun Valley. My couple of days there in January 2017 was powder paradise with refills all day both days. I’m never going back - I want to remember it exactly like that.

 

[Bad Bob]

If you have not been to Sun Valley yet, you need to go; just because it is Sun Valley.

There is a very good reason so many US Olympians have been from SV, go find out.

 

[Kyle]

Sun Valley has great groomers and the Warm Springs side of the mountain is the gold standard in steep, fast groomers. Jackson usually has some pretty high quality groomed runs as well. Gros Ventre, Grand, Amphitheatre, any number of runs off Casper and après Vous, and Kemmerer off the new Teton Quad come immediately to mind. They have even had a small portion of the CIrque groomed a fair number of time recently when I have been there. You probably should not go to Jackson to ski only groomers but you can usually find some pretty good ones if you are interested.

 

[tch]

Am at SV now, and was at Jackson a week ago. As Norther1 says, I found the groomers at JH surprisingly crowded. I had 13" of powder my first day, and many of the groomers were cut into big piles by 10:30. Off-piste, of course, was less crowded. On the other hand, SV groomers are generally steeper, and given conditions may be (they were today) more scraped off b/c of this. SV is the only place in recent history where I actually spent some time on green runs and felt fine about it.