SKI Magazine Survey results

[Sibhusky]

Being as they have announced slots 2-30 of the Eastern and Western resorts, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say number 1 will be Sun Valley unless there is one hell of an upset. I've been keeping track of the surveys for years to see what the AVERAGE rankings are over time. Here that is for the West (don't have the East, sorry).

 

[Beach Bum]

They announced #1 in East earlier, smuggler's notch. It alternated with Tremblant I think from last year at 1/2.

I've enjoyed following it how they've released a few each day. Been checking them all out on Google Earth, at least the eastern ones where I've never skied. We hear a lot about poor snow conditions out east but I must say they have some pretty sweet ski hills. One day I'll ski MRG or Tremblant or Sugarbush to name a few.

Nice job putting that together, I'll check out in more detail on laptop. BTW, you spelled Arapahoe wrong, one of my faves.

It's got to be Sun Valley, unless some California resort makes a huge leap.

 

[tch]

Well...unless I'm reading your chart wrong, it's time once again to say these "ratings" are totally screwed up. Honestly, I don't get how they get these kind of results: which demographic votes this way, how much the ratings are affected by advertising, what kind of disconnected-from-reality editors put this together. Aspen at 31? Big Sky at 22? Taos at 4? (sorry KG).

 

[James]

So Abasin is 18 and Loveland 30?
Ridiculous. Wherever you put them there’s at most a couple spots between. One could be above the other depending how you weight day tripping vs lodging nearby.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Well...unless I'm reading your chart wrong, it's time once again to say these "ratings" are totally screwed up. Honestly, I don't get how they get these kind of results: which demographic votes this way, how much the ratings are affected by advertising, what kind of disconnected-from-reality editors put this together. Aspen at 31? Big Sky at 22? Taos at 4? (sorry KG).

It's a reader survey. Did you know that Smuggler's Notch buys a subscription for every pass holder? That kind of explains their dominance of this survey in the East.

 

[James]

It's a reader survey. Did you know that Smuggler's Notch buys a subscription for every pass holder? That kind of explains their dominance of this survey in the East.

Lol, Did not know!
Are the lifts still terrible?

 

[Lofcaudio]

I got my copy in the mail yesterday. I was astounded. All of my favorites had dropped significantly. And I saw that @Sibhusky was quoted in the Whitefish write-up. (Ha!)

P.S. The top two U.S. resorts in my bucket list also happen to the be the only 2 spots in the Top 10 (West) that I have not skied (Whitefish and Crested Butte). That needs to change.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Lol, Did not know!
Are the lifts still terrible?

Yup, they sure are. What does Ski Magazine say about them? #4 in the East for modern lifts?

 

[fatbob]

It's the usual horse shit. Deer Valley is ok but it doesn't hold a candle to WB for overall ski experience unless you want a very specific sort of pampered experience. And I love Whitefish - it's a great area but it doesn't stand out from regional peers like Fernie which doesn't even make the list. [/usual reactionary SKI mag poll is BS]

 

[Beach Bum]

Yup, they sure are. What does Ski Magazine say about them? #4 in the East for modern lifts?

I thought they said people like the old doubles and no frills lifts. They had a whole write up on it. If it limits number of beginners, people in general going up to peak yet doesn't impact life lines and is still relatively quick like a lot of doubles then I'm all for it.

But then I rode the pali lift hundreds of times when I was a kid and love that stuff.

I think category is Lifts, not Modern Lifts.

 

[Mothertucker]

#alltimejerrylist SKI survives and Powder goes under.

 

[raisingarizona]

Lol, Did not know!
Are the lifts still terrible?

Oh yeah. The Madonna chair serves some of the best terrain in the east but you can freeze your arse off on that relic.

 

[raisingarizona]

Lists like this are always bs.

 

[Lofcaudio]

It's the usual horse shit. Deer Valley is ok but it doesn't hold a candle to WB for overall ski experience unless you want a very specific sort of pampered experience. And I love Whitefish - it's a great area but it doesn't stand out from regional peers like Fernie which doesn't even make the list. [/usual reactionary SKI mag poll is BS]

Deer Valley is so ho-hum in my opinion. It's the poster child of "Glad I went, but have no desire to go back." Just of the Utah spots, I greatly prefer Snowbasin, Snowbird, and Alta (none of which even made the Top 10 out West).

 

[Beach Bum]

This isn't a pure skiing survey like that one Z survey online that really just cares about snow, terrain, vertical drop, acres, etc. Obviously many of the ones listed above as being snubbed dominate that.

This list is weighted who knows how but included nightlife, value, après ski, local feel, dining, family, etc along with the ski stuff. Argue all you want, but some people care about the whole package.

I like how they do it, nicely done Ski Mag

 

[Sibhusky]

Well...unless I'm reading your chart wrong, it's time once again to say these "ratings" are totally screwed up. Honestly, I don't get how they get these kind of results: which demographic votes this way, how much the ratings are affected by advertising, what kind of disconnected-from-reality editors put this together. Aspen at 31? Big Sky at 22? Taos at 4? (sorry KG).

Aspen at 31 just reflects the fact that Aspen as separate from Snowmass no longer is part of the survey. They are merged now. I am unsure if Highlands is also rolled up into Aspen Snowmass.

Facebook just showed, tada, Sun Valley as #1.

 

[Sibhusky]

I got my copy in the mail yesterday. I was astounded. All of my favorites had dropped significantly. And I saw that @Sibhusky was quoted in the Whitefish write-up. (Ha!)

P.S. The top two U.S. resorts in my bucket list also happen to the be the only 2 spots in the Top 10 (West) that I have not skied (Whitefish and Crested Butte). That needs to change.

WHAT?? This is the paper version? You're kidding, I'm guessing. How would they get a quote with that handle unless they are reading Pugski?

FWIW, I don't for a second agree that Whitefish should finish in the top 5. I think its average placement is far truer. I especially don't like the fact that these surveys are impacting the length of the lift line.

 

[James]

Party at Whitefish!

Oh yeah. The Madonna chair serves some of the best terrain in the east but you can freeze your arse off on that relic.

I’ve only been there as a kid.
We made the trek from the top of Spruce. We took one run on a chair. The whole thing is a freezing, wind blown blur with twigs and sticks. Being this was the late 70’s with little to no grooming, I imagine the conditions were pretty bad, but we were used to that.

 

[David Chaus]

My take on these rankings (or any rankings) is they say almost nothing about the ski resorts, and more about the perceptions of those doing the rankings.

I have been to Sun Valley a couple of times and really like skiing there. Even with this Ski ranking I don't expect it get super busy because it's just enough out of the way for most people. That said, I've met people who only go to Sun Valley and have absolutely no (or very little) experience) going to other places.

Overall the Ski mag resort rankings help me mostly in identifying which resorts to avoid during peak times. But they're not targeting me.

 

[Bad Bob]

Sun Valley and Aspen have to have some of the busiest airports for private jets, absolutely mind boggling.
Have had a fine time on most of the hills on the list, and it is good fun for this time of year. I really like the list; none of the mountains I normally ski are on it.