Top 10 Favorite Resorts

[TQA]

3 V Val Thorens Ski all day without repeating a lift or run.
Cervinia Great scenery and an epic 20 km red run down to Valtournenche.
Ischgl best Austrian resort with great nightlife, think Coyote Ugly with fewer clothes.
Arabba amazing red rock scenery with instant access to the Sella Ronda in either direction and a hop skip and a jump to Marmolada.
Espace Killy Val d'Isere and Tignes I liked to stay at Tignes les Brevieres and have great memories of blasting down the Sache to go home.
Avoriaz Great ski in ski out resort and more ambiance than other purpose built French resorts. Includes Le Pas de Chavanette AKA the Wall 23%
Les Contamines great old world french village base.
Beaver Creek Great cruising now I am old with creaky knees.
St Anton ski all day then drink in either the MooserWirt or Krazy Kanguruh bars
Alta well because it is Alta

 

[Swede]

Via Lattea (Sauze, Sestriere, Sansiscaro etc.) huge area with some of the best pistes in the alps and lots of fun tree skiing too.
Monte Rosa (Champuloc-Gressoney-Alagna mid sized system, huge mountains with lots of off piste)
Val D'isere/Tignes (has everything)
Åre (best resort skiing in Scandinavia with many pistes)
Courmayeur (Ponta Hellbronner!!! and the best food in the alps)
Trysil (they have the best race school and great terrain)
Madesimo (Not big, but no people, always lots of snow, great lifts. Cannalone!)
Arabba-Marmolada (best of the best in Sella Ronda Dolomiti Superski inmo)
Zillertal (lots of terrain and opportunities, cheap, Hintertux!!! for pre season camps)

 

[Bigtinnie]

Haven't seen Crested Butte or Telluride feature on too many lists. Is this because no one has skied them? Or because they are deficient in some areas?
I've always been keen to visit both hills.

 

[Lofcaudio]

Haven't seen Crested Butte or Telluride feature on too many lists. Is this because no one has skied them? Or because they are deficient in some areas?
I've always been keen to visit both hills.

I've skied Telluride more than any other mountain and it's currently my 3rd favorite place to return to and I'm planning a trip there this upcoming season in February. I've never been to Crested Butte, but it's definitely on my Bucket List. Both are off of the beaten path, but provide all of the challenge you could possibly want. Telluride has three knocks: (1) it's hard to get to, (2) it's expensive, and (3) Lift 9 (my favorite lift) is still a fixed grip which takes about 14 minutes to ride.

 

[StuckonI70]

Haven't seen Crested Butte or Telluride feature on too many lists. Is this because no one has skied them? Or because they are deficient in some areas?
I've always been keen to visit both hills.

Can't speak for Telluride, but CB is an incredible option when the stars align. That is the challenge with the place.
The expert terrain is special and unique, but they just don't get the snowfall to make the North Face area go off regularly. When they do, watch out! So good.
I'm a huge, huge fan of the place, the groomers have nice variety, lots of rollers, but if you're a poor skier/boarder that can't excel in the Extremes, I doubt you'd love it.

How I'd rank my top 10:
1) Silverton - incredible terrain and snow, no people. The vibe is so tight.
2a) Crested Butte - fun groomers, cool town, A+ scenery and the expert terrain is my favorite anywhere. Wish it snowed more.
2b) Steamboat - #1 choice for powder, more quality trees than anywhere I've visited, A+ hot springs, underrated cruising runs
*Swap based on YTD snowfall*
4) Snowbird - Superb mix of snow and terrain, not as family friendly as other hills, which is gaining importance
5) Winter Park - Local haunt, love the trees and snow, good variety, nice steep, but short, runs in the Cirque. Does get bumped out fast
6) Park City + Canyons - huge, lots of fun terrain off the top. The natural halfpipes off Super Condor are so fun
7) Copper Mountain - favorite groomer cruising mountain. Nice alpine terrain without the crowds, wish Tucker wasn't a wind sourced slog though
8) A-Basin - Not one of my favorites, but love it once it starts going off in the Spring.
9) Vail - size matters.
10) Whiteface - pure nostalgia pick, awesome vertical with no flats.

 

[LKLA]

In no particular order:

1 - Vail
2 - Deer Valley
3 - Jackson Hole
4 - Stowe
5 - White Face
6 - Mammouth
7 - Courchevel
8 - St Moritz
9 - Niseko
10 - Crested Butte

 

[Jack skis]

Haven't seen Crested Butte or Telluride feature on too many lists. Is this because no one has skied them? Or because they are deficient in some areas?
I've always been keen to visit both hills.

I haven't tried to make a list of 10 favorites. Skied for many years and remember specific days as favorite/great days rather than the best areas. As for Crested Butte and Telluride, when we got way old and decided to settle down we chose CB for our winter home. Ski 100 plus day seasons in all conditions and am simple enough not to be bored with it. Parenthetically, been married near 50 years and not bored with that either. Telluride is a 300 mile round trip from CB but I'll do it just for the helluvit as I like the area.

Notice to Pugskiers: If you come to CB, or are thinking about it, give me a PM and we can talk. I'm retired so have no business intrests in the place, just a skier.

 

[SBrown]

CB is an incredible option when the stars align. That is the challenge with the place.
The expert terrain is special and unique, but they just don't get the snowfall to make the North Face area go off regularly. When they do, watch out! So good.

Just want to reiterate this.

I had one of the most memorable runs of my life this past season (lots of stars aligned there this past season) where everyone was waiting for the High Lift to open one morning; the line was long enough that we decided to ski past. Lo and behold, they opened North Face right as we skied up, no one in line. It was so nice because we didn't even have to do powder frenzy at the top (since everyone else was in the other line) ... And yes, this was the week in January that it snowed eleventy billion inches. I never had so many face shots in my life. Now I'm spoiled and have to go to Japan.

 

[StuckonI70]

Just want to reiterate this.

I had one of the most memorable runs of my life this past season (lots of stars aligned there this past season) where everyone was waiting for the High Lift to open one morning; the line was long enough that we decided to ski past. Lo and behold, they opened North Face right as we skied up, no one in line. It was so nice because we didn't even have to do powder frenzy at the top (since everyone else was in the other line) ... And yes, this was the week in January that it snowed eleventy billion inches. I never had so many face shots in my life. Now I'm spoiled and have to go to Japan.

We were one of the first few people down Third Bowl last year after 14" of new. Also one of the best runs I can remember.

 

[Stev]

The criteria I consider important are (1) great terrain, (2) uncrowded, (3) lift efficiency (layout), (4) weather/snow conditions, and (5) natural scenery.

After taking this into account along with my own preferences and experiences I came up with this list today. This list is subject to change. I also decided to alter the format based on two other influences. One is David Lettermen's Top 10 lists to determine the order. The other is Nigel Tufnel which allows me to go up to 11.

11. Donner Ski Ranch (One of the last family owned and run resorts. I am happy to buy a lift ticket to support their attitude about staying open as long as the snow lasts and people keep coming.)

10. Sundance (Beautiful, uncrowded, and it has one of the most efficient lifts than runs in two directions to a mid-mountain ridge.)

9. Beartooth Basin (I skied here for the first time in June. It is a summer only resort with two surface lifts and a great vibe.)

8. Kirkwood (Terrain and snow.)

7. Heavenly (Views, tree skiing, and lots of hidden stashes.)

6. Copper Mountain (Parking shuttle efficiency, separated lodge and terrain layout.)

5. Snowbasin (Bathrooms, lifts, food)

4. Powder Mountain (In addition to lifts there are snowcat and bus rides.)

3. Alta (Snow and terrain.)

2. Mammoth (Dave McCoy did it right.)

1. Snowmass (My favorite. It covers all of the criteria above. I have had great experiences each time I have been here. It is on my to-do again and again list.)