I may have a view that is of the real minority, but are actual "rankings" important?
Phil and Tricia re doing a very, very nice job with equipment reviews......which the membership plays a big role in. It's safe to say that Pugski has become a very solid, transparent and objective source for equipment information. One can easily search and read a variety of opinions, and often zero in on skiers of similar ability, skiing in similar parts of the country or world, and skiing on similar terrain. Or skiers of similar size and experience. Obviously still evolving, the information is much better and more detailed than any ski review "blitz", and there is no ranking of the equipment in the process. Unlike the age old process used by publications like SKI.
SKI's resort rankings have always been a joke, because, IMO, of a history of flawed methodology and the need to assign numerical ratings, and rankings for everything. Our daughter, a serious skier to say the least could weigh in on this with her background in market research.
My own opinion is that perhaps what might be of more "value" would be a very robust and well thought out process of reviewing ski areas/resorts. I'd be more interested in the reviews and the "meat", the local insider tips, a whole laundry list of information, than a ranking vis a vis others. As I think though it, having some reviewers weigh in with other resorts that they ski frequently, and how this one stacks up in their opinion in a few areas might be helpful.
Frankly what is number one in a region, or the country makes no difference to me. But I am different, and have logged a lot of ski days at "many" ski venues around the world.
There are a hundred or more that I could "rank." There are probably a dozen that I could seriously provide great insight into, and of those three or four that I know pretty much inside and out.
Just my two cents, but at a higher level, isn't serious insider, experienced reviews what you want? Instead of the "Is it a party town, and what's the nightlife ranked like?" How about, do not miss these restaurants, order this food, try these drinks or local brews, visit this spot on these nights for music, etc." Or where to eat what on the mountain?
Do I really care how Stowe, Sugarbush, Whiteface, Jay, Sugarloaf and Sunday River are ranked? No. Let alone the rest of the country. I would want to know when to visit those places, and when not to. Where to stay. What are the drives really like. What about kids programs? Who do I talk to? Who do I ask about specific instructors? Where do I get a tune or repair. Any local boot fitters? Anything unusual to do? Snow machine, snowshoe, Nordic trails. How about backcountry.
You get the point.....do you even need to rankings to get the valuable info?
I completely understand that many love metrics, data, measuring things, and "rankings."
When friends have asked me about vacations in a variety of places around the country, they rarely care about the rankings. It's more about where should we stay? How do you navigate around the mountain? What's your informed plan for that? Do we need a car? Is the bus system really as good as advertised?
I am convinced that PugSki can just "KILL it" in this area.