How to Choose your Resort: Pic of the Day Archives

[Nature]

So I'm looking for the place to spend the winter. Ive been places, But i want the place to spend the winter. So my buddy just signed a lease in summit county that i could get in on. Hes going to be a liftie at Keystone. But I'm goin out west to ski gnarly steeps and trees and powder. So ive been surfin the net looking for places lookin at summit county seein ABasin as tepting. But. But Jackson Hole, Atla/Snowbird, Crystal, and Bridger Bowl all have amazing daiy pics. Make you legitimately pissed off you weren't there pics. And Keystone looks like i'd get bored in a week. Never been, but seems to resorty to me. That may be a good thing though;make more money. Im really looking for somebody to sell me summit county; like theres some tucks style backcountry that i could skin to from my back door. Cause that for sure is what the jawdroping places i mentioned before looked like they had. Never been to ABasin is it good? Got cash for rent, skis skins , sleeping bag bus tricket,dog, and packs, just need crampons, a job to feed and ski me, and a place to stay... anybody looken for a roomate? Let me know whats good

[drewvw]

There is tons of stuff in summit county both on and off the grid....if you get bored you aren't looking very hard. A-basin rocks in my opinion, love that place. Very low maintenance. Its like 15 minutes from keystone too so its like you are marooned by setting up shop there.

It is a bit of a sh$t show though for much of the winter. If you have an option to spend some time in Jackson, that's tough to pass up.

[surfsnowywaves]

There's absolutely nothing in Summit County. Keystone sucks, as does A-Basin. Breck is terrible, Copper Mountain is a big bunny hill. Backcountry? You kidding me? Even central Michigan has better backcountry than the Gore Range (http://telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=23480). The only good skiing in the country is at ski areas with great marketing staff, aka Jackson, Bird/Alta, Bridger, Crystal...

[icelanticskier]

try jackson nh. some of the best bc in the country and for the ease of access, you'll have as many or more days to yerself up there on ole george than the "cool" spots out west in transient land. i did a couple of wasatch winters and spent 95% of my 120+ days seasons in the bc even though i had seasons passes. it's just such a pow frenzy out there most of the time. if i were you, i'd do a winter at a lesser sought after spot, like a big mountain montana, or wolf creek. out of summit county or colorado in general i chose loveland every time, a) cuz it gets dumped on. b) everyone drives right by it to get everywhere else in colorado. c) it has plenty good terrain and hike to stuff.

rog

[Migelikor]

I made it out to Crested Butte last season, and hung out with a bunch of BC junkies. It was a pretty great place, offering things like a free hike the mountain before open pass, and tons of available BC skiing on all sides (which we cheated and sledded to). However, it's very much a separate entity from the rest of the mountains. Steeper...more side-country, and isolated as can be.

[icelanticskier]

I made it out to Crested Butte last season, and hung out with a bunch of BC junkies. It was a pretty great place, offering things like a free hike the mountain before open pass, and tons of available BC skiing on all sides (which we cheated and sledded to). However, it's very much a separate entity from the rest of the mountains. Steeper...more side-country, and isolated as can be.

ya, and about the same average annual snowfall as killington and way less than jay. you could do better, far better. san juan snowpack is about as fickle as it gets and way dangerous much of the time.

rog

[Bannick]

Tell your friend to forget about being a liftie...the only way to go is to be a night cleaner on the mountain. I did that for a season at Blackcomb (before they bought whistler) and it was awesome.

My gig was simple....my shift started at 5:00 pm and ended at 3:00 am, 4 days on 3 days off...Thursday to Sunday. I was almost always back down the mountain by midnight (still got paid for the full shift) and knew what the conditions were going to be every morning before most everyone else. Makes it easy to decide on making first chair or not. Yes it was janitorial work but it was the highest paying entry job on the mountain and I had my days free to play.

I had a snowmobile to get me up and down the mountain I worked with a crew of like 4 people and was able to get 127 days on snow.

My liftie friends were pretty jealous of my job given that I could ride every powder day while they were spinning chairs.

If you want a resort type place with lots of options and jobs how bout Big SKy? Not far from Jackson Hole and bridger if you need to sample some other goods....not sure about backcountry tours but there must be lots.

Just my .02

[skifst]

I have just returned from another (summer this time!) trip to Kicking Horse BC. I love that mountain and think it is currently the most under-rated destination in Canada and maybe N. America. I highly recommend a visit out to ski there, Kicking Horse BC (http://www.kicking-horse.com)

[natron]

make a plan where you want to go and then line up a 2nd shift job any job that starts after noon and you'll get pow and live the dream, ice had good advice 2 go for a smaller resort, less traffic place but make sure theres some decent bc around. personally I'm trying to land a 3 month travel contract out west for this winter, i work as a surgical tech. so I'll have to be at a decent size hospital/ pop. area for living and commute to mts, (just like now), thinking salt lake city, reno any advice ice?

[icelanticskier]

make a plan where you want to go and then line up a 2nd shift job any job that starts after noon and you'll get pow and live the dream, ice had good advice 2 go for a smaller resort, less traffic place but make sure theres some decent bc around. personally I'm trying to land a 3 month travel contract out west for this winter, i work as a surgical tech. so I'll have to be at a decent size hospital/ pop. area for living and commute to mts, (just like now), thinking salt lake city, reno any advice ice?

SLC would work well for you me thinks. i always worked nights in my 12 years in a row "ski bumming". funny, i don't consider myself a ski bum and i still did 120 days this year living on the coast. LOL! you can work nights and actually make money. was a bellman at sunday river for 7 winters and made a killing. so much so that working in the summer was an option back then. i was also a bellman at solitude at night, had my own 4 wheeler, worked from 3 -10pm and skied every day, mostly in the bc. working tipping jobs will make 2-3 times the money in less time.

rog

[natron]

glad u agree with this pick ice, now I've got to contact these agencies and try to land a 3 month contract, then be back here in time for some MTW bc which is great from march to july:cool:

[icelanticskier]

then be back here in time for some MTW bc which is great from march to july:cool:

oh, but the greatest months are jan/feb when joey thinks that mount washington isn't open for skiing yet.

so while yer in utah doin this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs_4wPCLZr0&feature=related

i'll be on the rock in the months you didn't mention doing this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb7zMIFNS-Y&feature=email

ah, winter up high. march-may=$hit show. june/july=a bit better.

good luck on yer quest for the 3 mont deal.

rog

[bucksaw]

If you want a resort type place with lots of options and jobs how bout Big SKy? Not far from Jackson Hole and bridger if you need to sample some other goods....not sure about backcountry tours but there must be lots.


I second Big Ski as a cool place not too far from other excellent mountains (Bridger Bowl rocks). I was totally skeptical of the Big Ski resort the year my friends dragged me there. That place had an interesting vibe, I was totally surprised when we could buy 24 ounce PBRs for 4 bucks on the mountain.

Not to mention Gallatin NF covers some awesome ski terrain.

[Nature]

thanks for all the info particularly working at night i was thinking about being a waiter but was worried about how to get a pass -was working at the mountain worth the rewards of being at the mountain all the time wit ****ty pay- but those thoughts were great i would love to go to canada love the attitude and mountains up there but was worried about working and living there being a us citizen anybody got info on that as for backountry and sentiments regarding summit county i feel i totally agree but i want available bc all over the place but i want a resort to ride to- call me young naive or a ***** but when the snows ****ty or its 10 below ill take a resort anyday canada is so intriguing only been to whistler and kick the horse out west but would return to either in a minute any body looking for a roomie with a dog in jackson a real chill beautiful husky

[icelanticskier]

thanks for all the info particularly working at night i was thinking about being a waiter but was worried about how to get a pass -was working at the mountain worth the rewards of being at the mountain all the time wit ****ty pay- but those thoughts were great i would love to go to canada love the attitude and mountains up there but was worried about working and living there being a us citizen anybody got info on that as for backountry and sentiments regarding summit county i feel i totally agree but i want available bc all over the place but i want a resort to ride to- call me young naive or a ***** but when the snows ****ty or its 10 below ill take a resort anyday canada is so intriguing only been to whistler and kick the horse out west but would return to either in a minute any body looking for a roomie with a dog in jackson a real chill beautiful husky

u.s citizen working at a resort in canada? good luck with that. probably not gonna happen, legally at least. there are more than enough canucks, aussies, kiwis to fill any and all jobs north of the border. unless you have some sort of special skill, forget canada for work.

as far as cold temps and skiing goes, you got it backwards. there is nothing worse than riding chairs and resort skiing when it's butt a$$ cold out. my best pow touring days in the whites are when the mercury at pinkham never reaches above ZERO and the rangers never leave the cabin and pretty much put out the new avi report based on previous days conditions. even if the snow isn't perfect, it's almost ALWAYS better in the bc east or west.

rog

[pleblanc]

Couldn't agree more with rog. Why go to a resort when it's -10 out. 3 runs and in, 3 runs and in, etc. I can manage myself much better skinning/ skiing than I can just skiing down and ridin' the chair. Don't know how this helps picking an area, other than stick with your idea of killer bc around you. Paul--

[Cat in January]

Just throwing another option out there. Tons of bc. Lots of resorts. Current weather projections for this winter look good for there.

[worldbfreeheel]

Couldn't agree more with rog. Why go to a resort when it's -10 out. 3 runs and in, 3 runs and in, etc. I can manage myself much better skinning/ skiing than I can just skiing down and ridin' the chair. Don't know how this helps picking an area, other than sick with your idea of killer bc around you. Paul--

I agree with both of you wholeheartedly. January and early Feb are for the sherby and GOST. stay warm on the way up. get a run or two in. rather than struggling to get warm at the resort.

[icelanticskier]

January and early Feb are for the sherby and GOST.

i was referring to all of the gullies, ravines, gulfs, snowfields, noses, knobs, ridges.....
sherby and gost are good for access and exits in the cold dark months. can't wait to see how some of the more esoteric above treeline aspects fill in this winter for deep powder farming and ultra smooth wind buff carving.

my mind swirls with un-named canvasses.

rog

[bucksaw]

u.s citizen working at a resort in canada? good luck with that.

That area would be SO worth it. Rogers Pass is so close.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/work-temp.asp

[efoxx]

SLC all the way. Three winters now I have been going to visit my friend and I nearly drowned three times...IN ALL THE DAMN POWDA! Seriously, nobody, well almost nobody gets snow like the Wasatch. Plenty of BC and the Bird and Alta provide enough gnarly in bound terrain to make you think twice about even leaving the resort. My buddy move out there after college and he is still there. He works at the Bird as a telephone operator on overnight shifts and works double sometimes. He works 40 hours a week in only three days...insane but he is able to ski the other FOUR! Summit county is awesome, the skiing is good, the night life is great. Living in Summit gives you plenty of opportunity to hit up the resorts, but I find all of the resorts in Summit lack challenging terrain...not steep enough. The Bird is STEEP AND DEEP. Do yourself a favor and move to Sandy, UT and work at the Bird. Otherwise hit up Jackson or go north into British Columbia.

[icelanticskier]

and if you prefer more untracked bang for yer buck and way less competition for it, just ski up in bcc. way less busy than altabird and the terrain doesn't $uck either. alta's a joke in comparison imho and i used to live/work there. the bird is a great hill, but i'd hate to be there on a bluebird pow day fighting in the lines with half of slc skiers that called in sick.

rog

[WildcatBC]

My vote is for Big Mountain resort in Montana. Great vibe, decent terrain, and nobody there. Plus there's plenty of BC options everywhere you look. Whitefish and nearby Kalispell are great towns as well with plenty of nightlife to keep you occupied. Red Mountain and Fernie are just over the border. Discovery Basin and the Missoula Snowbowl to the south. It couldn't get much better.

[icelanticskier]

My vote is for Big Mountain resort in Montana. Great vibe, decent terrain, and nobody there. Plus there's plenty of BC options everywhere you look. Whitefish and nearby Kalispell are great towns as well with plenty of nightlife to keep you occupied. Red Mountain and Fernie are just over the border. Discovery Basin and the Missoula Snowbowl to the south. It couldn't get much better.

damn you! the only "rad" resorts are those that are mentioned on TGR. if it's discussed on TGR frequently, that's where you wanna go.

rog

[Sledhaulingmedic]

make a plan where you want to go and then line up a 2nd shift job any job that starts after noon and you'll get pow and live the dream, ice had good advice 2 go for a smaller resort, less traffic place but make sure theres some decent bc around. personally I'm trying to land a 3 month travel contract out west for this winter, i work as a surgical tech. so I'll have to be at a decent size hospital/ pop. area for living and commute to mts, (just like now), thinking salt lake city, reno any advice ice?

Your best bet is going to be a bigger hospital, probably a Trauma Center so there's 2nd and 3rd shift procedures. (Again, work at night, ski during the day.) I think this points to SLC. I don't know what Reno has for Hospitals, but that could be a possibility. Jackson probably wouldn't work. UNNMC is too far from Taos. I don't think The NOrthwest really has anything idea, but I could be wrong. I think you have the two best on your list. Have fun!