MANY GREAT CHOICES TO SKI IN THE WEST
By Ted Heck 

          Early each new year the bears of skiing emerge from hibernation, sniff the winter air, and forage for adventure.

          You hear the skier’s growl impatiently in airport check-in lines, while they drag telltale boot and ski bags. But these bears are not always easy to track. Some are off to European Alps, where tourist offices hope for a rebound from recent slumps in traffic. They hope a decline in value of the euro will ease concerns about world unrest.

          However, most U.S. skiers will continue to be more comfortable waving their flag at home. A random sample of ski clubs in various parts of the country shows them choosing the American west for their annual major junkets.

Such trips are often planned even before the previous season ends. Ski club committees and trip leaders select a resort and then turn arrangements over to travel agents and tour operators. That’s why so many industry professionals have booths at pre-season ski shows held across the country.

          Choices abound in the west; choosing a destination can be more challenging than soaring blind into a couloir. “The White Book of Ski Areas,” a bible that’s been around for 30 years, describes 138 western resorts. Many of them are inconvenient, too small, too low or have inadequate lodging to justify spending a week there. They primarily attract local skiers. But resorts with high awareness are premier destinations, not only for clubs but also for many individuals and couples who schuss out on their own.         

The Hot Spots

          It’s no surprise that Colorado still sets the pace with 25 ski areas, led by Vail, the nation’s top resort in the number of skier visits. The big mountain, nay several mountains, have so much to offer that every skier finds sections he can handle. Vail’s ownership also includes other prominent resorts of Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly in California.

          Each area has a personality of its own, but all compete for skier dollars with long established Aspen and Snowmass. Other famous resorts with loyal followers are Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Telluride and Crested Butte. Many Colorado areas are former mining towns with 19^th century legends that are themes in today’s après-ski scenes.

          This correspondent has sampled them all and raises his thumb on every one. Each promises the thrills of  skiing and the joys of sharing the experience and ambiance with like-minded friends.

          Farther west are Tahoe and marvelous resorts that circle the high alpine lake between California and Nevada like a string of pearls. Diamond Peak, Northstar, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, Heavenly, Sierra at Tahoe, and Kirkwood combine topnotch skiing with spectacular scenery. Several offer after-dark excitement that includes fine dining, gala shows, and casinos.

          Arguably the best mountain in California, outside the Tahoe orbit, is Mammoth, whose extensive terrain justifies the name. 

Other Venues

          Travel agents can be confident that they have done right by clients they send to glamorous Sun Valley in Idaho, with its lingering echoes of Hollywood. To Big Sky and Big Mountain in Montana, where real cowboys may be in the local bar. Or Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and its awesome chutes where  fierceless skiers can jump in, while timid ones watch from the renowned cable car that will be retired after 40 years of service. And Taos Ski Valley just above Albuquerque, New Mexico, another favorite of experts who like to mash moguls and cavort in the steep and deep.   Taos also has a solid amount of  novice terrain.

          The Pacific Northwest boasts 14 areas in Washington, with Crystal Mountain probably best known. Oregon has eight white playgrounds, most impressive of which are Mt. Bachelor, Timberline and Mt Hood Meadows.

          Across the Canadian border are such famous namedrops as Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta and Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia. These two interconnected mountains, already classified by some as most like the snowfields of Europe, will be seen often on television four years out. They are part of Vancouver’s successful bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

The Last Olympics

          Salt Lake City is still reaping the benefits of hosting the 2002 Games. High awareness, coupled with “the greatest snow on earth,” has made the city one of the most popular ski destinations in the United States. Snow they tout is truly fluffy, a result of clouds picking up moisture from the Pacific Ocean, “drying” the snow on the way over the Nevada desert, before dumping it on the Wasatch Range. The snow is also deep; Alta and neighboring Snowbird average more than 500 inches of natural snow during a season.

          The fine international airport certainly influenced the awarding of the Olympics to Salt Lake City. It is one of the world’s most convenient gateways to the snow. Less than an hour from the baggage carousel, up different canyons, are world-class resorts with other familiar names: Snowbasin, Park City, The Canyons and Deer Valley.

          This writer, a grizzly bear who has slept through summer and fall, checked out these areas in early December with several friends. They carved on slopes of groomed corduroy, ventured off-piste to make fresh tracks, and replayed each day over dinner and wine.

All the while congratulating themselves on being able to bear out that the west has many great places to ski.     

This article is reprinted with permission of JaxFax Travel Marketing magazine.                   

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