rbericson wrote:Responding to james_gray:
Where would you recommend in the States? I have this strange mental image of Disney on Snow. Are there quite organic places you can ski or is it all snowtheme parks, chairlifts and smiles?
---
All the ski resorts in the U.S. and Canada are definitely NOT created equal. If you've not gone to North America because of the distance or expense, that's valid. But, just as every ski area in Europe is not the same, neither is every ski area in N. America the same. Many are wild, uncrowded, gorgeous and snowy. Some are overbuilt, crowded, too expensive and have unreliable snow, but it's easy to avoid those.
I've lived in Austria and skied all over Europe, and I've also skied in much of North America. I tell my skiing friends that, if they haven't gone to Europe or western North America, they owe it to themselves to try it at least once, because it's very different from Eastern N. America skiing.
The huge advantage of western North America is SNOW !!!! Utah, Colorado and the Canadian Rockies are almost always buried from late November on. It's not unusual to ski there and get many inches of snow EVERY DAY. But, because we have lots of trees here, avalanches are much less common.
While some resorts are overbuilt and glitzy (think Vail and Aspen), some of the same ones also offer tremendous skiing. Many places -- Utah, Colorado, most western Canada resorts -- are unspoiled and uncrowded AND offer incredible skiing. For lower prices and few crowds, think Utah and Canada. Also, many N. American resorts are well-served by airports and wide, well-plowed access roads.
You probably know that few N. American resorts have much above the treeline, which makes them feel somewhat less wide open (though the big resorts do have huge, wide-open bowls if that's your thing). But on stormy, foggy days, you can see a lot better than you can in Europe above the treeline.
One note: Do avoid Vermont, New Hampshire and Quebec. Their weather is erratic (often too warm) and because they're so close to large population centers, they can be crowded. They're also expensive.
West is where you'd want to go and, yes, it's a very long plane ride.
A really excellent post, couldn't agree more - Western US snow resorts are better. I have never been to a canadian resort - how are they? I know you said Quebec is not ideal.. any leads?