1st Ski Vac in long time..leaving from PDX, OR...best bets ? Whistler, Tahoe, Idaho, UT ?

My wife and I are planning an out of state ski Vacation 3-4 days sometime in Feb 2013. We live in Portland, OR.

We have excluded Colorado this time around because we have been there before, etc.

Two places that we were initially thinking about are Whistler or Lake Tahoe - South Shore.

If we do Whistler, we would most likely drive, which we don't mind.

I know it is comparing apples or oranges... but does anyone have any thoughts on what may be the best experience? We plan to stay on the slopes at either area.

I think we are leaning toward Whistler.

Again, I know this question may be impossible to answer, but we are curious if there is a clear "winner" between a 3-4 day ski vacation between these 2 areas. :D

Apples to oranges is about right!
Whistler/Blackcomb has the advantage of being all in one place so you can access all areas from the piste so to speak. Depending on when you go there can be rain to contend with and if the weather is rubbish it is harder to escape the weather and the crowds as everyone will be trying to do the same thing.
Tahoe is more strung out so if you don't want to drive or want to avoid buses your out of luck or won't make the most of the area. In bad weather it is easier to find somewhere to ski without so many crowds tho.
Whichever you choose you'll have a fab time. Personally I lean towards Tahoe for the smaller area feel. -)

Good thoughts, thank you !

Hi JNW, welcome to J2ski!

Quite a while since I was in Oregon, I did some engineering contract work in Salem, (I seem to recall the traffic lights changed on a Wednesday!), and as a side, played a couple of games of golf in Portland.

Good info from Lillywhite. From Portland, I would just drive north. Whisler and Blackcomb have a lot of skiing. Blackcomb glacier is a great run. The occasional downside at Whistler can be the visability. This can become your "long weekend away" vacation. Really top skiing.
As LW says the Tahoe area is spread out, and so is better suited to a longer vacation. Heavenly, Squaw Valley and other resorts are on the pass, and the transport system is good. Great views.

Dave Mac wrote:Hi JNW, welcome to J2ski!

Quite a while since I was in Oregon, I did some engineering contract work in Salem, (I seem to recall the traffic lights changed on a Wednesday!), and as a side, played a couple of games of golf in Portland.

Good info from Lillywhite. From Portland, I would just drive north. Whisler and Blackcomb have a lot of skiing. Blackcomb glacier is a great run. The occasional downside at Whistler can be the visability. This can become your "long weekend away" vacation. Really top skiing.
As LW says the Tahoe area is spread out, and so is better suited to a longer vacation. Heavenly, Squaw Valley and other resorts are on the pass, and the transport system is good. Great views.

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Thanks, Dave Mac !

We have heard the town is nice at Whistler as well. We are thinking the first weekend in February. I have not skied much outside of Oregon. Of course, Mt. Bachelor is probably the best skiing in Oregon. Other then that, I have done Vail, during a poor snow year and Breckenridge. Breckenridge was nice, but the snow seemed very slow. This could be due to us both being used to wetter/faster snow in the northwest. Both were nice, but we didn't stay in the ski towns, so I wasn't overly impressed.

We are looking at any options within easy flying distance from Portland. The Whistler option sounded nice because it would be drive-able, which would allow us to focus our attention on a nice lodging situation.

We welcome any other suggestions... my wife mentioned Jackson Hole, but I think the cost goes up quite a bit and I haven't ever heard of anyone coming back from Whistler disappointed.

Yes, Whistler town is nice, although I preferred the Colorado towns. I didn't share your experience of snow variation, for sure Colorado had great powder, but Whistler was good too. It will be different in other years. Everyone likes dry powder, but I enjoy wet snow too.

I really enjoyed the Colorado towns, everything from cowboy ranch stuff to all fur coats and no knickers. Good art galleries, I liked the Bev Doolittle stuff.

Again, a shared lift pass, and better suited to a 2 week vacation.

Dave Mac wrote:Yes, Whistler town is nice, although I preferred the Colorado towns. I didn't share your experience of snow variation, for sure Colorado had great powder, but Whistler was good too. It will be different in other years. Everyone likes dry powder, but I enjoy wet snow too.

I really enjoyed the Colorado towns, everything from cowboy ranch stuff to all fur coats and no knickers. Good art galleries, I liked the Bev Doolittle stuff.

Again, a shared lift pass, and better suited to a 2 week vacation.

Yes, we were at Breckenridge, it seemed like unseasonably dry snow... to the point where it was hard to get moving... but the terrain and experience was great.

Do you think an early Feb trip to Whistler is too late in the season... ??... as in we may get some wet weather up there ?

Ok, I think we decided on Whistler.