What's America like for Skiing?

blue note · 07-12-2020 4:01pm #1

Have many here gone in North America and is it much different to the Alps for example? I hear various things - the queues are orderly (this would be nice), it's expensive (not so nice), you have ski patrol (to be honest I don't like the sound of them).

But what else is different there? Do the pistes tend to be as well maintained as Austria for example? Is the food any good? Is the skiing any good? And what is the infrastructure like?

Obviously these questions are generalizations and I'm sure you have lots of variety in both America and the Alps, but what are the generalisations?

Skyfloater · 11-12-2020 12:03am

A six day lift pass for Vail is $894.:eek:
Do you really need to know any more!

Some12 · 11-12-2020 1:46pm

Sorry… long post but I’ve done a lot of Mid and West coast skiing.

Skiing in the US can be a bit different mainly associated with rules, fears of liability and fitting in. The Americans are generally very friendly, helpful, and rule following. I don't think I've ever seen jumping the lift queue in the US!

Choose a resort that suits you, your ski personality and your budget – You may find that a small resort gives you a better ski week than a large popular one. I, personally, have no time for for the famous ones like Vail, Aspen or Park City - Money magnets!

An example of a ski day in California:

General – No smoking unless in identified smoking zones. They’re very strict on this. Don’t drink exposed alcohol in view of a public road – You can get a fine for that! People put their beers in a bag to conceal it which is fine.

Travel/ski insurance – Get it and make sure it's comprehensive. A trip to A&E can set you back $10,000 to find nothing seriously wrong. A hospital stay can set you back $100,000+. Laya recommended at least $5,000,000 coverage for me. Make sure you can afford the excess/deductible on the policy.

Tipping – you are expected to tip 15% - 20% for meals, drinks and services (Haircuts, room service, valet parking, taxis, etc).

Ski hire – all organized and efficient. You'll get a liability release form to sign absolving the resort of responsibility if something (anything) goes wrong.

Lift pass – all orderly but again you’ll get a liability release form to sign that lists the rules on the slopes and the resort – give them a quick read.

Queueing at the lift – All nice and orderly. Find your spot in the queue and follow it. Politeness is expected. Feel free to chat to those in the queue with questions on the runs and don’t be surprised if they offer to guide you to their favorite runs.

The slopes – the majority of blues and reds are groomed and in very good condition but you can find some ungroomed reds & blacks. Unfortunately, fresh snow on a decent black gets skied out pretty quick and can soon turn to packed and icy moguls.

The food – On the slopes you get what you get. A burger for $18 is what I last paid. Food is OK. The menus on the American slopes are kind of sparse at times but you get burger and a beer. The bigger resorts have 4/5 star places at the top.

Dropping the hill – DO NOT SKI OUT OF BOUNDS. You will lose your lift pass. You might see a nice bit of untracked powder from the lift but it may be out of bounds. I knew a lad that skied a large untracked slope only to find the ski patrol waiting for him half way down on his second run. Had a full week ski pass pulled on day 1. Also, getting injured out of bounds can void all your insurance (all those liability waivers you signed).

Keep an eye out for beginners on intermediate or advanced runs. If they turn or fall in front of you, it’s your fault. You could lose your ski pass and get dragged into a lawsuit.

Out at night – Don’t stand out from the general crowd. If You are at a rave, party like a rave. If you’re in a quiet family place with kids – what the hell are you doing there when there’s a rave going on!

The cardinal sins – Do not drink & drive impaired. Even one beer can lead to a world of hurt. Marijuana is legal in some US states but that is still driving impaired. And, there’s no maximum limit to exceed for being impaired like alcohol and it stays in your system for days.

a148pro · 11-12-2020 10:47pm

Wow i've never heard of that drinking thing, I could have seen that getting me into trouble

Op I'm fascinated by skiing in the states and want to try it at some stage. I love the sense of atmosphere you get of us resorts in Ski movies, particularly the wild kind of ones where there's a big off piste culture

I think if you're into skiing you've just got to try it once, it'll probably cost a hell of a lot more and may not be as good but will have to be tried

maddness · 12-12-2020 8:58am

American skiing sound like a pain in the hole, give me the Alps any day.

BarryNumber1 · 13-12-2020 12:10am

Not forgetting the golden rule... any skiing is better than no skiing. Or snowboarding in my case.

It’s not as dire as outlined above, it’s just different than the Alps. Does depend on the location... West Coast, East Coast and all the stuff in the middle. Get insurance and wear a helmet. A few miles north and you could consider Whistler? But considering the travel hassle in general with going to the U.S. or Canada, there’s a whole lot of Alps to discover.

Rew · 13-12-2020 7:50pm

I skied couple of Tahoe resorts. Its totally different to the European experience. Much more like doing to Disney, ie you buy your ticket and go in the gate and everything inside is run by the same company and is all private (and you can be kicked out for breaking the rules). It was expensive, lift infrastructure was old but fine. They are very odd about NOT putting the bar down on chairs. It was good skiing but you wouldn't do a week in most resorts, you would need to travel to a few in the locality. Whistler is probably the exception as its massive.

blue note · 15-12-2020 1:27pm

Sounds fun. I'll definitely make an effort to try it some year, just to see the difference. I'm sure it would add on cost overall. Although I have heard that while the lift passes are shockingly expensive on paper that you'll always get a deal with them through a travel company or the like to make them more reasonable.

The one fear I'd have is losing my lift pass! I enjoy pushing myself on the slopes. I'll admit that a few times I've built up more speed than is appropriate for someone of my ability, but never on a busy slope. But I suspect I'm building up that fear in my head from a handful of youtube videos I've seen of ski patrol on a power trip.

Alun · 15-12-2020 1:39pm

I've been to Breckenridge three times (and once to Canada, staying in Banff) and have to say I enjoyed it. The slopes are, on the whole, a good bit tamer than most in the Alps so if you're into the breakneck kamikaze stuff then the American resorts probably aren't for you. Mostly big long wide cruisers which suits me fine.

For me the big difference was in how busy they were, or rather how busy the weren't! During the week, the pistes and lifts were pretty much deserted. First thing in the morning you could see a main feeder quad chairlift with only one person on it. Queues then are more or less zero so you finish one run and it's back on the lift again with no delay .. gets quite tiring without any breaks if you're ancient like me. Even when there are queues, say at weekends, they're ruthlessly policed by the lift staff, any messing and you're out and may even possibly lose your pass. In the case of chairlifts there's a separate singles queue that they use to fill up each chair, and you don't get a choice, refuse and again there'll be penalties. Makes for a very efficient use of the lift capacity.

One thing is also that even if you're staying in one resort, there are regular bus shuttles that will take you somewhere else for a day trip if you fancy a change, so you can sample some of the more upmarket resorts just for a day without having to stay there.

Royale with Cheese · 15-12-2020 1:47pm

I did Whistler in Canada two years ago, and Keystone/Breckenridge in Colorado 20+ years ago when I was a kid. Skiing conditions aside, it's a very very different vibe to going on holiday to Austria for a week. I much prefer the Alps but I guess that is personal preference.

Whistler is also one of the biggest ski areas in North America but I felt you could pretty much do it all in two days, I'd prefer the bigger interlinked areas in Austria I've been to.

a148pro · 16-12-2020 12:34am

Rew wrote: »

Much more like doing to Disney, ie you buy your ticket and go in the gate and everything inside is run by the same company and is all private

God I hate the sound of this

Grand_Ice · 03-03-2021 4:08am

Some12 wrote: »

Sorry… long post but I’ve done a lot of Mid and West coast skiing.

Choose a resort that suits you, your ski personality and your budget – You may find that a small resort gives you a better ski week than a large popular one. I, personally, have no time for for the famous ones like Vail, Aspen or Park City - Money magnets!

I'm a bit late to the party. But I completely agree with this, there are some absolute gems that most people don't think of. I've skied over 40 days on slopes in the US Rockies over the past 2 years and some of the best days have been on less well known mountains.

The best thing about the US ski resorts is the access to backcountry and sidecountry skiing. Some areas even blast for avalanches around the resort. Every resort is different though, some have ropes up in dangerous areas and in some you're going through trees and a drop pops up on you out of nowhere.
The piste conditions really vary, I've been in a couple of resorts that the groomed runs get torn up and packed very early in the day and some that have nice groomed runs right up to lifts closing. It doesn't help that the locals in some areas seem to love riding moguls.
Generally the infrastructure is not that good both on the mountain and getting there. For most the best way to the base is to drive and park. I found the lift and gondola systems in the alps are much better than the US resorts I've Accommodation near resorts tends to be expensive, but it's usually fairly cheap if you don't mind a bit of a drive or have a big group.
Lift tickets are expensive at the big places but you can usually find a local ski hill with cheaper tickets to mix in a day or 2.
Salt Lake is a good base if you want to try a couple of different resorts. Getting to the Cottonwood canyons is awkward enough with the traffic, but the powder up there is phenomenal. You have Solitude, Brighton, Snowbird and Alta all close to the city and Snowbasin a little bit north. My favourite areas are further north again though, Targhee, Jackson Hole and Big sky are excellent. Bridger bowl is also worth a trip.
Skiing is definitely expensive for lift tickets. Although there are some very good collective passes that can make days cheap enough if you can use it enough.

mollser · 04-03-2021 5:43pm

I remember back in the days of the Extreme Sports channel, one of the American pro-boarders summed it up very well, I paraphrase:

In the US, you go up the hill and get back down as quick as possible, and do it again
In Europe, you go up the hill, have a drink or two, and then go down when you're ready

As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle, but sounds about right to me!

Diemos · 12-08-2021 4:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/115615673#Comment_115615673

If you did Whistler in 2 days then you would have entirely missed the heart and the essence of Whistler.

There are a lot of comments here about the rules in North America, ski patrol etc.

Personally I liked it, never had an issue with Ski Patrol, cos I didn't board beyond my ability.

The singles lines are great, I find European lift lines painful, from the jumping to 15 to 20 min queues with chairs going up half full.

Each to their own, I think there are positives to every resort I've been to in Europe and north America.

What's America like for Skiing?

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