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West Coast recommendations

4K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  edlo 
#1 ·
So, keen to get some recommendations as to resorts on the west coast (Canada or the US) that are decent.

I'm intermediate level, comfortable on most blacks but can't really be bothered with the horribly mogulled ones, and starting to learn some freestyle - but prefer it on natural features as opposed to the park. The gf is a skier who mostly does blue runs.

Spent a couple of weeks in Sun Peaks last January and a couple of weeks in Whistler this Jan. I liked the feel of Sun Peaks more - less people (the only day there were queues was a bluebird with 30cm of fresh pow and even then they were only 5 minutes), didn't get tracked out nearly as fast, while still being a reasonable size with a lot to explore. Whistler was cool for the range of terrain to explore though, and the beginner terrain parks were great for a noob like me.

Coming from New Zealand, the west coast of North America is pretty accessible via Vancouver or LA (or SF), would look to spend a couple weeks there, likely mid-late Jan 2014.

Had sussed out Big White (maybe as a combo with Silverstar) and Mammoth as options (and maybe Fernie) but keen to get views or other suggestions. Given the distance, cost and need to book in advance, reliability of snowfall is pretty important (and I'm pretty set on ski-in ski-out too).
 
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#9 ·
Shot bro.

We've done January the last couple of years just because it's normally easier to swing leave from work then (as you know, the whole country here basically shuts down for a month over Jan!). March is probably a bit late but Feb could be an option - any major holiday peaks to avoid there?
 
#4 ·
March is much more reliable than January.

If you are stuck in January, I would say interior BC is where you should look. Revelstoke, Golden, powder highway spots.

Washington State is awfully good, but snow levels can be erratic during that time. I guess they can be during any month, but it just seems like that is the time it happens the most.

Utah is another pretty easy spot to hit with pretty reliable snow.
 
#20 ·
If you are stuck in January, I would say interior BC is where you should look. Revelstoke, Golden, powder highway spots.
I can second this. If the last two seasons is anything to go by, we've been pretty consisten by the end of December in all the Canadian Rockies resorts (Lake Louise, Sunshine, Fernie, Kicking Horse, etc.)

We get arctic air masses that mean we can be -15 C when interior BC and west is above freezing. Means our snow stays fluffier longer. Also relatively small lift lines here.
 
#10 ·
Amenities is not so big a deal. As far as I'm concerned, a village the size of Sun Peaks or maybe a little bigger is ideal. A few places to eat and drink, somewhere to buy alcohol, somewhere to buy groceries, that'll cover it. More concerned about the quality of the riding and reliability of the snow!
 
#7 · (Edited)
If you opt for March Mammoth is probably a good bet. January not so much.

It's technically 'off season' for them even tho they will most likely still have a ton of snow even in an average year. You can probably get some pretty good rates for a ski in/ski out . Their base clientele are from LA and by march most of us forget about winter sports and move on to going to the beach.

Not to mention the Tioga Pass will be open and Yosemite is about an hour away. You may or may not need a car to get to Yosemite, but it's a must do if you're in the area. I know there are buses but from Mammoth to Yosemite but they might not start running until April/May.
 
#8 ·
If you opt for March Mammoth is probably a good bet.

It's technically 'off season' for them even tho they will most likely still have a ton of snow even in an average year. You can probably get some pretty good rates for a ski in/ski out . Their base clientele are from LA and by march most of us forget about winter sports and move on to going to the beach.

Not to mention the Tioga Pass will be open and Yosemite is about an hour away. You may or may not need a car to get to Yosemite, but it's a must do if you're in the area. I know there are buses but from Mammoth to Yosemite might not start running until April/May.
Tioga opened in March? It wasn't open when I came through on May 1st, last year.....and that was a horrible snowpack year. Tioga won't be open in March.
 
#17 · (Edited)
So, keen to get some recommendations as to resorts on the west coast (Canada or the US) that are decent.

Had sussed out Big White (maybe as a combo with Silverstar) and Mammoth as options (and maybe Fernie) but keen to get views or other suggestions. Given the distance, cost and need to book in advance, reliability of snowfall is pretty important (and I'm pretty set on ski-in ski-out too).
I know you want ski-in and ski-out but...

You can start by flying into Southern California then do a midweek day trip to Mountain High ,2 hour from about every where in Los Angeles. The weather is pretty predictable and they will have a lot of man made snow, although I had rare snow date at the end of December 2012 which was really good. You ski in and ski out of your car.

From there. once you are in LA you can fly out to Mammoth, Tahoe, Salt Lake City, or Colorado depending on where the snow is. Flights to Mammoth are always open because they basically started commercial flights only a couple of years ago and people in California love to drive their own cars 6 hours to Mammoth. In Mammoth there are tons of ski in ski out, but they have a lot of shuttle around town. You are either going to shuttle to the mountain or shuttle to the restaurants. Staying at "The Village" is basically ski in ski out, and walking distance to shops, but it is $$$ pricy. I no longer do ski in ski out because we don't use the kitchen in the condo of these places, but if you have kids , ski in and out makes more sense. There are three ways to rent: vacation rental by owner, condo rental via management company, rental from Mammoth Resort, you pay for convenience.

If the condition are bad for driving , they will do slow plow escort but it is usually for just a short distance.

June Mountain is 40 minutes away from Mammoth, it is just far enough to have totally different weather. It is a good backup plan for Mammoth, they will reopen June next year, but I don't know to what extent. There might be a storm in Mammoth but clear skies in June and june is always empty.

If you want to fly into Salt Lake City - You can stay in Down Town and take a shuttle to 4 different resorts 30-40 minutes away. You can also do ski in and ski out at those places but I want the options. The first time I went, I rented a 4WD car to drive everywhere, it doesn't make much sense with the transportation that they provide.

You can also fly from LAX to Eagle Colorado for Vail.

When people make the drive to Mammoth they know that they wont be stranded at an airport due to weather. If weather is so bad that they can't even drive, they won't be able to make it up there. I've been there for a week and my truck was buried under 5 feet of snow. Even then the conditions weren't harsh, although I now carry a snow shovel with me.

You can gamble and book a place far off in the future or pay a little extra and know exactly where the conditions are good next year.
 
#18 ·
You can start by flying into Southern California then do a midweek day trip to Mountain High ,2 hour from about every where in Los Angeles. The weather is pretty predictable and they will have a lot of man made snow, although I had rare snow date at the end of December 2012 which was really good. You ski in and ski out of your car.
Jesus christ PLEASE do not fly all the way from New Zealand to ride at fucking Mt High...

is this what you want to ride?
 
#21 ·
Lol. Mt High does NOT look like that just to be clear, the only times ive seen Bare spots were early season november and early december this year.. and they were nowhere near as bad as that pic haha. They have good coverage lately, no bare spots at all. Though I def agree that it's not worth a visit if you're flying from out of country, it's a very small mountain with not a lot to do.
 
#23 ·
Lol. Mt High does NOT look like that just to be clear, the only times ive seen Bare spots were early season november and early december this year.. and they were nowhere near as bad as that pic haha. They have good coverage lately, no bare spots at all. Though I def agree that it's not worth a visit if you're flying from out of country, it's a very small mountain with not a lot to do.
Original poster said mid January. Not march. My highs sucks 80% of the time . I commuted from highland park to Torrance , it took 30 minutes to get through down town.i commuted from Redondo to Costa Mesa 50 minutes each way. Why do you bring up commute times , they aren't going against traffic. And if the day sucks don't go to mt high. Drive 6 hr to mammoth. Canada got good storms the last two years but weather is not predictable one year out .

This picture is mammoth coverage today and why I drive 5 hours
 

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