killclimbz

You know in all seriousness have you looked at Vail? It's huge and very similar to pow mow. The only time that you might consider it crowded is the weekend. It's so big though that even on weekends you can get away from the crowds. The base area and the mid mountain spots are the only places I've seen big crowds there. If VBI makes it over from sb.com he can give you more info. Dude knows Vail better than any one person I know. Maybe it's because all he does is take high paying clients on expert lessons which consists of guiding them around the mountain. Best day ever at Vail I had was following him around. Good stuff.

richedie

Sounds like I would rather go to a place with more variety than Wolf Creek, maybe even stick to another Utah trip. There is a lot in Utah I have not experienced like Lightning Ridge at Pow and some new terrain at Snowbird, plus the backcounty I know in the canyons. I like variety and lots of snow.

Heck, maybe even another Tahoe or Whistler trip. Maybe Baker, Crystal and Stevens Pass. Hmmmmm

Vail is expensive and lodging would be expensive as well.

killclimbz

Yeah, if you are looking for expansive, Wolf Creek ski area is not the spot. A lot of people could have fun for a week there, but I am not getting that vibe from you. Summit County/Vail would be more up your alley in Colorado. Steamboat or Crested Butte for remote. Nothing at the resorts are cheap. As far as bang for your traveling buck goes Utah is hard to beat. Especially the Snowbasin/Powder Mountain options. I don't if you've hit Snobasin, but it was every bit as good as the Cottonwood resorts and not crowded. It's a great mountain.

richedie

I think the Seattle area may also be as good! You?

also, I found Snowbasin a bit boring? I was only there twice but it seemed a lot of flat spots and not much in the way of steeps.

killclimbz

Snobasin flat? Seriously??? Pow Mow was flat when compared to snowbasin. Did you get off of No Name Peak and the other hike to gates? There was a thread on another ski site that actually claimed snobasin was the steepiest resort overall in Utah. I can say the backcountry off of No Name is friggin' sweet.

Hitting Baker and Stevens would be sweet. The terrain looks epic. Hitting it in good conditions is going to be much more of a gamble than Utah or Colorado. Just due to the lower elevation. Stuff manks up quicker. Still, when it's good it looks as good as anywhere. I have plans for a long weekend out there, last minute flight sort of thing. I am not so sure you would want to stay in Seattle though. It's around a 2 hour drive to anything good from what I have heard.
Shayboarder is from there and could give you more info. Also the guys on SnowboardSeattle.com - Ride Free!know (duh!)the scene. You could ask for their thoughts on where the traveling snowboarder should stay. Great snow and terrain, but they don't really seem to have resort towns there.

Shayboarder

I grew up riding the Northwest and now live in Steamboat.

Not sure if you like driving a lot but that's what you'll be doing if you plan to ride Baker, Crystal, Stevens Pass, Alpental if you go to Washington. The mountains are not close to each other at all. I used to commute from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass (Alpental, Central, West, East) and it would take easily 2 hours and those are the closest mountains to each other.

In terms of Backcountry riding, there's some awesome stuff in bounds at all of those mountains and I wouldn't recommend stepping out of bounds unless you are with a mountain local...mostly for a couple reasons. The snow is heavy and falling in a tree wells are the easiest way to die on the mountain and suffocate. The in bounds terrain is awesome and steeper than most mountains and the in bounds is usually the toughest stuff you can do...especially at Baker and Stevens.

The mountains are steep if you want steep terrain it's there...but just remember even in bounds at Stevens or Baker...ride with someone who will look out for you, i'd have numerous days with friends that have been buried in snow, fallen in tree wells and needed someone to get them out...especially during a huge powder dump. These friends were all solid riders, but one thing about NW riding is tree runs are the hardest riding with deep pow, awesome and amazing but if you lose control, lose speed, take a wrong turn...it is the end of amazing and awesome quickly. There is that much snow and it's heavy. If you do go, find a local who can show you the spots...it's worth it.

As for the snow being epic...yes but it doesn't last long, you'd need to be up there early and it'll get tracked out quick and if you find untracked stuff within a couple days it'll be not as good and heavy slush.

One other thing about Northwest riding, is you are driving to the mountains...because most do not offer on-mountain lodging. Only Crystal mountain and Snoqualmie has lodging on the mountain and even then neither are ski-in/ski-out. If you stayed in Seattle you'd be driving a good 1 hour to 3 hours to ride those mountains depending which one you decide on. Plus if you go on the weekends you'll be competing with tons of traffic to get there and home on the way back especially from Stevens. I've sat in gridlock numerous times from Stevens to Monroe during the winter. The highway to Baker is one of the hardest highway's i've driven to in snow conditions and unless you are a good snow driver...it's a risky drive sometimes.

Coming from the Northwest...i'll go back for trips but there's definitely perks of resort towns and the NW riding is not resort towns...it's mostly day ski hills is the best way to put it. The lodging and nightlife are limited if any. Stevens and Snoqualmie offer night riding but that's it.

richedie

It has been about 10 years since riding Snow Basin and remember not liking it much......but I think I do remember finding some cool stashes in Strawberry bowl? Anyway, I'll have to check it out again. I just recall the terrain not being to my liking or as fun as I was hoping.

I find more terrain I like at Pow, such as the Powder Country on both side of the road, including some short hikes.

Shayboarder...thanks for the info on the NW! Thanks!

Well, I must say of all the places I've been....the most consistent were Utah and Whistler/Blackcolm. Although, a friend of mine hit killer ston for 3 years in a row in trips to Jackson Hole. The year I went.....hardly anything for the week.

Shayboarder

Yep no problem, the NW is good but it's definitely spread out and really not a destination place to go to in my opinion. But when you get a powder day...Baker, Stevens and Alpental are epic.

Steamboat has some epic powder days too but a lot of non-powder days in between sometimes. And not steep at all.

killclimbz

I would say you've been lucky if you've hit snow everytime you've gone out to Utah and Whistler. Especially if it was Utah last year. They had a horrible season.

Any spot will have it's dry spells. Jackson is probably the crown jewel resort in the US. January is typically a prime month to visit resorts anywhere. That is usually when the snow piles on.

mpdsnowman

I really liked steamboat, WP was awesome too. The Berthoud pass run was epic. Next time I would like to visit vail

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