Rockies compared to Appalachians.

K

kootenayklaus

Active member
I was running today in my town and I was thinking about my trip to Colorado a couple weeks ago and looked around. Then it hit me that even in my town, stuck in the middle of the Appalachians, there was some pretty amazing beauty in it all. To think that many ice coast skiers have taken this for granted just awes me now. In the rockies there are jagged snow covered peaks which is amazing to see something different than what your used to but I bet that west coast skiers could almost be the same way that we are; taking for granted what is really there. They might come east and say wow, this is really cool and vice versa. Just look around and have you taken for granted what is really there?
 
look, im sorry, but name one thing that is better about nature, for a skier, on the east coast then out west?

nothing
 
a guy sitting next to me on a lift at blue mtn turned around, looked, and then said "wow, what a beautiful view - we are so high"

then i came back to keystone. its all perspective and comparison. just depends on how you look at things.
 
I love where my ski area is in the Sierras. I look down on a beatiful lake and can look all the way up a river valley. It's so sweet. I love the mountains. Go to Yosemite sometime, it will really make you appreciate Nature's beauty and it really makes you realize just how small you actually are.
 
the apps r actually amazing mtns the scenery is unbeliveable and the east coast might b bad for skiing but we make do and have the best time possible... franconia notch is pretty sweet if ne one will ever b in the nieghborhood on northern NH
 
This.

One look at Lake Tahoe...

One glance at Lake Pend Oreille...

One stare at the Mt. Rainier...

One look off of the summit at Jackson Hole...

One glance at Mt. Hood

One stare in any direction in Mammoth Lakes...

and you know you're in the right place.
 
The East Coast is beautiful and I could probably live there, but still a bit humid for my taste along with bitter winters.

I've been in love with the Rockies ever since I can remember, and I still love it as much as I did now that I live in Dillon. Summer is equally as beautiful as winter.

I love driving towards Aspen especially. Carbondale was the best camping adventure I had ever had. A whole forest full of massive aspen trees with evergreens bunched together. It was like walking through Narnia or something. Even though I was on horseback the whole time, hiking it would be equally as awesome.

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The drive to Steamboat is beautiful because a lot of it is farmed land. Even the drive over Loveland Pass is gorgeous. Sure it looks brown and all, but it's just so cool. I can't explain it.

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Then we get our first snow in September/October which is the most exciting time for me. OMG!

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The mountains are even better in washington and canada than in colorado.
East coast mountains (hills) bug me, but at least its better than all the spooky flat areas.
 
The alpes are by far the prettiest mountain ranges that Ive witnessed, far more striking than the rockies... Personal preference obviously!
Orogeny FTW!
Man I fucking love mountains!!
 
i live in the NC Appalachians and yea they suck for skiing but at least we have world class bouldering. Our area is really beautiful and technically a rain forest climate.
But yea as soon as i graduate college ill be moving to somewhere outwest.
 
i actually know exactly what he means. obviously the skiing is better in every way in the rockies, but in terms of scenery its actually a tough decision having lived in both. the rockies are more epic and have some awesome rock formations, but the appalachia's have such dense forests with an incredible amount of color, idk i like both
 
^ exactly what i was about to say. the rockies are hands down better for skiing but i only realized that there is beauty in them both and i was super ignorant about it before. i honestly can't believe i was that way
 
i don't think your point holds much water skiing wise, but i've spent time in the appalachians and enjoyed myself very much.

i think that while the west has the more majestic, snow capped craggy peaks, there is a lot of value in the outdoor activities and aesthetic beauty of the appalachians, and they can even be more desirable than the intermountain west to some people with specific activity desires.
 
point taken. there's no comparison for the altitudes, lengths of each descent, prevalence of open bowls, steep rocky chutes, huge cliffs, etc. so really, why bother? The east in general offers a sense of intimacy in the woods, because with the exception of tuck's, its all in the woods. I love montana, the big-sky state, but being in new england, skiing just a few inches of new snow in tight trees makes you appreciate what you have. Its a true stereotype that easterners will, on average, ski happily with less snow. Its still skiing, and while our brothers to the west certainly love to get their shred on, the entire process has more flexibility. If you want to huck your meat or just cruise groomers, a skier in the rockies can chose their challenge for the day. Often in the east, just setting an edge in ice, on the most heavily groomed trails, is no minor feat.And again, with the exception of tuckerman's, there are very few avalanches out here. I've taken my courses, and think that far more skiers globally should do so. However, I don't have the gear, and until I migrate to bigger mtns, I'll enjoy going anywhere with a dusting of snow and enough spacing between the trees, without my transceiver.
 
I haven't done much skiing out East, but one of the things that's cool about East Coast hills are the woods. I love tree skiing on the West Coast, but it's almost entirely made up of identical evergreen trees. There's just something different about the look and feel of East Coast glades and tree chutes.
 
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