Where to go out west this year

[J_Gasper]

[J_Gasper]

Active member
Hey guys,

I have done a little bit of research from previous threads, but I have a few specific questions. I go to Colorado every year, so I want to change it up. The areas I am looking at are:

Montana

Utah

Washington

British Columbia

I know each of these areas have their ups and downs. A few things to keep in mind, I want to keep it as cheap as possible, Im looking for tree skiing mainly, and I hate crowds.

Montana: I have always wanted to hit up Big Sky. I figure if I stay right around the resort, I can hit up Bridger Bowl, which is nice to ski both resorts. I think White Fish is to far away, correct? I like that Big Sky is known for their steeps, and that Bridger Bowl is known for their powder.

Utah: All the resorts are pretty close to each other. I think I would mostly be at Alta, but I would defiantly go to PC for a day for the experience. From what I hear, the snow is typically great. However, last year was really shitty for all of Utah?

Washington: More of a ski destination for locals. Gets a lot of snow, and cheap lift tickets. Not to many places to stay around Baker and Stevens. People say its really a hit or miss, which can frighten me.

British Columbia: Ideally, this would be my #1 choice. If I were to go, I would want to go to Whistler, but I really would like to go to Revy. I feel like thats A TON of driving. Also, I feel like lodging would be expensive.

That is my basic knowledge on all of those locations.

+K to whoever helps





Spark notes: Out of Montana, Utah, Washington, and B.C. which area should I go to for least amount of crowds, good snow, and tree skiing?

 
I'm in love with alta/snowbird/snowbasin/pc, so Utah is definitely my vote

but I dont know much about the other places so good luck
 
Hit up the Powder Highway in BC. You get Kicking Horse, Revy, Whitewater, Red, and if you want, Fernie. Stay in hostels to keep it cheap
 
if you hate lines and you like trees, come ski at any of the washington areas during the middle of the week. yes it is hit or miss but if you it is a hit then there is nothin better.

 
I completely agree. I would be skiing presidents weekend, followed by that whole week after it. I would love to go to WA, but it sounds like the conditions there are shitty just as much as they are good.

Flights are cheaper to Vancouver then to Bozeman, Jackson, or Spokane. Weird.
 
I skied Alta/Snowbird this past year, and we skied Snowbird after a late dump in April. The skiing was great, and there were a ton of areas to take advantage of. I'd recommend it for sure
 
Im actually looking into this. Do you recommend flying into Vancouver? Is there any other major airport closer to all of those?
 
Out of that list and the detail you provided I'd say

1. Utah

2. Montana

3. B.C.

4. Washington

I live right near Stevens Pass WA and love it but it really is hit or miss and granted if it's a hit week you'll have a fucking blast but if it's a miss it will be a terrible time and you'll wish you went somewhere else.
 
Fly into Calgary and start in Golden. Hit up the Alberta Rockies of you want, I only suggest Lake Louise though
 
dude its presidents weekend, basically the bustiest ski week out of the entire season, anywhere you go you will see more than your fare share of people in my opinion.
 
Go at revelstoke, roger pass if you're touring, whitewater,red. BC is sick, I went to utah and love my trip, we rent a house and cook every night.
 
a word of caution - it's looking like El Nino will be going on this winter, meaning the PNW (including southern BC) might get fucked by warm temperatures. In past El Nino years January/February in BC are, for the most part, complete crap. By mid March/April things tend to go back to normal, so I'd plan to come during the spring. El Nino or not, mid March to mid April has been some of the best snow/skiing condtions of the season in BC the past few years.

The drive from Whistler to Revelstoke is about 8 hours, the first two of those on a pretty hairy road in the winter, so expect it to take longer in the winter months. Yes, Whistler is busy every weekend, so expect any holiday weekend to be very, very busy.

Spokane airport is 3 hours from Rossland (Red Mountain), so you could start your kootenay trip there, or from Calgary which is about 3 hours or so from Golden (Kicking Horse).

Either way, Red Mountain, Whitewater, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, and Fernie if you have time, are all worthy of checking out. If you have touring skills check out Kootenay Pass for some awesome yo-yo laps (300M vert is typical) with some of the best tree skiing ever, and Rogers Pass for some big time climbs (maxing out at probably just shy of 2000M) and epic alpine descents. Red and Whitewater have more/better tree skiing while Revy and Kicking Horse offer more/better alpine (based purely on inbounds skiiing) - slack country at Whitewater has alpine options, and Revy slack country has some nice tree options - but don't expect much for classic tree skiing terrain in bounds at Revelstoke.

There is enough terrain and variety in the Kootenays to keep a skier occupied for multiple lifetimes, but if you come during a warming trend or during a sustained high pressure and just keep to within the ski area boundaries you can get skunked... but that could be said with anywhere in the world.
 
Red Mountain and Whitewater don't have any crowds and some of the best tree skiing in the world. In bounds at Whitewater is kind of limited in acreage and on a good pow day I find it only entertains me till about mid day before I go out into the slack country... Red Mountain is big enough, with enough good terrain to keep you entertained for a full day of inbounds pow.

That being said, Bridger Bowl and Big Sky are probably pretty quiet too considering their distance to a major population base... the terrain at Bridger seams to be very similar to what you'd find in the kootenays, but I think it's more about chutes and bowls than full on trees. Haven't actually been, so this is all a guess.
 
for british columbia, revelstoke will never let you down, but banff is also suck a sick place to go with cliffs, trees and a sick park.
 
Hmm. Was not informed that this year is supposed to be a El Nino winter. Thats a huge bummer. Realistically though, I wouldn't start booking this trip until the season begins, so I can get a decent forecast on the rest of the year will turn out.

If I do end up going to B.C, it seems like I should skip Whistler. I know its one of those things you have to experience, but its completely a different direction then Red, Whitewater, Revy, Etc. I do not really have any experience with touring, so I will be mostly staying in bounds unfortunately.

Thanks to everyone else that put in some input. I think WA is out of the picture due to lack of lodging and to bi-polar weather. Especially with the forecasted El Nino winter. Hopefully someday I can make it up there. I know there are a few motels/hotels somewhat near Crystal and Stevens, but I just dont know if I want to take the risk to go if there is a major possibility that it will rain the whole week.

If Utah (Alta, PCMR) will be really busy for that week, Im not to interested in going there either. I absolutely hate long lift lines (like everyone else). However, it does sound like it is the most convenient location to go. Close to the airport, and everything is near to each other.

This leaves me to either Montana or British Columbia. If anyone has any more input, it is for sure welcomed! If anyone has gone to both places, I would love some input to what is cheaper.

I forgot to mention this. I will be going with my father on this trip. So driving an extensive amount and staying at crappy motels will be out of the picture haha.
 
SLC, Targhee, JHole.

fly into SLC, drive 5 hours to Targhee to avoid weekend crowds and stay ski-in-ski-out for $100/night. Drive over the pass to JHole(45 mins) if snow is good, or you get bored of targhee.

then drive back to SLC to check out the mtns around there for the rest of the week.

Its your best bet.
 
Stay away from washington that place sucks. But In all seriousness go to BC so much sick shit up there. Whistler, ferny, kicking horse, revelstoke, and I really like red mountain for some reason, Its small but so fun.
 
How much do you usually spend on plane ticket there/back and passes for mountains? Im just trying to get my head around how much it would be for everything from tickets to food to car expense whatever.
 
If Whistler is your plan, there are a few places I know of for cheap rooms. I recently stayed at the southside lodge, which is VERY close to creekside gondola, and 5 minutes drive from the main village. I don't know the winter rates, but in the summer it's as cheap as $35 a night (per person). It is basically a hostel although private rooms are available.

Other than that, the cheapest times are probably early season which can be quite snowy, or late March to early April, where the snow is actually very good.
 
Red Mountain

place is so much fun, cheap, and the tree skiing is killer. they also have a pretty decent park if you're not having a pow day. But red is in the kootenays, so correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they will be affected be el nino as bad as western BC and WA.
 
I would definitely consider Jackson. Jackson is fucking awesome. Abundance of terrain, steeps, trees, cliffs, powder, hikeable inbounds terrain, and awesome backcountry.
 
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