the 3rd installment of Ski Resort Rankings! this is the third annual video where we take all of the resorts we went to in the past season and attempt to rank them against each other based off my own subjective opinion. the things that are considered when ranking each mountain is level of natural terrain, accessibility to the mountain and overall snow conditions/pack. drop your resort rankings in the comments!
Big sky is my favorite resort because of how gnarly the AZ chutes are, but I havent been to many other gnarly resorts. How would u rank big sky in the list if u had gone this year?
You mentioned some of the resorts (in CA specially) getting tracked out in 1-2 hours (which is true) . In your experience, which of the resorts on the list dont get track too fast? Great video!keep it up ;)
@@rafaelramos634 I haven’t been to all but park city (especially abyss and hike to stuff off super condor) and some of the stuff at big sky stays good for a long time but sometimes gets pushed to the bottom
As an Oregon native, meadows is my home resort and I’ve always felt like despite it being smaller, it really does have more to offer than Bachelor, but Bachelor is usually hailed as the crown jewel of the state. Glad you really enjoyed the Heather/Private Reserve terrain, it’s sick stuff.
and you could definitely be right. it was hard for me to really get a good read on both meadows and bachelor. i had a great day at meadows and am excited to get back there next year!
Enjoyed your list. For most of us who can’t travel around as much it is nice to hear the perspective of someone who has skied so many resorts in a single season.
Or just take a random day off in the middle of the week. Weekdays are relatively empty even on nice sunny days in comparison to weekends. As far as I can tell locals make up the majority of visitors. Washington really needs more resorts, or at least expand the ones they already have.
@@JordanKnighton I spent 31 days trapped down in the valley not being able to ski at all, another 30 days with a 3 hour line up the 8 mile road, and another 30 days waiting for a full bus or a bus that doesn't even show up. US skiing is broken. I'm outta here.
What about the east coast!!!?? There are some great skiing areas in the east! My favorite eastern resort is Sugarloaf in Maine, it has the only above tree line skiing and the only cat skiing in the east. And contrary to popular belief, the east is not all ice. So please do some skiing in the east. I would love to see you ski in the east some!
I realize you can't have them all, but I was really surprised not to see Jackson Hole, or Bridger Bowl on the list especially with a lot of the lame/tame places you did have.
as mentioned in the video and pinned comment, the ranking only included mountains i went to the past year. i did not visit jackson hole or bridger last year specifically, so they weren't included in the list.
Love Sugar Bowl. Such an underrated mountain and doesn’t have the crowds, corporate bs that other mountains have. I skied Mt Bachelor (good snow, terrible visibility) and Palisades this year (lots of terrain but a lot people) as well. Looking forward to seeing where you ski this season!
Sugar bowl is my home mountain and i was stoked to see it pretty high on the list. I've been there on powder days getting free refills with no lines for lifts; basically empty.
i dont ski at sugar bowl anymore bc all my friends ski squaw and heavenly, but sugar bowl was where i learned to ski and it was always fun even when i returned after yrs and yrs
What a great synopsis of the resorts you hit this year. Amazing to see this quick recap of your season and resorts. Last winter was one for the record books brother, cant wait to see how she goes this season.
A nice list and ranking. For me, I always consider AltaBird as one resort and for me is #1. Interesting placing for Vail. Vail's strength(along/w Back Bowls) is double black diamond bump runs. Lucas not being bump skier this is not a draw for him and this reflects in the rankings. Otherwise a good list
Hey Lucas! I know you may not have been to Steamboat many times but I feel that in my 2 weeks in Steamboat in Colorado that Steamboat is 1# because it has the best snow ever. Steamboat also has some great terrain up at the top and in the trees. Also, the people there are just the nicest you could meet!
Love to see three from BC in the top 5. I've heard nothing but good things about Revvy. Close to Golden, and could be hit in the same trip are the Kootenays. If you havent watched it, "Tales from Cascadia" and "Beyond the Powder Highway" are both excellent ski movies and worth the watch for the hype.
Next time north of the 48th, try Red, Whitewater, Fernie and Castle (this last one in Alberta). Big dumps, sick terrain all of them, very unique character(s).
Yep. I did a trip to whistler (10 days) then revvie, KH, Whitewater then red last season (4 days each).. In order of best to worst it was 5. Rev, 4. Whitewater, 3. Red, 2. KH, 1. Whistler. You just can't beat the sheer size and variety of terrain at whistler. But then, you do need more time there to account for the weather. KH is basically like one (excellent) section of whis and if I only had 2 days to ski in a whole season I'd actually probably choose it over whistler.
I live in Seattle and have been going to snoqualime forever and crystal for the last few years and they are both great mountain but crystal is amazing. I am doing the free ride program this year for big mountain and I am so exited for it!
seriously though, people underrate solitude so badly its insane. I think it might just be because Honeycomb is kinda tough to lap, but still @@KindaMistish
Revy and Kicking Horse both have flawed lift systems that do a poor job of spreading skiers out. KH needs a mid terminal on the almost 4k vertical gondola so you don't have to ski to the bottom on every run. Revy never accounted for the extremely low base elevation when designing the lift system. Yeah the Stoke chair is awesome but it is 2k vertical on a 5600 vertical foot mountain. Revy needs a chair that offers another 1,500' below the Stoke that feeds the Stoke so one can then ski 3,500' vertical without going to low on the mountain and into the crud at the lower elevation.
Great video, agree with others that this is super helpful for travel targeting. I always have better days at Alta than Snowbird but definitely recognize the difference in accessibility and scale. I’m hitting Solitude for the first time in February so glad to hear the terrain gets your seal of approval. Also guilty of thinking of Deer Valley as a groomer country club - I’ll have to give it a shot one of these trips.
alta and snowbird are both amazing. totally just comes down to personal preference. solitude is sick, as well, but might seem a bit underwhelming compared to alta/bird in LCC. and if ya can swing it, head up to deer valley and give it a shot for the day!
Even though the list was based on resorts visited last yr, I feel it necessary that on any list, JH should always be listed, possibly as a honorable mention for this list since you weren't there. JH is the sickest terrain in The USA.
Yeah, I am curious to see the ranking vs Kicking Horse and Snowbird. I've skied 40-60 days at Snowbird so know it pretty well but only did JH one day and have yet to try Kicking Horse.
I'm gonna be completely honest, I do not love Snowbird or Alta. Granted I haven't ridden their terrain in a while and I've definetly progress as a skier but they always felt either really easy or super hard. Snow basin and Powder mountain kind of suck, and I think Deer Valley has so much different terrain that it's difficult to get bored. Also solitude has nice terrain but the lines are too crazy for such a meh resort just because of Ikon. Otherwise I think while I may not completely agree it's a fair list and it's kinda funny to me how riled up I got watching this video.
haha yah this topic definitely gets people either stoked or a bit frustrated. at the end of the day, it all comes down to what you enjoy. thats why we do it anyways.
Alta and Snowbird have always been my favorites but I usually go to Alta more often because it’s exclusive to skiers so you don’t have to deal with pesky snowboarders lol
Love the rankings but its surely missing some major places. Jackson hole, Grand Targhee, Aspen Resorts, Telluride, Steamboat, Beaver Creek, Mount Baker, Heavenly, Northstar, Crested Butte, Alyeska, and Big Sky.
As mentioned at the beginning, this video only includes mountains I went to this past season. I’ve been to all of those resorts besides mount baker and Northstar in the past.
Great review. It takes days to figure out Powder Mt. I hated it at first, but it became one of fav spots on earth!!!!!!!!. Best pow days of my life at PowMo. Next time you ski Snowbasin hit me up, my home mountain, I'll show you some epic spots!! You are correct about Deer Valley, not just groomers but some great tree skiing too. Come on 2025!!!!!!!!
I'm surprised you went to Sunpeaks instead of Big White. Big white has such a large variety of terrain, but definitely nothing as sick as revy or kicking horse
Alright, alright- interesting list for sure! I've hit slightly more than half of the resorts on this list. My starting mt was Crystal in WA so cool to see that come in at #10, did you list Mt Baker WA? I missed it if you did but that is the only other mt in WA that I think compares with top 20 resorts but the terrain might not make a top 10 yet the snow you get should put it up there with some of the best in UT. If you include the hikeable terrain and views, Crystal is top 15 in North America but I can see why you questioned top 10, on its best days- hell yeah but that could be said for most of the top 20. Snowbird... yeah- that is my 2nd home mt after Crystal and not at all surprised to see it at #1. Top 3 no question, you need to spend some time at Big Sky and Jackson Hole to fully compare it to the other top Rockies resorts but I can get behind it at #1. I have yet to do the full Revelstroke/Kicking Horse tour, went to MT this year but aiming for a Canada tour in the next couple years. For CO I think Steamboat, Telluride, Aspen, and Crested Butte need to be on some future list consideration. Wolf Creek I've heard a lot about but haven't yet gone. Mt Silverton as well could be on a list but that is not an easy/fair comparison with most of the regular resorts. I'd put Steamboat top 25, Telluride is on the cusp with Crystal and Palisades in being a top 10 but definitely top 20. Aspen and Crested Butte might squeeze into top 15 but I'd have to spend more time at Jackson Hole (only did 1 day there) and check out Kicking Horse and Revelstroke to really be able to have any say on that. Between your mt biking and rating Deer Valley so high, I think I am due for a visit there. I was went there for some spring skiing years ago when I lived in UT but I honestly don't remember much about it other than how spread out the parking lots were and I think I clipped a pass kinda late in the day to get in so probably didn't have time to really explore.
totally agree with a lot of what youre saying! i didnt make it to mt baker, but i want to try and get there this year. ive been to steamboat, telluride and aspen in years past and they are all definitely top 20 top 15 resorts. the snow in colorado is great and all those have fun terrain! been to jackson a handful of times and big sky only once. i do like jackson and id put it as a top 5 resort, but i dont think it replaces snowbird as the #1..
I like your reviews of the California ski resorts. I was born in Berkeley, and grew up in the east San Francisco bay area. I also grew up skiing at Alpine Meadows. As my skiing skills progressed, so did my use of the Alpine terrain. I branched out once I was an adult, and have skied Squaw and Sugar Bowl, but the one resort I fell in love with was Kirkwood. This was my 'go to' location during my 20s and 30s. The reason for this is that 1) the resort is at a higher altitude. Alpine, Sugar Bowl and Squaw all have lower elevations, with the base elevations of 6800, 6200, and 6800. Kirkwood has a base elevation of a bit above 7,700+. It is ok to ski near Truckee after a recent storm, but the the snow is always better at Kirkwood. 2) The 3 resorts near Truckee all offer nice stuff, but precious little of it is easily accessible from the top of a lift. You have to work to get to lots of it, and at Alpine, your primary access is via Alpine Bowl and Summit lifts, which are close together up top and you risk placing yourself in avalanche territory. Kirkwood, on the other hand provides much easier access, and to a larger, wider profile of the mountains there. Three lifts, The Wall, Cornice, and Sunrise, all provide easy access to a very large footprint of the resort. You get to ski lots of real estate. I strongly suggest you spend more time at Kirkwood, and block this time from the middle of January to the middle of March. Do some serious exploring. Your biggest challenge may be in Devil's Corral (access via Sunrise and traverse to Larry's Lip, or from The Wall) but don't miss Wagon Wheel, Sentinel Bowl, and Palisades. The Sunrise chair also provides GS and SGS super speed opportunities. Have fun. I can't offer to ski with you, as I am now a disabled senior citizen, but I do have a pretty good memory.
Love the Kirkwood recognition. Easily the most underrated in California and one of the most underrated in North America, and I'm okay with that. Hope to see you here on a powder day.
The BIG problem with this list is, it's all out west and NOBODY out west knows how to ski!! Here is the FIXED list for ya: 1. KILLINGTON 2. everything else is a waste of time and money, especially anything west of VT!
I’ve always wondered if Vail had followed through w/the original plan to put a Tram in East Vail and added the chutes to their inbounds terrain how different their reputation would be. (2500 vertical feet of 40 degree slopes)
I see this old but what mountain has great skiing and a really cool good sized town town for people that don't ski. Banff was great lots to do afterwards town was huge hiking ect.... Whitefish was great also small town vibe with shops and what not. Whistler was just a shit show. Didn't sleep for 7 days with the 24 hr party noise got soaked at the bottom and total whiteout at the top. Breck was cool.. Any others you would recommend..
I stopped watching when you ranked WP @19. Not even close. It is top 5 in the west. MJ is incredible. High altitude snow is incredible. You need to ski it more . Kinda shows your ignorance here IMO.
Thanks for the list. Lake Louise is my all time favorite. It's been so good that I haven't been able to get to the other great resorts in the area yet - I'm a California transplant (Squaw was my mountain) since 2020. Hopefully this year, I'll get to Revelstoke, Kicking horse, & Sunshine but I'll still spend most of my time at LL.
Whistler B.C. Resort is out because they clubbed 200 unwanted Alaskan Husky tourist sled dogs to death after the Winter Olympics were held there. Would you go to such a place?
Yeah...thought you went there this year but I guess it was last year. Nice trophy case of ski hills there....especially in my old stomping grounds BC Canada. Would love to see more Indy (non Corp) ski "areas" given some love in the future by the way.@@LucasCatania17
Excellent job! Nice blend of skiing videography and explanation...I enjoyed the content and appreciate how challenging the task of resort ranking really can be...Super job with the video organization and expeditious presentation of so many resorts...
You completely forgot to mention that this applies ONLY to Merica. There is a whole world outside of America you know if only you look. Most ski resorts in europe are far better than the usa ESPECIALLY tbe ski lifts, gondolas. OMG your chair lifts are like 40 years old theres literally no safely invilved hardly anyone puts the bar down anyways. Your infrastructure is like 40 years behind europe so... you should mention this is usa only. Oh and Btw, your lift pass proces are ridiculous
As I mentioned at the beginning of the video, this episode only features mountains that I visited this past season. Since I didn't go to CB, it isn't on the list. Thanks for watching.
Thanks So Much, for providing a useful Ski Mountain Review for 10-15% of the Skier population. The fact that you base most of your review on words like narley, extreme and challenging excludes 85-90% of skiers. Glad you and the minority enjoy risk taking skiing. The majority of us don't.
Have you not been to Jackson Hole??? I didn't see it in this video. Based on how much you love Snowbird I would have expected Jackson to be your #1 or #2...they average nearly as much snow as LCC(and the snow quality is right at par with LCC) and the terrain is a full step more awesome than Snowbird.
@@LucasCatania17 I see, well you really dropped the ball not going to Jackson last season! They had their deepest season ever, way way better than anywhere in Canada or Colorado or the PNW.
Shame you weren’t able to hit Louise at a good time of year. Definitely a better resort when it comes to easily accessible top to bottom expert terrain off the summit and paradise chairs on the backside. I hope you make it up here next season! Definitely a far better experience than sunshine and I think it could crack your top 10
Part of me doesn't want to make this comment bc I think being less know is some of what makes the mountains great, but no Montana action? (Big Sky, Whitefish). No Idaho? No Wyoming? Maybe your travels didn't take you there. Anyway, have taken notes and ready to check out some of your faves. Great reviews.
Please do a Europe trip. Not saying its better blah blah…different ski culture…you can still see middle and low income families skiing regularly…the airline ticket is pricey, but…..the lift tickets are way cheaper, food way better…tens of dozens Snowbirds stacked and connected on each other in France, Switzerland and Austria…Switzerland is lodging overpriced…
I was hoping to see Revelstoke up there and it didn’t disappoint. That place is truly incredible and everyone should at least ski there once in their lifetime
I love Vail and think you did it dirty (prob intentionally to spark comments like this😂). I cannot argue with your criticism about lacking expert terrain but you didn’t say anything positive about it; great town, great tree runs if you find em, can ski different trails for a week, and the express lifts are all over the mountain. Nobody wants to ride 20 minutes up an old 2 seat chair
i didn't rank any resort intentionally to spark good or bad comments. i ranked them based on my opinion. as i mentioned, the factors i considered in this video was terrain difficulty, snow consistency and farmability. there's nothing wrong with vail, i just would choose other areas in colorado before it.
Wait.....wait. Jackson Hole ?? Is Jackson on this list ? Did I miss it ??? Easily Top 2. Better than Snowbird FOR SURE ! I lived in both areas for a season or more. Where is JH ???
As I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, this video only includes mountains that I went to this past season. I didn't go to JH last year, so its not on this years list. Its fun. Top 5 for sure, but not better than Snowbird imo.
Bout to spend my 3rd season at Kicking Horse, Couldn't agree more when you said that it is some of the Sickest Terrain. I've always considered it more of a "Lift Accessed Mountain" rather than a resort. Even the Slack Country just outside either side of the resort has some really amazing spots and terrain, if you willing to walk, there is always a fresh line to find. Love to see it on the list even though you visited on a low snow year! Hoping for big dumps this year!
I hit 48 resorts one year but hard to get a particularly comprehensive opinion in one day. Definitely came to the same conclusion though, that being none were bad. There wasn't one resort you couldn't have a good day at if you catch it on a decent day.
My husband’s list of favorites: 1 Taos, NM 2 Serfaus Fiss Ladis (Austria) 3 Deer Valley, UT 4 Las Leñas (Argentina) 5 Monarch, CO He hates crowded resorts and clouded one’s too. Loves groomers, finding untouched fresh snow, trees. You name it; just loves skiing. He is a big fan of your channel. In addition, he plans to one day ski at Jackson, WY; Alta, UT; Panorama (Canada); and St Anton (Austria).
Nice! finally the ranking video! Ok, here goes my list. In terms of Wow-factor, I pick Kicking Horse. In terms of natural vibe, Revy. In terms of Iconic American resort, Jackson Hole. In terms of lift layout, Snowbird. And, Whistler is Big. And, If i have to pick my home ski resort out of those I mentioned above, it would be a toss up between Snowbird and Revy. Revy town is also super cool to visit as an American. It's like taking time machine to 20 years ago. That town is a vibe.
man all great resorts! see its super hard to pick just one! honestly snowbird, kmhr and revelstoke are some of the best resorts in north america. whistler is awesome too of course! i think we share some similar perspectives haha
well done, life-long kirkwood denizen, mt rose local now. i hope you get kirkwood on a good day check out eagle bowl, thunder saddle, etc. and it doesn't get any steeper than the chutes at rose, come ride the steep sixteen you won't regret. as always thanks for all the sick content, keep it coming!
