Ski Resort Regions RANKED By Reliability - Worst to Best (US/Canada) 

"highly unusual event of an east coast powder day" ouch it's a hard truth love it and hate it at the same time

The best ski resort is the one that’s close by. So if you are lucky to live near any of these places, just take advantage of them every chance you get. I’ve skied 9 of ten listed, and can say an average day in wet PNW, which is an hour away from me is better than flying to a destination, renting an AirBnB, dealing with the exorbitant prices, etc of most destination resorts.

Love this review but you need to show the names of the resorts for each region longer than a few milliseconds in the video.. a picture of a map with a big circle of each region and arrows pointing to each resort would be great too

After last year covering all the resorts you did, I wondered how you would keep the channel relevant and love these new videos you are doing. Very well done!

Living in Utah, and a frequent skier across the west and in Japan, I have to say that nowhere in America comes close to the predictability of good conditions in Hokkaido Japan. Japanese backcountry groups I have brought to Utah in my adv. travel business have been disappointed, hearing how good Utah is, and then finding that their own backyard is No. 1. Love Utah/my home state Colorado, and normally they are pretty great, but you gotta get to Hokkaido POW (and the Japanese hot springs) at least one time in your life.

Nothing gets me hype for the ski season like PeakRankings and Lucas Catania

I took trips to the cottonwood resorts in late January 2021 and 2022. They were in the midst of a 4 week snow drought during the 2021 trip. I was amazed at the conditions, considering 4 weeks of temperature fluctuations, sun, dust, ski traffic, etc. Still super easy to carve, especially at Alta. Back east that snow would’ve been unskiable after a week.

Resorts in Banff, Alberta need to be a separate category from resorts in B.C. When the cold weather arrives it is always colder in Alberta and for a longer duration. This is because Banff resorts are higher elevation and farther inland vs B.C.

As a Montana local, I would not group SW Montana with Wyoming. The weather around Grand Targhee and Jackson is far more consistent than Big Sky and Bridger. Last year we got blasted but on avg the NW Wyoming resorts are far more consistent. The Tetons always seem to score even if the storm pushes down to Utah or up to Montana.

0:50 Oregon, best in April 2:07 Lake Tahoe extreme snow dumps that can shut down access 4:06 Vermont, Quebec, & Maine ... spotty natural snow , best in February 6:11 Washington state & coastal British Columbia ... too close to thaw temperature, best in February 7:34 Inland BC, eastern WA, & northern ID 9:12 Southern CO spotty natural snow 10:42 "non-Cottonwoods" Utah, Feb. best 11:53 central & north CO , March best 13:04 Canadian Rockies, BC can be -40° 14:50 WY & southern MT 16:08 Cottonwoods Utah 17:41 Mammoth, CA Sun Valley, ID best in Feb. Taos, NM ... best in March

Regarding Steamboat, it’s quite a bit different than the 70 resorts. On the plus side, it has better snow, both in fluffiness and quantity. On the minus side, it’s low revelation, and not much of the mountain faces North, so it’s highly susceptible to warmer conditions and sun exposure. When it’s snowing there, or just cloudy, it can be fantastic, but if it’s getting sun, conditions can deteriorate pretty quickly, especially compared to a place like Snowmass, for example, where the higher elevation runs preserve snow incredibly well, where you can go weeks without snow and have good skiing if a good base has been built.

Pretty glad that you put Oregon last because we don't really need anymore people coming here but putting the Northeast ahead of us is outrageous.. Our snow is like, you know, actually real.

Such outstanding footage all in 4k! And every shot was appropriate to the point you were making about the conditions in that area. So impressive!

Trying to generalize about this reliabliity issue is very difficult/questionable. Oregon, ranked last, includes the only ski area in the U.S. that is generally open 11 to 12 months a year - Mt. Hood, with the Palmer Glacier lift, where various national ski teams train during the summer. Before that lift was built, and before profit-sensitive corporations took over Mt. Bachelor, Bachelor was routinely open into June (1960s and early 70s) and was the US Ski Team's spring/early summer training site for that reason. Some of the increased uncertainty in Oregon and Washington is related to climate change, which affects the areas with 3,000-4,500 foot base elevations much more than it did in the 1970s and before. Higher elevation areas (Bachelor at 6,500 feet, Mt Hood at 6,000 (at the lodge) have been more resistant.

Amazing quality video here, thanks so much!

I’m not complaining that you didn’t mention any resorts in Alaska but our consistency is on point. It is almost always below freezing and we have some of the highest snow totals other than sometimes mt baker and Japan. But keep going to the i70 corridor. I don’t mind

When I was a kid we only had school vacation week in February to fly out west to ski. We had a great time at Heavenly and Squa in February one year, and Crested Butte another year. Than in High School, Whistler was heavy wet cement snow. Lot of rain mixed in the snow. Also Snowbird, Alta and Solitude were great during school break the year we went. As an adult, we went to Jackson Hole as a family in March, and the snow was worse than Maine. No snow, bare spots everywhere in town and on Snow King, and Jackson Hole was frozen boiler plate. Anything not groomed was brutal and not worth it.

Quebec is not on the east coast but central Canada . We received more than 3 feet of snow in december 2023 and January 2024 . Quebec city ( Stoneham, Ste-Anne , Lac Delage ) ,Charlevoix region ( Le MAssif , Grand Fonds ski station ) , Saguenay region ( LE VAlinouet ) and the Chic Chocs mountains ( heliski ) receive more than 7 feet of snow every year . You cannot compare any stations in Vermont with Quebec ski stations and snow conditions . Whisler had no snow at Xmas ( 2023) and getting a lot of rain this winter .

Great job with this video!

These videos are always excellent. A few comments. First there’s a big difference in reliability in terms of road closures between big and little cottonwood canyon in Utah, where little closes far more frequently than big. I was slightly surprised that there was such a difference in ranking between the non Cottonwood Utah resorts and cottonwood as they’re on the other side of the same mountain ridge, and in places you can take a short hike (in summer) from one to the other, so while the cottonwoods are indeed better, having a lot more snow, they’re not enough better to induce me to make the extra effort to drive there from Park City, until you get to spring, at which point the Spring skiing is worth the effort. A big plus for the Park City resorts is the roads never close, and even in high winds, there’s usually parts of the resorts that are open.

Although not a national destination, I’ll give my 2¢ on northern Michigan. I live in Michigan and ski mostly in the northern lower peninsula, although I’ve taken numerous trips West, and I have lived & skied in the Vermont/Adirondack region for 4 years also. Michigan in general has better snow quality than the NorthEast, although obviously with less vertical. Water resources are essentially unlimited, and so snowmaking coverage is nearly 100% at most places, and there are no large boulders that need to be covered, so just a few feet of base is enough to open everything. “Rock skis” are generally never needed. Just like the Northeast, there can be warm snaps and rain which make skiing wet, and then turns to ice when it freezes, but extensive snowmaking and grooming coverage means a quicker recovery than most Eastern resorts. Lake effect snowfall is unpredictable, but can make for some great powder days, and Michigan powder days are much lighter and drier than the typical mashed potatoes that fall in Vermont. Generally speaking, the trees are skiable on more days in Michigan than in Vermont or NY. Nothing beats the West, but some of my best powder days have actually been in Michigan.

Encountering wet snow at elevation in Whistler is relatively rare outside of late season.

Great list. The Cottonwoods and non-Cottonwoods of UT are an interesting one. I'd actually be tempted to flip them, especially during a heavy snowfall season like last year. While the Cottonwoods do get more snow, they are also much more difficult to get to during/after a storm and are prone to avy closures, as mentioned in the video. While Park City may not get quite as much snow, they still get plenty and don't have the travel hazards to navigate and provide more on-site lodging. For those reasons, I'd venture to say that the non-Cottonwoods are actually more reliable.

I've been waiting for someone to create a video like this, so thank you. My only gripe is that everything on the East Coast is lumped as "East Coast". Northern New England and Quebec definitely see better conditions, but even amongst them, there is a definite difference. I feel that Quebec (definitely ski Le Massif!) and Jay Peak would be comparable, as would the NH Presidentials and Maine, but Vermont and the Adirondacks are more popular and similar, though not always the best. I also always wonder how typical East Coast regions compare to the Mid-Atlantic or Midwest resorts. I know neither of those are destination regions, but how does the snow quality and reliability stack up the the more typical East Coast sub-regions?

Good vid!

Cottonwood resorts have significant problem about their traffic resiliency and on-site lodges are so limited

Just the simple fact alone that Oregon is bottom on the list of "reliable" even though olympic athletes come to *summer* ski at Mt. Hood really does challenge my brain at just what kinds of regional biases . Oregon has low elevation unreliable resorts (Skibowl), it has the most reliable terrain in the country (core Timberline/Meadows/Bachelor skiing,) & it has *too snowy* terrain that's limited to other parts of the season. That Oregon is a video game with multiple different conditions *at once* is not "unreliable" it's actually the opposite...

Awesome video with great information. For the areas I know (cottonwoods, colorado and tahoe), this is spot on. For the areas I don't know, thanks for the info!

I love watching a PeakRankings video! I learn a lot!

went to tahoe in late april. the coverage was so good we were able to try our first double black . after not even trying a black to begin with

Interesting video! Definitely a lot of factors that go into these rankings that people wouldn't think of immediately. The weather really needs to be in that perfect Goldilocks zone for skiing - not too hot and not too cold.

This content is amazing

Comparing the rockies resorts (Banff/Golden) with interior BC resorts like Sun Peaks, Silverstar and Revy is odd. Totally different weather patterns, terrain and snow accumulations, even when comparing an interior resort such as Revy to the other interior destinations. Rockies may get those extreme cold spells you talked about, however interior mountains rarely do and never to the same extent.

He ain't lying about the cold in BC. During a week in Revelstoke in Feb 2019, the high temp was 10 degrees F for our entire trip.

Maybe because I am a season pass holder at Killington Vermont I am a little bios but I often ski the trees and I don’t own a pair of rock skies and none of my friends do. I am planning a trip out West and I am already anxious. Skiing out West used to be a lock but it’s been a long time since I have seen any big dumps and when it suck out West it really sucks. To big to groom and and next to no real snow making. When it’s good it’s fantastic so I keep going. I am an old man but still love to ski the steeps and hike for the goods. I know it’s this type of terrain that needs big snow. Please Big Sky don’t screw this late February. Nice video.

As a follow-up perhaps a video on the best places to go each month of the season.

last year when I was at telluride it closed multiple times because snow/wind then the one lift I wanted to lap for pow runs kept breaking lmfao

If you can ski in the northeast/mid Atlantic you can truly ski anywhere in the world. I've been skiing in PA my whole life and you can be sure that 75% of the mountains will always be a sheet of ice.

As someone who lives in PDX and has skied Colorado and Utah for much of my life, no, the PNW does not compare to the Rocky Mountains in terms of ski quality, but there is some awesome skiing in Oregon. Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Bachelor are both very solid resorts. I usually take a few PTO days in March and ski on a weekday. Crowds aren't bad, the drive is beautiful, and skiing is fun. If you need a lot of frills in your skiing, stick to the Colorado/Utah resorts. If you want solid skiing and don't care if it's not near five star resorts, give the PNW a shot. It's not just rain and coffee in the winter.

I was 2x at alta, that skinresort is amazing, had a powderday the first time we where there. Best powder ive ever had. 1meter fresh snow overnight

I think you got it nearly perfect with the categories. I’d prob put Tahoe above the East Coast but other than that perfect. I would change one thing though and thats move Big White from Inland NW/South BC to Canadian Rockies-Non-South BC. Geographically it’s certainly in South BC but is significantly higher than almost all other BC resorts with a base elevation at approx 1600m compared to 1300m for Silver Star and 1200m for Sun Peaks and Red Mountain for example. I think you could say it’s more reliable snow and quality wise and straddles the two categories perhaps.

Great video! I was also wondering about Alaska resorts (Still US!); particularly EagleCrest, Alyeska, and Ski Land, just to name a few.

i once went skiing with my family and another group of friends in lake tahoe at northstar and the main gondola was closed for the last 4 days of our trip so we couldn't even go ski, and on the day we were suppose to leave, we couldn't since there was a road blockage due to heavy snow. we ended up having to stay in our hotel for 3 more days while doing absolutely nothing. Even once we could leave, we were stuck in heavy traffic on the way down from the mountain for around 9 hours until we finally decided to stay at a hotel for the night. the group of friends didn't stay with us and ended up continuing even once they were turned back and got home (we only live around 3 hours away) at 4 am when we left the resort at 8am the day prior.

Would youdo a video on the central and southern appalachain resorts?. Maybe snowshoe and the resorts further south?

I can’t believe you put Oregon at the bottom of the list, I’ve had some of the best powder days on Oregon mountains.

Colorado native here ....#1-#6 are all pretty much the same. Utah can be phenomenal/better for sure on a few days.

Going to Tahoe early December for our school snowboarding club. Hoping for feast but I’m also not expecting much as it’d my first large resort I’ve ever been to

I would somewhat disagree with number 9. Sure, SOME resort in the southern part of that area experience lack of coverage. But mostly, that would not be the case from late January to early April. Especially in Québec. I can say from experience (lived there most of my life) that Québec and Vermont, although experiencing some icy conditions, have so many more good than bad days. And the snowfall is pretty consistent throughout the season although quite a bit less than other places

I just realized, despite all the specialized niche skis, no one has made a dedicated rock ski. I’m thinking..cheap, thick extruded base, freestyle rails, thick VDS layer, and cheap. Maybe a foam core. But it’s got to be cheap. Like $250/pair so you can get new ones easily.

As an austrian. I truly feel bad for american skiers who have to put up with insanely high prices for skiing

Go to the Midwest, we barely get any natural snow, so we have incredibly robust snow making infrastructure.

What about alyeska?

I think most of this is accurate but having Revelstoke and Lake Louise in the same region is ridiculous. LL gets less snow than most places in the east while Revelstoke is way more reliable than this video suggests. Revelstoke doesn’t get nearly as cold as the rockies and they get less dry spells than the cottonwoods. Yes it can rain at low elevations but those regions don’t exist anywhere else outside of Whistler. You can ski Alta’s entire vertical rise in the alpine and then ski keystones vertical rise on groomers in one lap.

You should review Santa Fe. Its getting its first high speed lift for the 24/25 season!

0:18 Literally my first trip at sugarloaf maine 😢

The regions are bit strange. Washington and Pacific BC are together, but are not very close together. The drive from Crystal to Whistler is 6.5 hours. Conversely, all the Utah resorts are within 2 hours of each other, but is broken up into two regions.

you missed New Hampshire, which while yes is in the East Coast, Bretton Woods is a weird Annomoly, due to its unique geography, numerous snow storms are funneled into the valley that its in then stop at the presidential range and dump everything in the valley resulting in double the coverage and snow thickness as well as colder temperatures

I was so ready to get the hell out of Utah like 5 years ago and found a resort I could afford and thought “if I enjoy skiing I’ll stay otherwise I’m moving somewhere warmer! Thank god I did! I now work at Snowbasin as a manger and am iching like a coke head to get some of that powder! Let it snow ❄️

Need to put Revelstoke into a higher snowfall group. Steamboat near Wyoming boarder should be grouped with Montana Wyoming group.

where i am from, i refer to seasons or weather cycles as tourist or local conditions. not everyone wants the same thing. what makes tourists happy is bright blue skies and mild conditions for great photos (snow capped mountain tops) with smooth groomed trails that hold up all day. what makes a local happy is a storm that dumps (photos with a buddy caked in snow after a tumble), grooming is only to access lifts so not a priority that it bumps up. if you are booking a trip a long time in advance this information is extremely helpful. if you can follow the snow on short notice, a lot of this information could be misleading. your breakdown shows you know your weather patterns and how they define the distinct areas. rankings try to lump every ones choices into one neat package. with so many factors determining the quality of a ski vacation, it is refreshing to see snow conditions broken down without the extra noise about everything else.

You merged the North East together... I wonder if you would dare to make a video only on the east coast mountains and resorts - break it down... Technically speaking, I believe 'most' skiers stick to their region first, and perhaps plan on longer drive to a resort that is good but out of reach, before they plan flight across the country. Past few years we went to resorts that are far for us to get to, such as Jay Peak, Stowe, or kind of Whiteface. And talking about reliability and disappointment. All of them would make it on the list easily. Snow, Okemo, Killington etc... maybe we come to them with not so high expectations, but they usually deliver, given their location altitude etc.. anyway, woudl be interesting to see a breakdown of all mountains on the east, say from NYC to NE.

Mammoth has had unusually high amounts of weather holds in the past 5 years due to wind and visibility. New owner might have increased the wind sensitivity of the lifts (if that’s possible)

Locals will hate me for this but the best time to visit Jackson Hole is actually Thanksgiving weekend, February 29th and the 3rd week of April 🙄

We are looking for late ski trip - April 15 - 19 when I’ll have 15 and 12 year old boys both on break. Love ideas please. 🙏

Snowbird and Alta take a lot of snow to cover up the rocks. Grand Targhee (aka.Grand Foggy) is the best early season bet for the US, at least until Alta gets about an 80" base.

No 1 down side of Cottonwoods - the fight for parking…

Where would you rank the smoky mountain ranges in north carolina like beach and sugar mountain? Or have you been to those?

Snowbird, Revelstoke, Whitewater, Sunshine, Steamboat, Georgian Peaks (For the ice festival)

As long as you have flexibility in your travel days reliability shouldn’t matter that much. Just wait until a weather/snow window opens up for where you actually want to ski and jump on it. I’ve skied all of these regions (except the northeast) and never had a bad day in any of them. Being self employed helps a lot in that regard.

You said that the cottonwood resorts close for avalanche mitigation and interlodge and that is false. I've only seen 1 time they didn't run any lifts after a massive storm. If you get interlodged at alta snowbird you are so extremely lucky because nobody can get to the resort but they still run some lifts and open more terrain as the day goes on.

6:43 has gotta be Stevens Pass… Looks exactly like the part of Gemini right off of the top of Tye Mill and Jupiter. That run seems to always have the worst visibility.

Obviously they have to draw lines somewhere but they have Crested Butte in “southern CO” and Aspen in “northern CO”, but they are only 10 miles apart.

No 12. Australia. Snow is insanely unreliable here. Powder days are rare, there are runs that haven’t been open in years, the coldest we’ve ever gotten is -23C, rain is a common occurrence, many days half the “mountains” are on wind hold and if you’re lucky the season last 4 months, although this year it was less than 3 and we were riding on dirt and grass in a lot of places.

Wait until you hear about the north side and edge side at tremblant. Bare spots? Almost never heard of those.

what are the best places to ski in minnesota?

VT Maine and Quebec??? You forgot the state in the middle. The state with the biggest mt's in the East called NH. But like those other states it also has similar weather: erratic weather way above avg temps one day and -20 the next.

Hmmmm decent review but no mention of the resorts on alfa centuri? I've heard there are some decent hills out there.

guys where is the resort from 14:41 to 14:49 that looks just incredible!

TLDR Everywhere else: pretty decent terrain, lots of snow, steep, maybe some closures that keep you off that S tier terrain. East Coast: Get good, squat more, drop that hip, and ski ice scrub. #icecoast

I hope that Stratton review is coming out soon

I would not suggest the northern MT & ID resorts past early March. The upper mountain is still good but mid mountain and lower starts to get crusty and icy. But it seems you are more likely to experience bluebird atmospheric conditions Mid March.

As skiing has been corporatized, and particularly as resorts have fallen in line with the "excruciatingly high day pass/ you must buy a season pass 6 months before you will use it so you can afford to ski" mentality brought to us by the Colorado biggies (the corporations seeking reliability of revenue stream and making customers bear the unreliability of season risk) , we've seen increased loss of season days in the Pacific NW. The corporations owning the less tony resorts (which generally utilize public land to a significant extent) realize the only people skiing in April, May, or after are those who have bought season passes, and consequently few new dollars come in the door after March. The young and the ski bums who would make up most of their late spring business aren't interested in buying the resort's $12 pizza slices, $16 burgers, and $10 beers; so the areas close up by mid-April at the latest, frequently operating a skeleton lift schedule after March. This despite a season in Washington that often could see good skiing to the end of May, even at lower-elevation resorts. In 1973 (a good snow year), Alpental (base elev. 3,140 feet) stayed open until July 23. Mt Bachelor stayed open till mid-June in the 1960's. Now Alpental usually closes with a big (food and beverage) party on Cinco de Mayo (it's 1 of 4 resorts under common season pass; of the others, 2 usually close at the end of March, and 1 stays open to the 2nd or 3rd weekend of April, when Seattle area schools' spring break ends). Mt. Bachelor usually operates until Memorial Day. Some of the independents, like Mt. Baker (in the mountain-man tradition) and Crystal Mountain (with the yuppie/techie clientele) stay open past mid-April on the weekends.

I was hoping you'd leave Mammoth out completely, but snuck it in at the last second :P

Personally I'ld move Steamboat into its own category. The Yampa valley is pretty wet.

Mammoth is hidden gem. Keep it secret! : P

Uncertain snow reliability is one reason among many to get into cross country skiing.

Do bear valley resort in arnold

Then there's where I live that gets about 2 inches of snow a year. I learned to snowboard on artificial snow before I ever got to go to a real ski resort.

Putting any East Coast resort or region ahead of Tahoe is crazy

Can you please rank chile ski resorts

I am surprised that Alyeska and its counterpart Alaska resorts were not featured, why?

You underestimate the cottonwoods freeze thaw cycles- it was so icy our whole group could barely stay upright at the end of last December. mammoth is way more reliable than that

LOLs, this is more like a video of why these places suck.... I've been to a few of these in my time, Panorama, Jackson Hole, Whistler, Lake Louise, Sunshine and all of them are good places. No issues with poor weather or heavy wind at any of them, great snow quality at all times on piste. I went to Lake Louise and Panorama in late Jan early Feb and yeah it was cold for weeks at a time, but as the Scandinavians say: there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

The lake effect snow belt resorts in Michigan are highly overlooked. Granted the vertical tops off at just under 1000 feet (Mount Bohemia in the U.P.) but the frequency and amounts of snow at many of the region's resorts downwind of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan can produce some excellent quality snow from early January to early March.

Taos might have the best snow in the Rockies when it dumps.

Defining East coast from Vermont to Quebec as a region is so inaccurate. Some regions included receive a steady amount of snow that is 3 times more than Vermont. And are 12-hour drive away…

LOL. OKAY. Believe all this, 😂😂 keeps our special places special.

Lookout Pass on Idaho/MT border.

No mention of Whistler-Blackcomb?!

What about Alyeska?