# need advice for going out west... locations to go



## Guest (Mar 29, 2009)

I have never been there but i have seen videos of park city and it looks amazing. nice jumps and everything looks well groomed. Shaun White and other pros like Torstein Horgmo and Torah Bright snowboard there. here's a teaser thats all about park city. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you go there.

YouTube - I ride park city snowboarding teaser


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## VenomousSVT (Feb 17, 2009)

my ONLY hold back on park city is I hear its a total tourist spot.. i would rather go somewhere and ride without all the insane crowd is possible


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Aspen is hands down the best ski town in the US. It's pricey, but the locals are friendly, the terrain is fantastic, and the Apres scene is the best in the lower 48. You'll have to travel to Whistler to find a better scene. 

South Lake Tahoe is another great scene. The snow can be a bit more fickle, but the terrain is outstanding, and if it's snowing, they are measuring the snowfall by the foot, not the inch...


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2009)

*Powmow*

I would highly recommend Powder Mountain if you are looking for good powder riding and a good back-up park. I rode there last week and the powder was soooo gooood. As for nightlife, thats all up to your game.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Powder Mountain is a great mountain, but the nightlife sucks around there plain and simple. They actually get less snowfall than the cottonwoods an hour away. By the tune of 200" a season. So you stand much more of a chance of getting great conditions south of Pow Mow. Party scene down there sucks too. Terrain is fantastic, after hours not so much. 

Other worthy places to check out would be Big Sky Montana, and Jackson Hole Wyoming. Especially Jackson. As far as terrain goes, no other resort can hold a candle to it. Blows Powder Mountain, the rest of Utah, and Colorado out of the water...


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

VenomousSVT said:


> I am going to be planning my furst trip out west hopefully feb 2010!! My only concern is the biggest mountain resort i have ever been to is SnowShoe WV. I have no idea what to expect or where to go. I am really interested in hitting Utah and going to Powder mountain.. i hear great things again and again. However if I am going to spend the money to fly out west for a week I dont want to miss out on the best. In your opinion what would be the best possible resort to board for a week?


It all depends on what you are looking for. Usually I like a big mountain with a group of people to hang with after riding. I've been trying to hit every spot possible. 

Breckenridge
A- (Can be busy, but you can hike to 13,500 elevation and then drop in some gnarly chutes)
Breckenridge is pretty sweet because its got some huge peaks with great open/gnarly terrain. On the lower part of the mountain, there can be some crowds, but you can always find some areas to yourself. The town is a good gig, not too crazy, but not too mellow. 

Vail
A- (Tons of Terrain! The Back Bowls are AWESOME. You can just ride anywhere and on a sunny day the snow gets ohh so soft to close-out the day) Again, it can be busy, but the town isn't a bad time.

Powder Mountain 
B- (No Crowds, Locals Hill with all sorts of Terrain. Problem is 1/2 of the terrain that they boast is only accessible by foot or snowcat....which is an extra charge)
Powder Mountain is really a middle-of-nowhere mountain. The hill itself, is 30 minutes from the closest town. That town isn't too bad, but the locals keep well to themselves. We drove to Park City, 45 mins away, for something to do in the evenings...it was Sundance weekend. However, my buddies rode Park City and said that the riding was decent, but not as good as Powder or Snowbasin.

Mt. Baker
B- (I should get shot for this, but I was only there for 3 days and they were blech. I have heard only stellar things about Baker, but I can't report on a stellar trip.)
Did the Pacific Northwest a few years ago and got skunked on Snow. Went to Mt Baker and it hadn't snowed there in 3+ weeks. It was like riding east-coast hardpack, only thicker. Plus, its a haul from the airport....3 hours!
NOTE: I only hold give an A+ if I get 8inches or more of Powder and appropriate company from a lady who may also be visiting the mountain for a good board (or ski) weekend. So Far, Jay Peak and Killington are pretty awesome mountains. 

I'm doing South Lake Tahoe next week, so I'll be able to report-out a little better.

Also, keep this in-mind. You may get killer snow or you may get skunked. Of the trips I've take out west, I've been shafted pretty well. Baker in January, yuk. Utah this January, hadn't snowed in 2 or 3 weeks. Luckily it was 45-50 degrees, so it was better than cold hard-pace. 

Hell, i even decided against my old-faithful Breckenridge for South Lake Tahoe for this Easter. Breck is currently in the middle of a 40-50 inch week.....that would be great to come upon next week! Instead, I'm heading to Tahoe where they still have a 125+ inch base, but it hasn't snowed in over a week and none is forecast in the next week. 

Either way, Go West Young Man. Go west and you'll be addicted like a crack-baby. Its a whole new world out there! If you get powder, effing awesome. If you get blue-bird sun-baked softies.....effing awesome. Whatever you get, you'll be coming back saying effing awesome!

Ok, it got wordy:dunno:, time for me to get back to work.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2009)

If you decide on Tahoe, I would hit Squaw, Alpine and Kirkwood for sure in terms of terrain. Out of those, Squaw has a nice village for apres. Not a big fan of Heavenly, but has the best apres in Tahoe. Don't get too excited about their casinos, esp if you're use to Vegas. Northstar ( North Lake tahoe, duh) is more family oriented and has a nice village as well. Their blacks are more like high blues. If you get sick of one resort, they're all in driving distance. I believe the circumference of Lake Tahoe is about 70 miles.

Mammoth is pretty sick. Went there a few wks ago. Huge, but a lot of their runs seemed similar. Keep in mind I went with a beginner and while he talked a big game, he kept insisting on going on wide groomers. Nonexistent nightlife during the weekdays. From what I gathered from the bartender in the village, the weekends are booming. But its mostly 95% LA older crowd. 

Can't comment on the parks. LMK if you have any specific questions.


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## mijinkal (Jan 9, 2009)

Stay away from Vancouver, Whistler Next February. The Olympics will be going on and it will be a gong show. 
I wouldn't mark down Baker as a destination to travel to, I've always looked at it as a locals mountain. It's not really that big and the lifts are slow. 
The interior of BC has some wicked powder and cheap rates expecially for the US dollar. I suggest Big White.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

neednsnow said:


> Mt. Baker
> B- (I should get shot for this, but I was only there for 3 days and they were blech. I have heard only stellar things about Baker, but I can't report on a stellar trip.)
> Did the Pacific Northwest a few years ago and got skunked on Snow. Went to Mt Baker and it hadn't snowed there in 3+ weeks. It was like riding east-coast hardpack, only thicker. Plus, its a haul from the airport....3 hours!


^yup, local's hill, fickle and hard to predict when it goes off...you'll only have a couple of hours due to local mobsters and gnarlettes....and no night life, cascade concrete and rain is reality...definitely not a tourist destination.


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## Guest (Apr 1, 2009)

JACKSON MF'n HOLE !!! Went their last season sick just plain silly in a good way.


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## jiveturkeydk (Mar 17, 2009)

I just back from Park City and I've got to say it was awesome. Previously the best place I've been to was Snowshoe. Park city did not really seem touristy at all but I did go at the end of the season. Every run is way better than any run at snowshoe and distance of each run seems to be just as long as the western territory ay snowshoe. I think you'll have fun no matter where you go. Its all good compared to the east coast. The best thing about park city is that its only 30-40 minutes from the airport. I got into utah around 12, got settled in then when riding for their night session at 4. You won't be disappointed either way. Next year though, I want to go to jackson hole.


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