# Planning trip next year out west



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Better if you give us an idea of what you are looking for. 

Keystone is really hard to beat though


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

Brattleboards said:


> [W]hat resorts are good?


Compared to the East they are all good. If you want to make it easy on yourself just plan to go to SLC and ride, in no particular order, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Snow Basin, and Powder Mountain.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

If you have never been to a real mountain, absolutely do not start with snowbird.


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## Brattleboards (Apr 18, 2016)

well i've only boarded in the northeast so i guess an easier mountain to get the hang of riding out west maybe?


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## SnowDogWax (Nov 8, 2013)

As Kenai said any mountain out west... Big Sky, Winter Park, Crested Butte, Keystone,


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## Psi-Man (Aug 31, 2009)

Brattleboards said:


> well i've only boarded in the northeast so i guess an easier mountain to get the hang of riding out west maybe?


This is a myth, you will be fine. The conditions are way more consistent and this will practically offset any terrain that may be a bit more intimidating. The only real issue that affects me is the altitude coming from sea level. 

Years back I was on a lift with a two locals at Park City who were calling it a day because it was to icy. I had to laugh because although it was not a powder day (3 days after a pretty good dump) the thought of icy conditions never entered my mind. The moral of the story is that if you can ride on boilerplate, you will be fine.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

You can definitely go to just about any mountain. Silverton would be about the only once I can think of off the top of my head that you would want to avoid. It's a different animal anyway.

Yes Snowbird is a bad ass resort. It also has plenty for beginners and intermediate riders. You can certainly work your way up there. Same goes for all the gnar resorts. 

Salt Lake City is a lot of bang for your buck. Reasonable lift ticket deals can be found in town at most shops and some gas stations I think. Local members set me straight. 

If you want to go Colorado, be warned lift tickets are expensive even when you go multi day pass. Vail is looking to push almost $200 for a single day ticket at the window next year during high season. Absolutely ridiculous. That said, if you buy an epic pass, a week long trip to a Vail resort pretty much makes it work. If you decide to make second trip to one of their resorts, even better. With options in Colorado, Utah, and California, it does give you a fair amount of flexibility. 

The biggest thing is going to be what the set up for next season is going to be? La Nina is generally pretty good to the west, but just a few years ago she absolutely skunked almost everyone except for the PNW.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

back to back el nino...prayin fo la nina in the holyland


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## Liliana (Mar 24, 2013)

Don't forget about Canada! Both lift tickets and other expenses are gonna be much cheaper, and as for the conditions... we will have to wait a bit to know how that will turn out. This year it was an absolute blast.

I went west for the first time this past winter to somewhat less popular resorts (Silver Star and Revelstoke), while my parents popped their big mountain cherry in Whistler - good times were had all around, except they paid twice as much for their trip when all was said and done.

It was the first time either of us rode in substantial powder, but we all managed to ride even the more advanced terrain. Was it a bit of a challenge? Definitely. Was it fun? You betcha! Did it seem like we were taking some disproportionate risks? Hm, let's just say I got a bigger dose of hurt on the ice coast. So don't be intimidated by the idea of a BIG MOUNTAIN.

If you're the kind to start planning months ahead, you'd be taking a bit of a gamble on the conditions. Personally, I booked my airfare a little less than a month ahead and knew that in general snow was going to be good. The only exception is if you wanna go during the Christmas break - then you are better off booking soon to guarantee the accommodations of your choice and lower rates. But then it's pretty early in the season and you may or may not be lucky to get good snow.

Like others said, in a good year it's pretty hard to go wrong with any decent mountain - and they have so many out west!


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

We live by bachelor and will have bachelor season passes but I actually got our epic passes for next year already and only plan to ride 10 days at vail resorts. Fortunately when my son went this year he got on for free through friends and we did not have to pay 170 a day....


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## taco tuesday (Jul 26, 2014)

If you get the max pass it gives you 5 days of lift access at a bunch of different resorts. Several of them are out west, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Washington, California etc. 5 lift tickets at most of those places would cost around the same as getting the max pass. Then you still have 5 days each at several eastern coast mountains.


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## johnniewalk (May 4, 2015)

If you planned to for west, then i will prefer to visit Sophia Snow House and the Residences at Snow Place it is a good place, hope you enjoy a lot in this.


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