The Great Ski Area Count

[Patrick]

Reading last of James New Mexico TRs, I was wondering if he had posted in this thread. I guess not.

I know he likes Austria, so his list might also be interesting.

James, where is your list? :mrgreen:

edit: I' ve moved over 100 ski areas last season.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I added Revelstoke and Eagle Pass Heli last week, so I'm now at 141. Only one more (NASJA at Lutsen) coming this season though. Admin's relocation to skiing nirvana has extinguished his wanderlust gene. I think we were tied when he posted that first day at The Canyons.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Not much compared to many here, but I started lift-served skiing in 2000-01. I've only been to two regions in Austria (Kitzbuhel Alps and the Arlberg), so Patrick may be disappointed.

1. Sunshine, AB
2. Lake Louise, AB
3. Norquay, AB
4. Mountain Creek, NJ
5. Elk Mountain, PA
6. Camelback, PA
7. Santa Fe, NM
8. Angel Fire, NM
9. Taos, NM
10. Red River, NM
11. Sipapu, NM
12. Pajarito, NM
13. Kitzbühel, Austria
14. Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria
15. Alpbach, Austria
16. Westendorf, Austria
17. Wilder Kaiser Ski Welt, Austria
18. Auffach, Austria
19. Lech/Zürs, Austria
20. St. Anton, Austria
21. The Canyons, UT
22. Solitude, UT
23. Snowbasin, UT
24. Deer Valley, UT
25. Alta, UT
26. Snowbird, UT
27. Brighton, UT
28. Sundance, UT
29. Brian Head, UT
30. Snow King, WY
31. Jackson Hole, WY
32. Grand Targhee, WY
33. Copper, CO
34. Keystone, CO
35. Winter Park, CO
36. Steamboat, CO
37. Vail, CO
38. Eldora, CO
39. Crested Butte, CO
40. Monarch, CO
41. Sutton, PQ
42. Orford, PQ
43. Tremblant, PQ
44. Mont Shefford, PQ (closed)
45. Mont Glen, PQ
46. Bromont, PQ
47. Owls Head, PQ
48. Le Massif, PQ
49. Mont Grand-Fonds, PQ
50. Stoneham, PQ
51. Song, NY
52. Greek Peak, NY
53. Whiteface, NY
54. Belleayre, NY
55. Hunter, NY
56. Gore, NY
57. Whiteface, NY
58. Windham, NY
59. Bobcat, NY
60. Hickory Hill, NY (closed)
61. West Mountain, NY
62. East Hill, NY
63. Plattekill, NY
64. Highmount, NY (closed)
65. Ascutney, VT
66. Burke, VT
67. Magic, VT
68. Pico, VT
69. Okemo, VT
70. Sugarbush, VT
71. MRG, VT
72. Stowe, VT
73. Okemo, VT
74. Jay Peak, VT
75. Cannon, NH
76. Bretton Woods, NH

 

[Sharon]

I really dislike these types of counts...the "look at how many places I've skied" or the "I've skied more places than you've skied" or the "I've skied better places" (quality vs quantity). Why is it always a competition?

oh yeah...you're boys

 

[Admin]

I really dislike these types of counts

That's 'cuz you're a weenie.

 

[Patrick]

I really dislike these types of counts...the "look at how many places I've skied" or the "I've skied more places than you've skied" or the "I've skied better places" (quality vs quantity). Why is it always a competition?

oh yeah...you're boys

It might be a boy thing or a statistical and geography thing.

I don't expect you to understand, especially if you have trouble reading maps.

BTW James, your list is very impressive. =D>

 

[Sharon]

I don't expect you to understand, especially if you have trouble reading maps.

whattya mean by that?

 

[Tony Crocker]

BTW James, your list is very impressive.

James' list is very comprehensive in the regions he's visited and a very fast accumulation over just 8+ seasons. Priorities seem similar to Patrick: hit as many areas as possible on the first visit to a region. That will definitely be my attitude if I return to the Northeast. Otherwise I've been toning down the road marathons a bit in recent years to make the driving itinerary more compact. That trend will likely reverse when I'm retired and can take more breaks on the drive trips.

I do think Sharon misinterprets some. I don't view this as a competition with other FTO posters. ChrisC, Patrick and I clearly assign fairly high priority to trying some new places every year, even if we spend the bulk of time at our favorites. There are other FTO members (JSpin comes immediately to mind) for whom this has no priority whatsoever. Then there are the purists (exemplified by admin's posse and our Iron Blosam group) who believe that since they are skiing the world's greatest snow/terrain, why bother going anywhere else?

No right or wrong here, just different skiers' personal preferences.

 

[Admin]

Then there are the purists (exemplified by admin's posse and our Iron Blosam group) who believe that since they are skiing the world's greatest snow/terrain, why bother going anywhere else?

FWIW I'll be adding a new one next week -- the first new one since relocating to Utah 4 years ago, actually -- as research for an upcoming feature article. (Hint: It's in Utah, but it doesn't have any traditional ropeway lifts.)

 

[Sharon]

ok, I'll play

1. Grossinger’s
2. Kutchers
3. The Pines
4. Holiday Mountain
5. Vernon Valley
6. Great Gorge
7. Hunter
8. Windham
9. Plattekill
10. Hickory
11. Gore
12. Whiteface
13. Snow Ridge
14. Greek Peak
15. Holiday Valley
16. Holimont
17. Mount Snow
18. Magic Mtn
19. Okemo
20. Killington
21. Pico
22. Sugarbush
23. MRG
24. Stowe
25. Bolton Valley
26. Jay Peak
27. Sugarloaf
28. Camelback
29. Elk Mountain
30. Breckenridge
31. Keystone
32. Vail
33. Copper
34. Jackson Hole
35. Snowbird
36. Alta
37. Solitude
38. Park City
39. The Canyons
40. Deer Valley
41. Powder Mtn
42. Snowbasin
43. Sundance
44. Brianhead
45. Heavenly
46. Alpine Meadows
47. Squaw
48. Northstar at Tahoe
49. Kirkwood
50. Timberline
51. Crystal Mtn
52. Mt. Baker
53. Big White
54. Silver Star
55. Sun Peaks
56. Kimberley
57. Schweitzer
58. Red Mtn
59. Whitewater
60. Kicking Horse
61. Fernie
62. Sunshine Village
63. Lake Louise
64. Kitzbuhel
65. Zell am See

so there [-(

 

[pointpeninsula]

No one visited Bristol Mt in NY?
I didn't notice if Swain or Hunt Hollow was on anyone's list, either. Those are the three closest to Rochester. My list would be embarrassingly short compared to all of yours, so I'll stop now.

Tom

 

[pointpeninsula]

Oops, correction. Sorry Chris, didn't notice you had Bristol and Swain on the list.

 

[jasoncapecod]

1

. Grossinger’s
2. Kutchers
3. The Pines

come on sharon O

what about the Nevele??
The ski slopes of theses hotels are usually the 18th hole of their golf courses :lol:
at least you got unlimited bagels and lox for breakfast

 

[rfarren]

James listed whiteface twice. #53 and #57.

Not much compared to many here, but I started lift-served skiing in 2000-01. I've only been to two regions in Austria (Kitzbuhel Alps and the Arlberg), so Patrick may be disappointed.


52. Greek Peak, NY
53. Whiteface, NY
54. Belleayre, NY
55. Hunter, NY
56. Gore, NY
57. Whiteface, NY
58. Windham, NY
59. Bobcat, NY
60. Hickory Hill, NY (closed)
61. West Mountain, NY
62. East Hill, NY
63. Plattekill, NY
64. Highmount, NY (closed)

 

[Patrick]

Priorities seem similar to Patrick: hit as many areas as possible on the first visit to a region. That will definitely be my attitude if I return to the Northeast.

Not always the case, it always depends on the places and the region. I didn't ski areas hop in the Alps, areas are so big that it takes days to explore them. If I can explore one area in 1 day then I might consider moving on, this would apply to places like Targhee, Bridger and Snow King on that 2006, but not for Big Sky/Moonlight, Jackson, Alta and Snowbird.

I don't view this as a competition with other FTO posters.

Never a competition for me, just data compilation. Recently I've recordered of my vertical skied with graphs, but it's generally for personal consumption only. Like JSpin TRs, it's just a type of diary record of my ski days.

fairly high priority to trying some new places every year, even if we spend the bulk of time at our favorites.

That being said there is still a list of hightly recommended (by the ZS folks or Admin) Quebec areas that I haven't skied yet, prefering heading to Vermont at known areas. Regarding spending the bulk of time at our favorites, I wish it would be true. My top East 6 are (west-to-east) WF, MRG, Stowe, Smuggs, Loaf, MSA

Then there are the purists (exemplified by admin's posse and our Iron Blosam group) who believe that since they are skiing the world's greatest snow/terrain, why bother going anywhere else?

Some people like having a season pass and ski everyday at the same area, even the great skiing that I know concentrate their season locally. I don't know if I could ski one area year-after-year, regardless where it is, but that is just me.

So people like to spend all their weekend and Holidays at the cottage, I like to travel at different place every summer. That is probably why I'll never know a cottage.

No right or wrong here, just different skiers' personal preferences.

Agree.

EDIT: Also for Sharon information, I like to know where others have skied. Always curious and some times it can me a clue on potential trips or a reference for ski areas that I have never considered skiing. Being a geographer, I also like to see the geography distribution of skiing travellers on FTO.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I really dislike these types of counts...the "look at how many places I've skied" or the "I've skied more places than you've skied" or the "I've skied better places" (quality vs quantity). Why is it always a competition? oh yeah...you're boys

Since that comment ^^^ came right after I posted my ski area count, I'll assume that Sharon's anger and hysteria were directed at me. [-X This thread is almost three years old, and I didn't add mine until Patrick called me out.

BTW, Sharon has less on her list than than me. And she padded her count with those two tubing hills. :snowball fight:

 

[Sharon]

1

. Grossinger’s
2. Kutchers
3. The Pines

come on sharon O

what about the Nevele??
The ski slopes of theses hotels are usually the 18th hole of their golf courses :lol:
at least you got unlimited bagels and lox for breakfast

This is where I learned to ski when I was 9 years old, so I felt it was important to include them. Y'know, I forgot the Nevele...I skied there too! I got my start in the borscht belt. I gotta thank my non-skiing parents for spending their vacations there when I was a child. I also learned to ice skate at one of those places when I was 5. Most of what I learned, I learned when my parents sent me off to "camp" and there were kids camps at those resorts. They signed me up to get me out of their hair so they could drink and play cards with their friends. Little did they know it would give me a life of skiing.

 

[Sharon]

I really dislike these types of counts...the "look at how many places I've skied" or the "I've skied more places than you've skied" or the "I've skied better places" (quality vs quantity). Why is it always a competition? oh yeah...you're boys

Since that comment ^^^ came right after I posted my ski area count, I'll assume that Sharon's anger and hysteria were directed at me. [-X This thread is almost three years old, and I didn't add mine until Patrick called me out.

BTW, Sharon has less on her list than than me. And she padded her count with those two tubing hills. :snowball fight:

No anger at you James. I just dislike the competitive nature of these counts. But as Tony stated, there is a geography component, and I too am a geographer, so that convinced me that it was simply an exercise for research purposes. Never had I made any claims to have skied more places than anyone. When I put together the list, I realized I've skied more places than I imagined. I started with the first places I had skied and worked my way from trip to trip until I felt like I had it complete. I may have left a couple out, but they must not have been that memorable. Still many places I'd like to ski some day, but I believe getting to those places is really low priority and just being able to get away anywhere to ski at this point is fortunate. I suspect variety in my ski travels has peaked and I'll probably just stick to Utah once or twice a year and the usual trips to Gore, WF, Stowe and Jay and a few forays to other places along the way, but no major trips planned to Whistler, Alaska or British Columbia in the near future. I'm just trying to fix up my house and ski in the most economical ways possible. I'd like to maximize quantity and do the best I can with quality, though variety may suffer. It doesn't matter that much to me, as long as I get to ski as much as I can possibly afford.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

James' list is very comprehensive in the regions he's visited and a very fast accumulation over just 8+ seasons. Priorities seem similar to Patrick: hit as many areas as possible on the first visit to a region.

I've still got a lot of blank spots in the west: PNW, western BC, Sierras/Tahoe, Montana, Idaho.

 

[Pajarito-Bred]

James, I figured there was some reason for your coming all the way out west, and spending your ski days at little-known areas like Sipapu, Red River, and Pajarito.

Looks like Admin's list is long enough, now that he's discovered Alta, there's no reason to ever ski anywhere else, not even Snowbird. Based on my ski days at Alta, I'm certainly not going to argue against that logic, though. My list includes several hometown ski hills that no sane skier would ever take the trouble to travel to visit.

Sharon's right that list-making mentality can get a bit ridiculous, from a female perspcetive. Since I have skiing in my blood, it's easy to remember every place ever skied, and I don't even have to refer to my Excel spreadsheet. But I could, here it is: The # is 49, and matches exactly the number of trips around the sun I've counted.

#
Pennsylvania
1 Hidden Valley
2 Blue Knob
3 Boyce Park
4 White Mountain (now closed)

New York
5 Greek Peak

New Mexico
6 Pajarito Mountain
7 Taos Ski Valley
8 Ski Santa Fe
9 Angel Fire

Arizona
10 Mount Lemmon Ski Valley
11 Sunrise
12 Arizona Snowbowl

Colorado
13 Wolf Creek
14 Purgatory (Now DMR)
15 Crested Butte
16 Vail
17 Beaver Creek
18 Monarch
19 Steamboat
20 Winter Park
21 A-Basin
22 Keystone
23 Breckenridge
24 Copper Mountain
25 Ski Cooper
26 Sunlight
27 Powderhorn My current "local" area
28 Telluride
29 Steamboat
30 Snowmass
31 Aspen Mountain (Ajax)
32 Aspen Highlands
33 Buttermilk
34 Steamboat Powdercats
35 Irwin Lodge Snowcat (Now closed)

Utah
36 Snowbasin
37 Park City
38 The Canyons (Park West)
39 Brighton
40 Solitude
41 Alta
42 Snowbird
43 Powder Mountain

Other States
44 Mammoth Mountain CA
45 Alpine Meadows CA
46 Squaw Valley CA
47 Bogus Basin ID
48 Sun Valley ID
49 Jackson Hole WY

Tops on my list of not-yet skied:
1 Silverton Mountain CO
2 Deer Valley UT
3 Big Sky MT
4 Red Mountain BC
5 Portillo, Chile