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We plan to retire in a few years and spend winters out West and have been researching places to buy a 2nd home. Over the past 5 years, we've averaged 6-8 weeks a year out West and have hit pretty much every large resort on Ikon, Epic and a few indys. We've definitely compiled a list of resorts and ski towns that could be nice on non-pow days, but the very thing that makes these resorts so popular (close proximity to airports or large cities, mega passes, hotel/shopping/food infrastructure at the base, etc), aren't high priorities for us and are the very thing that makes getting more than a handful of untracked runs difficult.
I've been spending time researching less crowded options as we debate and weigh the pros and cons of choosing a place that is somewhat in the middle of nowhere near a smaller, less popular mountain, vs a place with more amenities and accepting that when it dumps, we may only get a few untracked runs, vs a few days' worth of untracked runs. My son and I love powder so we'd gladly forgo the amenities, but my wife and daughter mainly ski groomers and enjoy the ski town vibe. I'd love to get some more information/recommendations for some resorts/towns to explore. We are also avid MTB and whitewater kayakers so proximity to those activities would be nice, but we live in the mecca for both of those so I imagine we'd still spend most of the Summer here. We'd likely buy a couple snowmobiles or snowbikes so good areas for that would be beneficial. Here are a few places on our radar:
Rossland (Red) and Nelson BC (Whitewater). I like the proximity to Spokane if we want to fly in at times. Is crossing the border quick/easy? I know Red is lower elevation and gets more rain and less snow that Whitewater but when it dumps at either of these, is it uncrowded enough that the powder lasts? They both seem to have a lot of side/back country but with my fused ankle, I'm somewhat limited on how much uphill I can do. How are these for the more intermediate groomer focused girls. I like that these aren't too far from the border but what other BC resorts/towns should we consider?
Sandpoint to Coeur d'Alene, ID (Schweitzer, 49*, Silver Mtn, etc). I've heard good things about some of these. I've also heard the snow can have higher moisture content. I grew up in Tahoe so are we talking similar snow or dryer on average? How crowded are these on powder days?
Bozeman (Bridger Bowl/Big Sky). Big Sky has a lot to offer everyone as the whole family has liked our time there but we haven't skied Bridger. Is it true that it is much less crowded on powder days?
Driggs, ID (Grand Targhee). This is an incredibly small town and fairly remote so I'm not sure how my wife would feel about living there as we've only driven through it a couple times (and don't remember it at all which probably says something). My family loves J Hole but we foolishly haven't spent any time at Grand Targhee. Other than being foggy, how does the powder hold up here? How crowded is it and is the mountain good enough to justify its location?
Pagosa Springs, CO (Wolf Creek). I've only skied there a couple days and it was several years ago but it was a fairly uncrowded powder day. Not a big mountain and not a lot of vert but the snow was good.
There are obviously pros and cons to any location so we are just trying to educate ourselves. I realize almost every activity is now more crowded post covid so it may be unrealistic to think that there is a a nice town to live in that has amazing terrain and snow that doesn't get skied out in a few minutes to hours. If we need to just accept that, then we can approach this differently and focus mainly on the town, and less on finding the hidden powder gem. Plan B could be getting a place in a town like Park City or Silverthorne (or other) as a basecamp and then building out a Sprinter/Transit that we can use to chase the powder since it's not that far to UT, WY, ID, MT and CO. Thanks!
I've been spending time researching less crowded options as we debate and weigh the pros and cons of choosing a place that is somewhat in the middle of nowhere near a smaller, less popular mountain, vs a place with more amenities and accepting that when it dumps, we may only get a few untracked runs, vs a few days' worth of untracked runs. My son and I love powder so we'd gladly forgo the amenities, but my wife and daughter mainly ski groomers and enjoy the ski town vibe. I'd love to get some more information/recommendations for some resorts/towns to explore. We are also avid MTB and whitewater kayakers so proximity to those activities would be nice, but we live in the mecca for both of those so I imagine we'd still spend most of the Summer here. We'd likely buy a couple snowmobiles or snowbikes so good areas for that would be beneficial. Here are a few places on our radar:
Rossland (Red) and Nelson BC (Whitewater). I like the proximity to Spokane if we want to fly in at times. Is crossing the border quick/easy? I know Red is lower elevation and gets more rain and less snow that Whitewater but when it dumps at either of these, is it uncrowded enough that the powder lasts? They both seem to have a lot of side/back country but with my fused ankle, I'm somewhat limited on how much uphill I can do. How are these for the more intermediate groomer focused girls. I like that these aren't too far from the border but what other BC resorts/towns should we consider?
Sandpoint to Coeur d'Alene, ID (Schweitzer, 49*, Silver Mtn, etc). I've heard good things about some of these. I've also heard the snow can have higher moisture content. I grew up in Tahoe so are we talking similar snow or dryer on average? How crowded are these on powder days?
Bozeman (Bridger Bowl/Big Sky). Big Sky has a lot to offer everyone as the whole family has liked our time there but we haven't skied Bridger. Is it true that it is much less crowded on powder days?
Driggs, ID (Grand Targhee). This is an incredibly small town and fairly remote so I'm not sure how my wife would feel about living there as we've only driven through it a couple times (and don't remember it at all which probably says something). My family loves J Hole but we foolishly haven't spent any time at Grand Targhee. Other than being foggy, how does the powder hold up here? How crowded is it and is the mountain good enough to justify its location?
Pagosa Springs, CO (Wolf Creek). I've only skied there a couple days and it was several years ago but it was a fairly uncrowded powder day. Not a big mountain and not a lot of vert but the snow was good.
There are obviously pros and cons to any location so we are just trying to educate ourselves. I realize almost every activity is now more crowded post covid so it may be unrealistic to think that there is a a nice town to live in that has amazing terrain and snow that doesn't get skied out in a few minutes to hours. If we need to just accept that, then we can approach this differently and focus mainly on the town, and less on finding the hidden powder gem. Plan B could be getting a place in a town like Park City or Silverthorne (or other) as a basecamp and then building out a Sprinter/Transit that we can use to chase the powder since it's not that far to UT, WY, ID, MT and CO. Thanks!
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