Do uncrowded powder resorts still exist in North America?

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Originally Posted by Red7

My son is 14

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I’d say that changes things

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Originally Posted by byates1

i think its in wamsutter^

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Short drive to Vail, like the back way, avoiding I70. Even closer to Steamboat.

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Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn

This is actually the answer if you can afford it. My buddy the PNW Head rep does a demo there every year and he says no one skis. Good terrain and untracked powder all day

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Dean?

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Originally Posted by Red7

Thanks! And by Pincher you are referring to Castle? Heard really good things other than the wind!

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Castle is the greatest mountain in North America that no one has heard of. It is the anti-Whistler and Pincher Creek, aside from being the windmill capital of Canada, is the farthest from a ski town that you can find- think ranching community with a hardware store, for example, that looks like it came from the 1950s, and it is more than 30 minutes from Castle.

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Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

Dean?

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Yeah, he and Bryce go every year


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Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn

This is actually the answer if you can afford it. My buddy the PNW Head rep does a demo there every year and he says no one skis. Good terrain and untracked powder all day

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At Deano's new place it's deep and smooth year-round. For an even heavier buy-in, try Wasatch Peaks Ranch.

You might want to check with Alpine Zone. Greg will have the info you're looking for. And you won't have to deal with all the trolls here.

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Originally Posted by Red7

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!

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this is a joke right? Cuz you and your spoiled kids are the type of people who have ruined every overcrowded ski hill in America that you are now trying to avoid and you want someone to tell you where the next great place is? This is so ikonic.

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Originally Posted by Hopeless Sinner

First question to OP is where is "mecca"?

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The direction of your prayer carpet.

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Originally Posted by gregL

At Deano's new place it's deep and smooth year-round. For an even heavier buy-in, try Wasatch Peaks Ranch.

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Are you talking about the private water ski lake?


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Originally Posted by half-fast

I’d say that changes things

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Get him a bong and they can live anywhere.

Aspen, obviously. Or if you're OK with the indignity of your 2nd home having a somewhat low-brow address, Telluride.

Go to Europe. I think the euro to dollar is 1:1. So many off the beaten path areas. Get this, go explore for the winter.

https://www.skiwelt.at/en/snow-card-tirol.html

You don't need a place to live, you need a time machine.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Aspen, obviously.

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Ah, yes. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.

So you have traveled and skied in the west a bunch and you want to retire to a life filled with powder and off-season van touring to solitary place free down by the river. Just not down by the river where the maggots might be having a party. Has the internet broken at your house? I know a couple mountains that have tons of snow on a regular basis near small towns, but I will let you figure it out. I mean how big of a spreadsheet is it to even start? 20/30 hills? I would be under ten in minutes

Nothing low brow about telluride anymore, it’s not much different than ruined aspen, so over run and crowded it’s getting insane.

35 + - weeks of skiing out west the last five years and you haven't figured out where to go? You sound like a candidate for the Gaper thread.

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Originally Posted by Red7

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!

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Cool essay bro.

Try Granite Peak, Wisconsin. You and your family will love the place.

The real answer is the Gaspe

Murdochville
https://www.tourisme-gaspesie.com/en...e/7842536.html

Amqui
https://valdi.ski/en/home.html


If you are looking for uncrowded and cheap with lots of powder, these are your options.
There is nothing else but great skiing and cheap accommodations.

I guess these aren't resorts. Why would a resort exist that's not crowded? I would think an uncrowded resort is a bankrupt resort...

Christie Mountain has everything OP is looking for. Affordable homes in nearby Weyerhaeuser WI. Future SkiTownUSA, don’t miss out !


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Killington. Duh.

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Originally Posted by Rudimatt7

Nothing low brow about telluride anymore, it’s not much different than ruined aspen, so over run and crowded it’s getting insane.

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Clearly you're not a man of culture. The last time I was in Telluride, I could barely even find decent foie gras.

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Originally Posted by Name Redacted

You don't need a place to live, you need a time machine.

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FKNA!

Shames or Troll....