Has anyone skied at over 100 ski resorts?

My tahoe definition might be flawed because sometimes we don’t actually ski all 10 feet of the snow that falls in the big storms (too dense so we ski the top foot). So the altaholics might argue that’s crap. But, having lived here for 10 years and 500+ days there is denominator bias in effect. And there is no where other than Japan and AK that I’ve seen where a 5-10 foot storm is a thing like it is here. Nipple deep, neck deep, so deep people are tossing bodies off 100 footers in the resort.

Honorable mentions:

AK delivered a 50 inch heli day.

Portillo a massive run where the wind filled in the super c couloir and we set the bootpack to 14k in waist deep.

Japan is perhaps a wrongful omission on my part. Endless pow.

But Europe and Rockies never really delivered more than 2-3 feet for me. Good snow of course. (though the lack of trees in euroland makes for hit or miss storms and wind)

An oldie from a big storm. No real pro ski pow porn but you can see some of the snow depth. https://youtu.be/Mpp2D3NSUU4

The fast AWD car with radar, a result of the boston to VT commuting days where it was common to see 10-12 speed traps each way.

Here's my list as organized on an Excel summary page. First number is order in which I first skied an area, second number is number of days skied there. Of the 261 locations, 220 are lift served, 14 backcountry (marked with *), 14 snowcat, 12 heli and 1 ski plane.

Nevada
1 Lee Canyon 1
115 Mt. Rose 5

Arizona
91 Arizona Snowbowl 2

Southern California
2 Mt. Baldy 82
3 Kratka Ridge (lost) 4
4 Mt. Waterman 16
5 Mountain High (West) 17.5
7 Mt. High East (Holiday Hill) 16.5
8 Snow Valley 6.5
10 Snow Summit 52.5
11 Bear Mt. 19
12 Ski Sunrise 2
18 San Gorgonio* 5


Northern/Central California
6 Northstar 5
9 Mammoth 427
13 Heavenly Valley 20
14 June Mt. 7
19 Sugar Bowl 2
20 Squaw Valley 22
21 Kirkwood 15
22 Alpine Meadows 12
30 Mt. Reba Bear Valley 1
60 Sierra at Tahoe 2
105 Tioga Pass* 1
158 Mt. Shasta* 2
192 Diamond Peak 1
241 China Peak 1
243 Homewood 1


Colorado
15 Aspen Highlands 8
16 Snowmass 9
17 Aspen Mt. (Ajax) 8
35 Beaver Creek 5.5
36 Vail 16.5
37 Copper Mt. 5
42 Arapahoe Basin 10.5
43 Winter Park 4
44 Keystone 4
48 Steamboat 3
54 Crested Butte 9
55 Telluride 10
56 Purgatory 2
63 Loveland Pass* 1
64 Breckenridge 4.5
92 Wolf Creek 2
93 Monarch 1
113 Silverton 1
157 Loveland 2
185 Powderhorn 1
186 Sunlight 1
187 Buttermilk 1

Utah
23 Park City 7.5
24 Snowbird 132.5
25 Alta 62.5
39 Deer Valley 9
40 Brian Head 2
41 Brighton 7.5
46 Solitude 6.5
47 Utah Powderbirds 1
51 Powder Mt. 5
69 Snow Basin 13
80 The Canyons 2.5
138 Sundance 1
184 Eagle Point 1


Oregon
33 Mt. Bachelor 32
50 Timberline 1
57 Mt. Hood Meadows 2
87 Mt. Bailey Snowcat 1
244 Mt. Ashland 1

Washington
34 White Pass 2
58 Crystal Mt. 5
135 Mt. Baker 1
171 Mt. Rainier Sunrise* 1
239 Stevens Pass 1
245 Mission Ridge 1
246 49 Degrees North 1

Alaska
127 Chugach Powder Snowcat 2
128 Alyeska 8
129 Chugach Powder Heli 3
170 Points North Heliski 4

Idaho
31 Sun Valley 9
85 Schweitzer 6
146 Pomerelle 1
147 Brundage 3
148 Bogus Basin 2
167 Silver Mt. 1
191 Lookout Pass 1
242 Tamarack 1

New Mexico
32 Taos 11
59 Ski Apache 1
125 Santa Fe 1
126 Sandia Peak 1
240 Pajarito 1

Wyoming
38 Jackson Hole 19
61 Targhee Snowcat 1
62 Grand Targhee 6
119 Snow King 1
182 Beartooth Basin 2

Montana
88 Montana Backcountry Adventures (lost) 1
89 Big Sky 5.5
90 Yellowstone Club 1
97 Whitefish 6
117 Bridger Bowl 2
118 Moonlight Basin 2.5
168 Montana Snowbowl 2
183 Logan Pass* 1
193 Lost Trail 1
194 Discovery 2
247 Turner Mt. 1
248 Maverick Mt. 1

Minnesota
143 Lutsen 1

New Hampshire
49 Tuckerman's Ravine* 1

Vermont
45 Killington 4
98 Stowe 1
99 Mad River Glen 1
100 Jay Peak 1
225 Stratton 2
227 Sugarbush 1

Maine
226 Sunday River 1

Quebec
101 Stoneham 1
102 Mt. Ste. Anne 1
103 Le Massif 1
104 Mont Grands-Fonds 1


British Columbia
52 Blackcomb 15
53 Whistler 14
65 Island Lake Snowcat 14
66 Fernie Alpine Resort 15
67 Whitewater 4
68 Red Mt. 10
74 TLH Heliski 3
75 Selkirk-Tangiers Heli 1
76 Apex Alpine 4
77 Big White 5
78 Silver Star 2
79 CAT Powder Skiing (lost) 2
82 RK Heliski 1
86 Retallack Snowcat 2
94 CMH Kootenay Heli 2
95 Kicking Horse 13
106 Panorama 2
114 Great Northern Snowcat 3
120 Mike Wiegele Heli 8
121 Sun Peaks 2
123 Chatter Creek Snowcat 16
141 Revelstoke 11
142 Eagle Pass Heli 1
144 Mustang Powder Snowcat 31
145 Kimberley 1
166 Baldface Snowcat 4
169 White Grizzly Snowcat 4
180 Purcell Heliski 1
181 Wild Horse Snowcat 1
212 Valhalla Powdercats 1
213 Mt. Baldy B.C. 1

Alberta
81 Castle Mt. 17
83 Lake Louise 8
84 Sunshine Village 7
96 Mt. Norquay 1
124 Marmot Basin 1
136 Nakiska 1
137 Canada Olympic Park 1

Austria
172 Lech/Zurs 5
173 St. Anton 4
174 Stuben 2
203 Warth-Schrocken 1
204 Ski-Welt Wilder Kaiser 1.5
205 Kitzbuhel/Kirchberg 0.5
206 Pass Thurn 0.5
207 Westendorf 0.5
208 Saalbach-Hinterglemm 2
209 Fieberbrunn 1
210 Ischgl 2.5
250 Solden 1
251 Obergurgl 1
252 Surfaus/Fiss 1
253 Rifflsee 0.5
254 Pitztal Glacier 0.5

France
109 Le Tour 1
110 Grands Montets 2
111 Vallee Blanche 2
114 Brevant/Flegere 1
139 La Grave 4
140 Serre Chevalier 1
222 La Clusaz 1
223 Val d'Isere 4.5
224 Tignes 3.5
236 Morzine/Les Gets 1
237 Avoriaz 1
238 Chatel 1
255 Val Thorens 4.5
256 Meribel/Mottaret 1
257 Courchevel 0.5
260 Les Arcs 1
261 La Plagne 1

Switzerland
113 Verbier 2
175 Klosters Madrisa 0.5
176 Davos/Klosters Parsenn 2.5
177 Davos Jakobshorn 1
178 Flims/Laax 2
179 Andermatt Gemsstock 3
188 Zermatt 3.5
189 Klein Matterhorn 2
211 Samnaun 0.5
228 Arosa 0.5
229 Lenzerheide 0.5
230 St. Moritz: Corvatsch 1
231 St. Moritz: Corviglia 1
232 Diavolezza/Lagalb 1
233 Engelberg-Titlis 2.5
234 Brunni 0.5
235 Andermatt-Sedrun 1
258 St. Luc/Chandolin 1
259 Nendaz/Veysonnaz 1

Italy
112 Courmayeur 1
190 Cervinia 2.5
214 Pila 1
215 Alpi di Suisi/Seceda 1
216 Arabba/Marmolada 1.5
217 Civetta/Falzarego 0.5
218 Val Gardena 0.5
219 Alta Badia 0.5
220 Alagna/Gressoney 1.5
221 Champuloc/Gressoney 0.5
249 Cortina d'Ampezzo 1

Iceland
195 Hlidarfjall 1
196 Arctic Heliskiing 4

Japan - Honshu
152 Goryu/Hakuba47 1
153 Happo One 2

Japan - Hokkaido
154 Niseko 11
155 Rusutsu 2
156 Chisenupuri (lost) 1
197 Furano 1
198 Tomamu 1
199 Moiwa 1
200 Kiroro 1
201 Sapporo Kokusai 1
202 Sapporo Teine 1

Australia
70 Thredbo 1

New Zealand
26 Mt. Hutt 2
27 Tasman Glacier 1
28 Coronet Peak 3
29 Whakapapa 1
71 Treble Cone 3
72 Cardrona 1
73 Harris Mt. Heli 2
122 Remarkables 1
149 Mt. Olympus 1
150 Porters 1
151 Broken River 1

Chile
130 Portillo 2
131 Arpa Snowcat 2
132 Valle Nevado 2
133 La Parva 0.5
134 El Colorado 0.5

Argentina
116 Las Lenas 19
159 Martial Glacier * 1

Antarctica
160 Wiencke Island * 1
161 Paradise Bay* 1
162 Brabant Island* 1
163 Charlotte Bay* 1
164 King George Island* 1
165 Livingston Island* 1

Dividing areas is subjective. Any of the following criteria always lead me to count as two:
1) If the areas merged and I skied them before the merger (Snow Summit/Bear Mt., Big Sky/Moonlight)
2) Defined boundary and lift tickets are cheaper to ski just one of the areas (Alta/Snowbird, Portes de Soleil)

I usually count as two areas those that are connected only by a transport lift but the connecting terrain is unskiable or uncontrolled (Arosa/Lenzerheide, Les Arcs/La Plagne). I nearly always count as multiple if not connected by either lift or terrain even if covered by a single lift ticket (Aspen, Chamonix).

There are some very large complexes in the Alps with multiple lodging bases that still count as one due to single lift ticket and not easily defined boundaries (Flims/Laax, Serfaus/Fiss). I lean more in the direction of two in borderline cases when the areas are large and a geographic boundary is easily defined (Whistler/Blackcomb, Val d'Isere/Tignes)

Fractional days occur when I ski one day divided between two areas. This can be frequent in the Alps but I've done it a lot at Big Bear and Mt. High in SoCal and at Alta/Snowbird under Mountain Collective and Ikon. Those days need to be split in half so that they add up at the end of a season to the number of days I actually skied.

^ Jesus christ. I bow to you good sir.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Pow

Would return to nearly all of them, gladly.

No desire to return to Cardrona and Coronet Peak in New Zealand; and Rikksgransen in Sweden.

---

How come? Cardrona is pretty good. Growing up we had several horrible years and spent those seasons on Turoa or Whakapapa in the club lodge. I'm stoked to see Dobby is your fav resort though! I learned to ski there, and subsequently transitioned to snowboarding like a horrible teenager I was on Craigburne and Fox.

Who is Tony C? What an incredible list.

Awesome.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

And he’s a weatherman.

Hey Tony, what’s with this persistent La Niña? Another year?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Quote:

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Originally Posted by uglymoney

Who is Tony C? What an incredible list.

---

http://bestsnow.net/bionet.htm was what Leslie Anthony wrote about me for the 1995 Powder magazine cover story. At that point I had skied 62 areas, all in the western US except 4 days in New Zealand in 1982, 6 at Whistler in 1991 and 4 in the Northeast associated with business trips.

Leslie is Canadian and touted interior B.C. skiing including snowcat and heliskiing, and you can see from the length of the British Columbia list that I heeded that advice starting in 1997 and have been up there nearly every season since.

More details on my ski seasons can be found at http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm by clicking through to regions. There are also links to selected TR's on those regional pages.

I place some priority on skiing new places and the pace of that quest picked up considerably after divorce in 2004, retirement in 2010 and finding a partner in crime with Liz in 2011. She had skied 85 areas when we met and is now at 195.

Living in western North America is a deterrent to skiing far flung regions while gainfully employed and with family obligations. When I retired in September 2010, the published reports were coming out of the first commercial ski cruise to Antarctica by Doug Stoup's Ice Axe expeditions in 2009, so I signed up for the next one in November 2011. I also took my first Japan trip in January 2011. Since 2013 most of the new areas have been in the Alps. Being retired makes it easier to go over there for 2+ weeks with a flexible schedule to chase the best weather and conditions.

These categories are awesome. Inspired me to join the fun (albeit with less interesting answers):
Most exotic: Santa Teresita van shuttles (El Colorado Backcountry), Chile
Best run: top to bottom at Les Grands Montets along the Glacier Rognon (longest), Center of Gravity Couloir at Snowbird or Cheminea couloir at La Parva or Big Couloir at Big Sky (most aesthetic)
Heli drop: sadly, NA
Snow: Alta/Bird
Vacation Spot: Chamonix
Best of VT: Jay all day
Best of CO: A Basin
Best of CA: Kirkwood
Adventure: getting lost with my wife on her first ever BC trip at Halls of the Gods (and getting Slim and Skier666 in trouble with their wives for being late waiting for us to get un-lost)
Air: prob something inbounds in the 15-20' range at Vail
Injury: partial (thankfully) ACL on one of those aforementioned Vail airs
Learned at: Hidden Valley, NJ
Kids first runs: Snowbird and Northstar
Best terrain on earth: Chamonix (never been to AK, though you may have seen me training for it on the stairmaster at the Morgan Stanley company gym)
Deepest: chest deep at Alta
Jobs: instructor, waiter, bartender, doorman, hotel catering
Car: any Subaru wagon (I've owned 4)
Binding free mount: only time I ever tried it was with Dukes
Favorite ski: Rossignol Viper Z in 1999 ish
Fastest: somewhere around 60, per the guy I was with who had Strava on
Victory: 2nd place (out of 4 who showed up) at a bump comp in Sugarbush
Ski towns lived in: Vail, Waitsfield, VT (if you count weekend couch surfing in college as "living".
Events: Bear Mountain, Mogul Madness (Vail), Heavenly Gunbarrel, Kirkwood LBD about 10 yrs ago when like 90 pct of the skiers in California showed up)
Spring skiing: concur 100 pct. K-mart and Squallywood. A basin and copper get honorable mention
Bars: concur re: Chamonix
Best skier skied with: John Egan (he was skiing with us on purpose, but we lost sight of him within 3 turns)
Most days: Vail 105
Fewest days: when I lived in NY one yr i got like 4

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Angle Parking

Dare I ask, but were any on your list that were memorable for their blandness, forgetfulness, crappiness ?

Basically, to add to the discussion, resort you HAVE to go back to it was so awesome ? Resort you don't ever want to go back to? (for whatever reason)

Resort I have to go back to is and has been the same for the entirety of my skiing life. Lake Louise. Such an awesome place. I have to think about which ones occupy the other end of the spectrum.

---

The monkey puzzle trees at caviahue are awesome but the skiing is mediocre, at best. It’s on a wouldn’t go back list because it was meh.

I lucked into apparently really rare good conditions (powder) in New Zealand and wouldn’t return for entirely opposite reasons - awesome experience I’m unlikely to repeat

The alps by a combo of weather/terrain/trees/laws/lifts seemed to make lift served deep pow more rare. But still better than tahoe

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beder

And he’s a weatherman.

Hey Tony, what’s with this persistent La Niña? Another year?
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

---

I'm not a weather forecaster. I collect snowfall data and also by experience observe ski conditions and often make recommendations based upon altitude/exposure as much as by snowfall. I recommend OpenSnow for short term forecasting/powder chasing.

La Ninas tend to persist more than El Ninos. There have been several examples of two consecutive La Ninas but 1974-1976 is the only example of three. This time of year is when El Nino/La Nina is unstable and tends to break up. If the La Nina is still here in July/August, it will likely persist well into our winter.
http://bestsnow.net/El_Nino.htm
http://bestsnow.net/La_Nina.htm

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TonyC

http://bestsnow.net/bionet.htm was what Leslie Anthony wrote about me for the 1995 Powder magazine cover story. At that point I had skied 62 areas, all in the western US except 4 days in New Zealand in 1982, 6 at Whistler in 1991 and 4 in the Northeast associated with business trips.

Leslie is Canadian and touted interior B.C. skiing including snowcat and heliskiing, and you can see from the length of the British Columbia list that I heeded that advice starting in 1997 and have been up there nearly every season since.

Mote details on my ski seasons can be found at http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm by clicking through to regions. There are also links to selected TR's on those regional pages.

I place some priority on skiing new places and the pace of that quest picked up considerably after divorce in 2004, retirement in 2010 and finding a partner in crime with Liz in 2011. She had skied 85 areas when we met and is now at 195.

Living in western North America is a deterrent to skiing far flung regions while gainfully employed and with family obligations. When I retired in September 2010, the published reports were coming out of the first commercial ski cruise to Antarctica by Doug Stoup's Ice Axe expeditions in 2009, so I signed up for the next one in November 2011. I also took my first Japan trip in January 2011. Since 2013 most of the new areas have been in the Alps. Being retired makes it easier to go over there for 2+ weeks with a flexible schedule to chase the best weather and conditions.

---

If you're in the Kootenays next season, send me a message and we will get some turns.

I rode a lift at 49 North in WA about 15 years ago with a guy who was on a quest to ski every area in North America. Nice guy; I should have got his contact info. I wonder if he’s done yet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TonyC

http://bestsnow.net/bionet.htm was what Leslie Anthony wrote about me for the 1995 Powder magazine cover story. At that point I had skied 62 areas, all in the western US except 4 days in New Zealand in 1982, 6 at Whistler in 1991 and 4 in the Northeast associated with business trips.

Leslie is Canadian and touted interior B.C. skiing including snowcat and heliskiing, and you can see from the length of the British Columbia list that I heeded that advice starting in 1997 and have been up there nearly every season since.

Mote details on my ski seasons can be found at http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm by clicking through to regions. There are also links to selected TR's on those regional pages.

I place some priority on skiing new places and the pace of that quest picked up considerably after divorce in 2004, retirement in 2010 and finding a partner in crime with Liz in 2011. She had skied 85 areas when we met and is now at 195.

Living in western North America is a deterrent to skiing far flung regions while gainfully employed and with family obligations. When I retired in September 2010, the published reports were coming out of the first commercial ski cruise to Antarctica by Doug Stoup's Ice Axe expeditions in 2009, so I signed up for the next one in November 2011. I also took my first Japan trip in January 2011. Since 2013 most of the new areas have been in the Alps. Being retired makes it easier to go over there for 2+ weeks with a flexible schedule to chase the best weather and conditions.

---

Bad ass. Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stuntmonkey

^ Jesus christ. I bow to you good sir.

---

I too bow to Tony C. WTF dude! Amazing.

And the deeper dives into the minutia of resort experiences by various posters are very interesting. Thx all.

TonC is pretty inspirational. I love the categories. I'll get back to those.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stuntmonkey

^ Jesus christ. I bow to you good sir.



How come? Cardrona is pretty good. Growing up we had several horrible years and spent those seasons on Turoa or Whakapapa in the club lodge. I'm stoked to see Dobby is your fav resort though! I learned to ski there, and subsequently transitioned to snowboarding like a horrible teenager I was on Craigburne and Fox.

---

Cardrona did nothing for me. Far better on the doorstep.

Dobson and Fairlie were really special.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dunfree

The monkey puzzle trees at caviahue are awesome but the skiing is mediocre, at best. It’s on a wouldn’t go back list because it was meh.

I lucked into apparently really rare good conditions (powder) in New Zealand and wouldn’t return for entirely opposite reasons - awesome experience I’m unlikely to repeat

The alps by a combo of weather/terrain/trees/laws/lifts seemed to make lift served deep pow more rare. But still better than tahoe

---

I hiked to the top of Caviahue. That was worth it.

I had great snow at other places in NZ, just not at Cardrona and Coronet Peak. Oh and Mt Hutt which was shut on the three separate occasions I tried to ski it over the course of my month long visit.

You can load the dice in snowsure areas of Europe.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive

I rode a lift at 49 North in WA about 15 years ago with a guy who was on a quest to ski every area in North America. Nice guy; I should have got his contact info. I wonder if he’s done yet.

---

I slept in the toilet block at 49 North on a US & Canada roadie back in 2000.

Woke to awesome powder but no lifts running :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mogul5480

Most exotic: Santa Teresita van shuttles (El Colorado Backcountry), Chile
Best run: top to bottom at Les Grands Montets along the Glacier Rognon (longest), Center of Gravity Couloir at Snowbird or Chimenea couloir at La Parva or Big Couloir at Big Sky

---

How completely bizarre that you've named 5 random, off-the-beaten-path runs in 3 different countries, all requiring a scramble or hike to access, but which I have ALSO skied and consider exceptional. There can't be that many people in the world who have skied the exact same mix of 5 runs can there? It makes me wonder if one of my ski buds changed his online alias but never told me... LOL

Definitely have not changed the alias, though that is really funny and random. The Chilean van shuttles were guided by a guy occasionally posting under cover here on the board, fwiw.

Oh I forgot that the best coincidence of all with maskinut is that my coldest day was ALSO -25 degrees at Mont Sutton, QC (thankfully no wind...-10 with -75 wind chill at Stratton was much worse). I dropped a glove off the lift onto a closed trail and had to ski down to it with my hand in my crotch to avoid frostbite.

I've added two this season already so here is a bump for 69...Ski Brule in the Yoopeee. 68 was Seven Oaks in Boone, Ia last weekend.



Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

Elko Ski Bowl opening Jan 7

I’d love to go there

Quote:

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Originally Posted by uglymoney

I've added two this season already so here is a bump for 69...Ski Brule in the Yoopeee. 68 was Seven Oaks in Boone, Ia last weekend.



Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

---

69! Nice!

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

15 more areas added in the past year:
262 SNØ Oslo, Norway
263 Austdal Glacier, Norway
264 Valloire-Valmeinier, France
265 Sansicario, Italy
266 Sestriere, Italy
267 Sauze d'Oulx, Italy
268 Puy St. Vincent, Fance
269 Montgenevre, France
270 Claviere, Italy
271 Auron, France
272 Alpe d'Huez, France
273 Les Deux Alpes, France
274 Sybelles, France
275 Pebble Creek, ID
276 Great Divide, MT

We have a small group at firsttracksonline.com, but it is a well traveled one:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...e.14795/page-2
Individual details are on page 1 of that thread.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TonyC

http://bestsnow.net/bionet.htm was what Leslie Anthony wrote about me for the 1995 Powder magazine cover story. At that point I had skied 62 areas, all in the western US except 4 days in New Zealand in 1982, 6 at Whistler in 1991 and 4 in the Northeast associated with business trips.

Leslie is Canadian and touted interior B.C. skiing including snowcat and heliskiing, and you can see from the length of the British Columbia list that I heeded that advice starting in 1997 and have been up there nearly every season since.

Mote details on my ski seasons can be found at http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm by clicking through to regions. There are also links to selected TR's on those regional pages.

I place some priority on skiing new places and the pace of that quest picked up considerably after divorce in 2004, retirement in 2010 and finding a partner in crime with Liz in 2011. She had skied 85 areas when we met and is now at 195.

Living in western North America is a deterrent to skiing far flung regions while gainfully employed and with family obligations. When I retired in September 2010, the published reports were coming out of the first commercial ski cruise to Antarctica by Doug Stoup's Ice Axe expeditions in 2009, so I signed up for the next one in November 2011. I also took my first Japan trip in January 2011. Since 2013 most of the new areas have been in the Alps. Being retired makes it easier to go over there for 2+ weeks with a flexible schedule to chase the best weather and conditions.

---

Chiming in a year late to give major respect to TonyC. Bestsnow.net has started me on some great adventures over the years!

10 more areas added in the past year:
277 Grimentz, Switz.
278 Crans-Montana, Switz
279 Aletsch Arena, Switz.
280 Lauchernalp, Switz.
281 Kleine Scheidegg-Wengen, Switz.
282 Murren-Schilthorn, Switz.
283 La Thuile, Italy
284 La Rosiere, France
285 Beaver Mt., Utah
286 Afriski, Lesotho

TR from July 10 at Afriski:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...10-2024.15022/
We were in southern Africa for a Namibia safari package trip June 20-30. So being in the vicinity I could not resist the chance to ski my 7th continent.

This has led to speculation of how many people have skied 7 continents. Charlie Sanders wrote an excellent article on the history, culminating in Kit DesLauriers being the first person to ski the Seven Summits in 2006:
https://bestsnow.net/Jimmy%207%20Con...%20Sanders.pdf

I was forwarded the above article by Jimmy Petterson (https://www.skiingaroundtheworldbook.com/) who lives in Austria during ski season but visits SoCal (where he grew up) during Dodger playoff season.

I skied Antarctica on the second Ice Axe Expedition cruise in 2011:
https://bestsnow.net/TRsFTO/20111114ChiriguanoBay.html
Doug Stoup continues to run these trips annually, though no longer exclusively for skiers.
https://antarctica.iceaxe.tv/ski/

At least one other company will accommodate skiers on Antarctic cruises:
https://www.travelandleisure.com/ski...itions-8603936

Jimmy Petterson skied Antarctica in 2003 with https://www.oneoceanexpeditions.com/antarctica
At that time I'd be surprised if as many as 100 people had skied Antarctica. A SWAG now might be more like 1,000 people. The further unknown question is how many of those have skied the other 6 continents. It took nearly 13 years for me to get around to it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TonyC

but visits SoCal (where he grew up) during Dodger playoff season.

---

Seems like a long flight to only be in LA for a few days? :fmicon:

Quote:

---

Seems like a long flight to only be in LA for a few days?

---

Jimmy arrives mid-September, visits old friends for awhile. He attends most late season home games too, some of them with me as I have 40% season tickets.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TonyC

10 more areas added in the past year:
277 Grimentz, Switz.
278 Crans-Montana, Switz
279 Aletsch Arena, Switz.
280 Lauchernalp, Switz.
281 Kleine Scheidegg-Wengen, Switz.
282 Murren-Schilthorn, Switz.
283 La Thuile, Italy
284 La Rosiere, France
285 Beaver Mt., Utah
286 Afriski, Lesotho

TR from July 10 at Afriski:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...10-2024.15022/
We were in southern Africa for a Namibia safari package trip June 20-30. So being in the vicinity I could not resist the chance to ski my 7th continent.

This has led to speculation of how many people have skied 7 continents. Charlie Sanders wrote an excellent article on the history, culminating in Kit DesLauriers being the first person to ski the Seven Summits in 2006:
https://bestsnow.net/Jimmy%207%20Con...%20Sanders.pdf

I was forwarded the above article by Jimmy Petterson (https://www.skiingaroundtheworldbook.com/) who lives in Austria during ski season but visits SoCal (where he grew up) during Dodger playoff season.

I skied Antarctica on the second Ice Axe Expedition cruise in 2011:
https://bestsnow.net/TRsFTO/20111114ChiriguanoBay.html
Doug Stoup continues to run these trips annually, though no longer exclusively for skiers.
https://antarctica.iceaxe.tv/ski/

At least one other company will accommodate skiers on Antarctic cruises:
https://www.travelandleisure.com/ski...itions-8603936

Jimmy Petterson skied Antarctica in 2003 with https://www.oneoceanexpeditions.com/antarctica
At that time I'd be surprised if as many as 100 people had skied Antarctica. A SWAG now might be more like 1,000 people. The further unknown question is how many of those have skied the other 6 continents. It took nearly 13 years for me to get around to it.

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Are you a Rothschild? Jesus . Jet setter extrodinaire. Well done

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Are you a Rothschild? Jesus . Jet setter extrodinaire. Well done

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I'm 71 and have been retired since Sept. 2010. As noted before there was little unusual about my ski profile through 1996:

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http://bestsnow.net/bionet.htm was what Leslie Anthony wrote about me for the 1995 Powder magazine cover story. At that point I had skied 62 areas, all in the western US except 4 days in New Zealand in 1982, 6 at Whistler in 1991 and 4 in the Northeast associated with business trips.

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I averaged 24 days/season during early family years 1984-1996. I was only intermittently competent in powder on traditional skis.

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Leslie is Canadian and touted interior B.C. skiing including snowcat and heliskiing, and you can see from the length of the British Columbia list that I heeded that advice starting in 1997 and have been up there nearly every season since.

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I acquired then new Volant Chubbs for the 1997 trip to Island Lake, Red, Fernie and Whitewater and thus got up to speed for powder skiing. The timing also coincided with the rapid expansion of cat/heli tenures in British Columbia, so I was able to try many of them, eventually settling upon Mustang Powder from 2010-2020.

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I place some priority on skiing new places and the pace of that quest picked up considerably after divorce in 2004

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My ex faded out of skiing by 1998. With that constraint gone I went on Extremely Canadian tours to Las Lenas in 2005 and La Grave in 2008 and also my only full heli week with Mike Wiegele in 2006. Average ski days per season jumped from 28 before divorce to 45 after.

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retirement in 2010 and finding a partner in crime with Liz in 2011.

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The 9 seasons between retirement and COVID averaged 65 days. Having one's spouse be an enabler rather than a drag on one's ski aspirations helps a lot. Liz prioritizes new adventure experiences even more than I do.

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When I retired in September 2010, the published reports were coming out of the first commercial ski cruise to Antarctica by Doug Stoup's Ice Axe expeditions in 2009, so I signed up for the next one in November 2011. I also took my first Japan trip in January 2011.

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Despite the exotic travel, my Snowbird timeshare week and my early and often extensive late season skiing at Mammoth are very modest in cost. Wandering around the Alps flexibly in a rental car can probably be done less expensively than in the American West, considering the much cheaper lift tickets. I realize part of that is being retired with the Alps trips being close to 3 weeks.

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Originally Posted by TonyC

Having one's spouse be an enabler rather than a drag on one's ski aspirations helps a lot. Liz prioritizes new adventure experiences even more than I do.

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truth here ^^^ would ski double the current days if it weren't for the tensions it creates...

That’s some early days of Island Lake as well before it jumped the gentrified shark. Nicely done

Ski Categories:

Most exotic: Antarctica, Lesotho

Most challenging runs skied:
Big Couloir, Big Sky, 2001
La Voute, La Grave, 2008
Little Chute, Alta, 2014
Errare Humane, Las Lenas, 2015
Eduardo’s, Las Lenas, 2015

Most consistent powder:
Mustang Powder Snowcat: 31 days in 10 seasons, the worst of them still half powder, 2/3 of them would make the top 3% of lift served ski days.
Japan: on fat skis 22 out of 23 ski days

Deepest powder: Chatter Creek Snowcat, Feb. 2, 2008, Mammoth, April 9, 1999
Overall best powder day: 28K vertical in ~4 feet new, Chugach Powder Guides, March 25, 2007
Link to TRs of top Heli/Cat/Powder/Vertical/Backcountry days: https://bestsnow.net/triprpts.htm#heli

Favorite North America Ski Areas, based equally upon terrain and snow reliability
1) Alta/Snowbird
2) Whistler/Blackcomb
3) Mammoth
4) Vail. Yes I’d like to see more true steep terrain, but steep enough for continuous powder skiing is what matters.
5) Jackson: magnificent terrain but exposure often degrades snow conditions by President’s week. That’s a really short reliable season when you’re spoiled by Mammoth being your home area.
6) Palisades: Low altitude in combination with Sierra snow volatility is a big problem. Intermediate runs can maintained by grooming. Steep areas are more sensitive to snow conditions. That’s the main reason Alta/Snowbird is #1. You can count on the exciting terrain having good snow more consistently than anywhere else.
7) Mt. Bachelor, some of the same issues as Vail, often best spring skiing in North America
8) Fernie
9) Crystal Mt.
10) Castle Mt., long fall lines in alpine and subalpine terrain, frequent wind reloaded snow, very low skier density.

In the Alps Val d’Isere/Tignes is the clear cut intersection of top 5 terrain quality and top 5 snow reliability. St. Anton is the Jackson of Europe: high snowfall, great terrain but predominant sunny exposure

Best uncrowded areas in North America, perhaps subject to change with evolving skier patterns:
1) Castle Mt., if you have ever skied there, no explanation is necessary.
2) Discovery, long fall line groomers on Grizzly, technical steep skiing on Limelight

For powder, Wolf Creek (excluding Texas holidays) and Targhee are still low density. Powder Mt.’s powder is generally degraded by sun or wind before it’s tracked out, though its new pricing strategy is a deterrent.

Brundage is a weekend area for Boise, deserted midweek, excellent spaced trees.

Apex and Red Mt. in B.C. have exciting terrain but are quiet because other regional areas are more accessible.

Sunlight is an interesting mountain completely ignored due to proximity to Aspen and Vail.

Similarly Sundance flies under the radar in Utah.

In the Alps even famous areas have minimal powder competition by North American standards, especially if they have an intermediate reputation. Cervinia, St. Moritz, Davos and the Via Lattea in my experience but I know this is generally true. And “small areas” in the Alps often have Vail-level skiable acreage.

Most Overrated: Revelstoke, Deer Valley

Injuries:
1) Left ACL on second day on skis in 1976. Lots of pain but not diagnosed until 1995 MRI because the knee is not unstable.
2) Torn meniscus 1995, resumed skiing 9 weeks later
3) Collision; broken ribs punctured lung 2008, resumed skiing 7 weeks later.
No surgeries, big picture I’ve been fortunate nothing too serious in 1800+ ski days.

Skis: I’m one of those amateurs greatly aided by advances in ski technology, starting with those Volant Chubbs in 1997. The Volant Power Ti was my daily driver 2000-2007. Since 2012 I’ve been on Blizzard Bonafides, which ski powder better than the Chubbs yet still rip groomers. I now have DPS Carbon Wailer 112s for the deepest days. I ripped edges out of the 2011 and 2017 Bonafides, now have 2015 and 2020 models. The revision in 2021 is not available in my preferred 180cm length.

I’ve been in Lange boots for roughly a decade each since 1981. I’m now in XT3’s which have a walk mode.

Spring Skiing: Mammoth and Mt. Bachelor. I have all the respect in the world for Squallywood terrain, but in terms of conditions March at Squaw is like April at Mammoth and the gap grows longer as spring/summer advance due to the top of Squaw being the same elevation as Mammoth’s Main Lodge. Recall my top lift served powder day was in April at Mammoth. To me, Mammoth spring skiing means May/June. Best examples:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...87/#post-69100
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...10-2019.14014/

The backside of Mt. Bachelor is so low density that you can get 1,500-2,000 vertical runs in butter smooth corn, example here:
https://www.firsttracksonline.com/bo...18-2021.14397/

A-Basin gets an honorable mention because winter conditions and often powder continues in late April and early May. But all of A-Basin’s steeps usually close mid-May for wet snow instability. Meanwhile Mammoth’s steeps are skiable to the bitter end, July in good years and a few of them made it to August in 2017.

Ski Records
Season length: 21 months, Nov. 29, 2010 - July 2, 2012
Days in one year: 80 from Nov. 29, 2010 - Nov. 17, 2011
Season vertical: 1,610K in 2016-17
Season powder: 291K in 2011-12

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That’s some early days of Island Lake as well before it jumped the gentrified shark. Nicely done

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That trip and two days at TLH heli the next year firmly planted the hook and thus interior B.C. cat or heli became an annual trip. In my 70's the gentrified version of Island Lake is working just fine for me.

quite the data dump ya got there...

Skiing more as you get older right on broheim.

Brilliant TonyC

Well done! We were in Lethoso a while back in July and contemplated driving over to Afriski, but didn’t commit the time to do it. I wish we would’ve. We hiked a bit at moderate elevations and had ice and small pockets of snow.


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My FIL, was an airline pilot for 30+years and was/is really big into their international ski team/club. He has skied most everywhere rockies-pacific ocean (canada included) having 4 or more chairlifts, and has skied at probably 100 european resorts alone. Has at least 5 or 6 japan trips under his belt too. His wife (also a captain with the airline) is samoan, and quite possibly has skied the most places of any Samoan ever, no joke.

Fun exercise, here is my list:

1. Sandia peak, NM
2. Taos, NM
3. Santa Fe, NM
4. A-basin, CO
5. Highlands, CO
6. Ajax, CO
7. Snowmass, CO
8. Beaver Creek, CO
9. Vail, CO
10. Copper, CO
11. Crested Butte, CO
12. Eldora, CO
13. Howelsen Hill, CO
14. Keystone, CO
15. Loveland, CO
16. Purgatory, CO
17. Steamboat, CO
18. Telluride, CO
19. Breckenridge, CO
20. Winter Park, CO
21. Wolf Creek, CO
22. Woodward PC, UT
23. Alta, UT
24. Beaver Mountain, UT
25. Brian Head, UT
26. Brighton, UT
27. DV, UT
28. Eagle Point, UT
29. Nordic Valley, UT
30. PCMR, UT
31. Canyons, UT
32. Powder Mountain, UT
33. Snowbasin, UT
34. Snowbird, UT
35. Solitude, UT
36. Sundance, UT
37. 49 Degrees North, WA
38. Mt Spokane, WA
39. Mission Ridge, WA
40. Bogus Basin, ID
41. Grand Targhee, WY
42. Lookout Pass, MT
43. Pebble Creek, ID
44. Silver Mountain, ID
45. Schweitzer, ID
46. Sun Valley, ID
47. Big Sky, MT
48. Skimore Olso, Norway
49. Beartooth Basin, MT
50. Jackson Hole, WY
51. Snow King, WY
52. Mammoth, CA
53. Mt Bachelor, OR
54. Timberline, OR
55. Termas de Chillan, Chile
56. La Parva, Chile
57. La Hoya, Argentina
58. Las Lenas, Argentina
59. Catedral, Argentina
60. Utah Olympic Park, UT
61. Mt Baker, WA* (skied through on the way to/from shuksan)

For my list I only included ski areas/resorts with ski lifts and cut runs. Since my mid-20s, I've mainly backcountry skied so I could add more places if I expanded my rules.

Love all the work TonyC! I actually started keeping a spreadsheet for every season/ski day starting in 2020 and I've really enjoyed having a "diary" of my skiing and the data to look back on. Nice to see who you skied with, where and how much vert. Plus I can then tell my wife that I only average 172 minutes per ski outing as opposed to here her version, "you ski all day, every weekend" :D and I have the data to back it up.

Here is my spreadsheet from last season: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

I have a blank I'd be happy to share with anyone that would like to use my template to track their days.

Wait mt spokane is actually a ski area. Huh. I just thought it was a 2pole dream