7 Places Where Ski Resorts Should Exist But Don’t Despite more than 500 ski areas operating across the United States, there are still countless mountain ranges, snow belts, and peaks with incredible ski potential that remain completely undeveloped. At the same time, many popular resorts struggle with crowded parking lots, long lift lines, and tracked-out powder on busy weekends, leaving skiers wondering if there are opportunities for new mountains […] Brains Brent Glogau | June 3, 2026 3 Comments
The 9 Best North American Ski Areas to Visit in the Summer While many of us visit ski resorts in the wintertime for skiing, snowboarding, and other snowy escapades, many of North America’s premier ski destinations transform into vibrant hubs of activity during the summer months. As the snow melts, these mountainous regions reveal ideal playgrounds that offer endless outdoor pursuits, from hiking and mountain biking to zip-lining and scenic gondola rides. […] Brains Brent Glogau | May 9, 2026 2 Comments
The 7 Ski Resorts With the Biggest Cult Following Some ski resorts are popular, but others inspire a near-religious devotion — a true ski resort cult following that drives skiers to proudly slap stickers on their trucks, move across the country for one winter that turns into 10, and defend their home hill like it is family. Related: The 9 Most Underrated Ski Areas in North America What Makes […] Brains Brent Glogau | May 8, 2026 3 Comments
The 9 Most Underrated Ski Areas in North America Ask a room full of skiers which resort is the most underrated, and you’ll get two answers: a knowing smirk followed by “I’m not telling,” or a fiercely loyal shout-out to their local hill. When we asked our readers to name the most underrated ski areas in North America and dug through hundreds of comments, that pattern held. For every […] Brains Brent Glogau | April 13, 2026 5 Comments
Tignes, France, Report: The Late Season Star — Packed Powder, No Crowds, 8PM Sunsets Report from Friday to Saturday, April 3–4, 2026 There are certain April ski days when expectations are tempered, the snow is soft, spring conditions prevail, and maybe a few lifts have closed. And then there are days like we just had in Tignes. Over two days, we found packed powder, bluebird skies, and one of the most complete ski experiences […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | April 13, 2026 0 Comments
Les Deux Alpes, France, Report: Endless Vertical, Glacier Powder, and a Mountain That Just Keeps Going Report from Monday, March 23, 2026 Some mountains reveal themselves all at once. Others take a run or two. And then there’s Les Deux Alpes, a place that keeps unfolding lap after lap, zone after zone, until you realize you’ve spent the entire day chasing terrain that never really ends. We honestly didn’t expect it to feel this big. Straight From […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | March 26, 2026 0 Comments
Full List of All the Early Ski Resort Closures Across the Western U.S. It’s been a tough season across much of the West, and now the impacts are becoming impossible to ignore. A growing number of ski resorts are either shutting down early or have already called it a season, as persistently low snowfall and warm temperatures have taken their toll. Thin coverage, exposed terrain, and shortened operating windows have become the norm […] Industry News Brent Glogau | March 24, 2026 2 Comments
10 Longest Vertical Drops in North America We’ve decided to put a small twist on this statistic. The rankings we are displaying below only reflect the amount of vertical that can be accessed via a chairlift. No hiking. Just riding chairs and skiing down. This is more relevant for the highest percentage of skiers in North America, so we thought we’d allow the numbers to reflect that. We’ve decided to put a small twist on this statistic. The rankings we are displaying below only reflect the amount of vertical that can be accessed via a chairlift. No hiking. Just riding […] Brains SnowBrains | March 9, 2026 50 Comments
Big White Ski Resort, BC, Report: Big Terrain, Full Access, & Spring Laps Report from March 1, 2026 March arrived in style at Big White (Kelowna, BC), delivering expansive terrain, consistent coverage, and a full mountain experience from top to bottom. Every single one of the resort’s 119 runs was open, and all 16 lifts were spinning. In early March, that’s a big deal. Arriving at a mountain firing on all cylinders—with no […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 3, 2026 0 Comments
Alaska, A Place Known for Massive Snow Totals, Records Snowiest January in Recorded History Alaska, America’s most northern state, is no stranger to snow. In fact, the state records more snow totals than any other state by a large margin. By those standards, it would take a massive amount of snow to cause any disruption in a place known for the fluffy white stuff. Unfortunately (or fortunately for ski and snowboard enthusiast) for residents […] Weather Joseph Kaufmann | February 11, 2026 0 Comments
Lech, Austria, Conditions Report: Fresh Snow and Empty Slopes Report From January 29, 2026 Lech-Zürs delivered exactly what Ski Arlberg is known to have: fresh snow, quiet slopes, world-class grooming, and some of the best lift-accessed off-piste skiing in Austria. After an overnight refresh and steady snowfall through the morning, Lech skied deep, soft, and surprisingly uncrowded, especially considering its reputation as one of Europe’s most refined ski towns. […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | February 3, 2026 0 Comments
Utah’s Only Free Ski Area Is Officially Open Again After 45 Years Snowland is located about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City and has officially reopened for its first official season since 1980. Snowland has long been a destination for road served backcountry skiing for Utah locals, but a non-profit known as Snowland Recreation and Education, has installed a rope tow for the first time. Located up at the top of […] Industry News Joseph Kaufmann | January 29, 2026 0 Comments
Skiing the Entire Skicircus Saalbach in 3 Days: How We Did This Austrian Adventure Report From January 26–28, 2026 There are ski trips, and there are ski missions. Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, collectively known as the Skicircus, is one of Austria’s largest interconnected ski regions. Over 270 kilometers of pistes, four towns, multiple valleys, and enough gondolas to keep even the most seasoned skier checking the trail map twice. Many visitors spend a week here […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | January 28, 2026 0 Comments
Matterhorn Paradise, Switzerland/Italy, Report: Crossing Countries on Skis—A Full Day Linking Zermatt and Cervinia Report from January 20 There are ski days that feel productive. Then there are ski days that feel like you’ve unlocked a cheat code to the Alps. January 20 at Matterhorn Paradise, which spreads between Zermatt, Switzerland, and Breuil-Cervinia, Italy, was firmly the latter. We began the morning first thing, stepping out of our hotel into crisp alpine air and […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | January 21, 2026 0 Comments
Inside the Culture, Scale, and Operations of North America’s Biggest Resort with Whistler Blackcomb COO Belinda Trembath High above Whistler Village, Whistler Blackcomb COO Belinda Trembath, spent part of her workday the same way she does when time allows during the winter: on skis, moving through lift lines, greeting employees by name, and solving problems in real time. Known simply as “BT” to just about everyone on the mountain, from frontline staff to long-time locals and first-time guests, […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | January 13, 2026 0 Comments
Mt. Ashland, OR, Pauses Ski Operations Indefinitely Due to Not Having Enough Snow Mount Ashland, Oregon, has recently announced via Facebook they are pausing ski operations indefinitely as of December 31, 2025. Mt Ashland, located in South Central Oregon, is a owned and operated by the non-profit Mt. Ashland Association and was founded in 1964. Located in a subalpine climate, yearly rainfall averages over 60 inches, while snowfall averages 223 inches. The high […] Weather Joseph Kaufmann | January 6, 2026 1 Comment
Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, NV, Report: Winter Finally Reappears! Report from Sunday, January 4, 2025 On days like this, skiing doesn’t stop until the lifts do. The forecast leading into this storm cycle was bold, calling for up to 42 inches across Tahoe. But as has been the story all season, reality mattered more than the headline. Rain lingered longer than expected, chewing into the snowpack and pushing the […] Conditions Report Brett Ploss | January 5, 2026 0 Comments
Pro Tip: Don’t Bring Your Avalanche Airbag on United Airlines The list of prohibited items goes on and on when one plans to board an airline. From firearms to lighters, the range of prohibited items is extensive to say the least. But one item that can surely save your life in the backcountry is strangely enough prohibited on United Airlines. The avalanche airbag, originally conceived in the 1970s by German […] Gear Joseph Kaufmann | January 3, 2026 1 Comment
The Mountain Top at Grand Geneva, WI, Set to Host a One Of a Kind “Hot Dog Open” Freestyle Competition The Mountain Top at Grand Geneva, a Wisconsin locals’ favorite and popular ski resort, is set to host what they are calling a ” Hot Dog Open” from January 16–18, 2026. The quirky name for the competition comes from the original identity of the resort, spanning all the way back to the early 1970s. The name originates from the competitions […] Industry News Joseph Kaufmann | December 26, 2025 0 Comments
Taking a Lap With Deer Valley, UT, President and COO Todd Bennett: How Culture, East Village Development, and Long-Term Vision Are Shaping the Resort’s Future The first thing you notice skiing with Deer Valley President and COO Todd Bennett isn’t what he says, it’s who he talks to. On a quiet afternoon during a slow early-season start, Sterling Express hums steadily above our heads. Coverage is thin across much of the West, and Deer Valley, similar to every resort in the region, is leaning heavily […] Industry News Brett Ploss | December 18, 2025 0 Comments
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