America's 4 Best Ski Resorts

Mammoth Mountain, located just south of Yosemite National park, boasts the biggest snowfall of any ski area in North America, so can offer skiing from November through to June. And just to be greedy, it also enjoys an amazing 300 days plus days of sunshine a year. Not suprisingly, the resort is a very popular weekend destination for residents of Los Angeles (about 5 hrs drive away), who bring their laid-back party vibe with them.

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The skiing's pretty immense. Only the lower wooded section has trails in the normal sense. The massive upper bowls and peaks offer all-access skiing. Beginners are made welcome at the well respected ski school. For intermediates, there's an absolutely huge choice, with some great runs on the backside of the mountain. Many good intermediates and experts make their way up to the very top of the mountain (wind conditions permitting).

Mammoth wins 'Best Ski Resort for Intermediates' - lots of difficult, but not too difficult terrain, guaranteed to improve and hone your technique.

Nestling in a semi-circle of impressive mountains, Crested Butte (pronounced 'beaut') is well known for its steep terrain, and challenging double-black diamond runs. It's about a 40 minute drive from the nearest airport, Gunnison, to Crested Butte town. The ski base area, named Mount Crested Butte, is 3 miles north from the town. There is a free shuttle bus connecting the two which runs between 7am and midnight.

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For beginners, there's a large number of long, easy, gently sloping trails accessed from the top of the Red Lady Express chair, a short ride starting in the ski base area. Intermediates will love the bowl skiing - try Paradise Bowl, and the forgiving powder runs through the trees in the Phoenix Bowl area. Expert skiiers will head for the steep chutes at the very top, such as the intimidating Banana Funnel, the steep skiing in the Teocalli bowl, or the exciting mogul runs, such as Jokerville.

Crested Butte wins 'Best Ski Resort for Beginners' - the green runs are big, uncrowded, and very easily angled.

Park City is Utah's trendiest ski-resort. The town has its historical roots in the great silver mining rush of the 1870s, but today its fortunes rest on cold dry white powder. The town now has another profitable line: each January comes the organised chaos of the Sundance Film Festival. The nightlife is pretty good all season long though - historical Main Street is full of boutique shops, good value restaurants and lively bars.

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Beginners can start on gentle runs served by the 'First Timer' lift at the Resort Base, then improvers can move up the mountain onto several long, easy, cruising runs. Intermediates will love skiing the forgiving powder through the aspen glades on the trails served by the Bonanza lift. Experts will enjoy a wide variety of steep tree skiing.

Park City wins 'Best Ski Resort for Easy Access' - it's just 29 miles from Salt Lake City airport, which offers a wide range of flights.

You'll see Jackson Hole's catchphrase 'Like Nothing You Have Skied Before' on lots of T-shirts in the resort, and who's to disagree, since Jackson has an amazing number of challenging runs and steep backcountry terrain set amongst the magnificent Grand Teton mountains. There's adequate terrain to keep beginners and intermediates occupied, but the real action at Jackson is for experienced and skillful skiers. Get pumped on a Jackson double black, and you'll remain pumped for the rest of your life.

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As to where to stay, you have a choice between Teton Village, clustered around the ski base station, or Jackson Hole itself, about 10 miles away. Teton Village certainly wins for convenience, and the number and variety of restaurants and bars available in the village is slowly improving. But whichever you choose, make sure you get to enjoy the rip-roaring nighttime action of downtown Jackson, with its genuine cowboy feel. Raised wooden boardwalks remind you of your favorite wild-west movie. Remember to take in the lively Million Dollar Cowboy Bar - where the stools are made from (slightly uncomfortable!) saddles.

Jackson Hole wins 'Best Ski Resort for Experts' - heart-stopping, technique testing, exhilirating, very steep chutes.

Nothing beats a little research when it comes to picking a ski resort. Two great resources are

Best Ski Resorts A useful roundup of the best ski resorts in America and Europe.


Your Guide to Snowfall A good analysis of snowfall in America. (Though using the past to predict the future can be a fool's game). Interestingly enough, this site shows the following snowfall records for our 4 resorts:
Resort - Annual Snowfall in inches per year - Chance of a winter month with less than 30" snow base

Mammoth - 370" - 26%
Crested Butte - 243" - 40%
Park City - 287" - 17%
Jackson Hole - 366" - 11%