Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • On The Trail

5 North American Life-List Ski Tours

  • December 31, 2014
  • Ned Morgan
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

By Evan Stevens, via Outdoor Research Verticulture.

Unless you’re independently wealthy or work as a mountain guide, you’ve probably got limited vacation days each year to make the most of—which makes deciding where to spend a ski vacation a relatively serious decision. Since I’m one of those lucky mountain guides, my adult life has actually centered around that question—and I can help you figure out how to spend those hard-earned vacation days. Through a choosy process, I’ve narrowed down five of the best ski tours around. Here’s my list—and my selective criteria.

During college and for a number of years afterward, I bounced around the mountain West, sampling as many different mountain towns and skiing/climbing venues as I possibly could. I haven’t hit them all, but it became obvious what my selection criteria were. They have to rate highly in:

1. Copious amounts of snow. You can’t ski without snow, and the more snow you get the better…to a point. (Keep reading.)
2. An amazing mix of ski terrain for all conditions. Sometimes it storms for days if you chose to live somewhere by amounts of snow, so you need storm skiing. Then it clears, so you want summits. Then the snowpack is unstable, so you also need mellow terrain.
3. As few people as possible. Who wants to race for tracks?
4. High-quality product. Copious amounts of snow is trumped by high-quality fluff. I don’t really want to fight through cement all the time.
5. Easy access. Who wants to epic through alder for two hours before you even start seeing ski terrain? Plus, I lean toward zones you can drive to, preferring not to use sleds or lift tickets.
6. Any one of these selection criteria can trump the others if it’s so exceptionally good. For example, if you can drive 15 minutes from home and start skinning or ski powder right to your door/car, then that’s a winner.

But obviously we all have personal preferences, too. As we drop into this list, it will become quite obvious that I’m biased toward a certain region. Remember, my skiing roots are in upstate New York, and then I spent my formative years hacking around the hardwoods of Vermont before going west of the Mississippi. So I know character-building skiing when I see it.

All of these places are serious venues—as any backcountry skiing venue is! Be prepared with avalanche training and/or a certified guide. Read the avalanche bulletins, play it safe!

Duffy-Mar23-6-2_2

Duffey Lake Road
A short 45 minutes past the coastal BC town of Disneyworld (I mean Whistler), is the 2nd best road pass to ski in BC, the Duffey. Haven’t heard of it? That’s because Whistler, Revelstoke and Nelson get the skiing press in BC. Meanwhile, huge descents of 5,000 vertical feet in massive couloirs, glaciers and ice falls are an easy day trip from the car. Did I mention the deep coastal snow pack? Numerous small and simple huts hide in the woods in most drainages allowing for casual one- or two-night trips. This zone is massive and lets you sample what the coast range has to offer other than Whistler. Decent storm skiing exists too, but it’s not why you come here.

Rogers-2011-01-31-12

Rogers Pass
There is only one. And although the crowds have discovered this place—you can easily be over run by mobs of bright-colored Swedish skittle armies—it’s for good reason: 4,000- to 6,000-vertical-foot decents, glaciers, old growth, summits, ridges, endless views and copious amounts of the best snow on earth—sorry, Utah. The only reason you get a bad trip to BC’s Rogers Pass is usually if the highway closes for avalanche control, which means it’s dumping anyway, and you can stay in Revelstoke and hit the resort.

rob-hoodoo-AK

Thompson Pass
This is an example of access and terrain trumping the best snow quality. However, the right days combined with coastal stability can equal the most epic days of your life in the world-renowned Chugach range of southern Alaska. The beauty of this zone is the mind-blowing massive steeps, chutes and vertical that you can access from the road on a dirtbag budget. Got some money burning a hole in your pocket? Grab a heli bump a little further back from the highway and spend your day leapfrogging summits and decents back to the car. The only truly negative is that massive storms usually mean closing down the bars in Valdez…for days. And the all-alpine terrain means poor visibility in all but the best light. However, if you’re keen and know where to go, you can use the tight rocky couloirs on the days with the worst light.

jasmin-mineral-skiing-UT

Wasatch
This is a conflicting entry for me. On one hand, it’s one of the easiest places to access with some of the greatest snow and terrain you can imagine. However, the phrase ‘loved to death’ comes to mind. If you’re not up at 4 a.m., you’ll never have first tracks. Storms clear and all the faces have been skied. There are still lots of zones to sneak around to with fewer people, but for the most part you’ll never be far from the maddening crowd. But the snow and terrain are the stuff of legends. When I lived there, my wife could leave home in the city at 5 a.m., ski 5,000 feet of fall-line deep powder and be in the office by 10:30 a.m. You can’t really beat that! Some of the deepest, most stable powder days of my life have been in Utah’s Wasatch.

tetons_tour

Tetons
I’ve skied here the least of all my selections, but would like to explore it more. Good amounts of high-quality snow match the easy access, especially if you buy a lift ticket. Plus adventurous options in the park can get you further from the crowds. The Tetons boast roadside classics, yurts on the backside. They’ve got a little bit of everything and are not to be missed.

Honorable Mentions:
-Sierra Nevada, for east side spring skiing
-North Cascades, for adventure ski mountaineering
-San Juans, for great terrain and snow, once every five years!
–Backcountry Lodges of BC, because they’ve got everything you could want in your own private powder paradise.

All photos courtesy of Evan Stevens except for Tetons photo, by Mark Fisher. Reblogged from Outdoor Research Verticulture.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Outdoor Research
  • Outdoor Research ambassador
Ned Morgan

Previous Article
  • THE GEAR SHED

Pimp My Hands

  • December 30, 2014
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
Next Article
  • Stay & Play

Deep Winter 2015

  • January 6, 2015
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 16, 2022
Cam-Lawrence-sketching-Bruce-Trail-Escarpment-Kristin-Schnelten crop3
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail

Recording Landscape

  • Mountain Life Media
  • April 7, 2022
ML-CM-cover-graphic
View Post
  • Features
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Photography
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play
  • The ML Interview
  • Travel
  • Trips & Expeditions

ML Coast Mountains: The Optimism Issue – Out Now

  • Mountain Life Media
  • February 11, 2022
Scientist-Mountaineer-Mom-Alison-Criscitiello-ice-cores
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Skiing
  • Travel
  • Women

Scientist, Mountaineer, Mom: Alison Criscitiello Blazes a Trail in the World’s Coldest Places

  • Mountain Life Media
  • February 10, 2022
Shelter-in-Place-winter-camping-Conor-Mihell-hot-tent
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • Ontario
  • Trips & Expeditions

Shelter in Place: Finding Wintery Solace in Dark Times

  • Mountain Life Media
  • February 7, 2022
fox-Quebec-Lemay-Jean-Christophe
View Post
  • Features
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Photography

Connecting the River to the Mountains

  • Mountain Life Media
  • February 3, 2022
Simcoe-County-Tourism-winter-Ontario-snowshoe-women
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • On The Trail
  • Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play

Five Reasons to Visit Simcoe County this Winter

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 6, 2022
Roots-and-Skis-on-the-Matawinie-Trail-riverbank-Annie-Claude-Roberge
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Skiing

Roots and Skis on the Matawinie Trail

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 6, 2022

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Featured Posts
  • Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait 1
    Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury
    • May 17, 2022
  • Relic-The-Beachcombers-Ben-Tour-illustration 2
    Requiem for a Relic
    • May 16, 2022
  • 3
    Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR
    • May 16, 2022
  • Dynafit-Sea-to-Summit-Delphi-harbor-revised 4
    Friday Flick: Skiing with the Gods of Delphi
    • May 13, 2022
  • 5
    For the Love of SUP
    • May 10, 2022
RECENT POSTS
  • Nick-Gottlieb-Pereval-Dzhuku-pass
    Touching the Mountains of Heaven
    • May 12, 2022
  • Full-Circle-Everest-The-North-Face-Nepal-prayer-flags
    Full Circle: First All-Black Team Attempts to Summit Everest
    • May 9, 2022
  • North-Shore-Betty-rummel_t_0110_BP
    Friday Flick: North Shore Betty
    • May 6, 2022
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK 💥 This past March, speed mountaineer Benedikt Böhm @benediktboehm rocked a five-hour sea-to-summit expedition up Mount Parnassus in central Greece. Starting at sea level on his road bike at the village of Itea on the Gulf of Corinth, he climbed up to an altitude of 2.414 metres. #linkinbio to watch the film!
I had no idea what to expect from this trip, neither from bikepacking, a fancy term for cycle touring and a sport I’d never done before, nor from Kyrgyzstan, a country most people cannot find on a map. Carl, who I’d only just met recently after moving to Canada—I’d flagged him down after backcountry skiing after seeing his Montana license plate—had invited me on this trip while on a mountain bike ride. I said no. A few weeks later I figured, “Why not?”
The @rab.equipment  dynamic Cirrus Flex is a soft, lightweight hybrid synthetic insulation for mountain-friendly layering. Keeping you warm and perfectly suited to journey in the mountains. #TheMountainPeople #WeAreRab
"@normhann and I lashed paddleboards to the roof of his truck and headed north along the Island Highway, towards Telegraph Cove. Norm had invited me to tag along on a commercial paddleboard group he would be guiding in the Broughton Archipelago. Despite a long history of SUP expeditions, I harboured some reservations."
To date, more than 6,000 people have summitted Everest, the highest point on Earth at 8,848.86 metres of elevation above sea level. And only a tiny handful of those climbers have been Black.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the rad moms out there! Here’s our Art Director & Head Designer @calypsodesign getting cozy with some sharks. #mountainlifer #mothersday
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK 💥 This past March, speed mountaineer Benedikt Böhm @benediktboehm rocked a five-hour sea-to-summit expedition up Mount Parnassus in central Greece. Starting at sea level on his road bike at the village of Itea on the Gulf of Corinth, he climbed up to an altitude of 2.414 metres. #linkinbio to watch the film!
I had no idea what to expect from this trip, neither from bikepacking, a fancy term for cycle touring and a sport I’d never done before, nor from Kyrgyzstan, a country most people cannot find on a map. Carl, who I’d only just met recently after moving to Canada—I’d flagged him down after backcountry skiing after seeing his Montana license plate—had invited me on this trip while on a mountain bike ride. I said no. A few weeks later I figured, “Why not?”
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.