Discovering the perfect ski resort
Like snowflakes and mountain peaks, ski resorts have their own personalities. Some are laid back. Some are cocky. Some are Old-World and elegant. Some cater shamelessly to snow babes and hardbodies. In skiing, as in all of life, matchmaking matters. You need to know your ski resort’s personality.
Statistics like vertical drop, number of lifts, uphill capacity, elevation and snow making tell only part of the story. They tell you about landscape and infrastructure, but they don’t reveal the personality of the place.
Ski and snowboard brochures make every resort sound perfect for everyone. That’s the marketing department’s job, but we all know that one-size fits-all isn’t true. What’s needed is an impartial observerâ€â€a true matchmaker, if you willâ€â€who will tailor the fit. That would be the skier and snowboarder’s destination Web site skisnowboard.com, which provides information that vacationers can use to match themselves with their perfect resort.
Full disclosure: I own this Web site. Skiing is my passion and avocation, and I decided long ago that skiers need better resort information and ski resorts need better outside press. After all, some resorts are perfect for families, with great kids programs, ski-in/ski-out condos and a good selection of affordable restaurants. Other ski areas cater better to singles looking for sizzling nightlife, plenty of après-ski and beautiful people. One mountain might sit in splendid isolation, offering excellent chutes and steeps but not a single decent meal, while a nearby mountain village might be blessed with cozy restaurants, quaint B&Bs and romantic nightlife.
The question is not so much “What does this mountain offer?†but rather “What do you need?†You may need a resort where beginners and experts can easily rendezvous during the day, or where cross-country and downhill skiers can get out at the same time without one of them renting a car and driving an hour away.
Personalities of neighboring resorts can differ greatly. Anyone who knows Summit County in Colorado can attest to the different personalities of Copper Mountain, Breckinridge and Keystone. Their brochures all present similar stories of snow, sun and fun, but the resorts are as different as day and night. Copper Mountain is like a cruise ship: compact and self-contained. Keystone is filled with condos, making it perfect for families. Breckenridge is anchored by a Victorian village that has stores, restaurants and bars lining the streets, making it a good bet for groups looking for nightlife and shopping.
Savvy skiers know that resorts like Killington and Stratton have plenty of skiing but little New England, steepled-church charm; for that, you’ll have to head to ski areas like Stowe and Mount Snow.
In California, a stay at Northstar-at-Tahoe is far different from a vacation at Heavenly, even though it’s just across the lake. Northstar is a self-contained, quiet village, while Heavenly is a ski area adjacent to glitzy casinos. In Canada, skiing rustic, small-town Red Resort is nothing like stepping into the bustling glitz of Whistler/Blackcomb.
Differences are just as pronounced in Europe. In France, Val d’Isère and Tignes, which share a connected ski area, offer completely different vacation experiences. Val d’Isère is a traditional village with churches, chalets, nice restaurants and good nightlife. Though just down the road, Tignes offers no more than a series of modern apartment clusters. You go to Tignes to ski ’til you drop; you go to Val d’Isère for the skiing and the atmosphere.
Other neighboring resorts with identical snow have developed their own ski personalities. In Italy, Courmayeur offers narrow town streets with a French influence, while nearby Cervinia is crowded with stark, square hotels; in Austria, Innsbruck has a big-city atmosphere, while Kitzbühel is lined with quaint, medieval buildings; and in Switzerland, Grindelwald has a bustling street life with cars and buses, while nearby Wengen is entirely traffic-free.
Discovering the personality of a resort isn’t easy. The resorts’ own glossy brochures aren’t reliable, and neither are their Web sites. Some annually updated ski guidebooks like my Ski Snowboard America & Canada and Ski Snowboard Europe focus on the personality and feel of resorts rather than on statistics. Online, skisnowboard.com provides more detailed ski and snowboard resort information than any other siteâ€â€if I do say so myself.
But the best source is word-of-mouth, so while the season is still two months away, start asking around. Friends and other ski enthusiasts will tell you the truth, and you won’t get stuck on one of those skiing blind dates that make you wish you’d stayed home by the fire.
–Charles Leocha