Shakeup in annual Ski Resort Rankings

SKI magazine released its annual ski resort rankings and although the top 3 seem to always be the same – it looks like some of the CO resorts have fallen out of favor with skiers (at least the ones that were surveyed).  Here is the list and the ones who have fallen.

Ski Magazine’s  top resorts in North America
1. Deer Valley
2. Whistler, B.C.
3. Vail, Colo.
4. Park City, Utah
5. Beaver Creek, Colo.
6. Snowmass, Colo.
7. Sun Valley, Idaho
8. Squaw, Calif.
9. Mammoth, Calif.
10. Steamboat, Colo.
11. Telluride, Colo.
12. Jackson Hole, Wyo.
13. Heavenly, Colo.
14. Aspen, Colo.
15. Breckenridge, Colo.
16. Northstar, Calif.
17. Aspen Highlands, Colo.
18. Copper, Colo.
19. Whitefish Mtn Resort, Mont.
20. The Canyons, Utah

The biggest mover (or loser) was Aspen.   Aspen fell from seventh in last season poll to 14th.  Maybe this has something to do with the recession.  The results are based upon a survey done by the magazine of its readers looking at everything a resort has to offer – the mountain, snow quality, lodging, dining, etc.  So it would make sense, that Aspen would fall so out of favor with the ski community.  If you have ever been, its extremely expensive to stay there and there isn’t a lot of options for lodging – so you are paying out the nose for staying in something less than desirable.

Anyhow lets talk about the good stuff already.  The big winners.  Deer Valley wins the top spot again this year – with the best snow on earth and an epic season last year its no wonder they are #1.  Whistler has held its own in these rankings and this year will get even more exposure as they are set to host the winter Olympics in February.  With the 2 mountains and endless acreage to ski, Whistler is an experience everyone should get to.   Look, the point is, drop my ass off in any one of these mountains and I am one happy dude.  They all have something to offer and plenty to ski.  Here is our top 10:

1.Whistler
2. Jackson Hole
3. Vail
4. Deer Valley
5. Park City
6. Heavenly
7. Steamboat
8. Squaw
9. Breck
10. Telluride

This entry was posted on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 2:30 PM and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.