Winners include Magic Mountain (Vt.) and Alta (Utah) for Overall Most Beloved Ski Areas; Titus Mountain (N.Y.) debuts as Most Family-Friendly.
SAN FRANCISCO – Honoring ski resorts from Vermont to West Virginia and Colorado to California, Liftopia – the largest online and mobile marketplace for lift tickets and mountain activities – unveiled the 2017-18 Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia, recognizing the most beloved ski areas in North America. Unlike other ski awards, the Best in Snow Awards is the only ranking that calculates survey feedback from thousands of skiers and snowboarders and incorporates the largest dataset in the industry to determine the ski areas consumers are most passionate about. The Best in Snow Awards bring uber-local, relevant and must-know intel to beginning skiers as well as ski and snowboard aficionados.
With seven categories including the Top 10 Best in Snow, Beginner-Friendly, Most Challenging, Family-Friendly, Best Snow Consistency & Quality, Least Crowded and Best Value, the 2017-18 Best in Snow Awards level the playing field between big and small resorts to uncover the true top ski areas across North America. Liftopia customers and consumers identified these categories as factors that are most meaningful and useful when choosing where to ski or snowboard, regardless of ski area size. Winners are ranked and divided into Northeast, West Coast, High West, Southeast and Midwest.
The top two winners of Overall Best in Snow represent opposite coasts, with feedback from spirited fans noting the passion points that make these mountains their favorites. The results found:
Magic Mountain in Vermont is the Overall Best in Snow in North America winner for the second year in a row and also kept its #1 position in the Most Challenging in the Northeast and North America categories, with customers saying that it is a “hidden treasure” that boasts an “old school vibe” with “people who genuinely care,” offering a “massive variety of trails” for “true, untouched skiing” and “terrain you can grow with."
Coming in at #2 for Overall Best in Snow, Alta in Utah is called a “big playground” because of its “laid-back feel” limited to “skiers only” with Utah’s famous “light and feather-like snow” there’s “always fresh powder somewhere,” along with “incredible terrain” that “makes everyone happy.” Survey feedback noted that “it just never seems crowded” because even “on the busiest days it's only a five-minute wait” — with “fun around every corner” and “charming people who are down to earth about skiing.” Alta also ranked #1 in North America for Snow Consistency and Quality.
Additional winners in the Overall Best in Snow category across North America are Mad River Glen, Vt. (#3); Snowbird, Utah (#4); Arapahoe Basin, Colo. (#5); Powder Mountain, Utah (#6); Jay Peak, Vt. (#7); Mount Bohemia, Mich. (#8); Jackson Hole, Wyo. (#9); and Bald Mountain, Idaho (#10).
Best in Snow by Region is a new category, with accolades for Best in Snow going to Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada for West Coast (which also won for Most Challenging for West Coast); Alta in Utah for High West; Canaan Valley in West Virginia for Southeast; and Mount Bohemia in Michigan for Midwest.
The top ten winners in each category are ranked by region, with select category winners including:
- Best Snow Consistency and Quality: Bretton Woods (N.H.) won for Northeast; Anthony Lakes (Ore.) for West Coast; Alta (Utah) for High West; Canaan Valley (W.V.) for Southeast and Cascade Mountain (Wis.) for Mid West
- Most Challenging Ski Area: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) kept top spot in High West for the second year
- Beginner-Friendly Ski Area: Bretton Woods (N.H.) kept its position as most beginner-friendly in North America
- Most Family-Friendly Ski Area in North America: Titus Mountain (N.Y.) made it debut at #1 on the rankings
- Beginner Friendly, Family Friendly and Best Value: Bald Mountain (Idaho) swept three categories as winner in the High West region
- Least Crowded: This category was carefully calculated using data from visits, skiable acreage, lift capacity and voter feedback, with winners including Snow Ridge (N.Y.) in the Northeast; Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area (Calif.) for West Coast; Soldier Mountain (Idaho) for High West and Canaan Valley (W.V.) for Southeast
“Skiers are by nature adventurous and today’s travelers are looking for the new, the interesting, the unknown areas to vacation. By measuring customers passion for their favorite areas, The Best in Snow Awards give consumers an opportunity to see which ski areas may become their next new favorite. Our method ensures a level playing field for ski areas of all sizes and brings skiers lesser known ski areas in addition to the larger ones we already know and love,” said Evan Reece, co-founder and CEO of Liftopia.
“The Best in Snow method distills the relative passion people have for ski areas of all sizes. This year’s rankings have again revealed what skiers and riders are saying about the snow, terrain, ski schools and the real reasons that make these mountains their favorites,” Reece added.
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.
He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
