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Ski Towns

5K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  Golden Age 
#1 ·
Hey All

The west is full of dense, pedestrian-oriented ski towns; these seem to be overlooked in this forum. Anyway, I thought I'd get the ball rolling with some pics of them, starting with my hometown, Jackson, Wyoming.

To get started, here is a vicinity map. Point of clarification: "Jackson Hole" is the name of the valley that the Town of Jackson, other villages, and Grand Teton Nat'l Park lie in.



This is the Town of Jackson looking to the Southeast, with Cache Creek Canyon in the background. The town lies between the Gros Ventre (groh-VONT) Mountain Range, Snow King Mountain, and East Gros Ventre Butte.



This is in the Town of Jackson looking south on Cache Street with Snow King Mountain in the background.



Jackson Town Square



This is the trail map for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. This mountain is tall, steep, and SICK!



The beloved Jackson Hole Tram, which was retired in September 2006. May she rest in peace. A new, larger tram will be operational in 2008.



This is the Teton Range, as viewed from within Grand Teton National Park about 4 miles north of the Town of Jackson.

 
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#4 ·
Here are some more pictures of Jackson Hole, Wyoming that I took in 2004 during a street performance:





I've got some more pictures of Vail, Park City, Keystone, Steamboat, and Copper (in addition to some international ski towns) that I wont post because they are mostly uninteresting pictures of my family. Jackson and Park City are probably my favorite West Coast ski towns.
 
#6 ·
I've never been to Aspen and never had the desire to go. I'm not willing to deal with the snootyness while there are better places to ski. :)

I think Park City, Utah is the king of ski towns.
 
#15 ·
There's so much more than Aspen

When speaking of ski resorts in North America I don't get why the discussion almost always revolves around the glitzy village of Aspen. Sure, it easily beats Vail and Breckenridge with its four mountains (Snowmass being one of them) and the mining town atmosphere but it's only one of many in North America (especially now that Jackson Hole, Sun Valley and Telluride have undergone "Aspenization" into glamorous resorts).

Stowe, Vermont has a totally different atmosphere from what I've seen on pictures. Of course it's got the New England architecture/charm and supposedly really good runs. Problem here is that it gets icey very quickly on the slopes. Another good east coast resort is Lake Placid in upstate NY..

Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia also comes to mind. This resort is probably one of the reasons Vancouver is ranked so high in quality of life rankings. A metropolitan offering of shops and restaurants, fantastic skiing and lots of touristic appeal (especially for Asian crowds). Problem here may be that it can get overcrowded in the peak seasons.

Banff/Lake Louise (Alberta, Western Canada) is probably the most scenic of what I've seen (also only know this one from photos) as it is also located in the Banff National Park. Great skiing variety judging from the ski maps..

The ones I may like best are the Squaw and Heavenly Valley resorts with views of the great Lake Tahoe, top-notch skiing and nice ol' villages. Northern Californians have it tough.
 
#16 ·
The only ski towns I've been to are Park ****, Jackson, Vail, and Whitefish (can it be considered a ski town?). Overall, I like Park **** by far the most. It has the most character and the best scenery. It could have something to do with the fact that I live 30 minutes away, but I still enjoy Park **** more than I enjoyed the others.
 
#17 ·
Snowboarding's my favorite sport for sure. Right now I live in Vancouver. Whistler (the ****) would be like all the other ski towns that have gone big. Great to visit, not so good to live in if your not rich, and approaching disneyland status. One of the ski towns that I have visited twice now and I think is great is lake placid, *** ****, the mountain is whiteface mountain. It has a real cozy local feel, maybe a bit boring at times though.

Sorry that my geography is all not what this thread was originally about, but theres hardley ever ski threads on these boards.
 
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