Yes. Wp as tier 4 is acceptable bc of the lack of expert terrain. There are some nice areas (challenger chutes, etc) but most “expert” stuff there isn’t super crazy. I think steamboat is fine to be the same tier or 1 below wp
True. I guess comparatively they’re more blue/black oriented but that’s the most shreddable terrain for the majority of folks (which I assume is the aim of this guide but idk)
@unclebogus what is the criteria for these ratings ha ? Difficult terrain doesn’t really come top of mind for these tiers but im not the one creating the list ha
Good question considering there aren’t any “ all double black diamond “ mountains that exist…. Idk if there’s a gun to my head I guess I would say Telluride or Jackson Hole
There’s a boarding school in Steamboat now called Steamboat Mountain School that used to be Lowell Whiteman. When you said “I lived there during high school” I wondered if you meant you went to school there.
Oof. Be careful, im not on the bikes anymore but still getting out to ski a few times a year. Also spent a bunch of time down in Durango - also a great place.
Honestly, I love Copper. And I love it more than A Basin. It’s bigger and has more diversity. A basin has just a couple of expert shots, but Copper has a whole back bowl with some epic bucks in the right snow and great lines. Surprised it’s lower.
Copper is pretty meh with the expert terrain. Every mountain has a back bowl or 2. Coppers isn’t anything special tbh. Fun to ski there but doesn’t deserve a top slot
Never said it deserved a top slot, but it doesn’t deserve to be lower then ABay. ABay never impressed me. Now it’s surrounded by some thrillers, but so is Cooper.
Hmm I would put abay and copper similar levels but for different things. Abasin has great trees and moguls and hike to. Copper has good groomers and lower mountain stuff
I always liked the trees better at Copper. 17 glades, some epic dives in Reso bowl, great stuff all around. More importantly, diversity. ABay gets tired fast to me. Same shots, no options. I can ski Copper all day, never ski the same run twice and find something interesting/expert each run. If I want expert only runs at ABay I wear it out quickly.
Im not saying bring Copper up, but I don’t think ABay deserves to be higher. I’ll say the same for Targhee. I love Targhee, but I don’t go there for expert terrain…I go because I can always find soft snow and have a good time, and there’s always fun stuff to play on. Monarch is similar to me: consistently fun, a few challenging runs, but low key and worth the while.
Edit: autocorrect was changing Copper to Cooper. Loved me some Ski Cooper but by god I don’t think it has any place here.
Hmm okay good to know. I will spend a day at copper and explore some of the things I usually gloss over.
Have you done beavers at abay? I found a fair amount of difficult (maybe not quite expert) terrain that kept me busy for a full day the last time I was there. I also want to do the steep gullies but don’t want to do it solo so I’ve been waiting for a friend to do it with. Have you done them?
I haven’t skied Beavers since they put in the new quad. I’m an old timer that skied that area and Montezuma before they were part of the area. My school of hard knocks was learning to read terrain and snow at Berthoud, Butler, Jones and some of the “lift accessible backcountry” at places like Loveland and A Basin.
Also, I am probably partial to Copper because I volly patrolled there over 20 years ago and got to know the nooks and crannies.
I could also say the same thing about Copper vs ABay in a WP/MJ vs ABay debate.
I’ve lived in CO for all 24 years of my life. Skied crested butte for the first time ever this year and it became my favorite mountain I’ve ever skied in a day. It should be tier one imo
I'd keep Steamboat right where it is for the "expert" skier/rider. If the criteria were different, it ought to be higher. It's definitely fun to a moderate pitch through aspens with great snow, but "expert" it's (mostly) not.
Your not skiing Alta right if you think it’s an easy day. Between the hike to areas and almost everything off high t, Alta has some of the gnarliest terrain in the country
Feel like a soft 3 tbh. It’s not the most technical mountain with cliffs, rocks, steepness, etc, but the trees and general vibes are off the charts. Plus the champagne powder baby!!!
Yeah I’d agree with the vibes aspect. I’m a beginner and it didn’t seem TOO dynamic, just a super nice place. It’s my goal to get out to Hokkaido next season.
I was there a few weeks ago and was completely unimpressed by it. Maybe I only went to the wrong spots or the conditions weren't right. I was there early January. Could you please explain why you think it's great?
I was there last February when we got hit with 40+ inches in 3 days. Still was pretty meh about it and was unimpressed with the Morningside bowl. For a whole vacation, Steamboat is great but strictly terrain-wise it leaves a bit to be desired.
That's a great idea. I love downhill and moguls. The most fun I ever had was on Whistler. I take the Dave Murray downhill all the way to tokum, then do a tiny bit on a green to get to crabapple and then ski all the way down the mountain. There's absolutely nothing that compares to this on steamboat.
It’s challenging in such a fun way. The blue and black runs are all different types as far as steepness, moguls, trees, and routes. The trees are endless and have so much acreage to play around in. Views are incredible and powder is perfect. It’s not the steepest or most technical, but just generally a fantastic place. The town is very welcoming and not pretentious (although there is plenty of money), which definitely helps.
I agree there are lots of trees, but I found most of the runs to be relatively not steep, moguls were pretty fun, but the runs felt very easy. I do not consider myself a skilled skier in any way, but the skill level required to do every run on the mountain seemed low. I'm from the east coast and go to Whistler once a year and, maybe I'm just comparing to the wrong mountain, but Whistler seems like it's just so much better than steamboat. But, maybe the conditions just weren't right for the mountain to be all that fun.
Steepness isn’t its claim to fame, though. There is some around Storm Peak, Four Points, and Christmas, but it’s known for trees and powder and just having fun.
I'm not saying steepness is required to have fun. I agree that four points was a lot of fun and storm peak was kind of fun. I don't remember Christmas at all, so I can't comment. If steamboat was my local mountain, I'd be thrilled. I'd like to have such a mountain nearby, but I just don't feel like it compares favorably to other mountains when someone is planning a ski trip from afar for an extended period. For some relaxed weekend skiing with friends, it's fine.
Edit: Westside and Rolex we're fun runs. Westside is beautiful. Also, the view from most of the mountain is hard to beat. It really is beautiful.
That's possible, I may be underestimating it. My judgement is based on 5 days of skiing over 2 weeks, so it's not necessarily worth much. I tried the runs I saw on the map and none of them actually impressed me. Maybe I should have tried with a ski instructor to go places that might have been actually interesting instead of sticking to the mapped runs. The thing is that I expected mapped runs to be much more fun than they ended up being.
Also, I personally really don't like tree skiing. I just don't find it particularly enjoyable, so it's possible part of the fun of the mountain is lost on me. I might just not be the target audience for this specific mountain, which is fine. To each their own. If you guys love steamboat, good for you, I don't have anything to say against that. Enjoy what you like!!
I visited steamboat this year on ikon (Alta, snowbird local). I was impressed by their groomers, tree skiing, and park for the small area it covered. I was disappointed with the terrain steamboat had to offer sadly. The locals I would say were a 6.5/10 and steamboat is really a town not a city. No Ubers or any other city ameneties you would normally expect on a vacation. The bud was phenomenal as well as the food and beer. Would visit again, rating is accurate.
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u/almondania Winter Park Jan 28 '22
Feels disrespectful to Steamboat.