When I opened up the Crested Butte trail map for the first time in my hotel room I was awestruck. I had never seen so much black on a trail map. Black and double-black diamond runs appeared to occupy more than half of the resort. About one-third of the Crested Butte’s 1,547 acres was, it turned out, was in fact extreme double-black diamond terrain.

“Could this be my dream hill?” I wondered.

It was one of the most hardcore-looking ski resorts I’d ever seen. This was confirmed when two of the locals took me down Rambo, the steepest man-made run in North America, and when we had to skirt around several in-bounds areas that were permanently roped off because they’re simply too steep and extreme to allow public access to them.

Crested Butte has called “the last great Colorado ski town” but, although it is a great ski town with all the charm and character that one could desire, I didn’t see any reason to place it above some of the other small out-of-the way ski towns.

Crested Butte certainly surpasses most resorts for ski culture and authenticity, probably because of the hardcore brand of skiers and riders that it attracts.

The other side of that coin is that, while Crested Butte has all the extreme terrain a guy could want, that terrain only receives 300 inches of snow on average annually, which is 200 inches less than some of the other hills we visited.

So, while Crested Butte offers some of the most hardcore terrain in the country, fresh tracks are not be as easy to come by as at some other resorts.

How important is that to you?

Do you think Crested Butte could be the best in the west?

Cast your vote now!

The post Is Crested Butte the Best Ski Resort in the USA? appeared first on XpatMatt.

I went on a mission to find the best ski and snowboard vacation experience in the USA. During my trip, I visited Crested Butte, and then compiled what I learned into this micro guide.

The video above contains lots of useful information, but, if you want to carry have this information on the hill where it will really come in handy, bookmark this guide on your phone.

Crested Butte Micro Guide Part 1: The Hill

Whenever I show up at a hill, I never know where to go. The map doesn’t tell you enough. So, we’re created annotated maps of each hill explaining the terrain, so that you know where to go. Here’s our annotated map of Crested Butte.

DOWNLOAD A FULL-SIZED VERSION OF THE MAP TO YOUR DESKTOP OR PHONE

Here are the highlights:

For the hardcore:

Crested Butte was made for you. It’s hard to choose one single highlight for thrill-seekers. This mountain has a higher-proportion of double-black diamond terrain than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. It’s a big-mountain dream. The north face is is a great place to go looking for cliffs and steep pitches, the Headwall has several serious chutes, and the Teocalli Bowl is magnificent.

For bragging rights you must do Rambo at least once, so you can tell your friends you slayed the steepest man-made run in North America.

For the park rats:

Unfortunately, although there are several parks for people of different abilities, there’s no central park area on Crested Butte where they can all hang out. Those looking for big features will want to hit spend their time in the DC Superpipe and DC Terrain Park off the Paradise Express Chair. Skiers and riders looking for something a bit smaller will want to visit the Smith Hill Terrain Park and Jib Park accessed by the Red Lady Express, and the youngsters can fool around in the Kids’ Park off the Painter Boy lift.

For the groomer cruisers:

If you’re looking to make your eyes water and lay some nice carves into well-groomed corduroy, you can’t beat International (accessed by the Silver Queen Express), Ruby Chief off of the Paradise Express, and the all the runs around the Gold Link Lift.

For the snowplowers:

Both the Peach Tree Lift and the Red Lady Express access nothing but nice rolling green runs, perfect for learning.

Crested Butte Micro Guide Part II: Where to Eat

The following restaurants came highly recommended by the locals we spoke to:

Uley’s Cabin
Named after a famous local bootlegger, this elegant restaurant located just off the International run serves signature cocktails, has an ice bar, and even offers a sleigh ride dinner.
Off the International Run
Crested Butte, CO 81224
(970) 349-2275

Django’s
This restaurant and wine bar prides itself on it’s southern European influence and fresh ingredients. Intimate, romantic, and great for dates.
Mountaineer Square Courtyard
620 Gothic Road C-130 (courier)
Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81224
970-349-7574

View a Map

Secret Stash
Like the name suggests, a great local secret with pizza and wings that have been voted the best in the city every year since it opened.
21 Elk Ave
Crested Butte, CO 81224
(970) 349-6245

View a Map

Ginger Cafe
If you’re looking for curry, there’s nowhere better in town than than the Ginger Cafe, which specializes in both of the main varieties of the dish: Indian and Thai.
425 Elk Ave
Crested Butte, CO 81224
(970) 349-7291

View a Map

Avalanche Bar and Grill
A true ski bar, this is truly THE place for après drinks on the hill.
15 Emmons Rd
Crested Butte, CO 81225
(970) 349-7195

View a Map

Maxwell’s
The best choice in downtown Crested Butte for upscale pasta and steak.
226 Elk Ave
Crested Butte, CO 81224
(970) 349-1221

View a Map

9380 Prime
With outdoor fireplaces, an extensive wine list, and refined menu this is the classy apres-ski alternative.
Elevation Hotel & Spa
500 Gothic Rd
Crested Butte, CO 81225
(970) 251-3030

View a Map

Crested Butte Micro Guide Part III: What to do Off the Hill

Crested Butte is heralded as “the last great Colorado ski town”. As such, one of the main attractions is simply the atmosphere. It’s just a great place to be. The Nordic Center has an ice skating rink and many miles of cross-country ski runs. There are also numerous festivals throughout the year.

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In fall of 2013 Emilie and I moved to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City just so happened to be located at the the geograhic center of the most amazing ski mountains in the United States. I was raised a skier and snowboarder from the age of three, so I jumped at the chance to put together a tour to some of the best ski hills the west. We didn’t visit every hill, but we did visit a lot. We talked to a lot of locals, made guides to the resorts and towns, shot videos with locals’ tips, made some amazing photo essays. It’s all on this page. I hope you find some of it useful! I discovered a few little-known gems that I plan to go back to. I hope you find them too!

About the Best in the West Tour

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The Ski Areas

WYOMING

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CALIFORNIA

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COLORADO

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UTAH

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Which is the best ski resort in the western United States? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately because my girlfriend Emilie and I are about to go on a ski and snowboard tour to try and answer it.

On the surface that may seem easy, but it’s not. The question is actually quite complex.

First, we have to figure out what makes a hill great. There are so many things to consider. It’s not just a question of vertical feet and inches of snow. What about the food? How about the bar that you hang out in at the end of the day and the band that’s playing? How friendly are the other people there? How close is it to the airport? How fun is the town?

Off-hill activities are just as important to a good ski trip as the ski resort itself.

Author and statistics-fetishist Christopher Steiner has tried to make the be-all end-all toplist of US ski resorts. He’s created a scale called the Pure Awesomeness Factor, which he calls “the most honed algorithms ever unleashed on the ski world.” He released his top ten list earlier this week.

I’m skeptical.

Skiing and snowboarding are intensely personal experiences. So many intangible factors come together to create the experience. How do you quantify the awesomeness of the natural hot springs that you discovered just down the road from the hill, the local guy who took you to his secret powder stash, or the band in the lounge that played your favourite songs one after the next?

I don’t think it’s possible.

In fact, it’s well documented that statistical studies are a poor tool for measuring emotional experiences. I know this because I have an honours degree in Sociology and took honours classes in both statistics and qualitative research methods. Although statistics are good for measuring certain attributes of a subject, they do so in a very shallow way.

Take, for example, the ranking of ski resort convenience. Driving from the Vancouver Airport to Whistler/Blackcomb takes about 2 – 2.5 hours. Driving from Kamloops Airport to Revelstoke takes just slightly longer. So, I would assume that, as far as travel convenience is concerned, the PAF scale would rank these two hills more or less equally. However, the road to Whistler/Blackcomb is a busy highway that goes through the city of Vancouver. In contrast, the drive to Revelstoke follows a small secondary highway through pristine BC Rockies.  When considering the distance from the nearest airport to the ski resort, PAF can only consider the length of the drive. It can’t, however, take into account its beauty.

Statistics are good for comparing quantities not qualities. Gauging the awesomeness of a ski resort, however, is all about measuring quality.

Also, statistical methods can only compare apples to apples. What about comparing the unique qualities of each resort that none others have? Just down the road from Powder Mountain in Utah is a free natural hot spring fifty feet off the side of the highway. Whitewater in British Columbia is laid out in such a way that no matter how far back in the parking lot you parked, you can ski right to your car. Snowboarders in Fernie, British Columbia are known to occasionally engage in naked picnic table beersliding — which is just as much fun to watch as it sounds. How does one quantify and compare these characteristics that are unique to only one hill, yet greatly affect visitors experiences?

It can’t be done.

Statistics are scientific. The things that people like are not. They’re emotional.  Using statistics to measure an emotional experience is using a measuring cup to determine the amount of steam in a sauna.

The tool is simply not made to encompass the subject.

So, Emilie and I are taking the opposite approach. We’re using a social research methodology based on the grounded theory method. We’re touring to the best ski resorts in the western US. We’re going to talk to locals and visitors at each resort to find out what makes that resort special to them.  We’re not starting our research with a list of categories of things that  make a ski hill good. We’re going to ask the people that know each hill best what makes that resort awesome, and build our list from the ground up.

Survery-takers, statisticians, and ‘experts’ want to tell you what’s important about a resort. We think that’s bullshit. Thea toplist is supposed to represent what people like, so those people should be involved in its creation.

We want you to tell us what’s important.

Then, we’re going to share what you and other locals tell us about your hometown resort and show off the resort and town in photos, articles, and videos.  Using that information, we want you to help us decide which hill deserves to be called the Best in the West.

This is not going to be a top list created by magazine editors or number crunchers. This is going to be a list of the best resorts in the West created by the people and for the people.

When I say people, I’m mean you.

We need you to help us.

Within the week we’ll be posting a survey. Come back and take it this winter.

We also need to meet and talk to you. Over the next two months we’ll be in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and California (we’ll have a full itinerary posted this week as well). If you’re in one of those states, get in touch with us on Twitter or Facebook, so we can meet you on the slopes, or in town for a coffee or beer.

As an added incentive, we have lots of sweet ski swag to give away to people we meet, and will enter you in a contest to win $2500 worth of Eddie Bauer First Ascent gear.

Maybe you can show us your hidden powder stash, take us to that hidden hotspring off the side of the highway, or, if we get few drinks in us, go naked picnic table beersliding.

We can’t wait! Send us a message now!

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First Turns

I made my first turns of the season on opening day at Snowbird and I began my investigation into whether or not Utah actually has The Greatest Snow on Earth ® as the state’s trademarked motto claims. It’s an investigation that I will work long and hard — even on weekends — to complete.

It’s going to be a rough winter. 

I hit the hill with Matthew Karsten of Expert Vagabond, who was crashing at our house for a couple of weeks before taking off to Fiji, where he is now.  We were super lucky that we were able to snag Matthew a demo board from Niche Snowboards with the help of Steve Weiss, their social media manager.

It was a Thursday, so the hill wasn’t too crowded and the lines weren’t too long even though there were really only two lifts open (I’m not counting the bunny hill). The wait was never more than a couple of minutes and everyone was chatting happily in the lift line, excited about the awesome conditions and beginning of another ski season.

Snowbird had received more than 50 inches of snow in the preceding weeks so, although many of the runs were groomed, we were able to find some nice powder runs on the fringes of the open part of the mountain, and that’s where we spent most of our day.

We also spent a lot of time taking photos and videos. Matthew put together this awesome video from the day.

The Best Season of Our Lives

It was a great opening day, and a good omen for things to come. I’ve been working like a crazy man for the past two months on a ski and snowboard campaign for this winter. I can’t say too much yet because all the details aren’t finalized, but the campaign will take Emilie and I to at least a dozen of the best ski resorts in the western United States during the season.

It’s going to be the best season of our lives.

To make things even better, we have some big sponsors and we are going to be doing some epic giveaways.The grand prize will be thousands of dollars in top notch technical outdoors apparel from an industry-leading manufacturer.

As we travel from hill to hill we’ll be giving away smaller prizes to people we meet and trying to decide which are the best ski hills and ski towns in the Western United States.

To do that, we’re going to have polls on the website and are going to be trying to meet up with as many locals as possible to give them free swag and interview them about what makes a mountain great, what they look for in a ski town, and find out what tips they have for visitors to their own town.

We don’t have all our hills and dates finalized yet, so I haven’t been able to put up a full schedule, but we are definitely going to be in Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee in mid-December. So, if you’re in the area and would like to meet up to tell us your thoughts, or even just to make some turns on the hill, leave me a message in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

Stay tuned for more info! An official announcement of the campaign is coming soon!

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