Score Changes: Multiple Resorts Struggle to Handle Increased Crowds
In the wake of unprecedented resort traffic, we are dropping the Crowd Flow scores for several mountains, including seven owned by Vail Resorts.
Score Change: Snowbasin’s New Middle Bowl Express is the Year’s Most Useful Lift Redundancy
The upgrade has eliminated a painfully long lift ride, redistributed crowds in a more practical manner, and democratized access to some of the resort’s best terrain.
Big Sky Score Change: Extra-Cost Tram Access Outweighs An Effective Swift Current Lift Upgrade
Major lift upgrades are not enough to outweigh the loss of Lone Peak Tram access for those who only purchase regular ticket and pass products.
Master Plan Deep Dive: Timberline Lodge
We hone in on the Oregon resort’s recently-unveiled 2022 Master Plan, which proposes a gondola connecting the lower-elevation Summit Pass area to the main area of the resort, a new beginner area, and parking enhancements, among other investments.
Initial Impressions: Independent Northern Vermont Resorts
We share our initial thoughts on Jay Peak, Smugglers’ Notch, Bolton Valley, and Mad River Glen after visiting them earlier this winter.
First Visit Report: Powder Mountain
We took our first turns at Powder Mountain, one of the hidden gems of the Utah ski scene. But a bit of lightning threw a wrench in the day.
Resort Update: Okemo’s New Chairlifts and State of Crowding Affairs
The Quantum Six and Evergreen Summit Express upgrades provide needed lift improvements, but experience deteriorations in other realms have limited their effectiveness.
Initial Impressions: Maine Resorts
We spent the past week road tripping around the Northeast, hitting major resorts in Maine for the first time. Here are our initial thoughts on the three mountains we visited there.
Initial Impressions: Lake Louise
We visited this Banff SkiBig3 resort to get some powdery early-season turns in, but the extraordinarily frigid temperatures caught us off guard.
Are Vail Resorts Mountains Really Struggling to Open their Terrain? We Took a Look.
In recent days, Vail Resorts has come under fire for not opening terrain fast enough at several resorts. Given the gravity of these claims, we’ve decided to investigate whether Vail Resorts has really struggled to match its competitors’ terrain offerings—and if so, how far they are lagging behind.