Read This if You’re Planning on Skiing This Season

Your guide to all things skiing from Japan to Canada.

T

he ski and snowboard landscape has changed as dramatically as when fresh snow transforms bike and hike trails into a winter playland. Skiers and snowboarders have replaced long-held season passes at their local hill with multi-resort passes like Ikon, Epic, Indy, and Mountain Collective.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these passes have unfurled a world of potential ski holidays from Japan to Québec and every mountain range in between. Here are some ways to help plot your way around winter adventures this year.

Resort Upgrades

We used to schedule our ski vacations in the previous spring or summer, playing weather roulette in hopes of hitting big snow. Now, we watch weather patterns as keenly as a 19th-century farmer, booking trips at the last minute to plant our poles in the most fertile ground. “We’re watching the snow” versus “We’ve got Sun Valley booked” has often led to everyone going to the same place at the same time, causing congestion and prompting complaints that perhaps these passes aren’t so great after all.

The big resorts clearly got the memo: long lift lines suck! It seems there’s a new or expanded chairlift everywhere you look. To name a few, Mammoth Mountain, California, has upgraded the Chair 1 quad to a six-pack, a 25% increase in capacity. In Vermont, Sugarbush’s Heaven’s Gate triple is now a quad. In Montana, Big Sky debuts the Madison-8 after unveiling the 45-passenger Lone Peak Tram last season. In Alberta, Banff Sunshine’s Super Angel Express offers six heated bucket seats. In Utah, Snowbird’s Wilbere is doubling capacity as a new high-speed quad. In British Columbia, Whistler-Blackcomb‘s Jersey Cream Express is adding seats, too: a quad-turned-sixpack.

Learning to Ski

They say, “Put a child on skis by five years old, and you’ll have a skier for life.” Once the tenants of unused and uninspiring flat terrain at the mountain’s base, ski schools are upping their game in altitude and offerings. Sugarbush is launching the Mt. Ellen Snowboard Team, an immersive freestyle snowboarding program. Taos, New Mexico, offers Children’s First Timer and Children’s Intermediate/Advanced packages with three lesson days, rentals, lift tickets, and lunch. Mt. Bachelor’s Ski or Board in 4 includes four lessons, rentals, and lift tickets for first-timers.

Learning to ski is best when you start somewhere that allows you to behold this fantastic new world once you master the basics. In Colorado, Elk Camp at Aspen Snowmass excites future shredders with a ride on the Elk Camp Gondola. Once pizzas and French fries are in the bag, slide on over to Buttermilk for big mountain vibes on an abundance of green runs. Steamboat Springs, Colorado, provides two adult-specific learning areas, the Promenade and Time Square. Also in Colorado, Beaver Creek’s McCoy Park added 250 acres of beginner and intermediate mid-mountain terrain.

Family Skiing

Group ski trips are the best. Whether it’s multi-gen families, friend groups, or some other mixture, toss together a slope day with a sprinkle of après and a dash of well-earned fatigue for the best times ever. Of course, many factors go into maintaining joy, like mixed skill abilities, on-piste commitment levels, and holistic snow vacation expectations like sledding, sleigh rides, and ice skating.

Families who visit Sun Peaks, in British Columbia, rarely venture elsewhere ever again. A self-contained ski-in/ski-out village, teens and tweens can wander independently here without parental concern. Canada’s second-largest ski resort also offers adjacent green, blue, and black trails that invite mixed-ability groups to scoot down their designated runs and reconvene at the chairlift. Off-piste play is equally varied, with dog sledding, sleigh rides, tubing, tobogganing, ice fishing, and skating, among other Nordic activities, all located mere steps from lodging.

Stowe Mountain, Vermont, reflects the quaint New England village with unplugged pastimes aplenty. Non-skiers can still hit the peak via the scenic gondola ride. Those with varied exercise interests can supplement the alpine with a Nordic ski day upon 28 miles of groomed and 20 miles of backcountry trails. The Stowe Cross Country Center also features eight miles of forested snowshoe trails, one of several trail systems in the area. You can also try fat biking through the forest on the Stowe Recreation Path and elsewhere.

Commute From Cities to Resorts

Ski resorts near cities make for a more varied and affordable winter vacation. Booking a room or vacation rental in town avoids higher fees and resort taxes. A “city day” in Denver, Vancouver, or Salt Lake City isn’t such a bad thing either, especially if a partner or group member doesn’t share your “first chair to last run” modus operandi.

The coolest way to commute this season is onboard the Amtrak Winter Park Express. The train runs Thursday through Monday and arrives in time for six hours of slope time. Winter Park has upped its learn-to-ski program with a well-priced rental, lift ticket, and lesson package. Kids ski for free when booked into a group lesson. Kids rentals are also free with an adult rental of three or more days.

Speaking of laying tracks, Amtrak’s overnight Empire Builder from Seattle or Portland to Whitefish, Montana, is considered a Pacific Northwest rite of passage. You arrive first thing in the morning, hop on the free S.N.O.W. Bus, and head out to 3,000 acres of Whitefish Mountain bliss. Work out your train legs by skiing laps off the Snow Ghost Express, the newish six-pack that runs from bottom to top. Whitefish itself remains as pure a western ski town as you’ll find. You can even do some two-steppin’ at the Great Northern before heading to the depot for your 10:20 return passage.

Each winter, skiers and snowboarders can be seen casually strolling along the Vancouver and Salt Lake City sidewalks, a sign that snow play is but a SeaBus and/or bus ride away. Vancouver city buses run frequently from the Longsdale Quay SeaBus terminal to Cypress Mountain, Mt. Seymour, and Grouse Mountain, the North Vancouver ski areas. In Utah, the long-awaited (and fiercely debated) Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola is coming eventually, but for now, public shuttles remain the best way to get to Alta and Snowbird.

Ski-Centered Road Tripping in Canada and the U.S.

Have you ever arrived at your local hill’s parking lot after an early hours drive only to catch sight of the RV “residents” kicking back beside their firepits with a second pot of tea? Well, envy no more. CanaDream RV offers certified winter-ready RVs in major Canadian cities and complete ski packages courtesy of partnerships with over twenty mountain resorts. Fly into Calgary, pick up your fully loaded RV, and head to the Big 3 (Norquay, Banff Sunshine Village, Lake Louise) for Canadian Rockies bliss.

You won’t be alone camping in Banff National Park either; winter remains a phenomenal time to see wildlife, hike, and ice climbing in Johnston Canyon, among myriad seasonal activities. If you want to go way big, consider adding the stunning Ice Fields Parkway to your itinerary and pausing to ski at awesome Marmot Basin before camping at Wapiti Campground in Jasper National Park. Return your RV to Edmonton. (Oilers NHL game, anyone?) There’s RV camping in Whistler, too!

If an RV seems too big, consider Karma Campervans, which are “sprinter” vans fully decked out for winter travel. With rental centers in Vancouver, Calgary, and, especially, Penticton, Karma Campervans are an ideal vessel to sail B.C.’s famous Powder Highway or map out the Selkirk Triangle.

It’s a “pick your passion” scenario on the Powder Highway, whether you prefer wicked steeps at Kicking Horse, Revelstoke’s continent-best 5,620 feet of vertical, Fernie’s five bubbly bowls, or a little bit of everything at Kimberley. Cut down the drives and discover diverse runs in dry interior B.C. snow when you combine Big White, SilverStar, and Apex for your excursion.

The Selkirk Triangle provides everything but lift lines for the road-tripper. Western Canadian skiing was born in Roslyn, B.C., home of Red Mountain. Red’s a la carte snowcat service to the top of untouched Mt. Kirkup is back. Not far away, Whitewater has added 60 new acres to the Kootenay Rockies’ snowiest ski hill. Nearby Nelson also takes cred as Canada’s coolest mountain town. Over the border, Idaho’s Schweitzer offers guided snowcat skiing in 4,350 untouched acres right off the resort’s peak.

Bucket List Ski Trips in the Alps and Japan

Every skier and snowboarder dreams of the ultimate winter escapade. For some, it’s a day of backcountry heliskiing or cat skiing; for others, it’s a trip to the Alps or the fabled snow in Japan. Oh, who are we kidding? We’d gladly experience all of the above at any time.

Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) celebrates 60 years of fulfilling our heli-desires this season. CMH now offers unlimited vertical, i.e., more vert, with no elevated fees. CMH will also depart directly from Kicking Horse Alpine Resort for Purcell Mountain forays.

If heliskiing is out of reach due to confidence, endurance, or budget, cat skiing is your ticket. Aspen Mountain Powder Tours offers intermediate terrain with up to 12 runs a day. Baldface, located outside of Nelson, B.C., presents experts with over 20,000 feet of daily vertical. Utah’s Powder Mountain sparkles inbounds, but the Snowcat Powder Safari, with access to 3,000 acres, is nothing short of brilliant.

A classic “Swiss mountain holiday” is harder to avoid than to find. Every alpine village is quainter than the last, raclette and sweet wine drip off our palates, and iconic, yes, I said iconic, peaks like the Matterhorn appear with impressive frequency. Because novelty isn’t a thing here, seeking out the newest this or that feels futile. Still, Zermatt Bergbahnen has launched “First Track,” which is the chance to lead the way off Trockner Steg. At the other end of the day, Diavolezza offers Glüna Plaina, full moon-illuminated night skiing. Andermatt and Sedrun have combined to offer 75 miles of slopes, the quintessential linked massif-village experience, and a reason to ride the Glacier Express, arguably the most beautiful train trip in the world.

Writing about ski areas without dwelling on the passes can be challenging these days, but when a destination like St. Moritz joins the party, you tend to notice. Ditto Japan. Epic Pass holders can ski upon Rusutso’s 45 feet of annual snowfall in Hokkaido and at Hakuba Valley, Nagano, ten resorts serviced by a whopping 103 lifts. Ikon holders head to Arai Snow Resort in Myoko, Japan and, especially, the four resorts that comprise Niseko for outrageous snow and more outrageous off-piste access.