Hardcore Skier Picks His Most Overrated Ski Resorts In North America
North America — If you’re an avid skier or rider, you definitely can think of at least one ski resort that’s overhyped. Whether it’s because you hit it on a bad day, the terrain wasn’t your favorite, or the operations just flat-out suck, there are people who dislike beloved ski resorts.
YouTuber Rise & Alpine broke down his picks for the most overrated ski resorts in North America. His criteria include the amount of expert terrain, snow quality, infrastructure, and lift lines. However, he mostly focuses on what expert skiers value the most: the skiing. It’s an unranked list, but he does list his most overrated ski resort at the end.
Rise & Alpine’s Most Overrated Ski Resorts
His first pick, Whistler Blackcomb, is his home mountain. While it’s also his favorite place to ski, he does have some gripes about crowding and lower-mountain snow quality.
His experience with the number-two pick, Palisades Tahoe, is limited. However, he made it there for a major storm cycle this past winter. The crowds showed up in full force, resulting in the mountain being tracked out faster than he’s ever seen before anywhere.
Canada’s newest ski resort, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, is his number three pick. Its infrastructure (i.e., the two-stage gondola) and lack of lappable terrain pods lead to him being disappointed basically every time he’s visited.
Big Sky is his fourth pick. This was due to the lack of steep terrain outside of Lone Peak and the Headwaters, along with a lack of snow depth (snow sharks) in places. The add-on tram fees for some passholders are a common gripe, not just for him.
He then lists a few Colorado ski resorts. He disliked Breckenridge for its relatively flat lower mountain. For Vail, he found a lack of true expert terrain, although he did compliment it on its intermediate and advanced terrain. For Aspen Snowmass, it’s due the lack of connectivity, even though they’re marketed as one ski resort.
Banff Sunshine Village was one of his more surprising picks. While it’s in his top five ski resorts in Canada, he also has some gripes about the experience. His two main criticisms were the lack of snow compared to other destinations and the inconsistent availability of expert terrain.
His pick for most overrated ski resort is Park City Mountain Resort. He found the expert terrain underwhelming, with a lack of fall-line skiing and the need to take too many lifts to find quality terrain. It also doesn’t have the caliber of powder skiing that exists in the Cottonwood Canyons.
Image/Video Credits: Rise & Alpine
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