Overrated ski areas

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

(Puts on flame retardant suit)

Bridger.

It’s pretty over run on the ridge now, below mid mountain is sooooooo flat. I think it’s fun and all. Just over rated


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It's 100% overrated if you like to ski groomers. Below mid-mountain is great for beginners and kids, but that's just about it.

The ridge though - being overcrowded on mid-winter pow weekends doesn't really equal overrated for me personally. But I do just avoid Schlasmans now on busy days like that - which is annoying for sure.

[S_jenks]

Amen. Whitefish isn't #3 at anything. Except maybe not doing summer maintenance that really needs to be done.

Came on here to say this...

Flat terrain and fog... super rad.

I found it amazing how many days we skied Blacktail in the sun while looking at the bigfish hid in a cloud bank

ugh...every time i go there is so foggy i get disoriented/vertigo i feel like vomiting

so foggy
so flat
so lame

should be ranked #2

After growing up skiing at 'whitefish' mountain, I'd agree that it's one of the more overrated places:

Fog. Yeah in some ways it helped you become a better skier, but the vertigo you'd get from skiing a whole day in the fog could really kill a good attitude. x2 on b0ardski's comment about weather at blacktail vs. whitefish.

Lifts. Their lift system has always been a bit screwy. Nearly the whole frontside forces you back to chair 1, making it a complete bottleneck on decent days. Their hellroaring chair was built way too low and makes lapping it a pain. The 'new' lifts they put are garbage too- Flower point char is so slow you're almost faster hiking up it from the t-bar in the days before. The East rim chair doesn't help to relieve congestion much, and still traps you in the east bowls so you basically have to ski back to chair one again to access anything else. It was better off as chair 5 when it serviced ptarmigan bowl.

Terrain. They have done a shit job over the years at managing their tree skiing (which is <75% of terrain), leading to a lot over overgrown areas that are simply to tight to ski through enjoyably. The new runs they cut on flower point snake everywhere, which ruined the fall line. What used to be amazing old-growth tree skiing turned into an endless criss-cross of trees/groomer/trees/groomer/etc. There are so many flat areas on chair 7 that you're always concerned about maintaining speed through them vs. enjoying the skiing.

Crowds. The mountain has always been the favorite for Canadian tourists, who I've always found to be kind and respectful. But ever since they changed the name from 'Big Mountain' they have hit the marketing realm, hard. All of this rebranding into a wanna-be Big Sky has made for a lot more visitors in recent years. The amount of cruisers they have make for a lot of fair weather riders to come visit.

All that said, I am kind of glad that place exists as it does now. People who travel there seem to think there isn't any other good skiing around, making Blacktail my go-to choice when visiting the family. That mountain is definitely a gem, with low crowds, solid groomers, and ever-expanding glades that have seen some deep powder days.

/rant

[smartyiak]

The Can. cannot be overrated, because not too many people like it.....until they get to know it.
Personally, I love the mountain. It's hardly ever crowded, because it is difficult to maneuver.
...all that gladed niceness on Dreamcatcher...

I think this was the problem. I spent so much time trying to find something that I felt my day was wasted b/c it was difficult to figure out.

Oddly, one thing I eventually figured out: laps on dreamcatcher...I had a lot of fun and there was no one there.

[PNWbrit]

Crystal on the other hand is a legit "mountain resort". Though, folks from the "real mountain resorts" in CO, CA, UT, etc laugh at it being called a resort. Id argue till my death it is the most underrated ski area in North America. Its has rad enough inbounds terrain (that is consistently open) to host 3* and 4* FWT qualies, has equal amounts steep open bowls and classic PNW tree skiing, averages north of 400" per year, has over 3k vert, and has one of the best, most awe-inspiring views ive ever seen from a ski resort. Hell, it even has some groomers!

And a fucking huge umbrella.

My understanding is that Alpental is similar to Baker

It's this kind of deep insider knowledge that really helps the thread.

I was going to suggest Mt Baker. Others beat me too it.

I am increasingly becoming a fan of it's ownership model though.

[The AD]

And a fucking huge umbrella.

You must admit it's appropriate for the PNWet.

[skaredshtles]

Yee-haws and groomers is what Copper is all about.

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Yup. Copper sucks in pretty much all areas. Tell your friends.

[EWG]

who did the ratings, such that Keystone is overrated?

I actually think Keystone is kinda underrated. But I'm thinking "TGR rating system". Not "Gaperrific rating system".

This is a fair point. Depends on the rating system. I meant overrated by the general public (Gaper Rating System? - GRS?), not by TGR. So your point holds for sure.

By the same logic, your earlier example, Steamboat, is overrated by the general public (Texans?) but if you know the mountain well and understand what you are getting I think it's underrated by TGR Rating System (TRS.)

So now we need to specify if we are talking overrated on TRS or GRS scale.

For what it's worth, Vail is overrated on every scale ever created except for the "Watching Clueless Rich People Wear Fur And Try To Look Cool And Fail Rating System."(WCRPWFATTLCAFRS)

[The AD]

For what it's worth, Vail is overrated on every scale ever created except for the "Watching Clueless Rich People Wear Fur And Try To Look Cool And Fail Rating System."(WCRPWFATTLCAFRS)

Is it though? If you're a (rich) intermediate skier it's pretty awesome. You can ski around an incredible amount of terrain from decently pitched cruisers to open bowls and not be over your head just about anywhere. I totally understand Vail's popularity with the typical skier who's out there a few days per season.

[EWG]

Is it though? If you're a (rich) intermediate skier it's pretty awesome. You can ski around an incredible amount of terrain from decently pitched cruisers to open bowls and not be over your head just about anywhere. I totally understand Vail's popularity with the typical skier who's out there a few days per season.

Dammit. Corrected again. There’s apparently a scale for everyone. Intermediate Intermittent Rating Scale likes Vail. Fine then.

[Falcon3]

Arizona Snowbowl. Whether it’s the mobs of PHX idiots wrecking their car and leaving trash EVERYWHERE, or the three crap runs and relatively high prices, I avoided this place when I lived in Flag, even though I lived 10 mins away from the lift.

[Ted Striker]

Please continue to think of Baker as overrated, and the arm being the only thing beyond the ropes.

[Falcon3]

I’d add Mt Bachelor to the list too. I mean, it’s fun and I usually ski free due to having family work PT there, but really only the summit chair has good terrain the rest is too runout to do anything with. The summit rarely opens and immediately gets tracked out by gapers traversing and snowboarders skidding down sideways.

[charlesj]

And on the flip, a mountain with great terrain and snow can seem sukkky at times with the right combination of overt marketeering, fascist ski/speed patrol, questionable terrain opening policy, and paid parking.

yes

Long lift lines, no snow, high prices and rain.

yes

It's a complex interaction of a bunch of factors that affect the experience (and memory of the experience)

[ill-advised strategy]

Angel Fire.

The fact that people ever ski there at all means it’s overrated.

[Bunion 2020]

It's 100% overrated if you like to ski groomers. Below mid-mountain is great for beginners and kids, but that's just about it.

The ridge though - being overcrowded on mid-winter pow weekends doesn't really equal overrated for me personally. But I do just avoid Schlasmans now on busy days like that - which is annoying for sure.

Same here, the ridge being crowed is a pretty funny thing, I guess definitions of what over-crowded mean tend to vary.

[SlyFoxxx]

Yup. Copper sucks in pretty much all areas. Tell your friends.

It has a lot of free parking and a good bus system.

I already told both of my friends, so your mountain is safe.

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[PNWbrit]

And on the flip, a mountain with great terrain and snow can seem sukkky at times with the right combination of overt marketeering, fascist ski/speed patrol, questionable terrain opening policy, and paid parking.

You got Denver booted for poaching paid parking and busted by patrol for ducking a rope after reading a Facebook post?

[cmsummit]

Vail, Breck and ABasin are overrated and Keystone just plain sucks.

That covers it for me.

[Norseman]

You got Denver booted for poaching paid parking and busted by patrol for ducking a rope after reading a Facebook post?

lol, not me!

[dunfree]

as a ski area, not a set of lifts to access gnarbro terrain? chamonix.

not sure how many of the ski areas I went to in the southern hemisphere - save maybe Las Lenas - would rate high if they were moved to the northern hemisphere

opinions from old data.

[PNWbrit]

not sure how many of the ski areas I went to in the southern hemisphere - save maybe Las Lenas - would rate high if they were moved to the northern hemisphere, but that's old data.

Without the Gnarbro terrain off of Marte Las Lenas isn't much more exciting than Snoqualmie Summit West. Catedral probably the only other that would be noticed in northern hemisphere?

as a ski area, not a set of lifts to access gnarbro terrain? chamonix.

A ski area?

[NorCalNomad]

I’d add Mt Bachelor to the list too. I mean, it’s fun and I usually ski free due to having family work PT there, but really only the summit chair has good terrain the rest is too runout to do anything with. The summit rarely opens and immediately gets tracked out by gapers traversing and snowboarders skidding down sideways.

If you want to huck stuff or get on really steep things, definitely over rated. If you like tree skiing it's pretty damn awesome imo.

Also anyone adding Northstar...doesn't it have to be praised in the first place?

Squaw a couple days after a storm. Because their lift planning is so "efficient" and requires almost no traversing having those pockets and zones that still hold the goods are almost non existent. But the terrain is still amazing.

[cmc]

The questions was "overrated." I didn't realized Greek Peak was even rated.

My thoughts as well. As someone who grew up in the area, who rates GP?

[Ski to Be]

The Canyons. A bunch of small hills stacked side by side with long runouts advertised as this giant mountain. The BC is fun that doesn't count for this discussion

[EWG]

My thoughts as well. As someone who grew up in the area, who rates GP?

TripAdvisor. 4 stars.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti..._New_York.html