East Coast Ski Resorts vs. West Coast Ski Resorts

East Coast ski resorts have long been known for their down to earth, family minded atmosphere. Many east coast resorts have legions of die hard, loyal skiers who have been skiing there for decades. Locals who live within driving proximity of their favorite resort flock to it, giving many east coast resorts a very welcoming, unpretentious vibe. This is one of the main differences between east coast resorts and west coast resorts. East coast resorts are much more locally centric and place much more an emphasis on attracting locals. This is probably due to the fact that east coast resorts are much smaller in terms of overall mountain size which entails that fewer skiers end up going to east coast resorts. Because east coast resorts attract fewer skiers every year than there west coast counterparts, local skiers make up a much larger portion of their skier totals which means a greater portion of their profits as well. West coast resorts on the other hand don't need to place such a high emphasis on attracting locals because they make up a much smaller percentage of their skier totals and thus a much smaller percentage of their revenue. Due to the decreased local presence and vibe at west coast resorts, the atmosphere at most west coast resorts is much different. The atmosphere at most west coast resorts is much more tourist oriented and profit driven. This makes perfect sense as west coast resorts have much more to offer which means more tourists will go to those resorts. The biggest draw for west coast resorts is the skiable in bounds and backcountry terrain, as well as the snow quality and quantity. Another attractive feature of most west coast resorts are the mountain towns that surround them. Many of these mountain towns feature high end shopping, luxury accommodations, and fine dining which appeal to the affluent clientele who go to these resorts. These additional attractions are part of what people in the ski industry refer to as apres ski. East coast resorts have almost no apres ski, while west coast resorts tout it.

 

Skiing in the East vs. Skiing in the West

Skiing in the Northeast versus skiing out West can be very different from one another. For one thing, the resorts are very different. In general the resorts and mountains in the Northeast are much smaller in comparison with the ones out West. In the West you have mountain ranges such as the Rockies, Sierra Nevadas, and Cascades that dwarf the Green and White Mountains in the East. Because the West has much larger mountains, the resorts are obviously much larger as well. With bigger resorts and greater in bounds skiable terrain come other differences. The bigger resorts in the West tend to attract larger crowds than the ones in the East which means bigger base and mid mountain lodges are required to accommodate the greater quantity of skiers. Due to the larger crowds at Western resorts, gondolas are seen much more frequently. Gondolas are able to efficiently and conveniently transfer eighty to a hundred skiers up the mountain at a time. They're ubiquitous throughout most Western resorts, but are only featured at one East Coast resort, Jay Peak. Since most Western resorts are much larger in terms of the sheer size of the mountain, the associated mountain town is also usually much larger. Western ski resorts are world renown for having some of the best nightlife in towns that are both welcoming and vibrant. East Coast resorts can't even come close to matching there west coast counterparts in this comparison. When a well versed skier thinks about famed western ski towns names such as Aspen, Tahoe, Jackson Hole, and Salt Lake City come to mind. These four towns also share something distinctly western which is unparalleled powder and backcountry terrain. This is probably the biggest difference between west coast skiing and east coast skiing. At east coast resorts you'll never find deep, airy powder, and are much more likely to hear the piercing, grating sound of skis sliding on ice. You'll also never be able to ski any of the sprawling, expansive backcountry terrain that west coast resorts have to offer.

Powder Skiing

Powder skiing is one of the most enjoyable and exhilarating forms of alpine skiing. It involves as the name describes skiing through powder, which is typically considered snow that is eight inches or higher. What makes powder skiing so enjoyable and innervating is the feeling and sensation that it induces. When you're ripping through powder it feels as if you're floating depending on the type of ski you're donning. That feeling of floating in waist deep powder as it blows up in your face is the closest thing to euphoria and ecstasy that I've ever felt. To experience this sensation though you have to be outfitted in the right pair of skis. Depending on how deep the powder is, the width of your skis will change. Super deep powder that comes up to your waist or higher will require the widest skis available to provide the greatest amount of float. By increasing the width of the ski, the overall surface area of the ski increases, thus distributing the skier's body weight more evenly and providing more lift or flotation. For the deepest powder, skis with an underfoot width of 125 mm and above are recommended. One of the best aspects of powder skiing is the fact that you can enjoy powder on in-bounds and out of bounds terrain. If you're skiing at a resort, powder isn't only reserved for the groomers or the blue runs, but falls on all the terrain. The best places to find consistent, reliable powder usually reside in the western half of North America. This is the case because in the western half of North America there are more big storm systems that dump huge amounts of cold blower powder on mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevadas, Cascades, and Rockies. Out in the Northeast, there are storm systems that pass over the Green and White Mountains, but they're usually not big enough or the moisture content is too high for abundant, deep blower powder to be produced. Temperature also plays a role in the consistency and quality of the powder. Ideally to insure you get cold, light "blower" powder, temperatures need to be twenty degrees or colder. In the West, storm systems bring along cold fronts with them, which lower temperatures below fifteen degrees. In the Northeast the same thing happens, but to a lesser extent. The cold front that comes along with the storm system usually isn't as strong, so the powder that falls ends up having a higher water content, and thus being heavier.

        

Different Types of Alpine Skiing

As mentioned before alpine skiing is the act of skiing downhill. Skiing downhill can mean many different things in terms of the downhill terrain that you are skiing on. For the average alpine skier most of the skiing they do is in bounds meaning that they only ski within the marked boundaries of a ski resort. This means that they're skiing on one of three different types of trails: groomers, non-groomers, and glades. Within those three different types of trails there are four different difficulty ratings that each trail gets categorized under. A green circle on a trail sign denotes an easy, beginner level, a blue square denotes a medium, intermediate level, a black diamond denotes a hard, difficult level, and double black diamond denotes a very hard, expert skier only level. Breaking down the three different trail types, you'll usually find, at most resorts, groomers to be mostly green circles and blue squares, glades to be mostly black diamonds and double black diamonds, and non-groomers to be an assortment of blue squares, black diamonds, and double black diamonds. Each trail type is pretty self-explanatory, groomers are any trail that get groomed by grooming machines known as cats, glades are trails that have trees littered and interspersed throughout, also known as tree skiing, and non-groomers are any trails that don't get groomed, which usually means they have moguls, large humps of snow that get created by skiers pushing snow into a large pile. For anyone who wants to venture out of bounds, backcountry skiing is perfect option for them. Backcountry skiing is exactly what it sounds like. Most of the time it involves taking a helicopter to a remote, isolated drop off zone where the skiers get dropped off and ski down a predetermined route. This type of alpine skiing is a sub-type of backcountry skiing colloquially referred to as heli-skiing. Heli-skiing isn't the only type of backcountry skiing though, many people use specialized backcountry skis and ski boots to "skin" out of the resort bounds and into the backcountry.

  

Alpine Skiing vs. Nordic Skiing

When people mention skiing the first thing they think about is usually alpine skiing, also known as downhill skiing. The term skiing though is very broad and can refer to either alpine skiing, nordic skiing, or telemark skiing. This blog post is going to focus on the differences and similarities between alpine skiing and nordic skiing. Across all three types of skiing there is one common similarity: they all involve two skis, a pair of bindings, and a pair of boots. For each various type of skiing the skis, boots, and bindings are all different. When it comes to alpine skiing because it is all downhill the skis are taylor made for going fast downhill and have sharp edges for slicing into the snow. Nordic skiing on the other hand takes place on flatter, less mountainous terrain so as one would imagine it is very much like hiking on skis. Due to this fact nordic skis are much thinner and lighter for fast, quick "strides" up small hills or on flat ground. Because nordic skiing takes place on flatter ground the bindings can only have a toe attachment to allow the heel to move up and push the ski forward. With alpine skiing because it is all downhill gravity moves the skis forward so you don't need toe attachment only bindings and instead have heel and toe attachment bindings where your whole foot is immobilized in the binding. Since the bindings differ between alpine and nordic skiing so do the boots which attach into the bindings. Just as it is with the bindings, nordic ski boots are much lighter and more streamlined in comparison to alpine ski boots. Nordic ski boots almost resemble hiking boots in that they have either laces or velcro straps and have a very similar shape. Alpine ski boots on the other hand are entirely different. They are much heftier and more insulated, and have a hard plastic polymer shell.

Alpine Skiing vs. Snowboarding

When most people think about the two most prominent alpine winter sports downhill skiing and snowboarding are the first that come to mind. Downhill skiing has been the traditional, most popular form of winter recreation ever since its' inception. Snowboarding on the other hand has only very recently been adopted by the masses. Snowboarding arose from the fusing of two skis to create a single, long board much like a surfboard. The original premise for snowboarding came from surfing. The idea was to create a board that you could literally "surf" on snow with. This founding concept of snowboarding obviously entailed a no binding form of riding. As founding members and original proponents of the sport soon realized though "surfing" on snow without bindings was much harder than they had originally anticipated. Snowboards with bindings was obviously the next step in the evolution of the sport. The first primitive form of bindings were invented by Jake Burton in 1982. They provided little support or security for riders but increased the popularity of the fledgling sport dramatically. This blog isn't dedicated to the ascendance of snowboarding though but to the joys of skiing and how it compares to snowboarding. Skiing still dominates the slopes of mountain resorts worldwide, with two skiers only resorts still in existence in North America. Skiers have always been viewed by the public as being much more courteous and polite, while snowboarders have built a reputation of being crude, garish thugs who act recklessly. Snowboarding has always had a certain culture associated with it, one involving rebellion and illicit behavior.