Every once in a while, I wake up in the morning feeling really stupid. Being a writer is much easier. Sells copy. All the pros do it. But really it is. Everyone has such different likes and dislikes, abilities and disabilities, and so on. The list is endless. Maybe you like groomers. Or terrain parks. Or your idea of a good time is to rent a mink coat and a lounge chair, sip on a latte and troll for babes or rich guys.
Some people actually think that sunshine is a positive and desirable weather pattern in winter. Even to this day, it remains a Ma and Pa outfit, with cheap lift tickets, and lots of snow. Which means that all the locals show up on Thursday, to ski the Pow that has been accumulating untracked for the past three days.
By big-resort standards, the terrain is not that exciting, but the cognizati love it because everyone knows each other; they smoke fatties in the woods, and have a great time. Which is my point. The best ski area in the world is where YOU have a great time. I moved to Fernie 22 years ago, for the powder and amazing mountain scenery, and started skiing at Fernie Snow Valley, now Fernie Alpine Resort.
Fernie has become my best ski area in the world. Okay, if you are not fortunate enough to live in a ski area, what criteria do you look for when surfing the web, trying to pick a resort to vacation in? Well, total snowfall, of course. Long runs, of course. A mix of beginner, intermediate, and expert runs to match your skiing ability. Convenient access to a major airport sure, if time is limited. But, I do actually have a take-home thought to pass on to you.
How varied? Are the runs actually different, or are they all homogenized clones of a common theme, with individual, goofy names written by some media consultant somewhere? Well, let me toss this out. Some ski resorts are built on a single mountain, which is, after all, a glorified cone. When you ride to the top of a cone, everyone starts essentially in the same place, where the runs are often rutted with deep moguls and the snow is often tending to be scraped off.
