Replying to Where doesn't get rain?
So I'm new here and have only rediscovered skiing 5 years ago as a major passion. In the past 5 years I've gotten really into it again and try to ski 20-30 days a season. I live near Philly and spend a lot of time at Elk Mountain, Killington, Sugarbush, Sunday River, and the like. I spend most of my time in the glades when conditions allow, and consider myself comfortable on blacks out west and most double black in the east.
I try to go out West at least once a year, preferably twice. I have friends in Utah, but the 3 times I went out there, it rained, and any snow we got was either grappel or super wet and heavy. I'm aware that's the nature of the beast on the east coast, but it really annoys me when I fly to a to a place with a 8000+ foot bases and have to deal with the same condition as a 2000ft base the East. I've been to Utah in early February for 8 days, where 5 of the days hit 40F and only one day stayed below 30F the whole day. 4 days in early January last year where the conditions were worse than the Poconos at the same time, and then 5 days in early March last year where we got 2 days of wintery mix up to the top of Brighton.
Is there somewhere I should be prioritizing above Utah for good conditions these days? I'm not sure if I've just been very unlucky, or if Utah's famed "best snow on earth" has become a casualty of global warming. I'm not trying to diss the SLC area, I love the mountains and the terrain, not to mention how incredibly beautiful it is, the insanely cheap airbnbs, and the underrated food options. I've put aside the money to travel to pretty much anywhere in the US or Canada that doesn't require over a day of travel from Philly (aka no Alaska or northern BC)
Where do people here think is the safest place to go snow-wise that has a decent chance of powder over a one week trip? I'm currently thinking interior BC (Kicking Horse, Revelstoke), Montana (Big Sky or Whitefish), or Grand Targhee. Any other suggestions?
**This thread was edited on Aug 21st 2018 at 11:54:16pm
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