Typically, when you read a trip article via a ski media publication, it’s a journey to some far-flung place involving a ton of planning, epic adventure, successes, failures, and death-defying feats. There’s a pressure to be unique, to go above and beyond, to scale mountains and eat fermented fish… or brains. Clickbait title aside, this is not that trip. This is not that article. On the flip side of the coin, there's a ton of paid, branded stuff like this and while on the face of it, this might look similar, this is also not that article.

As a ‘euro’ who rarely flies, the US IS fairly far-flung to me. But as my partner, Hanne, and I found ourselves heading out to the NS Ski Test in Banff anyway… we took a shot in the dark, flew to the very exotic Denver International Airport instead, rented a truck and started driving. Planning level 0, ‘exoticness’ level -100. We had a vague idea to check out ‘independent’ resorts (aka nothing Vail, nothing owned by Alterra) but beyond that, we kinda just went where the snow was. And of course, last season it was pretty easy to find.

We ended up doing a pretty perfect circular road trip from Denver, so I figured I’d write it up in case anyone ended up wondering what to do with a couple of weeks and a car in that bit of the world, or for those who want to do something similar and do even less planning than we did. I was slightly injured all trip (as always) so mostly I took photos and complained. Nonetheless, we had a blast and highly recommend this one, especially if you have the pass (that shall remain nameless but describes those little graphics on your desktop) to get you into the pricier resorts here.

Our trip started at DIA, picking up a truck and hitting the road. The first drive was a long shift down to Hanna, CO, where we’d rented an Air BnB straight out of a Western movie, to our Euro eyes at least. It was snowing, and the area seemed worryingly flat, but the place was stunning and turned out to be on the right side of the pass for skiing at…

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Wolf Creek:

The most snow in Colorado is the claim, and based on our visit, seems legit. For our entire stay, the other side of the pass was closed, so while it wasn’t quite a country club because there was limited access from where we were staying, the experience was similar. Lots of snow plus empty resort tends to equal good times.

It nuked snow the whole time we were there, as it had all season, to the point where we were skiing runs called things like ‘chute’ and ‘canyon’ where none were to be found. We later figured out that the entire chutes had been snowed over.

It didn’t snow at all in Europe last season, so to us, this was paradise. Run after run of mellow pow laps skiing a basically deserted resort and getting fresh tracks from first lift to bell. Shoutout Nate, second name unknown, who we met at the end of the first day, for letting us in on some secret spots.

The resort has a super lowkey vibe, and apparently, it isn’t busy, even on normal days so it’s the perfect hidden gem kind of area. It’s a long way from just about anywhere, so that makes sense, but it’s definitely worth a drive to catch a storm because the snow is unreal.

Do:

Stay on the South Fork side of the pass.

Don’t:

Miss the last Elma chair back to base, it’s a long walk.

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After Wolf Creek, we did some sightseeing. We checked out a couple of national parks and I tried to coax some life back into my aching legs after two days of skiing blower pow, having not seen a snowflake all season. We passed through Mesa Verde National Park, which was pretty incredible, and of course, Moab.

Both of them are supposedly deserts, but as became a theme, it snowed. In fact, at Mesa Verde, it snowed so much that the very few other cars around us were getting stuck and giving up for the night. It was certainly the scenic route, but eventually, we made our way up Little Cottonwood Canyon, just as another storm was rolling in. We pulled up to the Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge late that night, headed straight for bed, and…

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Alta:

Woke up in Alta, during a huge storm and it was a true country club day. We met up with a couple of local young guns (Sean, Rowan & Tommy ), which fast-tracked us into some cool zones, and with my legs still ruined, I happily switched into filmer mode. The resort had also arranged for Dalton to show us around, not that it was really needed in light of the crew, but he ripped too and it made for a great first day, mostly lapping Wildcat and the runs off it, sending some drops (everyone else) and complaining about the bumps (me). Seriously, what is the deal with bumps at Alta and Bird? Do you not like being able to walk after a day of skiing?

Anyway, we went back to the lodge, drank a couple in the bar, and passed out. We woke up early to find the canyon still closed. Country club day number two and it had been NUKING overnight. We could barely even find our Dodge Ram in the parking lot to switch for wider skis. We had a slow start, and as this was a trip entirely based on luck, happened to get off the first chair right as the ridge opened. Cue whooping, shouting, and some of the best runs of our lives.

In some ways, Alta is the polar opposite of Wolf Creek. The terrain is insane but there is a lot of competition for it. Sidestepping up the ridge (bootpacking is banned?!) I felt like I was being chased by a pack of middle-aged crack junkies. Win some, lose some I guess but there is no question Alta is one of THE crown jewel ski resorts. We lucked out, it was the biggest snowfall year since 1946 but that terrain is there forever. It’s definitely a must-ski.

Do:

Get huge freeride skis to fit in, even (ESPECIALLY) if you can’t handle them. Stay at Goldminer’s Daughter.

Don’t:

Expect to keep up with locals half your age. Expect to get as lucky as us with the lack of people.

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Powder Mountain:

Alta was insane, but even on a Country Club day, there was a battle for tracks, so when the Canyon finally opened, we headed north, past Ogden, to Powder Mountain. Tom Wallisch told me to go, so who was I to argue? We only had a day but, obviously, he turned out to be correct. While it technically did snow (it did every single day we were on this trip, no matter where we went) it was ‘low tide’ by the standards we were working with but we had no problems finding the goods days after a storm. For being just over an hour’s drive from one of skiing’s hubs, that felt pretty crazy.

There’s A LOT of terrain here, with lifts heading off in all directions, offering many gems of terrain and a huge variety of fun features to be found. We barely scratched the surface but we made a line straight for the cat and lapped that. It’s a very slow, confusing lap, from what I remember we essentially had to ski over the road to get back to the right base but it allowed us to get some of our favorite shots of the trip so it was fully worth it.

I also wanted to note here how insanely nice and relaxed everyone was at Powder. From the office staff, to the lifties, to the other skiers and even the servers in the fairly busy bar, it felt like ‘home’ the moment you arrived. Oh and the food at the Powder Keg was unreal, best food we had on the whole trip probably. We were bummed to only have one day, we’ll be back for sure.

Do:

Eat Ramen at the Powder Keg. Spend more than one day here. Lap the cat.

Don’t:

Expect to lap the cat even vaguely quickly.

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Next up was the drive north to Wyoming and the Tetons. We had a date with NS OG and good friend @erica Aarons to check out Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole, but first, we had to get there. I mean this with love, but ‘ya’ll’ are not very good at driving. The limit is always way too low and the roads are basically straight, so how the fuck do you crash all the time? The appearance of a corner or a snowflake isn’t a reason to immediately panic break. Although thinking about it, that does explain the crashing. Anyway, we arrived in Victor, pretty late as a result and didn’t get to see the Tetons until our final day, but we did get to check out…

Grand Targhee:

We met up with Erica bright and early (that’s a lie) and headed up to Targhee where, of course, it was snowing. The visibility was pretty iffy, to say the least but luckily there was plenty of tree skiing to make up for it. It was clutch to have a guide because despite it not being a particularly crazy feeling day snow-wise, we got to ski some epic snow. Some spots were almost too deep to really turn, even right off the lift.

From what we could see, the terrain seemed really varied, including some epic cliff bands that my old ass steered well clear of. There was a small park under the lift that looked pretty fun (I think it was the first time I had seen a rail on this trip) but it was closed due to the snowpocalypse. We had a super chilled day, but a great time. We managed maybe 2-3 hours of laps and then a trip to the lodge for a mountain of Waffle Nachos and some great craft beers. Hard to beat really.

Do:

Eat Waffle Nachos

Don’t:

Order one portion each.

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Jackson Hole:

Well, what is there to say about Jackson that hasn’t already been said? It’s big, it’s expensive but it’s technically independent too. And the terrain is, frankly, ridiculous. Our legs were pretty done by this point but we obviously had to ski some of the array of lines Jackson has to offer (badly, in my case). With Erica acting as a guide again, we did a whistlestop tour of the mountain and certainly didn’t do it justice, but it was enough to see just how much is on offer. It felt more like a European resort than the others we visited, but slightly disney-fied and with less hidden ways to die. I don’t mean that in a bad way, by the way, the resort is incredible, and it’s pretty amazing to have a mountain that sick be so well managed. There are perfect drops from slightly scary to ‘maybe 10 years younger and 10 years better’ level and plenty of tight chutes and lines to get you scared. But unlike at home, someone has gone around putting up signs telling you which ones will just be scary and closing off the ones that will actually kill you.

Would I want to make it my home resort? Probably not, but then I don’t particularly like people. But you have to check it out because it’s an insane mountain. I’d certainly go back and I can see why so many, including Erica decide to make it home. Oh, and the scenery is breathtaking, though we didn’t get to see the Tetons until we were driving away.

Do:

Buy big, stiff skis AND expensive tech outerwear to fit in on the tram (see also: Alta).

Don’t:

Learn to ski first. Be poor.

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As we headed back towards Denver, we spent an hour stuck behind a moose, who had quite rightly decided that the road was a better option than wading through waist-deep snow. Apart from being hilarious, it gave us a chance to book somewhere to stay en route and collect our thoughts.

Just as Americans come to Europe and glorify the Alps, we found the skiing and particularly the snow, a revelation. Of course, I’ve skied in CO and UT a bit before but this was the first time heading out on the road and enjoying the experience rather than just shooting for a project or testing skis. It also made me appreciate the things we have back home, like cheap lift tickets and food groups other than cheese (and I live in Switzerland). For now, I’m going to leave this we three thoughts:

1) ‘Ya’ll’ truly do have the greatest snow on Earth, you should probably do more to keep it that way because you are blessed.

2) Your trust in ski patrol is terrifying, the almost complete absence of any kind of avalanche equipment in-resort made us cringe every day of the trip.

3) It was nice to ski somewhere where people actually wanted you to be there. Don’t expect the same (or any) customer service when you come to our side of the pond.