Out West For First Time

Just my two cents.  I have snowboarded lower east coast (Cataloochee SC, Snow Shoe WV) and West (Breckenridge, Vail, Beavercreek, Parkcity) .  Of those three places on West, Park city was our least favorite.  It might have just been that year, but it was late december and they had very little snow.  Runs were brown and had rocks. :(.  Our faviorite, and resort we still go to every year is Beavercreek.  Runs are nice, and big.  Second Fav. would be breck, and last would be vail.  Breck has some amazing parks, and vail has lots of area.  Back bowls are super sweet.  Beavercreek is our fav. because the people are always nice, and area seems to be well kept.

check out the northwest!

colorado attracts so many people because it's marketed well. for a lot of people, it's the first place they think of when they think "out west." they'll have a lot more tourist attractions and facilities than you'll find in the two northwest-most states.  i'm not implying anything about the terrain or riding, but expect people and tourists and that sort of feel.  the northwest is more on the raw and natural side of things, where you'll more or less do the trip all yourself, and it's all about getting out there and shredding natural terrain and doing whatever you want, whereas you could do a colorado trip through a tourist organization that lines up your time for you (not that you have to - you can still play it by ear).  two different places, both good for a first trip away from the east, but it just depends what type of experience you're looking for.

yeah, i'm thinking colorado for you based on your criteria, but some others on here are far more familiar with it all and may offer a different suggestion.  normally i would just tell you the northwest is the place to be, because of the mountains and snow (can't really be beat), but it lends its self more to someone who has been out west a few times and kinda has a feel for the riding and everything.  you'll have a blast in CO.

Man, if you have your choice of where to go I would say wait until as late as possible to see what area of the country is getting snow dumped on.  That will completely eliminate the problem of "brown runs" and rocks.  Plus, since you've never ridden powdah before, I see you've got a Burton Custom in your profile pic, why not try that thing out in some deep snow?

I love the PNW, I'll be there again this year.  Some of the best terrain in the lower 48 is in Washington.  As a destination spot though it is kind of rough.  No real slope side lodging to be had, except at Crystal.  From what I hear that is pretty limited too.  Seems like most spots it's tough to be within a half an hour of the area.  Not a deal breaker, but you will definitely be wanting the terrain that the PNW offers above all else.  It can also have horrible flat light conditions.  Some of the most brutal I've seen.  Fortunately, during my trips, it's been mostly sunshine with just two or three days of storm conditions.  Anyway, don't over look it.  Pretty sweet riding, and relatively inexpensive lift tickets.

For the full on resort experience type of thing.  In Colorado, I would recommend getting out of the Front Range if your budget will allow.  Telluride, Aspen, Crested Butte, Steamboat all have their charms and less crowds.  Aspen might be the best ski town this side of Whistler for after riding action.  It costs though. 

Other spots that are full service, Park City, Tahoe, Big Sky.

For bang for your buck, Salt Lake City is kind of hard to beat.  You can stay in Sandy and have a five mile drive give or take to all the areas in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon.  Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton.  Lift ticket deals are pretty easy to come by, flights are reasonable.  If you time your flight right, you can ride the day you arrive too.  Restaurants and Bars, well it's kind of weird there, but you can get around it easily enough.

Myself, I'm a Colorado guy, but if I was to leave this state, Washington would be at the top of my list of spots I would want to relocate to. 

Between Breck and Vail, I would go with Vail.  It's still a front range resort, but just a little further away, so it brings slight less Denver traffic.  Plus it's a big mountain, though it's not steep.  The other nice thing is if stay in Vail Village, you won't really need a car for anything.  Just walk around to where you are going.  It's a cheesy European Village but it's a good cheesy. 

any tips on getting discounted tickets?

I was hoping for some Wahhoos 2:1 coupons.

Originally posted by Seanyo23 Yea thanks i am new to bigger mountains so i think for now an easier assessable mountain would be a lot nicer.  Iam looking for a mountain where i can go up a lift and either chose to ride down a nice groomed trails or ride down some natural terrain and then after all that hit some rails and jumps. I just do not know how to search for that or which one would be better for my first time.

do resorts give military discounts much these days? its worth it to see if they do but they don't list it online.

last year, they had some 5 dollar off coupons on top of the liftopia price. have a season pass this year so i'm not sure what the deals are.

Originally posted by Seanyo23 Yea thanks i am new to bigger mountains so i think for now an easier assessable mountain would be a lot nicer. Iam looking for a mountain where i can go up a lift and either chose to ride down a nice groomed trails or ride down some natural terrain and then after all that hit some rails and jumps. I just do not know how to search for that or which one would be better for my first time.

Check out Snowmass. The Cirque (which the lift to the very top is an annoying T Bar) sounds exactly what you're looking for. Skiers' right is some insane trees and steeps and left you can cruise down a blue all day. And about half way down you can easily make your way into their parks which are consistently rated some of the best in the world.

http://www.aspensnowmass.com/en/-/media/ACB59D07776D47DCBEA8FF2D0E4FAC4E.ashx