As Told to Gordy Megroz
1. Squaw Valley USA, California
It gets big Sierra dumps, and the wet snow sticks really well to the steeps. It鈥檚 why I鈥檝e lived there the past ten years, and it鈥檚 where I learned to be a freeskier. It鈥檚 particularly good for learning how to get air. You don鈥檛 have those melted-off, rocky takeoffs鈥攖hey鈥檙e all really snowy and have good, steep landings.
2. Whistler Blackcomb, British columbia
It鈥檚 huge. They鈥檙e seriously big mountains. And from the Blackcomb side there鈥檚 a lot of really good lift-accessed sidecountry. So you can ski the resort all day, then, if conditions are safe, you can hike for an hour to the top of Blackcomb Peak and get a really sick run all the way back down.
3. Snowbird, Utah
You can get one of the biggest leg burns skiing trail maps at Snowbird. From the top of the Cirque, it鈥檚 steep, it鈥檚 wide-open, and, because it鈥檚 Utah, there鈥檚 almost always good snow. The Keyhole, which runs from Alta to Snowbird, is one of my favorite inbound runs. I鈥檝e had powder up to my neck in there.
4. Silverton, Colorado
It鈥檚 the anti鈥搒ki resort. It鈥檚 not fancy; it鈥檚 just good skiing. One lift, then you鈥檙e hiking, the guides are showing you around, you go off the back side, and you end up taking a bus back to the front. And the heli-skiing is like something out of Alaska.
5. La Parva, Chile
You take this crazy road鈥41 switchbacks鈥攖o get up there, and then you have this amazing view that overlooks Santiago and the Andes. One night we had an asado鈥攁 traditional Chilean barbecue鈥攁nd they were roasting lamb on the ski hill. It鈥檚 not just about the cool cultural 颅experience, though. The groomed trails are great, and you can always get fresh snow off-piste.