Resorts for Alpine Carving

Back to The Carver's Almanac

This page lists resorts world-wide that are carver-friendly.

Online resort guides

The World Snowboard Guide is one of the few resort guides that includes (sparse) information on carving. Other resort guides:

Discount lift ticket tactics

Discount Lodging

Carving resort basics

The Sierras

North Lake Tahoe


Norm rails the groom at Mt Rose in North Tahoe.

Ranked more or less in order of best carving mountains first

Resort Comments
Mt Rose
(800) 754-7673
SnowPhone (800) 754-7673
Mt Rose has the best steep groomers for expert carvers. You can stay in Reno for cheap package deals. The East bowl opens at 8:30, the Main side opens at 9. Runs: Kit Carson Bowl, Northwest Passage (6-pack lift), Big Bonanza, Silver Dollar (Blazing Zephyr lift). Mt Rose sells cheap passes during the month of September
Alpine Meadows
(800) 441-4423
SnowPhone (530) 581-8374
Runs: Kangaroo (Kangaroo lift) in early December before the %!*^# terrain park gets setup, Sherwood (Sherwood lift), Outer Limits, Twilight Zone (Lakeview lift). Lift tickets are priced very low, and ticket sales are capped to avoid crowds. Which means you have to get there early on weekends.
Northstar at Tahoe
(800) 466-6784
SnowPhone (530) 562.1330
Northstar is a family-oriented resort that is prone to extreme overcrowding. Get the Club Vertical wristband - it lets you cut in line. On the plus side, it is sheltered from wind, and they have great BBQ. Runs: Sunshine, Upper Drop Off, Surprise (Vista lift), Rail Splitter, Iron Horse (Backside Express), Ax Handle (Comstock lift). The Best Western Truckee has great stay 'n ski deals for Northstar.
Bootfitters: Elite Feet in The Northstar Village
Sugar Bowl
(530) 426-9000
SnowPhone (530) 426-1111
Sugar Bowl has the best snow quality of any Tahoe resort, and rarely ices up. Park at the Mt Judah lot. Runs: Trailblazer (Jerome Hill lift) is the best run in North Tahoe for learning, Jingle Bells (Christmas Tree lift), and the Blue runs off Lincoln Express.
Squaw Valley
(530) 583-6985
SnowPhone (530) 583-6955

Squaw has a lot of extreme yuppie skiers who bomb down the runs without slowing down for anyone. Runs: Siberia (Siberia Express Lift), Shirley Lake Bowl (Shirley Lake Lift) consists of 5 Northwest facing runs. They are (to skier's right of the lift): 1st tree, 2nd tree, 3rd tree, 4th tree, and 5th tree. 5th tree is one of the best carving runs in Tahoe.
Instructors:
Flo Jayme (for 2007, he's available every other weekend, starting January 27/28)

Kirk McClure

Bootfitters:
Elite Feet at the Resort at Squaw Creek

Diamond Peak
(775) 832-1177
SnowPhone (775) 831-3211
Runs: FIS, Showoff (Lakeview Quad), Crystal Ridge, Luggi's (Crystal Quad)
Boreal
(530) 426-3666
SnowPhone (530) 426-3666
Boreal is cheap and has short runs. It opens very early in the season. When the Accelerator lift opens in early November, people go up with rock boards.
Donner Ski Ranch
(530) 426-3635
SnowPhone (530) 321-7669
A small hill next to Sugar Bowl with cheap lift tickets.
Homewood
(530) 525-2992
SnowPhone (530) 525-2900
Homewood is at Lake level, so it doesn't get the best snow. However, on Saturdays it is one of the least crowded resorts, and it has great views.
Tahoe Donner
SnowPhone (530) 587-9444
On packed holiday weekends, you are better off at this small 2-lift, out-of-the-way resort. It basically has a single slope about 4 runs wide.

South Lake Tahoe

Ranked more or less in order of best carving mountains first

Resort Comments
Kirkwood
(209) 258-6000
SnowPhone (209) 258-3000

Kirkwood is the best resort in Tahoe for carving. Runs: Hole 'n Wall (Hole 'n wall lift), Flying Carpet (lift #2/Caples Crest), Zachary, Monte Wolfe (lift #5/Solitude), Buckboard (lift #10/The Reut), Wagon Trail, Short Spoke, Conestoga (lift #11). Arrive early and park near chair 6. Buy a pass for the SuperPark terrain park: jibbers don't use it, and it's groomed. The lodging at Kirkwood is very expensive and very crappy: check out the Westerner Motel. Kirkwood sometimes reopens for Memorial Day Weekend. Check out the kick-ass real time webcam

Instructors: Ian Kent: (209) 258-2444
Sierra at Tahoe
(530) 659-7453
SnowPhone (530) 659-7475
Sierra offers club vertical wristbands. Stick to the West Bowl. Runs: Bashful, Powderhorn (West Bowl Express lift).
Heavenly
(775) 586-7000
SnowPhone (775) 586-7000
Heavenly has a Nevada side (better for carving) and a California side. The gondola conveniently connects the resort to the downtown casinos. Good for après -ski nightlife (but attracts posers). Runs: Comet (Comet Express), Orions, Big Dipper (Dipper Express), Olympic Downhill when the %!^# terrain park is not setup (Olympic lift), Bettys, Steamboat, Ridge Run, Canyon (Canyon lift).
Bootfitters: Tahoe Sports LTD near the downtown gondola
Bear Valley Not to be confused with Bear Mountain in Southern California.

Tahoe Area Info

Carvers use FRS 5/12, and may be migrating to 20/4.

There are a few runs that are good for carving circles: The runs are moderately steep all the way to the bottom and then abruptly flatten out right before the lift, allowing you to enter the flat portion with speed and carve a circle, retracing your track for as long as you can:

When carving, avoid crowds:

Two resorts, Sugar Bowl and Alpine, are next to Tahoe National Forest land. Which means you can legally trek out of bounds if you stay in the forest. Some folks go on backcountry trekking trips. You need to take a backcountry course with avalanche safety before attempting. See the winter backcountry trekking pages.

Sneaky ways of getting discount lift tickets in Tahoe

For board tuning in the North Shore:

For board tuning on the South Shore:

Tahoe Weather/Road Conditions

A recommended strategy for Tahoe weather: If Weather.com indicates that there is > 20% change of precipitation and the National Weather Service says the snow altitude > 7000 feet, bag it and work on the honey-do list.

Driving in Tahoe

In California, if you are driving a 4 wheel drive when chain controls are in effect, you can go without chains if your tires say "M+S" on the side, and if you have at least 6/32" tire tread.

There are a few Ski Buses that do the driving for you, with single-day and multi-day bus trips. They arrive at the resorts early so you can carve the groomers. The seats are not the most comfortable, so bring a blanket. See SlidingOnTheCheap for a listing.

Driving time from South Bay to Kirkwood: 3 hours, 30 minutes.
Driving time from South Bay to Tahoe City: 4 hours, 30 minutes.
Driving time from Tahoe City to Kirkwood: 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Driving time from Tahoe City to Sierra at Tahoe: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

When it is snowing heavily, the CHP may impose one of 3 restrictions on winter driving:

Short cuts

If you need to surf the web on your way to Tahoe, the Kinko's in Auburn has a T3 connection, and is just off the highway. Internet surfing is 20 cents/minute. Hours are Mon-Fri 7am-10pm, Sat/Sun 8am-7pm. It is sometimes useful to check online to see whether I-80 is shut down before venturing past Auburn. AM radio station 1620 often has zero reception, and the AM radio stations do not always have up to date road closure info. I-80 can be closed even if it isn't snowing, since wind-blown snow is enough to close the road.

The crime rate in Lake Tahoe is almost non-existent. Which means the cops have nothing better to do. Which means:

Random

Best good & cheap restaurants on the way from the South Bay to Tahoe:

North Lake Tahoe Bests

Best good & cheap restaurants:

Best Bakeries:

Best Snowmobiling:

Best hot springs:

Lodging:

South Lake Tahoe Best Bets

The Sierras: Southern California

Resort Comments
Mammoth Mountain
(800) 626-6684
Snow Phone (888) 766-9778
The runs are long and wide. Mammoth often stays open until June. Runs: Cloverleaf, Downhill (#16 / Canyon Express), Solitude (#10 / Gold Rush Express), Stump Alley (#2 /Stump Alley Express). Roll Coaster (Roller Coaster 4), Bridges (Eagle Express 15), Cornice Bowl (Chair 23), runs off of Chair 13, Chair 14. Don't speed through the towns going to Mammoth. The grooming is not as good as June Mountain.
Bootfitter: Corty at Footloose Sports
June Mountain
(888) 586-3686
Snow Phone: (760) 934-2224
Another option near Mammoth. Good grooming. Cheaper, and a bit less crowded than Mammoth.
Bear Mountain (Big Bear Mountain Resort)
(909) 866-5766
Snow Phone (800) 232-7686
The runs off Silver Mountain, Exhibition (Silver Mountain Double)
Mountain High
(800) 754-7878
Snow Phone (888) 754-7878
Stick to the eastern side of East Mountain.

Snow Summit
(888) 786-6481

Closer to L.A.

Some Northern California folks drive to Mammoth for wider, longer terrain. The drive from the Bay Area to Mammoth is 4 hours when Tioga Pass Road (SR 120) through Yosemite National Park is open. Unfortunately, Tioga Pass is usually closed for the winter from December until late May, in which case the suggested route is 80 -> 50 -> Kingsbury grade cutoff -> 395 -> 203, which is a 7 hour drive. See the Caltrans web site for current road closure info, and the Yosemite web site for historical Tioga pass opening and closing dates.

Colorado resorts


Scott rails at Vail. Keep an eye on that boot-out.

Colorado road conditions Phone: 303 639-1111 within a 2-hour drive of Denver, or 303 639-1234 statewide

There is a Conoco gas station near the rental car return at Denver airport, the gas is 20 cents more expensive.

3-day Snow precipitation predictor for Colorado

For a good board tune and/or base grind in Denver, go with Bicycle Doctor/Edge-works. Matt is the owner, and has the most experience with the base grinder.

In Boulder, the recommended base grinder is Alpine Base & Edge. Plus, they have a great DIY deal: for $20/hour, they supply you with a P-Tex gun, files, scraper, edge bevel tools, base bevel tools, stone (gummi and regular) wax iron, bench wax, and a very nice bench to tune your skis/board on, plus expert advice, but you do the work and then clean up!

If you are flying out of Denver, the best food option is Wolfgang Puck Express, in terminal B (the United terminal), on the 2nd floor mezzanine level.

Summit County

Resort Comments
Vail

It boasts "the most groomed terrain on the planet". Many of the trails have long run-outs; however, the slopes have great pitch, and the grooming is very good. Simba, Bwana, Born Free (Gondola). Over Easy, Mid-Vail, Ledges, Lodgepole, Columbine, Picaroon (steep), Avanti (steep) (Chair 2 - Avanti). Hunky Dory (Chair 3 - Wildwood). Swingsville, Ramshorn, Christmas, Riva Ridge, The Slot, Yonder (Chair 4 - Mountain Top). Lost Boy, Dealer's Choice, The Woods, Showboat (Chair 7 - Game Creek Express). Northwoods, Northstar (Chair 11 - Northwoods). Chopstix, Poppyfields (Chair 21 - Orient Express). Emperor's Choice (exciting, wide, fun, black) (Chair 36 - Tea Cup). Big Rock Park (Chair 37 - Skyline). Grand Review (Chair 39 - Pete's Express). Uber-steep, winch-cat groomed trails: Riva Ridge is groomed each Friday and Blue Ox (double black diamond) each Saturday. Get there early.
Bootfitting: Greg Hoffmann at Vail Sports at the west end of Lionshead. Also: the folks at Gravity Jones Ski Werks in Vail Village.
Carving Ambassador: email Lowell Hart before you arrive to get the skinny on the carving scene.

Beaver Creek Runs: Centennial, Latigo, Harrier (Centennial Express Lift), Larkspur Bowl (Larkspur Lift), Cataract (Rose Bowl Lift), Pitchfork (Strawberry Park Express lift), Cresta (Arrow-Bahn Express). Beaver Creek is a less-crowded resort on Saturdays. Park in the remote parking areas and take the bus (or, pay $20 for close-up parking)
Copper Mountain

Anything off the Superbee Lift, Bittersweet (American Eagle Lift) Copper is an Intrawest resort, so the grooming occasionally sucks.

Breckenridge

On Peak 10: the blue/black runs off the top (Falcon Super chair). On Peak 8: Spruce, Dukes Run, Rounders (Colorado Super Chair).
Tune shop: A Racer's Edge.

Arapahoe Basin A-Basin is a low-key resort that is great for carving and does not get crowded. Blue runs off Lenawee Mountain Lift and Exhibition Lift. A-Basin stays open as late as July.
Keystone Runs: Night carving on Spring Dipper (River Run Gondola). Spring Dipper, Flying Dutchman, Frenchman, Wild Irishman, Paymaster (Montezuma Express), Go Devil (Peru Express): hidden groomer, Diamond Back (Ruby Express), Porcupine (Outback Express)
Winter Park Good groomers, but lots of cat tracks everywhere.
Steamboat Runs: Rainbow, High Noon, Flintlock, West Side and Buddy's. Avoid Morningside and Pony Express lifts. Outside of Steamboat is Howelsen Hill, a slope used for racing.
Carving Ambassador: Dave Winters

Food: Since you are carving, you will likely be leaving the resort a bit early before the slopes get totally chopped up, which means you can hit some of the awesome early-evening happy hour deals. Some of these deals are intended for the locals, and are not advertized or mentioned - you have to know to ask for them:

Happy Hour Deals in Summit County
Tuscato 307 Main St, Frisco: 970 668-3644 Half priced appetizers, $2.50 premium beer. 4-6 PM, 7 days a week.
Wild Bill's Pizza 119 Labonte St, Dillon: 970 468-2006 Cut-rate pizza 3-6 PM, 7 days a week
Mezzaluna In the Lion Square Lodge Hotel, Vail: 970 477-4410 $6 Pizzas, $3 premium beer, $4 Margaritas & wines 3-5:30 PM, 7 days a week

Other great food options in Summit County:

Summit County is way cheaper than Aspen. Here are a few cheap establishments. The hotel tax is around 10%.

Name Location Comments
Days Inn Summit County Silverthorne $88/night
Luxury Inn & Suites in Silverthorne Silverthorne $55/night
Alpine Inn Frisco $70/night
New Summit Inn Frisco $99/night. AAA discount
Dillon Inn Dillon $90/night. AAA discount

For board tuning in Summit County, use Precision Ski in Frisco. 817 Summit Blvd. (970) 668-3095. Jim Dines is the owner, and has the most tuning experience.

Some great deals on passes are available before the season starts. For the best deal, you must purchase the pass during a 4-day window of time in early September. If you are buying one of these passes and not renewing an old pass, you must show up in person to have your picture taken.

There are a few runs that are good for carving buttonholes: The runs are moderately steep all the way to the bottom and then abruptly flatten out right before the lift, allowing you to enter the flat portion with speed and carve a circle, retracing your track for as long as you can:

Aspen


Ueli rails the groom at Buttermilk.

Be aware that all maps of Aspen are upside-down, with North pointing down. No one knows why.

Ground transportation from Denver to Aspen is around $100 each way: Try either Resort Express or Colorado Mountain Express

Flights go in and out of Aspen/Pitkin Airport (ASE). If you are flying out of Aspen and have a rental car, first park at the departure terminal, unload your luggage, and check it at curb-side check-in. Then, drive around to the rental car lot and turn in your rental car.

For board tuning, see Pomeroy Sports.

For bootfitting, including a carving setup optimized for ski boots, see Stefan Kaelin's sport shop.

Resort Comments
Aspen Mountain (Ajax) If you have a minimum number of people in your group, you can book a first tracks deal ahead of time and poach the groomers. Runs: Ruthie's Run, Aztec (Ruthie's Lift), the blue runs off Ajax Express Lift. You can carve circles at the bottom of Ruthie's. Beat the crowd in the morning by taking Shadow Mountain Lift to Ruthie's. On-street parking in Aspen cost $2/hour, and is paid using one of those ticket vending machines. You are limited to 4 hours, and the parking rules are enforced 10-6. Or, you can park in the parking garage a few blocks away, and either walk or take the bus.
Highlands There are a lot of carving runs, however not as wide as Buttermilk. Runs: Golden Horn (Thunderbowl chair), runs off of Cloud Nine chair. If you arrive before 7:30AM, you don't have to pay the $7 parking fee.
Buttermilk Aptly named. Runs: Tiehack Parkway, Javelin (Upper Tiehack Lift). The only problem is the Tiehack lift on the back; it's nausiatingly slow. Also, Buttermilk is a bit too flat for some people. If you are looking for steep, you might want to consider Ajax instead.
Snowmass

Slot (Sam's Knob Lift), runs off Big Burn Lift, runs off Sheer Bliss Lift. At snowmass, there is a noon groom, and it's a different run every day. If you are going to dinner in Snowmass village, you can park in upper lots 7, 8, and 9 for free after 6 PM, even though the signs say "permit only."
Instructor:
Marco Olm

The following are the cheaper hotels/motels in Aspen. Prices shown are from early 2006, which provide an idea of their relative costs. Add 9.5% hotel tax to all rates. Also be sure to look at Vacation Rentals by Owner for cheap lodging.

Hotel Rate Comments
Mountain House Lodge $196/night 10% AAA discount
Molly Gibson Lodge $215/night  
L'Auberge d'Aspen $214/night  
Hotel Durant $234/night It's cheaper ($210) if you book at aspensnowmass.com
Boomerang Lodge $190/night Book through aspensnowmass.com
Annabelle Inn $190/night  
St. Moritz Lodge $166/night There are also hostel-like bunk rooms.
Hotel Aspen $219/night  

Really cheap, great food is available from the various bar menus in Aspen. Here is a list of food that's pretty good:

Establishment Item / Comments
39 Degrees, the bar in the Sky Hotel Bar menu: Braised beef sliders
Elevation Restaurant Bar menu / appetizer: Wasabi Caesar® with salmon. It's so good, they actually took out a trademark on the name.
Syzygy Restaurant Bar menu: Crispy duck confit, shrimp ragout
Ink! Coffee Donuts. Really good donuts. Open at 6:30 AM, for early morning carvers.
Jimmy's Crab cake, volcano cake
Paradise bakery Butter croissant. Open at 7 AM, for early morning carvers.
Hickory House Ribs Good BBQ. Also, they have good ribs + eggs for breakfast, but they open later, at 8 AM.
Bonnie's At the mid-mountain lodge at Ajax. Apple Strudel.
Cafe Suzanne At the mid-mountain lodge at snowmass (Elk Camp Lift). Bread pudding with brandy sauce.

Finally, some relaxing downtime can be had at the Krabloonik dogsled center, which offers lunch or dinner with a ride.

Utah


A shot of the groom, on Apex Ridge at The Canyons.

Park City Runs: off King Con High Speed Quad. If it dumped the night before and King Con is pow, checkout Pioneer and Payday, which are on the second grooming shift: they might have been groomed after the dump.
Instructor: Martin Drayton
Bootfitters: Surefoot in Park City (see Steve Owen, the manager)
The Canyons Runs: Boa, Apex Ridge (Super Condor Express), Lookout (Golden Eagle Lift).
Bootfitters: Surefoot in The Canyons. (see Ted Cobleigh, the manager)
Snow Basin Runs: Main Street, Trapper's Trail, Elk Ridge (Strawberry Express), Women's GS (Wildcat Lift)
Solitude Runs off the Eagle Express lift.

During the Sundance Film festival in late January, don't even think of staying or driving in Park City - The entire downtown is clogged with a convoy of stretch Hummer limos. Plus, the hotel rates are double, and all the restaurants are booked for private parties.

The Canyons and Park City are about a 40 minute drive from the airport. The resorts are trying to play up this close proximity, so they offer a free lift ticket if you fly into SLC early the same day.

The rental car return to Salt Lake Airport is a travesty: The signs say "for rental car return, stay in the left lane," then, after you have already turned left in the exit-only left lane, you notice that you should have stayed in the middle lane, and you feel like an idiot, and you have to circle around.

If you want the super-gourmet experience, Deer Valley sets the gold standard for ski resort Cuisine: Cafe Mariposa is the high-end dinner spot. The Empire Canyon Lodge has Fireside Dining, with food cooked in the fireplaces. Royal Street cafe is more casual. Of course, Deer Valley doesn't allow snowboarders.

Hardbooter.com has a travel guide for carvers visiting Utah. In addition to the food spots listed there, several establishments really stand out:

Hotel Tax is around 10%. It's cheaper to stay in Salt Lake and drive to Park City. However, if you are looking to stay in Park City, here are some cheap(er) places:

Hotel Rate Comments

Holiday Inn Express Park City

$152/night It's back near I-80, 6 miles from Park City
Park Regency $154/night AAA discount
Edelweiss Haus Condominium Hotel $180/night  
Snow Flower $195/night  
Washington School Inn $185/night  
Park Plaza Resort $150/night  
Old Town Guest House $169/night  

US Resorts

Region Resort Comments
Oregon Mt. Bachelor

Instructor:
Doug Dryer

dougdryer.com

Tune shop: Hillcrest Ski & Sports in Gresham. Greg and Steve are both experts at tuning alpine boards.
Tune shop: The Race Place in Bend
Bootfitter: Randall Barna at Footform Performance Orthotics

Mt Hood Meadows Runs: off Cascade Express and Shooting Star Ridge
Timberline at Mt. Hood You can carve on Palmer Snow Field in the summer. Summer hours after Memorial Day are 7:00 - 1:30.
Washington State Stevens Pass A tad better for carving than Baker or Crystal. Runs: Skyline (Skyline Express), I-5 (Big Chief).
Tune shop: Sturtevant's in Bellevue.
Mt. Baker  
Crystal Mountain

Sean Cassidy teaches carving. He has enough hard boot gear on hand to equip beginners and get them going, and he sometimes runs Thursday carve clinics.
Instructor: Sean Cassidy

Maine Sugarloaf/USA It's about 2 hours from Portland. Runs off the Bucksaw chair (easier), Spillway, Sluice (Spillway West Chair), Tote Road, Hayburner, Competition Hill, Upper Narrow Gauge (several chairs), Lower Narrow Gauge (Double West chair), Windrow, Scott (Bucksaw chair), King's Landing (Sugarloaf Superquad), Gondola Line, Tote Road (From the top), Difficult: Widowmaker, Flume, Ramdown, Boom Auger (King Pine chair).
Instructor: Erik Beckman.
Vermont. The southern Vermont resorts (Mt Snow, Stratton, Okemo) get really crowded on weekends. Go for Sugarbush or Stowe instead. Stratton

Lift tickets are crazy expensive on weekends. Grooming is great, except near the end of the season, when they slack off. There is usually a carving posse on any given day. Runs: Standard (gondola), North American, Tamarack (URSA Express), Liftline (Snow bowl).

Okemo Also family-friendly. Runs: Sapphire, Timberline (Green Ridge Triple), World Cup, Upper Chief, WarDance (Northstar Express Quad), Fall-Line (Glades Peak Quad), Exhibition, Heaven's Gate (Solitude Express Quad), Rimrock, Wildthing (South Face Express Quad), Limelight, Quantum Leap (Jackson Gore Express Quad)
Sugarbush Sugarbush North has good carving. Rim Run, Cruiser (North Ridge Express), Crackerjack (Green Mountain Quad).
Killington Big, but not as great for carving - it's a skier's mountain. The Sunday Killington Breakfast Club meets at the Out of Bounds Snowboard Shop at 7:30, and at Snowdon Quad at 8. See Vin Quenneville at Out of Bounds Snowboard Shop (OOB also has a good tune shop). Killington opens early in the season and runs late. Runs: Bunny Buster, Mouse Run, Chute run (Snowdon Quad), Cascade (K1 Express Gondola), Header (Rams Head Quad), Skye-lark, Bittersweet, Ovation, superstar Express(Superstar Express Quad), Bear Trap, Wildfire at Bear (Bear Mountain Quad), Double dipper (Canyon Quad), Difficult: East Fall (North Ridge triple)
Pico  Next to Killington, but less crowded. Upper-Pike, Mid-Pike, Lower-Pike (Summit Express Quad Chair)
Stowe Runs: Goat, Lord (FourRunner Quad), Perry Merril, Gondolier (Gondola), Nosedive (FourRunner Quad), Hayride (Lookout double), Liftline (FourRunner Quad), Runs off Spruce Peak (Sensation Quad)
Mount Snow Good terrain for learning. Runs: the runs off Carinthia, Haystack, South Bowl, and Exhibition. Ripcord, Jaws (lift 18 / Challenger chair), Snowdance (Lift 9 / Canyon Express)
Bootfitting / Tune shop / hardboot shop: Tom at Alpine Trader.
Jay Peak It is susceptible to fog and wind. Runs: The Jet, Angel's Wiggle (Jet triple), Milk Run (Bonaventure chair)
New Hampshire Bretton Woods Runs: Beg: Alpine Gardens, Avalon, Oscar Barron's (West Mountain Quad), Range View (Zephyr Quad). Int: Fabyan's Express, Crawford's Blaze, (Fabyan's triple), Granny's Grit, Coos Caper (Zephyr Quad). Exp: Bode's Run (Rosebrook Quad), Deception Bowl (B-Lift Double), Joseph's Run (West Mountain Quad), Waumbek, Starr King (West Mountain Quad). Plus, you may run into Neal, a patroller on plates.
Mt. Sunapee Runs: Bonanza, Chipmunk, Blast-Off (Sunapee Express), Eggbeater (North Peak Triple), Flying Goose
Loon Mountain Runs: Walking Boss, Flume (North Peak Triple chair)
Waterville Valley White Caps (White Peak Express Quad), Sel's Choice, Utter Abandon (World Cup Triple)
Massachusetts Wachusett Mountain It's an hour out of Boston, and people leave work early to go night skiing, but it's crowded.
Tuning: Precision Tuning Center in Framingham, MA. Ask for Mike DeSantis. It's located in the Summit Ski and Snowboard shop, which also has a location in Danvers.
West Virginia Snowshoe Runs: The "western territory" is awesome for carving when it's not covered in moguls
Pennsylvania / D.C. Shawnee Mtn Runs: lookout, upper tomahawk, upper arrowhead, upper delaware, lower delaware, lower arrowhead, lower tomahawk, tecumseh
Camelback  
Elk  
Roundtop Runs: minuteman, gunbarrel
Instructor: Phil Bowman
Seven Springs Alpine Meadows (Blitzen Lift), Gunnar Slope (Gunnar Lift), North Face (North Pole Lift), Giant Steps (Giant Steps Lift)
Whitetail  
New York Emilio's Ski shop runs scheduled bus trips from New York City (Queens) to resorts in NY and VT.
Hunter Mtn Runs: Broadway, Kennedy Drive.
Windham Fewer crowds, better grooming than Hunter.
New Mexico Santa Fe Runs: Gayway, (Sierra chair), Broadway, Muerte (Santa Fe Super Chief) and Parachute (Tesuque Peak Triple chair).

Arizona

Snow Bowl  
New Jersey Mountain Creek Runs: Zero G on Vernon Peak, runs off South Peak and Bear Peak.
Minnesota Buck Hill  
Idaho Schweitzer Mountain  
Sun Valley Runs: Limelight, Lower Warm Springs, Greyhawk, Olympic, Canyon, Flying Squirrel. Part of Warm Springs is shaped like a natural halfpipe, and at the apex of the carve, you can actually be inverted. It is very cool.
Michigan Indianhead Good carving in the upper peninsula, just north of Wisconsin.
Montana Big Mountain Good groomers, but it gets fogged in a lot.

Canadian Resorts

Region Resort Comments
Alberta Lake Louise Longer runs than Sunshine. Men's Downhill, Lady's Downhill (Glacier Express), Meadowlark (Grizzly Express Gondola), runs of Larch Express.
Nakiska  
Sunshine Better snow than Louise. Runs: off Goat's Eye Mountain (Goat's Eye Express)
Toronto The best base grinder in the Toronto area is Brian Spargo at Sporting Life Bikes and boards on Yonge Street
Oshawa Ski Club (Kirby)  
Mount St. Louis Moonstone Stick to the Moonstone side. Runs: Adventure Run, Ridge Run, Turkey Chute (Adventure Express), Promenade (Promenade Express)
British Columbia Silver Star  
Apex Runs: The Chute
Big White Nice groomers, but it tends to get white-outs. Runs: Paradise, Perfection (Ridge Rocket Express quad)
Sun Peaks Go for the runs off Sundance Express and Sunburst Express in the morning, then go across the street and hit the runs off Morrisey Express in the afternoon.
Tuning/bootfitting: McSporties.
Mt. Washington Runs: Invitation, Fantastic, Schum's Delight (Sunrise Quad), Whiskey Jack, Coaster, East Bull, West Bull (Eagle Express Quad)
Whistler/Blackcomb Both mountains are great for carving. Fresh tracks tickets provide access as early as 7:30 AM for about $16 extra. It's closer to the Ocean, so you can get rain, snow, fog, and sun simultaneously. They get a lot of snow so consider an all-mountain board. Lodging is best in the North village. Blackcomb is less crowded and easier to navigate. runs: Cruiser, Honeycomb (Excelerator chair), Panorama (7th Heaven Express), Ridge Runner (Crystal Chair). Boards rentals from Fanatyk Co are $40/day, Board+Bindings rent for $60/day. (Prior rents demo boards out of their factory for $25/day, 7 days a week).
Instructors:
Darren

Bootfitters: Fanatyk Co., or Summit Ski & Snowboard
Quebec Mont Sainte Anne The best carving in Quebec, and the best grooming. Runs on the North side (L'Express du Nord). Good night carving.
Stoneham Smaller. Night carving.
Bromont Good for night carving weekdays.
Orford One of the better resorts in the Eastern Townships. Runs: Jean d'Avignon (Giroux Nord lift)
Le Massif Runs: L'Ancrage (Le Maillard Express High speed quad), La Petite-Rivière (wider), La Batture (Le Grande-Pointe Express high speed quad chair), Runs off Camp-Boule Express high speed quad.

Carve-friendly European Resorts

See the Directory at the ski club of Great Britain.

Avoid European Ski resorts during French school holidays. The peak of the over-crowding will happen when Paris schools (zone C) are out.

European weather sites:

For Switzerland, see the swisscarving site: they provide details about where to find the best carving.

Region Resort Comments
Finland Tahko  
Sappee  
Messilä  
Riihivuori  
Norway Hafjell It's just outside of Lillehammer. Uncrowded, and great terrain.
Kvitfjell  
Norefjell  
Tryvann  
Trysil  
Hemsedal It's too crowded on weekends.
Oppdal Great run: Vangslia
France - Large resorts, good snow, fast lifts. Val Thorens (3 Valleys) The runs down from Cime de Caron
Meribel (3 Valleys) The Côte Brune run, on Mt de la Chambre, The Tougnette run
Les menuires (3 Valleys) Red slope from Pointe de la Masse
La Daille area (Val d'Isere) Runs off Toviere, The OK run off the Rocher de Bellevarde, The stade de slalom run at the top of the Daille lift
Solaise area (Val d'Isere) The St. Jacques run
Val d'Isere area Runs off the Glacier de Pisaillas
Le Grand Bornand Chinaillon  
Courcheval  
Tignes Runs off the Grand Motte Glacier, Runs off the Col du Palet
Sweden Duved, near Åre It gets cold in Sweden. When the temperature dips below -23º C, they close the lifts.
Dundret  
Sälen  
Italy Courmayeur (Val d'Aosta)  
Livigno  
Wolkenstein/Selva Gardena (Sella Ronda area)  
La Thuile Runs: 2, 3, 5. Long, steep, great grooming
Cervinia Go to the Zermatt side.
Val Senales  
Val Gardena (Dolomites)  
Alta Badia, Corvara (Dolomites)  
Kronplatz (Dolomites)  
Austria -smaller resorts, but a high concentration of hardbooters. Sölden A higher percentage of hardbooters than anywhere else on the planet, and you can often see tandem carving in action. They also have summer carving on the Rettenbach & Tiefenbach glaciers. Runs: off the Stubaigletscher.
Hardboot shop: Sport RIML in town has a large selection of carving gear. Check out Virus demo days. Also, InterSport Glanzer.
Rittisberg A great small mountain for carving, with the best grooming, and fewer crowds.
Haus It has big, wide runs with some steeps.
Kaprun Runs off the Kitzsteinhorn side, from the Kitzlift, Keeslift, Maurer Gletscherlift, and Schmiedinger Gletscherlift.
Hintertux The runs off the Gefrorene Wano peak
Stubai  
Kaunertal  
Lech  

Ripstar Snowboard Camps is a Dutch outfit that offers week-long hard boot carving clinics, with video analysis and F2 demo gear. They train at Austrian resorts like Kaprun

Born To Ride is another Dutch alpine school, out of Ramsau am Dachstein in Austria.

Blue Tomato has a snowboard school in Obertauern and Schladming, which offers a "Technical Alpine Lesson for advanced alpine riders"

For traveling from the UK: During the ski season, Eurostar runs two trains direct from London to the Alps:

Southern Hemisphere Resorts

Region Resort Comments
New Zealand.
Go in August or September.
snow.co.nz
nzski.com
South Island - best for carving. Cardrona The best carving mountain in New Zealand, but not too many steeps. Runs off Captain's Quad.
Coronet Peak The lower elevation means more ice.
Treble cone Steeper. The snow is not as good as Cardrona.
North Island, Mt Ruapehu (lower elevation). Turoa  
Whakapapa Pronounced faka-papa
Australia (not quite as good as New Zealand)
ski.com.au
Perisher Blue  
Thredbo Runs: Supertrail (Kosciuszko Express), runs off the Cruiser chair.

Chile
Directory

Go heli-riding: it's cheap.

Northern Chile (Within a 2 hour drive of Santiago). It's all wide open. El Colorado Serviced by public transportation. You can either stay at chalets in Farellones, or at a high-end hotel at a resort.
Portillo
Valle Nevado
Southern Chile (A long drive from Santiago, but with adventure options) Termas de Chillán (480 km South of Santiago), with hot springs and excursions to Chillán volcano.
Villarrica-Pucón (800 km South of Santiago): Peek into the smoking volcano, then ride down the lava-formed natural half pipes. Mountain biking, rafting, and skydiving are also available, along with hot springs.

A number of companies offer guided snowboard tours and camps in Chile/Argentina from June through October:

Summer Carving

In addition to the Southern Hemisphere resorts, there is glacier skiing in the Northern Hemisphere. See the World Snowboard Guide.

Japanese Resorts

In Japan, carving is bigger than in the US. However, there are many family-oriented resorts that do not allow snowboarders. Some resorts allow snowboarders on all areas except a designated family ski zone. Weekends can become insanely crowded (one skier per mogul), and avoid Japan during the "Golden Week" vacation at the end of April / beginning of May. The peak of the activity takes place near the end of Golden Week. Also in Japan, you won't find a lot of steeps. See Snow Japan for detail on each resort.

Region Resort Comments
Hokkaido Rusutsu Sigi Grabner has a carve camp in February.
Niseko-Hirafu There are 4 major resorts in Niseko: Annapuri, Hirafu, Higashiyama and Hanazono. Stick with Hirafu.
Niigata Ishiiuchi Maruyama  
Naeba  
Iwappara  
Gala Yuzawa  
Nagano: Not as great for carving as Hokkaido or Niigata. Echo Valley  
Royal Hill  
Hakuba Sanosaka  
Hakuba Iwatake  
Yunomaru   
Tochigi Hunter Mountain  
Shizuoka Snow Town Yeti  
Hiroshima Geihoku Kokusai  

Several companies offer Hokkaido package tours with English speakers:

Korean Resorts

Korean resorts have a lot of man-made snow that turns to hardpack rather quickly. The resorts are very crowded, but happily, they are open very early in the morning (like 7 AM), and very late at night for night carving. At most resorts, you can usually spot a few alpine carvers at any moment.

Resort Comments
Hyun-Dai Sung-Woo Runs: Bravo and New-Bravo
Yongpyong Highest elevation, so it has the best snow. Runs: Mega green, Gold run
Jisan Good grooming. Runs: Orange
Phoenix Park Runs: Hawk

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