Resorts for Alpine Carving

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:

• Ski Club of Great Britain: For European ski resorts, the Ski Club of Great Britain seems to have the largest repository of unbiased reviews, with plenty of sardonic, pithy comments.
• SkiSnowboard.com has a lot of (biased) information on resorts.
• Resort Sports Network (RSN)
• SkiCentral
• OutdoorReview.com

Discount lift ticket tactics

• You can find gray-market tickets on eBay
• Expedia.com often has lift tickets at discount prices.
• Subscribe to resort e-mail newsletters to get early warning on great season pass deals that are sometimes hidden from view.
• SkiCoupons.com has actual coupons for lift tickets, and deals for lodging.
• Top 10 Lift Ticket Deals is a pretty good source of cheap lift tickets

Discount Lodging

• Try Vacation Rentals by Owner.

Carving resort basics

• Sometimes slow lift chairs are a blessing, since it keeps a lid on the traffic. Plus, you need more time between runs to visualize.
• In order to be a "good" carving resort, a resort really only needs one great carving run.
• You can check out satellite views of resorts:
  • Use Google maps
  • Use Microsoft's Terraserver site. For instance, here is the overhead view of Northstar at Tahoe.

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

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:

• Kangaroo run at Alpine Meadows.
• Iron horse at Northstar.
• Lower Bashful at Sierra.
• The bottom of Northwest passage at Mt Rose.

When carving, avoid crowds:

• Alpine Meadows has super-cheap prices. Despite the low cost, they cap the number of tickets sold, which prevents over-crowding. Which also means you may want to buy tickets on the web in advance for weekends.
• Avoid the week of President's day in Lake Tahoe, since most kids are off school the entire week, and a lot of families consider it a "ski week" Each day during the week is as crowded as a weekend.
• Northstar and Sierra at Tahoe are owned by the same company and offer Club Vertical wristbands for around $80. For all lifts, there is a separate line for Club Vertical members gated by a computer-controlled turnstile. Your wristband operates the turnstile, allowing you to skip ahead in line. Club Vertical is essential for getting through the lift line on crowded Saturdays, however it doesn't help with the crowding on the slopes. With Club Vertical, the computer keeps track of which lifts you have taken (total information awareness) and adds up your total vertical feet. You can redeem the vertical feet for coupons at the end of the season.
• For 3-day weekends that include Monday, Monday is often uncrowded.

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

• Sliding on the Cheap lists all the deals
• The Tahoe Card can be a really good deal. It costs around $50, then gives you major discounts. In early November, some ski shops sell a "Platinum" version of the card at a discounted rate, which also includes a free lift ticket.
• If you split your carving between the North shore and the South Shore, you have two options for dual passes:
  • The Northstar/Sierra pass
  • The SugarWood pass, for Sugar Bowl and Kirkwood (the adult pass is not valid Saturdays or Holidays)
• The Gold Pass gets you access to all the major Tahoe resorts, but it's $$$$
• There are a few in-town resources for discount lift tickets:
  • The Wild Cherry Coffeehouse in Truckee sells tickets for Sugar Bowl
  • the ACE Hardware store in Truckee sells tickets for Tahoe Donner

For board tuning in the North Shore:

• The Starthaus in Truckee has a hot box
• Granite Chief ski shop in Tahoe (Truckee and Squaw). At the Truckee location, see Soren for board tuning. Granite chief has a half-price tuning deal: During the month of August, you can buy a stored value card containing $200 worth of ski/snowboard tuning service, for $100. During the month of September, the same card costs $120. You can buy the cards either in person or over the phone. They don't limit the number that are sold. The cards are good until May 31st

For board tuning on the South Shore:

• Tahoe Sports LTD

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.

• National Weather Service for Truckee (the snow altitude prediction is accurate, but ignore the precipitation prediction).
• Weather.com for Lake Tahoe (predicts hour-by-hour precipitation accurately).
• California road Conditions Phone: from within California (800) 427-7623, from outside California (916) 445-7623.
• Nevada road conditions Phone: (877) 687-6237.
• Mt Rose weather station.
• Weather data at 10 minute intervals
• Intellicast for Tahoe
• The resorts on the West side of the Lake get more snow, but the resorts to the North and East of the lake have colder temps.
• SnowForecast.com:
  • Weather forecast
  • 3 day Snow precipitation predictor

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:

• L1: No chains needed, as long as you have M/S tires
• L2: No chains needed, as long as you have AWD or 4x4 with M/S tires
• L3: All cars must use chains. In this case, the CHP often closes the road to everyone except locals who need to get home.
  

Short cuts

• Avoiding the merge from 680 East to I-80 East at the Cordelia junction: Take the Gold Hill Frontage road.
• When coming back from the mountains, if you are going I-80 West, avoiding the pinch point at the Rt 50 / I-80 junction by taking I-5 South to Rt-50 West.

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:

• Don't speed through town. The speed limit is 25 MPH. Often there are two (or more) speed traps around Tahoe city
• Avoid drinking and driving: The DUI arrest rate in Tahoe is much higher than average.
• There are also speed traps in Jackson on the way to Kirkwood.

Random

• If you are looking to join a ski lease, or if you are looking for people to ski with, checkout craigslist under "Activity Partners" and "Vacation Rentals"
• If you go shopping in town, start browsing, and express interest in buying something, the sales guy will often casually ask "do you live here?" Always say yes. You will get a local's discount.
• Verizon gets the best cell phone reception in Tahoe.
• For people living in the San Francisco Bay area, a good selection of metric stainless hardware is available at:
  • Global Metrics on Marine View St in Belmont (650) 592-2722
  • Industrial Hardware & Supply on Industrial Rd in San Carlos (650) 593-1474
• Board thefts have been on the rise at Tahoe ski resorts, especially at Alpine Meadows where the board racks are close to the parking lot. It got so bad at Northstar that they had to install a video surveillance system. Use the board check service.

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

• London Fish N' Chips, 129 E St in Davis has excellent Fish & Chips.
• Sam's Restaurant in Davis (Best Shawarma on the planet, 11am-8pm Mon-Fri, 12pm-8pm Sat, (530) 758-2855).
• Ciocolat in Davis next to Sam's (Croque Monsieur sandwich, 24 karat mousse cake, 7:30am-9pm Mon-Thurs, 7:30am-11pm Fri-Sat, (530) 753-3088).
• Ikeda's in Auburn (Hot from the oven pies, (530) 885-4243).

North Lake Tahoe Bests

Best good & cheap restaurants:

• The Bridge Tender in Tahoe City (Burgers, (530) 583-3342).
• CB's Pizza in Carnelian Bay (Pizza: it's an amorphous blob, but it's really good, (530) 546-1738).
• Lanza's Restaurant in Kings Beach (Chicken Piccata, 5pm-10pm nightly, (530) 546-2434).
• Steamers in Kings Beach (Clam pizza, (530) 546-2218).
• Hiro Sushi in Kings Beach (Very high quality all you can eat sushi, 5pm-10pm nightly, (530) 546-4476).
• Sancho's Taqueria in Tahoe vista has cheap but excellent Mexican food. It's where the locals go.11-8 daily, (530) 546-9480
• Cottonwood in Truckee (Rib appetizer, Live Jazz Saturday night, (530) 587-5711).
• Soul Sushi in Truckee (Crystal Shrimp roll).
• Log Cabin Cafe & Ice Cream in Kings Beach for breakfast. (Chocolate chip waffles). (530) 546-7109.
• The Plumpjack Cafe at Squaw has a small but excellent breakfast buffet in the morning.
• Happy hours can be a source of cheap food. The best deal is Jake's on the Lake. Sun-Thurs, they offer some full menu items for 1/2 price until 6:30 PM.
• Village Pizzeria in the Lucky's/Long's strip mall in Truckee.

Best Bakeries:

• Tahoe House Bakery in Tahoe City (Great pastries, (530) 583-1377). This place also has the best coffee in Tahoe, because each cup is made with an espresso machine for extra crema.
• Coffee Connection in Tahoe City (Hot from the oven pastries at 7 AM, (530) 583-0725).

Best Snowmobiling:

• Snowmobiling Unlimited at the peak of Brockway Summit between Northstar and Kings Beach (530) 583-7192.

Best hot springs:

• Sierra Hot Springs in Sierraville (530) 994-3773. It's a hippy clothing-optional retreat with great vegan food on the weekends.

Lodging:

• River Ranch Lodge has a good après-ski bar scene, a lounge, a restaurant, and a great location.
• Stay in Reno for the cheapest lodging. Hotels in Reno have stay and ski package deals for Mt Rose, which is 30 minutes away.
• In Tahoe, the cheapest lodgings are in Kings Beach.
• There is also one lodging option that falls into the "other" category: Mourelatos' Lakeshore Resort in Tahoe Vista. At this place, you get to experience an episode of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding":
  • When you check in, owner Mary Mourelatos greets you and conveys the latest Greek news, in case you missed it. Did you know that one of the finalists for the new World Trade Center design is a Greek architect? There is a framed copy of the plans on the wall.
  • The highlight is the hot tub area. The shower rinsing station is modeled after the Greek Parthenon, complete with granite columns.

South Lake Tahoe Best Bets

• Teps Villa Roma: Good Italian food that's reasonably priced.
• Hoss Hogg's: Good BBQ that's cheap.
• Steamers Bar and Grill is a sports bar. Get the $0.50 Tacos on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
• Red Hut Waffle Shop for breakfast.
• Tahoe Donut - Great Donuts near the Raley's at the Y.

The Sierras: Southern California

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

• National Weather Service for Keystone
• Weather.com for Keystone (predicts hour-by-hour precipitation accurately).
• SnowForecast.com for Keystone

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:

Other great food options in Summit County:

• Food Hedz. 842 Summit Blvd: It's in a non-descript location next to the Safeway. The sign just says "Cafe." It serves up world cuisine. A bit pricey, but high quality, generous portions, and casual pick-up-at-the-counter service. It's where the locals go.
• Blue Spruce, 20 Main St. Excellent ribs (better than Q4U BBQ).
• Backcountry Brewery, 720 Main Street.
• Breckenridge Brewery, 600 South Main Street.
• In Vail, options for cheap and good food include The Red Lion and The George Restaurant & Pub, both in Vail Village.

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

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:

• The bottom of A-basin
• The bottom of Copper, at the Superbee Lift
• Ajax, at the bottom of Ruthie's Run

Aspen

Ueli rails the groom at Buttermilk.

• National Weather Service for Aspen
• Weather.com for Aspen (predicts hour-by-hour precipitation accurately).
• SnowForecast.com for Aspen

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.

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.

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

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.

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:

• Morning Ray Cafe, for very sour sourdough pancakes. Open at 7 AM. Attached to the Treasure Mountain Inn.
• Wahso. Really expensive, but really good, Asian fusion cuisine. Recommended: the Tea smoked duck and Kobe Ribeye. Also, the Mojito sake martini is outstanding.
• Loco Lizard Cantina, in a strip mall near the 224/I-80 junction, on Ute Blvd. Good mole, shrimp taco.

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:

US Resorts

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:

• Lespius
• Feratel.at

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

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:

• Saturday: Depart Waterloo in the morning and arrive at Bourg St Maurice in the evening.
• Friday: Depart Waterloo in the evening and arrive at Bourg St Maurice in the morning. You will get to your resort before the lifts open.

Southern Hemisphere Resorts

• STA Adventures
• Powderquest
• Snowperformance
• Chilean Andean Snow Adventures
• Snoventures

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.

• Japan Adventures
• Niseko Powder Connection
• Ski Japan Holidays
• Snowave

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.

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