Three Great Ski Resorts

Heavenly

This is probably my favorite mountain of the 3, due to the scenery and the lack of crowds.  Heavenly is located in South Lake Tahoe, and you can see the lake from almost anywhere of the mountain.  The scenery is unique, rounded off snow covered hills, trees dotting the mountain side, beautiful snow covered mountains in the distance, and of course, the deep blue Lake Tahoe.  There are almost no lines whatsoever, never more than a minute, and there are never crowds on the runs.  Heavenly is a very large mountain, with everything from beginner trails to double blacks, to terrain parks.  The conditions could not be better, Lake Tahoe receives over 350 inches of snow per year.  Whenever you’re not skiing, there is plenty to do in South Lake Tahoe.  Countless restaurants, hotels, and you guessed it- casinos.

Vail

Vail is probably the most popular ski mountains in the country.  I can see why.  There are so many trails that you probably couldn’t ski them all in a week.  Vail is a unique mountain because it has two added bonuses:  the back bowls, and Blue Sky Basin.  There are 6 back bowls at Vail, each ranging in difficulty.  The back bowls let you ski in wide open snow and doesn’t restrict you to a specific path.  These back bowls are very unique to Vail, and I suggest paying them a visit some time. There is also Blue Sky Basin, which gives you the freedom to ski WHEREVER you want.  There are rock ledges, skiing through the trees, some very interesting trails, and even mogul fields.  The only problem I have with Vail is the crowds.  Lines can sometimes be long, but they usually aren’t too bad.  There is also the Vail Village right next to the mountain, so you can check that out too.

Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek is located very close to Vail, so you can get a hotel in the town by Beaver Creek and visit both Beaver Creek and Vail.  Beaver Creek is slightly smaller than Vail, and doesn’t really have bowls, but it is usually pretty empty.  I really liked Beaver Creek because the trails were different than most.  There were still the classic ones through the trees, but most didn’t really have boundaries, but patches of trees in the middle of runs.  What I like about those patches is that snow accumulates inside them and people carve interesting paths through the trees, so it is very entertaining to weave through them.  There are sometimes places where there is over a foot of untouched powder snow that is so much fun to ski through, just don’t slow down, or you could get stuck.  There are also many mogul fields that are a lot of fun to ski on.  I would recommend Beaver Creek over Vail because there are never crowds and the trails are very unique.  There is a town a few minutes away from Beaver Creek that is very convenient to get a hotel in.