Resort GMs Across U.S. Name Favorite Trail

Ropes are dropping on trails from California to Maine as snowstorms and snowmaking weather offer up one of the best starts to a winter in recent memory. As your options open up, mountain general managers from across the country shared with SnoCountry.com their not-to-miss routes for fun on the hill.

Tom Chasse at Idaho’s Schweitzer told SnoCountry.com, “It would be a coin toss depending on how much time I had – Big Timber would have an edge but trying to get out there for a couple of laps takes a little longer than Headwall. Big Timber has a consistent fall line with plenty of vertical and enough spacing (trees) for an old guy like me to feel comfortable chasing a few millennials on a powder day.”

David Crowley at Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts told us, “Ralphs Run as it always reminds me of my dad. It was his suggestion to put a trail over there and we named it after him. We didn’t think people would want to ski all the way over there but it has become the best trail on the mountain, since you don’t see the lodge until your final turn. We are making snow on it today as a matter of fact.”

Paradise is the favorite of Brad Wilson, Idaho’s Bogus Basin General Manager. “As our Homologated Super G course, it starts off steep on top then rolls down a full 1,800 vertical.  The varied terrain lets you mix up your turns from short radius on the steeps to long carvers towards the bottom.”

In Reno, you might find Paul Senft, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe GM, on Silver Dollar. “It’s a beautiful trail with a variety of top to bottom experiences in both terrain variety as well as dramatic views. This is one of the runs that takes the guest from the north side (Main lodge) of the mountain and sweeps around the Slide Bowl where the awesome vistas of the Washoe Valley opens up as the trail crests to the middle, steeper section.”

From New York’s Windham, Chip Seamans told us, “My favorite trail is Why Not on the East Peak. Great fall line, fun steep section, and it is long and wide enough to let ‘em rip.”

Kris Blomback at New Hampshire’s Pats Peak said his favorite trail is Cyclone. “It is a black diamond trail and it has some nice rollers and a great hill to make some nice big turns with good transitions. It is an old New England style skiing.”

Tim Silva, Sun Valley’s vice president and general manager, told us,“Warm Springs top to bottom is my go to run. It’s 3,142 vertical feet of uninterrupted cruising with a consistent fall-line and pitch, and served by one 10-minute chair ride.

Taos Ski Valley CEO David Norden selected two runs: Honeysuckle and Wild West Glades. Wild West is Taos’ gladed terrain, available via a hike. Wild West is a trail that TSV works and glades in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, making it extra special to David. On the backside, David likes Honeysuckle because it has a lot of character for a family-friendly trail – he calls it a “a mountain sanctuary drenched in sunshine,” and the run finishes at the Bavarian Lodge, a great place for beer, pretzels and friends.