Yet Another Directory of Ski/Snowboard Areas

On the Internet, directories of ski areas are a dime a dozen. Scratch that; they’re usually free. (In fact, Grays on Trays has one.)

But some resort directories are a better read than others. One that I came across today is SkierNet.com. It offers the usual list of statistics for each area (acres, vertical drop, etc.)

What sets it apart is opinionated commentary of each area, starting with whether “wanderers” and “hotshots” might think about a particular mountain.

The opinions can be sharp. Here are some examples:

• “If you enjoy a ski/winter shopping mall/resort/development with lots of shoppes, people movers, elevators, escalators, clock towers and resorty shnizzle-shnazzle, you will love Beaver Creek.”
• “If you’re concerned that Crested Butte doesn’t offer a lot of alternative entertainment, don’t go…you don’t ski hard enough.”
• “They like to tout Bohemia as Western skiing in the Midwest, but you’d be hard pressed to find many places like this where you can ski legally in Colorado.”

The site definitely takes an “old school” approach that seems to scorn anything but hard-charging skiers who want nothing but skiing out of a vacation, and no amenities at the base. (I’ve read a fair amount of text, but still only a sampling of the site.)

When I say hard-charging skiing, I mean skiing only; a strong anti-snowboarding (and anti-rider) attitude rears its ugly head from time to time throughout. Still, for the wide scope of coverage and distinct approach to giving an opinion each mountain, SkierNet.com is worth a visit for anyone looking for information on a new place to slide. A lot of sites seem to simply reformulate press releases. This one doesn’t.

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Since the comments function has gone kerfluey, I’m amending this post by pasting in a comment left by Erica, who publishes www.snowboard-women.com:

It is really upsetting when people are still so anti-snowboarder… I have had skiers on more than one occasion tell me that skiing was basically moribund before snowboarding made people step up their game, and reinvigorated the sport. In my experience, it’s mostly the “old school” (read: older) skiers that have the snowboarders-suck attitude. Have you noticed the same?

My response: No, I’ve not seen much over anti-riding bias. In fact, the people I hang out with when I go to Aspen are mostly in their 60s and 70s. I got a comment or two the first year I switched from skis, but then I got some comments on how well I was riding. Maybe the personal connection kept the negativity at bay? I will, here in the Midwest, occasionally be asked by an adult “So how’s that snowboarding working out for you?” They then listen politely.