After the majority of the 470 ski areas in the United States closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Ski Areas Association reported skier visitor numbers dropped 14% compared to the 2018-19 season. It was a blow to the resorts, the towns they call home and a multitude of businesses that serve the industry with everything from gear and accessories to hotels, shuttle companies and more.

We’re not here to split hairs about chair placements and tap choices. The selection of a mascot is the single most important choice a ski area can make. Some say a good pick can make or break a resort. To that end, we’ve created a list of the very best ski area mascots and ranked them. If you didn’t make the cut, sorry—this list is extremely selective. Ivy League who?

Here comes a nice taste of cold weather for many of us!  Some resorts sit in just the right spot for heavy snow accumulations. 

We have arrived at the beginning of May, but there are still plenty of areas you can take in some turns! We take a look at who will hang onto the snow the longest.

Add Revelstoke and Banff Sunshine Village to your bucket list next winter. (Sunshine/Alterra Mountain Co.)

The newest player in the multi-resort pass game has announced pricing for 2018-2019 and has added SkiBig3 in Alberta, Canada, Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada and Sugarbush Resort in Vermont, as its newest partners, for a total of over 63,000 skiable acres of unique terrain at 26 mountain destinations in North America.

Jackson Hole getting the good stuff. (Jackson Hole)

It’s finally going to feel more like fall across the East as a sharp Canadian front plows through New England and brings snowfall, plus those long-awaited colder temperatures.

Just what makes a classic ski town? National Geographic has chosen what it considers the 25 best in the world. Agree? Disagree? We at SnoCountry.com did a little bit of both. Here’s the NatGeo list in no particular order.