Top Stories

Thanksgiving weekend will be especially tasty in the western United States and Canada with multiple helpings of snow storms.

There’s no shortage of luxurious hotels in the West that will indulge your every need. SnoCountry took a look around and came up with a quintet of the hotels that coddle and pander with the best.

Many ski and snowboard resorts in the West rely upon a nearby town that is base for food, lodging and off-slope fun, so SnoCountry took a look at three well-known towns that act as hubs for the mountains that surround them.

Renovations all around at early-opening California ski and snowboard resorts – in restaurants, base lodges, bars and on the hill.

The snow guns are firin’, the supply chain is hummin’ and everyone is primed for a new ski and snowboard season across the West.

Here we go! The season’s first, strong coastal storm will take aim at the East during the weekend bringing some wild weather. Meanwhile, we enjoy some mild skiing/riding in the West.

Here’s a sample road trip for those who have purchased an Epic Pass, have a week or two on the loose, and are ready to ski and ride across the West without having to shell out for a day ticket.

As a new season begins, skiers and snowboarders head to the hills, always looking for what’s new at their favorite resort – and what improvements they might find if they venture to other areas.

Here’s a look at a quintet of resorts in Colorado, Idaho and California that expect to drop the ropes in early November.

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is set to drop the ropes a week early to give season pass holders the privilege of putting down the first tracks of 2018-2019.

With the proliferation of Smartphones and digital cameras, you don’t have to be a professional photographer to capture the beauty of the West – especially in the mountains.

The ropes were dropped on and the lifts were spinning Oct. 12 at Wolf Creek Ski Area, signaling the beginning of another ski and snowboard season across the West.

While it looks like Colorado’s Wolf Creek Ski Area will win the #RaceToOpen this season, but numerous resorts are also preparing early openings for the 2018-19 season.

A sure sign that ski and snowboard season is just around the corner comes when resort promoters, equipment reps and retailers head to big cities across the country for preseason ski and snowboard shows.

Just like for skiers and ‘boarders, golfers want to squeeze in that last day of the season. Even as most U.S. resorts are turning on their snow guns and warming up the snowcats, many still keep the golf course open for those late-season die-hards.

Rock climbing is a specialized sport, with its own equipment and techniques. But European-based via ferratas have begun to spring up in the U.S. mountain country to make the sport more accessible to more people.

Summer vacationers often seek out lakefront property to cool off, and a number of ski and snowboard resorts across the West are blessed with a lake within spittin’ distance.

Resorts all over the West put gravity mountain biking on the top of the summer attractions. Those who crank up the lifts in the off-season put on bike racks and bring riders to great heights.

When the hustle and bustle gets too much down below, Californians head to the hills. And, the state’s ski and snowboard resorts shift into summer gear to provide the thrills, adventures and just plain relaxation that they are looking for.

If skiing and riding in the summer is on your bucket list, make it happen this year with options from California to the Southern Hemisphere to the European Alps.

Powder Alliance, the so-called “off-beat” combined pass, is now a partnership of 19 resorts in U.S., Canada, Japan and Chile with the addition of Sugar Bowl, Loveland and two mountains in the Canadian Rockies.