When deciding where to go to get that education (assuming you choose that path), it’s a tough decision. Do you go as close to the snow as possible? Of course! Here’s a rundown of five viable candidates to fulfill your desire to shred while still fulfilling your your brain:
1. UNR | University of Nevada, Reno
Reno Knowledge Center
Distance to snow sliding:
- 35 minutes to Rose
- 45 minutes to Squaw
UNR is of course your first choice (as I myself am a full time student). With Rose a mere 35 minutes away and the rest of Tahoe only a touch further, it is an excellent choice for the skiing motivated individual. Add in the low price point per unit (UNR is one of the cheapest schools in the nation), casinos within 200 yards of campus, and cheap ‘n’ dirty housing options and you have yourself a winning combo.
2. UU | University of Utah
UU gettin' artsy
Distance to snow sliding:
- 40 minutes to Park City
- 45 minutes to Alta/Snowbird
Assuming you can handle the alarming number of Mormons and the startling lack of good beer, Utah is a skiers paradise. Between Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood Canyon, there is enough terrain to keep one busy for a lifetime. Host of the Freeskiing World Tour championships and big name pros such as Sage Cattabriga-Alosa calling it home is a testament to the wealth of goods you’ll be able to find in the Salt Lake area.
3. MSU | Montana State University
Montana State
Distance to snow sliding:
- 50 minutes to Bridger Bowl
- 1 hour to Big Sky
- 4 hours to Targhee
Montana State is certainly not a school for the faint of heart. The gals resemble more a troop of Tundra Wookies and the guys are hard lookin’, mean muggin’ mountain men. But Tundra Wookies aside, going to MSU opens the doors to some of the bigger skiing in the lower 48, with rowdy terrain available in almost every direction, so long as you are willing to make the drive to go get it.
4. UBC | University of British Columbia
Van living at it's finest
Distance to snow sliding:
- 1 hour 45 minutes to Whistler
- 2 hours + border crossing to Baker
- 30 Minutes to Grouse, Cypress or Seymour
While it’s a bit of a trek to get to the closest skiing, UBC is hands down one of the best locations to get both the college experience and the opportunity to shred at least 3 days a week. Vancouver is a lively city and Whistler/Blackcomb is an even livelier mountain. Throw in some of the best mountain biking in the world and you have a winner.
5. UW | University of Washington
Distance to snow sliding:
- 1 hour 45 minutes to Crystal
The Pacific Northwest is one of those areas that often falls off my radar, but resorts such as Crystal Mountain and Baker (both averaging over 500 inches a year) maintain a core view that still treats skiing as a service industry – the job is to get skiers up the mountain. Forget about upscale corporate management and fancy new bells and whistles, this is where skiers go. And U-Dub puts you right in the middle of it all.
- If you study real hard you just might get to ski in your cap and gown!
In the end there is a plethora of options out there, from UVM, where a startling number of alumni make it to Tahoe shredding ice like nobodies business, to Boulder, a school more noted for the party scene than the school or ski scene. So what’s it going to be? Where are you going to/did you choose to ski and school??
Montana State is a mere 16 miles from Bridger Bowl, not “50 Minutes”. It’s the only college where you can go to class in the AM and drive 20 minutes (courtesy of 70mph Montana Speed Limits) and be shredding the Cold Smoke in the Afternoon. Montana= The Last Great Place.
Plus there is a 2 dollar bus ride so its even easier.
MSU IS UBER LAME! NO PARTIES AND THE SKIING IS CRAPPY AND HOURS AND HOURS AWAY! STAY IN MINNESOTA THHHHAATTTSS WHERE ITS AT!!
Matt doesn’t know what he is talking about. Bridger sucks anyways…nothing to see there, go to Big Sky instead.
UBC has seymour which may take 25 minutes to get from campus = The unacclaimed greatest place
yes bridger is definitly 50 minutes away…..its certainly not 15….
Actually Bridger is 50,000 miles away from MSU/Bozeman and takes approx 29 hours to travel to in your space ship. You should definitely not go there. Tundra wookies are a dangerous beast and they will reach into your heart and steal your soul. You should definitely go to UVM instead, or perhaps CU Boulder or University of Minnesota if you want to ski. Montana is terrible please please stay away.
uh, no. It’s a 20 minute drive.
If riding is more than an hour and and a half away (UW, UBC) and probably longer on pow-days – how could they possibly make the top 5?
There is riding 20 min from UBC. Local Vancouver Mountains Grouse, Cypress and Seymour
They are the closest schools to the deepest snowpacks in the US. So, you have to wake up a bit earlier to get first tracks. It’s worth it. Just get a DD to drive your still-drunk-self to school.
The author has forgotten to mention (or more likely, failed to do any research at all) the abundant skiing opportunities just 30-60 minutes from UW at nearby Snoqualmie pass. 3 inter-connected resorts offer plenty of excitement for the guru of the blue square, and experts will enjoy Alpental (home to some of the steepest in-bounds terrain in the country) and the unlimited accessible backcountry. With Steven’s Pass and Mt. Baker also within striking distance and Whistler just across the border, Seattle is a great home for the gung-ho rider.
Also, to echo the comments regarding MSU…. you will get the herpes, become addicted to meth, drop out, and hit rocks whenever you do try to ski. There’s no snow here, no fish, and no ice or rocks to climb on. Please save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else on this list. MT is full, and it sucks anyway.
Alpental is like 50 or 45 from uw ..this guy nailed it^
joel is bad at life
UBC = Top school on this list. HANDS DOWN.
UVm definitely has some great skiing, 30-45 to Stowe, about 1.5 hours to Jay, and an hour to mad river glen… not to mention a top 20 party school in the country according to The Princton Review
Innsbruck Austria – ’nuff said. I know unofficial is american and all but Innsbruck has at least 25+ ski resorts within an hours dive. With free bus shuttles taking you to many resorts for free in the winter as long as you have a pair of ski boots on. Switzerland and France also have similar cities. Plus there is the Nordkette right in the middle of town 1200m of bad ass vertical. Alpine chutes and trees back to town. Ride you bike on a pow day with your skis on your back. Top five places cannot be in the top five if you cant ski in the morning to make a midday class.
Bridger is 20-25 min from downtown Bozeman- and dont forget to mention FWT’s Moonlight Basin to the list
NAU in flagstaff az has fun skiing and good backcountry when there is enough snow.
Naw man snowbowl had a shit year and the snowmaking controversy sucks. There is amazing mountain biking and hiking tho
To top it off the season pass covers all areas except St. Anton, Lech, Ischgl, and Sölden which are arguable some of the best but with 82 other ski resorts to choose from life isn’t too bad for 600usd a year.
Sierra College – Sugar Bowl, Squaw, Alpine less than 20 minutes? Ski 7 days a week? well at least I was.
Not a real college.
fine ass park skiing not far from the University of ColoRADo.
False.
How does CU Boulder not make this list. Abay, keystone, breck, vail, bever creek
Because of keystone, breck, vail, beaver creek
thank you for making my day
because none of those less than desirable resorts are anywhere near the campus.
Gotta love the kids who buy into the idea that CU has great skiing nearby and that’s a main reason to go there. Yeah, it’s not 5hrs away, but you can easily spend 2-3+ getting to the already-croweded front range resorts on your one day off. Enjoy the $40k/ year out of state tuition!!
To the CMC advocaters… hahaha, we’re talking about real degrees here. I once had a guy tell me he did his “undergrad” at CMC in the Boat. Right BRO!
your a douche. GO BUFFS! skis and c’s get degrees son.
Because Summit Country sucks!
colorado mountain college – buena vista, breck, keystone, copper, a bay, loveland.
That last picture is the February Graduation at Middlebury College…and coincidently, I am a Feb at Middlebury College haha. Can’t wait to do that in a year and a half.
Colorado??? CU Boulder Regis University Denver U……1 1/2 hours to so many resorts. Good article RENO BLOWS. Utah and Colorado where its at. You guys love Tahoe I use to live there all you do is shred sierra cement with every loser from the bay. Or it will never snows till March good place to ski haaaaa Utah is good every year.
This year was WAY sick in Utah! compared to colorado that is
you have university of washington on here, but no colorado schools… fucking stupid list.
CU or AT LEAAAAST colorado mountain college deserve to be on this list. Breck/Key for park. Abay for pow. Not to mention the backcountry or countless other resorts.
this list sucks im out.
NS REP
Your just jealous you don’t go to UW and get to enjoy all the epic Washington pow days!
I’ll take Western Wershington over UW. 50 mins to Bridger… either that’s the hitch hiking time or the traffic has gotten a whole lot worse in Bozo since my time. A woman with a tin of copenhagen in their back pocket, wearing shit kickers, is an acquired taste. I found it much more palatable than patchouli oil and endless boring stories about parking lots at Phish and Dead shows
Don’t forget Steamboat for the Junior College kids. Colorado Mountain College kicks ass.
That’s not true. Plymouth State in NH has 4 ski areas within 20- 30 min.
Your grandma’s backyard doesn’t count.
Laughing at all the butt hurt Colorado crybabies.
colorado mountain college! tons of campuses across all of colorado and one of the few places you can go to school for ski area operations, ski and snowboards business etc. i live in steamboat and the school is about five minutes from the mountain
He’s talking about Universities, not JCs… Good luck with the Associates in Skiing
That is not a picture of UW, thats WSU. If your talking about UW you should also say something about Stevens Pass and Alpental which are the main ski resorts visited by UW skiers and boarders. And you should talk about price to ski around these places. I know CU would definitely be on my list because of the Epic Pass.
Totally agree. 45 mins to Alpental with big night skiing operations too.
No actually that is a photo of Uw taken out of red square. And from my experience crystal and baker are the main places to ski!
Def a pic from Univ of Washington… that’s Rainier in the background. Plus Crystal and baker are the only mtns worth mentioning from WA.
your an idiot and must not be good at skiing..both alpental and stevens offer some rad terrain..alpentals backcountry is sick and steven’s park is the best in WA
I don’t know where you go to school, but that picture is one of the most famous view on the UW campus… Though Crystal is hands down my favorite place to ski in Washington, I think Alpental has one of the steepest runs in North America.
When he first posted the article it had a picture from WSU and he has now changed it. I go to UW I think I’d know. Imo Stevens is better bang for your buck backcountry skiing any day against Baker.
Sierra Nevada College is .5 miles away from Diamond Peak and a whole lot closer to Rose and Squaw than UNR, which is why they blow
SNC has a tough admissions policy, You either have to flunk out of another school or be recovering from a drug habit to go to there. Plus most students could just live of their trust funds. This list is for people who NEED a degree. Same goes for anyone paying out of state at CU.
Where are the east coast schools? Remember where the nations smartest students and best rippers come from.
Stupid unoffical and your blinders to the rest of the world.
Raised in the east to be the best in the west.
Stay in the East please.
Western State College of Colorado? 30 min free bus ride to crested butte. I think thats an easier commute than any of these.
amen brother
Looking forward to attending in the fall after a 10 year ski-bum/golf bum/military hiatus. Can’t wait to leave Winter Park/Mary Jane for a little Crested Butte Steeps!
Definitely best not on the list, maybe better than all these. Bus is cool but you can always hitch too, someone will always pick you up.
Not to mention 45 minutes to Monarch with 350+ inches of pow annually. AND the free bus to CB is a student initiated project thanks to WSC’s Environmental Studies students. Where else can you have direct effect on the community, your education, and fabulous and easily accessible skiing?
Don’t forget about the on-campus jib park. For those days when sitting your ass on a bus is just too much effort.
Unofficial’s rankings of everything are always comical
Reno? Seriously? I don’t think the distance to skiing overwhelms the general sketchiness of Reno itself.
um, hello?? you mention UW, but fail to mention that Alpental, (which is part of the snoqualmie pass ski areas) is only about 45 minutes away with no traffic and Stevens Pass which is about 90 minutes away.
Crystal is way better then both of those combined without a doubt!!!
Unofficial networks is based in Tahoe.
The writer of this article is going to UNR.
Just a reminder that during the X-games they based their articles on Facebook statuses! I guess the journalism program is not that great at UNR…
They definitely failed for this top 5, missing some great places.. in the US, Canada but Europe as well.
This is a stupid list. Obviously the writer attends UNR so he thinks it is the best school. I attend UNR myself. But Sierra Nevada College and many smaller colleges in Colorado and Utah would beat out UNR hands down.
What about the price of the education in SNC?
That counts in the classification
The fact that Sierra Nevada College is not on this list is a JOKE! US News and World Report seemed to think that we deserved to be on the list so why doesn’t the TAHOE BASED Unofficial? UNR doesn’t get snowed on……..
Exactly. By the time you finish shoveling your driveway I’m in line already
SNC is just an excuse to spend your daddy’s money.
Cardiff university, Wales.
10 mins to the local dry slope.
Couple of hours to the closest one with any freestyle options.
Couple of hours to the nearest snow dome.
20+ hours drive to the alps.
One of the most successful snowsports clubs in the UK and a whole bunch of guys and girls who aren’t put off by the fact it doesn’t snow here.
You forgot one *very* important metric for the college shredder: season pass prices.
Rose, Bridger and the Vancouver-area resorts are the only places which can compete with areas like the Summit at Snoqualmie and Steven’s Pass. The Summit at Snoqualmie and Steven’s get much more snow than any of those “affordable” ski areas on your list – so much that you can double-down on passes for less than what you’d pass for a single pass to a resort like Squaw, Whistler, Big Sky or Jackson Hole.
With Alpental 55 miles away from campus, gas doesn’t break the budget, either. I was able to ride 4 days a week while attending grad school at UW – Seattle and still pay my rent and afford to heat the house I was living in. Oh and nothing beats teaching an afternoon quiz section in your snowpants with a goggle tan.
I want to be in your quiz section lol
Student Pass Dude:
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/tickets/seasonpass/students/index.htm
No skiing in Utah really. I’d for sure say CO or WA is the way to go.
CMC? Colorado Mountain College… HELLOOOOOO!!!! Research!
Uw is the only true college on that list and they left off tons of major resorts. Being on the UW Ski Team I can agree that UW should be higher on that list Washington has the best skiing in the northwest and that’s a fact!!!
Colorado University Boulder. We got A basin only like and hour ish keystone like an hour Breck like 1 45. Its too tight!
Quest University in Squamish. 35 minutes from Whistler, less than an hour from Grouse, Cypress and Seymour!
Fort Lewis in Co should be mentioned.
Silverton, Hello.
To all the butthurt 18-22 year olds trying their hardest to “rep Colorado” (though they’re transplants who drove west in their parents late-90′s sedan to “ski it up” and start their new life in CO): this list isn’t just about skiing. It’s about getting your education (see UW and UBC) in a place that’s affordable, has job opportunities (during and post-grad) and is accessible to skiing (not 3 hours away like CU and DU to Epic mix resorts [that suck anyways]). And to the Beaters at CMC… we’re not talking about an associates here.
The only problem with your number one pick is.. YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN RENO. The accessibility to all of Tahoe’s rad skiing is a fact but that does not outweigh living in one of the worst cities in the west, or the country.. fuck one of the worst in the world! Reno is such a shit hole it can not top this list.
Yeah, Reno Sucks and Squaw Sucks
http://bit.ly/qlAyM6
You don’t have to live in Reno! Live in Truckee which is 25 minutes on 80 to campus and even closer to upwards of 6 ski resorts with some of the worlds best skiing. I am Tahoe biased, but honestly, with pass prices plummeting and the cost of living in Reno being dirt cheap, it’s a great place to be for 4 years. Get your bachelors on a ski bum budget….while ski bumming at the same time. Personally, you can’t beat it. I’d rather pay $300 a month for rent than upwards of $750 in boulder and be way farther from decent skiing. And I also think SNC is a great option, but tuition is expensive and the school is smaller than most high schools.
Reno has top notch skiing, biking, rafting, climbing and any other outdoor sport you want. You don’t know shit man. Is downtown a little sketch sometimes? Sure, easily avoidable though, plus fucking weird people live all over boulder too.. stay north of the highway and you have yourself a pretty good college town. I lived in Breck, had two siblings go to CU, and I still think Reno is a sweet spot to live.
Williams College, great access to Northeast skiing and a very good education
I am surprised that Western State is not on here or has not ever been mentioning in any of these polls. 29 miles from Crested Butte, however, I am fine by this seeing as how that means that I will be able to ride longer harder and more rad than the rest of you.
Bridger Bowl is only 50 minutes from MSU if your lame ass has to hitch.. because you called the cute girl giving you a ride a “tundra wookie.”
University of Alaska, Southeast. 45 minute hop to Haines, 25 minute drive to Eaglecrest (okay, not the best resort, but great sidecountry and no crowds)! With the influx of new people moving to Salt Lake- you’re lucky to get up to the bird in less than an hour from the U, and good luck fighting for first tram! Any ounce of fresh snow is gone before 11am.
These are pretty large schools, but Western Washington University deserves some credit in the line-up. About and hour from mt. Baker and about 2 1/2 from whistler and an hour to Stevens. Oh and about 2 to 3 hours to crystal if you miss the Seattle traffic.
Since this is unofficiall let’s ask….What would shane do? Oh yeah go to CU!
EVERYONE MONTANA SKIING IS REALLY BAD…..NOT WORTH THE TRIP AT ALL ITS SO FAR OUT OF THE WAY AND THEY GET AWFUL SNOW! HEAD SOUTH TO COLORADO THATS WHERE ITS AT!
Yeah, the terrain and snow in montana always lets me down. I’d much rather be SHREDDING the steeps and deeps at Keystone or SLAYING the untouched pow in the back bowls at Vail. If you haven’t experienced CO, come here and stay here with me. There’s some hella tyte bros here too!
Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, NV (Not Sierra in Truckee) is 2 minutes from Diamond Peak, 22 minutes to Northstar, 32 minutes to Alpine Meadows, 35 minutes to Squaw Valley, and within an hour to 6 other resorts. Unofficial, you fail.
And 15 minutes to Mt. Rose.
And also not a real college.
Funny, it’s a 4 year institution accredited by the same commission as UNR, UU, and UW. Guess those aren’t real schools either.
Sierra Nevada College is in the small college category, not large university (read: grad school) category.
Accreditation is one thing, actual depth/breadth of educational opportunities are another.
Westminster college in slc is great. All afternoon classes so I ski all morning every day. And no classes Friday too!
I think it says something that nobody from Utah is on here bitching. Must be where all the real skiers/boarders are. Not the keyboard jockeys, like everyone else on here.
Alta Snowbird has best combination of quality of snow, quantity of snow, and terrain in North America. 2 unbeatable mountains and a college right around the corner. #1 on my list. A school sucks if it the nearest resort is an more than an hour away. Washington/ UBC are lame choices. There are tons of smaller colleges that should easily knock those two off the list. (Western State in Gunnison, CO) 30 minutes from Crested Butte.
Has to be UBC – all the way!
I am a pround alumini of Western State Colorado. I did much research on this subject in the early 90′s when trying to choose a school. Went as far as to ride the mountains near the schools I was deciding between. Western gave us every wednesday off to ride, and an optional 2 month semester in jan. and feb.
Should be number 1 hands down. However, worst male to female ratio in the country.
No, steepest male/female ratio are in *really* awful states like GaTech, Emery-Riddle (FL).
CalTech’s pretty steep too& the drive from the Bay area to South Tahoe is the worst 4-8 hrs ever.
UC Riverside. 40 minutes to big bear and mt high! HAHAHA!!!
I know kids that have gone to those “colleges” you speak of that have useless jobs. Fact: Im not rich, dont have rich parents and graduated from SNC in Tahoe and make 70k a year. Put that in your pipe brah.
Interesting that the number ONE place to ski and go to school had the NCAA ski program cut. A big thanks to the illogical and unreasonable Athletic Director! complain to Cary Sue Groth at:
Phone: (775) 682-6970
Fax: (775) 784-4497
Email: cgroth@unr.edu
A true shredder does not take classes in winter semester. Make it up in the summer. Gunnison is perfect with the options. By the way, what kind of jack ass reports their income on here. And be proud of 70 grand. Congradulations, you would have probably been equally succesful anywhere else, but maybe less of a douche if you got out of california. I did not go to college, and have managed to do fine. You can not pick a school by terrain.
You’re right on about Western and everything else but SNC is in Nevada, Incline Village specifically and exponentially more lame than any thing in CA. You did some up the point though of douche factor. North Tahoe can’t compare to CB/Gunni when it comes to pure coolness. Ask WF.
Surprised no one mentioned anything in Oregon. Portland’s 90m from T’line/Hood Meadows.
If riding is that much of a priority (as it was for me), there is a community college in plenty of ski towns. Face it, you want to go where there is snow, you Are gonna ditch class when it does snow. You might as well make it more affordable when you are going to prioritize riding.
I had a kick ass at time at Nevada when in college. Had a ski pass for 5 years and still got my degree in engineering. Most of the town is cool and some areas suck no doubt, but a great school. For whoever was knocking the journalism school they have 6 Pulitzer Prize winners from that college so they definitely don’t suck.
Glad to see them NO 1 on your list but there are lots of good ski colleges
CMC- Colorado Mountain College.. Steamboat Springs. I spent 3 years there getting my 2 year degree before moving to squaw.
First off that pic of the U of U is a non existant building on our campus. i dont know where the fuck you got that pic. and were 30 min from bird alta brighton solitude pc canyons and (deer valley i guess) best ski school no question
Calliing BS on your incorrect assessment of MSU. You will see more poser yuppies than “mountain men”, and most of the girls are sorority girls and wear Abercrombie.
Western Washington University is a great choice, i go here…about an hour from some of the best terrain and deepest snowpack at mt baker…also has some of unreal and surprisingly easy access backcountry. plus, youre not far from stevens, whistler, snoqualmie, and crystal. would never wanna go to school anywhere else. school is also a laid back chill environment with an overall positive vibe