Forbes Magazine has released their list of what they feel is the Top 10 USA ski resort for 2014. Here is a bit more on how they compiled such a list.
“To calculate PAF (Pure Awesomeness Factor) scores and determine which resorts are the best in the United States, our algorithm dances across more than two dozen categories of data on each resort, including: terrain makeup; lift quantity and quality; accessibility (a big, nearby airport is a plus); total vertical; vertical continuity (can it be skied all at once with a minimal of flat run-out or cat-tracks?); skiable acreage; ski town ambience; and, finally, and more important than any other single category—snow.
We’ve always paid close attention to snowfall in these rankings. It’s the one thing that can send a ski trip from “that was a nice, fun, wholesome time” to an entirely different kind of trip: “I’m pushing my return flight back a week, pawning my wedding ring and putting up a down payment on a mountainside condo.” Or, more prudently, you could just buy new skis. The trips that shuffle to the top of your memory after decades of life’s general flotsam are the ones that came with 30 inches of snow. That’s just science.” – Forbes Magazine
TOP 10 SKI RESORTS in the USA for 2014
| Resort | Snowfall | Acreage | Vertical Drop | Summit Elevation | Lifts | PAF Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson Hole WY | 475 in | 2500 acres | 4139 ft | 10450 ft | 12 | 94.6 | more |
| 2 | Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort UT | 500 in | 2500 acres | 3240 ft | 11000 ft | 11 | 92.8 | more |
| 3 | Alta Ski Area UT | 500 in | 2200 acres | 2020 ft | 10550 ft | 11 | 88.6 | more |
| 4 | Alyeska Resort AK | 650 in | 1500 acres | 3689 ft | 3939 ft | 9 | 86.4 | more |
| 5 | Squaw Valley CA | 450 in | 3600 acres | 2850 ft | 9050 ft | 30 | 86.2 | more |
| 6 | Vail Ski Resort CO | 348 in | 5289 acres | 3450 ft | 11570 ft | 31 | 86.1 | more |
| 7 | Mammoth CA | 400 in | 3500 acres | 3100 ft | 11053 ft | 14 | 84.5 | more |
| 8 | Grand Targhee WY | 500 in | 3000 acres | 2592 ft | 10000 ft | 5 | 83.8 | more |
| 9 | Telluride Ski Resort CO | 300 in | 2000 acres | 3845 ft | 13150 ft | 18 | 82.1 | more |
| 10 | Solitude Mountain Resort UT | 500 in | 1200 acres | 2047 ft | 10035 ft | 8 | 81.7 | more |