USAToday brings us a look at their list of the 10 resorts for extreme skiers and snowboarders. The list is actually pretty good with only two resorts we would care to differ with. However, the list only includes ski areas in North America. We would like to see their list of ski resorts across the entire world.
10 Resorts for Extreme Skiers and Snowboarders
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
If only for Corbet’s Couloir, a world-famous chute that begins with a 30-foot drop, Jackson Hole’s reputation would be cemented.
Crested Butte, Colorado
Home to the Extreme Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte has some of the most difficult inbounds terrain in the country.
Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
Whistler is so huge it’d be surprising if there weren’t a solid spread of expert terrain.
Snowbird, Utah
Double-black steeps like The Cirque dominate the upper terrain at Snowbird, making it an expert draw among the region’s many resorts.
Squaw Valley, California
Trail maps don’t make a distinction between advanced and expert here, maybe because a good portion of the expert terrain is unmarked.
Kicking Horse, British Columbia
Fully 60% of its runs are advanced or expert — and by expert, Kicking Horse means expert.
Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont
New England’s only triple black diamond run is here, a 1,600-foot trail called the Black Hole that falls at a grade of over 65% for its first 600 feet.
Telluride, Colorado
The trail map gods at Telluride make a distinction between merely “expert” double black diamonds and “extreme” terrain, and they mean it.
Big Sky-Moonlight Basin, Montana
Take the Lone Peak Tram to the summit and choose your own adventure: bomb down the world-famous Big Couloir, take your chances on the A-Z Chutes or plunge down your pick of insane fall lines at The Headwaters.
Sunshine Village, Alberta
The three mountains of Sunshine Village in Banff National Park have some truly scary off-piste terrain. When ski patrol allows, a freeride zone known as Delirium Dive opens — but only to those with avalanche gear and a buddy. The drop averages a perilous 40 degrees for 2,000 vertical feet of cornice-and-cliff glee. Another experts-only freeride area, The Wild West, gives Delirium a run for its money and is also subject to the same backcountry rules.