Skiing can happen, and should happen, anywhere there exists a slope with a smearing of snow.
It’s preferable if that smearing is three feet deep and the slope is something like the 6,000-foot vertical drop of British Columbia’s Revelstoke Mountain Resort. But fun can be had on any mountain, at any time.
If you’re lucky enough to be able to plan a trip to one of the hallowed spots in skiing, then all the better — because we’re here to help you.
We’ve compiled a list of the 10 best ski resorts in North America for 2016. To do that, we consulted the experts and data at ZRankings, which ranks 220 North American ski resorts on a bevy of factors, including snow quantity, snow quality, family friendliness, quality of terrain, luxury, and ski town ambiance.
For Business Insider, ZRankings put together a special algorithm geared toward the sensibilities of its readers. The algorithm includes some of the aforementioned factors as well as others, including whether the resort is part of a multi-resort pass and how easy it is to travel there.
For snowfall, ZRankings’ data accounts for not only the quality and quantity of the snow that falls at a resort, but also how well a mountain preserves that snow and keeps it cold, something that’s affected by slope aspects, latitude, and elevation. And like snowflakes, not every ski town is created equal. Some, like Park City and Aspen, boast spectacular restaurant lineups that can compete with tier 1 cities, and some, like Jackson Hole, have excellent air service, which makes travel easier on skiers. We took all of these nuances into account when compiling this list.
In weighing all of these factors, we calculate something known as the Pure Awesomeness Factor. This particular PAF is unique to Business Insider. It is the BIPAF. It should be heeded and feared.
However, we do recognize that skiers have different tastes and needs when it comes to their vacations. With that in mind, skiers can use ZRankings’ Perfect Resort Finder to create their own rankings.
Start planning now, because if El Niño comes through as predicted, and deposits what could be epic snowfalls across all of North America’s mountain ranges, it’s going to be an indelible ski season — one not to be missed.
Keep scrolling to see the top 10 ski resorts in North America for 2016.
SEE ALSO: The 15 most intense ski runs in the US
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10. Steamboat
As mainline resorts in Colorado go, there may be no better place to be in late January than Steamboat, as it gets one of the highest rankings in the state for snow volume, which means coverage is usually very solid during the first month of the year. It’s a rather low resort, elevation-wise, for Colorado, which keeps exertion levels down but makes the spring a little warmer and intense.
Steamboat Springs, the town, is one of the better true ski towns on the continent. It doesn’t back directly up to the resort, but it’s quite close with nearly ubiquitous free shuttles running at all hours of the day.
9. Beaver Creek
The Beav can be a sneaky destination for good snow when the rest of the world’s powder hunters seem to be descending on Vail, 20 minutes to the East on I-70. There are pure, long fall lines here, including that of Birds of Prey, the World Cup downhill track that will set your knees knocking. Sharpen your skis before sending it big here.
At the base, be on the lookout for the best chocolate chip cookies in the ski world. Oh, and they’re free. Beaver Creek gives families awesome options everywhere, including kid-friendly terrain, lifts, and little dipsy-doos in the woods. It’s ZRanking’s No. 1 rated resort for families.
8. Deer Valley
There can only be one champion in the derby for best ski resort food, and Deer Valley has defended this ground against all comers for decades. Those who visit here never go back to Sun Valley. The mountain’s turkey chili exemplifies what a ski resort lunch should be. Even the cookies and croissants, cooked at altitude, can stand with those from the best city bakeries.
The skiing here offers a lot of hidden pockets of preserved snow. The terrain off the Mayflower lift promises long, true fall lines and little competition for powder. The Daly Chutes off of the Empire lift offer some of the steepest in-bounds terrain anywhere. All of this comes with Park City’s main street in the offing, an easy shuttle over from the base area or mid-mountain, known as Silver Lake. Access here is among the best in skiing, just a 40-minute ride from Salt Lake’s airport, a hub for Delta.
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