#ski-resorts

#ski-resorts

Round 1 of SnowBrains' 2026 March Madness Ski Resort Edition saw 32 matchups featuring some of the best ski resorts from across North America. Over 65,000 votes were cast by SnowBrains followers across social media platforms to help decide what the best ski resort in North America is.

Vail Village is where it all started... The original vision of creating a ski village, similar to what our founders envisioned from their experiences in Europe-particularly while serving as 10th Mountain soldiers-formed the foundation of a car-free, walkable street base village. Here, you'll find chalet-style buildings with detailed wood carvings and flower-filled window boxes.

Images on social media show snowed-in cars, mountains of marshmallow powder, and landscapes buried under deep midwinter snow. In many of these areas, one would need to look back to 1999 to find thicker snow cover in February. In other words, this is an unprecedented post-2000 snow situation in most of France. However in 2018, the historic "Beast from the East" storm cycle delivered extraordinary totals to resorts in the south of France. Still, for much of northern Savoie and Haute-Savoie, February 2026 stands out as one of the most impressive snow periods in nearly three decades.

Many parts of the Alps, including around Verbier, have seen some huge snowfall totals over the past week. As such the avalanche danger in many areas is high or extreme, forcing resorts to highly recommend sticking to open trails and following signs. European resorts often allow skiers and snowboarders to ride off-piste at their own risk. Verbier is strongly discouraging off-trail skiing, but people still pop in between runs believing that they're safer than they really are.

A Friday-through-weekend system refreshes the Pacific Northwest mountains, and then a colder, more unsettled pattern keeps the door open for a much bigger snow cycle into next week. Snow levels trend downward through the weekend, helping keep most resort terrain in snow and setting up improving quality as colder air settles in. After a brief lull, additional rounds of mountain snow look likely, while the timing, snow levels, and wind impacts become less certain with each passing day.

Whitefish/Kalispell, Montana: United Airlines has expanded its direct service from San Francisco to Glacier Park International Airport, a short drive to world-class Whitefish Mountain Resort and the smaller, family-owned Blacktail Mountain Ski Area. You won't find either on the Epic or Icon passes, which means fewer skiers and shorter lift lines. The proximity to Flathead Lake, even larger in surface area than Lake Tahoe, also means stunning views and a phenomenon called snow ghosts when ice crystals form on the pines.

While most are familiar with the world-class Mont Tremblant, the route there is dotted with independent resorts-each with a distinct vibe-that light up the Laurentians ( Les Laurentides ) like constellations against an ancient sky. These ranges offer something different than towering peaks: intimate terrain steeped in character. They tease the eye, spark the imagination, and possess a certain magic for producing champion skiers and snowboarders. Their ancient geology creates a singular landscape of rolling, forested hills and tight tree runs that feel worlds away from the mega-resorts.

Independent and family-owned ski areas tend to come with their own unique charm, whether it be a crowd of locals where everyone knows each others names, owners or CEOs that are frequently seen around the mountain, or just a general welcoming vibe.

Arctic air and a Friday-Saturday storm deliver the best Colorado refresh to the southern and central mountains, with lighter but high-quality snow farther north. Snow levels start modestly higher early, then crash through the event, so conditions trend drier and fluffier as temperatures drop into Saturday night and Sunday morning; next week looks milder and mostly quiet after the cold weekend.

Using A.I. for detecting ticket fraud follows the recent trend of A.I. making its way into snow sports. Recently, competition organizations like X Games and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) have experimented with using A.I. to assist with judging contests. Brands are also using A.I. to assist with creating graphics for their skis and snowboards. And it does not look like the A.I. train is slowing down any time soon.

While heading West promises bluebird skies and deeper powder, the East is home to plenty of mountains that are absolutely worth the trip, often with lower lift ticket prices and fewer crowds. In fact, the Eastern Seaboard offers quality terrain for skiers of all levels. Though a handful of big names tend to dominate the conversation, skiers willing to venture beyond the usual suspects will find true gems.

A restaurant has been fined €8,000 for refusing to serve tap water, contrary to French law which says that free tap water must always be available if requested. The restaurant in the upmarket ski resort of Val Thorens has been fined €8,000 by the country's anti-fraud office, for telling customers that tap water was not available in the establishment. A press release from the Direction générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), said that the restaurant, Les Aiguilles du Péclet in Val Thorens,

The six ski areas have a combined total of over 360 kilometres of slopes, with high-altitude skiing on glaciers, as well as pistes suitable for families and beginners. The ski area is open from the end of October to the beginning of May, with guaranteed snow higher up. The three largest resorts in Otztal are Solden, Obergurgl and Hochgurgl, the latter two being collectively known as Gurgl.

The Rocky Mountains are massive, stretching from New Mexico into Canada. They feature some of the most iconic National Parks in North America, with towering peaks, stunning glacial lakes, and jaw-dropping alpine valleys. Perhaps their most famous feature, however, are their highly numerous ski resorts. From north to south, every state/province in the Rockies has at least a few ski resorts. Some of them are small while some are among the largest in the continent.

A warm, windy midweek storm cycle across the Northern Rockies will be followed by a sharper cool-down late week, improving snow quality as snow levels crash and temperatures tumble. Early light snow favors the Canadian Rockies, then a milder surge Wednesday night through Friday brings higher snow levels and denser accumulations at many Idaho and Wyoming resorts before a colder Friday night into Saturday finish drops snow levels to the valley floors and boosts SLRs into much fluffier territory;

Nothing but dirt and dry, brown chaparral rolled beneath skis and snowboards dangling from a chairlift at Big Bear Mountain Resort on Friday, as forlorn adventure seekers joked they should rename the place "Big Bare." Unseasonably high temperatures even left the impressive array of high-tech, artificial snowmakers below mostly useless, their fans spinning idly in the warm breeze.

Switzerland has always been a dream for skiers, but access to its best mountains just keeps getting better. From the glacier-high terrain around Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis to the wide-open bowls of Verbier 4 Vallées, the Swiss Alps are leaning into a new era of convenience and variety, with plush slope-side hotels, world-class spas, and cozy restaurants ranging from rustic to sleek. And the expansion of major multi-resort passes- Epic Pass now offers days at Verbier and Andermatt,

The video, filmed early on the morning of December 7 and widely shared online, shows a bear running up a ski slope toward a snowboarder enjoying first tracks. The rider later identified himself as Makoto Kuroki, a professional snowboarder who lives and works in Hakuba. In a detailed blog post, Kuroki said the encounter occurred on an untouched run during the resort's early hours, a time when human activity-and noise-is minimal.

The ski season has just barely begun across the United States, with many resorts still waiting to open. That said, there are plenty of areas that have already seen some seriously deep snowfall totals, including some that report seeing more than 12 feet of snow since the winter began. Unfortunately that snow doesn't always stick around, but it's still a good sign when that much is hitting the ground. These are the 6 ski areas that have seen the most snow in the U.S. so far this season.