Top 10 Most Adventurous Ski Areas

Different people have different perceptions for Skiing. Some take it just as a hobby, visit “resorts” and go for the glamour scene, the beautiful view and the amenities. While for others it is an untamed adventure sport. They prefer Marco Polo over Rumple Stilskin, they play Risk, not Parcheesi, they let their lawns go in the summer, and they search for wild playgrounds in the winter. Check out list of top-ten most adventurous ski areas as voted by the editors at Skiing.

Squaw Valley

1. SQUAW VALLEY - Squaw is where the majority of American professional extreme skiers live and where “extreme” movie-makers and photographers shoot endless rolls of film. The place oozes with extreme energy, and it is impossible not to be captured by it yourself. The mountain has plenty of famous lines to conquer, such as The Palisades or The Fingers, and innumerable other look-at-me cliff jumps and steep chutes. Most adventurers who visit find Squaw intoxicating, and feel like the radical stars of their own personal movies.

2. JACKSON HOLE - When you board the tram at the bottom you can not help but notice a sign warning “Our Mountain is like nothing you have skied before. It is huge with variable terrain from groomed slopes to dangerous cliff areas, and dangerously variable weather and snow conditions. Give this special mountain the respect it demands!” Already, your adventure has started. For such a large area, there is comparably little grooming and plenty of untouched terrain to explore. Too bad the sign also insists you “exercise extreme caution”.

3. CHAMONIX- Chamonix has long been known as the “death sport capital of the world”. “Death-sport” meaning any sport based on adrenaline and gravity with a high fatality rate, in this case climbing, mountaineering, paragliding, and “extreme” skiing. In keeping with Euro-tradition, Chamonix has few rules. You can duck under ropes, play in crevasses, schuss avalanche slopes, swing from one finger over a 1000-foot cliff, whatever you want. This free attitude, coupled with the steep, sick terrain and the trendy scene that promoting gnarliness, and a pilgrim such as yourself can really get out and rock.

4. MAD RIVER- Those popular “Mad River Glen, Ski it if you Can” bumper stickers must have paid off. The mountain itself draws people in, not fancy new lifts or snowmaking. Skiing Mad River makes you feel like a hyperactive kid attacking a jungle gymn, the world seems dripping with challenges and excitement: ski a hidden chute and jump a mandatory 10 foot frozen waterfall, or swing from a tree into a hollow for one skier. Mad River offers tight tree skiing and some of the only east coast cliff jumping available.

5. WHISTLER/BLACKCOMB- Want to get away from the closure signs and control ropes of American’s litigation fearing resorts? There’s freedom nearby, and it’s called Canada! Whistler/Blackcomb offers a chance to make more of your own decisions and fend for yourself, all while facing big mountain challenges. Consider it a mini- Europe, with glacier skiing, some crevasses, ice faces, and risk-your-life challenges. It’s all there, caution signs in place, for you to look over or even indulge.

6. VAL D’ISERE - The European Alps are dramatic, with huge Matterhorn-type peaks and angry looking horizons beckoning the adventurous come to play. If you add the freedom of the French mountain culture which allows you to take responsibility for your own actions, then all French ski areas should be on this adventure list- with Val D’Isere at the top. The resort is in a dead-end valley and perfect for visitors to begin long explorations to dozens of other towns, ski resorts and even countries.

7. ALTA- Almost anything worth skiing at Alta requires a traverse or a short hike. People not used to “earning their turns” find the extra work fabulously adventurous and well worth the effort. Plus, the atmosphere is cool, laid back and real- almost like stepping into a Spike Lee Movie. Lack of high-speed lifts leaves the snow less cut-up, and the management doesn’t try to create false glamour through advertising. Alta is raw, with little hype. It’s an adventure just being there.

8. VERBIER- Only in Europe are ski areas this huge. With well over 100 lifts and trams, you could get seriously lost in Verbier, or finish a day 30 miles by car from where you started. Over every ridge is another awesome view with dozens of new peaks to explore. The small town of Verbier is small and very cosmopolitan, so it’s easy to find an eclectic group to adventure with. This is important; because you could get so lost you may have to eat one of your companions.

9. SNOWBIRD- People dedicate their lives to The Bird. It’s the snow quality- 500 inches a year, and well worth it. After a big storm, when the obvious runs look tracked, everyone goes on a mission to discover the secret stashes. Even weeks after the last storm, there’s excellent snow somewhere- you just have to find it. When the patrol open the out-of-bounds areas, and the snow is sweeter than lemon meringue, watch out! You’ll become obsessed like the rest of them.

10. CRESTED BUTTE- The best way to ski The Butte is to follow a local. Either befriend him or her, or quietly chase anyone clad in gore-tex and duct tape. Crested Butte has a million hidden treasures. All those inconsequential looking traverses lead to an enormous world of rocks, trees and wicked little lines. Think like an archeologist. Don’t miss a turn, or you could miss a new discovery.