Founded as a silver mining town, Aspen, Colo., developed as a ski resort beginning in the late 1940s and has since become a year-round destination for outdoor activities as well as for arts and cultural events such as its annual Food & Wine Classic festival, which marks its 34th year in 2016.
This year, western Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Mountain Resort marked its 50th anniversary. Long known as the most challenging ski resort in the country — half of the mountain’s terrain is rated expert, it has one of North America’s biggest vertical drops, and its Corbet’s Couloir run routinely tops lists of scariest slopes — in recent years Jackson has increasingly catered to intermediate skiers.
Park City gained fame as host to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, but for ski buffs, it’s always held a special place, and in recent years its dining, lodging and ski scene has taken a step decidedly upscale. Owner Vail Resorts spent $50 million connecting Park City with neighboring Canyons Resort in time for the 2015-16 season, creating the largest U.S. ski resort.
Host of the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948, the Swiss resort town is hailed as the birthplace of the Alpine holiday and marked its 150th anniversary during the 2014-15 winter season. St. Moritz offers top-class restaurants and hotels and over 200 miles of terrain served by 56 lifts.
Colorado’s largest ski mountain and the third-largest ski resort in the U.S., with over 5,200 acres of ski terrain, Vail has grown to be a skiers’ and snowboarders’ haven since its first ski season in 1962. This year Vail upgraded its Avanti Express chairlift to a six-person, high-speed chairlift while improving snowmaking equipment at nearby Beaver Creek.
This winter marks Whistler Blackcomb’s 50th anniversary. The British Columbia resort, located 75 miles from Vancouver, offers nearly 8,200 skiable acres. More than 80% of the resort’s 200-plus ski runs are either intermediate or advanced, and it’s a one-mile vertical drop from the resort’s highest peak to Whistler Village.