How To Compare Family Ski Resorts: “Find The Best”

I think that comparing ski resorts is a bit like comparing chocolate and peanut butter. They are both totally different and yet totally similar. The one I choose to eat depends upon what I feel like on any given day. Ski resorts are the same: each one is totally different and yet totally similar. I can honestly say I’ve never had a truly terrible day of skiing, at any resort from the biggest to the smallest, the newest to the oldest. So how to compare? Well, it depends upon what you want on any given day (or for any given vacation).

Find The Best

Here’s a fun new web-based tool that may help you narrow down your choices a bit. Let’s say you’re looking for a ski resort for a week-long ski vacation with your family. Choose some criteria. Jack Middlebrook, of Find The Best, helped me with this post and he suggests we use Ski Schools and Mountain Size. Here’s why, in his words:

1) Ski schools are a great way for kids to learn and build confidence, while parents explore the mountain and find challenging runs. Finding a ski resort to enjoy as a family starts with researching ski schools that will educate and entertain your kids (and maybe parents, too).

2) Mountain size, specifically skiable acres and number of runs, is also important.  Skiable acres indicate the area in which your family can spread out on and separate from big crowds. During the holiday season, crowded slopes can put a damper on a great family skiing day, so look for an ample amount of skiable acres. Additionally, the number of runs signifies a resort with a variety of slopes that cater to all ski levels. If your family needs a mountain with both beginner and expert runs, a resort with run diversity is crucial.

Based on these criteria (and reviews from SKI Magazine, Powderhounds.com, Mike Doyle at About.com, and The Independent’s 50 Best Resorts) the following resorts are the best choices for family skiing this winter, according to Find The Best.

 

Nifty, huh? And of course, you can always choose other criteria, such as adaptive programs, ski rentals, night skiing and geographic location (please note you have to put in the state and country, for example, Colorado, USA or you won’t get any results). You can take a look at popular searches (such as top average snowfall), or you can choose specific resorts, check the boxes next to them and compare. Once you’ve chosen what you would like to compare, click “create slideshow.” Here’s a quick slideshow I made in three minutes, randomly choosing 5 “top snowfall” resorts.

 

As I used Find The Best, I was surprised by the amount of data available. Resorts are rated by stars and if you click on the Smart Rating tab, you’ll find more information than you can imagine, including restaurants, weather and a comparison of lift tickets prices.

Of course, when it comes to resort ratings, you may not agree with what Find The Best generates for you. If you don’t like SKI Magazine’s ratings, you’ll probably take issue with some of Find The Best’s. But for a one-stop information shop on ski resorts worldwide, it is a fun place to spend some time.

Looking for Skis?

Find the Best isn’t just for ski resorts, but has hundreds of categories, including electronics, cars, travel, home and family, and education. Going to their Sports and Recreation tab, I found everything from golf courses to alpine skis.

To compare skis, first filter down from over 900 skis by manufacturer, gender, category, skill level and ideal snow conditions. After narrowing your search, use the Smart Rating and choose the skis you want to compare. The Smart Ratings helps guide your search by assigning a rank or score from reviews and rankings provided by major ski publishers like Freeskier Magazine and Backcountry Magazine.

If you’re a woman looking for All Mountain skis, here are the top 5 skis according to Find The Best’s Smart Rating:

 

Fun!

Thank you to Jack Middlebrook of Find The Best for helping me discover and learn about this site! I was not compensated in any way for this post. I am sharing it because I think Find The Best is a useful and fun resource. As always, all opinions expressed are my own and are exactly what I would tell my family and friends.

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