Top Five Fridays: September 20, 2024
The week you've all been waiting for is finally here: our 2025 Ski Test is now live! Click here to dive in.
#1: The 2025 SkiEssentials Ski Test is Officially Live!:
The 2025 SkiEssentials Ski Test is officially live! Click here to start finding the perfect ski for you.
Hello, and welcome to Top Five Fridays! Allow us to start this week with a brief apology for missing the news last week. We hope we can be forgiven though, as the reason for the absence is backed by what we think is a pretty good excuse: last Friday was an all hands on deck type of day as our team rallied to get our 2025 Ski Test ready to launch earlier this week. Which, as you might expect, brings us to our first highlight:
The 2025 SkiEssentials Ski Test is officially live! Back for its 8th iteration, our ski test is once again better than it’s ever been. Numerically speaking, we had more testers this year than ever before, allowing us to test over 325 skis! As you might imagine, that means skis were tested in literally every category, from entry level frontside skis, to metal filled powder skis meant for charging steep lines. Of course the biggest change to the test itself this year, is the complete facelift we gave it in hopes of creating a more immersive experience. This year, each ski gets the full page treatment, allowing us to show larger images and videos to help you get an even better idea of what the skis look like and how they ride.
If you’ve checked out our annual ski test in the past, you also know that it’s centered around the idea that there are no “best” skis, there’s just a best ski for you. Taking that approach, our tester profiles and reviews are a core component of our test, with the hope that you’ll find a tester or two that you relate to. Once you do, you can ultimately weigh their comments and opinions on each ski more heavily as you begin the process of deciding which ski is perfect for you. While it can be a daunting task, our hope is that this year’s enhanced tester cards will make it even easier than ever before, and that when all is said and done, you will find yourself standing on the best skis you’ve ever skied come winter. If you’re feeling all fired up about it and ready to browse, you can head on over and check out the Ski Test in full as soon as you’re ready. Once you’re done though, be sure to come on back and check out the rest of this week’s ski news!
#2: With World Cup Racing About a Month Away, the U.S. Alpine Ski Team Has Announced it’s 2024/2025 Roster:
Optimism abounds as the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team has officially named its rosters for the ten sports under the organization’s umbrella. Image: U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team on Facebook
Getting back to our regularly scheduled program, our next highlight this week is one that we planned to bring you last week, but remains worth sharing. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Teams have officially announced their rosters for the upcoming season. Now, across the ten total sports that make up the USST, there are obviously far more names than we can list here. So, in the interest of keeping this highlight a reasonable length, we’re going to choose to quickly review the athletes named to the Men’s and Women’s Alpine teams, while referring you to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team’s official website to review the rest of the team rosters for yourself.
For our purposes on Top Five Fridays, let’s hone in on the U.S. Alpine team, where returning legends and rising stars combine to create an exciting roster for the year ahead. If you think back to last season, the women’s side of the sport showed impressive amounts of promise as the GOAT Mikaela Shiffrin was backed by a team of women who also proved they were podium worthy. Across the season, athletes like Paula Moltzan, AJ Hurt, and Jacqueline Wiles all earned podium results, while Nina O’Brien, Lauren Macuga, and Isabella Wright also let it be known that they too have podium potential,each having one or more top 10 results apiece. In addition to these A team athletes, there is also a plethora of talent on the B through D teams which represent up and coming athletes who could have breakout seasons. One name on the C Team that’s worth keeping an eye out for is Ava Sunshine, who was having an excellent preseason last year before tearing her ACL in training camp. This year, she’s back for what could be a breakout season. One other name that’s not on the roster, is Breezy Johnson, who had a career season in 2022-2023, but was forced out of action last year due to a whereabouts issue. As punishment for that infraction, Johnson was suspended from racing for 14 months, starting last October. As a result, her name is not currently on the U.S. Ski Team roster, and it remains to be seen if she’ll rejoin after her suspension is over.
On the men’s side, it’s a similar story as the team is headlined by five athletes who’ve all proven themselves capable competitors: Ryan Cochran-Siegle leads the way, with Bryce Bennett, Tommy Ford, Jared Goldberg, and River Radamus all joining him on the A team. Last year, as you might recall, the story of the men’s team was consistently strong results. While the team as a whole may not have captured as many podium spots as they would’ve liked, it was not at all uncommon for top 10 and top 15 lists to be packed with American athletes. This year, the team will look to build on last year’s progress and turn those consistent results into podium finishes. Like the women’s side, the men’s team is also stacked with upcoming talent, particularly on the B Team, where you’ll find familiar names like Luke Winters, Jett Seymour, Ben Negomir, and Ben Ritchie. As for other names to watch? SkiRacing.com thinks it’s Jevin Palmquist, who is the only rookie on this year’s team. Born in 2007, Palmquist is currently ranked first overall in slalom for his birth year, and 153rd overall regardless of age. At just 17 years old, the future looks bright for this young athlete. To see a full list of athletes named to the U.S. Alpine Team, click here. To review the rosters for the other 9 USST sports, head on over to their website.
#3: The Washington Post Previews Winter, Giving Us a Refreshing Perspective on the Ski Industry:
A look at the expansion plans for Deer Valley, where the initial phase will open in just a few month’s time. Image: Deer Valley's 'Expanded Excellence' Website
For our third highlight this week, we want to do something that we don’t usually do, but also enjoy doing from time to time. That is, to share an article from what we’d consider a mainstream publication that gives something of a birds eye view of the ski industry. Typically here on SkiEssentials, we find ourselves covering news one story at a time. In other words, if a resort expands, we cover it. If there’s a new season pass offering or parking reservation system, we cover it. Sometimes these escalate into discussions around themes, such as resort consolidation or housing, but it’s rare that we ever take a moment to do a full zoom out - highlighting multiple aspects of the industry in order to tell the full story. That’s why, when a publication like the Washington Post publishes a story titled, “Ski resorts roll out massive expansions as crowds and prices swell,” we think it’s worth sharing - even if it covers a lot of stories we’ve already shared.
In the aforementioned article, author Andrea Sachs highlights a number of resort expansions, upgrades, and policy changes, that are all being brought about as a result of a booming post-covid ski industry. Starting the piece by citing the facts that the 2022-2023 ski season was the busiest season on record, and that despite being a down year, last season still ranked 5th since 1978, Sachs goes on to say, “ski areas are pouring millions of dollars into projects that will shorten lift lines, improve access to trails and disperse crowds with additional acreage. The goal is less time standing in line, more runs down the mountain.” In other words, Covid brought about crowding, and now resorts are addressing those crowds through expansions and lift upgrades.
To support this claim, the article shares a number of examples of these expansions, as well as other techniques being used to improve the guest experience. In Deer Valley, for example, the first stage of the resort’s mega expansion is set to open this year, offering 19 new trails, 3 new lifts, and 500 new parking spots. In neighboring Colorado, Steamboat Ski Resort is wrapping up a $200 million project known as “Full Steam Ahead”, which is adding 650 acres of expert level terrain to the resort, while also creating a new beginner zone called “Greenhorn Ranch.” From there, the list continues. In Aspen, the “Hero’s Expansion” project is increasing lift-accessed terrain by 20%. At Copper Mountain in Colorado and Hunter Mountain in New York, four person lifts are being replaced with 6 person high speed lifts. Similarly, Big Sky Resort in Montana is upgrading from a 6 person lift to an 8 person lift that’s expected to double the capacity of that liftline, while shortening rides by 30%. Taken in isolation, each of these stories are regionally exciting for those who call these resorts home or have plans to visit. Taken in totality though, it’s interesting to see an overarching theme of resorts expanding and focusing on efficiency as a result of increased demand stemming from Covid.
Towards the end of the article, there’s also a sneaky segment on another trend that’s just beginning to unfold: financial resistance from consumers giving way to more affordability minded programs. Right along with the uptick in popularity of skiing and snowboarding has come an uptick in perceived costs, with daily lift tickets costing multiple hundreds of dollars at some resorts. Now, it feels like we’re nearing the backside of a bell curve, where the consumer appetite for cost is topping out and resorts are starting to find ways to reintroduce affordability. At Pacific Group Resorts, the owner of mountains such as Jay Peak in Vermont and Ragged Mountain in New Hampshire, a project called “Mission Affordability” has been announced that introduced resort wide price freezes or reductions. Elsewhere, at Purgatory Resort in Colorado, demand based pricing is set to return for a second year, meaning guests can find lift tickets for as little as $9 on off days. While this side of the story didn’t receive the same in depth treatment as the expansions, we’re quite curious to see if this trend grows in popularity in the coming years.
All told, what we like about this article is that it pulls us out of the ski industry bubble, and gives us the perspective of an observer. While we’re acutely aware of each and every story shared in this piece, it’s nice to be reminded of the bigger picture: the ski industry is booming, and skiers themselves are benefiting as massive amounts of money are being poured into upgrades at ski resorts across the country. All in all, if you’re interested in reading a slightly different perspective on the industry and reminding yourself of the bigger picture, we highly recommend giving the article a read.
#4: Colorado’s Governor Wants to Expand the State’s Ski Train Service:
Thanks to a new push from Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the Winter Park Express may see a significant increase in use in the coming years. Image: Winter Park Express on Instagram
Finally, we’re rounding things out this week with an exciting followup to a story we shared back in the middle of July. As you might recall, at that time we shared a story from Powder Magazine that explored the question of, “Why Doesn’t America Have Ski Trains?” While the answer to that question was more or less that the vast layout of America’s ski resorts simply makes it impractical, there was one glaring exception: the Winter Park Express, which carries skiers from Denver to the base of Winter Park mountain. In that article, it was briefly mentioned that Colorado’s Governor, Jared Polis, had suggested that he hopes to expand service of that ski train, although no additional information was made known at the time.
Then, two weeks ago, Ski Mag shared an article that expanded on these comments and shared what many might consider an exciting vision for the future of the train line currently known as the Winter Park Express. Keeping in mind how much of an issue traffic can be on Colorado’s I-70, Governor Polis has dreams of developing a ski train that would greatly alleviate the reliance on automobiles for those venturing into the mountains. Not only would it ease congestion, but the introduction of the ski train would have another significant benefit: it could make use of existing rail lines that are currently used as a means of transporting coal. The fact that the rail lines required to create a ski train already exist, as well as their ever decreasing use for coal transportation, makes for a perfect opportunity to repurpose them as a means of mass public transportation. Whereas adding a railway up Utah’s Big or Little Cottonwood Canyons would cost hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, the existing railways would make the creation of a ski train in Colorado both vastly more affordable as well as incredibly fast to bring to fruition - current estimates suggest that the train could be operational in just a few years.
As it stands, there’s significant interest and support in the project at the political level, and it’s now being turned over to the general public for comments and questions. To learn more about the details behind the project, including proposed stops and destinations, you can check out the official page setup by the Colorado Department of Transportation. If you’d like to share your thoughts and opinions, CDOT has set up a survey, which you can complete here. To learn more about this story, check out the report from SkiMag.com.