Big Sky Score Change: Extra-Cost Tram Access Outweighs An Effective Swift Current Lift Upgrade
Major lift upgrades are not enough to outweigh the loss of Lone Peak Tram access for those who only purchase regular ticket and pass products.
Score Change: Mount Snow Falling Behind on Signage Upkeep, Leading to Dangerous Circumstances
Mount Snow has historically earned high praise from PeakRankings for its ease of navigation, but the quality of some mountain postings has degraded considerably.
Score Change: Copper Quietly Adds New Trails for 2021-22
Copper has expanded their skiable footprint by 17 acres, just putting them over the hurdle to move into our next size category.
We’ve Adjusted our Terrain Diversity Category to Better Measure Resorts with Fewer Traditional Terrain Areas.
We’ve made a slight adjustment to our terrain diversity criteria to better reflect how typical guests spend time on the mountain. Seven resorts see score changes as a result.
Ratings Re-Adjustment: Deer Valley Facilities Score
Deer Valley stands alone with its ski valet services and unparalleled hospitality, and we feel this is not adequately reflected in the resort’s current calibration. As a result, we’ve decided to renege on a previous change we made to the Utah ski area’s facilities score.
Ratings Adjustment: Snow King Snow Score
Due to distinctions in accumulation character and snow preservation, we’ve decided to update Snow King’s score to adequately reflect the resort’s snow quality.
We’ve Refined the Way We Measure Skiable Acres. Some Resorts See Size Score Changes.
Some resorts measure their acreage by total footprint, which doesn’t always comprise entirely skiable terrain. Others measure their acreage by skiable terrain only, but don’t include parts of the resort that are technically in-bounds but not skiable. To remedy this issue, we employed an acreage calculator to determine the true skiable footprint within the bounds of each resort.
Too Many Resorts Have Earned Our Top Rating for Challenge. It’s Time for a Splitter.
Ten resorts—nearly 30% of the resorts we’ve reviewed—currently earn a perfect 10 for challenge in our scoring system. To address the competitiveness here and truly distinguish the most extreme resorts, we’ve effectively split the 10/10 challenge category into two.
We’ve Slightly Adjusted Our Facilities Ratings Towards Practicality, Resulting In a Few Score Changes.
We’ve historically weighted some very small facilities with limited space and inconsistent openings as highly as more practical lodges. With today’s adjustment, we’re aiming to fix this discrepancy.
Ratings Adjustment: Sierra-at-Tahoe, Homewood, and Whiteface Lift Scores
We’ve updated the way we factor hike-to terrain into our lift score criteria. Three resorts see score changes as a result.