Suggestions Please for Lower Elevation Resorts

[Bad Bob]

Another vote for Sun Valley. This pace pretty much showed everywhere else in the West how to be a ski town. You will not see a lot of fresh snow probably but you'll get some of the best continually steep groomers in the world, and like Telluride there is rarely a crowd.

Alyeska, as good as it is does not really have a town. Girdwood is cool in a very funky kink of way, but it is certainly no Telluride.

 

[karlo]

'the Village doesn't compare to the town of Telluride'
Not sure what that means

I am also trying to understand what is the quality of Telluride that you are looking for elsewhere at lower elevation? Beautiful scenery? Steamboat, South Lake Tahoe, and Park City are fairly robust ski towns near good skiing and at lower elevation of about 6500".

Thanks for the suggestions.

Telluride, where do I start? Restaurants, shops, entertainment, Whistler Village has that. What stands out? Walks on residential streets with single family homes, seeing a stage performance in a restored theater, seeing a performance of Pippin at the town's performing arts center that's next to the high school, a bakery owned and operated by the guy who came decades ago to help start the first radio station and stayed, a trailer from which Middle Eastern food is prepared and served, another trailer with fantastic coffee, Yes, more authentic, but more importantly, it has depth. I wouldn't call Whistler Village contrived. It is what it is, like a shopping mall is what it is. Now, the village at Mont Tremblant is contrived, an effort to transplant a European village in Canada, right down to the types of restaurants; though they do have Beaver Tails, which Whistler, sadly, no longer has.

Park City and Steamboat at about 6500'? Gotta check that out.

 

[James]

Europe.
You wanted quaint right?
There's not a lot of skiing above 3,000 meters (9,842ft). Towns I guess are about 1,000-1,500 meters base.

The other place that comes to mind in the US is Schweitzer, Idaho. I think base is around 5k feet. Not sure about the culture your looking for or quaintness, but I've heard good things in general and it's not that far from airport.

 

[Lauren]

Many good suggestions in this thread. I know you didn't ask for tips for actually dealing with altitude sickness but as someone that lives pretty close to sea level and has gotten pretty sick from altitude (headache, nausea and vomiting)...I know it sucks. A couple key items I've learned along the way:
- As you said...hydrate. I double (if not more) what I drink on an average day.
- Oxgen canisters can be found at many grocery stores in mountain towns, they can be a godsend.
- Ibuprofen. After reading a number of articles and studies done on the effects of ibuprofen and altitude sickness I decided to give it a shot, what did I have to lose at that point. Here's an article from the TIMES. A little bit of Googling will give you a lot more information.

So, how does ibuprofen work? At higher elevations, the body has to readjust to the decrease in oxygen in the air and the change in air pressure. Many people respond by experiencing a mild swelling of the brain, which researchers believe is triggered by the release of inflammatory factors that lead to leaky blood vessels and allow fluid to build up in the brain. That can put pressure on nerves and cause headaches and dizziness. Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug, reduces swelling.

- I know you said you wanted to stay in North America, but Europe really does offer a lot of what you're looking for...cozy towns with character, at a reasonably low elevation, with absolutely fantastic terrain.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I just wanted to say I used to get terrible altitude headaches but once I started doubling my water intake about 1-2 weeks before getting there and taking ibuprofin helped a lot if not completely eliminated my headaches. Lots of good suggestions here. Here's another vote for Banff; Lake Louise and Sunshine Village are fantasatic. Good luck, you have a lot of great choices.

 

[Bigtinnie]

Sun Valley?

Now Ketchum is a great town. We got lucky this past January with snow but Sun Valley isn't known for it.

 

[karlo]

Now Ketchum is a great town. We got lucky this past January with snow but Sun Valley isn't known for it.

Thanks. Great town is first, for my wife. Then great terrain: Groomers, alpine, trees, steeps. Snow: Any snow is good, just no rocks.

 

[Tricia]

I've never been to Sun Valley but its definitely a "must go" place for me.