“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
>”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>Download the app.
When it comes to travel writing, there are two main categories: advice and aspiration. Advice arms you with the knowledge you need to plan the best ski trips for your crew. And aspiration plants the seed to get all of that planning underway. Either way, the end goal is you + ski resort or backcountry adventure.
Year in Review: Stories You Spent the Most Time Reading in 2024
The list below represents our most highly read and shared travel stories that informed and/or inspired your trip planning in 2024. See what popped and expect more of the same in 2025.
Top 10 Travel Stories of 2024
10. What to Expect and How to Prepare for Your First Ski Trip Out West
SKI contributor Orrin Konheim, who tallies most of his ski days on the slopes of mid-Atlantic ski areas in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland, took his first trip out West when he took his sister up on an invite to ski in Colorado. After a few runs, he learned a few important lessons, which he imparts to you here.
9. Let Us Debate the Latest Controversy over Ski Resort Parking
Ski area parking—lack of it, cost of it, and reservations required for it—remained top of mind for skiers in 2024. So much so, that when Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin announced it was rolling out paid parking for this winter, two longtime local skiers (who also happen to be Outside and Backpacker editors) took to their keyboards to debate the merits of such a move. See which side of the issue they came down on here.
8. Air Travel Sucks for Skiers. Here’s How to Stay Sane.
Last March, as spring break loomed and the hassles of wintertime air travel began to wear on skiers across North America, we thought it was high time for some tried and true tactics to making ski travel a little more tolerable. We asked longtime SKI contributor Kelly Bastone, who has decades of winter travel woes and wins under her belt. She shares her best tips here.
7. The Top 5 LGBTQ+ Inclusive Ski Resorts in North America
Pride month might not be until May, but last January, SKI’s Shauna Farnell shared her rundown of the most queer-friendly ski areas across the continent. We’re talking about the spots that go beyond the token weekend-long festival or celebratory parade. On the contrary, these are the ski resorts that walk the walk when it comes to welcoming the LGBTQ+ community.
6. This Terrain Expansion Gives Intermediates a Taste of High-Alpine Skiing
Last winter saw the debut of the one of the most anticipated terrain expansions in skidom when Keystone’s Bergman Bowl opened. Announced in 2019, the terrain pod is special because it makes open bowl skiing and gentle glades accessible to intermediate skiers and young families. I experienced it firsthand after it opened with my own three boys, and found out why it was the perfect addition to the family-friendly resort.
5. The Best Runs in North America For Every Type of Terrain
Like all self-respecting skiers, the editors at SKI love to debate where to find the best glades, the steepest chutes, the perfect bumps, yadda yadda. And while we never quite agree on any of the runs, we sure have a lot of fun debating it all. Find out where we landed on choosing the “best” runs for every type of terrain.
4. I Took An All-Inclusive Trip to Japan, and It Was the Easiest Ski Vacation I’ll Ever Take
If “all-inclusive” conjures images of white-sand beaches and fruity cocktails, you’re not alone. That’s what SKI’s digital editor Jamie Aranoff thought when she was invited to experience an all-inclusive ski vacation in Japan. Would this be a good way to travel in this far-off place, where the language barrier and cultural differences might be hard to breach with independent travel? Aranoff shares the pros and the cons here.
3. 12 Lesser-Known Resorts to Visit on the Major Season Passes
It’s only January and already the crowds at the megaresorts have us craving the good old days at the mom-and-pop ski areas of yore. If that resonates with you, we have some positive news. Even if you’re an Epic or Ikon pass holder, you can still seek out the less-traveled resorts on the passes while getting your money’s worth. Check out the list here.
2. Have You Skied The 7 Biggest Ski Resorts in North America?
Bigger isn’t always better, but it almost always means more terrain variety and a better opportunity to disperse skiers on crowded days. It usually also equals a higher chance of finding untracked powder in the days after a storm. While we don’t make ’em big like in Europe, North America’s largest resorts are veritable winter wonderlands—places where you can park yourself for the better part of a week, map out your daily itinerary, and never ski the same run twice. How many have you visited?
1. Can Powder Mountain Maintain Its Old-School Spirit as a Semi-Private Resort?
When the news dropped last season that Utah’s Powder Mountain would be transitioning to a semi-private ski resort and opening an array of new lifts and terrain—a mix of public and private slopes—we were intrigued. And so were you. We sent SKI contributor Shauna Farnell to find out how this historically soulful, wild, and fiercely independent ski area—and its loyal fan base—might weather these changes. Read the story here.
