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Resort Skiing Resort Guide 2025

THE TOUGHEST TERRAIN AT THE 7 MOST CHALLENGING RESORTS IN NORTH AMERICA

WE ASKED SKI READERS, AND FOUND OUT WHERE TO FIND THE GOODS AT THE RESORTS THEY
RANKED THE MOST CHALLENGING ON THE CONTINENT.

Published Nov 18, 2024

Samantha Berman

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Photo: Liam Doran

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on
iOS devices for members! Download the app.

When our annual reader-fueled rankings come out every fall, we’re always keen to
see how the resorts fare when it comes to challenging terrain. While the amount
and quality of expert and extreme terrain is important to many of us, the
resorts with the most difficult slopes are not always at the top of the overall
rankings.

Related: See Where Your Favorite Western Resorts Ranked in This Year’s
Survey

Why is that? Simply, we’re not all in it for the extreme stuff. Chutes, steep
trees, couloirs, and mandatory air are just not everyone’s jam. And there’s
nothing wrong with that. But if the thought of standing at the top of a steep
slope, skis hanging over the abyss, makes your stomach drop and knees knock in
the very best ways, then this list is for you.

Think we’re missing something? Let us know how you really feel by taking SKI
reader’s survey when it reopens next spring.

RESORT GUIDE 2025: 7 RESORTS WITH THE MOST EXTREME TERRAIN

1. TAOS SKI VALLEY, N.M.

* Challenge Score: 9.8/10
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 51

> What Readers Say: “Taos is absolutely an expert’s mountain. We were most at
> home on the steep hike-to terrain, however even some of the lower mountain
> runs were riddled with moguls and at times other hazards like rocks poking
> through the snow. The steepness and variable conditions of Taos make it one of
> the LAST places I would recommend anyone learn to ski at.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Taos Ski Valley)

There’s a reason why Taos has long been a host venue of the Freeride World Tour
Qualifiers. (The next one is March 2-7, 2025.) Simply put, the expert and
extreme terrain off Kachina Peak is incomparable in North America, and when the
snow gods smile on the southwestern U.S., there is no better place to be for
steeps, chutes, high-angle trees, and low crowds, especially if you’re willing
to hike a bit.

Aside from Kachina, which is only open when there’s enough snow to adequately
cover its steep terrain, other areas for experts to seek out include Highline
Ridge, with its excellent north-facing trees, and West Basin for its chutes and
spicy cliff bands.

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2. MAD RIVER GLEN, VT.

* Challenge Score: 9.6
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 45

> What Readers Say: “MRG is for advanced skiers who want an open playground,
> someone who can ski any conditions—they don’t really groom, except for a
> couple trails, so you need to be able to ski anything because challenges pop
> up out of nowhere.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Mad River Glen)

The Northeast Kingdom Mountain is the battleground for expert skiers, who drive
past many other Vermont resorts to test their skills on MRG’s tough terrain. The
go-tos are located off the iconic Single Chair, including the massive moguls on
Chute and the technical steeps with natural obstacles on Lift Line and Fall
Line.

If you’re feeling really confident, make your way to Paradise, where the
sustained 40-degree pitch features a sporty mix of bumps, trees, cliff bands,
and rock outcroppings. Odds that you’re navigating in a slick, icy hard-pack?
Pretty high, but that’s part of the charm.

3. JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT, WYO.

* Challenge Score: 9.6
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 50

> What Readers Say: “ Skiing in Jackson is a remarkably unique experience. From
> the moment you board your first upper mountain lift, you know there is enough
> terrain to challenge even experts for a lifetime.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort)

If you haven’t heard of Corbet’s Couloir, that’s on you, but you’d be forgiven
for not knowing about all of the other equally impressive steep and technical
terrain on tap at Jackson Hole. Alta Chutes is pretty well-known in its own
right, and well worth adding to your list. There are four chutes, so if it’s
your first time checking them out, start with Chute 2 or 3 before attempting
Chute 1, which is the steepest, narrowest, and most technical.

Over on Cody Peak, Central Couloir carves right down the center and boasts an
often-icy and rocky entrance that scares most people away. This is good because
they probably wouldn’t have liked the mandatory air at the couloir’s terminus.
Central Couloir is a three-minute hike from the top of Rendezvous Bowl.

4. JAY PEAK, VT.

* Challenge Score: 9.1
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 40

> What Readers Say: “Excellent expert terrain and glades. The tram is awesome
> when it’s not crowded.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Jay Peak)

Part of Jay’s intrigue, aside from the bounty provided by the “Jay Cloud,” which
dumps some of the East’s best snow on its slopes, is the intense terrain
accessed by the tram. Experts love these steep chutes and sustained pitches for
their sheer scare factor, made even more difficult by the exposed nature of this
terrain. On windy, stormy days, the tram face will make you question all of your
life choices.

On those days, it’s tight, technical trees for the win. Try Staircase Glade,
home to some of the tightest trees in the state, and be reminded why East Coast
skiing is legit.

5. CRESTED BUTTE MOUNTAIN RESORT, COLO.

* Challenge Score: 9.0
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 37

> What Readers Say: “Hard-chargers will love Crested Butte’s challenging terrain
> off of the peak, or they can journey over to the other side of the mountain
> for even more steeps and trees.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Vail Resorts)

With runs named Body Bag and Dead End Chutes, you know Crested Butte has a
little something for expert and extreme skiers. Rambo, with its 55-degree pitch
and natural obstacles such as bushes and rocks, is probably the most well-known
of CB’s in-bounds steeps. It’s steep and fast, and when the snow is good, it’s
not to be missed.

Nearby Body Bag is another to add to your extreme-skiing list, especially if
trees are your jam. These double-black glades drop 275 feet at 55 degrees, so
you better be confident turning on a dime.

6. SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH, VT.

* Challenge Score: 8.9
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 31

> What Readers Say: “Smuggs’ access to steep tight glades, inbound drops and
> chutes, and all-around sidecountry steeps make it hands-down the best in the
> East.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Smugglers’ Notch)

Gotta love a ski area that’s simultaneously known for its children’s programming
and death-defying steeps. But that’s indeed the case at Smugglers’ Notch, where
the challenging terrain on Madonna Mountain is most definitely not suitable for
(most) kids.

Case in point, Upper Madonna Liftline, especially if you like an audience.
Liftline, which runs directly below the Madonna I lift, boasts a 50-ish degree
pitch, during which you also have to navigate massive boulders and an
inconsistent fall line. Not to mention trying not to collide with the chairlifts
above that feel frighteningly close. (Don’t worry, they’re not.)

Then there’s Black Hole, a triple black diamond with a 53-degree pitch that’s
accessed about a third of the way down Upper Liftline. Littered with tree stumps
and other fun obstacles, Black Hole skis like a runaway roller coaster. And we
mean that in the best possible way.

7. PALISADES TAHOE, CALIF.

* Challenge Score: 8.8
* Percentage of Expert/Extreme Terrain: 30

> What Readers Say: “There’s something for everyone but especially
> hard-chargers. There are chutes and cliffs everywhere!”

(Photo: Courtesy of Palisades Tahoe)

A mountain made famous for its expert terrain in many a ski flick, Palisades
Tahoe is still considered the birthplace of extreme skiing in the U.S. thanks to
legends such as Shane McConkey and Robb Gaffney. And rightfully so. You can’t
visit without skiing the OGs, including the steeply pitched vertical off KT-22
to the hike-to terrain from the Headwall chair. On the Alpine side, a short hike
in the Pacific Crest Bowls is just the prelude to some of Tahoe’s best—and most
undiscovered—wide-open bowls that funnel down into some seriously gnarly chutes
and cliffs.

Samantha Berman
Samantha Berman is SKI’s travel and resorts editor. Since joining the editorial
team in 2003, Sam has helped mold the direction of the brand’s travel coverage,
sharing her years of experience visiting ski resorts and mountain towns across
North America, the Alps, and beyond. She also spearheads SKI’s annual Reader
Resort Survey and oversees the resulting Resort Guide rankings and coverage that
comes out every fall. Growing up in an East Coast ski family, Sam cherished
family time…

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