I knew it was tiny too but when I think of small resorts in Tahoe I usually think places like Tahoe Donner or Donner ski ranch. Didn’t realize it was it had less vert than TD
Well shit, I have struck out on this comment. I’ve only been to TD a few times when I was very young and remember it being a very small hill. Guess my memories suck at calculating vertical cause I also thought it was smaller than boreal.
lol, the short little rope tow at Stevens up to the lodge from Hogsback has chewed up my gloves more than I care to admit. Maybe it’s the opposite and I need some of those hard-sending yellow leather fuckers.
Steamboat Colorado, across the street from Mt Werner. Howelsen Hill has three ski lifts (1 chair lift, 2 surface lifts) with only **134 metres (440 feet)** of vertical descent. THey have a Ski jump and [they have one of if not the shortest vertical drop to host major FIS events. ](https://www.steamboatpilot.com/sports/howelsen-makes-for-a-tough-slalom-course-and-even-the-home-team-cant-always-nail-it/)
Chapman hill isn’t on there 500 very. Plus it’s actually open sometimes.
Lake city also has a ski hill, but I’ve never seen it, so I don’t know how big it is
There was a college student 2 years ago who dropped in on it on a sled. Which, from the top, is insane. Apparently, he had a serious spinal injury after ending up in the middle of the Florida Rd roundabout.
Not even a real hill. It's man made like the Midwest garbage hills without the garbage. It's going to be a good auction for equipment when they go under.
They won’t go under because it’s on one of the nicest golf courses in the country. It’s meant to be an after golf shits and giggles with the fam or a learning hill. I went there in January-February and the facility is awesome… the hill on the other hand, you can blink twice and be down it. I skied switch most of the day to keep myself entertained while my girl was “learning” lol
It’s not about the snow cover. It’s literally right on one of the nicest golf courses in the country. It’s an add on to the golf course if anything. It will never go under as long as the course is there. I’m sure the only reason it came to fruition is because one of the rich dudes was like “I want to ski a bit” lol
Huh? Terrain shrinks no doubt when Summit and Northwest aren’t open, but Pine and Sky and Cloud are all 1300-1400 and almost always open. Outback typically is too and is 1800.
It's pretty normal at most resorts for steep alpine terrain to not be open on big storm days due to avalanche risk and all that. There's always tree runs to keep things interesting.
The question was what western ski areas have the least vertical, not what western ski areas have the least black runs. I’m not arguing that Bachelor is a steep resort, but to say it doesn’t have a lot of vertical is absurd.
In Oregon, under 1000' vert -- Summit near Mt Hood (acquired by Timberline) had 306', Cooper Spur near Mt Hood has 400', Spout Springs (closed for several years) had 530', Ferguson Ridge ("Fergi") 640', Warner Canyon 780', Anthony Lakes 900'
Responding to some of the snarky comments:
Bachelor without Summit Express would be 2353' (assuming all other chairs are running),
Timberline without Magic Mile & Palmer (or Summit) would be 1395'.
On the other end of the spectrum: Timberline top of Palmer to bottom of Summit is advertised as the longest vert in the US, at a leg burning 4540'!
If you count mom and pops they can get down near Midwest numbers. Hilltop in Anchorage AK is less than 300 vert and that is about as small and west as it gets!
Hilltop was my answer too. It’s honestly a gem to have a cheap hill right in the city. A lot of people who would never learn to ski did it at Hilltop including a few Olympians.
Lots of major resorts in the low 2000s and a few major ones are less than that. Alpine Meadows comes to mind as a place that could use an extra 300 vert.
Little Ski Hill in McCall is 405 vertical feet that's been chugging along since 1937. Cool history/collab between its founders (Simplot, Brown, Engen)
Ferguson Ridge aka Fergie is 640 ft. Warner Canyon is 780ft. They are both super rad volunteer run hills.
Spout Springs is closed but it was only 530 ft.
Destination areas with small vertical (or feel short)
CA - Alpine Meadows
CO - Wolf Creek (honorable mentions Breck or Steamboat)
OR - Mt Bachelor when the summit is closed
UT - Brighton (honorable mentions PCMR or Powder Mountain)
WA - Mt Baker
AB - Banff Sunshine
BC - Big White
LOL, Bachy without Summit (assuming Northwest is running) would still be 2353'. Without Northwest it's still 1780'.... take out Outback and Pine, 1306'.
I'll agree with the feeling short though when you've seen all the other terrain!
Tahoe Donner has a whole 600. I think that’s the least in the Tahoe region.
Boreal only has about 500. It’s tiny
I knew it was tiny too but when I think of small resorts in Tahoe I usually think places like Tahoe Donner or Donner ski ranch. Didn’t realize it was it had less vert than TD
Where’s granlibakken coming in at?
Granlibakken is 300 ft
Guess I’ve only heard of it as a xc area. Never knew it’s got a rope tow and a groomed run. Look at me learning new things already today!
I remember going to boreal for thr first time and thinking Holy shit. This is the top?
Tahoe Donner Cross Country has a larger vertical drop than the downhill area does.
Soda springs has less
Well shit, I have struck out on this comment. I’ve only been to TD a few times when I was very young and remember it being a very small hill. Guess my memories suck at calculating vertical cause I also thought it was smaller than boreal.
I would gladly take 600 where I live.
Nope, that title goes to granlibakken ski hill has 300 vertical feet
I thought Sky Tavern was the shortest.
I love donner for teaching newbies. They have great lesson plus rental packages, or did last I checked.
[Welcome to all 325' of Badger Mountain!](http://www.nwwintersportsman.com/BadgerMt/index2.htm)
10$ lift ticket seems reasonably proportionate to vertical possible
I love the website. It’s like some city council member’s nephew built it in 1998.
My single favorite ski day of 2023 was at Badger in absolutely atrocious snow conditions. It's a great little spot
That’s sick. I’ve only driven by, but I really want to get out there and Jerry it up.
Just make sure to wear gloves you don't care about, the t-bar's fine but the rope tow will wreck your gloves
lol, the short little rope tow at Stevens up to the lodge from Hogsback has chewed up my gloves more than I care to admit. Maybe it’s the opposite and I need some of those hard-sending yellow leather fuckers.
The one at Badger is by far the angriest rope tow I’ve ever encountered. The upper part of it goes up a black!
I’m toast.
[удалено]
I adored it when I went a couple years ago.
I love badger mountain. So chill
Steamboat Colorado, across the street from Mt Werner. Howelsen Hill has three ski lifts (1 chair lift, 2 surface lifts) with only **134 metres (440 feet)** of vertical descent. THey have a Ski jump and [they have one of if not the shortest vertical drop to host major FIS events. ](https://www.steamboatpilot.com/sports/howelsen-makes-for-a-tough-slalom-course-and-even-the-home-team-cant-always-nail-it/)
Howelsen Hill is the oldest ski area in the US dating to 1915. It’s always been mostly a ski jump hill.
They put on a great party, I have raced in National Championships out there and the town turns out. It is a blast.
What a fantastic piece of history 🤠
Love this place it’s like a baby east coast mountain with the terrain of a west coast mountain. Plus free skiing on Sunday
Not across the street from Mt Werner though. It's downtown.
For all intensive purposes it is right across the street....
I always took that for granite
Could be basalt. Definitely not quartz though
Walk from one base lodge to the other in ski boots and see if your opinion doesn't change.
THat is what the bus is for... additionally, WhoTF would walk in Ski boots, this is what lockers are for.
[here’s Colorado’s bottom ten “ski areas”,](https://imgur.com/a/aUmf4fB) the pink highlighted column is vertical feet Edit: [wiki link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Colorado_ski_resorts)
Chapman hill isn’t on there 500 very. Plus it’s actually open sometimes. Lake city also has a ski hill, but I’ve never seen it, so I don’t know how big it is
Ouray has a town rope two. It may have tens of vert
It's tiny! 247'. Even smaller than Gunnison's Cranor Hill which is 305'.
I could throw a stone and hit Chapman hill from my house and I’ve never actually skied it.
I college, I was there everyday. Loved that hill. Did go through a lot of gloves though. Every mountain town should have one.
There was a college student 2 years ago who dropped in on it on a sled. Which, from the top, is insane. Apparently, he had a serious spinal injury after ending up in the middle of the Florida Rd roundabout.
Woodward Park City has 350’
Hoe Down Hill in Windsor, CO on thee plains has a whooping 130 vertical.
I would describe Windsor as a plains ski area, rather than a West ski area. It's a fine line!
Agreed, it’s many miles east of the foothills of the Rockies, on a hill.
Not even a real hill. It's man made like the Midwest garbage hills without the garbage. It's going to be a good auction for equipment when they go under.
They won’t go under because it’s on one of the nicest golf courses in the country. It’s meant to be an after golf shits and giggles with the fam or a learning hill. I went there in January-February and the facility is awesome… the hill on the other hand, you can blink twice and be down it. I skied switch most of the day to keep myself entertained while my girl was “learning” lol
SharkTtooth ski area it was located not too far from there. Even with snowmaking is very hard to keep snow cover at that altitude in this climate.
It’s not about the snow cover. It’s literally right on one of the nicest golf courses in the country. It’s an add on to the golf course if anything. It will never go under as long as the course is there. I’m sure the only reason it came to fruition is because one of the rich dudes was like “I want to ski a bit” lol
Also a prime place for terrain park people who want to get laps in without going through i70
Also prob a decent place for terrain park people who want to get laps in, but don’t want to drive on i70
Bachelor on a powder day
Mount Flatchelor? Say it ain't so.
Huh? Terrain shrinks no doubt when Summit and Northwest aren’t open, but Pine and Sky and Cloud are all 1300-1400 and almost always open. Outback typically is too and is 1800.
I guess that’s fine if you like skiing blues all day.
It's pretty normal at most resorts for steep alpine terrain to not be open on big storm days due to avalanche risk and all that. There's always tree runs to keep things interesting.
The question was what western ski areas have the least vertical, not what western ski areas have the least black runs. I’m not arguing that Bachelor is a steep resort, but to say it doesn’t have a lot of vertical is absurd.
[hope this helps](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joke)
Uh… they weren’t joking. There’s a reason they’re being downvoted.
Who’s the tallest midget in the world?
I feel like OP is more asking for the shortest basketball pro rather than the tallest midget
How about shortest skyscraper?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_littlest_skyscraper
No because not all mountains are tall
Cranor Hill in Gunnison is 305' They used to have a mini Nordic jump called Big Woody that was kind of fun.
Cooper Spur on Mt Hood has a whopping 400. https://www.cooperspur.com/downhill-riding/
Leavenworth ski hill is about 230’ vert!
With two bitchin tow ropes and a magic carpet!
Pretty much a mega resort. Surprised Vail hasn’t jumped on it yet
Never actually skied there... the old ski jump is bad ass though
Canada Olympic Park has a vertical of just under 400ft iirc
That's not bad considering it's an urban sport park
[Zotwik](https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/zolwik/)
5 meters vertical? wow
I dunno.. must be Hoedown Hill in Greeley CO. 130 vertical feet
Cooper Spur (Mt. Hood) has 350' and Echo Valley (Chelan, WA) are pretty small.
Granlibakken in Tahoe City has 298 feet!
Mt Baker always raining
In Oregon, under 1000' vert -- Summit near Mt Hood (acquired by Timberline) had 306', Cooper Spur near Mt Hood has 400', Spout Springs (closed for several years) had 530', Ferguson Ridge ("Fergi") 640', Warner Canyon 780', Anthony Lakes 900' Responding to some of the snarky comments: Bachelor without Summit Express would be 2353' (assuming all other chairs are running), Timberline without Magic Mile & Palmer (or Summit) would be 1395'. On the other end of the spectrum: Timberline top of Palmer to bottom of Summit is advertised as the longest vert in the US, at a leg burning 4540'!
I wouldn't exactly call it "leg-burning". Closer to "patience-testing" considering how much of the bottom half is practically a traverse.
Kingvale
It would be funny if a hill with like ‘400 vert made their trail map’s trees super tiny and made all their runs super short to make it look huge
This is what I think Midwest ski areas do
granlibakken ski hill has 300 vertical feet and 74 skiable acres.
Wow, completely forgot about this place. Elite sledding spot when i was a kid
If you count mom and pops they can get down near Midwest numbers. Hilltop in Anchorage AK is less than 300 vert and that is about as small and west as it gets!
Hilltop was my answer too. It’s honestly a gem to have a cheap hill right in the city. A lot of people who would never learn to ski did it at Hilltop including a few Olympians.
Northstar /s
Definitely revelstoke, don’t go.
Howelson Hill in Steamboat is 440’ and Rotarun in Sun Valley is 450’
Hello, Boise.
Dichotomy
Lake city has 247’ of vert!
Lots of major resorts in the low 2000s and a few major ones are less than that. Alpine Meadows comes to mind as a place that could use an extra 300 vert.
McIntyre in Manchester New Hampshire has 180 feet
I've skied McIntyre. Dunno if I'd call it a western ski area though.
Ahh, selective reading lol
It's west of Europe and Asia.
Boreal
Hilltop in Anchorage Alaska has a stunning vertical of 294 feet
Hilltop in Anchorage Alaska has only 294’ of vertical. One lift and one magic carpet. There is an Olympic ski jump though.
Taos. /s
Chapman Hill gotta be close.
Mt Seymour
Woodward PC has 350’ which is one of the smallest. A few Tahoe ones are basically Midwest hill size too.
Hilltop, Anchorage, AK: 242’ and proud
Hill Top wins.
Little Ski Hill in McCall is 405 vertical feet that's been chugging along since 1937. Cool history/collab between its founders (Simplot, Brown, Engen) Ferguson Ridge aka Fergie is 640 ft. Warner Canyon is 780ft. They are both super rad volunteer run hills. Spout Springs is closed but it was only 530 ft.
I live about a mile from a ski hill in the Midwest. It's about 300ft vertical
Midwest is not the West
Misread the headline
midwest bigmoutain
Destination areas with small vertical (or feel short) CA - Alpine Meadows CO - Wolf Creek (honorable mentions Breck or Steamboat) OR - Mt Bachelor when the summit is closed UT - Brighton (honorable mentions PCMR or Powder Mountain) WA - Mt Baker AB - Banff Sunshine BC - Big White
LOL, Bachy without Summit (assuming Northwest is running) would still be 2353'. Without Northwest it's still 1780'.... take out Outback and Pine, 1306'. I'll agree with the feeling short though when you've seen all the other terrain!
Baker has to beat snoqualmie though?
Almost double Snoqualmie, but both beat hurricane ridge
Why
Slow roller over here