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<\/p>\nSan Francisco, CA…Liftopia, the largest online and mobile marketplace for lift tickets and other mountain activities, today unveiled its first-ever 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards honoring the most beloved ski areas in North America. Unlike other awards, the 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia is the only ranking that incorporates the largest dataset in the industry combined with feedback from thousands of skiers and snowboarders to determine ski areas they are most passionate about in North America.<\/p>\n
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The 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia, features winners across seven categories that Liftopia customers identified as most useful for choosing where to ski or snowboard, regardless of ski area size. These categories include Beginner-Friendly, Most Challenging, Family-Friendly, Best Snow Consistency and Quality, Least Crowded, and Best Value in addition to overall Best in Snow. Winners were compiled in five different regions: Northeast, West Coast, High West, Southeast and Midwest.<\/span><\/p>\n Magic Mountain in Vermont took the top spot as Overall Best in Snow winner in North America, with customers saying it\u2019s \u201cthe best kept secret in the Northeast\u201d and \u201ca true skier\u2019s mountain\u201d that is \u201csteeped in tradition\u201d and \u201cnever overcrowded\u201d with \u201cawesome terrain,\u201d \u201cchallenging runs,\u201d and \u201cthe best staff in the business.\u201d Crystal Mountain in Michigan, coming in second, received raves for their \u201cgreat atmosphere,\u201d \u201clifts and runs are fun and varied,\u201d \u201cpeople are very friendly\u201d and \u201cthey\u2019re always doing improvements at the resort.\u201d Liftopia customers love the terrain at third place Mad River Glen in Vermont, saying \u201cNothing compares to the challenge of Northeast skiing and Mad River Glen. It is simply the best if you are up for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The remaining Overall Best in Snow winners include Alta, Utah (#4); Jay Peak, Vt. (#5); Bretton Woods, N.H. (#6); Wildcat Mountain, N.H. (#7); Powder Mountain, Utah (#8); Snowbird, Utah (#9); and Sugarloaf, Maine (#10). Bretton Woods and Crystal Mountain took top spots as <\/span>Beginner- and Family-Friendly Ski Area<\/span><\/i>s as well as <\/span>Ski Areas With the Best Snow Consistency and Quality<\/span><\/i> in their respective regions (Northeast and Midwest); Magic Mountain is the <\/span>Most Challenging Ski Area<\/span><\/i> in the Northeast; Alta has the<\/span> Best Snow Consistency and Quality<\/span><\/i> in the High West; and Powder Mountain offers the <\/span>Best Value<\/span><\/i> in the High West.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor years people have told us they wanted a ranking system that wasn\u2019t based simply on which resorts were the biggest or relied on a handful of \u2018expert\u2019 opinions or advertising dollars. They want to find their next favorite ski area and to know which resorts are most beloved by other skiers and boarders,\u201d said Evan Reece, co-founder and CEO of Liftopia. \u201cWe crafted the Best in Snow Awards with details from a consumer survey and combined the results with our proprietary data to uncover the ski areas people love most. We are excited that the findings show what we already believed to be true: consumers do have amazing passion for ski areas of all sizes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Methodology <\/b><\/p>\n Liftopia is the largest ski marketing and distribution platform with the most comprehensive and unbiased overview of the ski industry. To compile the 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards, Liftopia surveyed their customers to measure their enthusiasm on specific aspects of their favorite resorts such as family friendliness, challenging terrain, crowds, and snow consistency and quality. Respondents took into consideration criteria such as snow quality and conditions, grooming, accessibility, terrain variety and difficulty, vertical drop, learn to ski and snowboard programs, staff and instructors, resort size, crowds and lift lines, accessibility of lifts and beginner terrain, off-slope activities, the surrounding community, and cost of lift tickets, rentals and programs, among others. More than 10,000 responses were then weighted with a proprietary algorithm based on Liftopia\u2019s exclusive dataset that includes skier and snowboarder visits annually, acreage, uphill capacity and average true cost of skiing to surface the best ski areas overall, across seven categories and five regions, based on what matters most to skiers and snowboarders.<\/span><\/p>\n Winners for the Overall Best in Snow, Beginner Friendly Ski Areas, Most Challenging Ski Areas, Family Friendly Ski Areas and Ski Areas with the Best Snow Consistency and Quality categories were determined by the total number of votes from survey participants for their favorite resorts in each category, normalized by skier and snowboarder visits annually. Winners for the Least Crowded Ski Areas category were determined by total number of skier and snowboarder visits annually divided by skiable acreage as well as participant feedback and votes on the least crowded ski area. Winners for the Ski Areas with the Best Value category were determined by total number of votes for ski area with the best value, normalized by skier and snowboarder visits annually and the average true cost of skiing based on effective ticket prices per resort, including ticket window, advance purchase and season pass data.<\/span><\/p>\n Complete List of 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia:<\/b> The winning ski areas in each category and region can be found by visiting <\/span>http:\/\/bestinsnow.liftopia.com\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Video, photos and additional commentary from Liftopia customers about the 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards winners are available upon request. Please email press@liftopia.com.<\/span><\/p>\n About Liftopia<\/b><\/p>\n Liftopia operates the largest online and mobile marketplace and resort technology platform serving the ski and mountain activity industry. Skiers and riders can purchase lift tickets, equipment rentals, meal vouchers and more from more than 250 ski areas in North America on<\/span> Liftopia.com<\/span><\/a> and via the<\/span> Liftopia mobile app<\/span><\/a>, with savings of up to 85% off walk-up window rates when purchased in advance. Founded in 2005, Liftopia is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading institutional and angel investors. Visit the<\/span> Liftopia blog<\/span><\/a> or follow the company on<\/span> Facebook<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> Twitter<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Liftopia 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n OVERALL Best in Snow<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beginner-Friendly Ski Areas<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n North East <\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n West Coast<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n High West \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n South East<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mid West<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Most Challenging<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n North East <\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n West Coast<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n High West \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/span>7. Black Mountain Ski Area NH<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Pats Peak NH<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Ragged Mountain NH<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Smugglers’ Notch VT<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>7. 49 Degrees North WA<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Snow Valley CA<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Homewood CA<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Donner Ski Ranch CA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>7. Grand Targhee WY<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Alta UT<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Ski Cooper CO<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Brian Head UT<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>7. Wisp MD<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Bryce Resort VA<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Winterplace WV<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Sugar Mountain NC<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>2. Buck Hill MN<\/span>
\n<\/span>3. Shanty Creek Resorts MI<\/span>
\n<\/span>4. Boyne Highlands MI<\/span>
\n<\/span>5. Caberfae Peaks MI<\/span>
\n<\/span>6. Devil’s Head WI<\/span>
\n<\/span>7. Chestnut Mountain IL<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Alpine Valley Resort WI<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Cascade Mountain WI<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Nubs Nob MI<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>2. Mad River Glen VT<\/span>
\n<\/span>3. Wildcat Mountain NH<\/span>
\n<\/span>4. Jay Peak VT<\/span>
\n<\/span>5. Cannon Mountain NH<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/span>7. Whiteface – Lake Placid NY<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Killington VT<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Stowe VT<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Sunday River ME<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>2. Kicking Horse BC<\/span>
\n<\/span>3. Squaw Valley – Alpine Meadows CA<\/span>
\n<\/span>4. Revelstoke Mountain Resort BC<\/span>
\n<\/span>5. Crystal Mountain WA<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/span>7. Alyeska AK<\/span>
\n<\/span>8. Whistler Blackcomb BC<\/span>
\n<\/span>9. Red Mountain Resort BC<\/span>
\n<\/span>10. Mt Baker WA<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
\n<\/span>2. Snowbird UT<\/span>
\n<\/span>3. Alta UT<\/span>
\n<\/span>4. Arapahoe Basin CO<\/span>
\n<\/span>5. Silverton Mountain CO<\/span>
\n<\/span>6. Big Sky MT<\/span>
\n<\/span>7. Taos Ski Valley NM<\/span>