Whether you’ve been thinking about this winter’s ski trip since the day the mountains closed or you’re more of an impromptu traveler, it’s always good to start the season prepared for when the right conditions strike. From navigating the resorts and the best ways to get there to dependable ski socks and base layers, like icebreaker’s, here are a few season-opening guides for a variety of mountains across North America to get you ready for a winter vacation.
Make sure to purchase the right season pass. One easy way to do that is to get the Ikon Pass, which grants skiers and snowboarders access to more than 50 mountains in North America and another three dozen ski mountains worldwide. The official base layer, sock, and mid layer of Ikon Pass, icebreaker creates high-performance clothing using merino wool—perfect for snow early in the season, powder dumps midwinter, and spring skiing that lasts late into the season.
Deer Valley, Utah
Deer Valley
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With 200 trails and 300 inches of average snowfall, ski-only Deer Valley Resort is one of the top ski destinations in the Rockies. The ZoneKnit line by icebreaker, made from merino-blend fabric, provides warmth on the mountains. It features body-mapped technology that helps regulate temperature during high-intensity activity, and looks stylish enough to wear to Deer Valley’s renowned restaurants and hotels.
Skiers can stay at the ski-in, ski-out St. Regis Deer Valley, which offers amenities such as private ski valets, spa services, and its famous Bloody Marys. The Stein Erikson Lodge has beautiful suites and gourmet sweets, including chocolate bonbons.
After a day on the mountains, try a neat whisky pour at High West Distillery and Saloon. For a gastronomic gem, Riverhorse on Main features a rotating menu that often showcases fresh fish dishes and inventive takes on wild game, accompanied by live music. Restaurants like the Twisted Fern and Handle also take their cues from the seasons with creative starters and entrees. Tupelo is a fine dining experience with a Southern twist. Head to Grappa for fried calamari, flatbreads, slow-braised osso buco, or duck risotto. Or simply enjoy local beers and legendary buffalo burgers at the No Name Saloon.
Stratton, Vermont
Stratton
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For those skiing or snowboarding in the Northeast, Stratton is the tallest peak in Southern Vermont and one of the closest big mountains for New Yorkers and Bostonians. Stratton offers more than 2,000 feet in vertical drop and one of the few slope-side villages on the East Coast. Its frigid Northeast days demand good eats, good drinks, and good layers. Go with icebreaker’s 300 MerinoFine™ half-zip thermal top and leggings—featuring the softest, finest, and heaviest weight fabric, made with ultrafine merino wool fibers that deliver a luxuriously soft feel and keep you warm in the cold New England mornings.
Stay in historic Weston village at the Weston in one of three suites or five guest rooms decorated with antiques and art. The property’s restaurant pairs a French bistro–style menu with craft cocktails and fine wines. You can also visit its yoga salon and spa.
Simpler, stylish rooms are available at the Main and Mountain Bar & Motel. Try cocktails, mocktails, or local microbrews at Main and Mountain with wings and dogs sourced from a local, natural meat purveyor. If you’re there on Sunday, it’s burger night.
Enjoy shared plate dining at the sister property, Homestyle Hotel. For a wonderfully simple menu with favorites like house-made pastas and smoked or raw seafood starters, visit SoLo Farm & Table.
Even if you live far south of the snow, you can load your ski and snowboard bags onto Amtrak’s Vermonter. It’s about an hour to the mountain from the nearest Vermont stations.
Whistler, Canada
Whistler
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Whistler and Blackcomb are a pair of mountains in the Pacific Northwest, with some of the best powder and runs in Canada—and the continent. The Whistler area is also well-known for heli-skiing to some of the untouched, exceptional snowpack in the surrounding mountains with companies like Canadian Mountain Holidays and Mike Weiglie Helicopter Skiing. Whether skiing Whistler, Blackcomb, or a glacier accessible only by helicopter, icebreaker’s RealFleece™ Descender products are a plastic-free solution to fleece that comes in a range of weights to help you meet a variety of conditions and terrains.
Visitors also have options when it comes to hotels. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler and Four Seasons Resort Whistler are ski-in, ski-out stays, each with an exceptional steakhouse and all the comforts for which the two brands are known.
The après-ski scene can range from raucous to elevated. But, overall, dining in Whistler makes the ski town as well-regarded for its cuisine as it is for its snow. Delicious seafood and game meats complement classic cocktails at Rimrock Café. Bearfoot Bistro focuses on fish and game, too, with experiences like drinks in Grey Goose’s Ice Room, front row seats at the chef’s table, or dinner in the wine cellar.
Quattro Whistler’s inventive Italian cuisine features house-made pasta dishes and fresh seafood from the nearby Pacific. For this ski town’s best Neapolitan pies, Pizzeria Antico is an affordable option, especially at happy hour. At Araxi, one of Whistler’s and the ski world’s most celebrated dining experiences, you can enjoy oysters and specialty drinks at the heated outdoor bar.
Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania
Blue Mountain, a fraction of the size of nearly every resort’s beginner terrain, is a lesser-known gem in the Poconos. This small Pennsylvania mountain offers fun vertical terrain and a variety of trails. Though farther south than Vermont, Pennsylvania’s mountains can have chilling Northeast days, too. Choose a solid base layer, such as icebreaker’s Merino 200 Oasis long-sleeve thermal tops and leggings, which are 100 percent merino wool and have technical details like flatlock seams and offset shoulder seams to reduce friction.
With few hotel options nearby, vacation rentals are the move in this part of Pennsylvania. However, you will find a lively après ski scene. Joey B’s features hundreds of beers by the bottle and on tap. Wednesdays are wing nights. For smoked wings served alongside live music, good beer, and barbecue, head to Riverwalk, an outpost of Seven Sirens Brewing Co. along the Lehigh River. (You could also stay in the Airbnb above the brewery.) It’s one of many ways to enjoy the delights of winter when you travel in North America this season.
