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Are there any big cities that are reasonably close to good skiing?

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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
For the purpose of this discussion lets say that:

Big city = Either >1,500,000 in the city OR >5,000,000 in the metropolitan area.

and that:

Reasonably close = Either <2hrs by car OR <3hrs by public transit

and that:

Good skiing = Steep terrain AND Lots of Natural Snow.


I could only come up with Santiago, can anybody think of anyplace else
Apr 28 2010 5:26AM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10448 - Karma: 10,021
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. None of the cities that have really been discussed are "big cities."

The only other ones I can think of besides Santiago are....
Sapporo, Japan - Population 1,900,000
Click for larger image

Munich, Germany - Population (1,300,000...so a bit below what you had listed)

I would almost throw San Francisco in there. It is only 800,000 in the city, so obviously nothing compared to the NYC/Sao Paulo/Tokyo/etc big cities, but for its size is very dense and urban.

My top three MEDIUM sized US cities.....

Seattle:
City - 600,000
Metro - 3,400,000

Portland:
City - 580,000
Metro - 2,150,000

Denver:
City - 610,000
Metro - 2,500,000


Sorry but SLC (City - 180,000, Metro - 1,100,00) and Reno (City - 220,000, Metro - 975,000) aren't "cities." They are large towns. They arguably have better skiing access than the 3 listed above (with SLC being NO QUESTION the best in the US). But comparing the city living aspect in either of them to any city pushing 600,000 in city population is just not realistic.

In canada, you are obviously looking at Calgary or Vancouver.
Apr 28 2010 6:50PM
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Ftacnik
Posts: 1997 - Karma: 111
Sacramento? It's big. And 2 hours from Northstar, Sierra and Squaw at Tahoe. There's a ton of other resorts up there too. Also Mammoth is 5 hours away.
Apr 28 2010 6:55PM
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oreopancake.
Posts: 2596 - Karma: 21
1. http://www.blatantworld.com/feature/north_america/most_populous_cities.html Calgary is number 26 with 1.05 million

2. Calgary Olympic Park i've heard is like an hour out of town, tops, and it has a good park.

3. Likewise.



Apr 28 2010 7:10PM
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mackcamp
Posts: 1209 - Karma: 264
Miami
Apr 28 2010 7:18PM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
In reality how long would it take to arrive at the mountains from downtown? What are the public transit options like? As for SLC, yes, some of the best skiing anywhere but I used to live in utah and the nasty sprawl of the city that stretches almost all the way to provo is just straight depressing. for perspective aerial shot of a city: http://tinyurl.com/2vwmr68 aerial shot of a strip mall: http://tinyurl.com/37ha2cd
Apr 28 2010 7:29PM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
what the fuck why did the line breaks that I put in not show up?
Apr 28 2010 7:30PM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
and why did they show up in the quoted version?
Apr 28 2010 7:31PM
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Malczyk
Posts: 1435 - Karma: 1,895
not there....all it does is rain. definatly not the northwest
Apr 28 2010 7:42PM
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jimmer
Posts: 3586 - Karma: 80
sac sucks, and definitely is not a big city. nor does it feel like one. i'd live in san francisco over sacramento any day, even though it's 2 more hours to ski.
Apr 28 2010 8:28PM
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heFF
Posts: 5786 - Karma: 4,456
SLC! nuff said
Apr 28 2010 8:47PM
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Brentizzle
Posts: 1584 - Karma: 1,871
Well first i didnt mean in population i meant actually size.

And its called CANADA olymic park, not calgary olympic park. And its actually right inside the city, 10 mins away from my house.
Apr 28 2010 8:57PM
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Brentizzle
Posts: 1584 - Karma: 1,871
 I admit now that i was wrong when i said that. I was something that i had heard somewhere recently and maybe i miss interpreted it.

Lets just agree there is lots of good skiing in and around calgary and its a pretty big city.
Apr 28 2010 9:22PM
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oreopancake.
Posts: 2596 - Karma: 21
It's not second in size either.

And yeah my bad.
Apr 28 2010 9:34PM
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swagburg
Posts: 798 - Karma: 4,706
DUDE!!! Denver is an with an hour and a half from breck, keystone, abasin, copper, vail, loveland, echo mountain, and beaver creek!
Apr 28 2010 9:50PM
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10...nuffsaid
Posts: 308 - Karma: 54
My good sir....you are an idiot. COP is in the city and the park is good for night skiing but otherwise is crap. Sunshine is teh best snow within 2 hours of Calgary. Calgary is also 3rd largest CITY (not Metro) in Canada, which considering our population versus other nations like Japan and America, is on the same level as Denver, Sanitago and Sapora. Our good friend slightly mis-informed and this is no reason for you to bash his ego.
Apr 28 2010 10:09PM
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10...nuffsaid
Posts: 308 - Karma: 54
You are correct. i made an exaggeration. please forgive the idiocy of such a maneuver, it is SO rare here on the planet NS.

Sunshine is the resort i was referring to. Now before you go click happy and start babbling about the downpoints of Sunshine take a hard look at the plethora of oft overlooked positives.

1) Canada's (and i dare say The whole of North America) largest inbounds freeride zone.
2) 30 feet of the best natural powder (excluding Revelstokes) on average yearly
3) Big resort feel, small resort population
4) 107 runs (and not gay little 10m ones like the Lake has) accessed by 12 lifts
5) A vertical drop of 3,514 ft starting at 9g
6) The longest season of any resort in North America (Including those with a Glacier...pfft... overated crap)
7) The largest and baddest park in the Albertan Rockies
8) Short drive from civilization
9) Well over 3g of skiable terrain
10) The best views in the Rockies.


I'm done.
Apr 28 2010 10:29PM
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oreopancake.
Posts: 2596 - Karma: 21
Like I stated in my post, I HEARD that it was a good park from friends who have been there.

And he said second largest in NA, which was untrue.

And I wasn't bashing his ego, I was just correcting him. Maybe the likewise comment was uncalled for, but whatever.
Apr 28 2010 10:30PM
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10...nuffsaid
Posts: 308 - Karma: 54
fair enough... i apologize for bashing on you.


we coo?
Apr 28 2010 10:33PM
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Brentizzle
Posts: 1584 - Karma: 1,871
did you not see me admit i was wrong.
Apr 28 2010 10:38PM
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AhrenStein
Posts: 1941 - Karma: 177
Sorry, but that is just not true.
Apr 28 2010 10:43PM
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Drew_ski.
Posts: 1310 - Karma: 1,858
seattle
Apr 28 2010 10:52PM
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gnarles.
Posts: 2587 - Karma: 130
vancouver is the way to go and has the most legit transit system
Apr 28 2010 10:56PM
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Utard
Posts: 2132 - Karma: 305
SLC has about a mil. If you wanna hit park you can go to PC if you wanna hit big mntn and powder you can go to snowbird and if you wanna do shit ass east coast style ice skiing you can go to sundance
Apr 28 2010 10:57PM
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m_nova
Posts: 191 - Karma: 581

DENVERRR

Apr 28 2010 11:02PM
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oreopancake.
Posts: 2596 - Karma: 21
we coo.

and sorry Brentizzle, I didn't see the other post, my apologies.
Apr 28 2010 11:23PM
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jason...
Posts: 9006 - Karma: 780
Vancouver. Got 3 local mountains (all with night skiing till 10pm) within a half hours drive and an hour and a half up the road is Whistler. I live in North Van, 5 minute drive or 15 minute bus ride from my local hill.
Apr 28 2010 11:44PM
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Obsessedwski
Posts: 2261 - Karma: 71
Yea but from what I've seen from the plane and the airport, it looks like a pretty boring city; nothing but brown, snow, and some buildings and houses methodically built on streets. I need some up's and down's in my city, some ireguralities and such. Just my opinion though.

Vancouver is probably the illest, it has whis, three sick "local" mounains within half an hour, and sunpeaks, revvy, big white, bigwhite, silverstar, Red, etc. within road trip distance.
Apr 29 2010 12:25AM
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throwin_steeze
Posts: 364 - Karma: 885
Kansas is the best for steeps, mmmm, get some
Apr 29 2010 1:03AM
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assface
Posts: 4319 - Karma: 2,031
nashville and miami are just what your looking for
Apr 29 2010 1:33AM
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jerad
Posts: 3236 - Karma: 47
Dude, that's whats awesome about it! All the perks of a big city, minus the population and traffic. I love living in Sac, its easy as fuck to get up to Tahoe, plus you never have to shovel snow and can swim/golf/skate all year round.

If driving an additional 2 hours to the mountains and paying 2x the cost of living is what you're into though, hey, who am I to judge!
Apr 29 2010 1:58AM
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jerad
Posts: 3236 - Karma: 47
Although, I spent a fair amount of time in New York, and the cost of living and traffic/distance from mountains (shitty east coast mountains) really makes me appreciate a low-key city thats close to the coast and mountains as well. But hey, whatever floats your boat.
Apr 29 2010 2:07AM
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cousinmark
Posts: 939 - Karma: 29
tehran
Apr 29 2010 2:27AM
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cousinmark
Posts: 939 - Karma: 29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Damavand_from_dizin.jpg

^there is a tram that takes you from tehran which has a population of + 5 million,,,to that link that i wasnt able to make blue,,,according to wikipedia the most reliable source of information ever,,,the highest accesible point by ski lift is 11 thousand feet and change
Apr 29 2010 2:37AM
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doyle.
Posts: 1624 - Karma: 596
vancouver is the shit. we've got 4 mountians within 2 hour drive
Apr 29 2010 2:39AM
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Austeeze
Posts: 807 - Karma: 18
Love Zurich
Apr 29 2010 2:44AM
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Ryanvdonk
Posts: 12811 - Karma: 1,971
baker isnt very far either, just a quick trip across the boarder
Apr 29 2010 8:03AM
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Fuknhipster
Posts: 283 - Karma: 133
Apart from the one mention of Tokyo, and Milan i have read are we only confined to talking about cities in America? why no talk about some european cities like Geneva is not far from Zermatt and some of the greatest snow in the world..i Would say Melbourne, Australia except the Snow down here is pretty shit compared to any of you in the states. our awesome days here are like your average days but the citie kicks ass. Drive is about 3 ish hours to Mt Buller



My 2 Cents
Peace
Apr 29 2010 8:16AM
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rooftop
Posts: 110 - Karma: 8
Great thread, since I'm looking to move within the year.  So where ever my career takes me and the snow is deep and there's still some concrete around is where I'll be.
Apr 29 2010 8:18AM
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Matty_C
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 236

yes, it seems the posters in this thread all suffer from a common ns afflication- the belief that the world, or at least the ski world, consists only of north america. if only they knew...

and btw while geneva is like 2 hours from zermatt, it is way closer to way better skiing in the portes du soleil (biggest ski area in the world), chamonix (chamonix), and other smaller resorts that offer killer skiing. But really Lausanne is a more fun city and is closer to Verbier and other resorts in the Valais region

Apr 29 2010 8:31AM
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jimmer
Posts: 3586 - Karma: 80
word man, i get what you're saying. but this dude who posted the thread wants the experience of living in a big big city. and frisco would provide that way more than sac.
Apr 29 2010 9:49AM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
Where did you get that?


Ok back to the point.

Putting aside the idiots that think Denver, SLC, Sacramento are big cities, what have we come up with so far?

Santiago, Oslo, Munich, Milan, Tehran, Sapporo

Anything else?
Apr 29 2010 11:37AM
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zanderd
Posts: 231 - Karma: 14
Vancouver Boi.
Apr 29 2010 11:55AM
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Klick_2_klaim
Posts: 3396 - Karma: 25
yaaay 26th! yaaay. But COP is in the city, in fact.
Apr 29 2010 12:10PM
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10...nuffsaid
Posts: 308 - Karma: 54
do tell, who runs longer than Nov. 11- May 24th.

And yes, Calgs is kinda boring topographically but has some awesome longboarding for the off season.  unfortunately its always brown in the winter as they don't get much snow in the city.  but its kinda like denver in that way.

and in answer to the whole "NS beleives skiing only exists in NA" um for your info i would love to be proved wrong. in fact fly me out there you haters and i will bow down as i relish in the glory of Europe's and Japan's awesome skiing.



seriously.
Apr 29 2010 2:55PM
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VT_scratch
Posts: 8796 - Karma: 6,290
jeaaaa!
Apr 29 2010 2:56PM
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Matty_C
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 236
it's not easy to tell, but i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that this post is you acknowledging that the skiing in europe and/or japan is indeed awesome, and not some half-assed attempt at sarcasm implying that you do truly believe the ski world to be restricted to north america?
Apr 29 2010 3:13PM
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Rosbif
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 930
One more time, Tokyo. It's Huge and you can get a Shinkansen straight into the Gondola station of some resorts.
Apr 29 2010 3:41PM
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10...nuffsaid
Posts: 308 - Karma: 54
yes, now that i look back that would have been a half assed attempt at thinly veiled sarcasm. next time i shall insert a (sarcasm) to make sure you do not get confused.


all sarcasm aside. i do believe and wholeheartedly admit that not only does skiing exist outside of the NA but ALSO...that is is alive, well and VERY legit.
Apr 29 2010 9:22PM
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Ryanvdonk
Posts: 12811 - Karma: 1,971
arapahoe basin runs longer and doesnt have a glacier, Mid October-beginning of june usually is the season...been getting quite a bit of snow the past week or so too
Apr 30 2010 2:00AM
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10...nuffsaid
Posts: 308 - Karma: 54
ok i admit that you guys are technically correct. A basin and Mammoth both have earlier opening dates and later closing dates.


BUT

Exculding this year, a basin, sunshine and mammoth pretty much all have the same opening ad closing dates minus like 5 days. and sunshine does not make snow to get the runs open. when the date hits they are almost always 50% open on the opening date. Is it the same at a basin and mammoth?


ALSO


We do threads always end up being a shitstorm between like 5 people arguing about specifics? I for one am ashamed.




Apr 30 2010 11:07AM
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