Vail Mountain has ranked as the
Number 1 ski resort in North America for the third consecutive year, according
to SKI magazine's annual readers poll. Vail Resorts' five ski resorts --
Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly -- once again took top
honors in the poll with all five mountains placing in the top 20.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-08-2004/0002246416&EDATE=

Anyone have a link to the entire top 60 list? Ski maagzine's poll tends to over-emphasize the non-skiing aspects of a resort but it is still a fun read.

This isnt exactly it but you can search the top ten of each catagory here and also see the top ten of the east and the west.
http://www.skimag.com/skimag/resort_guide/custom/1,15192,,00.html

A quick look up of some of the resorts showed the following
Seven Springs came in at number 12 in the east and Snowshoe was number 20.

Here is a link to the top 20 eastern ski areas
http://www.skimag.com/skimag/resort_guide/east/0,19074,,00.html

Thanks. But I believe those are still last year's results...

This year's top 10:

1. Vail
2. Deer Valley, Utah
3. Snowmass
4. Beaver Creek
5. Whistler/Blackcomb, B.C.
6. Breckenridge
7. Aspen
8. Park City, Utah
9. Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
10. Steamboat

Source:

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=dff4e978-0abe-421a-01eb-cf02a7ce14ec&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

Entertaining, as always. I browsed some of the posted links, certainly not all, and to my astonishment could not find Mad River Glen anywhere. Even checking Challenge in the east, MRG did not make the top ten. Go figure! (Obligatory disclaimer. I am a shareholder, in fact one of the earliest ones.) IMO, MRG has the best on the map terrain in the east when the snow is good, although one doesn't normally go there to ski on the map. I have probably skied 50 - 100 days there and on at least 80% of them have found good snow somewhere. Also, IMO, Mt. Mansfield (not Stowe mountain resort but the mountain) and Smuggler's Notch have the best terrain in the east, period. But it is almost all off the map. Anyhow whatever you like is what you like.

I bet the reason Snowshoe came out as 20 out of 20 is because the Ski Mag staff ate at the Junction Restaurant... Enough to take Snowshoe down fifteen places.

I actually like the Junction. The only place I've gotten anything for free at ANY restaurant at a ski resort, coffee (mmmm). I like their deer chili. Now you want to take it down a notch go to Cheat Mountain Pizza. One time we were ignored for 20 minutes by our waiter, and once they were out of crust...'nuff said. FoxFire is pretty good though. They have this awesome burger with pork barbecue and bacon on it. Just don't eat it and try to go down Cupp anytime soon.

Lou:

I was sad about Snowshoe as well, but I have to say that I am impressed with the readers' poll. I fill out my ballot every year because I know in this case, one vote really does count. Only the dedicated readers of Ski go through the effort to fill out and mail in the poll.

Lou, johnfmh, it's 6 hours to Snowshoe and 7 to Vail!

Notice that on most of the top 10 resorts you can ski the same day you fly.

If Whistler had been a direct flight, it might have ranked higher.

Hey comprex ...

It may be 6 hrs to SnowShoe (more like 4.5 with CH), Cannaan, Timberline but I defy you to make it to Vail in 7; the flight alone is 5. So unless you are a very VIP you have to drive to BWI, park, stand in various lines for several hours, then stand in line again at the Vail end for luggage, rental and drive 2 hrs from Boulder airport to Vail Resort. Our travel time total is approx 11-13 hours door to door ... kinda eats a hole in 2 potential skiing days doesn't it?

We ski west a couple of times a year but we also spend 3-4 long weekends at Snowshoe each season allowing us to get more slope time than if we had to find those extra finances and days off necessary to travel out west.

East or West, each has its advantages.