At a minimum, state sites provide the basic info: snow conditions reports in one form or another, calendars of events and links to members’ sites as well as to travel and ski sources. Other common items are mountain cams, on-line photo albums, streaming videos and audio.
Other commonalities?
- News about local ski programs for kids, such as the Fifth Grade Passport in California, Colorado and Vermont, and Earn Your Turns for New Hampshire fourth-graders.
- Contests and members-only areas that collect market research data from site visitors who register. These interactive areas are not showing much activity, but this could change.
- Press centers with releases and downloadable press kits and images.
Beyond these features, each site presents the state’s self-image to visitors. Here is how leading state sites compared for the 2001-02 season.
California
The California Ski Industry Association’s website (www.californiasnow.com) looks great. Clickable action images link to What’s Happening, Plan Your Trip, Kids and Families, Cross-Country, Riders Only, Mountain Summer and also, for the industry, the CSIA Maintenance Conference. The Riders Only link serves up very detailed information and links to the resorts’ terrain-park sites. The key link to member resorts is a little subtle, at the top left of the screen; this reporter failed to see it on a first visit. Once spotted, the Resorts/Maps button pulls up a clickable state map. Click on an area icon, and the resort info appears. Click on California Gold Pass and the 37 alpine and nordic areas are listed, but the listing does not include links to participating areas’ sites. Best features: home page map, Riders Only area.
Colorado
Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) with 23 member areas, has two ambitious websites: www.coloradoski.com for skiers generally and the new www.gethere.com for Gens X and Y. CSCUSA says it logs about one million visits during the ski season. The main site was redesigned last fall; its image is what CSCUSA president David Perry calls “youthful, energetic and cutting edge.”
The home page is a medley of red, white and blue blocks with prominent streaming sponsor advertisements. A featured destination occupies front and center position. Snow conditions reports scroll down one block. Buttons at the top of the page connect to deals, resort information and other topics. In some cases, identical information can be accessed from several different blocks.
The bottom of the home page concentrates on more Colorado-centric topics, such as the 5th Grade Passport and the Gold Pass programs and a sign-up page for daily snow reports.
CSCUSA is testing the website as a market research tool via a pop-up survey launched in mid-February. For example, Colorado residents were asked whether they would buy a $999 season pass to all 23 member areas—and after responding, users could see updated results. Best features: photo gallery, interactive surveys, easy access to lots of information.
In February, CSCUSA launched the even younger and more cutting-edge gethere.com. This members-only site is the place to spout off on personal and mountain issues with like-minded young Colorado-based, -bound and -wannabe skiers and riders. Other features include streaming music, video clips and athlete profiles. Resort information replicates that found on coloradoski.com, but the youth-oriented sponsors on the page are different. Best feature: unique look and tone designed for the audience.
Maine
The home page for Ski Maine (www.skimaine.com) contains a lot of white space, with one featured image that changes frequently. The site is no-frills and functional. Buttons link to resort facts and snow conditions pages; another click provides details on 13 alpine and 10 cross-country centers. A click on Mountain Cams links to Portland-based Resort Sports Network. Other links bring up a state map, videos or photos, or provide information on weather, schedule of events, adaptive skiing and more. Best features: quiet, reserved graphics, home page.
Michigan
The straightforward Michigan Ski Industries Association (MSIA) website (www.goskimichigan.com) offers information on, and links to, 29 downhill areas in four regions, two cross-country-only areas, 11 downhill areas with cross-country and 16 ski retailers and retail chains. A supplier page was under construction in mid-March. The home page has three or four generic images of skiers, riders and small groups that change periodically. The News and Specials button includes such key MSIA programs as Discover Michigan learn-to-ski/ride. The site is simple, clear and easy to navigate—nothing fancy but easy to use and helpful. Best feature: ease of use.
New Hampshire
Ski New Hampshire (www.skinh.com) has a clean, clear, pragmatic website with the most wide-ranging information in the Northeast. The home page displays an up-to-date photo taken at one of the 15 alpine or 16 nordic member areas, introductory text and buttons for individual resorts, learn-to-ski/ride programs, lodging, tubing and trail maps. One rare feature: first-person resort reviews by both Ski New Hampshire staffers and readers. The page also spotlights the New Hampshire Value Pass and Earn Your Turns programs.
But the site goes well beyond the resorts. The lodging guide is segmented into half a dozen regions, each with links to various tourism entities and specific resorts or properties. Visitors can also order the Ski New Hampshire winter guide and the state travel guide. Registering for the association’s free newsletter extracts some basic demographic and ski-activity information.
This site feels more up-to-the-minute than most. Ski New Hampshire executive director Alice Pearce says, “We tinker with the site daily—new photos on the home page, new headlines, new links. We had a running Bode Miller medal count during the Olympics. We add press releases to the media center as we write them and new deals as the ski areas introduce them.” Ski New Hampshire maintains two additional sites, one on cross-country and one built for British skiers. Best features: reader resort reviews, lodging guide, fresh items and feel.
New Mexico
Ski New Mexico’s crisp website (www.skinewmexico.com) features a big, beautiful powder photo suitable for framing. Site contents are cleverly packaged via five main topics on the home page, each with cool fly-over menus to pertinent sub-topics. Pages for eight alpine areas and one nordic center appear quickly and are easy to scroll through. Most topics are instantly recognizable, though Snow Talk, the site’s interactive section, could be more clearly marked. Information is also available in Spanish. Best features: home page design, quick access to info, Spanish language info.
New York
The home page of the Ski Areas of New York (www.skiandrideny.com) features some unusual but fun items: twice-weekly reports by skiing weatherman Herb Stevens, an application for a New York State “Ski It to Believe It!” license plate and a link to the “New York State Law” for the ski safety act of 1988—an unusual service for a state-wide ski site. Users can also apply for or register to receive free ski conditions reports. And the site provides links to 35 members. On the downside, the site showcases some curiously out-dated information. For example, on the home page in mid-March were outdated weather reports and Olympic information weeks after the Games were over. Best features: Herb Stevens, license plate application.
Oregon
The site of the Oregon Snowsport Industries Association (OSIA, www.oregonski.org), has buttons to the most sought-after information and some exotica as well. Links to 13 ski areas in five regions are easy to navigate. “Getting Started” gives beginners a boost with learn-to-ski/ride programs. “Mountain Specials” directs skiers to good deals all over the state. OSIA’s annual newsletter is available to anyone with Adobe Acrobat Reader. “Membership” lists dozens of ski areas, suppliers, sporting-goods retailers, lodging properties and publications, with links where available. However, the site provides no travel information other than a link to the state’s tourism site, and no daily snow reports. Best features: regional news and special deals links.
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest Ski Industries Assn. (www.skiindustry.com/pnsaa) is primarily for the industry, but a homepage listing of 32 member areas and snowcat operations in Alaska, northern Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington links to consumer sites. Best feature: wide-area resort listing.
Pennsylvania
The website of the Poconos marketing group (www.skipoconos.com) dishes information on 13 eastern Pennsylvania areas. Click on “Ski Areas” and up comes a map with little skier icons. Other buttons produce information on lodging, retail and rental shops, dining, weather and classifieds/coupons. Alas, the map is not truly interactive; click on any icon and all it says is “ski area,” rather than providing specific information on that area. Otherwise, this is a smooth little site. Best feature: has the right mix of news and info for the local audience.
Utah
The Ski Utah site (www.skiutah.com) is incredibly comprehensive, with all sorts of information on 14 alpine and nine nordic areas: news, deals, snow reports, rental and retail shops, dining, nightlife and other topics. A prominent button links to the Interconnect, the Ski Utah-organized guided tour to five areas. “Powder Lounge” is the members-only message board. “Utah’s Hidden Gems” describes some of the state’s more remote, less-known ski areas. A subtle button labeled “International” on the top banner of the home page flips to another page welcoming skiers in five languages, with links to tour operators overseas.
Several items make this site feel very current: a “mountain weather” report, “today’s top news” item, plus avalanche news and an awareness clinic. The last two items also provide a useful service and subtly remind visitors that Utah gets tons of snow.
This site logs approximately 200,000 visitors per month during the season and about 2 million over the entire year. That’s a lot, considering that Utah averages about 3.1 million skier/rider visits a year. Best features: comprehensiveness, sense of adventure, breadth of info.
Vermont
Ski Vermont (www.skivermont.com) opens with a slide show of mountain and resort scenics, a theme continued on subsequent pages. Ask for information on any of 16 alpine resorts, and the area’s logo pops up with a click-through that supplies basic facts. Ask about nordic areas, and up come 29 areas separated into three regions. Users can easily link to environment information, state-wide summer and winter information, and request literature on skiing in the Green Mountain State. Best features: spare design, good resort links, web cams, inviting home page.
Washington
The website of Ski Washington (www.skiwashington.com) features a state map with links to 17 alpine and nordic ski areas. There are two, count ’em two, conditions links—Jake Moe’s Snow Report (fairly typical in style and content) and Larry Schick’s Powder Watch (highly personalized take on on- and off-piste conditions). Local fans can also click on streaming videos from the Ski Washington TV show. The EZ-Ski-1-2-3 button brings up information on learn-to-ski/ride programs at 13 resorts in Washington and across the border in Idaho. Best features: Larry Schick, streaming TV video.
Special Interest
The Cross-Country Ski Areas Association (www.xcski.org) is an appropriately simple site for information on cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. This easy-to-navigate site has clear links to basic information on cross-country skiing, an events calendar, daily snow reports, products, equipment, guided tours and travel, snowshoeing and even where to cross-country ski with your dog. A directory features a state-by-state listing of nordic centers and other useful information, including links to individual resorts and state organizations. A useful industry services section addresses those in the biz. Best feature: comprehensive links.
Best of the Ski Web
- Best Overall (East): Ski New Hampshire
- Best Overall (West): Ski Utah
- Best Home Page: Ski New Mexico
- Best Links to Resorts: Ski Vermont
- Jazziest: Colorado Ski Country USA
- Best for Snowboarders: California Ski Industries Association
- Most Unusual: Ski Areas of New York
- Most Inclusive: Oregon Snowsport Industries Association
- Most Frill-Free Functionality: Cross Country Ski Areas Association
- Best Weather Report: Ski Washington
