South Dakota Ski Area Guide -- Very Complete

• Deer Mountain, Deadwood • 200 skiable acres on 800' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 7000'; Base elevation: 6200'. 4 Lifts: 1 triple, 2 doubles, 1 mitey-mite. Uphill capacity: 2300/hr. Terrain Mix: 40-40-20. Longest Run: 5280'. Season: usually early December to late March, Wed-Sun. Night skiing Fri & Sat. Rentals & Lessons. Annual Snowfall: 150". Snowmaking: 30%.
  The SKInny: The Black Hills "other" ski area, Deer Mountain is a bit of a throwback. Whatever you call it, skiers agree that it is a top quality experience. Lifts tend to crawl, plenty of snowboarders, but there is also plenty of room. Some off-piste stuff. Wanderers will be ok, hotshots too. The real target is beginners and intermediates.
  Signature Trail:
Crow Dog.


• Great Bear Recreation Park, Sioux Falls • 20 skiable acres on 200' vertical
  Specs: 3 Lifts: 1 quad, 2 surface. Uphill capacity: 1600/hr. Terrain Mix: 25-50-25. Season: usually December to March. Night skiing 7 days. Rentals & Lessons. Annual Snowfall: 150".
  The SKInny: Town tow run by Sioux Falls Parks & Rec in combination with a non-profit corporation. Great recreational outlet for the kids of Sioux Falls. Ideal for learning; also has some terrain park stuff. Nice little operation with full-fledged grooming, lodge, etc. We always recommend supporting these places.
  Signature Trail: Polar Pass.



• Terry Peak, Lead • 400 skiable acres on 1100' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 7052'; Base elevation: 5900'. 5 Lifts: 2 quads, 2 triples, 1 double. Uphill capacity: 6500/hr. Terrain Mix: 20-70-10. Longest Run: 10,560'. Season: usually late November to early April. Rentals & Lessons. Annual Snowfall: 150". Snowmaking: 60%.
  The SKInny: Biggest ski area between New York and the Rockies, but not a heck of a lot of challenge. Novices and developing intermediates will love Terry Peak, and rightly so. Wanderers will be ok, but the hotshot will be a bit bored. Beginners will do fine. Approaches and scenery -- as well as the overall skiing -- is excellent. Liftlines can get long on weekends. All in all, Terry Peak is the best ski area on the prairie.
  Signature Trail: Little Hope.

Best all-around Skiing Guide for Women...

Mom has a pretty raw deal on the average ski trip. They're expected to make sure every child is geared up and ready to go...settle the arguments, feed the family, prepare the snacks, pack the chapstick, and so on...and then ski the black diamonds with dad after the second lesson.

Sound familiar?

The book, Skiing: A Woman's Guide by Maggie Loring and Molly Mulhern Gross ought to be mandatory reading for every ski mom. It not only provides the basics for managing the gang, it also gives a step-by-step instructional guide from a woman's point-of-view. This link is to amazon.com, where you can usually pick up a used copy for about two bucks. Mom, it's the best two bucks you'll spend all winter.

Key

Hotshots are skiers who can ski anywhere, anytime, in any conditions, and generally enjoy showing off those skills. Wanderers are skiers who like to go exploring, to essentially get "lost" and move from face to face, seldom skiing the same trail twice. Newbies are the girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband who has never skied before, but gamely insists on going along. Obviously, Blues represents intermediate skiers, while Blacks refers to experts.

A note about ski area statistics: Although it's hard to believe, some ski areas are (gasp!) less than truthful with their numbers. Like the guy who lies about his, uh, shoe size, some ski areas believe that inflated numbers make their resort sound more appealling. When these numbers are obviously questionable, we put a note: (?!) and will attempt to verify the legitimacy of the claim.

A Signature Trail Is mostly subjective. Whether it's history, reputation, the view, or degree of difficulty...it's the run you have to do, even if it isn't necessarily the best the resort has to offer. If a ski area calls a trail by two names (one at the top, and another at the bottom) in an effort to claim more trails, we go by the upper name. If a trail is called "Upper Whatever" and "Lower Whatever," we simply list it as "Whatever" in this index.

Trail to Improvement

Probably the most helpful book I've seen to help you make the jump from strong blue to expert or hotshot level, is All-Mountain Skier: The Way to Expert Skiing, by R. Mark Elling. If you've tried to follow the recommendations in magazines and books, and had trouble mimicking the photos, this book somehow makes it all work, makes it understandable and easier to apply on the slopes. This link goes to amazon.com, where you can generally snag a used copy for about six bucks, or buy a nice squeaky clean one for about 20% less than retail.

-- Rick Bolger

Please click here for the main (not Maine) SkierNet.com page.