Due to the ongoing COVID crisis, we've heard from people that this year they plan on doing ski trips differently than they had in the past. With the option to work remotely, why not stay someplace for longer and only ski the best snow days? Required of course is that you have a good internet connection to get your job done.
We looked for places that have the following:
- Great early season snowfall this year (a special year due to la niña conditions)
- High-speed internet access
- Affordable housing
1) Bend, OR - Mt. Bachelor
- Internet Access: To ski Mt Bachelor, you will most likely stay in Bend or Sunriver. Here you can expect median download speeds of over 30mbps, median upload speeds over 5mpbs, and low latency.
- La Niña Impact: Increased early snowfall
- Target Opening Date: December 7th
- Ski Pass: IKON
2) Sandy, UT - Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, & Solitude
- Internet Access: To access these hills affordably you will most likely be staying near the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, UT. Here you can expect median download speeds of over 50mbps, median upload speeds over 5mpbs, and low latency.
- La Niña Impact: Neutral
- Target Opening Date: November 21st (Alta) & November 30th (Snowbird), TBD (Brighton), & November 20th (Solitude)
- Ski Pass: IKON, Mountain Collective (Alta & Snowbird)
3) Bozeman, MT - Big Sky, & Bridger Bowl
- Internet Access: In Bozeman, you can expect median download speeds of over 20mbps, median upload speeds over 5mpbs, and low latency.
- La Niña Impact: Increased early snowfall
- Target Opening Date: November 26th (Big Sky), December 4th (Bridger Bowl)
- Ski Pass: IKON (Big Sky), Mountain Collective (Big Sky)
4) Bellingham, WA - Mt. Baker
- Internet Access: In Bellingham, you can expect median download speeds of over 40mbps, median upload speeds over 5mpbs, and low latency.
- La Niña Impact: Increased Early Snowfall
- Target Opening Date: November 27th
- Ski Pass: None
5) Silverthorne, CO - Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Copper, Keystone, Vail, & Beaver Creek
- Internet Access: Here you can expect median download speeds of over 60mbps, median upload speeds over 5mpbs, and low latency.
- La Niña Impact: Neutral
- Target Opening Date: End of October (Arapahoe Basin & Loveland), November 30th (Copper), November 6th (Keystone), November 15th (Vail), November 25th (Beaver Creek)
- Ski Pass: Epic (Keystone, Vail, & Beaver Creek), IKON (Arapahoe Basin & Copper), Mountain Collective (Arapahoe Basin)