Terrain Diversity and Challenge Score Adjustments: Accounting for Fundamentals
Looking up Telluride, Colorado’s Palmyra Peak in March 2022. We’ve decided to adjust the resort’s PeakRankings Mountain Score today as part of a tweak to our Terrain Diversity category.
The below changes come as part of a series of PeakRankings Mountain Score recalibrations implemented today. To see the full list of adjustments, click here.
Last fall, we made an adjustment to our Terrain Diversity category to knock back resorts with shortcomings in certain terrain categories. Today, we’re adding five more resorts to that list, all of which are much larger than the mountains impacted last year. All five of these mountains offer outstandingly unique terrain but lack a few fundamentals that we previously hadn’t accounted for.
We’re also making an adjustment to our Challenge category with similar reasoning in mind. Two resorts see adjustments today, with both impacted mountains possessing a few traits that make it less likely for a typical guest to hit extreme terrain.
Terrain Diversity Score Adjustments
Snowbird
Terrain Diversity Score Change: 9 to 8
Beginner options are almost non-existent, and intermediate options outside the narrow traverses are few and far between.
Jackson Hole
Terrain Diversity Score Change: 9 to 8
Incredible diversity of terrain for advanced and expert skiers, but beginner options are essentially nil. True intermediate options are lacking as well unless you’re used to really steep sections.
Palisades Tahoe - Olympic Valley (Squaw Valley)
Terrain Diversity Score Change: 9 to 8
Palisades offers all types of terrain for all ability levels, including standout bowls and rock-riddled steeps. But most runs are considerably shorter than the resort’s full vertical drop, and the resort doesn’t really offer that long of trails (with the exception of the perennially congested Mountain Run).
Park City
Terrain Diversity Score Change: 9 to 8
While by far the largest ski resort in the United States by lift-serviced acreage, Park City lacks true lift-accessible above-treeline bowl terrain—a considerable omission for a Rockies mountain. Despite the copious variety of below treeline trails and glades, the bowls are too underwhelming to support Park City’s outgoing score.
Telluride
Terrain Diversity Score Change: 10 to 9
A score of 10 should convey copious varieties of terrain for all ability levels. But upon further consideration and discussions with resort frequenters, we’ve discerned that beginner terrain at Telluride, while enjoyable, could be a bit more widespread. Telluride’s terrain variety is world-class but not perfect, and as such, a 9 is a better fit for this Colorado destination in this category.
Challenge Score Adjustments
Snowmass
Challenge Score Change: 9 to 8
Snowmass offers lift-serviced terrain that is just as hard as the other mountains at a 9 in this category, but these tantalizing lines are much harder to find. It essentially takes a local guide to find Snowmass’s true extremes, and as a result, most recreational guests will never ski them.
Mount Hood Meadows
Challenge Score Change: 9 to 8
While Meadows offers truly extreme terrain in its Private Reserve area, the zone requires an aggravating hike out and, as a result, is impractical to lap. True lift-serviced resort areas do boast challenging terrain, but they are nowhere near as tough as Private Reserve.
See our detailed criteria for each PeakRankings Mountain Score Terrain Diversity score threshold here, and each Challenge score threshold here.
