Half the field has already been eliminated in this year's Curbed Cup, our competition to find the best ski town of the year. This week we'll have two match-ups apiece on Monday and Tuesday—with the polls left open for 24 hours—and by Wednesday only four contenders will be left vying for the prestigious fake trophy. Let the eliminations continue!
To kick off the Elite Eight round of the Curbed Cup, two ski town favorites are facing off: it's time to cast your vote for Whitefish or Truckee.
In a major upset in the first-round of the competition (16) Whitefish, Montana beat out the number one seed of Park City, Utah. The secret just might be out about this down-to-earth ski town in Montana that prides itself on having epic skiing and a friendly downtown. The town now boasts more on-point dining and lodging spots, while maintaining local hot spots like the legendary Great Northern bar. At Whitefish Mountain Resort, the ski area spent $1.5 million this past summer to remodel the Summit House Lodge, add a coffee shop, upgrad its ski patrol headquarters and improv its Wi-Fi access. We also love that Whitefish is one of the few resorts will you can still score powder by sleeping in the parking lot. Many skiers might be most familiar with this iconic ski area due to its controversial "Big Mountain Jesus" statue, but real estate investors will get a lot for their money.
To make it to the elite eight, Truckee had to go through the popular Steamboat Springs and now might be poised to go all the way. While California has suffered from a four-year drought in recent ski seasons, things are looking up with this year's monster El Niño ready to drop some serious snow. Truckee has plenty of skiing nearby with Northstar, SugarBowl, Donner Ski Ranch, and Squaw Valley all within a reasonable drive. As one reader said, "visitors can fly into Reno and be on the mountain in less than an hour." It doesn't get much better than that. There's also new breweries and plenty of outdoor activities, like fat biking.
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