Bucket List Trips: The Western Resort Roadtrip Gear Guide

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NOTE: We all have a bucket list of ski trips, but prepping for your next big adventure can seem pretty overwhelming when it comes to choosing what to bring. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world for the last decade with skis in tow, and have learned a thing or two worth sharing about what kind of gear to bring to maximize the fun and minimize the stress. It’s worth noting that my recommendations are independent, come from learning from my own mistakes, and highlight things I’m truly excited about. This series is aimed at the generalist skier who’s interested in it all - powder, freeriding, some hiking and touring, the occasional shit-your-pants steep skiing moment, and most of all, adventure!

It’s a trip as old as time, exploring the vast variety of skiable terrain North America’s mountain west has on tap. It’s the Western Ski Road Trip. Whether you’re in college doing this during winter break, taking a week to de-stress from the corporate lifestyle, or just want to go make the most of your Mountain Collective, Ikon or Epic Pass investment, this rite of passage often involves spending way too much time with your friends and family crammed a rental car, scoring deals on condos and motel rooms, heckling from the chairlift, leaning into superlatives during après, and probably poaching a hot tub or three. Oh yeah, and skiing as much as humanly possible in as many places as you can. In other words, the time of your life.

I definitely spent my fair share of weeks during my formative years chasing snow throughout the Mountain West, hopping into the car from Colorado, to Utah, to Wyoming, to California to see what lay over the next ridge. Choosing the right kit for this kind of road trip isn’t a complicated matter, but remember that you’ll want to be ready for all manner of conditions and it all needs to fit into the car, so instead of focusing on only the highlight days, think about the skis, apparel, and accessories that you’ll want to wear and use no matter the conditions. Here’s my take on what I’d bring if I were to do this all again this year.

Skis: 105-110 Underfoot All-Mountain Ski

Finding a generalist daily-driver ski is perhaps the biggest challenge in the ski industry - but I will make a case for a few options here, because I actually think these kinds of skis exist. You’re going on this road trip to explore new terrain and ski every single day so you’ll want a ski that can handle it. A jack of all trades, master of none, if you will. That means a ski for powder, groomers, crud, ice, moguls, maybe even some spring corn - and something that can put up with some abuse. A ski with a 105-110mm waist width covers those bases for me. Any narrower and it’s no fun on a pow day, any wider and your knees will be feeling it after too many bump runs.

For a daily driver, I prefer a slightly softer and lighter ski than an all-out charger. It tires me out far less than a heavy-metal ski designed for skiing as aggressively as possible. If you’re more of a jibby, playful skier, a great option would be the twin-tipped Atomic Bent 110, Line Bacon 108, Black Crows Atris (or Atris Birdie), or Faction Prodigy 3. These strike a balance between stability, versatility, and playfulness that will feel great in just about any terrain, letting you vary your turn shapes and even ride switch. For those of you looking for a more traditional directional ski, options like the Fischer Ranger 108, Blizzard Rustler 10, Elan Ripstick 106, or Salomon QST 106 (or QST Stella 106) would suit you well.

Bindings: Regular Old Alpine Bindings

From a binding standpoint, unless you plan to actually go touring during your road trip, your favorite standard alpine binding will fulfill your every need here. I don’t care if it’s from Salomon, Look, Marker, or Tyrolia - dial in those DINs and you’re good to go. If you are, in fact, planning on touring and want to stick to bringing a single pair of skis, consider a binding like the Marker Duke PT, Cast Freetour, or Salomon/Atomic Shift that prioritizes downhill (inbounds) performance and safety but gives you the ability to tour uphill when you need it.

Boots: Freeride Boot with a Walk Mode

You’ll notice a trend in this series, that I like boots with a walk mode, even when I’m not touring. As a ski photographer, apres skier, and mountain town local who takes the bus to the mountain, I’ve learned that not only is it more comfortable, it doesn’t compromise performance enough to go full alpine boot. For a road trip of this caliber, I would highly recommend freeride boots with at least some sort of walk mode to make walking around base areas, hiking to pow stashes, and mountain town bus rides way more enjoyable.

Just like always, I’m going to remind you to go see a bootfitter to dial in exactly what boot will fit you best, but here’s a shortlist of where to start. Stiff freeride boots like the Atomic Hawx XTD, Tecnica Cochise, Nordica Unlimited, K2 Mindbender, Lange XT3 or Dalbello Cabrio boot lines would be a good place to look.

One boot accessory I’ve learned to absolutely love for resort riding is a set of battery-powered boot heaters like those from Hotronic or Therm-ic. I run these on low all day long and keep my toes at ideal operating temperature. I prefer built-in heaters to heated socks because then I can switch up my ski socks.

Apparel: Hardshell Kit, Merino Baselayers

Your choice of apparel will largely depend on the time of year you’re hitting the road. Mid-winter, I’m all about a breathable non-insulated hardshell outerwear kit. Come spring, and I’ll probably switch to hardshell pants and a softshell jacket (or just a t-shirt). I prefer something very durable if I’m riding mostly inbounds to protect from snags in the trees, while loading chairlifts or from ski edges when carrying my gear to and from the base. Since I’ll likely have a chance to dry things out every night, Gore-Tex isn’t essential and I’ve found that proprietary waterproof materials found in product lines like Helly Hansen’s ULLR series, TREW’s Cosmic series, or Patagonia’s SnowDrifter work great and might save me a few bucks over Gore-Tex to buy another lift ticket, or at least another round at après. TREW’s Cosmic and Trewth line are also available in extended sizes.

Beneath that hardshell outer layer, I’ll wear a lightweight synthetic fleece mid layer with minimal insulation. There’s lots of great options like the classic Patagonia R1 series, Mountain Hardwear Summit Grid, or if you can get your hands on one - a Melanzana MicroGrid hoodie. I run hot when I’m riding inbounds, and I prefer to just throw a big compressible puffy jacket in my pack if I’m concerned about it being really cold.

Below the midlayer, and especially if I’m traveling, I cannot extol the virtues of merino base layers enough. They are very warm, and will regulate your temperature when you sweat, but most of all, they don’t get stinky immediately - meaning you can wear them a few days in a row before washing without offending your friends who so kindly offered to split a room with you.

Pack: 15-20 Pack or Airbag Vest

In my opinion, skiing purely inbounds doesn’t really warrant wearing a pack, but if I’m heading out the gates of a resort, I will always have a pack with my avalanche rescue gear, an extra layer, snacks and beverages, and a radio. For resort-based days, I’m a big fan of a small 15-20 liter pack to carry those essentials. Personally, I like to ski with an airbag pack if I’m heading out of bounds anywhere with lift-serve backcountry riding like Jackson, Crystal, Telluride, Vail, or Kicking Horse.

While airbags tend to be heavy and bulky, a great compromise is a 10-15L airbag vest like Arva’s Reactor 15 Vest, Mammut’s Free Vest 15 or Dakine’s Poacher RAS Vest. These have plenty of room for your gear, snacks, and layers, and hug your body tightly enough to barely notice you’re wearing them when you’re loading the chairlift for your next lap.

If you do prefer to ski inbounds with a small pack to carry the essentials, take a look at something in the same size range, like the Mammut Nirvana 18L, The North Face’s Slackpack 2.0, or the Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 15.

Accessories

Don’t forget to bring multiple pairs of gloves, buffs, and hats. You’ll almost certainly lose something and it’ll be a bummer to replace it. Remember to pack your helmet and two sets of goggles (or at least a set of interchangeable high- and low-light lenses). Also, if you’re heading into the backcountry, please remember to wear and turn on your beacon and know how to use the avalanche rescue gear you are carrying. Finally, go ahead and bring a party shirt and a few good costumes. You're on vacation with your best friends, after all!