East Coast Ski Areas Sweep 2019 Best In Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia

Liftopia, the largest online and mobile marketplace for lift tickets and mountain activities has unveiled the winners in the third annual Best in Snow Awards. The awards recognize the top ski areas across North America to bring uber-local, relevant and must-know intel to skiers and boarders of all levels and ages. For the first time, ski resorts in the Northeast took the top three spots in the 2019 Overall Best in Snow category. Resorts in other U.S and Canadian regions took top honors in seven categories including Top 10 Best in Snow, Beginner Friendly, Most Challenging, Family Friendly, Best Snow Consistency & Quality, Least Crowded and Best Value. Full results can be found at bestinsnow.liftopia.com.

The Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia, is the first and only list that ranks the best ski areas based on feedback from thousands of skiers and snowboarders, combined with Liftopia's proprietary dataset, to uncover the true top ski areas in the Northeast, West Coast, High West, Southeast and Midwest. Via online surveys, consumers and Liftopia customers identified these categories as the most meaningful and useful when choosing where to ski or snowboard, regardless of ski area size. Combining fan feedback with Liftopia's data levels the playing field between big and small resorts.

The top three winners of 2019 Overall Best in Snow – Magic Mountain (Vt.), Titus Mountain (N.Y.) and Mad River Glen (Vt.) – are all located in the Northeast. More highlights and survey quotes:

• Additional Overall Best in Snow in North America winners are Mad River Glen (keeping its #3 spot); Alta, Utah (#4); Powder Mountain, Utah (#5); Grand Targhee, Wyo. (#6); Snowbird, Utah (#7); Jackson Hole, Wyo. (#8); Jay Peak, Vt. (#9); and Big Sky, Mont. (#10)
• Magic Mountain took first place in five categories, retaining its top position as Overall Best in Snow in North America for the third year and also came in first in Best Value, Most Challenging Northeast and North America, with customers saying it's an "awesome community" boasting "uncrowded slopes," "great vibe," sought-after advanced terrain "because of the leave it natural policy" and "no lost kids because all trails lead to the lodge"
• Titus Mountain made its debut on the Overall Best in Snow list at #2, and took Top Three in 11 national and regional (Northeast) categories for Beginner-Friendly, Family Friendly, Most Challenging, Least Crowded and Best Value. Voters consistently applaud "great grooming" and "always chairs available," "perfect slope for beginners" and "over-the-top family friendly" atmosphere
• Big Sky scored within the top ten in every category, placing ten times across Overall Best in Snow and regional lists

The coveted #1 spot for Best in Snow by Region awards go to Magic Mountain for Northeast; Bryce Resort in Virginia, which makes its debut on the Southeast list; Alta for High West (retaining its #1 spot); Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area in California for West Coast (which also kept the #1 spot for Least Crowded West Coast); and Treetops Resort in Michiganfor Midwest (its first Best in Snow by Region win).

Top ten winners in each of the seven categories are ranked by region, with select winners including:

• Best Snow Consistency and Quality: Magic Mountain won for Northeast; Mission Ridge (Wash.) for West Coast; Eagle Point (Utah) for High West; Canaan Valley (W.V.) for Southeast and Buck Hill (Minn.) for Midwest
• Most Challenging: Bald Mountain (Idaho) took the top spot for the first time in High West
• Beginner Friendly: Eagle Point (Utah) won High West, Canaan Valley (W.V.) won Southeast, Boyne Highlands (Mich.) jumped from #10 to #1 and Diamond Peak (Nev.) took top place for West Coast
• Most Family Friendly: Bryce Resort (Va.) won its first #1 and Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area retained first place
• Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area swept four categories at #1 for Best in Snow West Coast, Family Friendly, Least Crowded and Best Value
• Least Crowded: Winners include Snow Ridge (N.Y.) for Northeast, Soldier Mountain (Idaho) for High West, Canaan Valley for Southeast and Dagmar Resort (Ontario, Canada) for Midwest

"We built Liftopia on a passion for growing an amazing industry, and the Best in Snow Awards were created to help skiers and riders easily discover their next favorite mountain, based on factors that matter most to them," said Evan Reece, co-founder and CEO of Liftopia. He added, "For the third year, Liftopia's Best in Snow Awards is the only ranking that levels the playing field between big and small resorts to uncover the top mountains that skiers and riders are most passionate about based on a variety of factors, from snowfall, snow quality and terrain to crowds, ambiance and variety of options for any ski enthusiast. We are excited for the ski resorts that made the list this year, and thrilled for our customers as they find new mountains to explore."

To compile the 2019 Best In Snow Awards, Powered by Liftopia, some 8,000 consumers were surveyed to measure their enthusiasm on specific aspects of their favorite resorts such as challenging terrain, crowds, family friendliness, snow consistency and overall quality. The responses were weighted with a proprietary algorithm based on Liftopia's exclusive dataset.

The complete Best in Snow Awards list, including winning ski areas in each category across North America and detailed methodology can be found at bestinsnow.liftopia.com.

Liftopia operates the largest online and mobile marketplace and resort technology platform serving the ski and activity industry. Skiers and snowboarders can purchase lift tickets, equipment rentals, meal vouchers and more from over 250 ski areas in North America and Europe on Liftopia.com and via the Liftopia mobile app, with savings often more than 50% off window rates when purchased in advance. In 2019, Liftopia Experiences launched as hosted ski and snowboard trips in 26 markets across North America, making it easy and affordable to access the mountains. Founded in 2005, Liftopia is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading institutional and angel investors.