This is a favorite piece that was recently reposted by Unofficial Networks. Enjoy!

These are not really ski trips; they’re pilgrimages. Being present in any of these places at some point in your life, and arcing turns down a local mountain are experiences that have no price tag. If you love mountains, specifically getting to the tops of them and sliding down on snow, here are seven places you must visit and ski in your lifetime.

1. Alaska

Claim To Fame: The best snow covering the best terrain on the planet. When all the ingredients combine in just the right way-snow quality, stability, weather-there is nowhere you’ll find better turns, period.

Best Places To Go: Cordova, Valdez, Haines, Alaska Range, The Wrangles, Juneau, Turnagin Pass

How To Get There: The easiest way is to fly into Anchorage, and then depending on where you’re going, hop on an interconnect flight, rent a car, or jump on a ferry. You can also take a ferry up from Washington State or B.C., or take the path less traveled and do the drive from the lower 48 (highly recommended).

Dirt Bagging It: Get yourself to Valdez, pull into Thompson Pass, and post up. I haven’t been in some years, but ABA used to do heli drops for under $100 a run, and there’s world class backcountry skiing and snowmobiling right out your “door”.

High End: Get eight of your best friends together, give Points North Heli-Adventures a call, and revel in your access to 2,000 square miles of terrain via your own private A-Star B2 Helicopter.

Food/Drink: You can’t come home from a trip to AK without having enjoyed some freshly caught Wild Halibut or Copper River Salmon.

Personal Choice: Cordova. Having spent time skiing throughout the state, with a host of different operators, with a host of different objectives, there is no operation that has a better balance of professionalism, humility, and dedication to make your trip the most memorable of your life than Points North Heli-Adventures.

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