INKOM — Pebble Creek Ski Area has recently been honored with a national award.
Liftopia, which operates the largest online ski marketplace, recognized Pebble Creek as one of the least crowded ski areas in the High West and bestowed the Inkom resort with a 2016-17 Best in Snow Award.
According to Liftopia, winners in the Least Crowded category were determined by the total number of annual skier and snowboarder visits divided by skiable acreage. Winners were also determined by feedback from skiers and snowboarders.
“What it means is we have a lot of terrain for the people we serve in the area,” said Mary Reichman, Pebble Creek’s general manager. “Whenever we get an award and national attention, it’s a big deal. Given our new ownership and profile, I suspect we’re going to have more visitors. But there’s plenty of space for everybody to ski and snowboard.”
The term “least crowded” might sound like Pebble Creek has few visitors, but that’s not the case at all. The 2015-16 winter season was one of Pebble Creek’s best years ever. Though the resort has only been open for a few weeks now, Reichman said crowds have been strong since Christmas Day.
In fact, Dec. 26 was a banner day for Pebble Creek. A large numbers of ski bums headed to the slopes to take advantage of the Christmas Day snowstorm that dropped 40 inches of snow on the mountain.
“Of all the years I’ve been here, I’ve never seen a storm drop 40 inches,” Reichman said. “It’s unheard of.”
For the 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards, Liftopia surveyed customers to measure their enthusiasm on specific aspects of their favorite resorts. Besides Least Crowded, other award categories include Most Beginner Friendly, Most Family Friendly, Most Challenging, Best Value and Snow Consistency and Quality.
The awards were divided into regional categories, including Northeast, High West, Southeast, Midwest, West Coast and North America.
Other resorts that won for the Least Crowded category in the High West include Soldier Mountain (Idaho), Powder Mountain (Utah), Lost Trail (Montana), Silverton Mountain (Colorado), Castle Mountain Resort (Alberta), Maverick (Montana), Eagle Point (Utah), Tamarack Resort (Idaho) and Blacktail Mountain (Montana).
Grand Targhee Resort was honored in four High West categories for Most Beginner Friendly, Most Family Friendly, Best Value and Snow Consistency and Quality. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was honored in the Most Challenging and Best Value categories.
