Methodology
We examined dozens of ski hills in Ontario. We then created a shortlist of top ski destinations based on the experience categories listed below. The data for each of these categories was collected from each mountain's website or skicanada.org in January 2020. For the purpose of this report, we only included public ski hills with 3 or more operational ski lifts.
To rank each mountain's ski experience, affordability, and overall score, we used the equation below to get a representative numerical value between 5 and 10 for each category - with 5 representing the lowest data point (or least desirable) and 10 representing the highest (or most desirable). The hypothetical "perfect" overall ski resort score would be 70 out of 70.
Score(i) = 5 * [ ( x(i) - x(min) ) / ( x(max) - x(min) ) ] + 5
Affordability (30 points):
- Lift ticket prices are for a full day adult lift ticket, purchased from the ticket window for February 22, 2020. Prices were collected directly from ski resort websites and do not include promotional pricing or ski bundle packages.
- Equipment rental prices are for adult intermediate skis, boots, and poles for one day.
- Accommodation Prices is the median price per person per night to stay in a vacation rental found on HomeToGo within 10km of the ski mountain. Prices are for one night between the dates of Feb 1st, 2020 and March 30, 2020. Our own metasearch data provided this information. *All prices in CAD.
Ski Resort Size (40 points):
- Vertical: Vertical elevation from the base of the mountain to the highest point accessible by ski lift. Distance collected in feet.
- Skiable Area: Acres of terrain that are patrolled and designated for skiing.
- Ski Lifts: The number of chair lifts, t-bars, magic carpets available for transporting skiers up the hill.
- Trails: The number of ski runs found at the ski resort.
For additional information, please contact [email protected]