Ski USA with or without Donald Trump

Ski USA fans woke up with a problem. Yep, whether you voted for or side with the popular vote winner Hilary Clinton, or the actual election winner Donald Trump, you better be careful where you choose to ski. After all, you wouldn’t want to be mouthing off on a six-pack chair full of supporters of the opposite side.

Commentators will blather on about the result for or against, but the simple fact is the vote shows a very evenly and deeply divided America, split numerically and geographically. It also shows a pretty apathetic America – forget the hype about people power, Clinton has 7 million less votes than winner Obama got last time, and Trump a million less than defeated Romney got last time.

California voted massively for Clinton & to legalise weed. Tony Harrington enjoying Squaw Valley © Cort Leve

So where do you go?

For Clinton supporters, or those who just don’t like Trump, these look good.

California voted to legalise weed and hugely for Clinton (61% – 33%). Apparently that decision will add $USD 22 billion to the state economy and (yo Scott Morrison) sounds like an easier way to solve a budget deficit than beating up on pensioners, students and the unemployed.
So if that’s you Mammoth Mountain, Heavenly, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows should be high (sorry) on your agenda now.

Colorado was already the highest state literally and metaphorically, and yesterday’s election result, voting narrowly for Clinton (47% – 45%), just reinforces that. So much choice there, from all the #EpicPass resorts like Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone & A Basin to Aspen Snowmass, Telluride and heaps of less know ones. Summit County voted nearly 60% – 31% for Clinton, so you’d be pretty safe dumping on The Donald there.

Wyoming looks totally the other way – 70% Trump vs 22% Clinton. But before you start mouthing off at Jackson Hole about how great America’s going to be now, remember Teton County was 60% Hilary, 32% Donald.

Colorado voted narrowly for Clinton, but massively so in the ski area counties © Owain Price

In fact, like the pundits say, we better put Jackson Hole in the Clinton camp. Just stay quiet if you’re driving there not flying in direct.

It’s a similar story in states like Montana and Utah, both big for Trump overall, but guess which counties did the opposite? Yep, the ones with the ski areas like Glacier County Montana, home to Whitefish, or Summit County Utah which takes in the main resorts outside Salt Lake City.

Get up in the Pacific Northwest and they voted Clinton too.

So all those Trump supporters looking for somewhere to really sound off to loud applause without being harassed by weed-smoking latte-sipping lefties, you could head to West Virginia. Four nice resorts there for you to choose from, like Snowshoe Valley.
Or head to Ohio, which had a big swing towards Trump, and has some awesome skiing at places like Mad River Mountain – it’s got more vertical (+ 1 metre) than Ben Lomond!

Ohio had a big swing to Trump. Supporters might like to try Mad River Mountain there.