I’ve always found the regional ski wars a little silly. Easterners extol their local peaks and the gritty skills their mountains teach, while western devotees singing the praises of powder and 12,000-foot summits. Which is “better”? Who has ultimate bragging rights? My take: who cares? The reality is that skiing in the East is just DIFFERENT than skiing out west. There’s no question that western snow is easier to ski and more reliable, but northeastern skiing has its virtues.