SAM Magazine-Boulder, Colo., Sept. 18, 2006-Vail has returned to the number-one spot in Ski Magazine's annual "Top 50 Resort Guide." Vail has taken the top spot in 14 of the survey's 19 years. Perennial Eastern favorite Tremblant, Que., is ranked No. 1 on the East Coast for a record-setting tenth consecutive year. Results of the highly influential reader poll, which includes the preferences of 6,000 subscribers, are in Ski's October issue, on newsstands September 26. They will also post to the new skinet.com website, home to content from Ski, Skiing, and Warren Miller Entertainment.

There was little change in the national top 10, but Eastern areas shuffled a bit in the wake of a trying 2005-06 season. Two destinations which were unranked in 2005 rose into top ten in this year's survey: Sunday River, Me., at No. 7 and Bretton Woods, N.H., at No. 10. Whiteface, N.Y., moved up three spots, to No. 3 from No. 6 last year.

East coast resorts proved they're some of the best in the nation by taking the top spot in five of the 18 categories in which resorts are ranked nationally. Among the best: Tremblant for dining and lodging; Whiteface, for off-hill activities; Smuggler's Notch, Vt. for family programs; and Wildcat, N.H. for scenery.

And, in a vote that proves size doesn't always matter, Ski readers chose Nub's Nob, Mich., tops in the nation for terrain parks.

The Ski reader survey includes the ratings and comments of subscribers who have skied the resorts for at least the past two seasons. On average, the reviewers skied an average of 23 days a year.

The top 10 resorts nationally:

1.Vail

2. Deer Valley, Utah

3. Snowmass, Colo.

4. Whistler/Blackcomb, B.C.

5. Park City, Utah

6. Breckenridge, Colo.

7. Aspen, Colo.

8. Beaver Creek, Colo.

9. Steamboat, Colo.

10. Sun Valley, Idaho

The top 10 resorts in the East:

1. Tremblant

2. Smugglers Notch

3. Whiteface

4. Killington, Vt.

5. Sugarloaf, Me.

6. Stowe, Vt.

7. Sunday River, Me.

8. Okemo, Vt.

9. Holiday Valley, N.Y.

10. Bretton Woods