mbaydala
New member
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Park City, Brighton and Solitude...
Park City, Brighton and Solitude...
August Snow in the Wasatch!
- Thread starter mbaydala
- Start date
That's old snow not new, but looks to be a fairly long run with worthwhile vertical. Timpanogos? Looks like salida has a streak under way. Some of that should still be there in 3 weeks.
EMSC
Well-known member
salida":176vm3s7 said:
That's why they invented Colorado :stir: you could ski with a lot less work over this way :stir:. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I'm fine with hiking up to our still snowy areas, but I sure am not carrying 40lbs of ski stuff up there with me! Just not my thing. Looks like a spectacular day though.
EMSC
Well-known member
salida":37cs0a1o said:
Agreed - except for shoveling it of course (though some folks actually love that too).
Marc_C":37cs0a1o said:On the shop wall in the hard-goods gear section of Christy Sports on the Tram plaza at Snowbird is a ski poster that reads:
Skiing Utah on poor gear is like....
skiing in Colorado
Sorry, I couldn't help myself!
Ah yes... But then Colo doesn't need an attitude toward Utah. When your #1, well... you're #1
:-D Though also true that I may be back in Utah this Feb for a few days if my wife lets me out of the house with a new baby. If so, it'd be stationed at Powder mtn for the annual guys trip.
Unquestionably Colorado is #1 to the vast majority of skiers, who ski 1-2 weeks per year including a far advanced booked destination trip.
1) Tons of intermediate terrain
2) Superb snow preservation of packed powder, likely the best on average of any ski region in the world. This is more important to the average recreational skier than new snow, which causes trouble for most of them.
3) Many nice resort towns (Utah has only one, and its ski conditions by the criterion above are below average for Colorado)
The above 3 items are not the most important factors for most FTO regulars. But we represent a minority, as evidenced by the skier visit numbers.
I'm lightheartedly curious, Marc_C - where are you referring to as the other great Utah resort towns? The only notable resort town I can think of is Moab, and calling it a resort town is a real stretch. St. George? Maybe, but there's a long list of better warm weather golfing towns. Is there somewhere I'm missing (and when I hear resort town I think of somewhere reasonably well known that people outside of that state would visit - like Palm Springs, the Hamptons, Key West, Napa, Santa Barbara, etc.)
And I wonder how true it is that "Unquestionably Colorado is #1 to the vast majority of skiers". Yes, Colorado has 3x the number of skier visits as Utah, but Utah has only half the resorts (Colorado's 26+ resorts get on the order of 12m skier days per year, Utah's 13 resorts get on the order of 4 million - purely on numbers adjusted for ski resort count that's a 50% higher count for Colorado.) Also, you need to consider that Colorado's local population is nearly double Utah's (and they pump up the local #'s with cheap season pass holders). I haven't seen numbers for destination visitors to each state, but it seems like the relative differential probably isn't 'vast' (but the real destination #'s could easily trump my hypothesis). My guess is that the number of destination skiers that either appreciate the snow quality difference (meaning the potential for deep powder days) in Utah + steeper terrain + the airport/SLC convenience is comparably the same (though probably a little less, but not vastly less) as those who seek out the resort atmosphere + intermediate terrain of Vail/Aspen.
And I wonder how true it is that "Unquestionably Colorado is #1 to the vast majority of skiers". Yes, Colorado has 3x the number of skier visits as Utah, but Utah has only half the resorts (Colorado's 26+ resorts get on the order of 12m skier days per year, Utah's 13 resorts get on the order of 4 million - purely on numbers adjusted for ski resort count that's a 50% higher count for Colorado.) Also, you need to consider that Colorado's local population is nearly double Utah's (and they pump up the local #'s with cheap season pass holders). I haven't seen numbers for destination visitors to each state, but it seems like the relative differential probably isn't 'vast' (but the real destination #'s could easily trump my hypothesis). My guess is that the number of destination skiers that either appreciate the snow quality difference (meaning the potential for deep powder days) in Utah + steeper terrain + the airport/SLC convenience is comparably the same (though probably a little less, but not vastly less) as those who seek out the resort atmosphere + intermediate terrain of Vail/Aspen.
rsmith, I've got to disagree, and as a Utah resident who's been doing contract work for Ski Utah for years now I feel like I'm in a position to understand. IMO our numbers are proportionately lower primarily due to:
1. The aforementioned lack of typical ski resort towns;
2. The perception amongst many that we're a dry state, or it's so difficult to get a drink here that it might as well be dry; and
3. The "weirdness factor" (see #2, above).
#2 and #3 were things that our Governor until last week, Jon Huntsman, was acutely aware of and actively fought to change. I'm not so confident in Gary Herbert.
1. The aforementioned lack of typical ski resort towns;
2. The perception amongst many that we're a dry state, or it's so difficult to get a drink here that it might as well be dry; and
3. The "weirdness factor" (see #2, above).
#2 and #3 were things that our Governor until last week, Jon Huntsman, was acutely aware of and actively fought to change. I'm not so confident in Gary Herbert.
Ya, admin, I'm sure you're right that the numbers pretty heavily favor Colorado - but I still feel Utah has it's own strong, growing contingent of faithful destination skiers that are being attracted from Colorado and other spots. I bring out different groups of friends to ski Utah several times per year and they unanimously feel the snow and terrain are better than California/Colorado. Several of them have established their own annual Utah ski traditions. Of course, they still continue to go to Tahoe, Colorado, Whistler, etc., but at least Utah is on their radar. I kind of doubt that the alcohol and other weirdness are that big a drawback, actually - many of my friends are absolutely fascinated by the local culture/history and love going to the temple, etc. As well, it's pretty easy to get a drink in Park City and I think most vacationers know that. Of course, getting rid of some of the strange laws would help (for instance we were flabbergasted last winter when we couldn't order a bloody mary or mimosa at Solitude before 12am, even though they were on the brunch menu???) The removal of the private club membership nonsense is great (I think that was the major cause of confusion). The 3.2 beer, inability to serve some mixed drinks with several alcohols and the challenge of finding an open liquor store remain... But, we travel with our own stash (which we do for Whistler, etc., anyways since it's so much cheaper). If Salt Lake could ever develop a solid downtown core with closely situated bars/restaurants (that are actually open on Sunday) Utah would be that much more compelling. SLC would really be a unique ski destination. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't want to see Utah get oversaturated with skiers (and it's a long ways from that if you compare the crowds to other destinations), and I've had some great experiences at other resorts, but I grew up in Utah and want to see it reach it's potential.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
No doubt that's true. Utah's consistent string of record seasons over the past decade bear that out:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2 ... on-Record/
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
Keep 'em coming! (and Bring'em Young :wink
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
While admirable, understand that's a minority view...much like is the case with much of the opinion expressed here on FTO Liftlines. Heck (did I just write that?), I just accepted a third ad buy here from the LDS Church. Not sure why they want to buy ad space on FTO, but they're paying decent rates so I'll gladly accept their money.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
True.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
Not true, with all due respect.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
Agreed.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
4%, actually, if you measure it by volume the way that they do in virtually every other place. Our 3.2% laws are measured by weight.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
Less of a problem after Huntsman pushed through a 1.5-oz. drink instead of a 1-oz. drink. And other alcohols as mixers are deemed "flavorings" and don't apply to the 1.5-oz. primary liquor limitation.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
It's about to happen:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7572393
Believe it or not, I have a non-LDS friend who moved here from Florida who's against it.
rsmith":d96bnnj7 said:
I didn't grow up here, but otherwise that makes two of us.
Marc_C
Active member
rsmith":3diyvvwn said:
"Great" is a relative term, and certainly, by the criteria you mentioned, Park City is about it for Utah, particularly for visitors. But there are some other towns that somewhat qualify as resort towns; certainly the two you mentioned.
Moab - tourism is pretty much it's entire economy, and there are actually probably more people who've heard of and stayed in Moab than Park City.
St. George - sure, better golfing towns abound, but it does attract visitors on that basis. Also it's proximity to Zion NP and being only 90 minutes from Vegas.
Springdale - gateway to Zion
Garden City - but everyone refers to it as Bear Lake, the little resort town on Bear Lake (duh!)
Ruby's Inn - at the entrance to Bryce Canyon NP; technically, now an officially incorporated town (but a few orders of magnitude of stretch to really call it a "resort town"!)