rfarren
New member
As many of you guys know I took a trip from the 18th till the 29th of March. In total I hit 7 resorts and skied a myriad of different snow conditions. It was a great trip that made me wish I was a trust-fund baby so I could do this every winter. I would like to thank everyone who showed me around their locales and treated me to fresh lines. The FTO community in Utah rocks!.., so a special shout out to you guys. It can be tough dealing with a couple ball-breaking New Yorkers, but you guys showed us a great time. I now know that Marc_C does indeed ski, and for that matter he's a pretty nice guy, although a bit of a curmudgeon. :wink:
I flew out of Newark on the morning of the 18th with my father. We chose Newark instead of JFK because the airfare was cheaper for the old man. JFK is very convenient for me (the air-train goes directly to Atlantic terminal, which is 2 subway stops away from me) so I scheduled my return flight to JFK. We got up at 4:45 left at 5:00 and were at the airport at 5:30. The flight left at 7:00, on time, and I popped a couple Valium and went right to sleep. I woke up over central Colorado to this view:
The flight landed some 45 minutes early at around 9:30 and our gear was some of the first stuff off the plane. We immediately headed over Hertz to pick up our car which would take us to Deer Valley for our first day. My father prefers Deer Valley for the first day because it has good on mountain food and is a bit lower so is easier on the body. We ate lunch and then bought half day tickets for an afternoon romp.
The layout of DV reminds me a bit of Killington, where no run is particularly long, and much of the terrain is on separate mini mountains. I found the best snow off of the Lady Morgan Express, where the off piste had corned up beautifully. My new Mantras at the same time were up for the challenge and were awesome. Throughout the whole trip they ripped up everything that was given to them. They are by far the best ski I've ever owned. I forgot to take pictures that day until I was in the parking lot.
That night we ate in Park City at a nice cafe. We then headed to Sandy to settle into our Holiday Inn express as the snow started to fall down in the Valley.
The next morning we hit Alta where only 2 inches of light fluff fell on the wet corn from the day before. It resulted in dust on crust. Nonetheless, there was good snow to be found in the bumps off the wildcat lift.
After skiing we went to Kearns for my father's true passion: Speed Skating. According to him, the world's fastest rink was running slow due to wet ice. On the drive back we thought the storm was slamming the Wasatch.
We skied really hard, and treated ourselves to steak at Carvers, which I guess is a nice steak house in Sandy. I chuckled when I read on the menu: " Our steak comes from the best corn-fed Midwestern Beef." Hah! Corn fed, that's just silly. No self respecting restaurant in NYC would ever brag about having corn fed steak. At least their honest. Besides, the meal was still pretty darn good.
The next morning we hit Snowbird. The snow was completely different. It was much better than the day before. The hardpack had pretty much disappeared. There was great snow to be found. I called Admin and hit 2 runs with him.
Admin invited us for beers at his house. Before hitting his place, I stopped to get beer at the liquor store. I picked up an IPA that was pretty good, and not some BS Utah stereotype. After a little hangout, we went to good Italian restaurant near his place where I got my favorite: Amatricianna. Well, done!
The next morning we met FTO posse at Alta. He showed us around, and I got some great lines. My father stuck to the groomers and I think really enjoyed himself. I meanwhile tagged along with Admin and Marc_C while they showed me how they read the mountain. I enjoyed myself and again would like to thank them.
That night my father and I enjoyed ourselves as Log-Haven, which is one of the high Zagat rated restaurants in SLC. The food was pretty good, although not fabulous. They did however, have maple infused pancetta which was to die for! It's a shame it was only an accompaniment for the Pork Chop, which was very good, but not great.
The next morning I had to drop the old man at the airport and pick up my rental for the next phase of the trip. The day's plan was to hit the San-Rafeal Swell, Dead Horse Point and Arches and then take route 128 to I70 and run off to Eagle. It was a lot of driving but at the same time was perhaps my favorite day of the trip. The desert is a truly magical place. Like Admin I liked the places where there were fewer people (the swell). The serenity of desert being a soulful experience, which was somewhat ruined by the massive crowds at arches. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the Swell because my camera ran out of batteries. I had to charge it in Moab (thank you Wendy's for your wall outlet!). So, I only got pictures of Dead Horse and Arches, both in which I didn't spend too much time. However, Dead Horse is unique and was nearly empty!
Route 128 along the Colorado river was unbelievable. At first I thought the river was running uphill, but logic dissuaded me from believing it. The truth was an optical illusion created by ever growing canyon walls.
Finally I reached I70 and started my way driving no less than 95mph towards Colorado. When I hit Glenwood Springs the road was still broke up, but I was still more interested in the views.
I spent the night in Eagle.
That's the end of part 1.
I flew out of Newark on the morning of the 18th with my father. We chose Newark instead of JFK because the airfare was cheaper for the old man. JFK is very convenient for me (the air-train goes directly to Atlantic terminal, which is 2 subway stops away from me) so I scheduled my return flight to JFK. We got up at 4:45 left at 5:00 and were at the airport at 5:30. The flight left at 7:00, on time, and I popped a couple Valium and went right to sleep. I woke up over central Colorado to this view:
The flight landed some 45 minutes early at around 9:30 and our gear was some of the first stuff off the plane. We immediately headed over Hertz to pick up our car which would take us to Deer Valley for our first day. My father prefers Deer Valley for the first day because it has good on mountain food and is a bit lower so is easier on the body. We ate lunch and then bought half day tickets for an afternoon romp.
The layout of DV reminds me a bit of Killington, where no run is particularly long, and much of the terrain is on separate mini mountains. I found the best snow off of the Lady Morgan Express, where the off piste had corned up beautifully. My new Mantras at the same time were up for the challenge and were awesome. Throughout the whole trip they ripped up everything that was given to them. They are by far the best ski I've ever owned. I forgot to take pictures that day until I was in the parking lot.
That night we ate in Park City at a nice cafe. We then headed to Sandy to settle into our Holiday Inn express as the snow started to fall down in the Valley.
The next morning we hit Alta where only 2 inches of light fluff fell on the wet corn from the day before. It resulted in dust on crust. Nonetheless, there was good snow to be found in the bumps off the wildcat lift.
After skiing we went to Kearns for my father's true passion: Speed Skating. According to him, the world's fastest rink was running slow due to wet ice. On the drive back we thought the storm was slamming the Wasatch.
We skied really hard, and treated ourselves to steak at Carvers, which I guess is a nice steak house in Sandy. I chuckled when I read on the menu: " Our steak comes from the best corn-fed Midwestern Beef." Hah! Corn fed, that's just silly. No self respecting restaurant in NYC would ever brag about having corn fed steak. At least their honest. Besides, the meal was still pretty darn good.
The next morning we hit Snowbird. The snow was completely different. It was much better than the day before. The hardpack had pretty much disappeared. There was great snow to be found. I called Admin and hit 2 runs with him.
Admin invited us for beers at his house. Before hitting his place, I stopped to get beer at the liquor store. I picked up an IPA that was pretty good, and not some BS Utah stereotype. After a little hangout, we went to good Italian restaurant near his place where I got my favorite: Amatricianna. Well, done!
The next morning we met FTO posse at Alta. He showed us around, and I got some great lines. My father stuck to the groomers and I think really enjoyed himself. I meanwhile tagged along with Admin and Marc_C while they showed me how they read the mountain. I enjoyed myself and again would like to thank them.
That night my father and I enjoyed ourselves as Log-Haven, which is one of the high Zagat rated restaurants in SLC. The food was pretty good, although not fabulous. They did however, have maple infused pancetta which was to die for! It's a shame it was only an accompaniment for the Pork Chop, which was very good, but not great.
The next morning I had to drop the old man at the airport and pick up my rental for the next phase of the trip. The day's plan was to hit the San-Rafeal Swell, Dead Horse Point and Arches and then take route 128 to I70 and run off to Eagle. It was a lot of driving but at the same time was perhaps my favorite day of the trip. The desert is a truly magical place. Like Admin I liked the places where there were fewer people (the swell). The serenity of desert being a soulful experience, which was somewhat ruined by the massive crowds at arches. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the Swell because my camera ran out of batteries. I had to charge it in Moab (thank you Wendy's for your wall outlet!). So, I only got pictures of Dead Horse and Arches, both in which I didn't spend too much time. However, Dead Horse is unique and was nearly empty!
Route 128 along the Colorado river was unbelievable. At first I thought the river was running uphill, but logic dissuaded me from believing it. The truth was an optical illusion created by ever growing canyon walls.
Finally I reached I70 and started my way driving no less than 95mph towards Colorado. When I hit Glenwood Springs the road was still broke up, but I was still more interested in the views.
I spent the night in Eagle.
That's the end of part 1.
:wink: