Snowbird vs. Alta (and did new Peruvian lift change things?)

[ChrisC]

I was wondering if the new Peruvian Express lift changed traffic patterns at Snowbird.

Did not really hear much about this last year. I would have to think that it might have changed things:
Was Peruvian-to-Mineral Basin faster than the tram most days?
Was the Cirque tracked out faster?
Is it a good change?

Anyways I prefer Alta on any powder day - better open terrain, more nooks, fewer chutes for one boarder to take out.

But on a normal day, I think Snowbird skis better with its more technical terrain. And directly south or north-facing slopes preserving/creating snow for the best experience.

 

[Admin]

I was wondering if the new Peruvian Express lift changed traffic patterns at Snowbird.

Was Peruvian-to-Mineral Basin faster than the tram most days?

On so-so days it might have been a wash. On a big powder day, those days when the tram queue stretches out onto the plaza, the new combo was undoubtedly faster.

Was the Cirque tracked out faster?

No.

Is it a good change?

Unequivocally.

 

[Castlerock]

It depends upon when when you were there last, but a real traffic change I noticed was related to the addition of the Baldy express a couple of years ago. Once they did that the control work was done on Baldy before they went to open up the road to Provo. High Baldy was then opening before the Regulator side.

 

[tseeb]

We were at Snowbird on Sunday 1/15/07, the day before Martin Luther King holiday. We had pre-purchased $49 chair-only tickets and arrived after our friends who bought tram tickets there. We went up Peruvian and through the tunnel and had time for two runs on Mineral Basin before they got there. It was very cold until you got through the tunnel and not a powder day.

 

[ChrisC]

It depends upon when when you were there last, but a real traffic change I noticed was related to the addition of the Baldy express a couple of years ago. Once they did that the control work was done on Baldy before they went to open up the road to Provo. High Baldy was then opening before the Regulator side.

I have not been in 3 yrs.

That is what I noticed too on bigger powder days -- 12"+. Cirque/Regulator, followed by Backside and, finally, road to Provo.

 

[ChrisC]

We were at Snowbird on Sunday 1/15/07, the day before Martin Luther King holiday. We had pre-purchased $49 chair-only tickets and arrived after our friends who bought tram tickets there. We went up Peruvian and through the tunnel and had time for two runs on Mineral Basin before they got there. It was very cold until you got through the tunnel and not a powder day.

It was below freezing in SF that weekend, so I'm sure it was cold.

So the chair combo is a better deal? That is what I thought, but not sure.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I have noticed even since Mineral Basin was added that my tolerance for tram lines has decreased. I will not use the tram if it's more than a 2-tram wait. I ski Snowbird Sunday-Tuesday on my Iron Blosam trips, buying the tram tickets discounted at Smith's or Canyon Sports. I have sometimes not used the tram at all on Sundays, though I use it quite a bit Monday/Tuesday.

With Peruvian Express in place, I would recommend not buying the tram ticket on weekends/holidays. But keep in mind that the Smith's/Canyon price with tram is no more than the window price without tram. Another wrinkle to consider is that for 3 or more consecutive days the window price for the AltaBird combined ticket is discounted to about the per-day price of a window Snowbird tram ticket.

 

[kydan]

As a poor student, not being able to afford a tram pass, the new Peruvian lift was a great option for us to get to mineral, though we spend most our time in the bookends, so to get there you still did have to take 2 lifts. However, the traffic flux was not so great that you would notice in the places that mattered. You would find more inexperienced skier on the baldy express side of the basin, yet most of that terrain is not worth playing on for too long. (yes, there are some great shots out of it though).

The bottom line comes to this: if its a pow day, it didnt matter were they came from, there were hoards back there. Wither they came from the tram/little cloud (such as years past) or now with the new combo. The main runs get tracked out nice and quick, and you have to do some hiking if you want anything fresh. Doesnt really get tracked out faster either per say, as most the people who are coming from the peruvian side are more inexperienced like I stated before and stick to the powder paradise cat track run and the baldy side of the basin.

Just my 2 cents.