Solitude 27 Mar 08

[itbeme]

Even though it was only a couple inches (a little more in the higher spots), the new snow and the colder temps certainly beat the slush I was skiing the day before at another resort. In some places that didn’t see a lot of traffic, the skiing remained pretty good throughout the day, but in other spots the new snow was quickly scraped off. The new piles of snow were nice enough, except that they sometimes helped hide old frozen bumps. Made me feel at home. Quite a few folks headed out to Honeycomb Canyon from the top of Summit lift...don’t know how it was out there.

We started at the Moonbeam area. It took me a couple of hours of trial and error to find the best way to work my way across the mountain to the summit via the various lifts and trails I was comfortable skiing. If you don’t know what you are doing, you can find yourself doing a lot of skating in that flat area at the bottom of the Sunrise, Apex and Powder Horn lifts. I enjoyed the learning experience, but the old lifts sure seem slow.

Absolutely no crowds. We arrived around 9:30 and parked in the second row right in front of the Moonbeam lodge. Maybe two or three people in the lift line on a couple of occasions.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Both mountains are weak in my opinion. In case I am not clear, both Solitude and Brighton are easily in the bottom 25-33% of Western mountains - saved only by their snowfall. But snowfall can not inflate minor 400-500 ft. vertical segments into great terrain.

Sure, I powder shot by a 5'-7" male skiing 6-10" new will say Brighton/Solitude is great with face shots. But not really. The terrain just massively sucks.

Everyone has their own criteria for what makes a worthwhile ski area and I know that ChrisC is probably swinging his hyperbolic sledgehammer again, but to say that Solitude sucks... well, that's pretty silly.

Its continuous vertical numbers may put it in that bottom 33% category, but numbers alone don't tell the whole story.

 

[Tony Crocker]

On a normal ski day the topography and lift placement make navigating Solitude somewhat tedious. Those features become a virtue on powder days.

Brighton/Solitude do pale beside their LCC neighbors, but bottom third of western ski areas, probably not.

 

[johnnash]

Don't know if you're planning another day at Soli, but if so, you should consider a run into Honeycomb Canyon. If you're like me, you may have felt a bit intimidated by all the black on the trail map in the canyon. But when I finally tried a run down the bottom of the canyon, it was wonderful, and with the exception of 2 somewhat steep and bumpy (but short) sections, not even challenging -- just scenic and relaxing. You're cruising in a valley between 2 mountains through a coniferous forest -- really beautiful. The surface conditions were good all over when we were there, but in leaner times, I would guess that the snow preservation on this run is probably excellent, since it's shaded by both the mountains and the trees. As I scoped out the black runs down the side of the mountain to skiers' left, they looked quite do-able for an advanced intermediate and I wished that I had another run to try them. But sadly, I was the last one through the Summit gate as they closed for the day, so I'll have to wait for next trip.

 

[itbeme]

Thanks. It certainly looked inviting with the new snow. Although I might have been able to handle it, with the crust underneath, and not knowing what I'd find, I chose to stay on the front. But I will try it if I return Solitude with better conditions.

 

[TRam]

I like 5k vert fallline sking as much as the next guy but come on. Solitude has some good continuious vert of the summit and the easterly area. bottom 1/3 is a bit crazy, considering there are alot of resorts in new mexico, airzona , cali, idaho ,wyo, orgon and wash that many people never heard of and would be dissopointed to step foot on. Solitude is more likly top 50-60 at least.

 

[icelanticskier]

everybody digs what they dig and that's what's so great about forums like this. opinions and point counterpoints are fun.
i chose to spend time in bcc over lcc because the vibe was just, well different. while lcc resorts certainly sport great terrain and lore, i found that a place like solitude generally had better snow conditions that held up longer from less skier traffic. as far as terrain goes, a shot that's 500-1000 vert is plenty long imho to enjoy an untracked deep run and even get's the legs burnin if ya make a bunch of turns to make the most of it. i'm a segment skier though as i like to ski a shot, take a break to evaluate my previous turns for shape and how they felt and then move on to the next. a run down dogleg from the top of evergreen is plenty long for me or milk run/middle slope for that matter. longer shots are nice but i'm not a fast top to bottom skier and i know that on a 2000 vert pitch that i'll stop a couple of times not for lack of fitness but, just to regroup. if snow quality is yer thing and a mix of terrain that includes some traverses and bootpacks to some really nice lines with less crowds than some of the neighboring resorts and less of a bro-brah tude then solitude is a great choice.
rog

 

[Tony Crocker]

Yes, it's eye of the beholder at what point the non-continuous vertical becomes an irritant. In my case not so much at Solitude, quite a bit more at Brighton. But it's hard to beat the continuous in powder IMHO. That's why I love Castle Mt.

Just a guess, but I suspect icelantic likes Brighton mainly for sidecountry. And I'm a bit impatient about that; I'll investigate but I demand a somewhat higher ratio of reward to grunt work than admin does, for example.

 

[icelanticskier]

ya, brighton is not my fave for inbounds, too shelved and benched and short, even for me so, i only use it for b.c. access which imho is some of the best, least crowded interesting terrain in the upper cottonwoods.
rog