Utah in May

M

molecan

New member
Hey,

I'd like some opinions from you SLC/LCC locals.

A friend of mine just came up with lodging for the second week in may, that are on mountain and dirt cheap at Snowbird.

I've seen a few postings here about last may, and it seemed like things were still decent at SB. I think Alta may be closed by then, so it'd be earned turns or none at Alta, most likely.

I know that endless powder is NOT what I'll be coming in for, but anyone have any other pros-cons to heading to Utah this may?


-Thanks
 
It may not be a typical May day, but we had a wonderful powder day as late as May 12 last season.

By the time you're coming out, Alta will be closed. In fact, Snowbird will be the only game in town. We still headed into Alta frequently through May and into June, though, either by hiking up Baldy to ski Main Chute, or by skinning up to Sugarloaf Pass after descending into Mineral Basin.

Figure on corn. Figure on starting your ski day around 10 am to allow eastern aspects to soften, then following the sun around for maximum corn exposure.

Cons: Snowbird may well be on weekends-only by then, or transitioning into weekends only. Should we have a dramatic and spectacularly warm spring, there's always the off-chance that it'll be closed, but given current base depths I view the probability of that being low.
 
Snowbird's May operation tends to be bare bones vs. Mammoth, Bachelor, A-Basin, Whistler. Normally only Little Cloud with the tram for access and not a lot of grooming, thus the wait until 10AM advice from admin. Last year was an exception. The lower mountain was well covered so they ran Gadzoom and groomed a little. Base depths at the moment actually look better than last year at this time, but last year LCC was pounded in late March and April, plus that May storm admin mentioned. We can be hopeful that Snowbird liked the response they got last year to expanded operation and will not revert to their historical minimalist stance. But keep in mind that a lot of that response was from passholders.
 
Admin":3kjp9d8o said:
Cons: Snowbird may well be on weekends-only by then, or transitioning into weekends only. Should we have a dramatic and spectacularly warm spring, there's always the off-chance that it'll be closed, but given current base depths I view the probability of that being low.
Click to expand...
Last season, the last day of daily operations before Snowbird went to weekends-only was May 8. A fast and hot spring can drastically alter closing dates. The 2003/04 season, Snowbird expected to close after Memorial Day weekend. Multiple 95F days in the Valley in early May that year forced them to move up closing day by 3 weeks, to the second weekend in May. Mineral Basin usually closes mid to late April.

In May, once they go to weekend operation, officially, spring skiing is exclusively the terrain serviced by the Little Cloud lift with up/down loading on the Tram. Anything below Little Cloud or off of Chips Run is officially considered backcountry skiing. Often it is well worth it - sometimes spectacularly so - but don't be surprised by brown patches, very techincal skiing to link snow patches, exposed rocks, and mandatory walking depending on your line. Intimate, detailed knowledge of the mountain is very helpful then.
 
FYI, Snowbird on its website has revised its closing date information to say (for now) daily operations through May 14, and weekend-only operations thereafter through May 29. FYI, during last year's cool and wet spring, Snowbird pushed back their closing date multiple times.
 
Well, we pulled the trigger, booked the week, and purchased our flight.
Now we cross our fingers and wait. Should be an interesting enough introduction to Utah.

Marc_C":2zyi3fi7 said:
. Often it is well worth it - sometimes spectacularly so - but don't be surprised by brown patches, very techincal skiing to link snow patches, exposed rocks, and mandatory walking depending on your line. Intimate, detailed knowledge of the mountain is very helpful then.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Sounds like an adventure if that's the case. I knew I should have bought an AT setup.. Any of you still skiing at that time of year?

I'll check back in to keep up on the weather, but the TR's are starting to cause me pain. I havent even had a chance to get up to VT for last weeks powder frenzy.
 
molecan":finkou21 said:
Marc_C":finkou21 said:
Often it is well worth it - sometimes spectacularly so - but don't be surprised by brown patches, very techincal skiing to link snow patches, exposed rocks, and mandatory walking depending on your line. Intimate, detailed knowledge of the mountain is very helpful then.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Sounds like an adventure if that's the case. I knew I should have bought an AT setup.. Any of you still skiing at that time of year?
Click to expand...
Of course we're still skiing then! In my above quote, I could just have easily added: "Also, don't be surprised if there's a 15" powder day!" What I described above didn't really happen until June last season. The season before, I remember walking 1/4 mile of dirt road from the bottom of South Chute* to the top of the Wilbere lift and the resumption of snow in mid-May, so, it all depends.

*It's named Berry Berry Steep on the map, but all the locals know it as South Chute. Hardly the only discrepancy of this type.
 
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