UTAH

C

crippitylip

New member
Hello,
I will be in Utah for 5 days in the middle of January. I would like to try and hit at least 3 to 4 resorts. I will be riding every day of the 5. I do not know where to stay if I want to go to Brighton, Snowbird, Snowbasin, Park City etc... What moutains should I focus on? Should I stay in SLC and get a car and just bounce around? Never been to Utah, very excited. All help appreciated. Cheers!
 
Give us a hint: what do you prefer to ride on? Steeps, groomers, pow, parks & pipes? "Best" is relative. One person's perfection is another person's boredom. Telling us what you prefer will help us give a more focused recommendation.
 
Sorry about that. I thought of that after I posted. I have been snowboarding for over 10 years but I am 34 so I am not interested in parks/pipes. Love to have good trees, chutes cliffs anything that I can test myself on. I consider myself a solid intermediate, been to many big mountains just not Utah. My flight lands in SLC at 10 in the morning and I read that I can go to Park City or canyons that afternoon for free with boarding pass so that is kind of neat. Originally thought of staying in Park city , go there saturday afternoon, canyons sunday then brighton snowbird monday through wed but dont know if it is too far to drive from Park city. Always like a good pub or apres. Thank you so much. i always read post on this site and always seem to be plethora of good knowledge.
 
I went last year. Stayed in a townhouse just outside The Canyons. Canyons was just a minute away. Park City was just up the road a few minutes as well as Deer Valley. I thought it would be a real long trip and a hassle to get to Snowbird and Alta from there. It wasn't. It took hardly any time at all. If you stayed in SLC, any one of the resorts will be close. To have that many great resorts that close should be illegal. I'm sure others that live in SLC will give you exact travel times, but it seemed like everything was attainable in less than an hour from where ever you are. You just gotta see it to believe it.
 
Well, personally if I were you I'd be more inclined to stay in the Salt Lake Valley than in PC - it's less expensive, and closer to the type of terrain that you're looking to ride. Doing so will put you 20 minutes from the Cottonwood Canyons resorts, 25 min from The Canyons, and 30 minutes from Park City Mountain Resort. PC provides a resort town atmosphere, if that's important to you, while SLC is more urban/suburban.

You'll enjoy time at Park City and The Canyons, but given your description I'd also put Snowbird and Solitude high on your list. Brighton's strength is in terrain parks and intermediate groomers, so I'd rate that much lower on your list.

If you stay in SLC you can reach Snowbird and Solitude through the UTA city buses without the need for a car. If you stay in PC you can ride buses to PCMR and The Canyons. If you stay on one side of the Wasatch, however, you'll need a car to access the resorts on the other side.
 
Thank you!! My buddy just emailed me and told me that he stayed in Sandy and that was quite convenient. I believe I will rent car/truck either way for freedom purposes either way. I would like to visit PC to see resort town but don't need to stay there.
 
One thing I forgot to ask is about crowds. I will be there from Jan 14th to through th 18th. Saturday, Sunday and Monday of holiday weekend. Any pointers as to which to hit during the weekend vs the tuesday wed?
Thank you
 
Although none of them are likely to be terribly crowded, Solitude, Snowbasin and Powder Mt. are likely to be the least crowded.
 
I would do Snowbird midweek when The Tram lines are generally shorter. It's the key lift, and it's a real treat when you only have to wait 1or 2 cars.
 
ChrisC":rq699yhm said:
I would do Snowbird midweek when The Tram lines are generally shorter. It's the key lift, and it's a real treat when you only have to wait 1or 2 cars.
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The funny thing is that although this is only my second season living here, I seldom waited longer than that all winter last season, and I only skied there on weekends.
 
Thank you again for the input. I have perusing through the archives trying to read up as much as possible and got a little spooked. If I stayed in Sandy and it was really dumping how often does the road close to get into the mountains? Thank you!
 
Admin":2qinsgz4 said:
ChrisC":2qinsgz4 said:
I would do Snowbird midweek when The Tram lines are generally shorter. It's the key lift, and it's a real treat when you only have to wait 1or 2 cars.
Click to expand...

The funny thing is that although this is only my second season living here, I seldom waited longer than that all winter last season, and I only skied there on weekends.
Click to expand...

I often have found 2-3 car waits on weekends. And a car is 10 minutes (loading and transit time for the tram). And if I do have to wait that long (20-30 min) -- I generally think the Gadzoom-Little Cloud lift combo is faster. Hence, I don't use the tram. However, I have noticed that the tram can be busier in the mornings and then better in the afternoons.

I can't wait to the new HS lift and tunnel are ready (next year?). I'm sure the new lift-to-Mineral Basin Express will be quicker than the tram. Also, it looks like you will almost a full run in Mineral Basin too - from where the tunnel comes out according to the map.

Also, I like Alta MUCH better on powder days than Snowbird. On big dumps, Snowbird is slow to open terrain (my experience is Mineral Basin rarely opens when they get 15-20"). Gad 2 and part of Little cloud often open late. It really constricts the skiing in the mornings. Combined with some boarders side-slipping (or as they call it riding) entire chutes, things get tracked out quickly. Alta has less constrictive terrain and seems to open it quicker. Supreme seems to be saved for just the right time to continue the posder frenzy.

Just my 2 cents...
 
I ski Snowbird Sunday-Tuesday early March every year. I tend to use the tram a lot Monday/Tuesday and not much Sunday. Also agree with Chris C. that Sunday late afternoon the tram line lightens up some.
 
crippitylip":d5q5p88h said:
Thank you again for the input. I have perusing through the archives trying to read up as much as possible and got a little spooked. If I stayed in Sandy and it was really dumping how often does the road close to get into the mountains? Thank you!
Click to expand...

The following refers specifically to Little Cottonwood Canyon (ie: Alta & Snowbird) as that's where I have a season pass and do the majority of my skiingl......

Over the past 5 seasons (my typical season averages 60+ days) there are about 4 days per season when the canyon road is closed all day. Typically (but not always) on those days, Alta and Snowbird are under interlodge* restriction as well, so lifts wouldn't be turning anyway.

There are probably around 15 days per season where the roads have a delayed opening for avi control work and plowing. Once the road does open - usually by 9a or 10a, the cars that have been waiting on Wasatch Blvd for the past few hours crawl upcanyon at 5mph, so it often takes a good hour to get to the ski areas. Those are the powder days where it hurts to be sleeping in the valley.

However, there are strategies to deal with this:

Big Cottonwood Canyon (Solitude and Brighton) is closed much less frequently than LCC and usually opens sooner - there are fewer major slide paths that intersect the road. Solitude gets tracked out much slower than Alta/Bird. If there are wind and/or visibility issues, Solitude's lifts are more protected (thus fewer wind holds/shutdowns) and there are far more trees for visibility (Solitude has much better tree runs than Alta, imho.)

There is never a road closure issue getting from Salt Lake Valley up to any of the Park City areas, Snow Basin, or Powder Mountain. If there is, it means the interstates are shut down, so no one is skiing anyway! Oh, if you go off-map at Deer Valley or Snow Basin, you can almost always find untracked powder. At DV that can be 3 days after a storm. You can almost always find untracked at Powder Mtn. almost anytime., the price being a slow and somewhat confusing lift system.

In short, if you stay in Sandy, unless you absolutely must ski at Alta/Bird and nowhere else, road closures really aren't the big deal people make it out to be.


*Interlodge = by law, you stay inside whatever building you are in; this includes not going out to your car in the parking lot. They mean it - it's a $500 misdemeanor.
 
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