What to ski at Alta on Feb 8th & 9th
- Thread starter sierra_cement
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If forced to ski a place with no new snow for a month, Mammoth would unquestionably be my first choice. The wind often smooths out some of the upper steeps and in some cases reloads them with soft windsifted snow. The worst case would be more moguls than usual but I do not expect any melt/freeze on the upper slopes at this time of year.sbooker":1ga40u8f said:
I also would have frustrated to fly to Utah on Wednesday and see LCC closed Thursday and Friday.
Thanks. I guess the silver lining in the timing is that Liz is not missing any skiing by spending this February and probably part of March in Florida. Liz started physical therapy on her shoulder this week and we think the therapist is excellent.Falcon":1ga40u8f said:
Sbooker":2zwshbe2 said:
Agreed, I would call Snowbasin one of the most balanced ski areas around, as mentioned in my 2009 TR link above. 3,000 acres of really varied terrain with true double-blacks across the top (a fair amount of it beyond my pay grade), bookended by big single-black sectors along both sides, the entire middle with intermediate slopes, and some green/easy blues on the two chairs at the bottom.Marc_C":2zwshbe2 said:
The blues have some long flats and I'd prefer not to take my skis off at the end of every run on the two gondolas but this is minor niggling given the long T2B vertical (2,500-ish feet, more with the beer-can gondola). Truly one of my favorites in North America. I'm probably going to get an Ikon Pass next season; a shame that it's on Epic.
tseeb
Well-known member
From UDOT Twitter
Parking at Brighton filled about 9:45 and road closed at 10:30 except for BCC residents and buses.
Road to LCC opened about 11:45.
@sbooker While road to Alta often shuts down, it's usually only for one night. When it happens Thurs, Fri or Sat night and does not re-open early (8 AM) the next morning, you may be better off going to Sundance, which has beautiful views, or Snowbasin, which not only was mobbed yesterday, also had r--n at the base and was unable to open Strawberry. I have to keep reminding myself that you are on MCP which does not include BCC and Deer Valley UT options,
Parking at Brighton filled about 9:45 and road closed at 10:30 except for BCC residents and buses.
Road to LCC opened about 11:45.
@sbooker While road to Alta often shuts down, it's usually only for one night. When it happens Thurs, Fri or Sat night and does not re-open early (8 AM) the next morning, you may be better off going to Sundance, which has beautiful views, or Snowbasin, which not only was mobbed yesterday, also had r--n at the base and was unable to open Strawberry. I have to keep reminding myself that you are on MCP which does not include BCC and Deer Valley UT options,
Falcon
New member
Flew in Sat (2/8) and was out of the airport by 9:45 am. Drove to Deer Valley. Parking lot completely full before 11:00 am. We wasted 30 minutes figuring out what to do but ended up parking at the China Bridge free day parking adjacent to the OTC. Took the bus to Deer Valley and was skiing by noon. It was fine taking the bus. Very crowded. Elbow to elbow on the groomers. Lift lines were 3-9 minutes. Don't believe they had 10 inches last Thursday. Many slick spots on the groomers and the bumps were very firm. Very average conditions. But the food is still outstanding. Amazing how good it is. And you get an Ikon discount. Local Deer Valley skiers are bitter about that.
Sun (2/9). Snowbird. Left later then we wanted. Got to the mouth of the canyon by 8:25. Came in the SE route and it was 50 minutes getting by the mouth of the canyon. Still we got a parking space in he superior lot. Skiing by 10:00 am. Very crowded. Chair lines again were 3-9 minutes. We know Snowbird well, so we worked well around the crowds. Great packed powder snow. No breakable crust. Temps 14-22, sunny, no wind. We had a great day. Leaving wasn't bad. It was slow at Snowbird but then moved down the canyon slowing in only a few areas. Very surprised.
Mon (2/10). Snowbird. Upper single digits at 9:00 am. Snow was much firmer. Got off the tram at 10:00 am. 7 degrees with 30 MPH winds. Cold. By 11:00 am winds calmed but clouds rolled. Noon slightly warmer and sunny. Best part of the day. 1:45 pm snow flurries. Nothing like Sunday but still a good day. Walk on Trams. Overall good trip. Back home.
Sun (2/9). Snowbird. Left later then we wanted. Got to the mouth of the canyon by 8:25. Came in the SE route and it was 50 minutes getting by the mouth of the canyon. Still we got a parking space in he superior lot. Skiing by 10:00 am. Very crowded. Chair lines again were 3-9 minutes. We know Snowbird well, so we worked well around the crowds. Great packed powder snow. No breakable crust. Temps 14-22, sunny, no wind. We had a great day. Leaving wasn't bad. It was slow at Snowbird but then moved down the canyon slowing in only a few areas. Very surprised.
Mon (2/10). Snowbird. Upper single digits at 9:00 am. Snow was much firmer. Got off the tram at 10:00 am. 7 degrees with 30 MPH winds. Cold. By 11:00 am winds calmed but clouds rolled. Noon slightly warmer and sunny. Best part of the day. 1:45 pm snow flurries. Nothing like Sunday but still a good day. Walk on Trams. Overall good trip. Back home.
Looks like some snow for SLC and surrounds this coming weekend and then clear weather for a prolonged period by the looks of things. We'll be trying to get to Alta/Snowbird next Wednesday and Thursday. I guess the positive to no snow is a less likelihood of traffic jams and crowds. It is likely to be fairly quiet mid week with no new snow?
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
It's Presidents week, many schools are on vacation..
Is this the trip with the first time snowboarders? :-k Is LCC the first stop on the trip (Aspen should be)?sbooker":3s0z7mfz said:
Let's just say if they really are first timers, put them on skis at Alta. What's the difference, considering that Snowbird is close to the worst ski area on the planet for beginners and that Albion/Sunnyside is quite good for beginners?Tony Crocker":xcqc8zm8 said:Is this the trip with the first time snowboarders? :-k Is LCC the first stop on the trip (Aspen should be)?sbooker":xcqc8zm8 said:
The beginners don’t join us until a few days after. I’ll be taking the intermediate couple to Alta. They can cruise Sugarloaf all day.
I’ve tried my best to work around three different couples itineraries (that have more moving parts than a Swiss watch).
Whilst I think the Snowbird ‘expert’ reputation a bit overdone I wouldn’t take beginners there.
You’re now just a bit disappointed aren’t you? :lol: You we’re hoping to read a report sometime next week about tears and cursing from novice snowboarders from Australia.
Their first day will be somewhere much more suitable - Jackson.
I did try to take your advice and swap Big Sky around with Jackson but it couldn’t be done.
And damn. I thought it was Presidents weekEND (holiday on Monday only). I had no idea it was the whole week!
President's week is a holiday in selected school districts, some in the Northeast, northern California and the Northwest. It is not universal like the February school holiday weeks in European countries. When I was working I took a lot of vacations that week and even now I'm usually in Canada much of that week. My experience is that the 3 day weekend is much busier than the rest of that week.
I know Jackson has been improving its beginner infrastructure. The actual beginner terrain is only a bit worse than Alta's. The big difference is that Alta and Aspen rate to have much better snow conditions in your time frame. That said, OpenSnow currently projects Jackson's high temperatures staying down below -5C to the Feb. 22 limit of its forecast with 18 inches new snow expected over those 10 days. Once Jackson has its first widespread melt/freeze mid-February or later, it's very hard for it to recover other than with a concentrated dump of 18+ inches. But in its best seasons that might not happen until a week or so into March. So far sbooker is on track to get lucky. The current persistent weather that is degrading conditions here in California has been outstanding in the northern regions.
I know Jackson has been improving its beginner infrastructure. The actual beginner terrain is only a bit worse than Alta's. The big difference is that Alta and Aspen rate to have much better snow conditions in your time frame. That said, OpenSnow currently projects Jackson's high temperatures staying down below -5C to the Feb. 22 limit of its forecast with 18 inches new snow expected over those 10 days. Once Jackson has its first widespread melt/freeze mid-February or later, it's very hard for it to recover other than with a concentrated dump of 18+ inches. But in its best seasons that might not happen until a week or so into March. So far sbooker is on track to get lucky. The current persistent weather that is degrading conditions here in California has been outstanding in the northern regions.
EMSC
Well-known member
Marc_C":3da1b92w said:
Curious. How many were storm snow Avi's vs those that broke down on bad lower layers? It was a warm storm cycle for mi-winter. and surprising that a number of Colo areas got at least as much as Utah. My guess is altitude helped over this way. Snow was still dense, but not likely near 16%.
He pulled a Gpaul!tseeb":1z9o8wt6 said: