Resort: Wolf Mountain, Utah (now to be known as Skyline Base)
Date: March 8, 2014
Weather/Conditions: Warm with temps in the 50's and sun; SC
Report: I know that this is two months ago, but I have a lot of good pictures and this is a resort that does not get a lot of press. Plus I figured I would add my thoughts here to the AZ database of source for folks who are curious.
For Christmas I suggested to my brother that he get us discount tix to some different ski areas that we could choose. The tickets, available on Backcountry.com as a fundraiser for the Utah Avalanche Center, were a great deal and had no blackouts. I was keen on trying this little place for the heck of it if nothing more.
This area was founded in the 1960's as Nordic Valley, and actually has a significant history in the 1970's freestyle movement from what I understand. It then had a Hall Double to the summit (still operating) and some other surface lifts. That owner eventually sold; the large Wolf Creek Condominium/resort, that is in the valley, eventually took it over. This ownership group invested a TON of money into a hill of this size. They renovated the old barn that is the lodge, did some landscaping, bought a used triple from Deer Valley (Sterling) and added it on the lower section of the mountain, added a lot of night skiing, and added a ton of high-tech snowmaking. What they did not do, a mistake in my opinion, was replace the summit double, which is showing its age.
I had an afternoon available to go scope out this area and decided to take it because, in hindsight, I would not have made it otherwise. The warm-up reeked havoc on the snow and Wolf only lasted a week after my visit. It was an easy 1:15 drive from my home in SLC--up past Snowbasin and to the slopes. There was not a big crowd at all for a Saturday and it was mostly locals and a few folks learning to ski. I pulled in and had no problem getting a good parking spot. It is definitely a locals place.
After parking I went to get my ticket and check out the lodge. The one lodge serves as the hub for the place--restaurant, offices, bar, and a small simple rental shop and retail outlet. They did not have any Wolf Mountain logo gear, but they were selling their new "Skyline Base" logo stickers, so I snagged some.
Between the burst of the housing bubble, which not surprisingly hurt Wolf Creek Resort badly, and January of this year, Zions Bank operated the resort as creditor. It showed because a lot of trails that should be skiable had not been mowed in some time. A local contractor purchased the resort from Zion's with the help of some international investors and has changed the name to reflect a change in philosophy. From what I understand his plan is to market it as a cheap feeder hill for the Ogden market. That will work well for penny-pinching Utahans, of which I can say that there are many. From my armchair perspective this is better than as an amenity for homeowners in the Wolf Creek Resort who have the money and interest to drive to Powder Mountain or Snowbasin that dwarf this place.
Enough talk. Now to the skiing. In my four hours or so I easily covered all the terrain on the map (and off). I started right on the Howling Wolf Chair and worked the summit hitting Barney's Way under the lift. From there I alternated between skiers' right and left. Wandering Wolf had nice views and a nice long run to keep you entertained. The night skiing and snowmaking infrastructure, for a hill slightly taller than Pats Peak, was impressive.
On the other side, Lobo Lane and Bayot's Boulevard were entertaining and fun. Wile E. Coyote, Upper Cougar, Dyer Straits, and Due South were barely touched by anyone because they were not groomed and they, admittedly, needed a good haircut because of undergrowth. Ecker's Roll, which is a narrow trail in the woods, was so obscured that you had to really look for it and it was a hoot. Dyer Straits was also also pretty obscured and the snow was a bit sticky and tricky to ski. The Hammereds got a lot of attention from folks and were the perfect ski for spring snow.
About 90 minutes into my visit the Howling Wolf went down due to electrical problems. The employees hustled to get it back up and running but admitted that it was going to be a while. I went over to ski Sterling and that side. The terrain over there was quite flat and not too good in the warm temps. It also was pretty short in terms of vertical. The previous owners were going to make this a tubing park as well. The Gardens was a very small area in the scrub that might qualify as a small glade, but barely. The Wolfdeedo Chair was not running and because of snowfencing and the big park under that lift you could not ski over too far to skier's right. So the triple served a pretty limited amount of terrain. They would have been better served to have this triple replace the summit double.
After about a half hour's worth of quick runs over at Sterling on "Oh My Heck" (sterilized for the locals), the Howling Wolf reopened and I was able to ski the remaining terrain on the summit. Chainsaw Willy and Hawkin's Hole served as racing terrain and had good pitch albeit a bit short. Moose Run was intended to be a big quarter or half-pipe, but was groomed and a normal ski run. Aspen Chute and Lone Deer were moderate cruisers with the former not groomed out.
I was able to hit the main runs multiple times. It was entertaining for a few hours but not a destination resort per se. A good place for families for sure. No need for detachable lifts as the 1,000 vertical does not require a long ride...7 minutes or so for a good 3-4 minute run. It skis a bit bigger than it looks.
At about 6pm it was beginning to refreeze and folks had cleared out. Despite the temps, and lack of people, they were scheduled to run until 10pm and the lights were coming on.
A fun place for a few hours and I wish the new ownership luck. They can make it work by catering to the locals and keeping it affordable. Install a decent fixed grip triple to the top, mow the trails, and they are in good shape. Pics below.
Date: March 8, 2014
Weather/Conditions: Warm with temps in the 50's and sun; SC
Report: I know that this is two months ago, but I have a lot of good pictures and this is a resort that does not get a lot of press. Plus I figured I would add my thoughts here to the AZ database of source for folks who are curious.
For Christmas I suggested to my brother that he get us discount tix to some different ski areas that we could choose. The tickets, available on Backcountry.com as a fundraiser for the Utah Avalanche Center, were a great deal and had no blackouts. I was keen on trying this little place for the heck of it if nothing more.
This area was founded in the 1960's as Nordic Valley, and actually has a significant history in the 1970's freestyle movement from what I understand. It then had a Hall Double to the summit (still operating) and some other surface lifts. That owner eventually sold; the large Wolf Creek Condominium/resort, that is in the valley, eventually took it over. This ownership group invested a TON of money into a hill of this size. They renovated the old barn that is the lodge, did some landscaping, bought a used triple from Deer Valley (Sterling) and added it on the lower section of the mountain, added a lot of night skiing, and added a ton of high-tech snowmaking. What they did not do, a mistake in my opinion, was replace the summit double, which is showing its age.
I had an afternoon available to go scope out this area and decided to take it because, in hindsight, I would not have made it otherwise. The warm-up reeked havoc on the snow and Wolf only lasted a week after my visit. It was an easy 1:15 drive from my home in SLC--up past Snowbasin and to the slopes. There was not a big crowd at all for a Saturday and it was mostly locals and a few folks learning to ski. I pulled in and had no problem getting a good parking spot. It is definitely a locals place.
After parking I went to get my ticket and check out the lodge. The one lodge serves as the hub for the place--restaurant, offices, bar, and a small simple rental shop and retail outlet. They did not have any Wolf Mountain logo gear, but they were selling their new "Skyline Base" logo stickers, so I snagged some.
Between the burst of the housing bubble, which not surprisingly hurt Wolf Creek Resort badly, and January of this year, Zions Bank operated the resort as creditor. It showed because a lot of trails that should be skiable had not been mowed in some time. A local contractor purchased the resort from Zion's with the help of some international investors and has changed the name to reflect a change in philosophy. From what I understand his plan is to market it as a cheap feeder hill for the Ogden market. That will work well for penny-pinching Utahans, of which I can say that there are many. From my armchair perspective this is better than as an amenity for homeowners in the Wolf Creek Resort who have the money and interest to drive to Powder Mountain or Snowbasin that dwarf this place.
Enough talk. Now to the skiing. In my four hours or so I easily covered all the terrain on the map (and off). I started right on the Howling Wolf Chair and worked the summit hitting Barney's Way under the lift. From there I alternated between skiers' right and left. Wandering Wolf had nice views and a nice long run to keep you entertained. The night skiing and snowmaking infrastructure, for a hill slightly taller than Pats Peak, was impressive.
On the other side, Lobo Lane and Bayot's Boulevard were entertaining and fun. Wile E. Coyote, Upper Cougar, Dyer Straits, and Due South were barely touched by anyone because they were not groomed and they, admittedly, needed a good haircut because of undergrowth. Ecker's Roll, which is a narrow trail in the woods, was so obscured that you had to really look for it and it was a hoot. Dyer Straits was also also pretty obscured and the snow was a bit sticky and tricky to ski. The Hammereds got a lot of attention from folks and were the perfect ski for spring snow.
About 90 minutes into my visit the Howling Wolf went down due to electrical problems. The employees hustled to get it back up and running but admitted that it was going to be a while. I went over to ski Sterling and that side. The terrain over there was quite flat and not too good in the warm temps. It also was pretty short in terms of vertical. The previous owners were going to make this a tubing park as well. The Gardens was a very small area in the scrub that might qualify as a small glade, but barely. The Wolfdeedo Chair was not running and because of snowfencing and the big park under that lift you could not ski over too far to skier's right. So the triple served a pretty limited amount of terrain. They would have been better served to have this triple replace the summit double.
After about a half hour's worth of quick runs over at Sterling on "Oh My Heck" (sterilized for the locals), the Howling Wolf reopened and I was able to ski the remaining terrain on the summit. Chainsaw Willy and Hawkin's Hole served as racing terrain and had good pitch albeit a bit short. Moose Run was intended to be a big quarter or half-pipe, but was groomed and a normal ski run. Aspen Chute and Lone Deer were moderate cruisers with the former not groomed out.
I was able to hit the main runs multiple times. It was entertaining for a few hours but not a destination resort per se. A good place for families for sure. No need for detachable lifts as the 1,000 vertical does not require a long ride...7 minutes or so for a good 3-4 minute run. It skis a bit bigger than it looks.
At about 6pm it was beginning to refreeze and folks had cleared out. Despite the temps, and lack of people, they were scheduled to run until 10pm and the lights were coming on.
A fun place for a few hours and I wish the new ownership luck. They can make it work by catering to the locals and keeping it affordable. Install a decent fixed grip triple to the top, mow the trails, and they are in good shape. Pics below.