It was a nice Thursday and I was itching to get out and see some of our new home state. While the Mrs. and I had skied Alta, and I had been to Snowbird, I had only passed by Big Cottonwood Canyon and wondered what was up there. So I planned a whirlwind tour of Solitude, Brighton, and then up over Guardsman Pass to the Park City Areas. I was curious as to how they compared to what we skied and just wanted to see what the fuss was all about. We were also ski area shopping for passes for next season.
The drive up Big Cottonwood is stunning at the beginning.
Like her little sister, the opening is really breathtaking.
As I drove up into the Canyon it became clear why this was the "Big" Canyon and that was because the canyon was much wider, broader, and flatter than Little Cottonwood.
After a steady climb up a hairpin turn I came to the Moonbeam Base Area of Solitude. Solitude is probably the least known and frequented area in the Wasatch, from what I had read. It had been owned by the same family for some time. In the 1990's they looked to Intrawest to develop their base area, further up the road (see below).
The Moonbeam Area is the day area. The parking area is huge and the base area complex. There are two HSQ's that leave this area--the Eagle Express is the older HSQ on the far looker's right, and the newer Moonbeam runs from the base area up the mountain. There is a fixed grip "Links" chair to the other area.
Looking up Eagle:
Old school HSQ technology:
The new Moonbeam Express:
Overall the terrain looked decent but fairly tame compared to Snowbird or Alta. There was no above treeline stuff per se.
After driving up to Brighton and coming back down (Guardsman Pass was closed due to snow) I checked out the upper village area. The first thing that met me was a gate and a sign listing parking rates. Yes, you have to pay to park at the upper mountain. :blink: This was a major turn off in my mind. For the summer it was free. I strolled up the small (fake) village, beside a nice babbling brook and over a bridge to the base of the ski area. Of all the places I had visited, this was the most awkward juxtaposition I had seen: faux alpine village, a bridge, and then a field with ski lifts and a small "club" house.
The Upper Entrance:
Faux Village:
There was no real center of town with shops or restaurants, but rather homes and condos with a few small eateries here and there:
Apex Express and the base. Looking up Main Street:
Yes, they do Avi Control here:
Sunrise Triple and the "Alta-Bird" ski trail:
Look how high the chairs are for the snow!
Sunrise Area:
Village from Sunrise:
It felt a lot like Spruce at Stowe with the open feel. Again, the terrain looked fun for a day or so, but not barnburning.
After strolling around, I headed back to the car and out the Canyon. The vibe I got from Solitude: fun for a day or so, some nice new lifts, a nice day area, but not quite there for serious skiers. My later visit led me to scope out some nice BC options in the Honeycomb Canyon, but it lacked the vertical, elevation, and pitch of Snowbird.
The drive up Big Cottonwood is stunning at the beginning.
Like her little sister, the opening is really breathtaking.
As I drove up into the Canyon it became clear why this was the "Big" Canyon and that was because the canyon was much wider, broader, and flatter than Little Cottonwood.
After a steady climb up a hairpin turn I came to the Moonbeam Base Area of Solitude. Solitude is probably the least known and frequented area in the Wasatch, from what I had read. It had been owned by the same family for some time. In the 1990's they looked to Intrawest to develop their base area, further up the road (see below).
The Moonbeam Area is the day area. The parking area is huge and the base area complex. There are two HSQ's that leave this area--the Eagle Express is the older HSQ on the far looker's right, and the newer Moonbeam runs from the base area up the mountain. There is a fixed grip "Links" chair to the other area.
Looking up Eagle:
Old school HSQ technology:
The new Moonbeam Express:
Overall the terrain looked decent but fairly tame compared to Snowbird or Alta. There was no above treeline stuff per se.
After driving up to Brighton and coming back down (Guardsman Pass was closed due to snow) I checked out the upper village area. The first thing that met me was a gate and a sign listing parking rates. Yes, you have to pay to park at the upper mountain. :blink: This was a major turn off in my mind. For the summer it was free. I strolled up the small (fake) village, beside a nice babbling brook and over a bridge to the base of the ski area. Of all the places I had visited, this was the most awkward juxtaposition I had seen: faux alpine village, a bridge, and then a field with ski lifts and a small "club" house.
The Upper Entrance:
Faux Village:
There was no real center of town with shops or restaurants, but rather homes and condos with a few small eateries here and there:
Apex Express and the base. Looking up Main Street:
Yes, they do Avi Control here:
Sunrise Triple and the "Alta-Bird" ski trail:
Look how high the chairs are for the snow!
Sunrise Area:
Village from Sunrise:
It felt a lot like Spruce at Stowe with the open feel. Again, the terrain looked fun for a day or so, but not barnburning.
After strolling around, I headed back to the car and out the Canyon. The vibe I got from Solitude: fun for a day or so, some nice new lifts, a nice day area, but not quite there for serious skiers. My later visit led me to scope out some nice BC options in the Honeycomb Canyon, but it lacked the vertical, elevation, and pitch of Snowbird.
Honeycomb canyon rocks (but the lift configuration is a blessing and a curse - can't really lap it which helps with snow preservation). I'd be tempted to choose it over alta/bird because I can't stand crowds and there is still plenty of legit terrain.
