Help with a 'Western' trip/destination

[KustyTheKlown]

counterpoint - why shouldnt a narrow canyon road serving two of the best ski areas in the world and requiring massive avalanche mitigation located IN a city with a metro population of 1.3M have intense traffic on the desirable weekend and holiday ski days?

you should have to wake up at 5 AM and get there first to beat the shitshow. people who get caught in the shitshow should know what they are signing up for and plan accordingly, or ski someplace more remote.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Or they build a gondola or make it buses only in the canyon unless you are staying there. But that's been discussed ad nauseum in another thread.

 

[Tonyr]

My point is, and maybe for the first time ever, was that the Sandy side was way more of a hassle this year than the Park City side. I stay on mountain when we ski Alta Snowbird anyway, the traffic/parking avoidance for me alone was always worth the extra cost. This year it was really worth it.

 

[Edd]

Or they build a gondola or make it buses only in the canyon unless you are staying there. But that's been discussed ad nauseum in another thread.

Yeah, seems like a good idea, but I don’t know all of the pros/cons. I visit Utah for the ski terrain and nothing else, so my interest there is limited. I genuinely enjoy Lake Tahoe and Colorado for various non-ski related reasons. Seem like cool places to live.

 

[Tonyr]

Yeah, seems like a good idea, but I don’t know all of the pros/cons. I visit Utah for the ski terrain and nothing else, so my interest there is limited. I genuinely enjoy Lake Tahoe and Colorado for various non-ski related reasons. Seem like cool places to live.

It's going to cost something like 600 million to put the proposed Gondola in then 10 mill annually to run. I'm guessing Alta Snowbird doesn’t generate anywhere near the amount of tax revenue to justify it's cost.

 

[Edd]

It's going to cost something like 600 million to put the proposed Gondola in then 10 mill annually to run. I'm guessing Alta Snowbird doesn’t generate anywhere near the amount of tax revenue to justify it's cost.

That seems to make zero financial sense.

 

[thetrailboss]

The way Park City was run the last couple of years really turned people off and I think it was probably one of the reasons why the resort was empty over the holidays this season. It was shockingly quiet there. We never waited once in a line, just skied right on to the lifts every single time over the 3 days we skied there. In previous years it would normally take up to 40 minutes to get on a lift in the mornings at the base during a holiday weekend or a powder day.

The Cottonwoods on the other hand were an absolute disaster from a traffic perspective over the holidays. If you want to ski Alta or Snowbird on a powder day you need to factor in a 5 am wake up call, then an early departure to ensure a parking spot. Then there is a wait in the lot for the lifts to open. My friend waited in line for 3 hours one morning for a bus ride up before he called it quits for the day. The ride out of the canyon at the end of the day can be just as bad. One of the days we were there the traffic took 2 hours just to go from Alta back to Snowbird, I can't even imagine how long it took to get out of the canyon that day. I absolutely love the terrain at both places but I don't see how this is fun unless your staying on mountain and even that luxury has now become much more expensive.

In any event, atleast for this year, the Sandy side was more of a clusterf*** than the Park City side in our experience.

Population growth + people leaving Epic for IKON + good snow = shit show.

Snowbird ran out of parking today at 9am.
It did not snow overnight, but some passes are blacked out this weekend.

 

[Tonyr]

Population growth + people leaving Epic for IKON + good snow = shit show.

Snowbird ran out of parking today at 9am.
It did not snow overnight, but some passes are blacked out this weekend

Population growth + people leaving Epic for IKON + good snow = shit show.

Snowbird ran out of parking today at 9am.
It did not snow overnight, but some passes are blacked out this weekend.

I have a feeling more changes are coming next season.......

 

[thetrailboss]

I have a feeling more changes are coming next season.......

Reservations at Snowbird

 

[jimk]

Reservations at Snowbird

Do you think next year it will be reservations for all including season pass holders, or only for Ikoners?

 

[Tonyr]

I think that would be a hard sell for season pass holders but a definite for Ikon/MC pass holders. Have no idea if it's coming next year but I think it's definitely coming at some point.....

 

[4aprice]

Yeah, seems like a good idea, but I don’t know all of the pros/cons. I visit Utah for the ski terrain and nothing else, so my interest there is limited. I genuinely enjoy Lake Tahoe and Colorado for various non-ski related reasons. Seem like cool places to live.

Bingo. That's why I (We: wife) invested in Colorado.

 

[thetrailboss]

Do you think next year it will be reservations for all including season pass holders, or only for Ikoners?

I think that would be a hard sell for season pass holders but a definite for Ikon/MC pass holders. Have no idea if it's coming next year but I think it's definitely coming at some point.....

My sources say parking reservations for all. They would be wise to implement it just like Alta. But knowing POWDR they will fuck it up.

I made a parking reservation for today earlier this week. Drove up and was held up by traffic rushing to get to Snowbird before the parking lots filled at 9am. Plenty of room at Alta but the lines were busy. It will be a lot better when Sunnyside gets running. Taking two runs on Wildcat to allow the line at Collins to die down gets old.

I'm glad I opted for Alta. Snowbird did not get Mineral going until almost noon.

 

[dmh]

I wanted to give an update for all those that helped me put together my first outside New England (western) ski trip. My son and I had as close to a perfect trip as was possible.
We skied Solitude, Brighton, Snowbird back to back, then a half day at Brighton before we headed to the airport.
The snow was perfect and we did get a surprise 6-9" snowfall on Day 3, which was our first day at Snowbird. We also took advantage of the free mountain tour where we had two guides with just the two of us and they showed us almost every area of the mountain. They were tremendous and I was extremely grateful we did the tour.
We skied Mon-Fri and never had any lines which I was told was unusual. Some said it may have been because Sundance was going on. Whatever the reason, we were certainly the beneficiaries.
Both days at Snowbird we were able to ski Mineral Basin, which come to find out was also something that cannot always be counted on based on weather and visibility.

My son and I are both extremely spoiled now that we got a 'taste of the good life' as it relates to skiing. Looks like we'll do it again next year and follow the snow like we did on this trip.

Many thanks to all who provided such valuable feedback. You all made planning and executing this trip that much easier for us.

Dave

 

[pinion]

We skied Mon-Fri and never had any lines which I was told was unusual. Some said it may have been because Sundance was going on.

Sundance definitely contributes to low ski crowds in the area. Rental homes are 2x-3x more expensive than usual and the folks renting them aren't primarily there to ski. Sounds like an awesome time... very jealous!

 

[Abominable]

Awesome. I'll never forget my first ski trip out west. Me and a buddy took the train (!) from NY to CO and skied Aspen for a week. This was before the internet, back when booking was done via travel agency.

The train ride was just miserable all around but made for some great stories. The skiing was unbelievable for two kids used to the Berkshires. We were so overdressed, and the concept of sunscreen when skiing was foreign.

Glad you had a great time!

 

[Kingslug20]

You hit it right...

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Awesome. I'll never forget my first ski trip out west. Me and a buddy took the train (!) from NY to CO and skied Aspen for a week. This was before the internet, back when booking was done via travel agency.

The train ride was just miserable all around but made for some great stories. The skiing was unbelievable for two kids used to the Berkshires. We were so overdressed, and the concept of sunscreen when skiing was foreign.

Glad you had a great time!

this dude i follow on instagram, i think he works at killington, @freeskierinvt, he is obsessed with trains. he just did a huge cross country ikon adventure thru december/january almost entirely on amtrak, with very minimal rental car usage. it was interesting to follow. i would never ever travel like that but i enjoyed following his trip.

edit - i was using the @ as the traditional indicator of an Instagram account, but looks like someone inactive here posts under that name. may be the same guy.

 

[4aprice]

this dude i follow on instagram, i think he works at killington, @freeskierinvt, he is obsessed with trains. he just did a huge cross country ikon adventure thru december/january almost entirely on amtrak, with very minimal rental car usage. it was interesting to follow. i would never ever travel like that but i enjoyed following his trip.

edit - i was using the @ as the traditional indicator of an Instagram account, but looks like someone inactive here posts under that name. may be the same guy.

Not obsessed with trains but Amtrak's California Zepher stops in Granby, about 2 miles from our condo in Colorado. It's a long (time wise) trip but we could use it to get to Salt Lake CIty and my BIL's place in 1 direction and to Denver (with connections to DIA) in the other.

 

[thetrailboss]

Not obsessed with trains but Amtrak's California Zepher stops in Granby, about 2 miles from our condo in Colorado. It's a long (time wise) trip but we could use it to get to Salt Lake CIty and my BIL's place in 1 direction and to Denver (with connections to DIA) in the other.

Apparently UP/Amtrak is bringing back the Ski Train on a limited basis to Winter Park this season.