Rating Your 2021-2022 Season (or So Far....)

[thetrailboss]

Here is my summary so far with maybe a month left or so here....

1. Snow: D+ . We had about three weeks of winter that gave us a base, but other than that it has been sparse. Sure, we've had some powder days, but overall, not great.
2. Number of Days: A. Right on target--a bit less than last season but on track for 40-45 days (not bad considering I work FT, we went to Maui for two weeks, and it has been warm). There have not been many days when I did not go when I could have.
3. Variety: A. Again, can't complain--lots of Alta, Brighton, and Montana. Big surprise has been how little time I've been to Snowbird.
4. Season Pass Resort Rating for Brighton: A+ . Once again, underpromise and overdeliver. As one employee put it, "this place is just about having fun." Snake Creek and night was a huge boon. The added lift and terrain increased interest and decreased lines. I had a great season (to date). No question I will be back. They are taking steps to make sure that 2022-2023 is a good one for passholders by requiring IKON reservations.
5. Season Pass Resort Rating for Alta/Snowbird: C- . Not going to lie, both started in the toilet in terms of satisfaction and service. When the chips were down as the season got going, Alta delivered and Snowbird not so much. POWDR is making Snowbird a shitty amusement park experience full of crowds and high prices.
6. Best Repeats: Montana--Discovery and Big Sky. Montana is definitely the last best place. Discovery was fun even though snow was low and it was cold. Big Sky was a nice surprise re-visit after my solo trek in 2021. It was cold as fuck, and snow was low, but I got some solid skiing in.
7. Biggest Surprise: Alta. The parking rollout was a disaster and you all know I was hesitant at first, but no doubt it saved the season for me in LCC. We had parking when we needed it and it kept the lines low. Snowbird could learn a lesson....
8. Biggest Disappointments: Snowbird and Deer Valley. I've all but given up on Snowbird--POWDR has destroyed it and left it a dysfunctional, crowded mess. Deer Valley is a shadow of its former self. Subpar grooming, low snowmaking, no more special ambience. Just another crowded ski area.
9. Bucket List: Finally hiked and skied off the top of Baldy at Alta/Snowbird.
10. Biggest Regret: another season with no ski trip back east. I last skied Burke in March 2020 and closed it down. It has been 11 years since I skied Sugarbush.
11. Another Big Regret: not taking more powder sick days. I can think of two, including last Tuesday, when I should have just gone.....
12. Saddest Development: my daughter's apathy of skiing. She only got in three days. She spent a whole week sitting in a hotel room in Big Sky not skiing. The last year of Snowbird Ski Camp was a disaster (2019-2020) and left her not at all interested in skiing. When working with kids one should do no harm. I am sad that she does not want to do it with us. I always thought Daddy-daughter ski days would be a thing. There's still time....
13. Best Development: more ski time with my wife. I made it a point to ski more with her--we were in a nice groove doing Sunday Ski Dates at Alta. We had a lot of fun at Big Sky. It made the season meaningful for me.
14. Best Memories: opening night at Snake Creek with powder and the falling snow making a nice lightshow, hiking Baldy, taking my wife on Dakota and Shedhorn at Big Sky, skiing with friends at Discovery.
15. Overall rating as of today: B+ . The plusses have been more time skiing thanks to nights at Brighton, more terrain for that nightskiing, awesome trips to Montana, and great consistent days at Alta. Quantities were there, quality is lacking because of the dearth of snow. In terms of stages of grieving with Snowbird I am maybe at the end of depression and moving towards acceptance that we may not be there next year.

What I am looking forward to in 2022-2023: Italy (hopefully), more nights at Brighton, next six-pack at Alta, more Montana time.

 

[Smellytele]

That was a lot of grading right there. You a teacher?

 

[ss20]

A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[ss20]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[PAabe]

I am super glad to have skied my first complete season doing the tele thing. My legs are in far better skiing shape than they've ever been for both alpine and tele, and the challege, enjoyment, and drive to get out on the slopes is way higher than it's been in years. I also think my alpine technique is also better and more enjoyable than it's ever been as a result. I am super glad for everyone that had advice regarding that - my ski shop guy, the folks at Plattekill, Fey brothers, Allan & Mike, you guys, all the folks on the slopes with a tip or a "right on"...

Snow - In my opinion southern PA fared pretty well, in January and again for a few days in February. There was about a month of natural skiiable snow coverage, in the right spots. Weather of course swung back and forth from winter to summer a few times which wasn't ideal but there was a good spell of cold and snow.

New areas - I hit Elk, Blue Knob, Whiteface, Bolton Valley, and Jay for the first time, all of which were great. I aim be back to them all especially to hit signature runs that were closed when I was there - I got a lot of skiing done on both ends of the season but not in the middle due to basketball

Condtions - I consider myself lucky to have hit massive spring powder dumps at Belleayre and Jay peak which were amazing, with some nice corn following the Jay dump. Altogether A+ timing with natural events this year with numerous powder days. My tires need replacing this year and I will be upgrading to something more substantial...

Probably got about 14 cross country/back country days but I didn't make it to any groomed XC operations - Next year I would like to ski in some tracks again more frequently. Less cross country but more alpine than last year - I would like to reverse that ratio. I did use skins on the tele skis for the first time this year which was cool.

$ - I used 6 days on Indy pass which is well past break even but my goals was more around 10. I did however get 7 days off of an ORDA frequent skier card purchased on a whim which ended up being economical. Lodging and food was done cheaply but I spent more than I would have liked on gas. As much as I enjoyed the Indy areas, I might pass renewing it for a year to do a combo of the Epic day passes for Roundtop, to ski closer to home + WNEP ski card for Shawnee/Montage/Tussey/Big Bear/Sawmill since a friend will be in State College + ORDA frequent skier card again with those areas being an easier trip than Vermont + day tickets (Elk/Blue Knob/Bear Creek).

Overall very successful ski season for me, and I am *probably* done until next winter.

Thank you as always everyone for the conditions updates, trip reports, pictures, insider info, etc.

 

[abc]

So far? Average.

That could change as the season isn’t over yet. So for example if I hit a couple of proper powder days? That would bump it up to better than average…

Number of days? About 20-30‘ish? Unlike some of you, I’m not obsessive in keeping track. The last time someone forced me to count, I came up to 20. But I’ve skied some more since. That’s for downhill,

Cross country, I also did probably 20-30. Some of the “days” are actually double counted, as I did half day alpine skiing and then a couple hours of cross country.

New area visited? Sure, But all of them are cross country ski areas. Alpine? I’ve been to so many already, it’s rare I visit a new one I’ve never been before. On the other hand, I did “revisited”, IN DEPTH, of a couple of areas I technically been to before but didn’t ski it enough or even seen all of it. Even in mountains I’ve been to many times before, I still continue to find new lines and new nooks and crannies.

If I were to split the cross country from downhill, I’d say xc was at least a A-. But downhill? Maybe a C+?

It’s not a bad season. But the weather definitely was challenging. Although I skied not too few days. But many of those days are forgettable. Still, skiing is skiing, right? Yeah… yawn…

But like I said at the beginning, it could still change as the season isn’t over yet. All it takes is one good storm and I happened to be in the right place at the right time…

 

[Edd]

Not great. I’ll generously give the season as a whole a C-. If Wildcat is your primary mountain, you were well and truly fucked. I’m lucky in that I had a couple of other season passes.

Bright spots were first visits to Ragged and Bolton. I’m definitely getting a Cannon/BW pass again next year, but uncertain of what else to buy. Some things are in flux with me for next year so between that and Epic being shit I’m struggling to decide.

 

[JimG.]

At best a B- and I'm usually lenient.

Other than a dozen or so really good days the weather and conditions have been pretty bad. Every time snow got to where another storm of a foot or more would have made conditions awesome we got warmth or rain or both instead. Most of my days I had to force myself to go skiing rather than really wanting to go. Groomers only wears thin fast.

After 2 seasons where I didn't reach 50 days because of COVID I was hoping for better this season. I'm at 41 days and frankly I'm pretty ready to pick up the rod and reel and put skiing to bed. Disappointing.

 

[jimk]

I'm at ski day 49 (forecast says day 50, tomorrow, might be a big powder day here in UT ). My 1st day of the season was a pretty good one in late Nov in WV. The other 48 have been in CO and UT since driving from the east to the west in mid-Jan. This has been a good ski season, below average snow, but much more like average operating conditions/restrictions. After the last two years in pandemic conditions average is VERY GOOD!

I really respect the opinions and input of @thetrailboss and probably my best single day of the season so far was at Brighton, UT. It was Monday, March 14 under blue skies with low crowds and 12" new snow. He has a lot more Utah ski days & seasons than me and has seen many more changes than I. But here's my counter experience after skiing about 35 days at Snowbird this winter of 2022.

3/14/2022 Millicent lift, Brighton, UT


I'm retired and ski a mix of weekdays (with friends) and a good number of weekends (with my adult son). I ski some full days and a lot of partial days with my Snowbird senior pass. I also have an IKON base pass I use in BCC and elsewhere. I have found free and close parking at Snowbird every visit this year! The low snowfall this season has seemed to cut lift lines over much of the mtn. On sunny days Mineral Basin always siphons a lot of folks off the front of the mtn for a good part of even busy weekend days. Lift lines have not been an issue for me this year at Snowbird. I boot up at my car and don't eat in lodges very much (bring own lunch or eat at home), so can't comment on lodge crowds, but they seemed pretty average. I use singles lines as necessary when I end up in Mineral at busy times.

I missed the big Utah snow dumps around Christmas/New Year, but during the Jan-Feb drought the weather conditions stayed cool and snow was still mostly chalky and fun. At about the worst of the drought, mid-Feb, I drove to see relatives and friends in San Diego and Las Vegas for a week when temps were 80s and 70s respectively at those places. It was a nice time for a break. Since late Feb the snow's been decent in UT although spring came early. Hoping this week's expected dumpage (2'?) improves conditions for a while. I'm planning to visit Mammoth for a few days over Easter weekend then ski more in UT. I will return east sometime in May.

I'm grateful that Snowbird still offers free parking. I kind of envy Alta pass holders as the weekend Alta parking reservation system seems to be steering more cars to Snowbird and making it better for Alta patrons. When Alta goes IKON plus next season and Snowbird stays IKON base the good parking situation for me at Snowbird might worsen. But for now I prefer the free parking and no reservation system at Snowbird.

3/20/2022: Ski-in/ski-out parking on Bypass road at Snowbird 30 yards from ski slope.


@thetrailboss can you tell me more about this at Brighton? "They are taking steps to make sure that 2022-2023 is a good one for passholders by requiring IKON reservations."

 

[KustyTheKlown]

below average. due to bad weather and missed weekends due to xmas family obligations and covid last week, i am at 29 days and am unlikely to get to 35. i foresee 33- this fri-sun, and a random late day at killington.

snow in the east was never amazing. only got out west once.

had some good days but this was overall a pretty sub par season for me.

 

[machski]

I'm at ski day 49 (forecast says day 50, tomorrow, might be a big powder day here in UT ). My 1st day of the season was a pretty good one in late Nov in WV. The other 48 have been in CO and UT since driving from the east to the west in mid-Jan. This has been a good ski season, below average snow, but much more like average operating conditions/restrictions. After the last two years in pandemic conditions average is VERY GOOD!

I really respect the opinions and input of @thetrailboss and probably my best single day of the season so far was at Brighton, UT. It was Monday, March 14 under blue skies with low crowds and 12" new snow. He has a lot more Utah ski days & seasons than me and has seen many more changes than I. But here's my counter experience after skiing about 35 days at Snowbird this winter of 2022.

3/14/2022 Millicent lift, Brighton, UT
View attachment 54047

I'm retired and ski a mix of weekdays (with friends) and a good number of weekends (with my adult son). I ski some full days and a lot of partial days with my Snowbird senior pass. I also have an IKON base pass I use in BCC and elsewhere. I have found free and close parking at Snowbird every visit this year! The low snowfall this season has seemed to cut lift lines over much of the mtn. On sunny days Mineral Basin always siphons a lot of folks off the front of the mtn for a good part of even busy weekend days. Lift lines have not been an issue for me this year at Snowbird. I boot up at my car and don't eat in lodges very much (bring own lunch or eat at home), so can't comment on lodge crowds, but they seemed pretty average. I use singles lines as necessary when I end up in Mineral at busy times.

I missed the big Utah snow dumps around Christmas/New Year, but during the Jan-Feb drought the weather conditions stayed cool and snow was still mostly chalky and fun. At about the worst of the drought, mid-Feb, I drove to see relatives and friends in San Diego and Las Vegas for a week when temps were 80s and 70s respectively at those places. It was a nice time for a break. Since late Feb the snow's been decent in UT although spring came early. Hoping this week's expected dumpage (2'?) improves conditions for a while. I'm planning to visit Mammoth for a few days over Easter weekend then ski more in UT. I will return east sometime in May.

I'm grateful that Snowbird still offers free parking. I kind of envy Alta pass holders as the weekend Alta parking reservation system seems to be steering more cars to Snowbird and making it better for Alta patrons. When Alta goes IKON plus next season and Snowbird stays IKON base the good parking situation for me at Snowbird might worsen. But for now I prefer the free parking and no reservation system at Snowbird.

3/20/2022: Ski-in/ski-out parking on Bypass road at Snowbird 30 yards from ski slope.
View attachment 54048

@thetrailboss can you tell me more about this at Brighton? "They are taking steps to make sure that 2022-2023 is a good one for passholders by requiring IKON reservations."

Several Boyne operated areas will require Ikon pass holders pre-reserve days next season. Those include Loon, Big Sky, Brighton and Summit at Snoqualmie.

 

[machski]

I'll give my season a B-. Bailed out by our 2 week trip to CO, the second week being powder filled. Had some good days pre-trip at SR mid February and a good day late March at Stowe. The late and slow start was downer, but the back end has been a surprising bonus. K seemingly going deep into May with the Superstar build could salvage my grade up to a B, especially if they make it to June.

 

[thetrailboss]

@thetrailboss can you tell me more about this at Brighton? "They are taking steps to make sure that 2022-2023 is a good one for passholders by requiring IKON reservations."

Reservations returning to Brighton next season - TownLift, Park City News

BRIGHTON, Utah — Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon will require reservations from Ikon Pass holders next season. In the FAQ section of the Ikon

townlift.com

Reservations will be back at, at least, one Utah resort for the 2022-23 ski season

Brighton Resort will be one of at least seven ski and snowboard areas on the Ikon Pass that will require reservations for the 2022-23 season in what could be an indication of the next industry trend in managing crowds.

www.sltrib.com

 

[deadheadskier]

From a weather perspective, I'll give it a D. This probably is the second worse weather year I can remember in the Northeast in the past 20. Only 2015-16 where even Stowe didn't break 150" ranks worse.

From a personal enjoyment perspective, I'll give it an "A". This was really one of my more enjoyable seasons for a few reasons.

1. My 3 year old joined the mix with my 7 year old and she absolutely loves the sport. Lots of frustrating days getting her going, but she kept coming back for more. My 7 year old really took a lot of positive steps in his development as well. He is all in on skiing being his winter sport. We had him playing basketball at his request to start the winter and after realizing how much skiing he'd miss to do hoops, he said no more hoops. Maybe that changes in the future, but I don't believe it will.

2. Joining a ski racing team was a very reinvigorating experience for me. For 20 years, I've basically been just trying to maintain my skills. I'd say mid 20s were the peak of my overall abilities on snow. But, I never was a racer before except for about 25% of a season in highschool before it ended abruptly with injury. I was able to improve at racing slightly throughout the course of this season and it's something that I really feel I can get quite a bit better at with practice. So, that's pretty cool for me. I really dug having access to Nastar at Gunstock plus the race league at Pats. Made groomer only skiing days much more fun for me.

3. Days out was up. I typically average 25 days a season. I pulled 34 this year and it probably would have been around 40 if not for the slow start to the season and a higher number than normal days missed due to rain.

So, overall I'm feeling quite satisfied. There's so much more to the sport than just skiing gnar on powder days. I wish I had more of those days this year for certain, but the combination of watching my kids develop plus focusing on racing really made it a great year for me.

 

[crank]

More good than bad.

Good points:
Got in 21 days which is better than I have done on a few seasons.
Reached my goal of skiing 100 ski areas; 101 and counting!
Finally got to take our pandemic delayed trip to Italy's Dolomites originally scheduled for March 2020.
Skied a bunch with one of my oldest friends who guided us around JH's sidecountry. Skied a bunch with my ski club peeps and ended the season last weekend at Killington ripping around with a ton of posters, who are also great skiers, from that other internet ski forum.
I am really enjoying getting reacquainted with Sugarbush. 7- days there this season will get full Ikon again and hope for more next winter.
My wife has always been able to keep up on groomers of any stripe. This season she kept up on double diamond bump runs and runs like the Hobacks at JH. I never had to wait too long but now she easily gets down as fast, or faster than me.


Bad points:
No Pow.
Too much spring skiing.
Getting older and my legs can't handle as many moguls as they used to.
My last bad point would have been a non issue had there been any of my first bad point.

 

[jaytrem]

Bad points:
No Pow.
Too much spring skiing.

That's funny, my upcoming trip is looking somewhat likely to be more powder than spring skiing, I'm not sure I'm happy about that. I think I prefer spring skiing.

 

[ThatGuy]

Overall was a pretty good season but the weather really put a damper on how great it could’ve been if conditions were better.
Wish Magic got more snow 17 days skiing groomers there was not prime. If I didn’t have Mount Snow to fall back on for a close place to ski the season would’ve been a lot worse. Got to explore alot and that was good. Also really improved my technique and mogul ability so that was a plus.

1. Snow: D-One of the worst seasons for snowfall and conditions in memory
2. Number of Days: A+ Wanted to hit 50 days (still possible) but still the most days I’ve managed to ski. Although I had to force myself out a few of those days because of suboptimal conditions
3. Variety: A+ Got to go out West for the first time (great views but snow was lacking) and made it to 10 different resorts overall.
4. Season Pass Resort Rating for Magic: C-To no fault of management this was a subpar season and if Magic was my only pass it would have been one of my worst. Snow just never really came, skied the same three trails for 75% of the season and barely even made it into the woods. Indy Pass and Epic Midweek really saved me there.
5. Biggest Surprise: West Mountain. Probably had something to do with the fact that all three days there were pow days with barely anyone on the mountain but for ~ 30 mins away its a fun hill. Definitely couldn’t go there more than a handful of times a season though.
6. Biggest Disappointments: Magic. Due to the lack of snow in SoVT the season at Magic wasn’t optimal. Really was looking forward to skiing the woods and West side more.
7. Bucket List: Skied the Front Four in one day

 

[pinion]

If Wildcat is your primary mountain, you were well and truly fucked.

This was me. To put it mildly... I've had better seasons for sure.

Overall I give this season a C+. If you asked me back in late Dec what I thought this grade would be I would have said F straight up. It did not stay that bad, but never got good. We did have that 2.5 week stretch of good snow... Wildcat being Wildcat and best skiing in NH. I skied everything I wanted at least once, and probably some other stuff more than it was safe to do so but only because if I skied Polecat or Catapult again you'd need to put me in a straight-jacket and send me off.

Snow sucked everywhere I went. Sorry, Utah . Good days at Deer Valley, good day at Alta. Some better-than-expected leftovers at Wildcat and Mount Snow. Honestly though, best day of skiing for me was at Cranmore of all places... the boy and I just ripped it up all day... almost every trail open (Mar 13). Almost made me like groomers... almost...

Ended the season with 30 days... nice and even number and right where I want it to be given other commitments. Lucky to have my legs and knees in working order. Lucky to be skiing with my family when we can manage being together at the same time. Definitely there with you @thetrailboss re: daughter's apathy... my teenager is just not connecting with it the way she used to. At least I got her into some bowls at DV for a day. Still holding out hope for the 10 year old... he likes doing the Wildcat thing and had some A+ breakthroughs this year.

Really hoping for a B+/A- next year even if it means chasing snow more. We'll see.

 

[jimk]

@ThatGuy , you have to put a label on those photos. Nice looking lady, what's the story behind "wrong"?

 

[pinion]

@ThatGuy , you have to put a label on those photos. Nice looking lady, what's the story behind "wrong"?

I too must know the story. And I love the Peak Pass badge holder. I still rock mine as well!