The ALTERRA SUCKS Thread

[abc]

Ehh, I'm over PC and DV. Every time my wife I and have gone out there the low elevation bases came into play (as in R@!n at the base area levels). DV trees are nice, but have never seen ths great snow there really except up high (above 8000'). The overall terrain both offer is not really what I'm looking for when traveling out west. YMMV

A lot of skiers from the east, when they go over to the west, they envision the carefree cruising on wide open bowls and long verticals.

But I’ve been going out west for a few decades, with increasingly longer and longer stay. I’ve gotten jaded. The open bowls are nice when there’s powder. Otherwise, it gets monotonic eventually. Even when the groomer and/or moguls are soft, I can only do so many in one batch. So I seek out variety in the trees. That’s not to mention, if there hasn’t been any recent new snow fall, the trees hold powder longer.

In that regard, DV probably has the most undisturbed snow in their glades, and hold them the longest.

Both DV and PC have shorter vertical than their more famous neighbors on the Canyonwood side. But I don’t happen to care too much about big verticals or hair raising steeps. That needs to be balanced against the increasingly crowded & unpredictable access of the roads into Cottonwood canyons.

It’s really what suits one’s fancy.

 

[Smellytele]

Was just driving up and down the CC’s this past week and never had an issue with traffic. Get up there early and stay for a few apres beverages and then drive down seemed to be the key.

 

[kingslug]

Dv trees are great.
9990 and jupiter are also.
I just like how easy it is to get here...
But once I'm here for good..I'll be going back to alta/ bird more.

 

[kingslug]

Was just driving up and down the CC’s this past week and never had an issue with traffic. Get up there early and stay for a few apres beverages and then drive down seemed to be the key.

Yup

 

[abc]

Get up there early and stay for a few apres beverages and then drive down seemed to be the key.

If I were back in the day when I was there on a 1-week vacation, it would have worked. But both me and my ski buddy still works. So we can’t always spend the entire day up there.

That’s why my buddy (local) has an EPIC pass as well. It’s much easier to get to PC and ski a few hours than trying to time the arrival and departure of the Cottonwood access road.

DV is just by myself as my buddy is a boarder. On the other hand, having a PC local means I got led to stuff I wouldn’t have found on my own.

 

[Smellytele]

If I were back in the day when I was there on a 1-week vacation, it would have worked. But both me and my ski buddy still works. So we can’t always spend the entire day up there.

That’s why my buddy (local) has an EPIC pass as well. It’s much easier to get to PC and ski a few hours than trying to time the arrival and departure of the Cottonwood access road.

DV is just by myself as my buddy is a boarder. On the other hand, having a PC local means I got led to stuff I wouldn’t have found on my own.

Totally understandable with those scenarios.

 

[thetrailboss]

What people say about the “luxury” of DV had always escaped me. Open cattle carts to shuttle skiers from spread out parking lot. What if they take your skis if you drive up?

The groomers were slick, almost east coast slick.

Trees were the only reason I ski there (Back in the days of “free” afternoon ski on the day of landing at the SLC airport).

Since Alterra bought it, the locker rooms resembles the bathroom at Port Authority!

But in conclusion, the trees are worth it. Worth all the slick groomers and jammed packed locker room.

These are apparently “improvements”.

 

[Mailman]

Ehh, I'm over PC and DV. Every time my wife I and have gone out there the low elevation bases came into play (as in R@!n at the base area levels). DV trees are nice, but have never seen ths great snow there really except up high (above 8000'). The overall terrain both offer is not really what I'm looking for when traveling out west. YMMV

That’s pretty much how I feel about the Park City mountains. There’s nothing wrong with them and if any one of them was my home mountain, I’d be super stoked on it, but none of them are mountains I would travel to for a ski vacation.

 

[thetrailboss]

That’s pretty much how I feel about the Park City mountains. There’s nothing wrong with them and if any one of them was my home mountain, I’d be super stoked on it, but none of them are mountains I would travel to for a ski vacation.

What sets PC apart from the Cottonwoods are all the amenities. It’s a pretty cool town. Tons of restaurant, bars, shops, things to do.

 

[thetrailboss]

In that regard, DV probably has the most undisturbed snow in their glades, and hold them the longest.

Pre-IKON I’d agree. Post-IKON is a huge difference. Things are way more tracked out. That may have changed since they came off the base. I’m going tomorrow so I’ll report.

 

[Mailman]

What sets PC apart from the Cottonwoods are all the amenities. It’s a pretty cool town. Tons of restaurant, bars, shops, things to do.

For sure. Park City is a great ski town!

If the town, restaurants and general scene is more important than the skiing, I can definitely see why people would (and a lot of people do) choose Park City as a ski vacation destination.

I should have been clearer that for me, the quality of the skiing is more important than the other stuff when I’m traveling to ski, and that’s why I won’t go back to Park City for a ski vacation. If I’m trying to find the best compromise between a ski town that has a ton of stuff going on as well as excellent skiing, I usually wind up in Aspen.

 

[kingslug]

I'll be in Aspen end of March..never been.
PC was a compromise...but my wife likes how easy it is to get to,no car needed,and there is stuff to do. We used to go to Alta/bird, which now is the opposite of all that.
This will change a bit once here..but for now if I want steep stuff, 9990 and Jupiter are just fine.

 

[Hawk]

Aspen is a great town to have fun. The clientel is definately a lot more fancy then most places. There is a ton of ex pro athletes, Movie stars and really wealthy people that have taken up perminent or semi perminent residence. Based on the banter on here, not exactly the type of place for most on the Alpine Zone spectrum. LOL

I am really fortunate to have extremely wealthy Boston Friends that move out there for 3 months from February to May every year. Mostly to train on thier bikes at elevation. Sort of like a traning camp. But I have also been taken around in the back country both sking and hiking and it is top notch in all aspects. You are going to love it because I know you are not sobby or cheap.

 

[4aprice]

I'll be in Aspen end of March..never been.

I'll be in Aspen the 24th-31st. Hopefully the "Slug Effect" will bring some snow.

Aspen is a great town to have fun. The clientel is definately a lot more fancy then most places. There is a ton of ex pro athletes, Movie stars and really wealthy people that have taken up perminent or semi perminent residence. Based on the banter on here, not exactly the type of place for most on the Alpine Zone spectrum. LOL

I am really fortunate to have extremely wealthy Boston Friends that move out there for 3 months from February to May every year. Mostly to train on thier bikes at elevation. Sort of like a traning camp. But I have also been taken around in the back country both sking and hiking and it is top notch in all aspects. You are going to love it because I know you are not sobby or cheap.

Funny I have had a connection in Aspen and been going there multiple times since the 70's. As you say there are all sorts of famous and wealthy people supposedly all over the place but I've only ever seen one. Martina Navratilova. But for all the reputations I have never felt out of place in Aspen. Great town to walk around and plenty of places to eat and drink. Still to this day my overall favorite resort.

 

[Hawk]

I met Lance Armstong and Geroge Hincappie out on the hiking trails once. Skied a run with Gretchen Blierer. Saw Goldie Hann and Don Johnson once it a restraunt. Not together. Saw the Koch Family once. I didn't know them. My friends pointed them all out. I guess they are in the "in" crowd. They say Martina is really down to earth and talks to eveybody.

 

[kingslug]

23rd to 30 for me...BIG group...I think there are 50 of us....KS effect better kick in!

 

[thetrailboss]

Aspen is awesome.

 

[Boxtop Willie]

A quick report form the other side of the Wasatch. Just back from a week at Solitude. Arrived week ago Saturday to a storm that dropped 20+". Several 6+" refreshes during the early part of the week. Found fresh snow everyday. Even fresh, untouched lines in Honeycomb on Saturday, 6 days after the storm. Navarone, Headwall Forest, Here be Dragons were fantastic, great snow and minimal traffic. And contrary to the prevailing prejudice, no crowds. Not anywhere. Even Saturday, a spectacular 30 degree, bluebird day, no lines longer than 3-4 chairs. Only lines were Moonbeam early in the day and Summit mid-morning and they were maybe 4 minutes tops. Perhaps all the IKONers were at DV?

 

[NYDB]

Everyone must have been stuck in traffic.

 

[thetrailboss]

A quick report form the other side of the Wasatch. Just back from a week at Solitude. Arrived week ago Saturday to a storm that dropped 20+". Several 6+" refreshes during the early part of the week. Found fresh snow everyday. Even fresh, untouched lines in Honeycomb on Saturday, 6 days after the storm. Navarone, Headwall Forest, Here be Dragons were fantastic, great snow and minimal traffic. And contrary to the prevailing prejudice, no crowds. Not anywhere. Even Saturday, a spectacular 30 degree, bluebird day, no lines longer than 3-4 chairs. Only lines were Moonbeam early in the day and Summit mid-morning and they were maybe 4 minutes tops. Perhaps all the IKONers were at DV?

Negative. Snowbird because they don’t want to pay for parking. Solitude now requires parking reservations. That has calmed things down.