The ALTERRA SUCKS Thread

[thetrailboss]

Oh, what the actual fuck.

Yeah, it was messed up. It was on the new six-pack with heated seats and they easily could have wiped off the snow or let the heat do its thing.

 

[Cheetah440]

That is a major change as Sultan never had a line before. Hell, pre-IKON Deer Valley never had any lines anywhere. That was a key selling point.

My Alta-Bird pass has two DV days on it (midweek). I went on Monday. Sure, the terrain and lifts are all the same (except for East Village) but man has the vibe really changed and not for the better. Lots of "new money" snobbery that we'd see at Canyons/PCMR as DV was the "old money" who were really laid back. Almost every lift ride was silent when I shared a lift. No conversations. I saw a group of skiers, in expensive waterproof ski gear, "reject" a chair because it had snow on it while the line built behind them. At Sultan, a family stopped the line and let multiple chairs pass so that they could arrange themselves for the four minute ride. We eventually told them to move it. The calibur of skiers has also dropped significantly.

There were more detachable lifts under construction than trails open on the expansion. The number of pointless new lifts and snowmaking infrastructure was crazy and really upsetting considering that other Alterra resorts, like Sugarbush, have lifts that can barely operate.

I rode up the lift with a current employee. He was lamenting at how corporate things are now and said that a lot of staff left. DV now has job postings. Pre-Alterra there was a line just to even apply. Even then they turned a lot of folks away. Not anymore.

But hey, it's IKONic now!

I can't wait to go back and next time to Alta/Snowbird. Not for my wife though, Solitude wasn't really good for her mostly either but staying slopeside helped, she didn't have far to go inside back to the room LOL. I think next year will have to be something like Steamboat. Zero interst in DV. Would like Aspen though.

 

[Tonyr]

That is a major change as Sultan never had a line before. Hell, pre-IKON Deer Valley never had any lines anywhere. That was a key selling point.

My Alta-Bird pass has two DV days on it (midweek). I went on Monday. Sure, the terrain and lifts are all the same (except for East Village) but man has the vibe really changed and not for the better. Lots of "new money" snobbery that we'd see at Canyons/PCMR as DV was the "old money" who were really laid back. Almost every lift ride was silent when I shared a lift. No conversations. I saw a group of skiers, in expensive waterproof ski gear, "reject" a chair because it had snow on it while the line built behind them. At Sultan, a family stopped the line and let multiple chairs pass so that they could arrange themselves for the four minute ride. We eventually told them to move it. The calibur of skiers has also dropped significantly.

There were more detachable lifts under construction than trails open on the expansion. The number of pointless new lifts and snowmaking infrastructure was crazy and really upsetting considering that other Alterra resorts, like Sugarbush, have lifts that can barely operate.

I rode up the lift with a current employee. He was lamenting at how corporate things are now and said that a lot of staff left. DV now has job postings. Pre-Alterra there was a line just to even apply. Even then they turned a lot of folks away. Not anymore.

But hey, it's IKONic now!

I've spent about 20 days on the mountain here over the last 5 years and have never really seen a line even over holidays. Yes Sultan is always empty but for this season it has become a chock point due to the East section not fully open. As I mentioned, the only way over to the main resort from the East resort is Sultan. Next year when Deer Valley East fully opens I think we'll see things back to normal.

Also those pictures of the Sultan line were from President's week which is the busiest ski week of the year to begin with. We spent 5 days in Jackson and 4 days in Deer Valley over that week and I'd say overall Jackson Hole was much more crowded than Deer Valley was. I definitely spent alot more time in lines at Jackson.

As far as snobbery goes, I've always thought Deer Valley was outrageous. Maybe it was better decades ago but I feel in my experiences most people that go to DV do it to tell all of their friends they went on vacation to DV. Aspen and Vail are the same way to a certain extent but DV is the worst. I just ignore it all.

 

[Tonyr]

I can't wait to go back and next time to Alta/Snowbird. Not for my wife though, Solitude wasn't really good for her mostly either but staying slopeside helped, she didn't have far to go inside back to the room LOL. I think next year will have to be something like Steamboat. Zero interst in DV. Would like Aspen though.

Alta Snowbird is the best, but your wife is definitely not going to like it there either. Snowbird in particular has steep terrain all over the place.

I'd say that you can almost skip Deer Valley to be honest. DV can be fun once you get to know your way around but there are much better places to ski. Steamboat is solid, Aspen Snowmass is fantastic. I think your wife would love the terrain at Snowmass.

 

[Tonyr]

I can't speak to DV, never skied there. PC was good though, only spent a day but skied wall to wall at hit up a good bit of it. But I will say, Solitude blew it away in almost every way possible. Solitude was incredible and maybe we just hit it at the right time but zero lift lines. But oddly, the lots were full too. PC was like being at Disney, no thanks. Granted not much to do at Solitude, but that's ok, we were there to ski eat sleep. Granted, never skied Alta or Snowbird yet, so can't compare but we had a total blast skiing basically everything Solitude had. Only bummer was the East side of the Canyon wasn't open that would have been sweet, but had plenty of 8" pow runs to keep me grinnin for years.

Park City is like a huge maze when you first start skiing it. The resort takes a while to get to know but it has amazing pockets of marked and unmarked tree skiing all over the place once you've figure out how to get around.

 

[BenedictGomez]

You really have to go into town if you want to eat out while your in the east village.

On another note, we stumbled on a placed called Le Depot during our visit this time. It opened a few weeks ago and I'd say that it's instantly become the best restaurant in Park City.

If you're staying at Mayflower you're practically actually closer to some of the restaurants in Midway/Heber than you are to some of the restaurants in Park City.

As for Le Depot, maybe someday. I have a 5 year old, so we dont usually get to places with escargot on the menu.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Park City is like a huge maze when you first start skiing it. The resort takes a while to get to know but it has amazing pockets of marked and unmarked tree skiing all over the place once you've figure out how to get around.

Similar to what I mentioned yesterday about Smuggler's Notch goes for Park City, some of the best tree skiing isn't even on the map. I've found some of it by one of my favorite techniques, I call it Ski Patrol stalking.

And it's almost impossible for tourists to really get to know the mountain it's so large unless they come back year-after-year-after-year. This also explains why some lifts get packed while others are empty. I have over 50 days at PCMR since I've recently moved here, and I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of really getting to know the place it's so huge. There's plenty of trails/chutes/trees I havent even skied yet.

 

[Cheetah440]

Alta Snowbird is the best, but your wife is definitely not going to like it there either. Snowbird in particular has steep terrain all over the place.

I'd say that you can almost skip Deer Valley to be honest. DV can be fun once you get to know your way around but there are much better places to ski. Steamboat is solid, Aspen Snowmass is fantastic. I think your wife would love the terrain at Snowmass.

Would be more for my daughter who is a ripper, she's made of rubber bands and never gets tired LOL. My wife enjoyed all the blues at Solitude, we didn't take her up the summit. My daughter gets frustrated skiing with her on blues cause she doesn't like groomers so wants to ski stuff like Milk run or woods like Queen Bess, so I know she would love it in Alta snowbird. If I took my wife into Queen Bess, we'd still be there.

 

[Cheetah440]

Park City is like a huge maze when you first start skiing it. The resort takes a while to get to know but it has amazing pockets of marked and unmarked tree skiing all over the place once you've figure out how to get around.

Sure does, found a few of them and it was great. It's just kinda like a killington feel where you always seem like you're going somewhere, but I only had 1 day and it's massive.

 

[Tonyr]

Sure does, found a few of them and it was great. It's just kinda like a killington feel where you always seem like you're going somewhere, but I only had 1 day and it's massive.

The best way to ski Park City is to pick a side then stick with the Canyons side or the PC side exclusively for the day. It's way too much traversing going back and forth to each side. You waste a ton of time.

 

[Tonyr]

Would be more for my daughter who is a ripper, she's made of rubber bands and never gets tired LOL. My wife enjoyed all the blues at Solitude, we didn't take her up the summit. My daughter gets frustrated skiing with her on blues cause she doesn't like groomers so wants to ski stuff like Milk run or woods like Queen Bess, so I know she would love it in Alta snowbird. If I took my wife into Queen Bess, we'd still be there.

That's why I think you would like Snowmass, it has some of the best intermediate skiing in the US for your wife and lots of crazy stuff to ski for you and your daughter. The only thing with Snowmass is it's kind of like Park City (but not as bad) in the way that it takes a handful of days to figure out how to best ski the mountain. Pairing the best lift routes together is not straight forward but once you get it down the place is great. Plus you have Ajax and Highlands to explore as well.

 

[kingslug]

One thing the canyons needs are hosts, and tours. That map is insane to most visitors. I always hear complaints about how long it takes to get anywhere.
DV has them and its a great idea. Hell i might try to get a job as one. No pay but you get a pass, wife gets 2 days a week there. When your not pointing at a map your giving tours.
Anyway..this is alta today after a 25 inch storm..

 

[Cheetah440]

That's why I think you would like Snowmass, it has some of the best intermediate skiing in the US for your wife and lots of crazy stuff to ski for you and your daughter. The only thing with Snowmass is it's kind of like Park City (but not as bad) in the way that it takes a handful of days to figure out how to best ski the mountain. Pairing the best lift routes together is not straight forward but once you get it down the place is great. Plus you have Ajax and Highlands to explore as well.

Nice, thanks for the suggestion. Won’t be a hard sell to go to Aspen. Only issue from Boston it’s not as convenient, but it certainly is a bucket list destination.

 

[Former Sunday Rivah Rat]

Yeah, it was messed up. It was on the new six-pack with heated seats and they easily could have wiped off the snow or let the heat do its thing.

Gotta do it yourself? "Oh the horror of cleaning snow off your seat"
Wow sounds like DV has gone downhill, didn't they used to serve free cookies and carry your ski's from the car?

 

[Tonyr]

Nice, thanks for the suggestion. Won’t be a hard sell to go to Aspen. Only issue from Boston it’s not as convenient, but it certainly is a bucket list destination.

We fly into Denver from NYC on a Thursday night then leave for Snowmass Friday morning. It's a beautiful three and a half hour drive without traffic. I never mind the drive. You can also fly into Eagle Vail which is an hour and a half away. The Aspen airport is way too unreliable, alot of times flights are delayed or diverted into Grand Junction so we have never risked using that airport and have always just driven from Vail or Denver.

 

[kingslug]

Snowmass became one of my favorite places...huge!

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i like skiing in aspen and seeing fancy private jets landing at steep ass angles lower than the terrain i am skiing. quite the jet parking lot driving past that airport.

 

[thetrailboss]

Gotta do it yourself? "Oh the horror of cleaning snow off your seat"
Wow sounds like DV has gone downhill, didn't they used to serve free cookies and carry your ski's from the car?

Yep. The Ambassadors, again this year, were too busy talking with each other to bother helping me unload my skis from my car. They always did this pre-Alterra to the point that you would have to fight them off if you did not want help.

Snowmonster insisted that we visit Deer Valley in 2012. I was hesitant to say the least but I went. I was so impressed and it was not at all what I expected. I was blessed to really get the true "Deer Valley Experience" for seven years before Alterra. Every employee encounter was pleasant and nice. They understood that the management and staff set the whole tone for the experience. The friendliness percolated down to the skiers. In those seven years, nearly every chairlift ride with the skiing public was positive and friendly. People were genuinely nice and shared interesting stories and perspectives from all over the world. Yes, there would be one or two bad apples, but it was almost always a wonderful experience. The terrain is what it is, but the ambience made it special.

In 2012 I was able to buy some day tickets on discount as a fundraiser for the Utah Avalanche Center. I bought six intending on taking my wife. She tore her ACL and that ended her season prematurely. So I had to use those tickets and spent a lot of time, alone, at Deer Valley that season. I got to know the terrain well, but I always looked forward to my visits there. We used to regularly go their for overnights in the summer. We've been to a fair number of concerts.

It's these past experiences that make me happy when I think about the place and also sad when I see that it has changed so much.

 

[abc]

Snowmass became one of my favorite places...huge!

??

 

[BenedictGomez]

The best way to ski Park City is to pick a side then stick with the Canyons side or the PC side exclusively for the day. It's way too much traversing going back and forth to each side. You waste a ton of time.

I mean, even drawing a perfectly straight line (i.e. not possible skiing) PCMR is about 6.25 miles or so long edge to edge. The place is massive.