The Wasatch Thread: Skiing and Riding in Utah

[Former Sunday Rivah Rat]

Most of the DV customer's are groomer skiers and all concentrated on the few groomed runs they have. Most of the trails are not groomed due to thin cover.

 

[kingslug]

Today marks the day..I got totaly bored and left at noon....

 

[jimk]

I found some chalk and wind drift at Snowbird today, 15 Jan 2026, very low crowds again, this is Near Bookends area in Mineral:

 

[crank]

So were heading out this weekend with a group of friends who want to ske a day at Pow Mow. Possibly because Robin and I have raved about it in the past.

I told them that if there's no new snow it's not worth it and if there is it's more than worth it. What do you locals think? Also how are Deer Valley, Snowbasin conditions-wise. I'm thinking we'll mostly stick with areas in both canyons as we are staying right near a bus stop in Sandy. But, we have 2 SUVs and the natives may want to roam. All in our group are advanced skiers with some more advanced than others. All have Ikon.

 

[thetrailboss]

So were heading out this weekend with a group of friends who want to ske a day at Pow Mow. Possibly because Robin and I have raved about it in the past.

I told them that if there's no new snow it's not worth it and if there is it's more than worth it. What do you locals think? Also how are Deer Valley, Snowbasin conditions-wise. I'm thinking we'll mostly stick with areas in both canyons as we are staying right near a bus stop in Sandy. But, we have 2 SUVs and the natives may want to roam. All in our group are advanced skiers with some more advanced than others. All have Ikon.

The answer is low. Honestly, Alta/Bird are not skiing that badly. Are you going to be able to go hog wild in the natural terrain? No. But if they have full IKON then Alta/Bird has a ton of options, even now.

I’ll ping my buddy who is at Powder as to the conditions. My expectation is that it’s not good. Unless there is a lot of snow or fresh snow the best stuff at Powder Mountain would not be open anyway.

 

[jimk]

So were heading out this weekend with a group of friends who want to ske a day at Pow Mow. Possibly because Robin and I have raved about it in the past.

I told them that if there's no new snow it's not worth it and if there is it's more than worth it. What do you locals think? Also how are Deer Valley, Snowbasin conditions-wise. I'm thinking we'll mostly stick with areas in both canyons as we are staying right near a bus stop in Sandy. But, we have 2 SUVs and the natives may want to roam. All in our group are advanced skiers with some more advanced than others. All have Ikon.

16 Jan 2026: My latest thoughts: I spent yesterday skiing Snowbird with a super experienced skier who lives near and skis Powder Mtn on almost a daily basis, including this week. He said Powder is skiing pretty decently, but he knows how to maximize the fun there. He said Snowbasin is suffering. He drove down to ski Snowbird looking for better conditions and we had a fun day together. See my posts elsewhere here. Everything I've heard about PC and DV is that they are suffering too.

My assessment is that Alta-Bird and Brighton are skiing the best in UT right now, with Solitude (skied there on the 14th) being pretty good too. Everywhere is firming-up, but with the sunshine and no new snow the crowds are very low. Walk-on tram rides at Snowbird. There will be tons of sunshine during your visit, bring the sunblock. The groomers will be pretty good, and you'll have to hunt for shady spots and pockets of wind drift in the off-piste, on warmer days you might get softer snow in the afternoons that could be quite fun. It's certainly much better than the month of December before all the snow during an 8-9 day period in early January.

Sorry I'll miss your visit, but I might be at Snowbird for a few hours on the 18th.

 

[crank]

The answer is low. Honestly, Alta/Bird are not skiing that badly. Are you going to be able to go hog wild in the natural terrain? No. But if they have full IKON then Alta/Bird has a ton of options, even now.

I’ll ping my buddy who is at Powder as to the conditions. My expectation is that it’s not good. Unless there is a lot of snow or fresh snow the best stuff at Powder Mountain would not be open anyway.

Thanks. About what I expected.

I love chalky, high altitude, western snow and from Jim's pics it looks like there's that to look forward to. That and I don't have to pack my pack boots. lol

 

[thetrailboss]

Thanks. About what I expected.

I love chalky, high altitude, western snow and from Jim's pics it looks like there's that to look forward to. That and I don't have to pack my pack boots. lol

This should tell you a lot: my buddy who just went from EPIC to a PowMow pass takes Fridays off to go riding at Pow Mow. He told me that is planning on biking today.....

 

[thetrailboss]

Update: this thread has continued to be active, now almost eight weeks after it was created. Additionally, some gripe that our Utah comments bleed inton other threads and can be distracting. So I have renamed this thread to "The Wasatch Thread: Skiing and Riding in Utah" for folks to talk about all things Utah. Perhaps it will live out a long life like my other thread I created now more than two decadses ago named "the Sugarbush Thread."

Have at it.

 

[Edd]

With its flatter pitch, I’d think PowMow would move up in the Utah rankings during a low snow year, provided they don’t get less than the rest.

 

[kingslug]

Going to check out s basin tomorrow..we shall see

 

[thetrailboss]

With its flatter pitch, I’d think PowMow would move up in the Utah rankings during a low snow year, provided they don’t get less than the rest.

(They get less than the rest; in particular, less than the Cottonwoods)

The Official Ski Utah Snow Report

The Official Utah Snow Report with the latest snow totals, overnight accumulation, base depths, weather, and lift status from all 15 Utah ski and snowboard resorts. Updated daily in the home of The Greatest Snow on Earth.

www.skiutah.com

 

[4aprice]

Update: this thread has continued to be active, now almost eight weeks after it was created. Additionally, some gripe that our Utah comments bleed inton other threads and can be distracting. So I have renamed this thread to "The Wasatch Thread: Skiing and Riding in Utah" for folks to talk about all things Utah. Perhaps it will live out a long life like my other thread I created now more than two decadses ago named "the Sugarbush Thread."

Have at it.

Maybe we should have a western thread. I don’t mean to clutter the Utah thread with Colorado conditions and news but it seems more relevant here than in threads about New England and eastern skiing. I do both and enjoy talking about both. Not sure a separate Colorado thread could drive the traffic as it seems there is a significant contingent of people who relocated to Utah from here and not so much to Colorado

 

[kingslug]

That storm that might have hit Thursday is gone
Now maybe sunday..
I've never seen this...