Utah beta, please

[Gurus]

Hey folks....longtime lurker here.

Planning my annual trip this year and thinking that Utah will be the place.

Currently looking at Snowbasin, Canyons and Solitude. Could anybody provide inside information, must dos, must not-dos, etc.?

Also, by skiing these three, am I totally missing out on something much better? I certainly understand that the perception of one area being better than another is truly subjective, but, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!:grin:

And yea, I understand that this is a NE board, but most on here appear to be well travelled.

BTW - I'm a snowboarder so Deer Valley and Alta are out.

 

[arik]

I have been to Utah to ski twice, one time for 10 days other time for 5.

Snowbasin ROCKS!!
Solitude is near Brighton which is awesome, I didn't ski Solitude but I I bet it's good too, more condoy.

The Canyons was pretty good but not as good as the stuff on the other side, real spread out at the Canyons though lots of exploring to be done, nasty high rise base area. You can get a free ticket to ski there the day you arrive from the park city chamber of commerce "Quick Start" program.

When I go back I will probably stay in Salt lake again and ski each place once or twice, there are like 10 good areas within 30-45 minutes, and I would only ski in park city for free through the quick start thing.

You will need 4WD to get up to resorts in Big Cottonwood (solitude and Brighton) and little Cottonwood (Alta, Snowbird) but 4WD isn't mandatory to go to Park City or Snowbasin.

You can buy discounted lift tix at the ski shops in Salt lake.

Oh, don't skip Snowbird it's really good too, just huge, I really enjoyed some of the gullies there.

Utah gets lots of snow but I think later the better would be my advice if you are flexible on dates, March or even early April.

 

[Talisman]

I like skiing in UT a lot. I have skied Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Canyons, Park City, Deer Valet, Powder Mountain and Snow Basin. For me UT is about the snow and more is better which is why I focus on Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Powder Mountain and Snow Basin. Canyons, Park City, and Deer Valet have their charms, but get less snow and for me it is about snow.

If I was going to pick one resort with snow, terrain and few people to share it with: Snow Basin, but be aware that LCC and BCC get more snow.

I suggest you stay in Sandy, rent a 4x4, buy discount lift tickets at Canyon Sports and board at where the best conditions exist. Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude are ~1/2 hour from Sandy and Powder Mountain and Snow Basin ~1 1/2 hours but worth it because you don't have to share. I don't board, but Powder Mountain has some looong flats getting out of Powder Country.

 

[Gurus]

Great

Great, great, informative posts......thanks a bunch guys!!!

 

[thebigo]

I have done utah on a budget atleast a half dozen times:

-fly southwest off peak hours, there is a good utility on thier webiste to find the cheapest pricing
-stay at the extended stay america
-there is plenty in the cottonwoods, i havent been to the hills near ogden but i also never felt the need
-take the bus into the canyon
-buy a 'super pass' the best link i cound find is below

http://www.skiutahvacation.com/super-pass-to-ski-utah-resorts.htm

after numerous trips west i have learned that if cost is important it isnt worth thinking about anything other than the cottonwoods

 

[arik]

the Cottonwoods are totally epic and awesome, but can get crowded on a good day with so many hardcore skiers and boarders.

The Ogden resorts are REALLY nice, at least go to snowbasin once it's incredible

if you plan on doing the Park City Quickstart free lift ticket thing, you have to preregister before you go and bring a printed voucher, and it has to be the day your flight arrives, PCMR has night skiing so it should work even if you don't take a morning flight

they do have cool bars in Salt Lake, probably not in Sandy

 

[RISkier]

We've done 3 UT trips. The Big and Little Cottonwoods Canyons resorts get the most snow and the elevation gives them more open bowl skiing. Our favorite is Alta. Solitude is very, very nice. Snowbasin is probably close to 1.5 hours from the Cottonwoods Canyons areas. It has a modern lift system. Much of the terrain can be accessed from three lifts ( gondis and a high speed quad); all must be 2500+ vertical. It's very wide open. It gets less snow the Cottonwoods, is a little lower, and exposure means it can be less reliable early and late. Amazing lodges and very good food. But if snow is good it's great. I think Powder Mountain is also very fun. It's the complete antithesis of Snowbasin. Very retro but very few people on the slopes. Really good terrain for intermediates looking to venture off piste. We stayed in Eden one year and found the area pretty lacking in terms of off slope activities. The Canyons is very spread out and can be hard to get around if you don't know where you're going. It's more like a bunch of 1500 foot peaks that are linked together. We liked skiing there a lot but I don't think the PC resorts are the best of UT. That said, between The Canyons, DV, and PCMR there is an amazing amount of terrain. Sandy or Midvale are probably the most cost effective base for the Cottonwoods Canyons resorts. Though you're staying in a suburb with car dealerships, strip malls, chain restaurants, etc. If you want a real ski resort feel I'd stay in Park City.

 

[Geoff]

My mom used to winter in Park City so I have an awful lot of Utah ski days. My season pass worked at The Canyons so I logged a ton of days there when I didn't want to pay for a day ticket elsewhere.

The Canyons is great when it has good snow. It has a lot of exposures that bake in the sun and terrain at lower elevation that doesn't hold snow very well. It gets half the snow of AltaBird though the microclimate up on 9990 is probably more like 2/3 the snow of AltaBird. I would be prepared to skip The Canyons entirely if they don't have fresh snow. If they do receive fresh snow, it's worth doing an extra day there since it has more acres and less skier visits than Snowbird so you have better odds of finding untracked the 2nd day.

Powder Mountain is another place you should hit if the snow is good. It's big. It's mostly empty.

Like other people are saying, expect to focus on Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood Canyons. Snowbird is in-your-face challenging and isn't a good choice for intermediates. Solitude is a nice mountain but the best terrain requires a traverse out that probably isn't snowboard-friendly if you screw up and exit too low. Brighton is a mixed bag. The middle part of the mountain is pretty mundane. The left looking up has some pitch but dies out quickly. The right looking up on Millicent is a real gem and that's where I tend to ski.

Useless information since you snowboard but I really like Deer Valley. Their customer base doesn't ski the ungroomed or trees so it's a great surface.