This is definitely late, but you were all so helpful that I figured I had to report on the trip.
I've never been to Utah so it was a revelation from a skiing standpoint.
Flew in on Monday morning (March 11th) and was checked into the hotel and geared up by 1:30pm so was able to get a couple of solid bluebird hours in at Park City that day. The Utah ski areas had gotten a big dumping over the weekend, so there was plenty of powder to be found. Spent the afternoon skiing the Motherlode, Silverlode and McConkey lift. McConkey's Bowl and the areas off that lift were my favorites. Ate dinner at Wasatch Brew Pub (as per one of your suggestions)...it was perfect for what we were looking for (casual burger and a beer).
Tuesday (March 12th) we drove to Alta...
The drive up the canyon is spectacular (no traffic) and we got there around 9am and got a spot in the top parking lot. Another bluebird day and shocking how much untracked (and tracked) powder was there. Loved the areas off the Collins, Sugarloaf, and Supreme lifts. Alta fits into that category of "untamed" to me. There is some seriously hairy terrain that I loved. I didn't do any of the "hike to" stuff. It wasn't necessary as there is so much great stuff to do without hiking. My buddy and his daughter were looking to take it easy in the afternoon so I really got to check out the steep stuff on Baldy Shoulder and High Traverse. The light got flat around 2pm and I was wearing my dark lenses which made it really hard to see the bumps. Actually kind of dangerous, but I survived. The Wildcat lift area was cool, but the lift itself is a slow double with no bar. Talk about old school. I was admittedly nervous riding it. Loved Alta. The drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon is worth the price of admission in and of itself. Dinner was at La Cantina in PC. Again, perfect for what it was.
It started snowing Tuesday night and pretty much didn't stop until early morning on Thursday. We skied Park City again on Wednesday (March 13th) in the howling winds. Mountain hosts said the Jupiter area was minimal visibility and high winds so we pretty much stayed down low with a trek up McConkey's as the exception. A ton of fun. We went to take the gondola over to the Canyons side after lunch but found out that the Gondola was closed due to wind. I had dinner this night with a buddy who live in PC at No Name Saloon. It was okay. My buddy said, best burger in PC. I say, good music but the burger was fine at best. My buddy and his daughter who I was traveling with ate at Shabu and loved it.
The plan for Thursday (March 14th) was to do Snowbird or Solitude, but the canyon roads were closed until about 10am so we skied at PC-Canyons. I had heard some negative things about Canyons, but was proven very, very wrong. Canyons has all the things I hate about a resort, from huge mansions on the mountain to roads that go under the lifts to the complete and utter over developed feeling. It felt like I was skiing in an unaffordable real estate advertisement. That said, what we didn't know was that the Canyons side of the resort was closed all day on Wednesday due to winds so we got 15" of untracked powder on a bluebird day on Thursday. Lapped the Saddleback, and Dreamcatcher areas all day with a brief excursion on Tombstone and 9990. The Dreamcatcher area was outrageous with both pine and aspen glades. Same thing with Saddleback (but more people). Dinner was at Davanza's. We had heard its the best pizza in PC. There was a huge line but since we were an odd sized party of 3 they were able to seat us right away. The place is quirky and very collegiate feeling with beer cans all over the walls. I guess that I'm spoiled with the NJ/NY pizza thing because this was some really bad pizza. That said, we were starving and heading to the airport for a red eye, so we made do.
A couple of notes...I found Alta to be amazing. I was shocked at how much I liked Canyons. I really didn't love Park City (the mountain) with the exception of a few areas. Even though the town of Park City was cool and fun for nightlife, the next time I go I would stay at Alta/Snowbird. No nightlife whatsoever, but who cares, I'm there for the skiing. Plus it eliminates the road closure issues. If I were there with the family, I might stay in PC again though. Flying into SLC was simple and it was cool to be on the mountain the same day.
One quick note...although I didn't love the lack of character at PCMR and it's easy to see how the experience can be stuffy...I will say that the customer service aspect is pretty high class. On day three, my brand new ski pants got ruined by magic marker that rubbed off the rental poles (rented from the resort). After skiing on day 4 I showed the pants to the manager at the rental shop who promptly got guest services involved. They got one of their managers involved. The solution was that the manager would pick up my pants back at my hotel and send them out to be cleaned. After a few unsuccessful tries at cleaning them, PCMR ordered and paid for a replacement that is being shipped to my house as I'm typing this. The manager has been in constant contact with me via text and email and frankly couldn't be any more gracious about the experience.
Unfortunately, I have zero idea of how to post pictures on AZ.
I've never been to Utah so it was a revelation from a skiing standpoint.
Flew in on Monday morning (March 11th) and was checked into the hotel and geared up by 1:30pm so was able to get a couple of solid bluebird hours in at Park City that day. The Utah ski areas had gotten a big dumping over the weekend, so there was plenty of powder to be found. Spent the afternoon skiing the Motherlode, Silverlode and McConkey lift. McConkey's Bowl and the areas off that lift were my favorites. Ate dinner at Wasatch Brew Pub (as per one of your suggestions)...it was perfect for what we were looking for (casual burger and a beer).
Tuesday (March 12th) we drove to Alta...
The drive up the canyon is spectacular (no traffic) and we got there around 9am and got a spot in the top parking lot. Another bluebird day and shocking how much untracked (and tracked) powder was there. Loved the areas off the Collins, Sugarloaf, and Supreme lifts. Alta fits into that category of "untamed" to me. There is some seriously hairy terrain that I loved. I didn't do any of the "hike to" stuff. It wasn't necessary as there is so much great stuff to do without hiking. My buddy and his daughter were looking to take it easy in the afternoon so I really got to check out the steep stuff on Baldy Shoulder and High Traverse. The light got flat around 2pm and I was wearing my dark lenses which made it really hard to see the bumps. Actually kind of dangerous, but I survived. The Wildcat lift area was cool, but the lift itself is a slow double with no bar. Talk about old school. I was admittedly nervous riding it. Loved Alta. The drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon is worth the price of admission in and of itself. Dinner was at La Cantina in PC. Again, perfect for what it was.
It started snowing Tuesday night and pretty much didn't stop until early morning on Thursday. We skied Park City again on Wednesday (March 13th) in the howling winds. Mountain hosts said the Jupiter area was minimal visibility and high winds so we pretty much stayed down low with a trek up McConkey's as the exception. A ton of fun. We went to take the gondola over to the Canyons side after lunch but found out that the Gondola was closed due to wind. I had dinner this night with a buddy who live in PC at No Name Saloon. It was okay. My buddy said, best burger in PC. I say, good music but the burger was fine at best. My buddy and his daughter who I was traveling with ate at Shabu and loved it.
The plan for Thursday (March 14th) was to do Snowbird or Solitude, but the canyon roads were closed until about 10am so we skied at PC-Canyons. I had heard some negative things about Canyons, but was proven very, very wrong. Canyons has all the things I hate about a resort, from huge mansions on the mountain to roads that go under the lifts to the complete and utter over developed feeling. It felt like I was skiing in an unaffordable real estate advertisement. That said, what we didn't know was that the Canyons side of the resort was closed all day on Wednesday due to winds so we got 15" of untracked powder on a bluebird day on Thursday. Lapped the Saddleback, and Dreamcatcher areas all day with a brief excursion on Tombstone and 9990. The Dreamcatcher area was outrageous with both pine and aspen glades. Same thing with Saddleback (but more people). Dinner was at Davanza's. We had heard its the best pizza in PC. There was a huge line but since we were an odd sized party of 3 they were able to seat us right away. The place is quirky and very collegiate feeling with beer cans all over the walls. I guess that I'm spoiled with the NJ/NY pizza thing because this was some really bad pizza. That said, we were starving and heading to the airport for a red eye, so we made do.
A couple of notes...I found Alta to be amazing. I was shocked at how much I liked Canyons. I really didn't love Park City (the mountain) with the exception of a few areas. Even though the town of Park City was cool and fun for nightlife, the next time I go I would stay at Alta/Snowbird. No nightlife whatsoever, but who cares, I'm there for the skiing. Plus it eliminates the road closure issues. If I were there with the family, I might stay in PC again though. Flying into SLC was simple and it was cool to be on the mountain the same day.
One quick note...although I didn't love the lack of character at PCMR and it's easy to see how the experience can be stuffy...I will say that the customer service aspect is pretty high class. On day three, my brand new ski pants got ruined by magic marker that rubbed off the rental poles (rented from the resort). After skiing on day 4 I showed the pants to the manager at the rental shop who promptly got guest services involved. They got one of their managers involved. The solution was that the manager would pick up my pants back at my hotel and send them out to be cleaned. After a few unsuccessful tries at cleaning them, PCMR ordered and paid for a replacement that is being shipped to my house as I'm typing this. The manager has been in constant contact with me via text and email and frankly couldn't be any more gracious about the experience.
Unfortunately, I have zero idea of how to post pictures on AZ.
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