West Coast Winter Stoke, El Nino's Back!

[Bad Wolf]

It looks like I'll still be in Colorado over those first 2 days. I might be able to only make the last day. I'll let you know if I can make another day work.

It would be great to ski with you again. I did have to trim my beard back after Westfest.The ladies at work were finding it too distracting

My only definite day is Snowbasin on Thursday. After that I'm planning of following the weather, even if it means making the drive down to SLC. It looks like a decent sized storm is due to sweep through right before I arrive. That would be great.

How about Snowbird on Sunday, might that work for you? I really want to explore the terrain in Gad Valley. I've always taken the tram up, so it might be nice to start on the far side of the resort for a change.

[kyu]

On our first and second day (Sat. and Sun.) we will likely go to Brighton and Alta. The hotel said we can buy 1 or 2 day super pass from them, which will discount the price a bit but not much for these two resorts. Liftopia is again a little cheaper than a superpass, but not enough like it is for Solitude to tempt me to buy beforehand. The superpass will give us flexibility to decide on the day what to ride.

On the 5th day, March 30th, our last day, we will probably ski Park City Mountain Resort for the big groomers. I'd go there first, but I hear it could be crowded on a weekend. So I think we'll leave it for last, on a week day. I could not find much of a discount there - if I buy now I'll save something like 15% off the regular price, but it is still almost 2x the cost of the other resorts. So if we like it enough elsewhere, we might repeat one of the other resorts instead. Or maybe check out Snowbird or Snowbasin (though either may be wasted on us, being the groomer-bound folks that we are)...

Since you can get the superpass from the hotel I'd wait and check the local market. There can be some pretty good deals towards the end of the season.

If you really want the best groomers I'd suggest Deer Valley, but ParkCity is next best. If you do end up at ParkCity I could point you towards the good groomers.

[kyu]

Snowbasin [/B]Thursday March 17th

Snowbasin Friday March 18th

Powder Mountain Saturday March 19th

Snowbird Sunday March 20th

It looks like I'll still be in Colorado over those first 2 days. I might be able to only make the last day. I'll let you know if I can make another day work.

[sempai]

Just more of the same.

[Kocho]

I bought tickets for Solitude for Monday and Tuesday, 28th and 29th. These are days 3 and 4 for us. Could not pass-up on the Liftopia discount of nearly half off regular prices (and a few bucks less than the discount off the Solitude website). For some reason those two particular days were considerably cheaper: two days for an adult and a junior for about $140 total. Not bad... The superpass day is actually more expensive than the discounted prices at Solitude, so won't be using superpass for that.

On our first and second day (Sat. and Sun.) we will likely go to Brighton and Alta. The hotel said we can buy 1 or 2 day super pass from them, which will discount the price a bit but not much for these two resorts. Liftopia is again a little cheaper than a superpass, but not enough like it is for Solitude to tempt me to buy beforehand. The superpass will give us flexibility to decide on the day what to ride.

On the 5th day, March 30th, our last day, we will probably ski Park City Mountain Resort for the big groomers. I'd go there first, but I hear it could be crowded on a weekend. So I think we'll leave it for last, on a week day. I could not find much of a discount there - if I buy now I'll save something like 15% off the regular price, but it is still almost 2x the cost of the other resorts. So if we like it enough elsewhere, we might repeat one of the other resorts instead. Or maybe check out Snowbird or Snowbasin (though either may be wasted on us, being the groomer-bound folks that we are)...

[Bad Wolf]

I have finally firmed up the dates and location for my trip to Utah. I'm going to base out of Ogden and try to make use of my Powder Alliance privileges. If the weather turns too warm for Snowbasin's lower elevation, I'll make the drive to the Cottonwoods and ski there instead. I might switch out Powder Mountain for Brighton on the Saturday depending on the weather and how I'm feeling.

Snowbasin Thursday March 17th

Snowbasin Friday March 18th

Powder Mountain Saturday March 19th

Snowbird Sunday March 20th

[slow]

I too vote for Brighton:




Here is Alta on a very windy day:

[macrophotog]

Good to know, thanks! After some more reading, Solitude indeed seems like the better choice to get started on our first day. And I think we will also want to check out the tram at Brighton. Brighton and Solitude being allowed on the same day with the pass will help with that.

While I do want to try some good but not too challenging powder, I'm not after the most advanced steeps and not at all after any truly expert terrain. OK, I'll probably try some steep steeps if they are not too long, just for the challenge, but I think both my daughter and I would enjoy wide open green and blue groomers the most, most of the time. I'll have to try some powder, and from what I read Solitude should have it if there is any of it left...

Kocho - I think you will love Brighton and it is the resort that you can ski a green, blue, or black from just about every lift and meet back at the bottom again. This was probably my favorite resort of my Tahoe/Utah trip that I just returned from.

[macrophotog]

As for lift ticket prices, the superpass is certainly convenient, but is $79 per day for a 4 day pass. Looks like with Liftopia I can do noticeably better, especially if we may spend 2-3 days at Solitude. Even the other 3 places are cheaper or not more expensive than the pass...

Maybe we'll start the weekend at Solitude, go to Park City on Monday for the supposedly great bog blue groomer runs, then maybe I'll take a day on Tuesday for Alta and Snowbird on my own, then back to Solitude with my daughter for the last day...

if you know you are going to do multiple days at one resort, you may be able to do cheaper with multi-day tickets through liftopia or through the resort if you buy 7 days in advance. I bought multi-day tickets for Park City directly through them (not included in Superpass) and then purchased Superpass for the Cottonwood's resorts because we didn't make up our mind early enough as to which resorts we would be skiing. We ended up skiing three different Cottonwood's resorts on 3 days so the Superpass was the best deal.

Brighton was my favorite, with Solitude in close second. Snowbird was the other, and I could do without it. We had bad weather (half the mountain in thick clouds), but Brighton and Solitude were so awesome, I could just go there again.

[macrophotog]

From most FAQs and the Snowbird one on particular:

"By law, snow tires or chains are required on all vehicles entering the canyon from November 1st to May 1st. During heavy snowstorms, the canyon may be temporarily restricted to 4WD or chain-equipped vehicles only"

That comes from the Utah administrative code: http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/c...0/r920-006.htm

So it looks like chains on at least 2 tires (mounted or carried), or mounted snow tires, or 4wd with at least 2 mounted snow tires. Having all three would help, but it looks it is not required. And it appears that the chains don't need to be mounted, just carried in the vehicle and able to be mounted if needed. But if the road is well covered in snow, I think it will make sense to have them mounted.

Yes, the signs when entering the canyons do state that the law is that all vehicles must have chains in their possession or have snow tires during those dates.

[Kocho]

As for lift ticket prices, the superpass is certainly convenient, but is $79 per day for a 4 day pass. Looks like with Liftopia I can do noticeably better, especially if we may spend 2-3 days at Solitude. Even the other 3 places are cheaper or not more expensive than the pass...

Maybe we'll start the weekend at Solitude, go to Park City on Monday for the supposedly great bog blue groomer runs, then maybe I'll take a day on Tuesday for Alta and Snowbird on my own, then back to Solitude with my daughter for the last day...

[Kocho]

Good to know, thanks! After some more reading, Solitude indeed seems like the better choice to get started on our first day. And I think we will also want to check out the tram at Brighton. Brighton and Solitude being allowed on the same day with the pass will help with that.

While I do want to try some good but not too challenging powder, I'm not after the most advanced steeps and not at all after any truly expert terrain. OK, I'll probably try some steep steeps if they are not too long, just for the challenge, but I think both my daughter and I would enjoy wide open green and blue groomers the most, most of the time. I'll have to try some powder, and from what I read Solitude should have it if there is any of it left...

Alta is a great resort, but is spread out with long traverses designed to connect areas of expert terrain. In fact the locals say Alta stands for "Another Long Traverse Again." I think Brighton and Solitude offer a much better groomer experience than either Alta or Snowbird. They are smaller resorts that are easier to get around and have fewer lines. Rather than connecting areas, the groomers there are designed as trails and are much more fun than at Alta/Bird. They are all good resorts, but Brighton/solitude are more family friendly.

[Bad Wolf]

Alta is a great resort, but is spread out with long traverses designed to connect areas of expert terrain. In fact the locals say Alta stands for "Another Long Traverse Again." I think Brighton and Solitude offer a much better groomer experience than either Alta or Snowbird. They are smaller resorts that are easier to get around and have fewer lines. Rather than connecting areas, the groomers there are designed as trails and are much more fun than at Alta/Bird. They are all good resorts, but Brighton/solitude are more family friendly.

[sempai]

Another night of puking snow.

[Kocho]

Thanks! That's what I thought might be the case. We probably won't be doing full days, at least not with my daughter who tends to get tired a bit sooner than I do. If she wants to go down mid-day and I want to go back-up, I think having a car and shortening the commute time will be a nice thing to have (weather-permitting). I also think we might visit the Olympic center or some other such place for a bit of non-skiing fun for her. Then there is the trip to Whole Foods or similar places to get a bite in the evening, so I will not be "wasting" having a rental.

Looks like we will start at Alta, since from what I read the trails are such that my daughter and I could potentially take different trails and meet at the bottom. If we like it a lot, we will spend another day or two there, then try one day on the other 3 resorts (maybe combine Brighton with Alta, which I think is the only 2-resort per day option the super pass allows). Neither of us is used to skiing powder and although I'd like to try real deep powder myself, I just don't know how my daughter will take to it. She will use the Caddy for good groomed runs and the Ethan Too for deeper days (maybe she should just stick with the Ethans)... And I don't have powder skis, so it will be interesting to see how it goes with what I got. Very excited about it and looking forward to it!

They are convenient in that you aren't driving, other than that I would say no. If it is on a powder day and you want a seat you should get on at the first stop (Midvale) it will add about 20-25 minutes to the commute. If you plan on staying till the end of the day the busses are pretty packed on the way down as well. Having said that I am looking forward to next year when I have a pass that includes the bus so I don't have to spend gas money and I can nap on the way up and down.