Today should have been fantastic; skiing one of the biggest, most popular ski resorts in the US, riding the tram, after a week of snow, on a beautiful sunny day, but it wasn't.
The best part of the day was the view;
Snowbird has become one of those huge commercial resorts. Their main focus seems to be the hotels and condos. Everything there, from the restaurants to the shops, seem to be about squeezing every last penny out of you. They have a huge "Welcome Center" that makes you walk up three flights of stairs and pass by all their gift shops and real estate sales points. Couldn't even afford to buy a Snowbird sticker!
The terrain was a little disappointing for us. Almost all the intermediate runs are cat tracks cut into the walls of the basins; mostly 10 to 20 feet wide hairpin trails. They had been groomed, but were icy underneath when it was skied off. By lunch we were starting to slide out on the groomers and decided to call it a day. There is a lot of advanced terrain, but I think you need some local knowledge to take advantage of it. You could drop into the basins but then get cut off by cliffs or double black chutes unless you knew where to go. Probably a great place for advanced/experienced locals, but not visiting intermediates.
We hated Snowbird as much as we loved Brighton.
The best part of the day was the view;
Snowbird has become one of those huge commercial resorts. Their main focus seems to be the hotels and condos. Everything there, from the restaurants to the shops, seem to be about squeezing every last penny out of you. They have a huge "Welcome Center" that makes you walk up three flights of stairs and pass by all their gift shops and real estate sales points. Couldn't even afford to buy a Snowbird sticker!
The terrain was a little disappointing for us. Almost all the intermediate runs are cat tracks cut into the walls of the basins; mostly 10 to 20 feet wide hairpin trails. They had been groomed, but were icy underneath when it was skied off. By lunch we were starting to slide out on the groomers and decided to call it a day. There is a lot of advanced terrain, but I think you need some local knowledge to take advantage of it. You could drop into the basins but then get cut off by cliffs or double black chutes unless you knew where to go. Probably a great place for advanced/experienced locals, but not visiting intermediates.
We hated Snowbird as much as we loved Brighton.
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