# Utah ski/snowboard area review



## Tarzanman

My old college roommate (skier) lived in Utah for a few years. I asked him to give me the skinny on some of the resorts out there and this is what he came back with. He lives on the east coast now, so he's definitely seen different types of snow and terrain.
I figured it might be good information for those of us who haven't make it out to Salt Lake City yet.

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If you stay in the Salt Lake valley, you can swing by REI, Christy Sports, Jans Sports or other ski shops and get discount tickets. A day pass at a non park city resort should be around $60 or less a day.

The resorts in Big & Small Cottonwood Canyons get about 500"/year of snow. They are also a bit higher in elevation and generally cheaper.

Alta is my Fav and on the low end of price, but it is ski only.

Snowbird is lower cost and probably has the best terrain in Utah. Depending on the terrain you want to do, you can get a non-tram pass for like $10 less. If you want to hit the hardest non-hike terrain directly, you need a tram pass. Mineral basin is quite good on a powder day. The trees under Gad II lift are sick if you can handle it. Seen plenty of people eat it right under Gad II lift. I had a season pass here. This is my favorite place ion Utah. I have probably skied about 40 days here. A trip to Utah is not complete without skiing or riding Snowbird.

Brighton is even less cost and has even cheaper night skiing. It's a smaller resort, but all lifts are express lifts and it has the best terrain park. It's popular with young snowboarders. The night skiing isn't too bad, but it can get super cold, especially in Jan. Isn't big on facilities..... more of a locals place.

Solitude is smaller and cheaper too, but it has nice facilities, a good variety of terrain, and doesn't really get crowded.

All of the Park City area resorts are lower in elevation (by a few thousand feet in general) and get significantly less snow than the resorts in the Cottonwoods. The snow amount is on par with snow averages of Colorado resorts ~350"/year without the elevation. However, Park City is definitely a ski town and has way better night life and such. Plus the Sundance FIlm festival is there starting around MLK day through the last half of Jan. Park City lodging is more expensive as are the lift tickets. You can still get decent discounts at Salt Lake Valley area ski shops, though.

Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) is more expensive. It is a good variety of intermediate terrain. I've heard some people say it's like an east coast resort with western powder. 

Deer Valley is ski only and they groom everything. Huge on facilities and service. It's fancy, but no big deal if you don't ski here.

Canyons sucks, hands down. Worst snow in Utah. I, as well as other people i know have had bad experiences here. I broke my skis on a football sized rock that was just under the snow right next to a lift (I wasn't riding extreme terrain by any stretch of the imagination). The girlfriend of a UofU friend of ours (that lives in Utah), broke her knee something fierce at The Canyons. She broke the ends of her femur and tibia (whichever the major bone is in the lower leg) that meet at her knee. Very painful, and she has a long road to recovery. She was on a snowboard. A guy I work with broke his ankle, a few ribs there, and I think hurt his arm some how (all on the left side of his body) while snowboarding at the Canyons.. Both were due to the shitty snow conditions they have there. *Avoid the Canyons*. Whatever they may claim, it's not worth it.

Off by themselves are Snowbasin and Powder Mountain. Snowbasin has great facilities (built for the Olympics), great food, and very little crowds. The terrain is good and quite varied. Snow amount is between the Cottonwoods and Park City amounts. I think ~400"/year. Excellent view of the Great Salt Lake from the top of Stawberry Express gondola. You can get a pretty long fun run just lapping Needles Express Lift. Alta/Snowbird are my top two favorite and this is 3rd followed by Solitude/Brighton and then PCMR. Snowbasin is probably cheaper than the cottonwood resorts. I think it is about 60 - 90 min from Salt Lake or Park City. It is due East of Ogden.

I have never been to Powder Mountain. Last time I went out to SLC, the people I was with separated from us and went there. Sounds like lots of tree skiing and very few lifts.... they liked it. Pretty cheap. Their thing is that they don't make any snow.

I would just avoid the Park City resorts, they are more expensive and get less snow. You can stay pretty cheap in Salt Lake valley, and you don't need a car. We stayed at the Residence Inn Sandy two years in a row. They have a free shuttle to the transit center to catch the ski bus. All Salt Lake county hotels sell the Salt Lake Super Pass. Gets you into any of the four Cottonwood Resorts (Snowbird/Alta/Solitude/Brighton) and gets you a free round trip on the ski bus. It was a flat rate of around $54 last time I was there, just bought it at reception the morning of on a daily basis. It's cheaper if you pre-purchase a multi-day pass when you book through their website I think. It's a great deal and it's easy. If you have a car, you can go to one of the park and ride lots at the mouth of the Cottonwood canyons and catch the bus there. That way you don't need to worry about chains or 4WD/AWD. You can also stay in Downtown Salt Lake (we recently stayed at the Residence Inn Downtown and it was pretty good location) and either catch the ski bus from downtown (only two each way a day last time I was there) or ride Trax (light rail) to the transit center in Sandy (I think on 9000 south). Better restaurants and bars in downtown than Sandy.

Sal Lake Super Pass:
Ski Salt Lake Super Pass - FAQ, Purchase Ski Resort & Ski Lift Passes, Ski Packages, Ski Discounts - The Official site for Salt Lake Ski Resorts

Hope this helps!


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## justdust

Excellent post. Made one trip to Sundance years ago when I was first learning and was blown away (I live on the east coast - 'nuff said). I'm thinking of heading back for Christmas week this year to explore some other SLC resorts and found your tips to be very helpful.


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## killclimbz

It's a decent write up but I do disagree with the post about the canyons. We have Utards on this board that have recommended the place. Shitty conditions? That day sure and even in shitty the conditions the reason you got hurt is because you wrote a check your ass couldn't cash. Any resort can have crappy conditions. I've been at Snowbird with way shitty conditions, the terrain wasn't the problem. The Cottonwoods definitely get more snow when storms are rolling through than the Canyons. That is a fact.


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## roremc

Is Utah the only state left with Ski only hills?


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## killclimbz

Mad River Glenn Vermont is the only other ski area with that. 

I think Deer Valley is going to cave within the next two seasons. Hints have been dropped. 

As far as Alta goes, as long as we as snowboarders keep spending money at Snowbird, the Alta ban will live on.


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## CaptT

killclimbz said:


> It's a decent write up but I do disagree with the post about the canyons. We have Utards on this board that have recommended the place. Shitty conditions? That day sure and even in shitty the conditions the reason you got hurt is because you wrote a check your ass couldn't cash.


I love you man.....

Here is the scoop....if you haven't personally been to a place....I don't feel your authorized to review it based on the opinion of someone else.

Oh and f**k ALTA....and D.V.


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## NinjaSteez

Lets all band together and poach ALTA! Ha great post except the part that says brighton has the best park. Yeah uh canyons even beats brightons park. Park City for sure has the best park in Utah. Not that anyone really cares im sure. Seems like most of ya on hurr freeride more than anything.


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## snowvols

I'm up tell me when and where to go. Piss people off is always a good time


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## killclimbz

If you are going to waste the time to hike up the ridge to Alta, why bother riding down it? They just don't let you ride the lifts there. If you are snowboarding on the trail, they won't do anything about it. Much nicer snow to ride for the effort than stoopid Alta.


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## snowvols

I do get a joy out of cutting people off who have an alta sticker on there car. :laugh:


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## Bizzman

excellent write up man...exactly what I was looking for. Now just need to find place to stay... 

I will look into the city hotels see if i cant use some points! Or maybe use a family time share at the mt resorts, but your sayin dont stay at the pc resorts cuz they are lower elevation with less snow...isnt it on the mt and the mt has all the snow :dunno: I like that nite life. What about snowbirds resort or any others
I just want some of those epic photos above the clouds!


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## Shocktroop531

ok write up I guess. seems like the author has some sort of axe to grind against the canyons. the conditions are exactly the same as PCMR. It's right next door. how could conditions be so horrible at canyons and not at park city? it's a ridiculous statement. I've ridden canyons dozen of times. It's definitely the best of the three PC resorts. the biggest resort this side of whistler. and the best season pass deals too. plus this year they have done a ton of improvements to the lift systems and added even more new terrain. 

I don't know why I bother responding to this even. I'd rather people believe canyons sucked so I could have it to myself


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## cadencesdad

Canyons is ok. It's huge. If you can't find something to ride there you won't be able to find anything anywhere. A bit overpriced i'd say but not more dangerous than any other Utah resort....Maybe the writer went there during spring conditions? Or he has an axe to grind like mentioned earlier.

There are better resorts. Brighton and PowMow come to mind.

Hit up one or both of those and theres no way you will leave Utah disappointed.


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## Shocktroop531

cadencesdad said:


> Canyons is ok. It's huge. If you can't find something to ride there you won't be able to find anything anywhere. A bit overpriced i'd say but not more dangerous than any other Utah resort....Maybe the writer went there during spring conditions? Or he has an axe to grind like mentioned earlier.
> 
> There are better resorts. Brighton and PowMow come to mind.
> 
> Hit up one or both of those and theres no way you will leave Utah disappointed.



pow mow is absolutely terrible. don't ever go there. their lifts are old and slow and uncomfortable and you can't even get a good massage or martini anywhere. the lodge is a wooden barn. it sucks. 

in other words:

It's my personal heaven and I want it all to myself. :laugh:


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## snowvols

^ I thought they install in the massaging chair lifts this year :laugh:


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## Shady

this is slightly disheartening to hear such a review of canyons.. I'm gonna be up there for at least two days this winter... hopefully I don't die :laugh:


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## CaRMaNiA666

great info, i leave for utah january 2nd and this is gonna be helpful. thanks


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## Shocktroop531

Shady said:


> this is slightly disheartening to hear such a review of canyons.. I'm gonna be up there for at least two days this winter... hopefully I don't die :laugh:


I'll be up on their hill for over 100 days this winter. and I'll love every second of it. whoever wrote that shit is on crack


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## cadencesdad

Shocktroop531 said:


> pow mow is absolutely terrible. don't ever go there. their lifts are old and slow and uncomfortable and you can't even get a good massage or martini anywhere. the lodge is a wooden barn. it sucks.
> 
> in other words:
> 
> It's my personal heaven and I want it all to myself. :laugh:


The first paragraph made me wanna fight. Then you made me laugh.


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## neednsnow

CaptT said:


> Oh and f**k ALTA....and D.V.



What about the Bird?


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## Shocktroop531

neednsnow said:


> What about the Bird?


snowbird is f**king awesome! epic terrain . beyond belief. gets real crowded though. and gets tracked out on a pow day in about two microseconds


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## killclimbz

Shocktroop531 said:


> snowbird is f**king awesome! epic terrain . beyond belief. gets real crowded though. and gets tracked out on a pow day in about two microseconds


And you support the snowboard ban at Alta by spending your money there...


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## cadencesdad

killclimbz said:


> And you support the snowboard ban at Alta by spending your money there...


Are they owned by the same company? How does boarding at Snowbird support Alta? :dunno:


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## --bigtime--

*UT advice*

Hey people. Gonna be in Utah Feb 19th - 26th for my first ever Snowboard trip out west (I live in NY)
Gonna be tagging along with my friend and her family who are renting a condo for the week in Park City.
Was planning on riding there one or two times but I'm DYING to get to the Bird and Brighton side of the mountains. 
Any tips on discounted lift tickets or nightlife? I'd greatly appreciate it.
If I like Utah enough I'm definitely moving out there in the next year or so.

Any advice for someone in my situation?
Was gonna look into car rentals for the week (pick up when we land in SLC and drop back off when we leave) and just have something to drive the whole time I'm there so i don't need to know about public transportation, but I'm kinda clueless about everything else.

Thanks in advance.


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## neednsnow

killclimbz said:


> And you support the snowboard ban at Alta by spending your money there...


Despite the ban support, I dig the hill, so I'm going to keep spending.



cadencesdad said:


> Are they owned by the same company?


Yup



--bigtime-- said:


> Any advice for someone in my situation?
> Was gonna look into car rentals for the week (pick up when we land in SLC and drop back off when we leave) and just have something to drive the whole time I'm there so i don't need to know about public transportation, but I'm kinda clueless about everything else.
> Thanks in advance.


Park City is a good time, so you'll enjoy yourself. As for the riding, getting your car will provide more flexibility. Personally, I am a big fan of having my own wheels. They take care of the roads pretty well, though if you are going to Snowbird on a snowday then you may need to park at the base of the canyon and catch a shuttle.

Canyon Sports has the discount lift tickets, and Lifthouse has them, too. 

I've heard great things about Brighton and Canyons, but when I was there I wasn't impressed. I like freeriding and open spaces. The coverage was thin in late January, so I had to stick to the main runs. If I want to ride groomers I can just head up to New England. With you going in Feb, you should ripe for some good snow. If it snows a little in the PC/Canyons area, then there is a good chance that Snowbird got a good bit more snow (and people). 

Powder Mountain is preached-about constantly, here. Check it out if you want a low-key ski hill. If you want a stashed-away resortish mountain, try Snowbasin. (been here 4 times and never disappointed once, especially in the Strawberry area).

Have fun!!!!


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## snowvols

You can get discounted tickets at any ski shop around town.


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## killclimbz

cadencesdad said:


> Are they owned by the same company? How does boarding at Snowbird support Alta? :dunno:


It is the mechanism by which Alta continues to have enough profit to keep the ban in place. Years ago, before Alta and Snowbird had the option of a shared pass, Alta was ready to allow snowboarding for the next season. Of course locals, and employees overall didn't like the idea. Management was able to work out a deal with Snowbird for a pass that would be good at both resorts. So they got an additional influx of skiers for which Alta needed to keep spinning the bullwheels. Not so much for Snowbird, but they played along. 

Now I know that as a boarder you don't buy the pass that includes Alta. That's fine. But as long as Alta has this arrangement with Snowbird the ban will go on. The only way to change it, is to hit Snowbird in the pocket book. Snowbird needs snowboarders to stay open. A 30% drop in snowboard traffic would have them scrambling to figure out why. 

If it was made known that snowboarders weren't going there because of the arrangement with Alta, that arrangement would end. Leaving Alta scrambling to make up the lost revenue. Sure there might be a jump in skier visits because of boarder trying to change it, but that would end after a season or two. Within two or three seasons they'd be open to snowboarders like the rest of the world. Plenty of options in and around Salt Lake that are just as good as hitting the 'Bird. Solitude and Snowbasin come to mind, but even Brighton, Canyons, and other spots have their charm. I'm not saying that Snowbird isn't great, it is, I've had great times there but there are other options. I don't see this sort of thing happening, but Snowbird won't get one cent from me until they end their agreement with Alta.


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## Shocktroop531

there are only three major resorts in north america left that ban snowboarding. deer vally and alta in Utah, and mad river glen in vt. And within the next years there will probably be none. Alta will fold before long. The only one I could see holding on is deer valley because those snobby assholes just love themselves so fucking much its sickening. And honestly I could care less. their terrain sucks. place is more about getting a good hotel room and room service than it is about serious skiing.

It would be really nice to snowboard alta though.


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## killclimbz

Actually, I think Deer Valley is already in the planning phase of allowing snowboarding. They've dropped some hints the past couple of years that they are going that direction. Alta would be next, but their shared deal with Snowbird is keeping it in place as I mentioned. It could be another 20 years.

Mad River Glenn is a weird one. It's put to a vote by the share (pass?) holders. Alpine Meadows in California had a similar arrangement. There came a point when it was going to cost them a whole lot more money to ski there or close the resort. They then voted to allow snowboarding. So maybe that'll happen at MRG. I could also see them continuing with it long after Alta (if Alta ever does) falls. 

I know this, snowboard bans end when you start hitting them in the pocket book. Directly or indirectly. Keystone opened to snowboarding because of it. Aspen mountain opened to snowboarding because of it, Taos opened to snowboarding because of it. Hit 'em on the bottom line and attitudes will change quickly. It's up to us to do it.


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## david_z

--bigtime-- said:


> Gonna be tagging along with my friend and her family who are renting a condo for the week in Park City.
> Was planning on riding there one or two times but I'm DYING to get to the Bird and Brighton side of the mountains.
> Any tips on discounted lift tickets or nightlife? I'd greatly appreciate it.


You can get discounted lift tickets to most/all of the PC area resorts at Salty Peaks. Google for location/contact info. I think they are about $20 cheaper than ticket-counter.

I was also able to get 8 lift tickets to PCMR on eBay for about $55 each, not bad. You might check that out as it gets closer to your trip.

PC nightlife is OK, we stayed downtown PC last February about the exact same time of year (week after Sundance festival) and hit 5 resorts in 7 days of riding. It was pretty rad, coulda used a bit more freshy but all-in-all it was a pretty epic trip. I blogged about our trip pretty much every day here's the post about Brighton. 

You might want to get in touch with BurritosAndSnow (on the forum here), that's his home mountain, we hooked up with him out there, pretty cool guy to ride with.



--bigtime-- said:


> Was gonna look into car rentals for the week (pick up when we land in SLC and drop back off when we leave) and just have something to drive the whole time I'm there so i don't need to know about public transportation, but I'm kinda clueless about everything else.


That's what we did. Obviously you don't need car for PCMR or Canyons, but we drove out to the Bird, Brighton, and Sundance. In good weather (which we had) you can make it just about anywhere in 45-60 minutes.


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## cadencesdad

killclimbz said:


> If it was made known that snowboarders weren't going there because of the arrangement with Alta, that arrangement would end. Leaving Alta scrambling to make up the lost revenue. Sure there might be a jump in skier visits because of boarder trying to change it, but that would end after a season or two. Within two or three seasons they'd be open to snowboarders like the rest of the world. Plenty of options in and around Salt Lake that are just as good as hitting the 'Bird. Solitude and Snowbasin come to mind, but even Brighton, Canyons, and other spots have their charm. I'm not saying that Snowbird isn't great, it is, I've had great times there but there are other options. I don't see this sort of thing happening, but Snowbird won't get one cent from me until they end their agreement with Alta.


Ah....Thats brilliant. Let me know when it goes down and I am in.

I usually only hit up the Bird late in the season anyway. Not to many choices once June rolls around.


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## --bigtime--

david_z said:


> You can get discounted lift tickets to most/all of the PC area resorts at Salty Peaks. Google for location/contact info. I think they are about $20 cheaper than ticket-counter.
> 
> I was also able to get 8 lift tickets to PCMR on eBay for about $55 each, not bad. You might check that out as it gets closer to your trip.
> 
> PC nightlife is OK, we stayed downtown PC last February about the exact same time of year (week after Sundance festival) and hit 5 resorts in 7 days of riding. It was pretty rad, coulda used a bit more freshy but all-in-all it was a pretty epic trip. I blogged about our trip pretty much every day here's the post about Brighton.
> 
> You might want to get in touch with BurritosAndSnow (on the forum here), that's his home mountain, we hooked up with him out there, pretty cool guy to ride with.
> 
> 
> That's what we did. Obviously you don't need car for PCMR or Canyons, but we drove out to the Bird, Brighton, and Sundance. In good weather (which we had) you can make it just about anywhere in 45-60 minutes.


Awesome. Thanks so much bro. I really appreciate it. And thanks to everyone else who replied. I had no idea you could score tickets at the local shops on the cheap. 
So, you pretty much just walk in and buy'em right then and there or do I need to buy some gear first and THAN they hook you up?
(Just trying to have everything square before I even think about packing my boards)


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## david_z

just walk right in & buy 'em. if i remember right just go to the checkout counter and ask. the tickets will be good for any single day, so you can buy a few tix to each resort all at once if you want.


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## Triple8Sol

killclimbz said:


> As far as Alta goes, as long as we as snowboarders keep spending money at Snowbird, the Alta ban will live on.


Why's that? Are they owned by the same people or something?


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## Shocktroop531

Triple8Sol said:


> Why's that? Are they owned by the same people or something?


yea. alta and snowbird are under one roof.


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## killclimbz

Triple8Sol said:


> Why's that? Are they owned by the same people or something?


They are not owned by the same people (unless that has changed) but have a shared agreement that brings additional cash to Alta. Check out my post earlier in this thread. Snowbird basically agreed to help Alta continue the ban.


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