# Utah/Colorado Trip 2017



## Ninjabic (Apr 16, 2016)

My friends and I are planning a snowboarding trip next season for 4 days in February. Our skill levels will range from beginner/intermediate - intermediate. No one rides park. We're all into groomers and off piste glades. We'll also be renting a car to hit up multiple locations. I've read a ton of threads and that's how I've narrowed it down to 3 options. Help me pick one!

*1: UTAH* Cabin that's like 10 minutes away from Snowbasin. I figure we could hit Snowbasin twice and Pow Mow twice. My friends are worried that the terrain accessible by CAT ride is going to be too difficult. Can anyone chime in on this? (Bonus: The cabin has a pool table and huge hot tub that would fit everyone). 

*2: UTAH* The cabin is 2 min away from Deer Valley. I figure we could hit up Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird if it dumps. The cabin overall is pretty nice. It has a pool table and small hot tub.

*3: Colorodo* Found a Ski in Ski out cabin at the base of Peak 8. This is cool because we wouldn't need to rent a car. The cabin also looks like fun with a pool table/hot tub combo. The village night life is also a plus.

Which option would guys pick and why?

_**I ended up booking a cabin in Breck**_


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

2 minutes from deer valley is horse shit. Thats pretty far away from everywhere else. Look at winter drive times to where you want to go.

As a tourist lookin for fun i would take option 3.

As a family i would take option 1. The terrain wont be hard enough as long as your an intermediate level rider.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

Ninjabic said:


> My friends and I are planning a snowboarding trip next season for 4 days in February. Our skill levels will range from beginner/intermediate - intermediate. No one rides park. We're all into groomers and off piste glades. We'll also be renting a car to hit up multiple locations. I've read a ton of threads and that's how I've narrowed it down to 3 options. Help me pick one!
> 
> *1: UTAH* Cabin that's like 10 minutes away from Snowbasin. I figure we could hit Snowbasin twice and Pow Mow twice. My friends are worried that the terrain accessible by CAT ride is going to be too difficult. Can anyone chime in on this? (Bonus: The cabin has a pool table and huge hot tub that would fit everyone).
> 
> ...


Agreed, fuck staying anywhere near park city..........but a YES YES YES to Snowbasin and PowMow.

The cheap(20$ per ride) snowcat access terrain at PowMow is totally doable for just about anyone.

For brighton\Snowbird\Solitude find some cheap near the bottom of LCC or BCC like an AirB&B plenty of options.

Snowberry B&B sits right in between PowMow and Snowbasin, very reasonable for what it is but yea you can probably find something cheaper up there.

Good luck and have fun, hit people up when your passing through Utah I'm I'm available I'd be happy to show you around Brighton our home resort.


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## Cinic (Mar 14, 2016)

I've never been to UT and we were eyeing a family trip up there next winter as well. We'll be driving from AZ. 

Why not stay near Park City? 

Our MO the last 3 years has been to drive to Durango/Purgatory and rent a small place on the mountain that is a 200 yard walk to the lifts.


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## Brewtown (Feb 16, 2014)

Breck is cool because you get a pretty wide variety of good terrain in one resort, but it's pricey and can get really crowded. If your looking to party then that's your spot, however if you want a more laid back vibe then UT is the better choice. All of those resorts are good for different reasons, but I agree you might want to reconsider where you're staying. Last year I just got a hotel in SLC, it's a short drive to Brighton/Snowbird/Solitude (unless its snowing hard) with the option for a day trip up to Snowbasin if their getting snow.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

You mentioned nightlife. Utah isn't what you're looking for.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

linvillegorge said:


> You mentioned nightlife. Utah isn't what you're looking for.


Park City has TONS of nightlife, I go on vacation to ride not get hammered so I have a hang over in the morning..........I can do that at home for 1\10 of the price.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

If you're suffering from hangovers, you gotta up your game. 

See... Utah


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

linvillegorge said:


> If you're suffering from hangovers, you gotta up your game.
> 
> See... Utah


I wanna be ontop of my game on powder days(especially riding avy prone side country).......I live here so I could care aless but if I was coming from somewhere like the midwest(and only get so many powder days) I'd hate to miss out on an epic powder day because I drank too many PBR and ended up missing first chair.......I've seen it happen and people end up wasting a vacation or being miserable because of it.

but then again I'm 38 not 25..........so yea there's that


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Park City nightlife has nothing on Vail, Aspen or Breck. For Utah it is the only place to get anything though. I can remember trying to find something to eat other than McDonalds around 10 pm and there was absolutely nothing open. Of course finding food is different than finding a drink but there wasnt a damn thing going on in town at night. You can pretty much party until sunrise in the CO locations. 

Again though, family trip would be option 1. Friends party/ride trip option 3.....


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

Call me crazy, but... wouldn't it be easier to just stay home and drink yourself stoopid than travel to an expensive ski resort to just do the same thing- and sabotage your "real" reason for going there in the first place ??


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Everyone has different vacation goals. Not my place to judge if someone's wanting to party at night and just cruise in the day. Remember that your talking to a vacation snowboarder.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

There is alot of really good beer here in CO.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

deagol said:


> Call me crazy, but... wouldn't it be easier to just stay home and drink yourself stoopid than travel to an expensive ski resort to just do the same thing- and sabotage your "real" reason for going there in the first place ??


I'll never understand that, if thats your deal then just go on a douche-canoe gauntlet beach casino vacation in your typical florida, mexico, vegas trip


I'll have plenty of time to sit on a chair or on a beach with a cocktail when I'm in my 70's.......until then it's running, climbing, backpacking, mountain biking and snowboarding.

Life is short, you only live once and youth is wasted on the young.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

lol, I am coming to believe that you guys have never actually visited a resort. 90% of the money spent on snowsports are by vacation snowboarders/skiers that go and have fun. Having fun to them entails going out at night as well as riding in the day time.

I will be heading to mexico for a couple weeks in June. Plenty of my friends do the same and still ride 150 or more days a year.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

Argo said:


> lol, I am coming to believe that you guys have never actually visited a resort. 90% of the money spent on snowsports are by vacation snowboarders/skiers that go and have fun. Having fun to them entails going out at night as well as riding in the day time.
> 
> I will be heading to mexico for a couple weeks in June. Plenty of my friends do the same and still ride 150 or more days a year.


* With all due respect *

I get it "to each his own" mentality but I spent my 20's fucking off and wasting my life\time with dipshit worthless friends\girlfriends and I'll never get those years back.

Now I'm 38 and my days of climbing mountains, running Ultras and sking big lines are numbered, now that I've had a taste of some pretty epic trips there's no way I can go back to "normal" vacations with "normal" people.

I just came back from 4 days in vegas.......but it included running a mountain marathon, hiking on Mt.Charleston, hanging out with locals, meditation and staying with and taking care of horses, dogs and other random farm animals on a hobby farm at the base of the mountain.

I've done both, lived both lives and taken the "pepsi challenge" if you will so I feel like I can have "an informed opinion" on the matter.

Outside of shit required to maintain fiance\family relations(once per year) there's NO way for me to go back to taking "normal" vacations with people who aren't willing to put themselves out there and go for something big.

Hey if that's "enough" for some people then good for them......I'm sure their kids and grand kids will be super impressed with pictures of them drunk on the beach or out at a club taking duck faced selfies.....for me fuck that, I'm living life not waiting around to die.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

He isnt asking for life advice. He is asking for places to visit not the sermon.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Somebody is finding the institutionalized idiosyncrasies of Utah pretty comfy these days methinks.

*wink


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Contrary to popular belief here, some people can charge hard during the day and party at night. 

I am the perfect example. I am almost 46, and I ride backcountry on a splitboard all day, then I party at night. By party at night I mean that I go out to restaurant get some food and have a couple of beers and I am passed out by 9. Later, rinse, repeat. Yep, I do it until the wheels come off everytime...


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## Noreaster (Oct 7, 2012)

killclimbz said:


> By party at night I mean that I go out to restaurant get some food and have a couple of beers and I am passed out by 9.


Umm... I believe it's called dinner.


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## bksdds (Jul 2, 2015)

Noreaster said:


> Umm... I believe it's called dinner.


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

this thread has taken an awesome turn.... many dark secrets have been exposed.


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## Ninjabic (Apr 16, 2016)

Damn, shit got real up in here. Def gonna be drinkin some beers while we're on the mountain but that goes without saying.. Thanks for the first few replies. Gonna relay the advice to my buddies and come to a decision. I'll keep the thread updated for anyone interested.


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

If you go the snowbasin pow mow route maybe check out the Atomic B&B in Huntsville. The owner is a ski bum at basin and seems laid back and cool

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## Ninjabic (Apr 16, 2016)

I ended up booking a pretty sweet cabin in Breckinridge. Utah remains on the bucket list.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

Condoms......condoms.......condoms.........Breck is a cesspool of STD's.........


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

killclimbz said:


> Contrary to popular belief here, some people can charge hard during the day and party at night.
> 
> I am the perfect example. I am almost 46, and I ride backcountry on a splitboard all day, then I party at night. By party at night I mean that I go out to restaurant get some food and have a couple of beers and I am passed out by 9. Later, rinse, repeat. Yep, I do it until the wheels come off everytime...


Right thats a standard weekend evening for me, I call that having fun.

I'm talking about people partying until 4am getting black out drunk and then being too hung over to get to the lifts early enough to get something resembling first tracks........ and\or being pissy\slow all day because they feel like shit.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

hikeswithdogs said:


> Right thats a standard weekend evening for me, I call that having fun.
> 
> I'm talking about people partying until 4am getting black out drunk and then being too hung over to get to the lifts early enough to get something resembling first tracks........ and\or being pissy\slow all day because they feel like shit.


Some people can do it, some can't. There is also a lot of leeway between the two extremes.


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## snoeboarder (Sep 19, 2008)

Since we're still talking about getting wasted... UT vs CO... Legal recreational marijuana, CO wins. I honestly have no desire to drink. I'll smoke all day/night/eat edibles/dab... no hangover. Both states have awesome riding.

I've experienced friends not riding the next day after hard partying. Pretty lame when you drive X distance and then miss out on 1-2 of 3 days of riding. I'm still not sure where their heads are at.

Glad you found a spot ninja


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## ctoma (Aug 9, 2011)

mojo maestro said:


> Condoms......condoms.......condoms.........Breck is a cesspool of STD's.........


I know a guy who got crabs just riding up the Indepence SuperChair next to a couple ski bunnies on Peak 7.


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## bksdds (Jul 2, 2015)




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## comfortstarr (Feb 9, 2016)

Alrighty! Now that socializing mores have been sussed out, can I ask a follow-up/piggy-back question? Someone said stay away from Park City. Why? 

Here's our situation: Me and my 7 year-old are snowboarder novices. Last season was our first. We were out probably 10 times or so, including a day at Keystone and our final day of the season at Snowmass). By that last day, we were riding Snowmass blue runs (which I recognize are not super hard). My wife is a brand new skier as well (greens and only greens though to this point). 

We are going to do a ski trip in late-ish Feb., 2017. I'm eyeing UT and was thinking Park City looked about perfect for us. This would be a 5 day trip, hopefully doing some boarding/skiing the day we arrive (we're in Minneapolis). Brighton/Solitude also look great, just wasn't sure if the terrain would be more difficult, especially for my wife. Wherever we go, goal will be to stay within walking distance of lifts--had some terrible drives last March in CO, want to avoid that.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

your novices and a do family trips. That is a far cry from being a single party guy with your buddies that all have above intermediate skill level. Park city is fine for what you want which is totally different than the OP of this thread.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

comfortstarr said:


> Alrighty! Now that socializing mores have been sussed out, can I ask a follow-up/piggy-back question? Someone said stay away from Park City. Why?


Yea sorry about that :embarrased1:

Nothing wrong with Park City(great place to shop, hang out, eat and party) they just don't get as much snow and it is expensive to stay\ski there unless you have a EPIC pass then lift ticket prices at Canyons\PCMR aren't an issue. 

Us locals on the Wasatch front(Salt lake city side of the mountains) just don't really care much for Vail Resorts\Park City deal(and how it all went down) but none of that locals non-sense means anything to you coming for a visit with your family so just ignore it.

With that said.........

Brighton has LOTS of beginner terrain and you can stay at the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon 10-15 minutes away at "normal person" hotel like the Marriott(year around outdoor pool) or one of the other 3 business orientated hotels grouped together at the bottom of the canyon. Your only like 10 minutes away from downtown and there's plenty of places to eat\shop nearby. You WILL most likely need a 4x4 vehicle(rental) to drive from the bottom of the canyon up to Solitude\Brighton but again its only 10-15 minutes and no mountain passes to go over or anything like that... This is the best "budget option" also Uber is great in SLC and serves both little\big Cottonwood Canyons and pickup to\from the airport.

Also in BCC Solitude has nice ski in\out accommodations, isn't quite as beginner friendly as Brighton but far far from extreme terrain or anything like that, it's a little mountain village with places to eat but still pretty limited....say like 2-3 restaurants at Solitude and little to no shopping with one bar.


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## comfortstarr (Feb 9, 2016)

Thanks! That sounds nice. We're not shoppers (most of our vacations are to national parks). I'll do some more research... We have an EPIC ski hill (let's be honest!) here in Afton Alps, it's not close enough to us for a pass, so we're not going to be beholden to that route. Perhaps Brighton will be the way to go.


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

Ogden is about 45 min north of SLC. It really is turning into a decent place to stay with good restaurants around 25th street. From downtown you are about 30 min drive to snowbasin which has plenty of terrain for all levels. The amenities there are also quite nice. 

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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

comfortstarr said:


> Thanks! That sounds nice. We're not shoppers (most of our vacations are to national parks). I'll do some more research... We have an EPIC ski hill (let's be honest!) here in Afton Alps, it's not close enough to us for a pass, so we're not going to be beholden to that route. Perhaps Brighton will be the way to go.


Yea my fiance and I are from the St.Paul area originally, we met at Afton she was bar-tending at the Alps(upper bar\lot) we just moved to Utah full time in January.

Do you know what time of year your coming?

An alternative(mentioned by Trabi75 above) that I really like is to stay at the Snowberry Inn which is nestled right in between Powder Mountain and Snowbasin in Eden(near Ogden, 45 minutes north of the SLC airport)....I think it's about 20 minutes away from either resort.

Both PowMow and Snowbasin have terrain for all types and are some of my favorite places to ride ANYWHERE.

Snowbasin has three high speed 8 person Gondolas that serve the entire resort and a 10 person tram that brings you up to some more "extreme" terrain when it's open.

PowMow has LOTS of beginner terrain and 15$ snowcat rides(begginer-ish friendly) as well as a HUGE in-bounds backcountry area(Powder Country) where you ride WAY down the valley and get picked up by a bus that brings you back to the resort.

Not a TON of shopping\eating in Eden but Ogden(up and coming outdoorsy city where Salomon is head quartered) is only like 20 minutes or so away and it has everything you need as far as entertainment\food.

Good luck and have fun, let us know what else we can help with!!


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## comfortstarr (Feb 9, 2016)

We're looking at late Feb (after the president's day weekend). Probably a Wednesday to Sunday trip. I'm liking the sound of the Ogden and Brighton/Solitude locales. We would probably look to rent a place (VRBO has been great to us and we find we wind up saving money as we get to just eat most of our meals in). I had read about Powder Mtn somewhere and it sounded interesting, kind of a throw back--that appeals to me. More research fodder!


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

comfortstarr said:


> We're looking at late Feb (after the president's day weekend). Probably a Wednesday to Sunday trip. I'm liking the sound of the Ogden and Brighton/Solitude locales. We would probably look to rent a place (VRBO has been great to us and we find we wind up saving money as we get to just eat most of our meals in). I had read about Powder Mtn somewhere and it sounded interesting, kind of a throw back--that appeals to me. More research fodder!


Thats a good time of year for Utah, don't be afraid of AirB&B's either.... also check out the Snowberry Inn very reasonable for what it is and awesome convenient location with access to discount lift tickets and a resort shuttle.


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## teleuker (Apr 3, 2016)

hikeswithdogs said:


> Thats a good time of year for Utah, don't be afraid of AirB&B's either.... also check out the Snowberry Inn very reasonable for what it is and awesome convenient location with access to discount lift tickets and a resort shuttle.


I second the AirBnB's. My family and I have used that almost exclusively for the past 2-3 years and we've been really pleased with it. We have also had people stay at our house through it too. I'll be heading to CO in March 2017 and plan on using it there also.


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## Cinic (Mar 14, 2016)

hikeswithdogs said:


> Thats a good time of year for Utah...


We're eyeing a drive up to UT from Phoenix for a several day trip this season but generally have to work around the kids' school schedules. This year that's either the last week of December or the first week of March. Which would you recommend?

Per a lot of recommendations here, my focus is currently on Snowbasin and Powder Mountain. We're most used to staying in VRBO places with kitchens and making most of our meals. So restaurants and night life aren't big on our priority list - it's me, my wife and our two kids of 10 and 8. That being said, would you recommend staying in Ogden or getting a place closer in Eden/Huntsville? Or even up on the mountain at Powmow? 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

I think snow coverage will be better in first week of march,but you may have some spring skiing type days in there but the you could have a huge pow day or two as well. I'm no good at predicting weather. 
I would rather stay in eden or Huntsville rather than at pow mow,just cause it's more central and there are a few restaurants right there, but staying on the mountain could be fun if you have a nice situation/place to stay especially if you prep your own meals etc. Only drawback of staying at pow mow would be if you go to snowbasin one or more days then you will have a 30 min drive or so but that's about it. 

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## comfortstarr (Feb 9, 2016)

Started getting serious in the planning and Brighton/Solitude has moved to the forefront. Kids 7 and under ski free at Brighton, I'm looking the vibe of these "smaller" resorts/towns, and I'm seeing some nice accommodations near there. Thanks for all the input, really helpful. Can't wait for some snow.


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## Trabi75 (Dec 12, 2014)

Cheers. Have a great time

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## andyl9063 (Aug 4, 2014)

comfortstarr said:


> Started getting serious in the planning and Brighton/Solitude has moved to the forefront. Kids 7 and under ski free at Brighton, I'm looking the vibe of these "smaller" resorts/towns, and I'm seeing some nice accommodations near there. Thanks for all the input, really helpful. Can't wait for some snow.


I did a trip to utah in 2015. Brighton/solitude was my favorite! We stayed in Sandy, 15 minute drive to all the resort (brighton, solitude, and snowbird). It's awesome, did I mention the people are really nice? The alcohol sucks, but it's ok. 
I'm sure you'll enjoy it.


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