Salt Lake City Advice Needed

[Quickturns]

I am hoping that you guys can give me some advice. I am trying to put together a trip to Salt Lake City and I am a bit torn about what approach to take.

 

It looks like I am going to get approval from my boss to work remotely for a month. I am targeting February and would plan on working 2-3 days a week and skiing the remainder. Originally, I was going to try to get a place in Sandy or thereabouts and sample different the resorts around Salt Lake based on where the snow was falling. I figured driving 30 minutes to an hour plus (depending on where I skied) wouldn

Edited August 26, 2011 by Quickturns

[toast21602]

Ogden.

[Justo8484]

snowbird's got plenty of intermediate groomers; probably some of the most fun groomers i've ever skied. their pass is expensive, but the terrain is awesome. as far as doing things in the city, salt lake doesn't seem to be as 'active' of a city as philly is, but that may be due to the mormon influence. they do do a good job of keeping the roads clear though. park city is fun, and if you were to get a pass somewhere in that area, the canyons would be your best bet. park city has a good park, and jupiter and mcconkeys are good for bumps and trees, and they have a ton of good groomers, but on a pow day, it's probably at the bottom of my list in utah. i never really ran into crowd issues there or canyons. the worst crowds i experienced in utah were alta on a pow day where all the locals are agro and territorial. like people yelling at you to get out of their way on traverses and crap agro. if you take toast's advice and go the snowbasin/powder route, ogden's the closest, which is generally pretty small, kind of a bethlehem/allentown sort of vibe, with a few small, decent breweries in town. basin is about 20 minutes from ogden; powder being a little bit further, but way less crowded. powder's not quite as steep, but you'll be getting fresh tracks for days after a good storm, and the $15 for the snow cat is the best $15 i've spent in my entire ski career. i'm rambling, but if you've got any specific questions, myself, therealkt, t*maki, or toast would all be able to answer, as we've been out to utah a bunch.

[Timeless]

snowbird's got plenty of intermediate groomers.......

 

Depends on your interpretation of intermediate, but I've been to snowbird with people who considered themselves intermediate and they spent most of the day complaining about the lack of terratin for their ability level.

 

If you are a true intermediate (ie, nothing in the east coast resorts scares you anymore) then you will be fine there but it is not a beginners hill. Snowbasin and powder, or solitude and brighton would be a much better kids if you or your kids are still happier on east coast blues.

 

Personally, I would avoid PC and the Canyons at weekends mid season, not that the crowds would be terrible but there are just better options.

 

Whatever you choose to do, try as many resorts as you can, Utah is awesome for pretty much every ability level.

[Johnny Law]

If it snows during the week, spend the snow day in LCC or BCC, then the next day go to Pow Mo. The place is advanced meadow skipping mostly but it holds snow.

[RyanPhillip]

My brother lives in SLC and I go out as much as possible. I would recommend looking for a place in Cottonwood Heights which is right at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon and also only like 10-12 minutes driving to the base of Little Cottonwood. Here you would have easy access Solitude, Brighton, Snowbird, and Alta. Solitude is great because it is usually not overcrowded I also think they have a really good mix of terrain for intermediate and beginner. Same goes for Brighton which has some really nice fun groomers.... Snowbird is definitely a great resort but is a little more advanced. Cottonwood Heights would be good for your wife as a non skier too as it is pretty convenient to just about everything in the SLC area.

[Quickturns]

Thanks for the input guys. It is good and bad to see that there in no concensus, as it means these are probably all good places to stay, but makes the choice harder. It is just hard to pick a place based on mtns (PC/Solitude/Brighton) I haven't skied.

 

Toast, I like the idea of Ogden, but I was a bit concerned about the daily drive to Snowbasin through the canyon. From what I have seen online it takes about 30 minutes in good weather and potential an hour in snow. As we will have our Honda Odyssey minivan, I would hate to be forced to stay home or go up late because of the snow. Have you had any experience making the drive in snow? Is it reasonable in a ft wheel drive with chains. I'll need to be a bit conservative with my driving as the kids don't have enought strength to push dad out of the snowbank just yet.

 

Justo, having skied Snowbird and Alta on powder days, I agree with you about the entitled locals and their attitude, although it didn't compare with the line up for the Peak Chair at Whistler. I appreciate your feedback on all the mtns, and I am seriously looking forward to the snow cat assisted skiing at Powder mtn. It appears low key on their videos and looks like it would make for a fun day after a storm. You mentioned that the Canyons would be better than Park City, why do you think that? Do they have better terrain, are there less crowds or something else? I just saw the mid-mtn housing layout and was thinking of Sunrise Mtn at Killington with the trails running next to people's condos.

 

Did anyone have any issues with the crowds while skiing at the Park City resorts? I can't imagine that this isn't an issue with all of the housing they have right next to the mtns.

[toast21602]

If you think an hour is bad to get there.... just wait until you sit in traffic trying to get up the canyons in SLC... if you live in Utah, get chains. Every year we rent a mini out there and buy chains and every year we have had to drive in the snow. It took us 2 hours to just get up the canyon road to Bird one year in the snow and an hour to get down.

 

I would link the trip report but I'm on my phone at work now

[Justo8484]

Thanks for the input guys. It is good and bad to see that there in no concensus, as it means these are probably all good places to stay, but makes the choice harder. It is just hard to pick a place based on mtns (PC/Solitude/Brighton) I haven't skied.

 

Toast, I like the idea of Ogden, but I was a bit concerned about the daily drive to Snowbasin through the canyon. From what I have seen online it takes about 30 minutes in good weather and potential an hour in snow. As we will have our Honda Odyssey minivan, I would hate to be forced to stay home or go up late because of the snow. Have you had any experience making the drive in snow? Is it reasonable in a ft wheel drive with chains. I'll need to be a bit conservative with my driving as the kids don't have enought strength to push dad out of the snowbank just yet.

 

Justo, having skied Snowbird and Alta on powder days, I agree with you about the entitled locals and their attitude, although it didn't compare with the line up for the Peak Chair at Whistler. I appreciate your feedback on all the mtns, and I am seriously looking forward to the snow cat assisted skiing at Powder mtn. It appears low key on their videos and looks like it would make for a fun day after a storm. You mentioned that the Canyons would be better than Park City, why do you think that? Do they have better terrain, are there less crowds or something else? I just saw the mid-mtn housing layout and was thinking of Sunrise Mtn at Killington with the trails running next to people's condos.

 

Did anyone have any issues with the crowds while skiing at the Park City resorts? I can't imagine that this isn't an issue with all of the housing they have right next to the mtns.

 

to comment on driving a minivan in utah with chains... i'm going to add it to my list of skills on my resume. as toast said, we rocked a FWD minivan loaded down with four guys and ski gear up LCC to snowbird with about 8" on the ground. scariest drive of my life. we almost slid off the road when i had to pass a delivery truck that was stuck in a ditch on the side. once we got into the lot, we basically all just said f it and paid for valet because we just wanted to get out of the van. i think i was shaking for a solid 15 minutes after we pulled into the lot. that said, the access road up to snowbasin is like a race track compared to LCC road up to snowbird. it's 2 lanes in both directions most of the way with adequate guard rails and signage. sure, visibility is an issue if it's nuking, but it's not like LCC road where you're going around 120

[Justo8484]

Wow you guys paid for valet....damn.

 

$10 split between four guys after the scariest car ride of our lives on a pow day in a crowded lot? best $2.50 i ever spent.

[RootDKJ]

$10 split between four guys after the scariest car ride of our lives on a pow day in a crowded lot? best $2.50 i ever spent.

 

So in other words, you spent your best $17.50 in Utah.

[Justo8484]

You should rent All Wheel Drive next time. I rented an Impreza in Denver.

 

try and fit four people plus ski gear for 6 days of riding in an impreza and let me know how it works out.

[First Grade Teacher]

Park City simply due to the fact that you have kids. PC and Canyons are perfect for them and you get the ski town experience. Tons of places for your wife to blow money. You're only there for a month so live as close as possible. The Town Lift is another plus. Sandy is a great location but if the canyon roads are closed you're screwed. Salt Lake City is great for a job but sucks as a town.

Edited September 6, 2011 by First Grade Teacher

[snorovr]

I agree with FGT on this one since it sounds like you're not too familiar with the area and looking to please everyone in your family. If it was just me going I'd do Sandy or somewhere between Powder and Basin in a heartbeat, but I've also been to Utah 20+ times so know the areas and what I like to ski. With your kids and wife to consider its definitely a different story. Park City has the free shuttle buses, lots of little shops and food spots, and plenty of other recreational things to do. Its really not even that far of a drive to LCC and BCC if you decide you'd like to go check those out.

 

Either way you look at it a month is going to fly by out there. Use Park City as a home base because from there most of the resorts are either out your back door or less than an hour drive. Its only like a 30 minute drive from PC to SLC if you want to get into town for anything going on there or to try any of the good restaurants in SLC. There were many years where my family stayed in Park City because my Mom had meetings there, and my dad lil bro and I would drive to some of the other spots up north or in LCC/BCC. Even though a lot of us on this board that have been out multiple times have come to prefer Snowbird, Basin, Powder, Solitude; none of the resorts in Park City are going to let you down and you'll have plenty to explore. A crowded weekend out there is nothing compared to resorts in PA and NY.

 

Sounds like a great opportunity, rip it up!