Utah on a spring break

[pcklein31]

1 hour ago, saltyant said:

It's much better starting there. You can park so so close to Milly lift and the groomers are outta this world

Agree Milly and the area between Great Western and Snake have some really fun/unique terrain;

[saltyant]

I wonder what's happening at Brighton today @eaf???

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

4 minutes ago, saltyant said:

I wonder what's happening at Brighton today @eaf???

Your Utah reports were better

[toast21602]

9 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Your Utah reports were better

by far

[eaf]

Woah, Brighton is insane.

It has so much variety. It’s more crowded. It’s quite picturesque. It’s confusing. It’s dangerous.

Compared to it, Solitude is so much more relaxed, straightforward and open.

We loved all those trails in the trees, endlessly merging, crossing and splitting apart, but I still have no idea of how exactly they’re laid out, as it’s just a giant mess. You constantly have to look around for people jumping on you from a merging trail or even crossing from left shoulder to right and disappearing somewhere in the woods. No freaking wonder we saw two med evacs at Brighton in one day and zero at Solitude in two.

Tons of little kids scraping trails with their pizzas and guarding parents going edge to edge behind them.

Lines in the central area could be 5 minutes at times.

And they have a terrain park, ugh.

But the flanks of the resort are just the very opposite. No lines, with open views, high in the sky (just the mere thought of something dropping from the Western express is unbearable) and pretty interesting terrain.

I agree, the Milly side is the best. There were never too many people, a walk from the parking lot is easy, there’s a terrace where one could stop for lunch, it’s just such a contrast from the hectic center. The trails there are also quite unique. They all offer insane views, are fast, are at the same time easy but also non-trivial with continuous ups and downs, turns and go arounds. We really had a blast at Milly.

The weather started cold, about 12F, but quickly warmed up to about 50F. Conditions were immaculate, with velvet in the morning and cream cheese in the afternoon.

So good, but I  just can’t shake the feeling that the center of the mountain felt so... camelbacky??

In short, between the two, Solitude has won our hearts. Brighton left a long lasting impression.

[toast21602]

There is nothing Camelbacky about Brighton. Glad you enjoyed it, though. Milly truly is one of my favorite zones at any mountain that I've skied at.

[eaf]

16 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

There is nothing Camelbacky about Brighton. Glad you enjoyed it, though. Milly truly is one of my favorite zones at any mountain that I've skied at.

I guess, it’s not so much about how the center looks, but more about what people ski it and how they do it.

[Justo8484]

never thought i'd hear brighton being compared to camelback; that's a new one.

[eaf]

Well, the center felt like a circus 🤡

[saltyant]

5 minutes ago, eaf said:

Well, the center felt like a circus 🤡

I had the same exact experience with lift lines a month ago.

• Crest Express was always ridiculously long compared to the others.
• Snake Creek Express had a line but it was shorter than Crest Express.
• Milly Express usually had either no line or a short 1-2 minute wait.
• Great Western Express never had any lines whatsoever no matter the time of day.
• Majestic Lift was the slooooowest lift I've ever ridden, I think, and it only goes up halfway.

Edited April 1, 2021 by saltyant

[eaf]

That’s a very accurate description of both line lengths and speeds. We made this mistake once to take the Majestic Lift and then even long lines at Crest started to look more attractive.

What do you think of Brighton?

I feel that we’ve left a lot of it undiscovered, and that by itself makes it worth visiting again. We easily loved Milly and liked Western, but have mixed feelings about the center part, to the point that some said that they’d rather ski Solitude again than another day at Brighton. 

[eaf]

Some views, which I think, are unique to Brighton. Like the $555 fine.

[saltyant]

1 hour ago, eaf said:

What do you think of Brighton?

I feel that we’ve left a lot of it undiscovered, and that by itself makes it worth visiting again. We easily loved Milly and liked Western, but have mixed feelings about the center part, to the point that some said that they’d rather ski Solitude again than another day at Brighton. 

I liked Brighton a lot, but I liked Snowbasin better for its longer runs. Brighton has the better mountainous scenery though. Next time I'll check out Solitude. 

The center of the mountain is fun if the lines weren't so long, but I think it attracts less advanced skiers (hence the long lines) since the runs seemed to be less steep.

Edited April 1, 2021 by saltyant

[RidgeRacer]

Concur on the views from Brighton. From solitude I belive you're looking out at the back side of PC / DV...amazing how close they actually are. You'll never know by driving it. Here's a one of my favorite ski trip pics ever that I took from Brighton that I often use as my phone wallpaper.

[eaf]

That’s how breakfast is served these days 😂

[saltyant]

36 minutes ago, eaf said:

That’s how breakfast is served these days 😂

 

Wow, you're so lucky that you're allowed to get your own breakfast items. At the one Holiday Inn I stayed at in Midvale, I experienced pure idiocracy. Instead of filling my own coffee thermos, an attendant filled a cup for me; I poured the cup in my thermos (filling it to the top); and then the attendant threw the cup in the garbage. I'm so glad they're being resourceful and conscious of environmental waste... you know for our "safety".

Despite a huge breakfast area where adults (not toddlers) could be trusted to space out and get their items, instead we had to interact with an attendant and everyone bunched together in a line through the lobby waiting for the attendant to hand them some cheap and subpar breakfast items.

Home2Suites was far better and had a normal breakfast area for grown ups.

Edited April 1, 2021 by saltyant

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

15 minutes ago, saltyant said:

Wow, you're so lucky that you're allowed to get your own breakfast items. At the one Holiday Inn I stayed at in Midvale, I experienced pure idiocracy. Instead of filling my own coffee thermos, an attendant filled a cup for me; I poured the cup in my thermos (filling it to the top); and then the attendant threw the cup in the garbage. I'm so glad they're being resourceful and conscious of environmental waste... you know for our "safety".

Despite a huge breakfast area where adults (not toddlers) could be trusted to space out and get their items, instead we had to interact with an attendant and everyone bunched together in a line through the lobby waiting for the attendant to hand them some cheap and subpar breakfast items.

Home2Suites was far better and had a normal breakfast area for grown ups.

If you travel 3/4 of the way across the country on a ski trip.  Maybe go out for a decent breakfast.  

[saltyant]

3 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

If you travel 3/4 of the way across the country on a ski trip.  Maybe go out for a decent breakfast.  

I bought a box of generic Cheerios which were delicious. Then I somehow managed to obtain a free styrofoam bowl and plastic spoon which I kept all week in a bagel bag. Next I got my free daily milk carton from the hotel if I asked nicely. And finally a banana to slice up and put in my cereal, except I couldn't manage to locate a plastic knife so I ate it whole.

Edited April 1, 2021 by saltyant

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

7 minutes ago, saltyant said:

I bought a box of generic Cheerios which were delicious. Then I somehow managed to obtain a free styrofoam bowl and plastic spoon which I kept all week in a bagel bag. Next I got my free daily milk carton from the hotel if I asked nicely. And finally a banana to slice up and put in my cereal, except I couldn't manage to locate a plastic knife so I ate it whole.

Wasn’t there a coffee maker in the hotel room or a Starbucks you could visit?  You can also use a spoon to cut up a banana or gag yourself with it. 

[Kyle]

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Kyle

[Justo8484]

4 hours ago, RidgeRacer said:

Concur on the views from Brighton. From solitude I belive you're looking out at the back side of PC / DV...amazing how close they actually are. You'll never know by driving it. Here's a one of my favorite ski trip pics ever that I took from Brighton that I often use as my phone wallpaper.

go out in the summer and drive over guardsman pass. gives you a very good idea of how close soli/brighton actually are to PC and DV.

[Schif]

11 minutes ago, Justo8484 said:

go out in the summer and drive over guardsman pass. gives you a very good idea of how close soli/brighton actually are to PC and DV.

We didn't make it too far, but that's where @skiincy and I went touring in January. I would love to go back and make it all the way from Deer Valley to Brighton. 

[saltyant]

I cant wait to hear about @eaf's experience going through KSLC airport.

[saltyant]

23 minutes ago, Justo8484 said:

go out in the summer and drive over guardsman pass. gives you a very good idea of how close soli/brighton actually are to PC and DV.

It's nucking futs. The top of McConkey's lift at Park City is only 2.75 miles from the base of Brighton.  Yet it was a 44 mile drive from Park City to Brighton. Cray cray.

[RidgeRacer]

47 minutes ago, saltyant said:

It's nucking futs. The top of McConkey's lift at Park City is only 2.75 miles from the base of Brighton.  Yet it was a 44 mile drive from Park City to Brighton. Cray cray.

So close and the weather can be drastically different too.

What's up with the whole interconnect deal. Is that happening?