Utah Reports

[volklyokel]

What a crappy start to what would have been an awesome day in the Wasatch, today. My plan was to head up Big Cottonwood and ski Brighton. Got to the bottom of the canyon and the signs were all lit-up that chains or 4WD was required. A cop was there turning folks back, like me. So I popped my sister's Nissan into the park and ride lot, right there, and found the second to last parking spot and took it. I geared up and headed over to the bus stop. There were about 25 people ahead of me. When the next bus came by, at 8:20, he was able to take about 10 people. I had my skis already strapped on the side of that bus, and had to quickly rip them off and wait for the next bus.

 

Another bus came through at about 8:45. Again, I strapped the skis onto the side of that bus, but that bus could only take about five people. So I quickly ripped them back off again and had to wait it out. Another bus came by around 9:20, but it was already packed. No one got got on that bus. And then we waited, and we waited. About 10:10, knowing that I couold only ski until about 2pm (becuase of other commitments), my time wqas running out and I bailed-out.

 

Here's a photo of the line right before I boogied. Its now nearly noon, and I'll bet there are still people waiting there for a freeking bus!

 

 

This is my first time in five years of being denied access to the canyons in my sister's car. The weather is supposed to warm up over the weekend, so I'm certain that access will not be a problem next week. I still have four days of skiing to get done. But my program has changed a little:

1. Monday - Snowbasin
   
2. Wednesday - Brighton or Solitude
   
3. Thursday - Brighton or Solitude (whichever I didn't go to on Wed.)
   
4. Friday - Snowbird
   

Reports daily next week. I'm bummed not to make it up there today. I'll bet it was some of the best conditions all season!

[Timeless]

What a crappy start to what would have been an awesome day in the Wasatch, today. My plan was to head up Big Cottonwood and ski Brighton. Got to the bottom of the canyon and the signs were all lit-up that chains or 4WD was required. A cop was there turning folks back, like me. So I popped my sister's Nissan into the park and ride lot, right there, and found the second to last parking spot and took it. I geared up and headed over to the bus stop. There were about 25 people ahead of me. When the next bus came by, at 8:20, he was able to take about 10 people. I had my skis already strapped on the side of that bus, and had to quickly rip them off and wait for the next bus.

 

Another bus came through at about 8:45. Again, I strapped the skis onto the side of that bus, but that bus could only take about five people. So I quickly ripped them back off again and had to wait it out. Another bus came by around 9:20, but it was already packed. No one got got on that bus. And then we waited, and we waited. About 10:10, knowing that I couold only ski until about 2pm (becuase of other commitments), my time wqas running out and I bailed-out.

 

Here's a photo of the line right before I boogied. Its now nearly noon, and I'll bet there are still people waiting there for a freeking bus!

 

 

This is my first time in five years of being denied access to the canyons in my sister's car. The weather is supposed to warm up over the weekend, so I'm certain that access will not be a problem next week. I still have four days of skiing to get done. But my program has changed a little:

1. Monday - Snowbasin
   
2. Wednesday - Brighton or Solitude
   
3. Thursday - Brighton or Solitude (whichever I didn't go to on Wed.)
   
4. Friday - Snowbird
   

Reports daily next week. I'm bummed not to make it up there today. I'll bet it was some of the best conditions all season!

 

Sorry to hear your first day was a bust, but couldn't you have gotten some chains?

[volklyokel]

Sorry to hear your first day was a bust, but couldn't you have gotten some chains?

It was all about where I should have invested my time. The options would have been: run back down the hill to an auto supply store, or wait for a bus. I chose to wait for the bus, and the auto store idea would've been a better bet. Because I had only hoped for a morning/early afternoon session, by the time 10am rolled around, it was too late to do much anything else. When my sister and brother in law get off work, later, they won't be happy either. This morning, they should have taken the Nissan and I should have taken the 4x4. Its all about choices...

[Timeless]

It was all about where I should have invested my time. The options would have been: run back down the hill to an auto supply store, or wait for a bus. I chose to wait for the bus, and the auto store idea would've been a better bet. Because I had only hoped for a morning/early afternoon session, by the time 10am rolled around, it was too late to do much anything else. When my sister and brother in law get off work, later, they won't be happy either. This morning, they should have taken the Nissan and I should have taken the 4x4. Its all about choices...

 

Hope you have better luck tomorrow, the snow reports look great for you out there this week.

[volklyokel]

and why aren't you skiing this weekend..Saturday/Sunday...

I make it a general policy not to ski on weekends. Just like back east, the lift lines out here are waaaaay too long on weekends. Besides, I'm out here visiting family, too. On Sat and Sun my sister, bro-in-law, niece, etc. don't work, so its a time to spend with them.

 

Snowbasin, Monday. Roads are all open and no storms are in sight. Tuesday is another family day.

[Lando]

I make it a general policy not to ski on weekends. Just like back east, the lift lines out here are waaaaay too long on weekends. Besides, I'm out here visiting family, too. On Sat and Sun my sister, bro-in-law, niece, etc. don't work, so its a time to spend with them.

 

Snowbasin, Monday. Roads are all open and no storms are in sight. Tuesday is another family day.

 

Chains are mad hard to find in SLC sometimes, the best thing to do is hitch hike. Longest wait ever was no more the 2 mins. One time the food delivery guy for Solitude picked us up, we helped him put his chains on and he let us eat strawberries all the way up.

[volklyokel]

Spent Monday at Snowbasin. Went up with a couple of friends who are pretty much beginner snowboarders, so it kept a lid on how much I was able to ski.

 

It was a pretty busy day for Snowbasin, the worse crowd I encountered was in having to wait maybe 3 minutes in the lift line for the Strawberry Express Gondola. Conditions were sweet at opening, packed powder, very smooth. Had a high overcast until about 11, then sun came out and warmed up everything. Conditions went to "peanut butter" not long after that. I only made 6 runs in 10,500 feet of vert.

 

Because of the beginners I was with, I ran a couple of greens to begin with. I probably was little help being a skier giving pointers to snowboarders, but there was a noticeable improvement in their abilities as the day wore on. After those green runs, I left the beginners to practice on the bunny slope and I hopped on the Needles Express Gondola and headed over to Strawberry Basin. Made a couple of runs there, hopping between various blues that lace the whole basin. Took a lunch break at the main lodge and ran a couple more greens with the friends before packing it in.

 

Pics can be seen in this gallery, but here is one of Strawberry Peak laced with lots of powder lines, most likely ran over the weekend. A Snowbasin employee informed me that Saturday was their second busiest day of the season.

 

Off today with family. Up to Brighton or Solitude tomorrow. Looks like the rest of the week is going to be warm.

 

[volklyokel]

Skied Solitude today and, as I always do here, I had a blast. Weather was just like Monday, warm, with temps near 50 by noon. The snow was really fine for the first 90 minutes, then slowly moved to slippery peanut butter and then greasy mashed potatoes in some places that caught lots of sun.

 

I made runs off practically all the lifts. I worked the bottom of the resort in the morning. But my second run was on Diamond Lane, which is one of my favorite speed steeps. Then I ran Serenity off the Eagle Express and then moved up the hill to the Sunshine/Summit Lift and made several runs from there. I had never explored much below the Sunrise Chairlift, but found some nice, hardly used runs, notably Timberline.

 

I took a ton of photos, with the best being posted here. Here's a shot from the top of Honeycomb Canyon. I opted not to drop in, as I prefer it in powder. Folks I talked to who ran it said it was one mile of good fun, at the high elevations, and two miles of slog. Kind of glad I opted out and stayed on the front side. Anyway, the view was damn nice.

 

[volklyokel]

Thursday brought me to Brighton. A small front passed through last night, giving the Salt Lake Valley rain, but it dropped 6-8" of new snow up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. No chains needed, thankfully. I opted to begin the day on the Milli side, riding up the lift with about a dozen other powder hounds. It was good, but the powder was thicker than usual. This storm was a bit damp and I'd call the powder "good" by PA standards, but not as light and fluffy as I've ridden before in Utah. It took work to ride it well.

 

After a couple of mixed runs on the Milli side, I jumped over to the Crest express and came down Thunder Road, which was loaded with 5-6" of new snow. Hopped on Snake Creek Express where I made quite a few runs down various combinations of runs. Only the green runs had attention by the groomers, so it was best to stay on the blues/blacks, unless you wanted an easy ride. I took a few of those too. Like I said, the new snow took work.

 

Took a break for lunch, rode up the Majestic Quad, back over to Snake Creek Express for a couple more runs, then down for one ride up the Great Western lift, coming down Elk Park and Golden Needle. Clouds began to break in the afternoon and with the already thick snow beginning to turn into thick paste, I opted to make one last run down off the Snake Creek Express.

 

This photo is a panorama taken from the top of Great Western Express. Brighton is really a beautiful place.

 

 

Other photos are in my Utah Gallery. Just scroll through and enjoy.

[snorovr]

I just got back. It was definitely awesome. Bummer about not being able to make it up the canyon. I got Alta on Saturday and it was the best day at Alta I've ever had. We caught Baldy and Devils Castle right as they were dropping the gate. Sooooo good.

[AtomicSkier]

We caught Baldy and Devils Castle right as they were dropping the gate. Sooooo good.

 

[Lando]

Thursday brought me to Brighton. A small front passed through last night, giving the Salt Lake Valley rain, but it dropped 6-8" of new snow up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. No chains needed, thankfully. I opted to begin the day on the Milli side, riding up the lift with about a dozen other powder hounds. It was good, but the powder was thicker than usual. This storm was a bit damp and I'd call the powder "good" by PA standards, but not as light and fluffy as I've ridden before in Utah. It took work to ride it well.

 

After a couple of mixed runs on the Milli side, I jumped over to the Crest express and came down Thunder Road, which was loaded with 5-6" of new snow. Hopped on Snake Creek Express where I made quite a few runs down various combinations of runs. Only the green runs had attention by the groomers, so it was best to stay on the blues/blacks, unless you wanted an easy ride. I took a few of those too. Like I said, the new snow took work.

 

Took a break for lunch, rode up the Majestic Quad, back over to Snake Creek Express for a couple more runs, then down for one ride up the Great Western lift, coming down Elk Park and Golden Needle. Clouds began to break in the afternoon and with the already thick snow beginning to turn into thick paste, I opted to make one last run down off the Snake Creek Express.

 

This photo is a panorama taken from the top of Great Western Express. Brighton is really a beautiful place.

 

 

Other photos are in my Utah Gallery. Just scroll through and enjoy.

 

 

Beautiful pics, the Mt Clayton Gate of Great Western is some of the best meadow skipping in UT and I never see anyone out there. Just remember to come back left when you hit the creek bed or its a walk back to Brighton.