Day 7: Cruisin' with the Mrs.
Brian Head is perfectly situated in southern Utah, 3:20 south of Salt Lake City and around 3 hours north of Las Vegas -- ideal for when those storms split or close off and send their energy south of the Wasatch Mountains.
Unfortunately, this weekend wasn't one of those times.
I signed up for a Ski Utah event with Mrs. Admin this weekend at Brian Head, back when the forecast called for a major storm down south. That storm dropped 54" of snow on Eagle Point Resort, and 7" at Brian Head only 35 miles south of Eagle point. ](*,) That's certainly atypical for Brian Head, a ski resort that averages 368 inches of snowfall annually.
No matter, I haven't skied Brian Head since I did a piece for SKI Magazine back in 2002, several years before I moved to Utah. I wanted to get acquainted with the changes brought by new owner John Grissinger since he bought the resort with cash in 2012. Those changes include a base-to-summit high-speed quad, a new deck on the base lodge, and a new BBQ smokehouse.
We left Salt Lake City at 6:15 a.m., and arrived at Brian Head at 9:45. After checking into our unit at Cedar Breaks Lodge, also under new ownership (Diamond Resorts), we loaded the Giant Steps lift for a quick ride to the resort's 11,000-foot summit.
That lift had just opened for the season, thanks to an ambitious snowmaking effort. After the first pitch of Sunburst, traffic dispersed onto three or four different routes back to the base. Yes, it was groomed cruising only on manmade surfaces, but they were actually delightful as Brian Head's tumbling fall line is rather playful. Temperatures were downright balmy under partly sunny skies with zero wind, as storm clouds remained to the north all day. The vistas stretching across the red rock to the broad, flat valleys of the Great Basin Desert were no less stunning than they had been 15 years earlier.
Our unit at Cedar Breaks Lodge was a spacious one-bedroom condo with a gas fireplace and LCD television each in both the bedroom and living room, a fully-equipped kitchen (and when I say "fully equipped" I'm including such unusual amenities as a Cuisinart blender and a pizza cutter), a jetted bathtub, free laundry (including free detergent!) and underground parking. The resort's indoor pool/hot tub(s)/sauna(s) complex is absolutely spectacular, and the staff could not have been friendlier or more inviting. Mrs. Admin, who's incredibly picky about these things and used to travel extensively as a flight attendant, said that she's never encountered such a spotless facility.
![CBL_2014_INDOOR_POOL_2391[1].jpg](https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/attachments/cbl_2014_indoor_pool_2391-1-jpg.22853/ "CBL_2014_INDOOR_POOL_2391[1].jpg")
We joined some others for the resort's annual après-ski Ullr Fest and some of Grissinger's own tasty Kansas City-style BBQ in the slopeside Last Chair Saloon, including brisket, pulled pork, scrumptious fried catfish, hush puppies and a sinful cornbread with a wet walnut bottom. Satiated, Mrs. Admin and I left for our room and in so doing had a chance encounter with Grissinger himself, who like his entire staff was warm, friendly and accommodating.
Brian Head provides a healthy taste of Utah skiing for those living in Vegas, southern California or Arizona, with a much shorter drive than the Wasatch resorts. It's also a perfect road trip for northern Utahans when storms dive south.
But again, this wasn't one of those times. When this weekend's northern storm only grazed the Brian Head region overnight and left a mere dusting of new snow, we packed up and headed north for Sunday. But I'll be back at Brian Head the next time a storm heads their way!
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZkrdQA6Vzc[/video]
Brian Head is perfectly situated in southern Utah, 3:20 south of Salt Lake City and around 3 hours north of Las Vegas -- ideal for when those storms split or close off and send their energy south of the Wasatch Mountains.
Unfortunately, this weekend wasn't one of those times.
I signed up for a Ski Utah event with Mrs. Admin this weekend at Brian Head, back when the forecast called for a major storm down south. That storm dropped 54" of snow on Eagle Point Resort, and 7" at Brian Head only 35 miles south of Eagle point. ](*,) That's certainly atypical for Brian Head, a ski resort that averages 368 inches of snowfall annually.
No matter, I haven't skied Brian Head since I did a piece for SKI Magazine back in 2002, several years before I moved to Utah. I wanted to get acquainted with the changes brought by new owner John Grissinger since he bought the resort with cash in 2012. Those changes include a base-to-summit high-speed quad, a new deck on the base lodge, and a new BBQ smokehouse.
We left Salt Lake City at 6:15 a.m., and arrived at Brian Head at 9:45. After checking into our unit at Cedar Breaks Lodge, also under new ownership (Diamond Resorts), we loaded the Giant Steps lift for a quick ride to the resort's 11,000-foot summit.
That lift had just opened for the season, thanks to an ambitious snowmaking effort. After the first pitch of Sunburst, traffic dispersed onto three or four different routes back to the base. Yes, it was groomed cruising only on manmade surfaces, but they were actually delightful as Brian Head's tumbling fall line is rather playful. Temperatures were downright balmy under partly sunny skies with zero wind, as storm clouds remained to the north all day. The vistas stretching across the red rock to the broad, flat valleys of the Great Basin Desert were no less stunning than they had been 15 years earlier.
Our unit at Cedar Breaks Lodge was a spacious one-bedroom condo with a gas fireplace and LCD television each in both the bedroom and living room, a fully-equipped kitchen (and when I say "fully equipped" I'm including such unusual amenities as a Cuisinart blender and a pizza cutter), a jetted bathtub, free laundry (including free detergent!) and underground parking. The resort's indoor pool/hot tub(s)/sauna(s) complex is absolutely spectacular, and the staff could not have been friendlier or more inviting. Mrs. Admin, who's incredibly picky about these things and used to travel extensively as a flight attendant, said that she's never encountered such a spotless facility.
We joined some others for the resort's annual après-ski Ullr Fest and some of Grissinger's own tasty Kansas City-style BBQ in the slopeside Last Chair Saloon, including brisket, pulled pork, scrumptious fried catfish, hush puppies and a sinful cornbread with a wet walnut bottom. Satiated, Mrs. Admin and I left for our room and in so doing had a chance encounter with Grissinger himself, who like his entire staff was warm, friendly and accommodating.
Brian Head provides a healthy taste of Utah skiing for those living in Vegas, southern California or Arizona, with a much shorter drive than the Wasatch resorts. It's also a perfect road trip for northern Utahans when storms dive south.
But again, this wasn't one of those times. When this weekend's northern storm only grazed the Brian Head region overnight and left a mere dusting of new snow, we packed up and headed north for Sunday. But I'll be back at Brian Head the next time a storm heads their way!
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZkrdQA6Vzc[/video]
