Seeking advice for Utah trip 2/6-2/9/2009

baldyskier

baldyskier

Member
I'm going to be in Utah to ski from Friday, 2/6 (arriving Thurs. eve.) through Monday, 2/9/2009 (flying out at 8 PM). I'll be staying with a friend in Ogden. I may ski a day with him, though he'll probably be too busy for more. I'll have a rental car. I'm trying to plan my stay. I would also like to ski with folks from the Liftlines Forums, if it works out with any of you. I'm thinking of skiing either Powder Mtn. or Snow Basin on Friday, maybe Sat. I may ski Alta/Snowbird on Monday. Not sure about Sunday. I'm open to different ideas on any/all days. I'm a decent skier from 25 years of skiing Mt. Baldy in So. CA, but my powder skiing experience is limited.
Any advice on when to go where, discount tickets, etc.?

Thanks,
Roy aka Baldyskier
 
baldyskier":15s65yhj said:
Any advice on when to go where, discount tickets, etc.?
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Where to go? Too far in advance to predict, as things will change dramatically over that period.

Discount tix: local ski shops for vouchers. For Powder Mountain you can buy vouchers at the grocery cashiers at the Valley Market at the four corners in Eden, at the base of the Pow Mow access road.
 
I would agree to wait and see what conditions are when you arrive. I think some of the expanded options at Powder Mt. (bus shuttle, $8 snowcat) are weekend only. Since Powder Mt. is never crowded, I have a built-in bias to go there on weekends. But conditions were not that suitable last weekend (one week since last new snow), so I didn't go there at all on this trip.

If you have skied Baldy powder days, the pow is much less strenuous in Utah.
 
Thanks for the responses. I now plan to ski at Snow Basin on Friday. Maybe Powder Mtn. on Sat. Not sure about Sunday. I'm even considering cross country at Snow Basin Sunday, esp. if there isn't much new snow. For Monday, is it worth it to spend extra to get the pass for both Alta and Snowbird? If there isn't much fresh snow, where would you recommend going to try to find any leftover lightly tracked snow? I like skiing in the trees.

How much less are the discounted tix? Can they be purchased the day before?

What is best source for accurate weather forecasts for Utah ski resorts, or is that an oxymoron (accurate weather forecast)?

Thanks,
Roy
 
baldyskier":ear1j1nn said:
Thanks for the responses. I now plan to ski at Snow Basin on Friday. Maybe Powder Mtn. on Sat.
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Read Sharon's Snowbasin report elsewhere in this section. You'll have to see what the potential Thursday storm does. Keep the elevation and predominant aspects of those in mind when you make your decision.

baldyskier":ear1j1nn said:
For Monday, is it worth it to spend extra to get the pass for both Alta and Snowbird?
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Not for one day, unless you want the novelty and are willing to spend $90.

baldyskier":ear1j1nn said:
If there isn't much fresh snow, where would you recommend going to try to find any leftover lightly tracked snow?
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If there isn't new snow, there really won't be any "leftover lightly tracked snow" within the resorts. It'll even be difficult to find in the back country. Also, the winds we've had coupled with sun and the temperatures of the inversion will render most of the "lightly tracked" kinda unpleasant on most aspects other than protected upper elevation north through east. But then everyone knows that, so they won't be lightly tracked.

baldyskier":ear1j1nn said:
How much less are the discounted tix?
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http://canyonsports.com/utah_discount_lift_tickets.php

baldyskier":ear1j1nn said:
Can they be purchased the day before?
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Yes. Other than Deer Valley, they are not date specific.

baldyskier":ear1j1nn said:
What is best source for accurate weather forecasts for Utah ski resorts, or is that an oxymoron (accurate weather forecast)?
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Use the weather links in the left sidebar at: http://utahavalanchecenter.org/advisory/slc
With one exception, it really doesn't matter which site you go to, as it all comes from the NWS. The exception is the ski weather forecast from the U of U: http://www.utahskiweather.com/forecast/alta
 
Marc_C":28nmcmz0 said:
baldyskier":28nmcmz0 said:
If there isn't much fresh snow, where would you recommend going to try to find any leftover lightly tracked snow?
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If there isn't new snow, there really won't be any "leftover lightly tracked snow" within the resorts. It'll even be difficult to find in the back country. Also, the winds we've had coupled with sun and the temperatures of the inversion will render most of the "lightly tracked" kinda unpleasant on most aspects other than protected upper elevation north through east. But then everyone knows that, so they won't be lightly tracked.
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Ok, so given what you said, what resort would you go to? I'm going to be in Utah around that same time (Sun - Wed), and after Thursday's storm, it doesn't look good for any new snow for a while. I'm a snowboarder and I like riding in the trees. I've been to Snowbird, Canyons, PCMC, and Solitude before, and I wanted to try out Powder Mountain this trip. Is it worth heading up there if there hasn't been any new snow in a while?
 
IMO Powder Mountain is best when there's new snow. I wouldn't go there to ski groomed, but that's me.

Of those you've mentioned, Snowbird would be my choice. And FYI it may not be as dry after Friday as you might think.
 
I hope you're right about that. This will be the first trip for me this season, so I'm long overdue. I have another one planned for 2/26 - 3/1, so if this upcoming trip is a let down, I get a do-over in a few weeks.
 
Of those you've mentioned, Snowbird would be my choice.
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Yes, if powder is not in the equation, make your choice on the basis of terrain, and for advanced and up skiers Snowbird is #1.

I would remind destination skiers to have realistic expectations. For a one week trip Alta has a 25% chance of zero days of 6 inches or more new snow. For these 4-day long weekend trips, it's probably pushing 50%. So enjoy what you get. Alta and Snowbird have world class terrain and excellent snow preservation, so chances are you will have much higher quality of skiing than wherever you came from. Snowbasin is also quite outstanding in terrain quality, though unfortunately less so in snow preservation. Nonetheless I had great skiing at all 3 of these areas 3 weeks ago in the midst of extended high pressure.

IMO Powder Mountain is best when there's new snow. I wouldn't go there to ski groomed, but that's me.
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This is true, but at Powder Mt. the "new snow" could be 3 days old and still be powder, especially in January/February.
 
This is true, but at Powder Mt. the "new snow" could be 3 days old and still be powder, especially in January/February.
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Very true, at least in my limited experience. I have only skied 4 days total at PM, but I count each as a powder day. Each was a Saturday in late Feb/early March. Each provided fresh tracks in dry snow more-or-less all day long with minimal/no competition for choice lines and no lines (except for the cat - I miss the old rope-towing system). 3 of the 4 days were 2 days after the last storm. If the forecast is right (i.e. not too warm) I like to hit someplace busier on the day or first morning after a storm and then go to PM the next day. So far, this method hasn't disappointed.

Aspect, as (almost) always in Utah is important to consider and PM has a little of everything. I think the area can be confusing for the first-time skier. In order to choose the shadiest aspects, IMO its worth: (1) looking at the place on google earth before you go, (2) talking to the guides/hospitality folks who seem to mill about the ticket window area in the morning so as to get a good understanding of powder country, lightening ridge, and outer reaches of cobabe, and (3) carefully watching the sun and maybe even taking a peak at a compass as you ski around the area in the morning so that you can strategically plan the rest of your day.
 
flyover":6hrsb69s said:
Aspect, as (almost) always in Utah is important to consider and PM has a little of everything. I think the area can be confusing for the first-time skier. In order to choose the shadiest aspects, IMO its worth: (1) looking at the place on google earth before you go, (2) talking to the guides/hospitality folks who seem to mill about the ticket window area in the morning so as to get a good understanding of powder country, lightening ridge, and outer reaches of cobabe, and (3) carefully watching the sun and maybe even taking a peak at a compass as you ski around the area in the morning so that you can strategically plan the rest of your day.
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Excellent advice. I'd also add: make sure you know what the winds might have been, both in direction and intensity. I was there one day after a storm where the winds had screamed (60+ mph) from the SW then shifted to the NE during the storm. Basically, every aspect was badly wind damaged - the only difference was the degree of how much it sucked. I heard more than one employee/mtn hospitality person mention that they were sticking exclusively to groomers that day.
 
Looks like the weather gods heard my prayer. The forecast calls for off and on snow showers through the weekend and into next week. I'll take it!

So right now, it looks like I will spend a day at Snowbird (as if that was a question) and a day at Pow Mow. As for day 3, I guess I'll have to wait and see.
 
silent1":30ac3nik said:
Looks like the weather gods heard my prayer. The forecast calls for off and on snow showers through the weekend and into next week. I'll take it!

So right now, it looks like I will spend a day at Snowbird (as if that was a question) and a day at Pow Mow. As for day 3, I guess I'll have to wait and see.
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Friday through Sunday should add up slowly, yet decently (Fox13 is saying up to 12-18 above 7000 feet). Monday/Tuesday's storm looks like a much bigger one.
 
Well, the trip was perfect. Lots and lots of powder over the 3 days. I'll have a more detailed report tomorrow when I get home.

Utah has yet to disappoint...
 
Day 1: Powder Mountain. What an undiscovered gem this place is! We got there on Sunday morning and made the drive up the road to the mountain rather than take the shuttle. I heard a lot of hype about how steep the road is, but even in a FWD car, we did fine. I guess I'm used to driving in snow here in Chicago, so I know how to not lose control. They got 10" of snow on Friday, yet I still managed to find some powder stashes here and there. I know why - there are barely any lifts. You have to either hike to get to the good stuff, or take the snowcat off Lightning Ridge. And there was barely anyone there! We managed to get one run on the snowcat and it was amazing. Untracked snow, but it was a little "chalky", for lack of a better word. As we were leaving, the clouds started moving in and a few flakes began to fall. I knew tomorrow would be a good day.

Day 2: Snowbird. Yes, calling this day a "good day" qualifies for understatement of the year. Snowbird got some snow overnight, but they got 16" during the day. It snowed ALL day long. The snow was super deep in places. I went thru a gully and managed to get myself stuck for a half hour (lesson learned... always have good vertical before going thru untracked pow). We just bought chair tickets thinking we could ride the Peruvian chair back to Mineral Basin, but the tunnel was closed. That was a serious bummer, but we still managed to have a good day.

Day 3: Solitude. It continued snowing overnight into the first part of the morning. Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed, so time to hit Solitude instead. Even though I snowboard, I've never been a big fan of Brighton. I'm not sure why... maybe I'm riding the wrong areas, but you can't go wrong with Solitude, so there we went. Once we got back to Honeycomb Canyon, I didn't have enough momentum to get up the left traverse, so I decided to just drop in. Big mistake... too much snow! Again, the board immediately sank, and I spent 15 minutes getting up again. After I got out, me and my friend ended up riding terrain around the chutes off the Powderhorn lift. For some reason, it remained untracked all day, and there was enough variation in that run to keep us entertained, so we did a few loops. Toward the end of the day, the snow was getting skied up and moguled, but since it was so soft, I had no trouble with them at all. Visibility started going down too (as well as my energy), so we called it a day at 3:30.

And here is footage of me at Solitude on YouTube.
 
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