Day 59:
When is a closed ski area not really closed? When they'll sell you a season pass to a closed ski area.
And that's precisely what Snowbird is doing right now. For a mere $45 they're selling an unlimited Summer Pass for as many tram rides as you can handle. And yes, you can bring skis "until the snow's all gone," the ticket seller advised. That makes the pass pay for itself after only 5 runs. That's less than most ski resorts' day tickets. I kid you not. And it'll be good for mountain biking even after the snow's all gone! That's got to be the best bargain in the ski industry.
So, of course I bought one! So did Bob Dangerous, with whom I skied today.
Bob had to work until noon, so we didn't board the tram until the 2pm trip (it runs every half hour for tourists). The cabin was pretty full, too...with skiers. You'd hardly know that the ski area was "closed."
We had spotted a car at Alta, which clearly has a lot more snow remaining than Snowbird. Not only is Main Chute still skiable, but so are Perla's and even Little Chute. :shock: Cover to the base of Alta is seamless, while Snowbird is dicey below Rothman Way. No matter, it has been weeks since we've been allowed into Peruvian Gulch, so the first run was a clear choice: Great Scott. The corn on the steeps was sublime, albeit a bit mushy in the heat (mid-60s at the base of Snowbird, but pushing 90 in the Salt Lake Valley). Once you got onto Baldy Flats, however, it got really sticky ("fields of Velcro," Bob said). Things with pitch skied well, while flats were grippy. We worked our way down via Anderson's to Chip's Face, and finally via the untracked Willows to ski within a couple of hundred yards of the Tram Plaza.
The second run was a natural, too: hike Baldy to ski Main Chute down into Alta. A thin high cloud layer thankfully shielded us from the June sun as we scampered up to the summit of Baldy in 25 minutes. We paused for a rest before easing over to peer down Main, finding a good-looking surface that was nonetheless somewhat runnelled in the center. We paused again for a moment, briefly considering Baldy Shoulder instead, but in the end stuck with our original plan and dropped into Main Chute. Good, good stuff, and it'll last for quite some time.
From there the decision-making process was a simple one, down to Watson Shelter and to the base via Schuss Gully, which was positively perfect, smooth, untracked corn.
20 minutes later, I was sitting at my kitchen table with a beer. Once again, living here doesn't suck. :wink: We'll be back up tomorrow for the 11 am first tram.
(Below find part 1 of the photos -- part 2 of the photos is located here.)
When is a closed ski area not really closed? When they'll sell you a season pass to a closed ski area.
And that's precisely what Snowbird is doing right now. For a mere $45 they're selling an unlimited Summer Pass for as many tram rides as you can handle. And yes, you can bring skis "until the snow's all gone," the ticket seller advised. That makes the pass pay for itself after only 5 runs. That's less than most ski resorts' day tickets. I kid you not. And it'll be good for mountain biking even after the snow's all gone! That's got to be the best bargain in the ski industry.
So, of course I bought one! So did Bob Dangerous, with whom I skied today.
Bob had to work until noon, so we didn't board the tram until the 2pm trip (it runs every half hour for tourists). The cabin was pretty full, too...with skiers. You'd hardly know that the ski area was "closed."
We had spotted a car at Alta, which clearly has a lot more snow remaining than Snowbird. Not only is Main Chute still skiable, but so are Perla's and even Little Chute. :shock: Cover to the base of Alta is seamless, while Snowbird is dicey below Rothman Way. No matter, it has been weeks since we've been allowed into Peruvian Gulch, so the first run was a clear choice: Great Scott. The corn on the steeps was sublime, albeit a bit mushy in the heat (mid-60s at the base of Snowbird, but pushing 90 in the Salt Lake Valley). Once you got onto Baldy Flats, however, it got really sticky ("fields of Velcro," Bob said). Things with pitch skied well, while flats were grippy. We worked our way down via Anderson's to Chip's Face, and finally via the untracked Willows to ski within a couple of hundred yards of the Tram Plaza.
The second run was a natural, too: hike Baldy to ski Main Chute down into Alta. A thin high cloud layer thankfully shielded us from the June sun as we scampered up to the summit of Baldy in 25 minutes. We paused for a rest before easing over to peer down Main, finding a good-looking surface that was nonetheless somewhat runnelled in the center. We paused again for a moment, briefly considering Baldy Shoulder instead, but in the end stuck with our original plan and dropped into Main Chute. Good, good stuff, and it'll last for quite some time.
From there the decision-making process was a simple one, down to Watson Shelter and to the base via Schuss Gully, which was positively perfect, smooth, untracked corn.
20 minutes later, I was sitting at my kitchen table with a beer. Once again, living here doesn't suck. :wink: We'll be back up tomorrow for the 11 am first tram.
(Below find part 1 of the photos -- part 2 of the photos is located here.)
Attachments
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11 snowbird bob hiking baldy 060603.jpg -
10 snowbird bob hiking baldy 060603.jpg -
09 snowbird peruvian towers 060603.jpg -
08 snowbird bob atop great scott 060603.jpg -
07 snowbird great scott 060603.jpg -
06 snowbird great scott 060603.jpg -
05 snowbird mid-cirque 060603.jpg -
04 snowbird lower mtn 060603.jpg -
03 snowbird inside tram 060603.jpg -
02 snowbird chickadee 060603.jpg -
01 snowbird 2006 summer pass.jpg
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