Solitude HSQ?
- Thread starter awf170
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ChrisC
Well-known member
It's too bad that hs quad is not replacing something else. Solitude is a really nice mountain, some great 700-1000 vert ft powder shots but the lift system is really poor. Even Alta has 3 hs lifts now!
Too bad, the lift is not replacing the Powderhorn or the Summit lifts. This would help access Honeycomb Canyon faster and allow some yo-yoing on really nice terrain. Currently, it takes about 45-60 min for a lap on the canyon -- for a run that is not much more than 700 vertical feet of fall line skiing.
However, they really need to create a good access point for day skiers since the Intrawest village now consumes the old base area.
You can get 2x the amount of skiing at Brighton on either the Great Western hs lift or Millicent (not hs, but short and direct).
Solitude is worth a day, but not much more. I would rather play at Alta or Snowbird, than wait on the slow lifts at Solitude.
Too bad, the lift is not replacing the Powderhorn or the Summit lifts. This would help access Honeycomb Canyon faster and allow some yo-yoing on really nice terrain. Currently, it takes about 45-60 min for a lap on the canyon -- for a run that is not much more than 700 vertical feet of fall line skiing.
However, they really need to create a good access point for day skiers since the Intrawest village now consumes the old base area.
You can get 2x the amount of skiing at Brighton on either the Great Western hs lift or Millicent (not hs, but short and direct).
Solitude is worth a day, but not much more. I would rather play at Alta or Snowbird, than wait on the slow lifts at Solitude.
Marc_C
Active member
ChrisC":1kbqfdrw said:
I disagree - and this is coming from someone who has bought an AltaBird pass the past 4 seasons and skied 57 days there this season.
There are ways to ski Solitude that make it ski much bigger; such that the slow lifts aren't that much of an issue. (Hint: there are other ways into Honycomb that don't involve the Summit lift). Solitude has a wealth of secrets that are even harder to discover than Alta's.
On a powder day, I've still been able to hit untracked at 3pm at 'Tude. It's nearly impossible to do the same at AltaBird. On a storm day, it's a whole lot easier to see where you're going at Solitude since you can work it to stay in the trees almost the entire time. Their lifts are much more wind protected than either of the LCC areas, too. There have been days where I've managed to ski all day at Solitude while Alta was forced to shut down their only lift not closed by wind before noon.
In short, it's worth far more than a day.
In terrain, snow and ambience there are quite a few analogies between the Wasatch and Sierra:
Alta - Kirkwood
Snowbird - Squaw
Park City - Heavenly
My first instinct is that Alpine Meadows is the analogy to Solitude. While Alpine Meadows has a better lift system and gets more skier traffic, both are areas overshadowed by more famous neighbors but have a more low-key atmosphere. And you need to poke around a bit to find some of the best lines.
Sugar Bowl's Disney and Lincoln lifts are a close topographic fit for Powderhorn and Summit, and skier density is similar. But Solitude has more additional terrain, closer to Alpine in overall size.
For regions we visit only once a season, we tend to gravitate to the areas we like best. This particularly true in my case in Utah, where I have friends with a timeshare at my favorite area, Snowbird. But it does pay to check out the lesser known places. I set foot on Mt. Rose for the first time this season, and it was a perfect place to be for a new snow day on President's weekend.
Alta - Kirkwood
Snowbird - Squaw
Park City - Heavenly
My first instinct is that Alpine Meadows is the analogy to Solitude. While Alpine Meadows has a better lift system and gets more skier traffic, both are areas overshadowed by more famous neighbors but have a more low-key atmosphere. And you need to poke around a bit to find some of the best lines.
Sugar Bowl's Disney and Lincoln lifts are a close topographic fit for Powderhorn and Summit, and skier density is similar. But Solitude has more additional terrain, closer to Alpine in overall size.
For regions we visit only once a season, we tend to gravitate to the areas we like best. This particularly true in my case in Utah, where I have friends with a timeshare at my favorite area, Snowbird. But it does pay to check out the lesser known places. I set foot on Mt. Rose for the first time this season, and it was a perfect place to be for a new snow day on President's weekend.
ChrisC":agk4rpiw said:
I've had that conversation with their marketing director while skiing together at Snowbasin back in early April. They acknowledge the point, but need something that will serve low intermediates well, plus get people out of the Moonbeam base area. A new base lodge is being built there this summer dedicated to day skier traffic, something that's sorely needed at many Western resorts, IMHO. (I got a look at it last night -- the concrete walls are up already.) After several years seemingly snubbing their nose at the local skier and trying to transform themselves into something they're not, Solitude seems to have rediscovered its roots a bit, so to speak, and begun to cater to locals again. Their incredibly flexible season pass programs (i.e., buy only Wednesdays and Sundays if you want, for example) speak to that redefinition.
And, in many ways, slow lifts have their place. They give you a chance to recover. They preserve snow quality. I spent my first day in several years at Solitude on April 9 and I got all I could handle in a day. I'm looking forward to returning more often next winter.
Marc_C":agk4rpiw said:
How true! Skiing with a new acquaintance on April 9, someone who used to teach at Solitude, opened my eyes to some whole new ways to do things there. I skied entire mountainsides that I'd never before skied within Solitude's boundaries. And access to sidecountry, such as off the Highway to Heaven traverse between the summit lift and Twin Lakes Pass, is nearly brainless when the avi conditions are stable. The topography is incredibly convoluted, and sometimes you don't realize that something you spotted from a lift earlier in the day is right on the other side of the very ridge that you're standing on. Closely examining a topo map prior to arrival is recommended, but you also can easily get cliffed out atop some frighteningly huge drops if you don't know where you're going.
Tony Crocker":agk4rpiw said:
You know, I never thought about that before, but you're spot on.