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RJS

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@jgiddyup, @blackke17, @SnowbirdDevotee, @Slim and @Bigtinnie I appreciate the help from all of you ogsmile. I'm going to play it by ear this week with conditions, but it sounds like all of the resorts we discussed would work. Brighton might be the winner in terms of views, though I think the whole experience at Snowbasin would be really neat with the lodges and the mountain itself.
There's miles of terrain at all of those resorts for intermediates.
Do not discount Snowbird. It gets a bum wrap by some who say it doesn't suit intermediates. This intermediate loves it. Mineral basin alone would be enough to keep you entertained for a day.

This is interesting, I feel like I've heard so much about how Snowbird is a very advanced mountain, and I know there's almost no beginner terrain. But for intermediates, it's OK. How do the blues compare to Deer Valley, Park City or Alta? My family is capable of handling the blues at those three resorts. Is any of Mineral Basin groomed?
 

JoeSchmoe

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@jgiddyup, @blackke17, @SnowbirdDevotee, @Slim and @Bigtinnie I appreciate the help from all of you ogsmile. I'm going to play it by ear this week with conditions, but it sounds like all of the resorts we discussed would work. Brighton might be the winner in terms of views, though I think the whole experience at Snowbasin would be really neat with the lodges and the mountain itself.


This is interesting, I feel like I've heard so much about how Snowbird is a very advanced mountain, and I know there's almost no beginner terrain. But for intermediates, it's OK. How do the blues compare to Deer Valley, Park City or Alta? My family is capable of handling the blues at those three resorts. Is any of Mineral Basin groomed?

There are a handful of groomed runs off the Baldy chair and one off the Mineral Basin chair. Yes, you could have enough to ski at the Bird for the day and have fun... But overall, Snowbasin and Brighton are better choices. Lineups will be longer at Snowbird, and there's less terrain there than the other two.

Go to Snowbasin if you want to cruise long groomers (something you don't get at PC). Go to Brighton if you want to venture into some easy tree skiing and off piste.

If you go to Brighton, stick to the Milly side while the powder is fresh. The lookers left side of the mountain has some flatter areas that can be a PITA when the powder is deep. Once it's tracked / compacted, it's fine.
 

tromano

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Snowbasin was spring like today. I love spring skiing and it was pretty much as good as it gets today. Stuff softened up really nice by about 1030 but a few clouds hung out to keep the snow from over cooking. Cash Money.
 

RJS

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Thanks everyone for the help (I posted earlier about where to go with family members)!

My girlfriend was the only one who wanted to accompany me to places beyond Deer Valley, so last week we did a day at Snowbird and a day at Snowbasin. It was my first time at both places.

Snowbird was magical. Absolutely crazy and unlike any place I have ever been to. All of Mineral Basin was wonderful, except for the brief long lines before the powder all got tracked out. There was so much beyond my skill level, but also a lot of fun challenges. I went on Monday after they had gotten almost 20" the day before, so it was a great day, but I wish I had been to the mountain before so I knew the layout. I was trying to both enjoy the powder and figure out the mountain. I will definitely be back.

We went to Snowbasin on Friday. Conditions in the morning were not great, it was very thin in places with hard/icy snow. It got much better in the afternoon after everything softened up. The mountain itself is gorgeous, especially the cliffs below the tram. I didn't realize that you could get views of the Salt Lake Valley - wow! I can only imagine how fun the Strawberry side would be on a powder day. Everyone at the Gathering must have had so much fun. I realized that since I won't be getting the Mountain Collective pass next season, it might be awhile until I visit Snowbasin again, so I'm glad I visited while I had the pass. For those of you that ski Snowbasin regularly, I imagine that there will be slightly less traffic next season as many people with the Mountain Collective go for the Ikon.

I love Utah! I can't wait to go back.
 

RJS

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I'm considering posting a separate thread about this, but the only bad thing that happened during my Utah family vacation is that my skis were stolen at Deer Valley!

My first ever powder skis, the Nordica Enforcer 110s (in 177 with Tyrolia Attack 13 bindings), were taken from a rack at the Silver Lake lodge during lunchtime on Tuesday, 3/6, along with my old racing poles from high school (which had black duct tape on them). What's sad is that Deer Valley offers a complimentary ski storage which would have prevented this, but nobody in my family or circle has had skis stolen, so I had become complacent and put my skis on the racks (I feel like an idiot). I really liked these skis, they were with me this season for my first ever untracked powder turns on wide skis at Kicking Horse, Steamboat, Deer Valley and Snowbird. They lived a short, but fruitful life, and I thank them for their service to me. They were stolen on my 16th day on them, so at least I got through most of the season on them.

I thought about writing my name on the skis when I bought them, then thought "nah, I should wait a few days to make sure I like them before doing that in case I want to sell them." I only thought about this again after they were taken :eek:.
 

AmyPJ

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I'm considering posting a separate thread about this, but the only bad thing that happened during my Utah family vacation is that my skis were stolen at Deer Valley!

My first ever powder skis, the Nordica Enforcer 110s (in 177 with Tyrolia Attack 13 bindings), were taken from a rack at the Silver Lake lodge during lunchtime on Tuesday, 3/6, along with my old racing poles from high school (which had black duct tape on them). What's sad is that Deer Valley offers a complimentary ski storage which would have prevented this, but nobody in my family or circle has had skis stolen, so I had become complacent and put my skis on the racks (I feel like an idiot). I really liked these skis, they were with me this season for my first ever untracked powder turns on wide skis at Kicking Horse, Steamboat, Deer Valley and Snowbird. They lived a short, but fruitful life, and I thank them for their service to me. They were stolen on my 16th day on them, so at least I got through most of the season on them.

I thought about writing my name on the skis when I bought them, then thought "nah, I should wait a few days to make sure I like them before doing that in case I want to sell them." I only thought about this again after they were taken :eek:.
That's awful. Did you notify Deer Valley security? I know Snowbasin has cameras all over the plaza and inside, too. If someone reports something like this, they can often get the perps on video then work to identify them. Sometimes, it's a case of mistaken identity, too, where someone grabs the wrong skis.
 

RJS

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That's awful. Did you notify Deer Valley security? I know Snowbasin has cameras all over the plaza and inside, too. If someone reports something like this, they can often get the perps on video then work to identify them. Sometimes, it's a case of mistaken identity, too, where someone grabs the wrong skis.

I did notify Deer Valley security. They have a webcam at the Silver Lake lodge but it's pointing up towards Bald Mountain, not at the racks :eek: so there wasn't anything they could do. They checked the racks and ski storage for the next few days to see if my skis showed up. 2-3 other people also had their skis go missing while at lunch that day at Silver Lake, so my guess is it was a ski thief. Especially because I put a sticker on the Enforcers, and my old racing poles were fairly distinctive.

I noticed the cameras at the base of Snowbasin (I'm probably going to be paranoid from now on about skis getting taken) and felt better about leaving my rentals outside the lodge later that week. I wish Deer Valley had cameras too.

I got conflicting information from staff about how common this is. I had two people say "oh, this never happens at Deer Valley", but someone at the information desk say "this happens all the time."
 

tromano

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Thunderstorms in the valley and 4" in about 2 hours so far at Snowbasin. The green and yellow blob is all the way to the NV border. It could be good tomorrow.
 

tromano

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I did notify Deer Valley security. They have a webcam at the Silver Lake lodge but it's pointing up towards Bald Mountain, not at the racks :eek: so there wasn't anything they could do. They checked the racks and ski storage for the next few days to see if my skis showed up. 2-3 other people also had their skis go missing while at lunch that day at Silver Lake, so my guess is it was a ski thief. Especially because I put a sticker on the Enforcers, and my old racing poles were fairly distinctive.

I noticed the cameras at the base of Snowbasin (I'm probably going to be paranoid from now on about skis getting taken) and felt better about leaving my rentals outside the lodge later that week. I wish Deer Valley had cameras too.

I got conflicting information from staff about how common this is. I had two people say "oh, this never happens at Deer Valley", but someone at the information desk say "this happens all the time."

Sounds like they got you. That sucks. Dont know how common it is, but I have never been got in 10 years living out here mostly skiing Beaver Mt and Snowbasin. Check ebay / craigs list. May get lucky.
 
Last edited:

Shawn C.

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Well, at least all this water will help fill the reservoirs this spring.
 

tromano

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I found A half dozen brave night crawlers on the deck at snowbasin this morning. They must think it’s spring and time to start tilling the soil with the rain we got.
 

AmyPJ

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I found A half dozen brave night crawlers on the deck at snowbasin this morning. They must think it’s spring and time to start tilling the soil with the rain we got.
How is it up there? I'm guessing wet cement, with the rain that fell prior to the snow. Home with bronchitis, or I'd go see for myself. Looks like a ghost town. I hear lots of avy control work going on from my house.
And now I'm sure my daughter will be collecting nightcrawlers...it's what she does. I have the pics to prove it!
 

tromano

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10” of heavy snow over slush. It’s skiing kinda good. But it’s still uncut most places. where it’s skied off the slush is very soft underneath so it’s forgiving snow. Weird conditions but not bad.
 

AmyPJ

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10” of heavy snow over slush. It’s skiing kinda good. But it’s still uncut most places. where it’s skied off the slush is very soft underneath so it’s forgiving snow. Weird conditions but not bad.
Hmmm, a freeze overnight could make it VERY interesting!
 

4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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How is it up there
Top to bottom porn snow on JP!
Pretty fun skiing till about noon when it warmed up a few degrees & turned into a sticky mess.
It will be more than interesting when it freezes, not even sure off piste will be "good for you".

Feel better :)
 

tromano

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It was good before it started to rain again. I had a couple of my best ever pow runs today one on JP and one later on strawberry. I also hit more rocks in half a day than I have in a long time. The chunky snow really disguised them.
 

RJS

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I have a dilemma for my Utah brethren:

I have the next two weeks off between jobs. I was hoping to go skiing the week of April 1st, but it's looking like a high pressure ridge is preventing precipitation in the longer term outlook. Getting some fresh snow would be nice. I could try an book a last minute flight to Utah for Sunday with the goal of skiing on Monday after the fresh snow over the weekend. And then I would stay for a few more days. Thoughts?
 

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