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Alex-1035

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Dec 17, 2018
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Hi guys!

I'm planning my first ski vacation in January of 2019 and deciding between ski resorts in UT. I know this might sound like a dumb question but where would you go for just 2 days of skiing? It will be my first time visiting UT and from what I was able to research it is approximately 30min drive from a hotel in Cottonwood Heights to Alta. Would Alta be a great choice for me or I should consider other locations if I'm just a beginner? Will I still be able to hit the slopes the same day if I arrive at 10AM to SLC? Will it take me long to rent the equipment? Or should I take care of everything on my day of arrival and start skiing the next day?

Sorry if I posted in the wrong section but I didn't find any similar posts in the beginner's.

I appreciate any feedback
 

Bill Miles

Old Man Groomer Zoomer
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By beginner do you mean never-ever or do you have at least a few days experience?

I ask because if you have never skied, you should start off with a lesson, and your 10:00 a.m. arrival would be too late for a lesson that day.

Between getting baggage, getting a rental car (I assume), checking into hotel (if you do this before skiing), changing clothes, driving to the area, renting equipment, I have a hard time seeing much less than three hours from arrival to on the slopes.

As far as which area, Alta does have some good beginner terrain. Go to the Albion base. It is not real extensive, but you might be ready for groomed blues after a couple of days. As far as other places, Park City and Deer Valley have a wider variety of what you are looking for but might be a little overwelming or too expensive if you have never skied before. Don't go to Snowbird.

Hope this helps.
 

bbinder

Making fresh tracks
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^. This is really good advice. It is possible to ski the same day that you arrive, but you need to be really well organized, know the areas, and have your own equipment. I can arrive at the airport at SLC at 10:30am and be on the chairlift at Alta at 12:30, but I have everything dialed In really well. I would plan on skiing the day after arrival to minimize the stress factor. On the other hand, if you are really efficient when you arrive and get everything lined up, Alta has a fairly cheap ticket to ski after 3pm at the Albion area...
 

Alex-1035

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Thanks for your insight Bill!

I have a few days of experience in New England and Eastern TN (Gatlinburg), however I never skied anywhere else. I don't think I will need an instructor, although I might consider one.
I hope I will be able to get either afternoon or later afternoon tickets for my first day there and full day for my second day. I was planning on either renting a car or getting an Uber so I don't have to deal with parking and such. Is Uber/Lyft widely available in SLC and specifically near all those resorts?
I wouldn't mind trying out Park City as I only heard good things about it. Is it going to be less crowded than Alta? Would it even be a good idea to go to any of these resorts on Saturday and should I try to make myself available during the week?

By the way, why are you warning against going to Snowbird? :)

@bbinder If you have your own equipment, getting a car or uber, checking into hotel, then I guess I have no chance to get there earlier than 2PM.. Which I guess still leaves me with a couple hours of skiing to get ready for the next full day.
 
Last edited:

Kyle

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You may want to add Brighton to the list as well as it has a lot of easier terrain and a lot of fairly gentle blues that should be attainable.

I think the Albion/Sunnyside area at Alta is really nice for beginners. Park City has a lot of good beginner terrain as well including some high mileage options.

You could do the $12 ticket at Alta from 3-4:30 pm for the first day (Sunnyside lift only) and ski Crooked Mile and Patsy Marley for an hour and a half. https://www.alta.com/visit/tickets/ticket-info-pricing#ski-after-3

Parking is not likely to be a big hassle at any of the resorts or in Cottonwood Heights. Uber etc. are readily available in the valley but, as a local, I have no idea if you could feasibly plan on getting an Uber at Alta or Brighton (Park City--yes).

Weekends are significantly more crowded than weekdays (unless it is a big powder day) so if you have flexibility and can ski on weekdays that should be preferred.
 

JPM

Booting up
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Nov 22, 2017
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66
Hi guys!

I'm planning my first ski vacation in January of 2019 and deciding between ski resorts in UT. I know this might sound like a dumb question but where would you go for just 2 days of skiing? It will be my first time visiting UT and from what I was able to research it is approximately 30min drive from a hotel in Cottonwood Heights to Alta. Would Alta be a great choice for me or I should consider other locations if I'm just a beginner? Will I still be able to hit the slopes the same day if I arrive at 10AM to SLC? Will it take me long to rent the equipment? Or should I take care of everything on my day of arrival and start skiing the next day?

Sorry if I posted in the wrong section but I didn't find any similar posts in the beginner's.

I appreciate any feedback

When in January, weekday or weekend? Sundance Film Festival is from January 24 thru Feb 3, 2019. Park City and Deer Valley are quiet during that period and are within 40 minutes or so of 6000 south, 3000 east (Residence Inn and Hyatt) If you plan on Alta, be prepared for access road opening delays and closures during the day. A better choice would be to hit Brighton or Solitude up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Be Advised, you must have chains in the car or have 4x4 for both canyons. Big Cottonwood is less likely to have delays due to Avy work.

If you are at either of the referenced hotels, Deep Powder House is in the Plaza next to the Hyatt and you should be able to get rentals there. If you have time after renting go up and ski.
 

tromano

Goin' the way they're pointed...
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If your focus is having a vacation, I would strongly recommend the Park City and Deer Valley side of the mountains for a beginner skier.
 

JPM

Booting up
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Utah Transit Authority (UTA) runs buses to the 4 Cottonwood Canyons resorts from the valley.
 

Chef23

Getting on the lift
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Dec 17, 2017
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I just came back from 3 days at Park City. We flew out on Friday night from Boston and checked into a condo at the base of Park City about midnight on Friday night and flew the redeye back last night. I made the decision not to bring skis for the short trip and we rented skis & poles from Jackson's Base Camp. For two of us it was about $210 for the three full days of their "Elevated" rentals which was basically anything but race skis. My son skied Monster 83s all three days. I skied Curv GTs, Monster 88s and Atomic Vantage 86 Tis (I could own any of them but would buy the Atomics over the Monsters and I hope I like my Rallys as much as I liked the GTs). Two added benefits were changing skis as many times as you want and included overnight ski check. We were across the street from the lifts and I walked over to Jackson's and booted up there and left my shoes there with no issues.

For me I thought the snow was great for December. We skied everything from groomed out cruisers to the Jupiter, McConkey and 9990 lifts. On the steep stuff the snow could be a little thin in some spots but for a New England skier I never thought there was anything that seemed like ice. Lines were very short so we got a ton of skiing in. I had to work for 3 hours in the middle of the day yesterday and still got over 25,000 vertical of skiing in.

I really enjoyed Park City. We will be back in Utah in early February and I think I am going to head there again with my wife who is an intermediate skier. There was plenty of terrain that she would have fun on.

I love skiing out west. This was my first trip out in 6 or 7 years and I forgot how awesome the conditions are. Even when the snow pack is thin for out there (I realize it is good for December right now) it is better than back home.
 

StevenW

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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I got one day this weekend in Utah. Where should I go skiing? I'm thinking Alta. Let me know.

Thanks
 

Alex-1035

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Dec 17, 2018
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checked into a condo at the base of Park City
Where exactly did you stay, if you don't mind me asking? Did you rent a car to get there or there is a shuttle/uber or other transportation available from and to SLC?
It sounds like you had a great time there!
 

Chef23

Getting on the lift
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402
Where exactly did you stay, if you don't mind me asking? Did you rent a car to get there or there is a shuttle/uber or other transportation available from and to SLC?
It sounds like you had a great time there!

We stayed at Silver King I lined it up using Airbnb. I rented a car at the airport I had a couple of free days so it wasn’t that expensive. It is 7/10 of a mile from the condo to downtown Park City somit was nice to have a car but they run regular shuttle buses. There is Uber also which would probably be $45 or so to Park City.
 

focker

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Oct 4, 2017
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Question, how would you recommend breaking up a 4 day ski trip to SLC? We'd fly in and ski during the week. Family of 4, all of us have skied 100+ times including a trip to Whitefish. We enjoy groomers (including steep ones), and and trees as long as they aren't super tight. Not a ton of experience powder skiing for anyone other than me in the family. I have family that lives in SLC and skis Brighton.

Do we do 2 days at Alta and then maybe a day each at Brighton and Solitude? I enjoy skiing the same resort more than 1 day if possible as that 2nd day always seems so nice when you know the layout really well. Ticket cost probably prevents us from skiing Park City
 

Tytlynz64

Getting off the lift
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Question, how would you recommend breaking up a 4 day ski trip to SLC? We'd fly in and ski during the week. Family of 4, all of us have skied 100+ times including a trip to Whitefish. We enjoy groomers (including steep ones), and and trees as long as they aren't super tight. Not a ton of experience powder skiing for anyone other than me in the family. I have family that lives in SLC and skis Brighton.

Do we do 2 days at Alta and then maybe a day each at Brighton and Solitude? I enjoy skiing the same resort more than 1 day if possible as that 2nd day always seems so nice when you know the layout really well. Ticket cost probably prevents us from skiing Park City
That is a good plan, but you would be prudent to be flexible. If it snows at Pow Mow it might be worth it to head that way. Your family will be powder skiers in no time. Too many good options in SLC. No bad ones.
 

StevenW

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Dec 18, 2018
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Sorry I forgot to mention where I was going. I will have this Sunday free and I will be in SLC.

Thanks
 

Gentry

Booting up
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Jan 23, 2018
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Question, how would you recommend breaking up a 4 day ski trip to SLC? We'd fly in and ski during the week. Family of 4, all of us have skied 100+ times including a trip to Whitefish. We enjoy groomers (including steep ones), and and trees as long as they aren't super tight. Not a ton of experience powder skiing for anyone other than me in the family. I have family that lives in SLC and skis Brighton.

Do we do 2 days at Alta and then maybe a day each at Brighton and Solitude? I enjoy skiing the same resort more than 1 day if possible as that 2nd day always seems so nice when you know the layout really well. Ticket cost probably prevents us from skiing Park City

Look into the Ski City Super Pass: https://www.skicity.com/super-pass/

I'm doing a 3 day ski trip and planning on hitting Alta first day, Snowbird second day and whichever one I like the most the third day. Having the option to hit all four resorts based on gut or weather is worth the price imo. The pass also counts as your UTA bus pass and gives you direct access to lifts, no waiting in line for daily ticket.
 

focker

Out on the slopes
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Look into the Ski City Super Pass: https://www.skicity.com/super-pass/

I'm doing a 3 day ski trip and planning on hitting Alta first day, Snowbird second day and whichever one I like the most the third day. Having the option to hit all four resorts based on gut or weather is worth the price imo. The pass also counts as your UTA bus pass and gives you direct access to lifts, no waiting in line for daily ticket.

Looks perfect for us. Can pick the number of days we want to ski and pick from those 4 resorts each day. I'm thinking my wife isn't going to want to ski Snowbird however lol. The option of skiing both Solitude and Brighton on the same day is nice as well, although they are big enough that you don't really need to do that.
 

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