Utah 2018-2019 Season pass and lodging advice

[New2]

My wife is still progressing but being a beginner, scratching on the surface of intermediacy, she finds a few runs she likes and is content lapping those all day.

That's good info to know. I'd be cautious about Snowbasin or Snowbird for the family in this case... they have very little terrain that would be labelled "green" at most resorts, and not many easy intermediate runs either. On the other hand, both mountains are phenomenal for advanced intermediate and beyond.

I think a family Alta/Bird pass would be within a few hundred of Powmow/Snowbasin so that's an option if that gives enough terrain for our only pass.

Looks like the wayback machine doesn't have AltaBird pricing from this past fall, but for 2016-2017 the family pass was $2799 (https://web.archive.org/web/20160906005552/https://www.alta.com/visit/tickets/ticket-info-pricing).

I agree that Big or Little Cottonwood could be a fantastic choice if you can afford to live up in the canyons. I think there's pretty broad consensus that Alta is the #1 spot in the country for snow. Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, & PowMow all report 500 inches average snowfall... seems like maybe a little exaggeration with PowMow and Solitude, but not so far off as to be unbelievable. But generally you're talking about gradations of A+ here (at least when compared to the country as a whole), and all of these mountains get and keep significantly more snow than just about anywhere else in the country (Wolf Creek, Grand Targhee, and maybe Mt. Baker are the other tops). ​

 

[surfandski]

@surfandski : I first learned to ski at Loveland in 1967 . I think its great that you are spending your winter there. Did you get to Loveland Valley (the smaller portion of Loveland down in the valley)? We skied just that lift the whole 1st year -- dutifully following our Austrian ski instructor (myself, my brother, and our neighbor friend). He would say "follow me" or "bend like this" or "hold arms like this" -- that was the extent of his instruction and English.

We went over jumps, we skied the creek bed which is just a narrow winding roller-coaster, we bombed from top to bottom, we snowplowed through the trees, we would snake down that hill all day long.

I hope you also drove over the pass and skied A-Basin? That was where I spent most of my time in Jr High until Copper Mt was built and then Mary Jane opened at Winter Park. But Loveland was the first and I've gone back a couple of times recently and had a blast there....

That's awesome, I didn't realize Loveland was the first. The ridge cat took finally just started running on Friday and I got a few good laps on it yesterday.

 

[surfandski]

H

That's good info to know. I'd be cautious about Snowbasin or Snowbird for the family in this case... they have very little terrain that would be labelled "green" at most resorts, and not many easy intermediate runs either. On the other hand, both mountains are phenomenal for advanced intermediate and beyond.

Looks like the wayback machine doesn't have AltaBird pricing from this past fall, but for 2016-2017 the family pass was $2799 (https://web.archive.org/web/20160906005552/https://www.alta.com/visit/tickets/ticket-info-pricing).

I agree that Big or Little Cottonwood could be a fantastic choice if you can afford to live up in the canyons. I think there's pretty broad consensus that Alta is the #1 spot in the country for snow. Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, & PowMow all report 500 inches average snowfall... seems like maybe a little exaggeration with PowMow and Solitude, but not so far off as to be unbelievable. But generally you're talking about gradations of A+ here (at least when compared to the country as a whole), and all of these mountains get and keep significantly more snow than just about anywhere else in the country (Wolf Creek, Grand Targhee, and maybe Mt. Baker are the other tops). ​

Yes, looking at a lot of the trail maps it appears than in general a lot of the Utah resorts don't have a lot of more beginner terrain. The reality is she can handle any blues that aren't too steep but this is really her first year and she's a very cautious skier by nature (good technique but skies way slower than her ability could allow) so she may be more comfortable on blues next year, but she just likes to cruise and therefore prefers single fall line greens or easy blues at this time. Winter Park and Copper have been great for that this year. Powmow looks like it has a lot of greens. I looked up Park City and it appears to as well and I forgot that it is part of the Epic Pass (again, I'm not a fan of Vail Resorts but that is a cheap pass). If I did drink the Epic coolaid and did family days at Park City, is there a less crowded, Powmow/Lovelandesque resort down that way that I could get a pass for me at for powder days and weekends?

I see some greens and Alta and Snowbird but don't know if they nice wide single fall line greens or, "we really need some beginner terrain so less force some awkward greens here and there" type of greens like some resorts have. Again, she doesn't need quantity as much as quality and easy blues are totally fine as well. She's progressing quickly so I think by the end of this season she'll be fine on most blues.

I'm trying to stay under $3000 for 4 family passes plus an additional for me. It sounds like Powmow/Snowbird, Alta/Bird family pass and Park City+ something else could all be options.

 

[Jim Kenney]

After your last few posts I'm circling back to say PowMow would be great for your wife, big wide green runs that are empty most of the time, esp weekdays. It would probably work for intermediate kids too. And don't PowMow season passes come with free days at a bunch of other resorts? That might add some spice and short side trips. If you picked up a pass for yourself at Snowbasin that would give you a bunch of advanced terrain and I think you get half price day tickets at Mtn Collective resorts which might include Alta/Bird next year??

 

[Started at 53]

Aren’t Alta/Bird on the Alterra pass next year?

 

[Started at 53]

Aren’t Alta/Bird on the Alterra pass next year?

 

[New2]

Yes, looking at a lot of the trail maps it appears than in general a lot of the Utah resorts don't have a lot of more beginner terrain. The reality is she can handle any blues that aren't too steep but this is really her first year and she's a very cautious skier by nature (good technique but skies way slower than her ability could allow) so she may be more comfortable on blues next year, but she just likes to cruise and therefore prefers single fall line greens or easy blues at this time. Winter Park and Copper have been great for that this year. Powmow looks like it has a lot of greens. I looked up Park City and it appears to as well and I forgot that it is part of the Epic Pass (again, I'm not a fan of Vail Resorts but that is a cheap pass). If I did drink the Epic coolaid and did family days at Park City, is there a less crowded, Powmow/Lovelandesque resort down that way that I could get a pass for me at for powder days and weekends?

I'd say that PowMow has a bit nicer green/easy blue terrain, mostly because it's so empty, but yes, Park City should certainly work well for your wife. Weekday commutes from Park City to Snowbasin, Solitude, Brighton, Alta, or Snowbird are all around an hour and a quarter (give or take), so they'd be doable. Sundance is about 45 very scenic minutes away, and is pretty uncrowded with a good variety of terrain for such a small area. I'd say it's a nice complement to PCMR when snow conditions are good. The biggest risk is if snow conditions aren't good... then you have two passes for lower-elevation resorts that are likely snow-challenged, while the mountains that are skiing better are all more than an hour away and require paying for day tickets.

I see some greens and Alta and Snowbird but don't know if they nice wide single fall line greens or, "we really need some beginner terrain so less force some awkward greens here and there" type of greens like some resorts have. Again, she doesn't need quantity as much as quality and easy blues are totally fine as well. She's progressing quickly so I think by the end of this season she'll be fine on most blues.

Alta's greens are good, and they have nice easier-intermediate blues under the Supreme lift. I don't think Snowbird really has what your wife wants. The top 3/4 of the terrain under the Baldy lift matches her needs, but the last section is a choice between a steeper, sun-exposed section that can be challenging for a novice, or narrow switchbacks.

I'm trying to stay under $3000 for 4 family passes plus an additional for me. It sounds like Powmow/Snowbird, Alta/Bird family pass and Park City+ something else could all be options.

Big Cottonwood pass (Brighton & Solitude) would work, too. Your wife would likely be happier at Brighton and/or Solitude than AltaBird, and the weekday crowds up Big Cottonwood Canyon are definitely lower than Alta or Park City.

 

[surfandski]

Good stuff! Thanks again for all the help!

 

[John Webb]

I'd strongly suggest anyone buying a pass for next year wait a month or two. Ikon pass and MCP have not firmed up area details or
pricing yet. All is in flux. . Also who knows if Vail has any surprises.

 

[Shawn C.]

Sounds like Pow Mow would be ideal for your wife. She could probably start to explore off trail a bit too. A lot of low angled off-trai terrain to build confidence.
Another thing is Powder's lack of snowmaking. As in 0% snowmaking. This is a very good and very bad thing. The bad is that I usually have to wait a few weeks longer for the resort to open compared to Snowbasin. The good is that even in a horrible snow season (this year) the groomers are not icy at all. The natural snow stays nice! Even this weekend where we had freezing temps after several weeks of very warm weather the runs were grippy but by no means icy or even what you would call hardpack.

 

[surfandski]

I'd strongly suggest anyone buying a pass for next year wait a month or two. Ikon pass and MCP have not firmed up area details or
pricing yet. All is in flux. . Also who knows if Vail has any surprises.

Yes, I definitely plan to wait until Ikon let's us know what they are planning. They said a couple weeks, a couple weeks ago so hopefully soon. It will be interesting to see if Vail comes out with any surprises to make a splash of their own.

Sounds like Pow Mow would be ideal for your wife. She could probably start to explore off trail a bit too. A lot of low angled off-trai terrain to build confidence.
Another thing is Powder's lack of snowmaking. As in 0% snowmaking. This is a very good and very bad thing. The bad is that I usually have to wait a few weeks longer for the resort to open compared to Snowbasin. The good is that even in a horrible snow season (this year) the groomers are not icy at all. The natural snow stays nice! Even this weekend where we had freezing temps after several weeks of very warm weather the runs were grippy but by no means icy or even what you would call hardpack.

From what info y'all have provided, it does sound like Powmow could be a great family mountain and a great non-crowded pow option for me paired with Snowbasin but those are both at lower elevations. In a bad year like this one, when did Powmow open and how were conditions in January? We'd likely be arriving around Jan 1st.

I really don't know much about what to expect regarding Utah snowfall. How common is it to have bad years like this one? I grew up in Tahoe/Mammoth but we haven't given much thought to going there because though they had an epic season last year, when it's bad, it's now really bad there and it seems those seasons are now a lot more common. Colorado was a much safer bet this year because even though it started as a really bad year, bad here is nothing like bad in Tahoe.

Historically, how common is it for Utah to have 2 bad years in a row? Thanks!

 

[dbostedo]

For snow stats check out bestsnow.net. Too bad TonyC isn't around... he'd have some good info.

Anyway, look at this page which gives the odds of getting a powder day, based on years of data.

http://bestsnow.net/pwdrpct.htm

 

[tromano]

Even slightly below average years are awesome ski seasons here. This season is so far the worst snow season in 30 years in the Ogden area. So no I would not expect another similar year next year.

As far as cheap rental lodging, I would look in the valley. Its much more available and easier access to a variety of places.

As far as UT resorts here is the short description of each

Alta, are you a snow snob? If you are go here, if not you will be after a season here. Meets all the requirements except for crowds. I have never been to Alta where I could ski on to a lift with out a line.

Solitude, once you learn your way around the wacky lay out will just be annoying instead of totally confusing. Meets most of the requirements but it is smaller than other options and feels smaller than its stated acreage because of the layout.

Snowbasin, do you like to ski crud and rip down the fall line on wide open groomers? If you do then go here. If not you will learn to love crud. Meets most of the requirements except its lacking in green / easy blue runs. But then again that depends on how easy is easy enough.

Pow mow, this is a place to frolic in the powder meadows and ski mellow groomers with limited crowds. Its the resort equivalent of a baseball pitcher who gets by with nothing but off speed. This place has lots of different looks but never really brings the heat and the terrain is not up to par compared to other areas. The most gnar you will see each day is the access road.

All other utah ski areas are probably not worth considering.

As far as where to go given the requirements, I would honestly go to Big Sky.

 

[surfandski]

Even slightly below average years are awesome ski seasons here. This season is so far the worst snow season in 30 years in the Ogden area. So no I would not expect another similar year next year.

As far as cheap rental lodging, I would look in the valley. Its much more available and easier access to a variety of places.

As far as UT resorts here is the short description of each

Alta, are you a snow snob? If you are go here, if not you will be after a season here. Meets all the requirements except for crowds. I have never been to Alta where I could ski on to a lift with out a line.

Solitude, once you learn your way around the wacky lay out will just be annoying instead of totally confusing. Meets most of the requirements but it is smaller than other options and feels smaller than its stated acreage because of the layout.

Snowbasin, do you like to ski crud and rip down the fall line on wide open groomers? If you do then go here. If not you will learn to love crud. Meets most of the requirements except its lacking in green / easy blue runs. But then again that depends on how easy is easy enough.

Pow mow, this is a place to frolic in the powder meadows and ski mellow groomers with limited crowds. Its the resort equivalent of a baseball pitcher who gets by with nothing but off speed. This place has lots of different looks but never really brings the heat and the terrain is not up to par compared to other areas. The most gnar you will see each day is the access road.

All other utah ski areas are probably not worth considering.

As far as where to go given the requirements, I would honestly go to Big Sky.

Regarding Powmow, I like what I hear about low crowds but is the terrain really that bad? I'd much rather ski dozens of untracked runs on moderate terrain than only get 1-3 runs on really good terrain that gets tracked out in 30 minutes. It has to be steep enough to not get stuck but to me it's agony riding up the lift for only the 2nd time after a big dump and look down and see all the powder was just destroyed in a matter of minutes. Powmow looks like it has a good bit of black terrain but it also looks tough to lap a lot of it like Cobabe Canyon and Lightning Ridge. It looks like they all funnel down to Paradise lift but then it looks like it takes several lifts and possible traverses to get back to them. Is that accurate? Or is there some good terrain that you can lap that doesn't get tracked up too bad? I don't mind working a little to get to the pow especially if it's enough of a pain in the ass to keep a lot of people away but I don't want my daily vertical limited too much. Is it as tough to get to good terrain as the trail map suggests or is it not that bad.

Given your comments on Snowbasin and crud, I'm assuming it tracks out super fast which isn't too exciting. Is it that bad even on weekdays after a big storm or can you get a lot of untracked runs on weekdays?

A few things I've learned this season is that I'd rather have only 1-2 significant storms per week with all the rest of the days bluebird than to have several days a week that only snow a couple inches. Unlike a lot of the Colorado skiers, 2-4" isn't really a powder day for me and the roads tend to be about the same whether it snowed a couple inches or a couple of feet so it might as well dump if it's going to snow. Now I'll gladly ski storms all week if they are pow producing. I'd also rather ski half the day on untracked runs that may not be the gnarliest terrain than to only ski half an hour on epic terrain before it's tracked out. It's why I'd be worried about a place like Alta if there are really lift lines even on weekdays. That's crazy to me as there are never lines at the 3 Colorado resorts during the week nor were there in Tahoe so there must be a ton more skiers/boarders in Utah than other states. Weekends Copper and Winter Park can be a zoo but never on a week day unless it's a holiday. I'm also ok with a smaller resort with less quantity of terrain if it's fairly uncrowded where I can get a bunch of untracked runs.

That last paragraph makes it sound like Powmow may be the best option. What other resorts are fairly uncrowded on powder days even if they are smaller? Thanks!

 

[Shawn C.]

No, Pow Mow isn’t good for lapping Powder runs. There are some exceptions to this off of Paradise lift but that is it. Pow Mow is a quality over quantity place. You are worried about good pow being chewed up three three runs? I understand and that is why I ski at Powder. There isn’t a lot (comparatively) of steep terrain; we’ve covered that. A lot of the Black Diamond terrain they claim is only so because it is never ever groomed. But on the flip side, they never groom so, so much; it’s awesome! Yeah, it takes multiple lifts (some of them slow) to get back to the goods you just skied but that also keeps them a lot fresher for a lot longer. They also limit their season passes and daily ticket sales. Yesterday I think I waited about 8 minutes one time at the bottom of Sunrise. Not bad for the start of the holiday weekend.

Alta is, well... Alta. A skiing and powder mecca. It is unreal and you will likely never experience snow quality like theirs anywhere else. It truly is special and a place worth getting to know. It also has a cool vibe. It’s uniquely awesome.

If you decide on Utah you have a hard decision ahead of you. A hard decision that, I think, is difficult to screw up.

 

[tromano]

Alta is 30 minutes drive from a million people. And it is "the ski destination" in UT so... you have to wait your turn. In LCC they get the goods, but you need to be skiing during the storm or get there as ropes drops and then maybe an hour or so afterwards before its gone. But generally opening things progresses in an orderly fashion and you can follow patrol as things are opened. This goes for any ski area I think.

Snowbasin doesn't track out fast compared to LCC, stuff stays in good shape for about half a day on the weekends and longer mid week. Typically the wind will blow it back in the next day as well. The wind effect is real at Snowbasin due to being on an isolated main ridge line. Also it has enough vertical that it crosses from alpine to sub alpine to shrubland and you will ski all of that in one run from any of the main lifts, hence variable snow conditions, aka crud.

 

[surfandski]

Both of those posts are encouraging! I like that Snowbasin gets a lot of windloading like we get at Loveland. I think I'm armed with enough info to make a decision once the prices come out and agree that it doesn't sound like I can make a bad one in Utah. No matter what I'll have to ski Alta on a storm day. It would be great if some of the Utah passes had a few Alta days on it!

 

[New2]

@surfandski Did you end up deciding to try Utah out? If so, which pass(es) did you get?

 

[surfandski]

Unfortunately not this year. I had to have my right ankle fused in April so we have no idea how it's going to do with almost no dorsi-flexion. So we decided to return to Colorado and work with boot fitters I know and see how good we can get it. This season will be the test and if it goes well, next season we plan to get the Ikon and spend the season traveling thru Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and California. That was our plan for 2018/2019 until the fusion. We are looking forward to getting out to Utah next season and may even plant ourselves there for a season in the future to experience more than the Ikon resorts.