Utah Alta, Snowbird or not?

[Slim]

Just to be clear:
My question is not whether I would have fun at Alta or Snowbird(or any of the other resorts)or whether I could ski enough of the the terrain there. I know I would.

The question is, since I can only ski until ~1:30, and I have never been to LCC, would I waste to much time skiing past the most fun stuff, without much chance to come back up and try it again the next lap.

Or, in that case, would BCC be better, since I know my way around.

I may go back mid-April. 2 thoughts on that:

1. It’s a maybe, not a for sure
2. Mid April is spring skiing, not midwinter powder(normally)

 

[Slim]

Can anyone explain what the controlled acces terrain means?

 

[Wilhelmson]

^
Slim, you just described Mineral Basin and the terrain off of Little Cloud in Gad Valley. Throw in some nice wide rolling groomers to get you through the steepest stuff and you got it.

Yup my sister skied some of the chutes at mineral basin and did fine. Lots of fun. She can ski most trails but very slowly sometimes.

For more vert you could lap wildcat at Alta or Snowbird front side but if I recall correctly both are pretty steep. Alta has other good stuff but it takes a while to traverse and someone would have to show you around.

 

[tch]

Given that you get up to Alta/Snowbird early, I will say again that both ski "bigger" than either of the BCC areas. And, they have faster lifts. You will cover a lot of ground just doing the obvious stuff; neither is difficult to understand/navigate if you ski blues. A half day+ at either will feel like a full day.

All that said, if it's a powder day or weekend, all bets are off and you should stick to Brighton.

"Controlled Access" generally means terrain that is gate-controlled. If conditions are not acceptable to patrol, the gate remains closed. If all is well, it's open. If you are skiing for half a day at intermediate level, don't bother worrying about it. Plenty of open, groomed or natural runs.

 

[Slim]

Yes, sleeping in Sandy, coming from Central time zone, my plan is to get up early every day.(We are doing a private avalanche safety course Saturday and Sunday), so getting up early shouldn’t be a problem. We will pack the rental car and drive to the resort.

 

[raytseng]

I'll plug this again if you choose snowbird over alta.
https://www.snowbird.com/winter-activities/mountain-tours/

 

[blackke17]

Slim, anytime you get a chance to ski LCC it's worth it. exploring new terrain is always fun too.

 

[raytseng]

Just to be clear:
My question is not whether I would have fun at Alta or Snowbird(or any of the other resorts)or whether I could ski enough of the the terrain there. I know I would.

The question is, since I can only ski until ~1:30, and I have never been to LCC, would I waste to much time skiing past the most fun stuff, without much chance to come back up and try it again the next lap.

Or, in that case, would BCC be better, since I know my way around.

I may go back mid-April. 2 thoughts on that:

1. It’s a maybe, not a for sure
2. Mid April is spring skiing, not midwinter powder(normally)

Yea, it's really up to you and the rest of your ski season. If you're jonesing for turns and this is one of only 10days you get and need to maximize vert and mileage go for that way; or if you have 20 or 30 ski days left in your season so you got a good fill of skiing this is invested time to maximize your next trip.

The half-day recon really helps for you see if you even like it; and getting a feel for the area, especially with some time for reflection and review. After a few days and looking over the map you know much better what you want to hit next time.
Like I realized only now, I got a 5days at ski big3, at Mt Norquay I missed the one lift that I should have gone on; but wouldn't have know until now that I skied it for a first half-day and got a feel for the other lifts

 

[Rostapher]

Alta or Snowbird? On the Ikon pass you don’t actually have to choose. The Ikon works as an AltaBird pass! I was trying to figure this out myself so I wrote Alta directly, here’s their email from today:

“The Ikon Base Pass:

*You can ski both Alta and Snowbird on the SAME DAY.

*It is also a direct to lift pass.

The snow has been great, have a wonderful time on your visit!
Thank you,

Alta Skier Services”

 

[Lofcaudio]

SNOWBIRD

SNOWBIRD

SNOWBIRD

With limited time, Snowbird's life infrastructure is superior to that of Alta. I'll agree with others, Mineral Basin and Little Cloud are areas you will love. I like Alta a ton, but I love Snowbird even more. (I also consider myself an intermediate.)

 

[Woodsrider427]

Alta or Snowbird? On the Ikon pass you don’t actually have to choose. The Ikon works as an AltaBird pass! I was trying to figure this out myself so I wrote Alta directly, here’s their email from today:

“The Ikon Base Pass:

*You can ski both Alta and Snowbird on the SAME DAY.

*It is also a direct to lift pass.

The snow has been great, have a wonderful time on your visit!
Thank you,

Alta Skier Services”

I know the OP is only going for one day, but did mention maybe going back for a longer trip. Just an FYI, if you ski both in the same day it counts as 2 days of the 5 you get on the Ikon base pass. At least that is what I was told when I emailed Ikon this morning asking that.

 

[Jim McDonald]

if you ski both in the same day it counts as 2 days

I believe that's wrong, or a change from the benefits they posted earlier which were that each of your 5/7 Ikon days was an AltaBird pass. I could be mistaken.

 

[SSSdave]

I have not skied Utah in decades. However know how to do my homework when visiting ski resorts I am unfamiliar with. Since it is just a few days away, check the weather forecast:

https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/ut/sandy/KUTSANDY73?cm_ven=localwx_10day

Shows you may be skiing on some new snow though not a lot and there will be snow showers and some wind on your day Monday thus mid 20F temps and flat light so more alpine open terrain may be more difficult to see while forested areas better visibility. Not super light snow since will fall at mid to upper 20F temps. Not likely much untracked will be left in obvious popular areas since the Sunday weekend mob will have tracked it out. Locals will know what kind of crowds are likely on a Monday under those conditions. If not on groomed runs, better some wide skis for that purpose.

Also study the trail maps and this terrain topo that shows all the main SLC area resorts and their runs. Zoom in and make a plan on using lifts.

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=40.59606,-111.47736&z=12&b=ter

Assessing how steep slopes are and where trees and runs are, is better with these 2 maps:

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=40.57926,-111.61981&z=14&b=f16a
https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=40.57427,-111.60956&z=16&b=hyb

Might ask a local which resort might still have untracked powder and where. Likely a less popular resort on lower gradient slopes advanced skiers don't bother with, especially if in trees and out of view of lifts.

After looking at the maps, reading the below review, and looking at which resort has most spaced trees, I'd bet Solitude would be a local's choice for finding untracked powder if that matters. Just a few hours is also better spent where you are already familiar with while saving a serious visit to one of the big resorts for when you can do it properly.

http://www.powderhounds.com/USA/Utah/Solitude.aspx

 

[Woodsrider427]

if you ski both in the same day it counts as 2 days

I believe that's wrong, or a change from the benefits they posted earlier which were that each of your 5/7 Ikon days was an AltaBird pass. I could be mistaken.

This is the reply I got when I emailed through the Ikon website:

"Since Alta and Snowbird have separate ticket systems, it would count as two days if you ski both resorts in the same day.

Thank you for contacting the Season Pass Contact Center, have a great season."

That's all I know, it would be nice if that is incorrect.

 

[Slim]

@SSSdave said : “Skiing on some new snow, but not a lot”
Wow, you western skiers are so spoilt
From the Utah Avalahnce center:
A powerful series of storms are on the doorstep. We'll see increasing clouds and southerly winds Friday night ahead of a long and complicated storm...that lasts perhaps until Wednesday. The early part of the storm moves in on a southwesterly flow with perhaps an initial rain/snow line to 8-8500'. Snow should begin in earnest on Sunday with continued significant snowfall Monday into Tuesday. The flow looks to remain southwesterly to westerly until Tuesday morning when the flow shifts to the northwest. 2-3'+ is expected by Tuesday afternoon

We midwesterners call that a LOT!

 

[Slim]

This is the reply I got when I emailed through the Ikon website:

"Since Alta and Snowbird have separate ticket systems, it would count as two days if you ski both resorts in the same day.

Thank you for contacting the Season Pass Contact Center, have a great season."

That's all I know, it would be nice if that is incorrect.

Note that the reply from Alta customer service above only says you CAN ski both, not how many days that would use up.

 

[Woodsrider427]

Note that the reply from Alta customer service above only says you CAN ski both, not how many days that would use up.

I guess it would have helped if I had posted how I worded my question. I had said:

"I have the Ikon Base Pass. If I ski Alta and over to Snowbird on the same day, does that count as 1 of the 5 days I get or 2?"

So I assume their reply to mean if you ski both on the same day you use up 2 of your days.

 

[SSSdave]

In this era weather meteorologists use several worldwide models run by powerful computers. Although forecast are significantly more accurate than in the past, beyond a couple days becomes increasingly less accurate, especially with details. Unlike media/TV weather people, NWS technical forecast discussions tend to be stated with probabilities on confidence. In the case of this next storm series, the same forecasts for California and Tahoe have had about the lowest confidence of the season all this week. Snow forecasts for Tahoe are now twice what they were just a few days ago and timing of when, what, where keeps changing with the final coldest storm increasingly delayed and larger.

On the WU link yesterday, storm was showing 5-8" Saturday, 5-8" Sunday, then 1" Monday and that is what I referred to as "not a lot" but now 12 hours later is still showing 5-8" Saturday and Sunday but now 8-12" Monday so totals have increased and final storm is more delayed. Of course take that with a large grain of salt too and keep tuned to whatever latest spits out as I never believe it to I see it. Thus Slim you and your wife have hit the jackpot and wherever you ski Monday is likely to be terrific given lifts run and visibility is reasonable. Have a great day and let us know how it went.

 

[blackke17]

if you ski both in the same day it counts as 2 days

I believe that's wrong, or a change from the benefits they posted earlier which were that each of your 5/7 Ikon days was an AltaBird pass. I could be mistaken.

from all the folks I've talked to up at Alta i believe it would indeed cost you 2 days to cross between Alta and the Bird.

 

[Mountainside]

It's an Alta/Bird Combo ticket. I have the Ikon Base, skied Alta/Bird for five days last week, skiing both two of the five days. Accessed Alta off of Snowbird's Baldy Lift.