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Utah Beta on the Utah Ikon resorts please

surfandski

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We are planning to spend 2.5-3.5 weeks of our winter Ikon tour in Utah and I'm trying to figure out just how long to spend there. We'll be arriving from a week in Big Sky and a week in Jackson Hole around the 23rd of January. My 11 y/o son is an advanced intermediate, my wife is a lower intermediate and my 15 y/o daughter is the most beginner and prefers greens to easy blues. What I'm trying to figure out is of the Ikon resorts, which are likely going to be the best for the family days as I realize a lot of the terrain at each of these is beyond their abilities. A family day typically consists of a couple hours on greens to easy blue groomers, then my wife and daughter hang in the lodge while my son and I ski some harder stuff/off piste, followed by maybe another few runs as a family before their legs are shot and we call it a day. My wife and daughter aren't yet at the point where they want to go exploring all over the mountain and are really happy lapping the same runs if they find a few they like (wide, not too long, not too crowded, mostly single fall lines, good snow). In other words, they can be very content, and we can have a fun family ski day on just a small portion of the mountain which is good since a lot of the terrain at the Utah Ikon resorts are beyond them.

I'm kind of thinking of saving all of my Alta-bird days for myself as they couldn't appreciate the expert terrain like I can. So I'm wondering between Solitude, Brighton and Deer Valley, which of those sound like they'll be the best for our family because if one or two of those have much better expert terrain but with not as good of beginner/intermediate terrain, I may only take them there one day and save the rest of the days for my days and just focus on the better mountains for their abilities. Keep in mind they typically only ski 2-3 days per week so we are talking about maybe 7-9 days total for them in Utah where I'd like them to get at least one day at each of those 3 and then more at whichever places they prefer. I'll be skiing 6 days per week and will cherry pick the best powder days since they don't like to ski storms.

I'd also appreciate if you could give us a little beta on some of the lifts/terrain to focus on at those 3 as a good starting place on the first family day at each. Thanks so much!
 

New2

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Really all 5 Utah Ikon resorts have good picks for your family.
  • Deer Valley--great greens and easier blues in lots of spots around the mountain.
  • Alta--The greens on Albion/Sunnyside and the blues on Supreme are perfect.
  • Snowbird--Baldy Express has some really primo green/blue cruising terrain that gets great January sun and has amazing views. The tunnel to get there is also a neat experience, and hanging out at the lodge at the summit is a pretty nice break. When the less confident skiers are ready to quit, they have a few options: 1) download on the tram; 2) take Devil's Elbow down through Alta (this means burning both an Alta and Snowbird day on the same day); 3) you and your son could scout Chip's Run and Road to Provo-Mark Malu Fork-Bassackwards-Emma and recommend one or the other paths down based on the day's conditions. Both are long runs with steeper sections, flats where you need to maintain speed, and somewhat variable conditions--but are generally in that lower-intermediate category.
  • Solitude--Sunrise, Apex, and Moonbeam lifts have just what you want for family days.
  • Brighton--Greens and blues on Milly, Majestic, Crest, and Snake Creek are perfect. Snow Drift and maybe one or two other blues have a steep section right at the start, but that means your wife & daughter can look and decide for themselves--nothing's going to ambush them. In my experience, Milly's consistently the least crowded spot in the Cottonwood Canyons, so a great starting place.
 
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surfandski

surfandski

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Really all 5 Utah Ikon resorts have good picks for your family.
  • Deer Valley--great greens and easier blues in lots of spots around the mountain.
  • Alta--The greens on Albion/Sunnyside and the blues on Supreme are perfect.
  • Snowbird--Baldy Express has some really primo green/blue cruising terrain that gets great January sun and has amazing views. The tunnel to get there is also a neat experience, and hanging out at the lodge at the summit is a pretty nice break. When the less confident skiers are ready to quit, they have a few options: 1) download on the tram; 2) take Devil's Elbow down through Alta (this means burning both an Alta and Snowbird day on the same day); 3) you and your son could scout Chip's Run and Road to Provo-Mark Malu Fork-Bassackwards-Emma and recommend one or the other paths down based on the day's conditions. Both are long runs with steeper sections, flats where you need to maintain speed, and somewhat variable conditions--but are generally in that lower-intermediate category.
  • Solitude--Sunrise, Apex, and Moonbeam lifts have just what you want for family days.
  • Brighton--Greens and blues on Milly, Majestic, Crest, and Snake Creek are perfect. Snow Drift and maybe one or two other blues have a steep section right at the start, but that means your wife & daughter can look and decide for themselves--nothing's going to ambush them. In my experience, Milly's consistently the least crowded spot in the Cottonwood Canyons, so a great starting place.

Thanks for this info as that was exactly what I was looking for. Also, thanks for letting me know that if we ski Alta and Snowbird the same day it burns 2 of the days. I had no idea about that though I didn't really plan to ski both the same day
 

sbooker

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By the time they've done a week in Big Sky and a week in Jackson they'll be fine (and enjoying) any of the Utah hills including a lot of Snowbird. I think Snowbird gets a bad wrap - it's pegged as a mountain for advanced and expert skiers but as an intermediate I love it.
 

Ogg

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Thanks for this info as that was exactly what I was looking for. Also, thanks for letting me know that if we ski Alta and Snowbird the same day it burns 2 of the days. I had no idea about that though I didn't really plan to ski both the same day
AFAIK you can ski both the same day and it only counts as one Ikon day unless something changed since last season.
 

Rostapher

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Thanks for this info as that was exactly what I was looking for. Also, thanks for letting me know that if we ski Alta and Snowbird the same day it burns 2 of the days. I had no idea about that though I didn't really plan to ski both the same day

2nd @Ogg
Re: Alta-Bird on Ikon
There was a bit of confusion about this last year, but long story short, if it’s the same as last year (& it seems so based on the Snowbird website below) you do NOT use two days if you ski both on the same day. The Ikon pass is essentially a 5 or 7 day Alta-Bird pass. https://www.snowbird.com/alta-bird-pass/

I emailed prior to going last year & double checked before I went though the top gate & I got all 5 days. We skied Alta all 5 days & dropped over to Mineral Basin @ Bird for 2 of those days. Others had the same experience as well.

From last year: https://www.pugski.com/threads/alta-snowbird-or-not.13731/page-4
 

Jwrags

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Interesting as I live chatted with a rep on the Ikon site and asked this question and was told it would count as two days. I wonder what the real truth is?
 

cosmoliu

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I also had the same two ski areas for one day debited experience. Mountain Collective works the same way. I think the Ikon rep was ill-informed. (Maybe she was in a Philippines call center?) You could call Alta's or Snowbird's ticket office for clarification.
 

mdf

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I seem to remember MCP worked differently for different years. Originally it was 3 Alta-bird days, but I think at least one year it was 3 Alta days AND 3 Snowbird days.

The Ikon website is pretty unambiguous, I think. They run the two names together into one name:

"How many days do I get at AltaSnowbird?
The Ikon Pass allows 7 days COMBINED and the Ikon Base Pass allows 5 days COMBINED at AltaSnowbird. The Passes do not offer 7 or 5 days at each mountain."

from www.ikonpass.com/en/faq#PassAccess
 

cosmoliu

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I seem to remember MCP worked differently for different years. Originally it was 3 Alta-bird days, but I think at least one year it was 3 Alta days AND 3 Snowbird days.

Yes, you're correct. I dropped out of the MCP program for Ikon, so I don't know what the current deal is. Not even sure why I entered that unrelated side bar.
 

dbostedo

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I seem to remember MCP worked differently for different years. Originally it was 3 Alta-bird days, but I think at least one year it was 3 Alta days AND 3 Snowbird days.

The Ikon website is pretty unambiguous, I think. They run the two names together into one name:

"How many days do I get at AltaSnowbird?
The Ikon Pass allows 7 days COMBINED and the Ikon Base Pass allows 5 days COMBINED at AltaSnowbird. The Passes do not offer 7 or 5 days at each mountain."

from www.ikonpass.com/en/faq#PassAccess
I don't think that's clear at all. I think it's just emphasizing that you don't get 5 or 7 separate days at each resort. It does not say if a single day can include both resorts.
 
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surfandski

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Are there any "locals" tips for parking at any of the Ikon resorts? Anything like Winter park where tourists park and ride a bus but locals know to park at Mary Jane where you can ski right to and from your car if you want to swap out your pow skis or have lunch and cocktails at your car midday? I usually bring two pairs of skis on any fresh days and some mountains are convenient to swap out and some it's just not worth the hassle. Thanks!
 

Ogg

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Are there any "locals" tips for parking at any of the Ikon resorts? Anything like Winter park where tourists park and ride a bus but locals know to park at Mary Jane where you can ski right to and from your car if you want to swap out your pow skis or have lunch and cocktails at your car midday? I usually bring two pairs of skis on any fresh days and some mountains are convenient to swap out and some it's just not worth the hassle. Thanks!
I had no issue getting a relatively close spot at snowbird, Alta or Solitude last season when I was there for a week even on powder days just get there early.
 

Bill Miles

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If you get to Snowbird early you can park close to the snow at the Gad lot or the bypass road. At alta, the lots are fairly convenient also, if you get there early.
 

New2

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I haven't used the Ikon at Altabird, so I might very well have misunderstood policy (it looks like others are confused, too). Sorry!

Parking tips... Jordanelle at DV avoids a bunch of traffic, but the lot's small so you have to get there in time, and you've got some riding & skiing to do to get to the best terrain. If you've got direct-to-lift tickets (not sure of the Ikon setup, sorry), parking near Milly at Brighton or Wilbere at Snowbird can give you good access even if you're showing up a bit late.
 

Wade

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I had the full Ikon pass last year and used all 7 days available to me at AltaBird. 3 of those days I skied both resorts.

Unless it has changed from last year, you can ski at both Alta and Snowbird on the same day and have it count as one day used on your Ikon pass.
 

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