Utah First timer at Alta/Snowbird this weekend

[LewyM]

Good call to extend to the extra day. Both Snowbird and Alta are great. They are different and it is nice to spend enough time at each to appreciate the differences in terrain, culture and vibe. At Alta you have to work a bit more for the best terrain and snow, more traversing, tight notchy entries. The skiing can be intense, but I find the vibe more mellow. Snowbird is more point and shoot, pure vertical. I find the vibe at Snowbird more aggro. Both are cool.

With only a day and a half, I'm not sure that I'd zoom around back and forth both days, trying to experience everything and in the process experiencing nothing. Given that you are staying at GMD, I'd focus on Alta day one. Enjoy it, you could spend a season exploring Alta alone. The afternoon workshop would give you a good template for how to ski Alta and access cool stuff that you probably wouldn't try or find on your own.

Based on what you have said about your skiing, I'd start in the Sugarloaf area (take the rope across the base to start on that side), work over to Supreme, then cross back over to the Collins side in the afternoon. If viz is good, Ballroom is fun and wide open. It wouldn't be crazy to just stay at Alta for another day. You will barely scratch the surface in a single day. But if you want to see Snowbird on this trip, that is valid, in which case, on day two, if visibility is good, drop into Snowbird under the Baldy chair from the top of Sugarloaf lift. Then spend a couple of hours doing open, big mountain stuff in Mineral Basin, Regulator, Little Cloud and options off the Cirque if you are up to the entries. Then pop back to Alta, crossover to the Collins side, Alf's High Rustler back to the GMD. If viz is poor on Sunday and you want to ski Snowbird, focus on the trees and steeps in Gad Valley rather than the big, open stuff - but I think Alta is more fun when visibility is not great.

Have fun. I just returned from 5 days of Alta/'bird, all powder days, which reminded me that it is kind of crazy to travel anywhere else.

 

[raytseng]

I still suggest getting at least 1 of your lunch at top of snowbird tram (summit restaurant) since you have access, even if you're focusing on Alta, for more real food and not just hamburgers/fries/chicken fingers. Hot tip is go upstairs for more seating, and a lookout view.

You can access from mineral lift, or tram and so it's just one run and 1 lift away from going back to Alta.

 

[dbostedo]

Okay so if I'm understanding this correctly, a viable way to ski between Alta/Bird without paying an extra $60 over the two days would be:

Night of arrival - obtain pass/tickets for the next 2 days at Alta. (Using up both MCP Alta days)
Morning of day 1 - Bus to Snowbird, obtain pass/tickets for the next 2 days at Snowbird. (Using up both MCP Snowbird days.)

Rest of the trip - keep both passes in different pockets. At the Sugarloaf/Mineral gate, present the ticket of whichever mountain I'm skiing towards?

Just to be clear, they're RFID passes, so you don't need to show/present them... just be able to swipe them at the gates, including the crossover at the top of Baldy if you use it.

 

[raytseng]

Typically left pocket, if you have a sleeve pocket it is perfect; and have nothing else in the specific pocket except the single pass.

For the pedantic, it is a SKIDATA card, which is the same RFID provider used for many mountains and many passes including the ikonpass and all it's direct-to-lift mountains, and you'll see the same turnstiles everywhere.
Meanwhile, VR and Epicpass uses are an inhouse custom programed solution built from a hodgepodge based on a next-gen RFID equipment over skidata (that doesn't have a company doing a full ski-mtn solution).
The VR RFID uses diffferent frequencies that have much longer distances, which is how their EpicMix arches can pick up signals from several feet away to track you; versus the SKIDATA, which you pretty much need to press against to read and they can't track you.

Pros/Cons depending on your views on pure technological wonder versus data acquisition and tracking privacy.

 

[Lofcaudio]

I say ski them both and agree with the suggestion of getting both MC passes on your first day (if you can). While Snowbird does get busy on the weekends, it has a great lift infrastructure and does a good job of spreading out the skiers (Alta, not as much...). I say Saturday at Snowbird and Sunday at Alta (generally). There is a free shuttle between the base of both mountains which you can use as well.

 

[raytseng]

also to clarify the transportation between alta and snowbird is the city bus. there is no charge if you are hopping on to go the couple stops between the resorts. ask to get more help.

 

[Ryan Dietrich]

Storm coming into Alta tonight! (28 March). I would expect 6 inches if they are calling for 2-5. If you're skiing Friday, you better get there early! (I'll be there Sunday for sure, possibly Saturday depending on what how much snow Sundance gets).

 

[jmills115]

Storm coming into Alta tonight! (28 March). I would expect 6 inches if they are calling for 2-5. If you're skiing Friday, you better get there early! (I'll be there Sunday for sure, possibly Saturday depending on what how much snow Sundance gets).

Not much to see at Alta today. 13” and still coming down.

 

[dovski]

IF you have the multi resort pass I would recommend skiing from GMD where you are staying as opposed to the SHuttle. Tram at Snowbird can have a line up on a busy day, so skiing up and over from Alta would be faster. Also FYI GMD has its own private shuttle that can take you to and from Snowbird. Bigger runs and deeper bowls at Snowbird, but great terrain and gladed areas at Alta. Both are fantastica and you will have a blast. Also GMD is a great place to stay

 

[raytseng]

I always start Snowbird from gad lift personally, and not via tram. although it seems like you're losing time waiting in line at snowbird; keep in mind that Alta starts at 9:15 instead of 9 so really it maybe a wash in actual slope time.

First hour or so on Collins lift is also a bit of a wait too.

 

[Wendy]

I skied Alta for 5 days, traveling alone. Best ski trip ever. I did the dorm room thing at GMD, had a roommate whom I got along great with, ended up skiing with her and her friends for a day, plus took 2 half day lessons.

The most fun and easiest way to get to Snowbird is through the tunnel, which is now a mini mining museum. Being a geology geek, I though it was cool.

33” of powder fell in one day on my trip, plus 8” on my arrival day. Not bad. I spent a lot of time on Backside as it’s easier to do when skiing alone, vs. High Traverse. Ballroom is fun, too, but doesn’t have a lot of pitch.

I am returning over Easter weekend for 2 days to end my season.

I hope the OP has as great a time as I did. Hard to go wrong at Alta!

 

[dovski]

I skied Alta for 5 days, traveling alone. Best ski trip ever. I did the dorm room thing at GMD, had a roommate whom I got along great with, ended up skiing with her and her friends for a day, plus took 2 half day lessons.

The most fun and easiest way to get to Snowbird is through the tunnel, which is now a mini mining museum. Being a geology geek, I though it was cool.

33” of powder fell in one day on my trip, plus 8” on my arrival day. Not bad. I spent a lot of time on Backside as it’s easier to do when skiing alone, vs. High Traverse. Ballroom is fun, too, but doesn’t have a lot of pitch.

I am returning over Easter weekend for 2 days to end my season.

I hope the OP has as great a time as I did. Hard to go wrong at Alta!

we has the same experience there last month 5-6 feet over a couple days. EPIC POW every day and on the last day which was a Monday we had sunshine and they opened up the Road to Provo for the first time in 5 days and we had even more POW.

GMD is the Bomb. Four of us stayed in a single dorm room and had a blast. We even had Interlodge on the Friday night which made for lighter crowds on Saturday

 

[TonyPlush]

Well guys and gals, got back from the trip on Sunday night and safe to say I had an absolute blast. Your help was greatly appreciated and made things much easier for me! Thought I'd follow up in here with a trip report:

Shuttled into GMD late Friday night and grabbed an 8:00 PM dinner reservation. My two roommates were nice and friendly, one older guy from Jersey who'd visited Alta on a guy's trip for 10+ years straight and a British guy who, like me, was a first-timer stretching a work trip through the weekend. The fourth bed was empty, probably due to being late in the season. In general GMD seemed very uncrowded. Lots of empty tables during dinners, never saw any more than one or two other people using the ski lockers, etc.

Anyway, the 2-6 inches storm which was expected on Thursday-Friday turned into 20+ inches. The snow kept falling Friday night too, so I woke up for the first day of skiing with 3 more inches of snow, according to the snow report. This is the LCC magic I'd heard so much about...

I stocked up on the breakfast buffet, then headed to skier services to grab my two MCP days at Alta. I caught the private shuttle from GMD to Snowbird around 8:15 AM. Very convenient and I was the only skier one on it. Picked up my two MCP days at Snowbird and was ready to rock.

Got in line for the Snowbird tram at 8:45 AM. As expected, with the massive snowfall and being a weekend, there was a line already, but no big deal. Got to the top of the tram at 9:30. As a steep groomer fan, I planned on checking out the hype of Regulator Johnson before heading back to Alta, but that area and mineral basin were closed for avalanche control. So, I was sort of trapped in the Peruvian Express area, but I couldn't complain. Ended up skiing super deep snow on Primrose Path, Lower Silver Fox, and cut offs from Chip's Run until about 10:30 AM.

At that time the tunnel to Mineral Basin opened, and I skied down to the Mineral Basin Lift. Line at the lift was terrible, but I was able to get back up in 15 minutes thanks to the singles line.

From there I went on over to Regulator Johnson, which was fun but already a little bumped out. Loved the bowl under the Little Cloud Liftline though. Got super lucky and as I was riding Little Cloud back up, they dropped the rope for Road to Provo. Got to see the legendary rope-drop S#!T show that Snowbird is famous for, and still managed 2-3 nearly untouched runs of 20+ inches around Shireen/Rasta Chutes/Gad Valley. Absolutely fantastic, and the skiing was so good I hung around here until 1:30 PM.

At that point I skied down to the Baldy lift and headed back to Alta. Gotta say, I enjoyed the scene at Alta better. Skiing between Snowbird and Alta, the two things that immediately stuck out to me was how much quieter Alta was and how much better the snow was preserved.

With my legs fried from all the morning powder, I spent the rest of the day cruising groomers and easier bump runs off Sugarloaf, Supreme, and Collins to finish the day. Safe to say, I was absolutely sold on Alta and couldn't wait for Day 2.

I headed up to the GMD Saloon around 4:30, grabbed a few beers, and watched the sunset until my dinner reservation. Packed it up for the night, legs sufficiently wrecked, but excited for the next day.

Day 2 I woke up around 8:00, ate breakfast, packed up my bags and was in line for Collins by 9:15. It was a clear bluebird Sunday, and the lift line wasn't as bad as I expected. Maybe 2-3 minutes for the singles line, a little longer for groups. Enjoyed 2-3 fantastic morning groomer zoomers on Mambo/Main Street/Corkscrew, before touring around Sugarloaf and Supreme. Highlight for me was the Extrovert/Chartreuse area under Sugarloaf. Fantastic soft bumps over there that I loved.

Around 12:00 I decided I really wanted to see the views from the top of Snowbird, so I skied down to Mineral Basin and rode the lift up to the peak. Definitely breathtaking views on a clear day, and certainly worth the excursion. I planned on skiing Mineral Basin for a bit, but one run on White Diamonds and I decided that the snow was too variable, and my legs were too tired, so I took Baldy Express back to Alta. I spent the next two hours lapping Wildcat/Ballroom/Collins. Highlight for me was Sunspot. I absolutely loved it - perfect bumps for me and fantastic conditions. Lapped it 3-4 more times before heading down to GMD, showering up, and catching my 2:45 PM shuttle.

All in all, FANTASTIC trip. I have to say, I never really "got" Alta until the moment I was there. And then I was completely sold.

Thanks again for all the help in this thread!

 

[cosmoliu]

Nice trip report! Sounds like you could not have squeezed much more out of your 2.5 days, even if you were an old pro at both resorts. The only thing I see is missing is that you need to hit High Boy (Rustler) next time!

 

[TonyPlush]

Nice trip report! Sounds like you could not have squeezed much more out of your 2.5 days, even if you knew were an old pro at both resorts. The only thing I see is missing is that you need to hit High Boy (Rustler) next time!

Yes, definitely. I wish I would have made it further out on the high traverse, but I was skiing pretty cautiously since I was alone. I also wish I'd have made it to Catherine's Area and Devil's Castle, but especially Catherine's was intimidating to hike towards sight unseen for a solo skier. Next time! And after how much I enjoyed this trip, there will definitely be a next time!

 

[Jim Kenney]

Nice timing all around. That was a pretty good spring snowstorm on Friday to set you up for a fine weekend!
Lower Gad Valley on Friday:

Mt Baldy on Saturday:

 

[Ryan Dietrich]

Got to the top of the tram at 9:30. As a steep groomer fan, I planned on checking out the hype of Regulator Johnson before heading back to Alta, but that area and mineral basin were closed for avalanche control.

I love steep groomers as well. When Alta grooms No.9 Express and Extrovert I get pretty happy. I get a season pass to Alta, I only ski Snowbird when my kid has a race, or at the end of the season when everything else is closed. Snowbird is fine, I just prefer Alta.

 

[raytseng]

Great trip report. there are tons of hidden snowbird areas. gad2 and tiger have so many options and terrainy small areas through gates (not necessarily more difficult just controlled) , but yes the alta snow is not contaminated with boarder turns.

Agree sometimes miserable basin is misrable basin.

Did you happen to eat at the snowbird summit restaurant?

Catherine's i dont quite understand yet, as if it goes up over supreme bowl then you end up in a lower pitch area, then further out past boundary you have sidecountry but by that point you have lost most of the vert already. I need local knowledge to show me. But my opinion is you did not miss much compared to if you did the straight supreme bowl runs just swooping in the gate wiithout the bootpackand dropping into the bowl or going around the bowl and knob and playing around there

 

[Lofcaudio]

Catherine's i dont quite understand yet, as if it goes up over supreme bowl then you end up in a lower pitch area, then further out past boundary you have sidecountry but by that point you have lost most of the vert already. I need local knowledge to show me.

While I agree with what you are saying about Catherine's, there is one thing you are leaving out. I've been at Alta when the snow hasn't been very good, yet was still very nice and soft in Catherine's. The lower traffic and the exposure make it one of the best places for always finding good snow.

 

[TonyPlush]

Did you happen to eat at the snowbird summit restaurant?

On Day 2 I headed up to the restaurant per your recommendation. I walked inside and spent 10 minutes on the lower and upper patios taking in the views. Breathtaking on a bluebird day. The food looked delicious but I decided to skip lunch and grab an early dinner at the airport, so that I could spend more time skiing.