Utah Getting around... Salt Lake City and Snowbird/Alta -- questions

[Jwrags]

You can ski both places in one day and it counts as one. You get 5 days of an AltaBird combined ticket. It is quite easy to cross between the two. I am currently staying at Snowbird and have skied at both all four days I have been here.

 

[cosmoliu]

IKON is a combination pass: 5 days good for both. Ski one or the other all day, or cross over and ski both the same day. Definitely straight to the lift or tram at Snowbird. Not sure about Alta, but they were rfid before Snowbird, so I suspect that it is true there as well. I highly recommend lunch at the Summit restaurant, at the top of the tram, whichever resort you start out at. Best on-mountain food at either resort. By a lot. From Alta, drop into Mineral Basin and take the Mineral Basin lift up. From Snowbird, take the tram, of course. On a busy day with a 3-4 box wait at the bottom, you'd want to wait until after 1. Unless you have been lapping the tram all morning with the hoards anyway.

Going over the top is straightforward, without really any wasted ski time. Be aware of the closure time for the crossover, though. 3:30 IIRC. If you miss that, no big deal to catch the bus. You can also cross from Alta back over to Snowbird via the gate a short hike up from the top of Wildcat, or through the trees in the Wildcat area. Better to do either with someone who's done it before, though.

 

[Jwrags]

As a first timer at Snowbird I would recommend skipping the tram. Even though there are no crowds this week it is always full and you are packed in like sardines. Ride Peruvian and go through the tunnel. To get the tram view on a beautiful day ride it down. Might be 10 people in it so you can move around and take pictures. Just my novice opinion.

 

[SnowbirdDevotee]

Definitely do not miss the tram. For some crazy reason there are lot of people who don't like it, but i Love It! Packed in with my people. 1st time up get a window on the right. But it's not worth standing long in line for.
Do at least 3 Little Cloud Bowl runs, including the iconic Regulator Johnson.
When you do Mineral Basin - Do one run skiers right down cat track all the way around to get your bearings. Then another run skiers left, be careful in MB, there are a bunch of cliffs and surprise, mandatory double diamonds. Also be careful there in the morning if it was sunny/warm the day before, even time of year.

 

[Wade]

Definitely do not miss the tram. For some crazy reason there are lot of people who don't like it, but i Love It! Packed in with my people. 1st time up get a window on the right. But it's not worth standing long in line for.
Do at least 3 Little Cloud Bowl runs, including the iconic Regulator Johnson.
When you do Mineral Basin - Do one run skiers right down cat track all the way around to get your bearings. Then another run skiers left, be careful in MB, there are a bunch of cliffs and surprise, mandatory double diamonds. Also be careful there in the morning if it was sunny/warm the day before, even time of year.

Yeah, you gotta ride off the tram. I can't imagine going to Snowbird and skipping it. I guess if the tram lines were super long and there was no wait on Peruvian or Gadzoom, you could make a case for not riding the tram, but it is pretty rare that would be the case all day long. It's possible to access almost all of the same terrain from other lifts, but it takes longer to get there and requires a bit more effort.

 

[skinavy]

Crossing from 1 to the other does not punch another day out of your 5. RFID direct to lift for both places.
Super-easy to get from one to the other via the gate at the top of Baldy lift in Mineral Basin, to Sugarloaf on Alta side. That's the only way to get from SB to Alta . There are 2 other ways to go from Alta to SB, off of Wildcatlift. One requires a very short uphill, then drops into the Bird on the Baldy traverse into some fun easier "double black" trees, or a lower run over that is more mellow but still not blue. Look at the respective maps online; they split along the Mt Baldy ridge, front and back.

If you're staying near a lightrail (TRAX) station, seriously consider ditching the rental and taking TRAX to Sandy, then the bus up LCC. Or drive to one of the bus stops. (google "utah ski bus" to get a map & sked). Bus is free with IKON, and if there's traffic or the road is closed, you get to at least commiserate and laugh with 60+ other skiers, instead of fume (and emit fumes from your tailpipe) by yourself. Parking at both on the weekends is really tough if you aren't there crazy early.

 

[mdf]

Yeah, you gotta ride off the tram. I can't imagine going to Snowbird and skipping it. I guess if the tram lines were super long and there was no wait on Peruvian or Gadzoom, you could make a case for not riding the tram, but it is pretty rare that would be the case all day long. It's possible to access almost all of the same terrain from other lifts, but it takes longer to get there and requires a bit more effort.

My rule of thumb is that each box takes 6 to 7 lines of the maze. So if the line just fills the indoors maze, you might or might not get on the third box, depending on how tightly packed the people waiting are.
Trips are about 13 minutes apart (~10 minute ride+~3 loading), so about three-quarters to an hour to get to the top.

The Peruvian chair is a 16 minute ride, so the tram times are not as bad as that might sound. Going over to the Gad side and taking multiple chairs to not-quite-the-top winds up taking quite awhile too.

We rarely ride the tram in the morning. The lines seem to be shorter in the afternoon.

 

[Tony]

Another advantage of the bus on super bad traffic days is they have been to known to hold cars to let 5 or 6 buses escorted by Police roll by.

Sorry for the sidetrack that I also asked and did not get an answer in another thread, but wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to rent a car at Snowbird Fri night and return it to SLC less than 24 hrs later. With a rental car, we should easily be able to get to Brighton on Sat then make 630 PM flight.

It seems like I may have to go into town to get rental which I'm trying to avoid. I called Snowbird and person I talked said no car rentals there, but I'm checking to see if anyone that walks through there often has ever seen a rental car sign around Snowbird (or Alta). PM me if you have any info that could save me bus ride to Midvale during my last afternoon at Snowbird.

 

[Wade]

Another advantage of the bus on super bad traffic days is they have been to known to hold cars to let 5 or 6 buses escorted by Police roll by.

Sorry for the sidetrack that I also asked and did not get an answer in another thread, but wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to rent a car at Snowbird Fri night and return it to SLC less than 24 hrs later. With a rental car, we should easily be able to get to Brighton on Sat then make 630 PM flight.

It seems like I may have to go into town to get rental which I'm trying to avoid. I called Snowbird and person I talked said no car rentals there, but I'm checking to see if anyone that walks through there often has ever seen a rental car sign around Snowbird (or Alta). PM me if you have any info that could save me bus ride to Midvale during my last afternoon at Snowbird.

There are no rental car agencies in Snowbird or Alta, or at least none that I’m aware of.

When I was there a few weeks ago, a couple of guys in our group needed to get back early. They looked into renting a car to drive to the airport, but there were no good pick up options at Snowbird or Alta, or even in the suburbs near the base of the canyon. They wound up just taking Ubers.

I always rent an AWD car when I arrive at the airport and return it when I’m heading home. The convenience, ability to travel on my own schedule and the cost relative to other transportation options make it an easy choice for me.

 

[mdf]

Another advantage of the bus on super bad traffic days is they have been to known to hold cars to let 5 or 6 buses escorted by Police roll by.

Sorry for the sidetrack that I also asked and did not get an answer in another thread, but wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to rent a car at Snowbird Fri night and return it to SLC less than 24 hrs later. With a rental car, we should easily be able to get to Brighton on Sat then make 630 PM flight.

It seems like I may have to go into town to get rental which I'm trying to avoid. I called Snowbird and person I talked said no car rentals there, but I'm checking to see if anyone that walks through there often has ever seen a rental car sign around Snowbird (or Alta). PM me if you have any info that could save me bus ride to Midvale during my last afternoon at Snowbird.

I'd call Canyon Transport and ask them what it would cost to do what you want.
When I was there in January, my "shared" rides between the airport and Snowbird were just me both ways. Even though they cautioned me the pickup time was a window, the driver was there early both times.

 

[Tony]

Canyon Transport is $43 each/each way between LCC and airport, and $60 between BCC and airport. And then we'd have to figure out what to do with our bags while skiing at Brighton on Sat. unless we paid for a van to be on standby for us for the day which would probably be $1000. It seems like renting a car for 24 hrs. would be cheaper and solve the problem of where to leave bags while skiing.

 

[socalgal]

As a first timer at Snowbird I would recommend skipping the tram. Even though there are no crowds this week it is always full and you are packed in like sardines. Ride Peruvian and go through the tunnel. To get the tram view on a beautiful day ride it down. Might be 10 people in it so you can move around and take pictures. Just my novice opinion.

Definitely do not miss the tram. For some crazy reason there are lot of people who don't like it, but i Love It! Packed in with my people. 1st time up get a window on the right. But it's not worth standing long in line for.
Do at least 3 Little Cloud Bowl runs, including the iconic Regulator Johnson.
When you do Mineral Basin - Do one run skiers right down cat track all the way around to get your bearings. Then another run skiers left, be careful in MB, there are a bunch of cliffs and surprise, mandatory double diamonds. Also be careful there in the morning if it was sunny/warm the day before, even time of year.

I appreciate the tips! We'll be skiing LCC/BCC for the first time this March/April.

 

[raytseng]

Canyon Transport is $43 each/each way between LCC and airport, and $60 between BCC and airport. And then we'd have to figure out what to do with our bags while skiing at Brighton on Sat. unless we paid for a van to be on standby for us for the day which would probably be $1000. It seems like renting a car for 24 hrs. would be cheaper and solve the problem of where to leave bags while skiing.

Can you clarify where are you lodging friday night? at snowbird or Brighton? hotel or airbnb? Typically slopeside hotels will hold your bags in storage for the day, most may even let you use gym/pool showers in the afternoon. Not sure if that applies to your situation

 

[Tony]

Lodging Fri night at Snowbird, but will have used up my five Altabird days by then and had some good days at Brighton last year and my wife has never been in BCC so thinking Brighton is my best option.

Also have friends in UT I could ask for help, but seems like too much unless someone volunteers. Could even take SkiBus down early Sat. to meet a ride, but asking for a lot to store all our stuff for the day and haul us up and down BCC and to SLC or TRAX.

 

[raytseng]

why not do the brighton excursion on one of the 4 prior days and save an altabird for last day.
Even if it eats up time, its on a weekday so won't be as bad? Down to park and ride and back up.

 

[sbooker]

I’ll chime in with a question too if you don’t mind.
I’m on Mountain Collective. If I ‘register’ at Alta and ski first day there before skiing the second day at Snowbird can I automatically ski across to Alta the second day from Snowbird (at the top of Mineral Basin) or do I have to go down to the bottom of Snowbird and physically go to Alta ticket office to ‘register’ again?

 

[raytseng]

yes, you can ski across; They should be giving you a RFID card loaded with all your allocated days on it once you register. It is similar if you bought a 3of5day multiday pass for example; you don't need to go renew every day.

For Mtn Collective, we discussed this last season, the cards are separate. You'd have to pickup your snowbird at snowbird and your Alta card at alta; and use snowbird at snowbird, and alta at alta.

If you want to conserve your days, but still want to ski both and day; they would suggest you might want to pay the upgrade fee so you could better conserve your up to 4altabird days, and being careful with your scans, rather than burning 2 full tickets when you crossover. This depends on your plans of course.

 

[sbooker]

yes, you can ski across; They should be giving you a RFID card loaded with all your allocated days on it once you register. It is similar if you bought a 3of5day multiday pass for example; you don't need to go renew every day.

For Mtn Collective, we discussed this last season, the cards are separate. You'd have to pickup your snowbird at snowbird and your Alta card at alta; and use snowbird at snowbird, and alta at alta.

If you want to conserve your days, but still want to ski both and day; they would suggest you might want to pay the upgrade fee so you could better conserve your up to 4altabird days, and being careful with your scans, rather than burning 2 full tickets when you crossover. This depends on your plans of course.

Thanks. Good info.

 

[Brad J]

Hi, I hope I'm posting this in the correct place. I searched the forum and found some good info but still had a couple questions I thought maybe people here could help with.

I am planning a solo visit to SLC for 3 days (Sun - Tues, end of Feb) to ski snowbird/alta with my IKON pass. I've never skied there or been there. I'm looking to ski quality snow, off-piste, expert terrain, 6-7 hours per day.

First, just a general getting around question -- If I fly in on Saturday and rent a car, how early will I need to leave the hotel next to the SLC airport to drive and be at Snowbird on a Sunday at 8 am? Also, if the weather is bad, is it easy to catch a ski bus at the bottom of the hill?

Second -- I understand Snowbird/Alta is a big area, and since I don't know it at all, and don't want to waste too much time, I'm considering spending my first day and $195 on something they offer at Snowbird called the "Adult Mountain Experience," which is described on their website as... "For expert skiers and riders who want to explore Snowbird's world-famous terrain. Our guides will help you explore the places you won't find on the trail map. A faster-paced experience with priority lift-line privileges gives you access to more powder, more chutes, more trees, more everything." I'm thinking this could be good way to maximize time and learn my way around Snowbird with a guide on my first day, or it could be a waste of time -- my main concern is that it will move too slow. On the other hand, I could waste a lot of time trying to learn a large and unfamiliar ski area on my own and/or standing in weekend lift lines. Does anyone have any experience with the Adult Mtn Experience program? Alternatively, is Snowbird simpler than it appears on the trail map, i.e., can it be quickly learned without local guidance/knowledge? How big are the Sunday lift lines, generally? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Brad J]

Are you used to altitude ??? If your not acclimated you may have a rough day , hydrate, hydrate and then hydrate some more, there are two guide books available for Alta and Snowbird that may interest you . Good luck and have a great time.