Taos Green vs Alta and Snowbird Blue

[ADKmel]

Like many have said and I'm an Alta-holic I also suggest Alta over Snowbird. Yes to Albion lift- Best to Stay off wildcat lift.

Taos is one of my favorite Mts because of the perfect fall lines, and I love steep...
Snowbasin has tamer groomers

also as noted:
Mt's rate their trails for 'their mt'
A green at My home bump does not compare to a green out west
Toughest greens I've skied are at Sun Valley (locals call huey dewey and luey)


Here in the east there's a poster regarding trail ratings at whiteface
"Our parking lot is your green trail"
Our blues are your blacks
Our blacks are your double blacks
Our Double blacks maybe you want to avoid.

Sorry you've had bad lesson experience I hope you'll take another, learning to ski efficiently is so much fun.

I also Highly recommend a Free Mt Tour if they offer it. You can let the guide know what you're looking for.

 

[tinkertwain]

The FATMAP APP is your friend! Buy the upgraded version that allows you to download the ski area on your phone and you can refer to it while on the slopes. For guys like me it is invaluable, I am venturing onto Blue runs, but not all Blue runs are equal, this app shows gradient in several different ways.

Essentially I “map out” the runs I am willing to take that day and stick to it. I make a plan for each day the night before and stick to the plan.

Thanks @Started at 53. Fatmap app was a huge help.

Just to close out the loop after this ski trip:

1) We found Alta and Snowbasin green very easy, and could comfortably do most of their blues.
2) SnowBird was a little different story though. Their blues were tougher.
3) Per fatmap app, we found that we can comfortably do incline of 31 deg
4) Kids were in class and they have progressed to an extent that they do not want to Ski with us anymore.
5) As this was a first time at all the three location above, some time was wasted on first days in each place to figure out logistics (children's ski school, locker, etc). Next time we'll be pros in logistics.

Thx @tball for pointers to monarch season pass. Will certainly keep in mind when buying pass for the next season.

Overall, the trip was a blast and everybody enjoyed to the fullest extent.

Next planned trip is for Taos in Feb. Where both kids are going tobe ski school and we are planning to enroll in their new program "Power Weekend", a shorter version of Taos Ski Week. Everybody is excited about it.

Thanks a bunch for the folks running this fine forum and all the people who responded. You'll are awesome community (now I am part of it ;-)).

Thx

 

[dbostedo]

3) Per fatmap app, we found that we can comfortably do incline of 31 deg

Are you sure about 31 degrees? At that pitch, most slopes, even groomed and out west, get marked as a black diamond. Perhaps you mean 31%? (That would be about 17 degrees, which is mid-level blue most places, although some green runs will get that steep.)

 

[Bill Miles]

Somebody mentioned greens at Sun Valley. The ones mentioned are about 18-20 deg.

Somebody mentioned 31 deg. That is about upper/mid-Limelite at Sun Vallllllley or about the same/maybe a little steeper than Regulator at Snowbird.

 

[dbostedo]

Somebody mentioned greens at Sun Valley. The ones mentioned are about 18-20 deg.

Somebody mentioned 31 deg. That is about upper/mid-Limelite at Sun Vallllllley or about the same/maybe a little steeper than Regulator at Snowbird.

Yeah, Sun Valley has a few crazy steep greens. Muffy's Medals is about 24 degrees... as a green! Not sure I've ever seen a green that steep. I hope to ski it someday.

Upper Limelite looks to be about 31 degrees for a short stretch then gets a touch less steep... and it's a black, though not too much steeper than Muffy's.

 

[tinkertwain]

Are you sure about 31 degrees? At that pitch, most slopes, even groomed and out west, get marked as a black diamond. Perhaps you mean 31%? (That would be about 17 degrees, which is mid-level blue most places, although some green runs will get that steep.)

Fatmap designates incline of a run as "max°". Where Mambo of Alta, and Chip's run of Snowbird are listed as having 31 max°. I assumed this to be steepest incline of the run wrt to ground. If I stated this wrong I do not mind being corrected.

 

[dbostedo]

Fatmap designates incline of a run as "max°". Where Mambo of Alta, and Chip's run of Snowbird are listed as having 31 max°. I assumed this to be steepest incline of the run wrt to ground. If I stated this wrong I do not mind being corrected.

I took a look and I do see that on FATMAP. I don't know how much of the run they are talking about, but it appears to be just the absolute maximum regardless of vertical and could be very short. So yes, it's the steepest part, but it's definitely not indicative of the overall/average steepness of the run. (Which you can see if you look at the FATMAP slope profile.) Chips Run has a bit os steeper sections toward the bottom that might get close to 30 degrees, but averages about 15 degrees I think. Regulator Johnson is a pretty steady 30 degrees for 500-600 feet of vertical, and is marked as a black run.

 

[tinkertwain]

I took a look and I do see that on FATMAP. I don't know how much of the run they are talking about, but it appears to be just the absolute maximum regardless of vertical and could be very short. So yes, it's the steepest part, but it's definitely not indicative of the overall/average steepness of the run. (Which you can see if you look at the FATMAP slope profile.) Chips Run has a bit os steeper sections toward the bottom that might get close to 30 degrees, but averages about 15 degrees I think. Regulator Johnson is a pretty steady 30 degrees for 500-600 feet of vertical, and is marked as a black run.

Point taken, and agree that it was a little part that was steep. Regulator Johnson is listed as 36 max° on fatmap. And, we won't even dream about doing it in near term. My narrow point was we feel comfortable with inclines similar to chip's run of snowbird or mambo or Alta. It would not have bothered us even if they were longer inclines. Having said that if any of these were to have moguls all the bets are off.