Utah What is the latest time to go?

[DanishRider]

Hi all,

My wife have family in Park City, and she have a hard time boarding a plane (15 hours from Utah), so my question is: What is the latest time to catch really good skiing in Park City? I dont know the layout of the ski-area, but i wonder if the pistes down to Park City will open, and until when, and stuff like that Never did the rockies before, so don't know what to expect, so I basically need to know when the season is over out there ... Dumb as it might seem

 

[silverback]

Lately, the Park City resorts usually open the last week in November and close in early-mid April.

 

[sbooker]

I’m no expert but for best conditions I would leave it no later than mid March at Park City. Around the corner at the Cottonwood canyon resorts conditions often remain great until at least mid April and Snowbird goes into May.

 

[Bill Miles]

Snowbird and Alta are the place to be late season, both for season length and snow conditions. About an houir drive from Park City.

On a good year, Snowbird is open daily until mid-May then 3 day weekends until end of May, as late as July 4th on a real good year. My latest was June 11, but that was the last weekend that year for skiing to the bottom. Alta closes a little earlier.

 

[Tony]

What is the latest time to catch really good skiing in Park City

There is an old saying that climate is what you expect and weather is what you get. See https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/06/24/climate-vs-weather/ for some details.

I skied Park City on 4/7 and 4/11/2017 and 3/2/2018. For reports, see http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12391 and http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12609 - note that both were below average snow years for Utah and that I was skiing Park City partially because it was free from Vail pass after using all my free Alta/Snowbird Mountain Collective Pass days.

While you could get lucky in April, I agree with previous posts on skiing Park City before mid-March. And if conditions are not great, drive an hour to Alta or Snowbird and you may be amazed by the difference.

Tony Crocker's website says "January/February for surface conditions' at lower Park City elevations and "January-March for surface conditions, powder" at higher Park City elevations

 

[DanishRider]

Thanks guys - Sound like dates in Feb. are the time to go. If i drag my wife on a plane for 15 hours, and we land to no snow ... She might not be my wife anymore

Pugski - Ski forum and marriage salvage

 

[sbooker]

If you’re coming all that way you must take a trip around to the Cottonwoods mid week. If you do I’m tipping you’ll do a second day.

 

[Tony]

You should try to avoid the week that includes President's Day, Feb. 18, 2019. I don't know about Utah schools, but many California schools have that week off so it is busier and more expensive than other weeks in Feb. The crowds probably would be worst the Sat. and Sun. before President's Day which is why less expensive passes are blacked out those days. And if UT is having a good year and CA is not, it is a short flight or ~12 hr drive from most of CA to UT and a lot of passes cover ski areas in both CA and UT.

Another good quote about weather and climate in link I posted above is "Climate ... is what a locality has when you are buying a home there, and weather is what it has afterwards."

 

[DanishRider]

If you’re coming all that way you must take a trip around to the Cottonwoods mid week. If you do I’m tipping you’ll do a second day.

My wifes brother works for the company that run the area, so he should be able to provide passes - according to him, there should be quite a few places worth checking out nearby

 

[DanishRider]

You should try to avoid the week that includes President's Day, Feb. 18, 2019. I don't know about Utah schools, but many California schools have that week off so it is busier and more expensive than other weeks in Feb. The crowds probably would be worst the Sat. and Sun. before President's Day which is why less expensive passes are blacked out those days. And if UT is having a good year and CA is not, it is a short flight or ~12 hr drive from most of CA to UT and a lot of passes cover ski areas in both CA and UT.

Another good quote about weather and climate in link I posted above is "Climate ... is what a locality has when you are buying a home there, and weather is what it has afterwards."

We will be living with the family, so cost is not really a concern, but crowds would be ! Do you think crowds would be a problem?

 

[Tony]

Do you think crowds would be a problem?

Sorry, but not really an expert on crowds in UT. I have seen Alta and Snowbird get very busy on powder days especially if it falls on a Saturday. We experienced early crowds at Snowbasin during Gathering last season, but 5" new with 3" more falling during the day on a Sunday during a well below average season will do that.

If you read my post from last season, it was very busy at Park City on a Friday, but some of that was due to wind closing the Canyons side. Are you looking at Presidents week? Since my son has been out of school for a few years, I usually skip that week in CA and have been in Canada for it three of the last four years. Maybe @Lorenzzo or other UT/Park City locals can help.

 

[Lorenzzo]

In or around holidays you can expect increased activity, lines and more cars but to a certain extent it's snow driven. If storms have been frequent it won't be as bad as during or after a dump on or near a holiday during an otherwise dry year. Last several years have been mostly on the dry side. When it did snow locals and city folk came out.

 

[silverback]

My wifes brother works for the company that run the area, so he should be able to provide passes - according to him, there should be quite a few places worth checking out nearby

There are nine resorts within an hour or two of Park City. If your brother-in-law works for one of them, can he get passes at competing resorts?

 

[Slim]

@DanishRider :

Remember:
Park City Resort and Canyons Resort are now joined and on one pass. Deer Valley is not. It pretty much touches Park City resort, separated only by a rope, but you are NOT allowed to cross under this rope...

Brighton and Solitude are small, and in the next canyon (Big Cottonwood Canyon), they are linked by a mediocre connector trail. You can buy separate or combined passes for them. The single resort passes are cheaper, so my vote would be to just do one resort one day and the other the next.

Alta and Snowbird in the next Canyon(Little Cottonwood Canyon) are similar, that you can get a single resort pass or a combo pass.

In my limited experience it seems on a powder day Little Cottonwood is busier than Big Cottonwood.

Are you looking to skitour backcountry as well or resort only?

 

[Slim]

Thanks guys - Sound like dates in Feb. are the time to go. If i drag my wife on a plane for 15 hours, and we land to no snow ... She might not be my wife anymore

Pugski - Ski forum and marriage salvage

You will not land to no snow, no matter how late you go(within reason). But, the Park City resorts are not known for their late season conditions. Even the Cottonwood resorts can have variable conditions in late season.

I would say, if you are flying over from Europe, the draw would be the Utah powder, and the chances of light and dry snow are greater in winter than in spring.

On tho other hand, snow depth on higher parts of the mountains tends to increase through at least early April.
If you combine those two factors, I’d shoot for late February or early March if you can.

http://bestsnow.net/

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

 

[Crank]

If your brother in law lives there and works for the resort why not ask him these questions?

 

[Slim]

If your brother in law lives there and works for the resort why not ask him these questions?

It’s hard to believe, but some people in Park City don’t ski....

 

[DanishRider]

If your brother in law lives there and works for the resort why not ask him these questions?

Easy - he just startet skiing

 

[DanishRider]

@DanishRider :

Remember:
Park City Resort and Canyons Resort are now joined and on one pass. Deer Valley is not. It pretty much touches Park City resort, separated only by a rope, but you are NOT allowed to cross under this rope...

Brighton and Solitude are small, and in the next canyon (Big Cottonwood Canyon), they are linked by a mediocre connector trail. You can buy separate or combined passes for them. The single resort passes are cheaper, so my vote would be to just do one resort one day and the other the next.

Alta and Snowbird in the next Canyon(Little Cottonwood Canyon) are similar, that you can get a single resort pass or a combo pass.

In my limited experience it seems on a powder day Little Cottonwood is busier than Big Cottonwood.

Are you looking to skitour backcountry as well or resort only?

I know skiing is very different from Europe, so don’t really know what to go for - offpiste seems to be a lot easier/safe than in Europe, so probably a lot of that - the Utah powder is legendary over here!

 

[DanishRider]

There are nine resorts within an hour or two of Park City. If your brother-in-law works for one of them, can he get passes at competing resorts?

Dont know - i guess only for the Company he works for .. need to ask him !