First Trip Out West- advice?

W

willyg0808

Active member
Alright just got my parents to agree to let me go out west for spring break. This'll be my first time...... so with that said coming from Ohio what do I need and what to do. I'll be heading out around April 8th - 12th. Where should I make sure to go to? I've never skied pow and probably can't with my invaders, so I might buy some or borrow some fat sticks from my friends. So for pow I'm thinking Alta, Snowbird or Brighton. For park I'm thinking Park City. I have three days skiing and don't know where to shred. What is good for park, pow, or all around?

Next... equiptment-

Skis- can i suck it up with some 151 invaders? i might buy some new skis but dunno what would be best. I want blends... i have griffons to mount em with. Will those hold up in pow? I'm 5'2" ish and need a ski probably in the 158-168 range so throw some suggestions at me!

Gloves- Right now i have some dakine vipers... will those be enough?

Poles- my 30"ers might be too short. I can nab some rentals from my resort for a week. do i need way longer poles for powpow?

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm sooo stoaked
 
pow brighton and alta, at brighton great western and milli for pow, not sure at alta dont know it to well, park check out canyons over pc canyons has some more creative setups and usually less people but pc is still fun and everyhting else should be fine just depends what the weather is when you come out you can always demo some skis from the resorts as well.
 
I suggest Snowbird for all round and POW. And then PC or brighton at night for park. Brighton is only 16 bucks for night skiing monday nights, sooo thats what i do. Poles aren't too big an issue, but if you want to you can get some longer ones with bigger baskets. Eh as far as skis go, i say rent, or borrow some fat ones if we get some pow while ur here. Any thing with some good underfoot will be alright. BE SURE to save all the money you can by NOT buying food at the resort! umm any other info on snowbird or any other resort around here be sure to PM me.
 
Yeah the Surface shop. for $20/day demos (they actually have griffons, jesters, dukes, etc on their skis i hear too)
I have not visited in April, but from what I gather the skiing at lower elevations will not be as desirable given the temperatures.
Solitude was the least busy of any Utah place I have been to of the "major 13" (haven't been to DV yet).
Powder Mountain has $15 cat ski rides if you want to cat ski.
Make sure you don't pay full price for lift tickets and get them at canyon sports or some other shop.
Don't waste your money on a tram pass at Snowbird. Although if you want to go from base to peak it is pretty useful in one swoop its cool.
Brighton was a little busy when I went but I went during peak season. Brighton has the best night skiing I hear if you want to lap some places at night.
Ever go to a hot spring? They have hot springs in Utah....
 
short poles are the way to go for pow, just make sure they have big baskets. i hate landing off shit and having long ass poles that jam my arms up (i have a bad shoulder), so i have extendable touring poles that i ski with all the way down and our with a bunch longer. if there is pow, you don't want skinny baskets though, especially on short poles!
 
Bigger skis would obviouly be useful if it snows but in all honestly you will probably be skiing slushy park. Although slushy baldy laps at the Bird can be quite enjoyable (and I would suggest the Tram ticket personally). Slushy anything is pretty fun though if it sunny really though. It's worth going up Big or Little Cottonwood just to see how much more legit the mountains are than the Park City side too if its a clear day. And check www.ksl.com classifieds for tickets or craigslist can work too.
 
tram was hit or miss when i went. the lines outweighed the benefits.
although yes the gadzoom chair to little cloud will get you there, but the little cloud is a slow 2 person chair.
i never though of short vs long poles and jumping off things before.
im leaving for SLC today and I just might take both sets of poles
 
thanks for all the advice guys! yea i'll probably get rentals, around here rentals are rossi's from the 1930's, good to know i can get quality rentals out there! will there still be powder with the temps?
 
its a crap shoot. unless you just pick up and go at a short times notice... who knows..

but the potential is there. i skied knee deep pow april 15th last year...

even if there isnt pow you will have a blast skiing real mtns!
 
I hope ya get some. I went for 10 days last time and only got 2 keys of real good skiing if you were looking for powder.
This time its looking dry as well
 
it really just depends on the day to be honest. i agree, sometimes it is not worth it but other magical days when the snow is deep and no one is there, nothing is better. it helps to access some runs like high baldy, you can lap that off the tram real well.
 
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