Skiing in Utah

[DanielStitt]

Hey NS!

So next year I'll be a freshman the the University of Utah, and I'm torn between going to Brighton, and PCMR/Canyons. I like the feel of a more home-y mountain rather than a corporate feel, but I also know PCMR obviously has a pretty crazy park.

I'd say my preferences are 60% park and 40% all mountain.

Anything I should know about one resort or the other?

Thanks everyone!

 

[.GUCCI.]

Brighton has a good park too. not as expansive as PCMR but I liked it more because I could hit park and then go ski some really good normal stuff. Definitely felt more home-y that PC. Haven't gone to canyons so idk about there.

 

[eheath]

Get both, everyone I went to school with back in the day all would get PC + snowbird/brighton/alta.

Epic college pass is $529 w/ a few dumb blackout dates and then brightons college pass is $499 i believe w/ no blackout dates. Definitely doable, just budget for it, hustle this summer.

 

[ALaw]

Brighton > PC!

But seriously, they're both awesome mountains for different reasons. If you only like park, and prefer jumps over rails, I'd say PC. If you like a solid mix of park and all mountain and prefer better rails in the park I'd say Brighton.

Also, you mentioned that you'll be going to the U. Have you heard of the One Love club?https://www.facebook.com/uofuoneloveskiandboard We get students discounts to most of the major Wasatch resorts and will be setting up a booth at the Union in the fall. Hope that helps!

 

[GayWolf420]

Cottonwood resorts for terrain/snowfall, PC resorts for park laps and cruising. The epic pass does have blackout dates but you can always go use your other pass elsewhere on those days, did that a whole bunch with my snowbird pass last year.

don't get all bummed out over snowfall, though. obviously it hasn't been the best winters ever recently but the pow days are still blower, easily some memorable ones from last season for sure. we get the snow still, just not all the time.

 

[K-Dot.]

Get both, everyone I went to school with back in the day all would get PC + snowbird/brighton/alta.

Epic college pass is $529 w/ a few dumb blackout dates and then brightons college pass is $499 i believe w/ no blackout dates. Definitely doable, just budget for it, hustle this summer.

PC youth pass is only $399 if you don't plan on going to other vail resorts. Pretty damn good value for what you get. PC has amazing parks and honestly canyons is pretty underrated. They have some fun features and most days you have the whole place pretty much to yourself. Never skied the b-town park but everyone seems to hate on their jumps.

 

[eheath]

PC youth pass is only $399 if you don't plan on going to other vail resorts. Pretty damn good value for what you get. PC has amazing parks and honestly canyons is pretty underrated. They have some fun features and most days you have the whole place pretty much to yourself. Never skied the b-town park but everyone seems to hate on their jumps.

By youth pass you mean under 18 right? I dont think they offer that for college kids.

 

[K-Dot.]

By youth pass you mean under 18 right? I dont think they offer that for college kids.

Its considered a youth pass but you don't have to be 18 or under. At least that's how I'm understanding the website. Last year I just bought epic local teen for $459 but never ended up using it out of utah so this year I'm planning on getting the college pass.

Also, to OP, if you're still 18 I'd suggest you get the teen pass for $309. It says you must be a utah resident but I had a friend buy it and they never seemed concerned with him proving residency even though he was an out of state freshman.

 

[eheath]

Its considered a youth pass but you don't have to be 18 or under. At least that's how I'm understanding the website. Last year I just bought epic local teen for $459 but never ended up using it out of utah so this year I'm planning on getting the college pass.

Also, to OP, if you're still 18 I'd suggest you get the teen pass for $309. It says you must be a utah resident but I had a friend buy it and they never seemed concerned with him proving residency even though he was an out of state freshman.

ahh yes indeed, even a better deal, thats super legit
http://www.snow.com/epic-pass/passes/canyons-youth-pass.aspx?CMPID=PARPC00005

 

[perryhunter]

Oh! Utah? Such an epic mountain. Enjoy your stay!

 

[Saga.]

Get both, everyone I went to school with back in the day all would get PC + snowbird/brighton/alta.

Epic college pass is $529 w/ a few dumb blackout dates and then brightons college pass is $499 i believe w/ no blackout dates. Definitely doable, just budget for it, hustle this summer.

This is definitely the most ideal. Especially being in school. You will meet a lot of different people with varying class schedules. Having the flexibility to hop in a car with different people and not worry about which mountain you're going to will greatly increase your days on snow.

But if you really are on a tight budget from the sounds of it you would probably enjoy Brighton more. The park at Brighton is very fun, much longer and the outside of park riding is incredible (if it snows in Utah ever again). PCMR is more of a training ground/homie hangout spot. You will get hot lap on top of hot lap and pretty much guaranteed to run into friends riding there on any given day.

To sum it up, try to buy as many passes as you can.

 

[skebumw]

I work at brighton and my homie works at pcmr so those are my sources, brighton has a pretty decent park and unless your t wally it will be plenty to push yourself in, pcmrs park is of course unbeatable,but everything else at brighton is way better than pcmr, its never busy at brighton, the milly bowl (despite what snowbird skiers will tell you) is just as techy as the cirq and upper cirq, and you will find fresh pow a week after the storm,

Brighton P.C.M.R.

No lift lines Great park

pow lasts a long time Always busy

good big mountain skiing lower elevation

good cliffs poor big mountain train

good out of bounds skiing decent back country access

decent park, bye decent i

mean 2nd best in utah next to pcmr

if you ask me its obvious, unless your looking for a job, pcmr starts at 12 Brighton starts at minimum

 

[eheath]

I work at brighton and my homie works at pcmr so those are my sources, brighton has a pretty decent park and unless your t wally it will be plenty to push yourself in, pcmrs park is of course unbeatable,but everything else at brighton is way better than pcmr, its never busy at brighton, the milly bowl (despite what snowbird skiers will tell you) is just as techy as the cirq and upper cirq, and you will find fresh pow a week after the storm,

First of all, brighton is not 'better' at all. Yes its fun, they have fucking awesome rails, but they will NEVER build jumps as good as PCMR end of story.

As for being busy, basically just saturdays and holidays. As many have said, buy two passes, its very worth it.

That being said, Snowbird/Alta definitely have harder terrain in bounds than brighton, its just the truth. Brighton is fun as fuck to shred though, but my new found love in the wasatch is solitude.

 

[skebumw]

First of all, brighton is not 'better' at all. Yes its fun, they have fucking awesome rails, but they will NEVER build jumps as good as PCMR end of story.

As for being busy, basically just saturdays and holidays. As many have said, buy two passes, its very worth it.

That being said, Snowbird/Alta definitely have harder terrain in bounds than brighton, its just the truth. Brighton is fun as fuck to shred though, but my new found love in the wasatch is solitude.

oh yeah pcmr jumps are way better for sure, but the in bounds train is inaccurate what allot of people dont know is they have the stepest in bounds run in utah and milly bowl is just as techy as the the cirqs but yeah pcmr has way better and bigger.

but yeah if you can afford it 2 passes is worth it

 

[eheath]

oh yeah pcmr jumps are way better for sure, but the in bounds train is inaccurate what allot of people dont know is they have the stepest in bounds run in utah and milly bowl is just as techy as the the cirqs but yeah pcmr has way better and bigger.

but yeah if you can afford it 2 passes is worth it

I skied brighton for a year and I loved it, but its not the same as LCC. Sure, they have steep stuff but its super short. Snowbird especially just has pitch after pitch in one huge run. Brighton you go down the steep stuff then a flat runout to the lift. Alta is similar in some places, but they have more terrain overall.

 

[skebumw]

I skied brighton for a year and I loved it, but its not the same as LCC. Sure, they have steep stuff but its super short. Snowbird especially just has pitch after pitch in one huge run. Brighton you go down the steep stuff then a flat runout to the lift. Alta is similar in some places, but they have more terrain overall.

This is true, lcc has longer runs, but brighton has a reputation of being a park resort with a few mountains but its just the opposite, its really a total package and if alta or the bird had park they would be the best hands down but they dont, however i do agree with you on solitude it really is the hidden gem. And I really wish Brighton would have gotten there hands on it when it was for sale

 

[DanielStitt]

Damn, thanks everyone for putting their two cents in, I'll definitely join the One Love group at the U. Buying both passes is sounding like a decent idea like people have said for the flexibility... I'll do some more thinking but thanks everyone!

And to the people talking about being 18 over/under, I'm still 17, so if I buy the pass before I turn 18 I may be able to get an extra discount

 

[boodizzle]

Get both, everyone I went to school with back in the day all would get PC + snowbird/brighton/alta.

Epic college pass is $529 w/ a few dumb blackout dates and then brightons college pass is $499 i believe w/ no blackout dates. Definitely doable, just budget for it, hustle this summer.

This. Personally, I like Brighton more, but both is where it is at. Flexibility is key.

 

[dyyylan]

I skied brighton for a year and I loved it, but its not the same as LCC. Sure, they have steep stuff but its super short. Snowbird especially just has pitch after pitch in one huge run. Brighton you go down the steep stuff then a flat runout to the lift. Alta is similar in some places, but they have more terrain overall.

How would you say PCMR/Canyons "big mountain" compares? Like jupiter/pinecone, 9990, supercondor stuff is pretty fun. Those are the only two resorts ive ever skied at, was thinking about venturing to the other side of the range this season to see what's at alta/snowbird. (I live in PC)

 

[broto]

its never busy at brighton

that's just plain untrue. my friends who had brighton passes complained more about lift lines than i did at pc. on weekdays, pc/canyons is pretty much empty. on weekends, they are all pretty busy. one thing i did notice is that canyons and pcmr, while having sub-par terrain, get less skiers (and definitely less experienced skiers) on pow days. and they have more terrain which means it's less skied out. there was a couple pow days at canyons last year where i was gettin deep runs and just skiing right back onto the lift.

How would you say PCMR/Canyons "big mountain" compares? Like jupiter/pinecone, 9990, supercondor stuff is pretty fun. Those are the only two resorts ive ever skied at, was thinking about venturing to the other side of the range this season to see what's at alta/snowbird. (I live in PC)

the all mountain terrain at PCMR/canyons is fun, but not comparable to BCC. there's less rocks and other fun stuff to jib all over, less cliffs to drop, etc. and the all mountain terrain in BCC is really fun, but not comparable to LCC. LCC has even more cliffs, more fun terrain, more steeps, etc.

 

[hoodcrew]

Brighton has the best rails in utah hands down, maybe best in the country when the park is on 1hunna in the spring. dont know anywhere else where you can hit 15 plus sick and big rails in a row. the jumps suck, but PC is always rock solid, has shitty rails and good jumps... thats about it. Plus at the dirty B you can hit endless amounts of cliffs on a good snow day/year, literally 50 plus good cliffs to drop within a 10 minute traverse of milly

 

[eheath]

How would you say PCMR/Canyons "big mountain" compares? Like jupiter/pinecone, 9990, supercondor stuff is pretty fun. Those are the only two resorts ive ever skied at, was thinking about venturing to the other side of the range this season to see what's at alta/snowbird. (I live in PC)

Pc/canyons has some okay stuff for sure but nothing compared to lcc/bcc. I try to get over to the cottonwoods on pow days if I can.