Utah, but where?

J

JazzyJ

Active member
me and a buddy are flying from baltimore to SLC during spring break and staying at a friends. We're planning on staying three days but not sure where to ski during that time. Right now, Park City and the Canyons are on the radar. Any suggestions for a decent skiier and a decent snowboarder on their first trip out west? also, whats transportation and nightlife like in the area?
 
PC for park, Snowbird for powder (since you have a boarder with you, otherwise alta). I wouldn't waste time anywhere else.
 
If you are looking for park...go to Brighton. they also have damn good trees.

Snowbird is awesome, since there is a boarder, you cannot go to Alta. never been to PC, but i it is sic and Canyons is a waste (from hearsay)

Powder Mountain was fun, very nice terrain, but hit it on a shit day.

i will be out there in 2 weeks. Prob just stickin to Little/Big Cottonwood and maybe venture to PC.
 
to start i live in upstate ny and my advice would be to not go out all the way there to ride park. i mean common with all their snow freshies would deffinitly top park any day for me! and you live around baltimore so id assume you get less powder than me.

their parks may be superior to ours but if you go the the right places on the east coast it doesnt really matter that much.

id say forget park unless its not a good day for powder
 
any UT locals have any opinions on Snowbasin.... looks pretty sick, and ill probably hit it up in april....

thread creator, people may talk shit on brighton, but its a really fun place to ski. ide definitely hit up snowbird also...
 
If you're just looking for pow. Id say check out Snowbasin and Powder Mountain if you can make the drive. Snowbird like everyone else said, however, I am not a huge Snowbird fan, the crowds fucking suck. Solitude has great snow if you are going to be here the day or two after a storm. Brighton if you want to do some hiking and side/backcountry.

Big Cottonwood is generally far less crowded than Little Cottonwood, in case you are going to be here on the weekends.
 
not a local but ive been there, i think its way better that lots of other popular utah resorts. No crowds. ever. Great terrain, and even greater snow.
 
Hahahahahahahahha brightons park is so shitty, go to pc and you'll realize how shitty brighton is.
 
yea, we're really not looking to ride park, and neither of us would have a problem with not seeing a rail all week. With that said, would going to PC really be a waste?
 
if you are not looking for park i would not go to anything up by pc... canyons maybe for some trees... i would prolly stick to big cottonwood (brighton or solitude) or maybe something like powder mtn or snowbasin if you are looking to go a littel further and get away from crowds... park silly would not be a good choice for you... as for the rest of you that think the canyons is a waste, your fucking silly
 
If park is not an issue dont waste your time with anything but Snowbird or Brighton. Brighton is deff more of a bargain but if your looking for that true out west shred hit up the bird
 
Powder Mountain

Went there today and skied untracked powder ALL DAY LONG. Nobody rides there and it is so sick. Definitely check it out after a storm, you won't be disappointed...
 
I just rode Brighton sat/sun/mon and had fresh tracks almost every run.... Snowbird mon/tues and it was sick as well, got fresh tracks on the backside on monday while it was still blue bird thanks to the wind.... that shit gets crazy at the very top holy fuck.... sick mtn though.
 
snowbasin is sick, there are some things to keep in mind though.
it will be crowded as fuck if you go on a sunny saturday or sunday.
ski patrol is a bunch of assholes
the terrain park situation is a joke. they say it's due to snow making issues, but those issues are they don't want to make the snow because earl holding doesn't like terrain parks.
terrain wise it's pretty sick, doesn't have the steeps and chutes in the main mountain that somewhere like alta or snowbird do. but if you're willing to hike there is a bunch of sick chutes. Snowbasin is fucking huge, and they pride themselves on their groomers. so if you are looking for soft snow go off trail and explore in the trees you can usually find nice snow. I'm up there alot and i know the mountain backwards so if you have any other questions i'm more than happy to answer them.
 
Brighton is alot of fun to just ski. Its park is almost never set up right (if at all) never gets to crowded makes for a good time. Park City is epic no matter what. guaranteed. those are the only two i can really judge. Those are your best bets.
Also cheaper tickets at Sports Den right across the street from wendys on the way to brighton.
 
So many people talk shit on Brighton even though most of them have never actually skied it. Their park fucking sucks, everyone knows that but for JUST skiing it's a damn good time.

The Millicent and Great Western lifts have some of the best terrain in the state although the runs (technical shit) are shorter than Alta or Snowbird. They have the best/easiest side and backcountry access in Utah. You can literally take a 20 minute skin to the Wolverine Cirque.

Solitude is the same way with Honeycomb which is just straight killer technical/pow runs.

The biggest plus side to Big Cottonwood is the lack of crowds. Snowbird gets fucking packed, always. They have killer terrain and the tram/mineral rock but it gets tracked out fast.

You basically can't go wrong with going anywhere in the area, except The Canyons, it's just laughable except for tree runs.

Powder Mountain and Snowbasin are fun for no crowds and if there's fresh snow, otherwise it's pretty blah.

 
C'mon Brandon we all know the Canyons is a joke. Lets look at all of the reasons why it sucks
1. Tiny ski area. In fact it is utah smallest2. Horrible side country/back country access3. No bowls4. Shitty tree skiing5. Horrible lift lines (9990 and peak 5 - frequently those lines are 1 hr + long)6. Because of overcrowding powder gets skied up within 30 minutes of opening7. Terrain park is a joke. 1 puny table top that is 7 feet and one flat box that is made out of PVC8. So much attitude at the canyons. Full on poser fest9. Gets significantly less snow than PCMR and Deer Valley
This is why no one should ride here when they come out...so please stay away
 
yeah snowbasin is reallllll ill. definately lacks any sort of legit park but the mountain itself is like a 2nd alta almost, i was real impressed when i went there for sure!
and the ski patrol definately is not gay. those guys can hook it up to the fullest.
 
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