Solitude Expansion...

[Trackhead]

Buzz is a PUSSY!

[Trackhead]

10,000 useless posts!!!!!!!! I'm a LOSER!

[Buzzworthy]

Buzz is a PUSSY!

I feel so used and abused....just for the 10K....how dare you somofubitch!
You owe me, I will think of something fun.

[Trackhead]

I feel so used and abused....just for the 10K....how dare you somofubitch!
You owe me, I will think of something fun.

I'll break trail into Silver Fork for you and Yeti and carry some booze in for all y'all too.

[Buzzworthy]

I'll break trail into Silver Fork for you and Yeti and carry some booze in for all y'all too.

Sold, cause this pussy ain't breakin no trail damnit! Lifts won't be in for a while anyway.

[skifishbum]

I'll break trail into Silver Fork for you and Yeti and carry some booze in for all y'all too.

There is no safety in booze brah
Your right about those high danger days and Straight Chuter wrote a good article in backcountry to that effect.
That day while digging that pit it cracked shifted and sympathetically released the whole steep portion of Flanigan headwall was a eyeopener.
Made a lot sucessful skicuts skied a lot of bed surfaces. Leap frogging each other. Stuff they can't and won't ever teach in any avvy class.
oh and some of us are happy with a little dirty talk and a hand job
So powherb would the # of days you spent in sillyfork be closer to 0 or 2

[schindlerpiste]

I have been thinking about this, and I have made the following conclusions>
1: Does the wasatch need another lift? No. DeSeelhorst contends that the lift "would allow Solitude to compete with local resorts that already have the kind of steep, high-elevation terrain Silver Fork offers." First, this contention is flawed, in that Solitude already offers plenty of steep terrain off of the Summit lift that is not generally crowded and is only skied by relatively few. Of course, I'm referring to all the terrain in the Evergreen and Honeycomb areas, not to mention Fantasy Ridge. Second, the contention is motivated by greed. Northern Utah offers a tremendous amount of lift accessed terrain. As the crow flies, there are atleast 7, and maybe 8 ski resorts within 25 miles, and 3, or 4 more within 100 miles of SLC. This terrain offers a lot (enough) for all levels of skiers. For those willing to bootpack a bit, the choices are just about endless. From the groomers of Deer Valley, to the avi. prone shots of Dutches Draw and Square Top, to the huckable cliffs of Alta, to the steeps of Snowbird; those who want inbounds excitement need not look very hard.
The justification that "Utah skier visits grew 37 percent in the past decade, Wasatch Front population growth is projected to grow 65 percent in the next 20 years, increasing the need for recreational opportunities in the mountains" is also without merit. First, the notion that "Utah skier visits grew 37 percent in the past decade", seems irrelevant. Big Deal. How many people have ever stood in a 1/2hr. long lift line in UT.? The Collins lift on a Saturday? I doubt it. Certainly, not very frequently. Any lift at Solitude... EVER? I don't think so. The point is that we, who love riding chairlifts, have it good in UT. There are very few lift lines that really warrant considering creating a new lift for. Eventhough Utah's resorts are close to a major city and airport, people would rather spend their vacation $$$ elsewhere..
This is because of it is looked upon by many as a mormon, right wing, conservative State that doesn't allow certain freedoms.
The notion that "Wasatch Front population growth is projected to grow 65 percent in the next 20 years, increasing the need for recreational opportunities in the mountains" may or may not be true, but right now, it does not matter. Personally, I don't see people moving here in droves. If, and when, the resorts start to become crowded (like those in CO., for instance) this issue can be re-addressed. However, for right now, I see no reason to spend the money on expansion, disrupt the pristine nature of a very small area, or upset all those who would rather hike for turns, or atleast have that option within a stone's throw of their back yards.

[ill-advised strategy]

this is where I step back and think:

hmmm....

If SFB, Trackhead, Alto, Sftx all disagree with me, maybe I've just gone badly askew somewhere along the way.

Shit I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I just make it pretty simple and say: I'd rather go up on a lift and make a lot of turns than go up slogging and make very few turns. Perhaps that's not a catch-all for every time and place.

The guys disagreeing with me here are some of the best in the whole area at what they do, so clearly I'm missing whatever it is that makes skiing uphill fun for you guys.

How many people have ever stood in a 1/2hr. long lift line in UT.? The Collins lift on a Saturday? I doubt it. Certainly, not very frequently. Any lift at Solitude... EVER?

I have. Snowbird gets that kind of line going pretty regularly. Tram, Gadzoom, Little Cloud....

I've been in lines like that at solitude as well. Although that usually had to do with chairs breaking down on LCC closure days.

It seems like staying ahead of the overcrowding is a better option than letting it turn into killington before doing anything about it.

either way, fuck it. I guess it doesn't really matter if what you like is skiing uphill. You can go skin uphill far far from anybody else if you want to do that. If what you like is turning laps on good lift served terrain, you can't go do that in American Fork Canyon, or the Oquirrhs...You can do that at a small number of places over North America. In fact, if you were to compare the acreage of places with good steep skiing you can lap off a chairlift to the acreages of places you can slog around skiing uphill, you'd probably have a 1:10000000000 ratio. But it's 2009, I'm old now, it's not 1995, the hot shit thing is now skiing without lifts. Anybody that doesn't dig going out and turning skiing into some life and death avy gamble and skiing uphill with all your gear, and having to call life flight if you blow your knee out...anybody who's not into that scene must be a massive gaper and not understand the sport. I don't know. Obviously everything's just changed around me.... but I just like, the way I always have liked, to roll up to the parking lot, slide down to a chair with my coffee, and get to lapping something good for a few hours, nice and simple. The more options there are for something good, the better IMHO. That's just a way better day for me than slogging up something for hours, making some critical life-and-death choice as to the snowpack, then getting one run out of that whole long process. If somebody wants to try to explain that to me in some way other than "dude you just don't get it" I'm all ears.


I

[wra]

It's all about the down.

Gorgoza Park will open its tubing lanes today. It will operate seven tubing lanes and three rope tows from noon to 8 p.m. Regular tubing rates will apply for the early opening. A two-hour ticket for ages 7 and older is $20. A two-hour ticket for ages 3 to 6 is $10.

Maybe they'll put a tubing run in the Meadows!

[Trackhead]

Shit I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I just make it pretty simple and say: I'd rather go up on a lift and make a lot of turns than go up slogging and make very few turns. Perhaps that's not a catch-all for every time and place.

There's no reason to get our collective panties in a bunch, after all, we all like to ski. Riding a lift, hiking, who gives a shit.

Utah is the place of controversy and argument. It's like the friggin Gaza Strip of the west. Everybody is fighting for territory, nobody is winning, we all want blood.

[Woodsy]

interesting read knowing so many of the players and posters, not sure how I feel not sure how that matters.
it does make me want to get back out in SF this year before it changes even more

[alto]

@Yeti I'm not arguing in support of skinning and backcountry skiing or against riding lifts. I'm arguing against bad kinds of development, and that's what this SF expansion sounds like to me.

I'm from Park City and in my time there I witnessed incredibly selfish, rampant development. A lot of the area's enchanting mountain environment was bulldozed to make way for the most obscene housing and lodging developments. Where once was a mountain bike and hiking trail, where once was an idyllic gravel road into the mountains, where once were favorite campsites... now stands shit like this:


As straightchuter said, open space is the greatest commodity. Regardless of who gets to use it, its worth standing up for.

[nbt]

Putting a lift up silver fork from Brighton OR the backside from Alta will completely change the entire wasatch backcountry scene. EVERYTHING will be side country. The most accessable backcountry scene in the country would be converted to sidecountry. There's plenty of sidecountry already and there IS something that cannot be measured you experience is backcountry that you do not in sidecountry. Please no lifts in Silver Fork, this is the most quality accessable backcountry in the US, please don't ruin it.

[bl2000]

If de'horseshit wants to build in SF, then let him also be forced to provide free access to people that don't want to use the lift(s). I have a hard time seeing how Honeycomb and SF would both get tracked out by a combination of lift and BC skiers anyhow. Even now, you can usually find untracked on Honeycomb a week after a storm. So, let him put up a chair in SF for the 100 or so folks that would use the lifts to get there and let him do the avy work, as long as the other (25? 50? 100?) folks that want to skin or boot pack up or over can do so unmolested.

[powder_prophet]

Please no lifts in Silver Fork, this is the most quality accessable backcountry in the US, please don't ruin it.

Really? I mean, its good, don't get me wrong. But REALLY?!?!?

[BobMc]

Skifishbum's truck was parked down by Eagle today, fucker was totally taking up my spot. I was so pissed I left him a bottle of whiskey.

[skifishbum]

Didn't even notice till I got home thanks brah. Headed up Silver fork to pick which one should be Gary"s Tube Chute but bailed for better coverage in honeycomb.The retun trail was spooky six inches over rocks. Thanks for the skintrack and packing it a little Release
Yeti I don't have time or communication skills to tell ya what it means to me but it came from a desire to ski fresh untracked pow and like posting here grew to an addiction. I try to find a balance between riding lifts and touring. Call me a untracked powder slob but once things start to get tracked out and there are to many people I head out any gate that's open.
Soli changed a lot they sell enough season passes now that things get hammered pretty hard. Sure days after a storm you can head out to crystal point or no man's land but for a little more energy you can ski guild line into silver, but it's not controlled/patroled.
Personally I think Soli would like to lower the honeycomb lift down to the silver fork floor and just be able to claim all that terrain as pr thing. Would save the hassle of going by Klauses and out the church road. NBT that's all side counrtynow and while the terraain doesn't suck as much as Powherb says you need to get out a bit.

[Jong Slaughter's Mom]

Putting a lift up silver fork from Brighton OR the backside from Alta will completely change the entire wasatch backcountry scene. EVERYTHING will be side country. The most accessable backcountry scene in the country would be converted to sidecountry. There's plenty of sidecountry already and there IS something that cannot be measured you experience is backcountry that you do not in sidecountry. Please no lifts in Silver Fork, this is the most quality accessable backcountry in the US, please don't ruin it.

Quoted for douchebagness.

[BobMc]

Personally I think Soli would like to lower the honeycomb lift down to the silver fork floor and just be able to claim all that terrain as pr thing. Would save the hassle of going by Klauses and out the church road.

I'd heard they wanted to do that when they built the Honeycomb lift. Personally, I think it'd be a pretty good compromise. It seems every time I've come down that stupid road leading back to Eagle I've almost been taken out by the lady in the white Lexus suv.

[ill-advised strategy]

@Yeti I'm not arguing in support of skinning and backcountry skiing or against riding lifts. I'm arguing against bad kinds of development, and that's what this SF expansion sounds like to me.

Fair enough. You and I are on the same page re: shoddy develpment.

If this means more condos count me on the nay side.

[tuco]

:
Personally I think Soli would like to lower the honeycomb lift down to the silver fork floor and just be able to claim all that terrain as pr thing. Would save the hassle of going by Klauses and out the church road.

My brother and I talked about this very thing. With a lift in there, they absolutly would have to extend the Honeycomb return lift. There is no way you could put lift served skier traffic down that road.

[UtahOutside]

I am against this.

I ski at resorts and in the backcountry around 50/50.

In resorts, I primarily ski Solitude because it is small. Expanding into Silver Fork would make Solitude a "mega resort" and it would lose any character it is still (barely) there. I'd hate it if skiing at Solitude felt like I'm skiing at The Canyons.

Plus it would suck to lose Silver Fork as a BC destination. Soli owners need to be happy with what they've got, not be greedy, and not ruin Silver Fork just so they can have an excuse to promote their "new groomed terrain" in Ski Magazine advertisements.

[skiski]

Really? I mean, its good, don't get me wrong. But REALLY?!?!?

I think he is referring to all that can be accessed once on the silver fork ridge - days, silver, cardiff, flagstaff. It's a lot of very good, accessible backcountry terrain.

[StraightChuter]

The more options there are for something good, the better IMHO. That's just a way better day for me than slogging up something for hours, making some critical life-and-death choice as to the snowpack, then getting one run out of that whole long process. If somebody wants to try to explain that to me in some way other than "dude you just don't get it" I'm all ears.

It seems like you are intentionally clouding the issue by picking a BC skier vs. resort skier fight. Think of it this way - the same arguments could be made for putting a golf course in Silver Fork and I'm sure golfers, the Forest Service and Solitude Management would be all for that as well. Once that happens, don't try to drag your hippie ass in there for hiking, picnicking, bird watching, bow hunting, camping, flower sniffing or whatever else the public might try to do on public land. This is a golf course, damn it, and you are welcome to be here as long as you obey the rules, pay your fees and buy some weak, overpriced 3.2 beer at the clubhouse.

[skifishbum]

Golf??? I'd suggest that golf=soy but I don't want my friend Bobmc to be pissed at me So I'll pad the post count with a repeat of some good reggae and marginal helmet cam stoke.


busy packing don't have time to edit in greedy greedy Solitude but word up to a special guest apperence by an out of town maggot Gimpy and his splitter oneplanking buddy. Hope you cats make it back out this winter had a blast touring with yous.
oh and any terrain you can walk up a groomed snowcat trail and access =sidecountry.