Thread: SLC mags: Help me choose a resort.

My fiance and I just moved down to SLC from Ogden and are trying to decide what resort to ski this winter. The choices are Alta, Snowbird, or Brighton (Solitude doesn't offer student discounts on passes so they're out). She is new to Utah and grew up skiing tiny hills in CT, but not really learning the finer points of skiing technique, basically I'd rate her as a beginner with a head start. She'll be skiing ~60 days or so this year and I'll probably get ~30 if I'm lucky, at least half of which will be spent teaching her.

What we are looking for:
- Good, low angle areas for her to learn to ski powder
- Easy access to said low angle stashes where she won't be run off the trail by aggressive douches and where she won't have to hike half the day to make a few turns
- A chill vibe, like mentioned above she is not an aggressive person and would not have fun competing for pow stashes
- Fun shit for me to hit when I'm not skiing with her
- A good group of maggots to hook up and ski with

Right now we're leaning towards Brighton since I grew up there and know it better then the other two. I just wanted to know what the collective had to say.

Also, we're driving a front wheel drive sedan (Corolla). Planning on getting snow tires and chains. Will this be adequate for getting up the canyons in the snow? Any snow tire recommendations?

ski sundown is the only safe option


low angle to learn to ski powder?

Alta is for skiers and fits your reqmt

Originally Posted by MagicMtnPinhead

ski sundown is the only safe option


low angle to learn to ski powder?

Sundown? Did you not read the thread? I'm in Utah.

B right On is what you want in a trade off between dealing with the clueless young oneplankerwankers and every lcc hardcore powfiend on a pow day is a no brainer. Get some bc gear and knowledge. Hidden canyon, 10420/10, and spots down toward no name down to laxawaxa are perfect for what you seek and good days after a storm. Not a lot of mags though Im there a bit when sillytude wont open the goods, but rarely ib

Alta. Snowbird only has the baby thunder area and chickadee fitting your requirements. Big Emma is too big and has a mix of abilities funneling back to lifts.

Or what SFB said. I haven't been to brighton in years, so I would defer to his info for that place.

Park that car at the bottom of the canyon and take the ski bus up. Forget wasting time chaining up.

NOT alta or snowbird, and I'm not just saying this like, oh don't come here its too crowded already.

Seriously, the vibe at both will turn off the average beginner from this entire sport me thinks. Alta has some lower angle stuff, snowbird has next to none, they are both full of really agro people that think they should have the ski area to themselves, alta happens to be full of really aggro people that happen to be old and crusty and like to act like they are chill and laid back but really are not.

Theres sick skiing and snow at both, and the dramatic core bro bras and new york/new jersey tourists with something to prove and a bone to pick are worth dealing with to get the goods, but these are NOT the droids you're looking for.


Alta is slightly less aggro and has a bit more intermediate and beginner terrain, but still, the clusterfuck getting up the canyon on a pow day might not be worth it for her if she is trying to learn to ski pow and doesnt already live and breath for it.

^^^^ Id venture to say the average lcc commutor skier spends at least a day a season sitting in their car. unless you wanna get up at 5 and sit in the gmd or birdlodge.
Another posibility is if youre skilled enough try and get on as a volitroller at brighton. You only need oec and last year I think only needed to do 18-20 shifts. Not sure if or how many nights would count , but free pass 4 U and her and freebies @ bigsky crystal and other boyne resorts.

Based on you're criteria the answer is Brighton. Except for those same reasons there don't seem to be many Mags that ski there much, at least not in bounds like SFB said. Snowbird lacks easy terrain. Alta's Sunnyside area is great but theres always the attitude and once she starts progressing she will have to start hiking more and there will be even more attitude on the intermediate terrain. SFBs sentiment about the road is probably an understatement. Also that car would be more comfortable on the BCC road.

Sounds like I was thinking along the right lines. I just wish Solitude would offer a student discount, the price difference between the two is enough to buy a pair of skis with. We'll probably buy season passes at Brighton and get a ticket pack at Solitude to mix it up on occasion. Is Solisunday still a regular thing on here?

Alta is for beginners. Having said that, it is a shitshow on powder days. But if you ski there more than one day you'll discover that the shitshow is mostly on the Collins side, which is no place for a beginner. The sunnyside lift has all the beginner features you could ask for and low angle pow that lasts all day long.

Snowbird for when you want to play with the big kids.

I've never figured out Brighton or Soli, but I'm glad they are up there. As far as commute, it's sixes, really. LCC can be slow on a powder day, and some here would have you believe that occurs everyday, which is does, but that's another story.

I can't believe that no one has said WTF your from Ogden and obviously are "a skier" and you don't know where you want to go.
Jong / TROLL

Originally Posted by Pa. patroller

I can't believe that no one has said WTF your from Ogden and obviously are "a skier" and you don't know where you want to go.
Jong / TROLL

Not sure what you are getting at. Are you implying that I should be skiing Alta because I ski and should therefore try to be a part of the dumb ass "I ski at Alta" ingroup? Yes I'm from Ogden, I wish I was skiing at Snowbasin this year as I've been a local on that hill for ~15 years now and know it like the back of my hand. It also fits all of the requirements I set forth and is still a possibility, but I live in SLC now and would like to change things up a bit (plus they get a bit more snow down here). I've skied quite a bit at all three resorts mentioned, but I'm not choosing a resort based on what I want, but rather what will work out best for my fiance, who has never skied here.

save yer pennies and get a solitude pass. no student offerings just means less folks to share the fresh with. i worked at both alta and solitude. solitude rules all of the way around. brighton is great too. unreal bc access. brighton is just busier.

rog

Originally Posted by Johnny Deep

I've never figured out Brighton or Soli, but I'm glad they are up there. As far as commute, it's sixes, really. LCC can be slow on a powder day, and some here would have you believe that occurs everyday, which is does, but that's another story.

Yeah Id say sixes is about right as in the dozen of years Ive been driving past the lcc lemming line Ive pases 66,666 of ya
Seems like evey year there is more people in the bcc on pow days with their alta/bird stickers brah.
The solisunday crew was still there last season and I figured bmc as a lifer, but quite a few disenchanted locals lately.
When solitude chooses to not pop gates for whatever reason it goes to multitude in a hurray if the leming line was all the way down to the 7 even faster as the tourists or people w/out passes wont wait.
I think perhaps the pa troller dude wishes he was an illtatroller and wants to live vicariously through you.
the mellow slackcountry stuff at brighton is pretty easy to access and half the kids out there dont have gear or a clue. You dont need mad avvy 2 skills in most cases but the right gear a bit of common sense Youll both have fun. Place is loaded with small lower angled pitches like millie down to twin l

Originally Posted by Dickeymotto

I've skied quite a bit at all three resorts mentioned, but I'm not choosing a resort based on what I want, but rather what will work out best for my fiance, who has never skied here.

have you considered the park city resorts?

PCMR had the cheapest pass in utah last year and would be a great place for your fiance to learn to ski as there are a multitude of groomers.

the can-can is a great option too! less crowded than pcmr or deer valley, GOOD beginner and intermediate terrain and great powder stashes. real cheap student passes as well.

otherwise, I'd go with alta or brighton. both have good areas for beginners and fun stuff to keep you entertained.

solly is good too, but instead of a full season pass, you should pick a few days and get that pass..... sunday monday pass is pretty cheap. but that depends on your schedule.

with all honesty though, you can't really choose a bad ski area in the cottonwood canyons. i think you'll enjoy any of the four coming from snowbasin. shoot, i can already hear you bitchin about the crowds

What I was getting at was that the dude lives an hr away and has no idea about these places. Has he lived such a sheltered life that he only skied Snowbasin and knows nothing about the rest of these resorts. Just for the record I ENVY anyone that close to the greatest snow on earth. I live in Pa. and have skied all these places enough to give an opinion on all. From 2,000 mls away.
BTW my choice would NOT be Snowbasin or any Park City resort.

Originally Posted by Pa. patroller

What I was getting at was that the dude lives an hr away and has no idea about these places. Has he lived such a sheltered life that he only skied Snowbasin and knows nothing about the rest of these resorts. Just for the record I ENVY anyone that close to the greatest snow on earth. I live in Pa. and have skied all these places enough to give an opinion on all. From 2,000 mls away.
BTW my choice would NOT be Snowbasin or any Park City resort.

Awesome, but we don't give a fuck about your opinions.

You guys are fickle bastards in the summer time. So alittle while back a guy from out of state does the unthinkable. Asks should I go to Breckinridge or Steamboat. he gets torn apart. This guy lives an hr away and you guys cater to his every need. Is thus like London right now, if your one of us your "ok". If your not one of us then go fuck off.
That's a great way to spread the stoke.
To be clear since it seems to not be coming across clearly to some. He lives an hour away from some of the busiest (skier visits) and most talked about places on TGR and has to troll for
info.
Again Search JONG
Also never gave my opinion.....

jongs got a point, but the op been here a while contributed solid posts and sure searching would have yeilded answers, but theyd just as likely been like rogs who hasnt been to sillytude in years and still believes that no lines no crowds marketing speil. No or limited terrain openings and its a shit show. The whole no crowds thing is based on honeycomb being opened and now having to ride 3 lifts 2 or 3 that arent even high speed, to get back to the goods.

Glad someone understands.
Point taken on the post number. I've been "lurking" for quite awhile now. Yea, I know that doesn't help my cause. I've been learning from watching the flamethrowers at a distance.
Good point on the old info as well.
By the way last February It didn't matter to me which canyon I turned up, life was unbelievable everywhere I found myself.
Spending the season anywhere in the wasatch, hard to choose the "wrong" place.
Back to the original question: I'd spend a season in the beaver "mt"

dickeymotto-- Search function, JONG!!! but seriously, SFB is right in that you're allowed to ask these kinds of questions when you've spent a while contributing.

Brighton has night skiing, which would be hudge for me if I was in SLC and doing the school thing. hell, you could get out of class, head up to the hill, and make some turns while reading your notes from the day on the lift (yeah right). that being said, I'm surprised there haven't been more positive thoughts about Alta due to the large amount of low angle terrain that takes a long time to track out. If you avoid Collins, you remove yourself from 99% of the douchebaggery at Alta. most of those 40 something assholes are back to their day jobs at the A-Lodge or down on the Bypass Road after 11 AM anyway.

Sugarloaf and Sunnyside probably comprises more than half of the skiable terrain at Alta that isn't subject to daily avalanche closures. You don't deal with any kind of attitude on this part of the hill because the testosterone is all further up or down the canyon. you can still have fun playing around on interesting terrain features while your lady gets her pow legs under her.

You're gonna have fun either way. My biggest advice would be don't pick Snowbird-- no low angle wide open stuff to learn to ski pow in.

Originally Posted by Pa. patroller

What I was getting at was that the dude lives an hr away and has no idea about these places. Has he lived such a sheltered life that he only skied Snowbasin and knows nothing about the rest of these resorts. Just for the record I ENVY anyone that close to the greatest snow on earth. I live in Pa. and have skied all these places enough to give an opinion on all. From 2,000 mls away.
BTW my choice would NOT be Snowbasin or any Park City resort.

Just to be clear, I know plenty about the resorts in question. I grew up skiing Brighton and Snowbird and lived at Alta. I know what the fuck is out there. Do I have every stash down to a science and know the order of opening like clockwork the way that I do at Snowbasin? No I do not. I also haven't skied any of these mountains as a beginner in ~15 years. Who the fuck are you assuming I'm some sheltered Utard that doesn't know shit about the mountains I ski? I came here with a good idea of what resort I wanted but just wanted some alternate viewpoints in case there was something I was overlooking

BTW, JONGing someone who has been here longer then yourself and actually participates and contributes shows how much of a JONG you are. Enjoy PA douchebag.

Thanks for making my point again. Grew up skiing 2 of the resorts and lived at another. Sounds likes a good way to obtain alot of the info you are looking for.
Waiting for the snow to fly and the attitudes to settle.
BTW my feelings are hurt now

Originally Posted by Pa. patroller

Thanks for making my point again. Grew up skiing 2 of the resorts and lived at another. Sounds likes a good way to obtain alot of the info you are looking for.
Waiting for the snow to fly and the attitudes to settle.
BTW my feelings are hurt now

you've made ~25 posts a year in the 2 years you've been here. wtf do you care if there's an extra thread kicking around? stfu&gtfo. dickey, brighton sounds like the best choice, i agree with the whole altabird thing, despite being one of the kooks who gets off on that shit. be sure to hit me or one of the other guys who skis at the bird (beaterdit, daywalker, stroupskier... fuck i dunno too many to count) up if you're comin over. i might take you off a cliff and break your leg or get you caught in an avalanche though, because according to some people here that's all i am good for.