seb@mtgzy.UUCP (s.e.badian) (03/06/86)
First off I should say that the weather that Utah had while I was there last week was unusual. A high pressure system was stuck over Salt Lake City and didn't budge. As far as I know it's still there and no one knew when it would move. Now, I don't mind skiing in a little sunshine (we all came away with some degree of sunburn), but 55 degrees is a little ridiculous. So conditions were spring- like everywhere. Some places were mushier than other, but every place had some ice (yes Virginia, there is ice in Utah, much to my chagrin). Here's my opinion of the ski area we went to: Park City: We only skied there for half a day the day we got to Utah. Laid out much like a New England resort with trails, not open bowls and such. The snow in the bowls was terrible - mush - and impossible to ski in. Park City was OK by my standards, but compared to other Utah areas nothing to write home about. Brighton & Solitude: We skied both of them using the Big Cottonwood Canyon interconnect ticket ($13), an excellent deal in my opinion. Both areas were nice once the surface changed to corn. In some places the surface never softened up and it was like skiing on rock. Some steep stuff exists, and there was no one there so no lift lines. Alta: I cannot say enough good things about this place. It is huge, it is cheap and it is FUN! Alta was the only area we skied twice. There is something here for everyone. I have never in my life seen such long, steep, moguled runs in my life! (For those of you familiar with the area Alf's High Rustler was closed the second day we were there. We guessed it was because no one in their right mind would want to ski it with the ice that was on it.) We did manage to find some nice snow (not corn, real packed powder) in the bowls and gulleys that faced northwest. Otherwise corn and ice predominated. Everything off the Supreme chair was horrid! Deer Valley: We had to go to see how the rich people skied. They ski pretty well. We saw Hal Linden while we were there. He was the only famous person we saw. Though an expensive lift ticket($29), it is worth it. Great conditions - the best all-around that we saw. Deer Valley is not an easy area. Most of the intermediate runs are long, steep and with no flat spots. You can really tire yourself out here. And the food in the lodges is amazing! Yes, it's a bit pricey, but wait until you taste the desserts! Snowbird: Right down the road from Alta, it is similar. The bowl at the top of the Little Cloud chair had some great snow in it, even after a week of 55 degrees. Other than that, it was pretty damn icy. I'd really like to see this place on a powder day. I had a wonderful time despite the pretty lousy conditions (for Utah - I was really looking forward to seeing some powder). I skied some steep stuff and it was a blast! To anyone who's planning on visiting any of these areas I say "WAIT!" It will be much better after they get another good storm. The ice and crud has to be covered up and only a good storm is going to do that. Sharon Badian ihnp4!mtgzy!seb
tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee) (03/11/86)
I've been meaning to do this and now that Sharon has gone ahead and posted a review I'LINE give mine. I was in Utah at about the same time as Sharon (at least the weather conditions were identical). Solitude and Brighton are an even better deal Monday through Thursday when they have a $5 dollar lift ticket. This is for one area only but Solitude is certainly big enough to spend a day at. I found excellent early morning corn in a bowl facing due south, I spent most of the afternoon in a high north facing bowl (even found some non-corn, non-ice snow). Alta was a dream. Maybe it's good that they didn't have any powder, I'd hate to explain to my boss why I took a three week vacation instead of a long weekend. I did find good snow on Supreme, the best I found anywhere, but only in a few isolated patches. The best part of Alta must be hiked to, all the better by me since it holds down crowds. Greely and East Greely bowls had pretty good snow in them even with the warm weather. I still can't believe a $13 lift ticket for what I consisder the best ski area I've ever skied. Park City was disappointing. Too much ice, too much slush. Only a couple of fun runs. This place could be good with good snow, it does have potential. Many, many of their runs face mostly north which means they stayed icy almost all day. With good snow this is desirable because it keeps the snow in good shape. At the risk of ruining a good thing I will recomend Salt Lake for skiing vacations. Boy, is this place cheap! I spent (through a little luck) $41 dollars on lift tickets for 4 days of skiing! We stayed right in downtown Salt Lake and ate in downtown restaurants. We rented a car at the airport and drove up to skiing every day (never more than 40 minutes). For the whole thing (4 nights and 4 days of skiing + car and airfare) I spent just over $350. Obviously it would be even cheaper per day if you spread the airfare out over more days. Later, Peter B