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Not The Mama: Seeing, and Skiing, is Believing in Utah

February 4, 2020 by braveskimom

First opened in 1971, Snowbird’s Aerial Tram whisks passengers along a 1.6 mile cable and up 2,900 vertical feet during the 10-minute trip to the top of Hidden Peak and The Summit, their newest mountaintop restaurant.  The tram consists of two cable cars. One goes up while the other goes down. Each cars holds about 100 winter passengers and 120 without winter clothes and gear.  Photo by Martin Griff.

By Martin Griff

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Thirty one years ago at age 31, I learned to ski in Park City, Utah.

A group of New Jersey work colleagues invited me along.

While they were more interested in me paying a share of the condo costs than joining them in downhill fun, I fooled them. For I discovered an instant love for the sport.

Or maybe the joke was on me when I became a frequent sharer of their future ski travel expenses.

Despite Utah’s claim to having the “Greatest Snow on Earth,” I didn’t return to the Beehive State until two years ago when I made a “press trip” visit to Deer Valley Resort, while driving from Colorado to Lake Tahoe.

I was accompanied on the hill by Deer Valley Senior Communications Manager Emily Summers and Paul Marshall, who was then with Ski Utah.

While lunching in the Empire Canyon Lodge, Summers was kind enough to point me in the direction of what I consider the finest salad bar in all of skidom. Although it’s now called the “Natural Buffet,” the salad bar is still a Deer Valley dining staple.

Back on the snow, Marshall pointed out the border separating Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort.  I noted that I was surprised by how close the two resorts are to each other, and how close some of the best skiing in Utah is to the Salt Lake City Airport.

Fifty percent of Solitudes slopes are marked beginner or intermediate, which means half aren’t.  Photo by Martin Griff. 

“We’ve been telling you this for years. You thought we were making this up?” Marshall replied with a laugh. 

Seeing and skiing is believing. And I had more chances to see and ski Utah last January when I visited the four resorts that call the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons home: Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, and Solitude. 

One Word Descriptions of the Salt Lake City Ski Resorts

For me, visiting six Salt Lake City resorts in a short time period is overwhelming. So I came up with one word descriptions to tell them apart. 

And to add a bit of value to my single words, I asked Ski City’s Shawn Stinson to chime in.

Brighton has four high speed quads, 66 trails and 1,050 skiable acres. It’s known as a family friendly resort and is popular with locals. They offer night skiing on over 200 acres of terrain.  Photo by Martin Griff.

Deer Valley

Me: LUXURY.  Stinson: Great groomers, fantastic tree skiing.

Park City

Me: CORPORATE (in a good, well run, good value on the Epic pass sort of way). Stinson: Big, too big to ski in a day.

Alta

Me: SKIERS (Snowboarders are not allowed at Alta — or at Deer Valley). Stinson: Powder, lots of it.

Alta is one on America’s oldest resorts. It opened 81 years ago and has a reputation for fantastic terrain – 2,614 acres of it. . Photo by Martin Griff.

Brighton

Me: FAMILIES. Stinson: Locals’, snowboarders’ mountain. 

Solitude

Me: SOLITUDE (With Solitude on the Ikon Pass, I hear this may not be true anymore). Stinson: Great for families, especially the village. 

Snowbird

Me: BIG. Stinson: Big Mountain as in, bring your “A game” for its steeps.

You’re all welcome for the simplicity.

 Snowbird Peruvian Tunnel At Snowbird, a 600-foot long, 30-inch wide conveyor belt takes skiers from the Peruvian Gulch into Mineral Basin via the Peruvian Tunnel which is also home to the Cottonwood Heritage Center – Skiing and education! Photo by Martin Griff.

Some Helpful Details

Park City is a former silver mining town, separate from the ski resort of the same name. Park City is also home to Deer Valley Resort.

There are two Cottonwood Canyons – Big and Little. They get their names from the distance between their canyon walls. As a result, the wider distance means the Big Cottonwood Canyon resorts (Brighton and Solitude) have more gradual slopes and the narrower Little Cottonwood Canyon resorts (Snowbird and Alta) have steeper trail selections.

The four Cottonwood Canyon resorts are accessed by roads that dead end in each Canyon. Only one way in and out of each Canyon creates traffic troubles, especially in snowy weather. Dead ends are security concerns for high profile international events, so the four Cottonwood Canyon resorts did not host any competitions in the 2002 Olympics. And they most likely will not host again if the Olympics return to Salt Lake City in 2030. 

Brighton, Solitude, Snowbird, Alta and Deer Valley accept the Ikon Pass. Park City is on the Epic Pass, as is Snowbasin, a northern Utah resort within an hour of Salt Lake.

Brighton, Solitude, Snowbird and Alta are also on the Ski City Super Pass, available for 3-10 days of skiing in a 14-day timeframe.

The Alta transfer rope tow is a custom built mode of transportation between the two base areas. Skiers are allowed to grab on and off any point along the way. Photo by Martin Griff.

The Ski City Super Pass includes rental shop discounts and free transportation on the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) ski buses and TRAX light rail. Ikon Passes also work for free public transportation, which we recommend.

The Salt Lake City resorts are located in the Wasatch Mountain Range. As a geography challenged East Coaster I wasn’t sure if the Wasatch Range is separate from the Rocky Mountains. So I went to my source for all things Utah, Shawn Stinson, and got this reply. “The Wasatch Range is, indeed, part of the Rocky Mountains (similar to the Sawtooth Range in Idaho, the Tetons in Jackson or San Juan Mountains in Colorado).”

Ultimately seeing and skiing really does help with the believing and I’m now a believer.

So much so that I’ve switched my annual month long winter boondoggle from Colorado to Utah for 2020.

Look out Greatest Snow on Earth, here I come.

Martin Griff is an East Coast ski bum. A journalist by education and profession, he shares his thoughts, impressions, experiences and those things that puzzle him with Braveskimom.com throughout the ski season.


© 2020, braveskimom. All rights reserved. Any use or publication of content, including photos, requires express permission.

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Filed Under: Skiing, Travel, Uncategorized, Utah Tagged With: not the mama, ski utah, skiing in salt lake city, Skiing in Utah

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marc Guido says

    February 4, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    We tried to lock the doors, but you found a way through anyway. We’re looking forward to seeing you on the slopes of Utah again this winter.

    • braveskimom says

      February 4, 2020 at 9:27 pm

      Martin has a way of doing that!

  2. Martin Griff says

    February 7, 2020 at 12:12 am

    No need to lock the doors this time around Marc. I’ve got my own place for a month. On the other hand Brave Ski Mom, I’ll be passing by you on the way in and out of Utah so you need to lock those doors.

    And Marc, your “locals” tour of Alta is one of the main reasons I’ve switched my annual month long western boondoggle from Colorado to Utah. Looking forward to making more turns together.

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I'm Kristen, a western Colorado mom, wife and trail boss in a busy outdoor family. Our family has a passion for skiing and my goal is to provide information to help other families enjoy their skiing adventures. Whether you have tiny toddlers just learning to slide or grown children with whom you're planning a reunion, you're in the right place. Cheers!

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