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Utah 2020-2021 Utah Resorts, Weather, Conditions and Stoke

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blackke17

I'd rather be at Alta
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What pass did you get? Unfortunately I don't think there will be any hiding from the crowds next season at any of the major Utah resorts.

What's up man? hope to see ya next winter. I got an Altabird pass. i had the option to purchase a base IKON for like 300 more bucks but i passed on it

Crowds are unavoidable anymore for sure.
 

Wasatchman

over the hill
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What's up man? hope to see ya next winter. I got an Altabird pass. i had the option to purchase a base IKON for like 300 more bucks but i passed on it

Crowds are unavoidable anymore for sure.
Howdy,

Hope to see you next season!! Had a tough back injury and hoping by next season I'll be ready to go.

That's saying something about the crowds if you don't pick up an Ikon pass for an extra $300. Although of course it's more than that factoring in Solitude's paid parking.

I'm expecting next season to be crazy everywhere.
 

4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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Sierra & Wasatch
Not too excited but more people crowding that terrain may mean less on JP :huh:
 

Kyle

Out on the slopes
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Utah
Snowbasin continues the puzzling trend of trying to pack more people into the same areas. It will now have the lift capacity to carry 4000 to 5000 people per hour to the area around the Needles Lodge. I would have thought the previously approved Strawberry Chair would have been a higher priority. I also would have replaced Porky with a high speed quad first.

More parking too:

 

Wasatchman

over the hill
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Snowbasin continues the puzzling trend of trying to pack more people into the same areas. It will now have the lift capacity to carry 4000 to 5000 people per hour to the area around the Needles Lodge. I would have thought the previously approved Strawberry Chair would have been a higher priority. I also would have replaced Porky with a high speed quad first.

More parking too:

Yup, I remember a lot of the purists at Alta wanted to keep the old antiquated lift infrastructure in place to preserve the on mountain experience. It's a tricky balance to manage lift capacity for lift lines and preserving the on mountain ski experience so it doesn't get to crowded on the mountain.

Regardless, we need to prepare ourselves to the fact that the conditions at Utah resorts are going to continue to get more crowded. Get after it while you can.
 

Daniel

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Last week, before all the smoke from wildfires in northern CA and OR descended on the area, I cycled up to Snowbird from my home and set out for a hike from the tram deck. I initially headed for the Cliff Lodge and then took the bypass road up to the Peruvian Lodge and continued on to the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge before heading up Alta's Collins Gulch. Once I reached Germania Pass and then Sugarloaf Pass, I dropped into Mineral Basin and worked my way over to Snowbird's Basshole, transited the tunnel, and climbed/summited Hidden Peak. There I discovered what I presume to be a new acquisition of the resort, as I've never seen it up there before after my many dozens of runs, hikes, and mountain bike rides up.

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It's a Mercedes Benz 4x4 but don't know the model or vintage. The Pfeifferhorn, Chipman Peak, and Lone Peak are featured in the background.

Photo is of Cottonwood Ridge, from Broads Fork/Salt Lake Twin Peaks on the far left to Mt. Superior on the far right, taken from the upper tram station.

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Kbat117

Doing snow dances
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Utah
Not too excited but more people crowding that terrain may mean less on JP :huh:
Snowbasin continues the puzzling trend of trying to pack more people into the same areas. It will now have the lift capacity to carry 4000 to 5000 people per hour to the area around the Needles Lodge. I would have thought the previously approved Strawberry Chair would have been a higher priority. I also would have replaced Porky with a high speed quad first.

More parking too:


I am intrigued that it is going higher. I wonder if that will inspire more people to venture off into needles cirque since there may be an easier way back now. I would have loved to have seen some sort of addition in strawberry first but the new lift should be pretty cool.
 

jmills115

Making fresh tracks
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We finally have been hiking at Alta daily and spent a few nights a the Cliff Lodge over the weekend. Waking up and eating breakfast outside at the Atrium is what I needed with cool temps in the 50s.
Getting home my ski table is now cleared of non-ski related items.
Pics are from 8/15/2021 at Alta. It was a nice walk up Albion Meadows Trail to Sugarloaf Pass Rd to 10,000’ on Devils Elbow and then back down.
We headed up when air quality was at its best.


DCE215CB-8345-4E06-A94D-32B9B8BEA0B4.jpeg 5A279CF4-3A3F-4AA2-937E-15C263219505.jpeg

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I got a smile in the pic before this EEB45D2B-4F6A-40D7-94F8-C9BBA07A3048.jpeg


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jmills115

Making fresh tracks
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I got an Altabird pass. i had the option to purchase a base IKON for like 300 more bucks but i passed on it
That's saying something about the crowds if you don't pick up an Ikon pass for an extra $300. Although of course it's more than that factoring in Solitude's paid parking
Last season we had an Alta family pass and when mrsjmills had shoulder surgery the day after Thanksgiving last year, she had already canceled her pass as well as her kids passes. I then upgraded my Alta pass to Altabird in January which was close to the total refund that would have come back from the 3 family users not skiing. I then spent most of my time at the Bird as the reservation system to park worked out pretty well for me.
Other than Presidents Day weekend I didn’t deal with the mad rush to Alta too often on pow/weekends instead heading up after noon if I went at all.
Hearing that parking reservations might be coming to Alta but without having any info, I started the pitch to mrsjmills and a week later she caved and I bought preferred parking at the Bird for $700 and gave up the Altabird pass.
The next week Alta announced their parking reservation plan which will be an improvement to last season but has many Alta skiers unhappy.
I’m ready for Hwy-210 toll and having additional buses running or to see the flying bus gondola option.
Knowing a toll will come sooner than later, I started to negotiate with mrsJM how much I would be willing to pay for an annual toll pass up the canyon. I shut up not long after her response.
 

blackke17

I'd rather be at Alta
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I saved all my parking days at the bird for late season, not knowing i didn't have to . I didn't ski the bird until Alta closed unless i crossed over from Alta.

really a piss poor job by snowbird in advising their passholders how to work the parking system
 

Daniel

Out on the slopes
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Cottonwood Heights, Utah
It’s an older Unimog. I can’t be certain of the year but it is older. Maybe pre 1972
You obviously know a bit about Unimogs! Yesterday morning I again climbed Hidden Peak and the Unimog now displays this signage in the passenger-side window and front windscreen:

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Snowbird opened for business in 1971 so your identification of the Unimog's vintage was spot on! Snowbird is now using the vehicle for promotional purposes in regard to its annual Oktoberfest event. This past weekend was the first of ten consecutive Oktoberfest weekends at the resort and I've seen photos being used for promotional advertising of Snowbird employees dressed in traditional German outfits seated in the bed of the Unimog.

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Photo is of Alta's artillery bunker taken from Snowbird's Peruvian Gulch.

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Photo is of Alta's Sugarloaf Peak and the backside of Devil's Castle taken from Snowbird's Hidden Peak.

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RJS

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Seattle area
I love seeing these pictures of LCC in the summer. Still beautiful, but the peaks look less mighty without their snowy blankets.
 

SkiMcP

At the junction of 89 & 93
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Before I start a new an possibly redundant thread, I'm hoping to get a little advice from this one. I unexpectedly find myself with free lodging at Park City the last week of February/first week of March this coming season. Normally I would do a bunch of research before booking anything but this fell into my lap so I am scrambling to catch up. Is there a good place for info and/or does anyone have local thoughts on various things like getting to Park City without renting a car, getting around Park City without a car (i.e. do the bus systems work or do the inconveniences outweigh the benefits) and a good non-Park City resort to hit for a day or two (likely Friday and maybe Saturday and again avoiding a rental car if possible) before heading to Park City? I'd prefer an Ikon option as I have one for my non vacation skiing out east but as housing is free will have some cash to throw at a tickets if its worth doing that. I am an advanced skier (skiing mostly NH and Central/Northern Vt) but this is my first trip out west so may or may not be up for really pushing my terrain limits. Thanks for any advice or info on good sources of the same.
 

tch

What do I know; I'm just some guy on the internet.
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You can get to Park City from the airport easily -- no car required. Uber/Lyft/several limo services provide lots of options.
Depending on where you are staying, Park City can be pretty easily accessed on foot for almost all your needs.
Deer Valley is the only Ikon resort in Park City; PCMR is Epic.

The other SLC resorts are Ikon: Solitude and Brighton are in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Snowbird and Alta are in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Solitude and Brighton are smaller, but (generally) less crowded. Snowbird is famous for harder skiing, and Alta is the old standard (and beautiful). Personally, I've grown to prefer Solitude/Brighton because they are more laidback, but if this is the first time, you might as well get in the more famous Alta and Snowbird. I bet most people on this board will point you there.

Getting up to Alta and Snowbird in LCC can be a pain; if you are willing to pay something, there is really nothing like staying at Alta or Snowbird and skipping the often painful commute up-canyon. If you decide to stay at the resorts, you can get a ride to them. If you decide to stay out of the canyon, you probably will need a car; public transport down in SLC is not really THAT easy or friendly.
 
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cosmoliu

Making fresh tracks
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Central CA Coast
If you want to explore LCC, a great alternative for getting to Snowbird/Alta from Park City for the day is a shuttle service called Canyon Hop. https://canyonhop.com/ Call them a day in advance and they will pick you up from your lodging 8ish and return you at the end of the ski day. You can ask to be dropped off at either Snowbird or Alta. They have an option for a discounted day lift ticket as part of a package price, but you won't need that since you have IKON. I have used them many times in the past for a one-way trip from Park City to Snowbird with my skis and luggage. And for that, they are the only viable option short of hiring a private ride.
 
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