Utah Brighton vs Solitude?

[Ski&ride]

I will be in Salt Lake City next week for a week. My MAX pass allow me to ski Brighton and Solitude, 5 days each. But I only have 6 days total.

I don’t know either mountain too well. Should I split my days on both equally? Or do 4-5 on Solitude, rest at Brighten?

Also, the first and last day will be on the short side, 3-4 hours only. Which mountain lends itself to easy getting to good skiing from the car.

Not looking for radical terrain. More into carefree (stress free?) roaming wherever the good snow is.

 

[Talisman]

Split your time equally s both are good places to ski with good snow and if you are early can park close to the lofts. At Brighton I was partial to the Millicent area and at Solitude Honeycomb Canyon. It is possible to ski from one resort to the other to give you an idea on how close they are.

 

[Philpug]

Why not both? Spend a day at each then decide which fits your preferene.

 

[Ski&ride]

It is possible to ski from one resort to the other.

Can you really?

As I’m only there for 6 days, I can cross back and forth on 4 of them days! Is it worthwhile though? Besides the novelty part that is.

 

[mdf]

Can you really?

As I’m only there for 6 days, I can cross back and forth on 4 of them days! Is it worthwhile though? Besides the novelty part that is.

It is physically possible, but a "SolBright" ticket costs $30 extra over either single resort lift ticket.

I agree with Phil -- do one of each your first two days and decide the rest based on your own preferences. I like both resorts. Brighton has good trees, though they are not as "under-used" as they once were. Solitude has interesting trails off the summit or in Honeycomb canyon.

If you are at a less-advanced level, Solitude has a big open bowl above the main lodge and Brighton has an open area in Millicent.

 

[BS Slarver]

My .02 from doing the same itinerary earlier in the season.
You will need to burn a day pass at each if you were going to cross over during the day but since you have 10 days of max pass for only six it’s not a problem. You will need to stop in and get a tix for which ever area you didn’t start in.

Solitude was just as it’s name describes and Brighton on a weekend was called the Walmart of skiing by more than one local.
The cheaper pass = the bigger crowd.
That being said, midweek we enjoyed the Brighton terrain more.
I was expecting more of a Alta / bird connection and it’s clearly not the case there but certainly doable.

 

[Ski&ride]

You will need to burn a day pass at each if you were going to cross over during the day but since you have 10 days of max pass for only six it’s not a problem. You will need to stop in and get a tix for which ever area you didn’t start in.
.

Exactly. I have more day pass than days to use them all anyway.

But that’s only if there’s interesting skiing crossing back and forth. Otherwise, looks like each area has enough for a few days.

 

[Jacob]

It is physically possible, but a "SolBright" ticket costs $30 extra over either single resort lift ticket.

Sorry for the thread drift, but I don't understand why these two resorts do this. It doesn't really make sense from a business perspective.

If the manager of a European lift operator came in to manage both resorts, the first thing he/she would do would be to abolish the separate lift tickets and just create one ticket that covers both resorts and has significant multi-day discounts. And the second thing he/she would do is scrap the separate trail maps and make a single map for the entire area.

Basically, it would be marketed as one big ski area with two bases instead of two smaller separate areas, with the multi-day discounts encouraging visitors to stay longer.

 

[RJS]

Sorry for the thread drift, but I don't understand why these two resorts do this. It doesn't really make sense from a business perspective.

If the manager of a European lift operator came in to manage both resorts, the first thing he/she would do would be to abolish the separate lift tickets and just create one ticket that covers both resorts and has significant multi-day discounts. And the second thing he/she would do is scrap the separate trail maps and make a single map for the entire area.

Basically, it would be marketed as one big ski area with two bases instead of two smaller separate areas, with the multi-day discounts encouraging visitors to stay longer.

Changing topics slightly, but isn't that the eventual goal of One Wasatch? That plan would encompass all of DV, PCMR, BCC and LCC.

 

[Jacob]

Changing topics slightly, but isn't that the eventual goal of One Wasatch? That plan would encompass all of DV, PCMR, BCC and LCC.

Pretty much, though there's still a significant chance that the OW plan won't happen. There are still a lot of hurdles.

But with Brighton-Solitude, I can't really see much standing in the way of them changing their marketing setup so that it's sold as a single ski area with two bases.

 

[RJS]

Agreed that there's a good chance of One Wasatch not happening. The Alta/Solitude connection occurs mostly on private land owned by Alta, so I could see that happening. I think the Park City to Solitude connection will be more contentious. Now that Vail owns Park City and Alterra owns Deer Valley, I will be curious to know what it would take for there to be a joint DV/PC lift ticket. I digress!

I see merit to your idea about marketing BCC as one resort with two bases. For a destination skier, Brighton and Solitude look small next to Alta/Snowbird and Park City, even if they are decent sized resorts in their own right.

I'm curious to see where Brighton and Solitude land in terms of pass products. Both were on the MAX pass, and now aren't part of Ikon, MCP or Epic. It sounds like Brighton has a dedicated local following, but I would imagine that Solitude would really like to increase skier visits.

 

[Jacob]

I see merit to your idea about marketing BCC as one resort with two bases. For a destination skier, Brighton and Solitude look small next to Alta/Snowbird and Park City, even if they are decent sized resorts in their own right.

I'm curious to see where Brighton and Solitude land in terms of pass products. Both were on the MAX pass, and now aren't part of Ikon, MCP or Epic. It sounds like Brighton has a dedicated local following, but I would imagine that Solitude would really like to increase skier visits.

From a business perspective, marketing the two as a single large ski area would be the easiest way to increase business. With very little effort, it becomes a destination with 15 lifts and 133 runs instead of two small resorts with about half of that each.

They already have everything they need in place. All they'd have to do is make one change to the lift tickets and draw up a new trail map.

 

[focker]

If I were to fly to UT with the family would these resorts be a good option for us? We're a family that enjoys exploring, groomers and tree skiing.

Also, how do ticket prices compare for these two vs Alta? What's the cheapest option for skiing 3-4 days in UT?

 

[Slim]

... came in to manage both resorts, the first thing he/she would do would be to abolish the separate lift tickets
Basically, it would be marketed as one big ski area with two bases instead of two smaller separate areas, with the multi-day discounts encouraging visitors to stay longer.

But they are not owned or managed by one company are they?

Correct on geography thoug, Even Canyons and Park City bases are further apart than Brighton and Solitude right? Heck, even Winterpark and Mary Jane bases are probably a similar distance apart.

Like the OP, I am planning on using my 9 days of MAX passes for 4 or 5 days of skiing, treating it as one resort. I looked at lodgin in both areas, didn’t matter to me which.

 

[Slim]

If I were to fly to UT with the family would these resorts be a good option for us? We're a family that enjoys exploring, groomers and tree skiing.

Also, how do ticket prices compare for these two vs Alta? What's the cheapest option for skiing 3-4 days in UT?

I think Big Cottonwood Canyon is a great family destination. The two resorts are not too big, and Brighton especially all funnels back down to the same spot at the bottom, so it’s easy to let kids ski alone. Very playful terrain with lots of rock outcropping she and gullies to explore. Good tree skiing there too. When you combine the two, they are a decent size as well.
In Solitude all the lodging I saw included access to the outdoor pool with a waterslide, big plus for my kids.

These are some of the cheapest tickets in the US (for decent sized, popular areas). For Lift prices Check kids free deals and lifttopia, as well as ski and stay free options. Park City has a deal for $300 airfare credit on Delta if you stay there, but tickets are more expensive and spring conditions are poorer. Delta has many direct flights from MSP-SLC, so super convenient for travel time. Southwest also flies this, with a fast change in DEN.

 

[focker]

I think Big Cottonwood Canyon is a great family destination. The two resorts are not too big, and Brighton especially all funnels back down to the same spot at the bottom, so it’s easy to let kids ski alone. Very playful terrain with lots of rock outcropping she and gullies to explore. Good tree skiing there too. When you combine the two, they are a decent size as well.
In Solitude all the lodging I saw included access to the outdoor pool with a waterslide, big plus for my kids.

These are some of the cheapest tickets in the US (for decent sized, popular areas). For Lift prices Check kids free deals and lifttopia, as well as ski and stay free options. Park City has a deal for $300 airfare credit on Delta if you stay there, but tickets are more expensive and spring conditions are poorer. Delta has many direct flights from MSP-SLC, so super convenient for travel time. Southwest also flies this, with a fast change in DEN.

Thanks for the reply. We'd likely stay 1-2 nights in SLC and 1-2 nights right at the resort. Haven't checked pricing out much yet.

 

[Mike75]

They'd have to do some more work to effectively link the two resorts. There is no way for less advanced skiers to get from one resort to the other. The SolBright trail that currently connects the resorts is marked a blue, but has an experts only sign once you get to the ungroomed part of the trail.

 

[focker]

Man Solitude and Brighton tickets are dirt cheap on liftopia... Wow...

 

[Jacob]

But they are not owned or managed by one company are they?

The large, interconnected European resorts aren't owned by single entities either. In fact, European resorts aren't even owned; they're towns/villages that have some companies running lifts and maintaining slopes, some companies running restaurants and bars on the mountain, and some companies running ski schools.

The whole interconnected ski area comes from the lift operators in the connected towns coming up with a revenue sharing deal. So for example, the Espace Killy is only a connected ski area because the two lift operators in Val d'Isere and Tignes have a revenue sharing deal and have agreed to just use a single trail map.

There are some areas where a single company runs all of the lifts in the connected towns. But in a lot of them, it's different operators in different parts of the area with a revenue sharing deal in place.

Brighton and Solitude must have some sort of deal set up for the people who pay the extra $30 to use the link, and the link is already in place. It really shouldn't take a lot to make the switch to marketing it as a single ski area.

 

[focker]

Question for you people with UT experience. Do we rent a car there or not? Is there enough to do at the Solitude base area to not need a car to travel around? Or would you recommend we get one?