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Tricia

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We really should ski Powder Mountain sometime.

That’s something Phil and I have said to each other nearly every time we've been in Utah over the past seven or eight years; 2019 was the year we ended up skiing Powder Mountain, and we are kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner.

As we drove up the rugged and ill-kept road, we wondered if our GPS was leading us astray, but then we saw it, the rustic building that is the Timberline Lodge of Powder Mountain. The well-maintained period dining area in the cafeteria speaks clearly about the average PowMow skier, which is anything but average.

In the lower level of Timberline Lodge you’ll find the Powder Keg, which was highly recommended by both locals and staff as a favorite place to eat and have a beverage to top off a great day of powder. This is where Phil and I ended our day with a delicious prime rib sandwich for a mere $12, not something you'll find at an average resort.

We met up with marketing manager JP, who was eager to give us a mountain tour and share some little-known facts about Powder and the things that make it so special.

Powder Mountain was ranch land owned by the Cobabe family. Dr Cobabe began to amass more land, taking the acreage from 8,000 to 14,000 by the time he opened the ski area in February 1972. He built a sawmill and used timber from cutting ski trails to build the Timberline Lodge as well as other buildings on the property. When the mountain opened, the Sundown lift was the only one in operation, but prior to the official opening, they used the mountain cat to give some skiers a taste of what Powder could offer.

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Powder is one of the few mountains that limit season passes (only 3,000 are sold per year) and day tickets (1,500 per day) to restrict crowds and preserve the powder, hence the hashtag Powder Mountain proudly uses #preservingthepow.

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You won’t find any snow guns at Powder Mountain because it relies on Mother Nature to provide the goods, but you will find cat skiing. You won't find lift lines, but you will find a new Hidden Lake lift; it replaced the original in 2006, eliminating the 24-min ride that the old lift was known for. You won't find fancy restaurants, but you will find incredibly good food at an affordable price. You’ll also find a private lodge and some homes on the mountain that are a part of the multiphase expansion implemented by Summit Group after the acquisition in 2017 to give private homeowners a unique experience.

To summarize our day at Powder Mountain, we found it to be a great combination of funky roots vibe and cool contemporary mountain. Mostly we’re wondering why it took us so long to ski this incredibly fun mountain and are starting to plan our next Powder experience. There are no fancy marble-clad bathrooms, just a friendly vibe that makes any ski trip enjoyable. If you’re sitting at your computer pondering which ski adventure you’re going to take next season, you’d be remiss if you don’t put Powder Mountain at the top of your list -- but book ahead, because lodging is limited.
  • Who is it for? Those who enjoy mountains that are off the beaten path.
  • Who is it not for? Skiers looking for the ski village experience.
  • Insider tip: Powder Mountain offers affordable mountain guides.

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AmyPJ

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Powder Mountain also has a fantastic network of MTB trails that they have been adding on to every year. We just need the snow to melt and it to stop raining this year...
It's definitely a very fun, laid-back place to ski.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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Sold! (Again. Remember "Deliberate One"? He, among others, was really big on the place.) Sounds very much like my kind of ski area.
 

Ken_R

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I was sold a long time ago. Just have to get over there! Was kinda hard this season being so good here. :huh:
 

ADKmel

Skiing the powder
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I want to go back to Powder Mt. I had the BEST Powder day in my life there! We had a guide and never skied a groomed trail except short run outs to a lift to go ski more untracked 10"! Our cat ride our guide had us wait til everyone left then took us on the longest ungroomed run I've ever done. photo of what we skied 20140131_121644.jpg 20140131_115424.jpg
 
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4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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I’ll throw out a few powder mountain photos here...
Off the back of Lightning Ridge
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(PC: Chris Morgan)

Fall fun w/ @AmyPJ & crew
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Setting towers for Mary’s Lift a few years ago
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& skiing down to the Village Lift this past Spring
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The same area in the Fall
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Some Powder skiing in the Big Cache area off Lightning Ridge
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I worked at Powder Mountain for two seasons, one of those as a guide. I have also skied there off & on since 2001 & I will be a season pass holder next season. The place is complicated and if you are not familiar,@Tricia ’s suggestion of using a guide is a good one.

The place has a lot to offer & even more if you’re willing to work for it. Not much steep skiing & only one high speed lift, but you can get a Snow Cat ride for $25 or ski down to the road & catch a bus back to the lift. If you do the all day guide thing a Cat ride is included, at least it was.

You may not get a ton of vertical but sometimes quality over quantity wins & the place just feels fun & real :)
 
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Philpug

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It was the first place I skied that I actually felt lonely.

Usually when you say "I have to get back to a certain area" it is because you had an incredible powder day or the snow was jsut stellar and it is usually because you were lucky. This is not the case when we skied Powder. The snow was good, nowhere near worthy the name of the mountain but we could immediately tell this place was indeed special. So now that we said "We really should ski Powder Mountain sometime" we can now say "We have to get back and ski Powder Mountain again"
 

RJS

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Powder Mountain is the only major resort in the SLC area that I have not visited, and this thread is really making me want to pay a visit! Although there are times when I want to ski challenging terrain or get a lot of vertical, as I become a better skier I'm increasingly realizing that I prefer quality over quantity. At a place like Alta, I'll keep lapping an area like Devil's Castle over and over again, even though each run might take 30-45 minutes (or more) due to traversing, hiking, or stopping to catch my breath. But it's worth it to get runs with great snow. It sounds like Powder Mountain is an entire mountain like that. Who cares if the runs aren't the steepest, or you only do a run or two an hour. It's the quality that counts. As pumped I'm starting to get for summer, reading this is already making me look forward to winter :doh::D!
 

kimberlin

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I skied Powder Mtn. as a beginner and then going back with better skills a few years later. My first visit had me hooked! It's truly a wonderful area with my preference to ski there rather than Snowbasin right down the road. And yes, the drive up is best suited to vehicles that handle snow well when it is Winter, as the road is challenging on the way down .
 

MarkP

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How does one get a Jedi to do a "Nothing to see here, folks... move along." on everyone that comes across this thread?

We keep going back to Powder Mtn every other year. All the individual reasons have been expressed already. Put them together and it adds up to just feeling right.
 

David Chaus

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Pow Mow was the first ski area in UT that I skied. One of the two days it was puking, all day. It was early season so the Paradise lift wasn’t open, but with Hidden Lake and the Sunrise platter there was a lot to explore. Nice groves of aspens, and with relatively low angle terrain it’s one of the best places to learn to ski off-piste and powder.

When I visit in Utah I typically have a few days at the Worldmark down in Eden, so Powder Mt is the closest ski are to get to, with Snowbasin pretty easy as well.
 

Jim McDonald

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Been there, had a great time, and keep planning to go back but it hasn't happened yet. Basically, ditto all that's been said already.
 

blackke17

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place is fantastic! - those cat rides really put you on some good terrain .I've been in Utah 5 years and have only made it there once - but that one trip will live in the memory banks forever. My brother, nephew and few buddies went up there and caught the tail end of a 2 foot dump. it really lived up to its name that day - snowed so much we couldn't get back down the road for a few hours after the resort closed- small price to pay for the goods!
 

Scruffy

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Great place. Skied there several times. The cat skiing is awesome; they charge a very reasonable price for a per ride, well it's actually a cat tow rope ride up to the ridge. Did you hit the side country area, the Outback area, and then catch the Powder Mt Bus back to the lodge?
 

Itinerant skier

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I mentioned in another thread PowMow is my new favorite mountain. I skied it on my Loveland pass this year and am hooked big time. Got lucky and the first day was a massive Pow Pow dump, but it was just as good two days later. Definitely going back next year.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Powder Mountain also has a fantastic network of MTB trails that they have been adding on to every year. We just need the snow to melt and it to stop raining this year...
It's definitely a very fun, laid-back place to ski.
Edit to add some details.
Philpug and I are on our cross country road trip to attend the Hall of Fame enshrinement and are making a few stops along the way.
Today we rode bikes with Amy PJ and UTSkier at Powder Mountain. What a hoot!!
Big shout out to Amy for showing us around and not killing me.

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@utskier @AmyPJ @Philpug
 
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AmyPJ

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What a hoot showing you the Brim trail!
 

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Tricia

Tricia

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Super fun rock section.
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4ster

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upload_2019-9-14_15-38-15.jpeg
^
Looks like @utskier is running late ;)

Hoping to be there in a week, just in time for full fall foliage, cool temps & hero dirt...
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