TR: AJ's Ski Reports

[dj snow]

Sadly, none of the trails at Deer Valley are snowboard-friendly.

 

I've been there (only to eat), and I agree it looks very nice. But they don't allow snowboards, so I won't be buying any lift tickets until that changes.

 

Fortunately there are fine choices like Snowbird and The Canyons a short drive away!

[rcdude]

January 3rd, 2012-Park City Mountain Resort

 

Park City Mountain Resort

 

When people think of skiing in Utah, they often think of one of two places: the Cottonwood Canyons or Park City. Of course, of the three Park City ski areas, Park City Mountain Resort is the most well known. Covering an expansive 3,300 acres, with a vertical drop of 3,100 ft., Park City Mountain could keep most occupied for several days. Sixteen lifts (3 Doubles, 6 Triples, 3 High-Speed Quads, and 4 High-Speed Six-Packs), provide access to 114 trails. About half of Park City is suitable for intermediates, and a third is black diamond terrain. Surprisingly, outside of the beginner area, there are few good beginner trails (though there are a handful of them).

 

Layout:

 

Trail Map: http://skimap.org/data/229/607/1322853081.pdf

 

Park City is a very easy mountain to get around, with many runs funneling into a common area. The mountain is really just a series of ridges, with chairlifts ascending at various points along them. Due to the trailmap dividing the ski area into several different areas, it is also easy to reference parts of the mountain when describing it.

 

Crescent

 

The Crescent area of Park City is probably the largest developed portion of the mountain. At its base are the First Time Lift and 3 Kings Lift, the two main beginner chairs on the mountain. 3 Kings is also the primary terrain park lift at Park City, and is the most popular lift during night sessions. The longest lift on the mountain, Crescent Lift, is also found in this mountainzone. Over 7,000 ft. long, this chair is perfect for intermediates who wish to improve their skills, as many of the black runs on this part of the mountain are groomed. The fourth lift here is the Eagle Lift, but unfortunately the good advanced terrain under it is often closed for competitions.

 

Jupiter

 

The entire Jupiter area was closed when I visited due to a lack of snow, but it is basically all lift-serviced backcountry terrain. Although the area is labeled experts only, anyone who is comfortable with ungroomed conditions could probably find a route down (most of the terrain was about as steep as PCMR's average single black).

 

King Con

 

On my visit, the King Con mountainzone had the best conditions out of anywhere on the mountain. The main lift here, the King Con Lift, provides access to a number of intermediate trails. Unfortunately, half of them were closed. The other two chairs in this area are somewhat pointless, as Silver Star Lift is just an access lift for the condos at its base, and Eaglet Lift only serves a terrain park.

 

McConkey's

 

I have little input on this area, as only two trails down from McConkey's Lift were open. What I can say is that it looked like a good intermediate area, but due to the thin conditions and rocks scattered all over the place, it wasn't worth skiing. We did it once, and as soon as we got down headed to a different mountainzone. At the time of our trip, this area had the worst conditions on the mountain.

 

PayDay/Town

 

Unfortunately, the Town chair was closed when we visited due to mechanical issues (it has since reopened). However, we did do a couple runs on the PayDay Lift. This is a good area for intermediates, with nice long runs that are challenging but not too difficult, and is the area open for night skiing (in addition to the beginner chairs). Due to conditions, only half of the trails off this lift were open, but the ones that were had decent coverage.

 

Silverlode/Bonanza

 

Surprisingly, the two chairs here gave access to completely different runs. While both serviced intermediate terrain, the Bonanza Lift had pretty good coverage for the most part, and was the less crowded lift of the two. The Silverlode Lift, on the other hand, led to runs that were ungroomed and had weeds poking up all over the place. The trails were also steeper on the Silverlode side.

 

Thaynes/Motherlode

 

The Motherlode Lift was a great intermediate chair. Good runs, above-average snow (once you got past the top part under Silverlode), and no crowds. However, it does have one big downside: It is an 11 minute ride. This chair is my candidate for the next lift to be upgraded to a High-Speed Quad. The other chair in this area, Thaynes, was closed due to lack of snow, but it looked like it was probably the best area on the mountain for groomed black diamond terrain.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

If I had the chance to ski all three Park City resorts again under ideal conditions, I have a feeling that PCMR would probably be my favorite. However, due to the shortage of open terrain and the poor conditions on some of the runs, I didn't enjoy it too much. It wasn't horrible, but I certainly felt like there were plenty of other, better, cheaper places to ski than here based on what I saw.

 

Best Bet for Beginners: First Time and 3 Kings, or Homerun if you can handle crowds

Best Bet for Intermediates: Warm up on Payday, then head to King Con, McConkey's, and Silverlode

Best Bet for Advanced: Thaynes if you like groomers, Jupiter otherwise

 

The Alpine Coaster

 

Being an amusement park enthusiast, there's no way I would forget about this. The Alpine Coaster is pretty much a cross between a traditional roller coaster and an alpine slide. You buckle up, then ride up the hill on a series of four lifts. 5 minutes later, you are at the top. How long it takes to get down depends on whether or not you use your brakes. I didn't use mine at all, and I'd estimate it took slightly over two minutes to get back to the bottom. My dad took about thirty seconds (give or take) longer due to some brake usage.

 

How was the ride? It was actually pretty good. Unlike a normal coaster, there are no real drops, and the ride consists of turns and helixes winding their way down the mountain. I'm guessing the vertical drop might be as much as 600 ft (probably less, but not by too much). Even though the top speed is approximately 25 MPH, due to the combination of tight turns and minimal banking the lateral forces are very strong. There was at least one point where I would have probably fallen off if not for the seatbelt.

 

It was a good ride. Was it worth it? Well, I don't know if I'd pay $20 to do it again, but it was worth it for one ride. I'd definitely recommend it, and if the ride was in the $5-10 range I would do it at least once per visit. Is it a credit? I personally don't count it since you are in control, but I can definitely see how some people would.

 

For more about the Alpine Coaster, see Robb's Park City trip report (which includes a POV).

 

After Skiing

 

Although we quit around four, that wasn't the end of our winter activities for the night. That evening, we went snow tubing at Gorgoza Park. This is definitely the best tubing place I've been to, and they have a great setup. At the bottom of the hill, there are two moving carpets. The shorter one is not more than 100 ft, and is reserved for kids. The longer one is about 400 ft long and provides access to three tubing lanes. At this point, the lanes are about the average length for a tubing park. However, if you want a longer run, there is a tubing tow at the top of the moving carpet that goes up an additional 500 ft or so to the top of the hill. It is the four lanes from here that are the ones to do.

 

When riding down, you have several options. The first is to go by yourself, but almost everyone knows that is generally not as fun. The second is to go in a group of up to eight, which is fun but the number of tubes creates drag and slows the group. The third, and best (at least in my opinion) way is in pairs. My dad and I did this for most of our runs, and we went so fast we almost always overshot the brake mats at the bottom.

 

For anyone interested in going here, a few notes: 1. If you are under 42 inches, you are restricted to the two carpets. If you are over 42 inches, you are permitted on the tow and banned from the short carpet. 2. If at all possible, go on a weekday evening. There were minimal lines when we were there, but it still took 10-15 minutes per run. If the line for the carpet and the line for the tow are both full, I could see it taking 30-45 minutes just for one run. I know from my experience at other tubing parks that they are usually packed on weekends. Finally, 3. Tickets can be purchased in 2 or 4 hour increments. However, if you only want to do one or two runs, single runs are available for $8 each.

 

When we were done tubing, we went back to the hotel and got changed, then walked over to the Good Thymes Bistro to grab dinner. It was decent. After walking around the shopping center for a little bit, we headed back to the hotel for the night.

 

Photos:

This is the Crescent Mountainzone, as seen from the parking lot. Technically, this and the next picture were taken at the end of the day, but they work best here.

The Payday area of Park City. Payday Run (the one on the left) is the primary nightskiing trail.

We decided to begin our day on the King Con Lift.

On the open runs, the snow was pretty good.

However, others showed how little natural snow had actually fallen.

A good comparison of the groomed and ungroomed trails.

One of the things I thought was nice about PCMR were the restaurants spread all over the mountain. It wasn't necessary for everyone to crowd the base lodge at mealtimes.

We went to Motherlode in the morning as well. This doesn't even show half of the chair's length.

The open runs on this area of the mountain were great.

Unfortunately, just out of sight at the top is a weed-filled mogul field.

Overview of the closed Jupiter area. It is really difficult to find the chairlift here, but if you look closely you might spot it.

I didn't take very many pictures at PCMR (I'm not sure why). To end, here is a picture of the tubing park. The runs in the foreground are from the long carpet, and the longer runs are just visible in the background. They are about twice as long as what you'd find at an average tubing park.

[SharkTums]

It's crazy just how little snow they've gotten! I hope the conditions are better this Christmas as it looks like we'll be heading out again!

[cfc]

^Conditions were pretty shocking at Lake Tahoe last December, as well. There was no snow around my parents' house at Kings Beach, and the ski areas were making snow like crazy.

 

This after a few years of absolutely insane snowfalls in the Sierra Nevada.

[rcdude]

Well, now that there has been some natural snowfall, I'm guessing the mountains look completely different. However, that's not a reason to abandon this. If all goes well and I'm not too busy, I'll be done with this trip by the end of next week. Now, to continue.

 

January 4th, 2012-Canyons Resort

 

Canyons Resort

 

While Canyons is not the newest of Park City's ski areas, it is definitely the most developed. Half of the ski area consists of trails that wind around roads, through tunnels and under bridges. I don't know how accurate their 4,000 acres of terrain claim is, but this ski area certainly seems quite large. The mountain has 3,190 ft. of vertical, accessed by 19 lifts (2 surface lifts, 2 Doubles, 2 Triples, 4 Fixed-Grip Quads, 5 High-Speed Quads, 1 High-Speed Six-Pack, 1 High-Speed Cabriolet, 1 High-Speed Gondola, and 1 Pulse Gondola). Cascading down the slopes are 182 trails, although many of these were not open on my visit.

 

Layout:

 

Trail Map: http://skimap.org/data/218/607/1322770686.pdf

 

Canyons is very spread out, and as a result I will be discussing it by lift. However, the following will be omitted, as they were all closed on my visit:

 

Sunrise

Peak 5

Iron Mountain Express

Flat Iron

Day Break

DreamScape

DreamCatcher

 

Orange Bubble Express

 

Before talking about the terrain, let's talk about this lift. Orange Bubble Express is not only one of the longest chairlifts I have ever seen (8700 ft.), but it is also one of the most comfortable. The chairs feature heated seats, and there is a bubble canopy that can be lowered in poor weather to keep riders shielded from the elements. With the bubble down, the lift can get quite warm. Now, the Orange Bubble Express looked like it had some decent terrain, but unfortunately almost all of it was closed. This left only Doc's Run open, and while it was okay Doc's Run is not very challenging. We skied it a few times however, simply because it had some of the best conditions on the mountain.

 

High Meadow

 

High Meadow is the beginner area, and it seemed pretty decent. It is a little sheltered from the more advanced terrain, but the trails dump you into a large flat area that is a pain to cross.

 

Saddleback

 

None of the advanced runs were open on Saddleback Express, but the intermediate trails were pretty good and had decent conditions. This is also the location of Canyons's terrain park, so most of the snowboarders hung out here and made this the most crowded lift.

 

Tombstone

 

We spent the largest portion of our time on Tombstone Express because the snow was generally good here and there were a couple open black trails (mainly The Drop). However, the black trails in this area of the mountain didn't generally look too challenging, especially when they were groomed.

 

Short Cut

 

Short Cut is a bizarre chair because it first goes down and then up. It has no unique terrain it services, and is simply used to get from Red Pine Lodge to Lookout Cabin.

 

Sun Peak

 

While a majority of the trails off Sun Peak Express were open, all of them except Echo were ungroomed and had terrible snow conditions. As a result, we didn't spend much time on this lift.

 

Super Condor

 

I really wanted to like the Super Condor Express, as there were a lot of good intermediate trails up here. However, it had the worst snow on the mountain. Two of the three runs I skied up here were littered with bare spots, and it was necessary to go slow and pick your way down to avoid hitting rocks. I was somewhat surprised this area was even open, as it seemed barely skiable.

 

Ninety-Nine 90

 

I wanted to give Ninety-Nine 90 Express a try, but after hearing that the snow conditions were horrible up here we decided to pass on it. While some of the trails looked quite steep, I'm pretty sure an intermediate could ski down from this lift if the snow was good.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

Canyons Resort was definitely my least favorite of the three Park City ski areas, and my least favorite resort of the trip. This may be due to the snow conditions and limited terrain, so I would really like to try it again when 80-90% of the trails are open instead of just 20%. However, another issue I found was the lack of terrain that was fun without being challenging. It seemed like most trails at the ski area were either not very interesting or quite difficult for their rating. There was a big gap in steepness between the single and double blue square runs, and due to the conditions this jump was much more pronounced. I'm guessing I'd probably like this place better if everything was open and I wasn't dodging rocks all day, but I still think Deer Valley and Park City are probably better ski areas.

 

Best Bet for Beginners: High Meadow chair

Best Bet for Intermediates: Super Condor Express and Tombstone Express if conditions are good, Saddleback Express otherwise

Best Bet for Advanced: Peak 5 for tree skiing, Ninety-Nine 90 Express for anything else

 

After Skiing:

 

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to head down to the hot tub for a bit. Once we were done there, we showered and changed, then we drove to Park City wand walked around on Main Street for a bit. We then headed one street over and got dinner at Davanza's. It's a pizza restaurant, and the pizza was pretty good. Not my favorite, but still in the above average category. We then went back to the hotel for the night.

 

Photos:

The day starts with a ride up the Red Pine Gondola. This lift used to be called Flight of the Canyons, and I can see where it got its name.

We started off on Saddleback Express.

However, before long we decided to head over to a different lift.

Tombstone Express is actually a pretty long lift. It was my favorite lift on the mountain.

This was the only advanced run that had good conditions.

The trail next to it looks to be about the same steepness, but it is a lower difficulty level.

Canyons Resort as seen from this side.

Once we were done on Tombstone, we took the Short Cut chair over to the Sun Peak area.

While riding, we noticed this zipline. I don't know how high it got off the ground, but I would guess it was at least 300 ft. up at the highest point.

Now over to the Super Condor chair.

These trails now have enough snow to be open, but when we visited they looked like this. Doesn't look much like a ski area here, does it?

This shows just how massive Canyons Resort is. That terminal in the distance is the top of Ninety-Nine 90 Express.

It might be hard to make out here, but this is the Orange Bubble Chair.

When there is more snow, runs like this are open. Unfortunately, this was just one of many trails closed today.

Sun Peak looks like a decent area on the map, but it really seemed like there wasn't much there.

Of course, the limited amount of decent open terrain could have contributed to this assessment.

There is no way I am skiing down that.

Back to the lodge for lunch. As you can see here, conditions weren't bad all over the mountain.

And finally, a look at the top of the gondola. Since you can't actually ski directly from Red Pine lodge to the base area, it is necessary to take the Short Cut chair if you do not wish to ride this down at the end of the day.

[dj snow]

I have been to The Canyons a couple of times, and have enjoyed it. It's the easiest of the resorts to reach from the airport, so it's great for a day trip if you're flying in. However, it's also at a lower elevation than the other resorts, so it gets warmer temperatures and this can affect the snow quality and coverage.

 

My visits to The Canyons have been either following or during big snow dumps, so I've seen it at its best. My plan of attack the last time I went was to get as far as possible from the top of the gondola as quickly as possible (which takes a little while, because as you noted, it's very spread out), and I found plenty of untouched powder a full hour or two after the lifts opened. I'd certainly go back!

 

In case you're interested, my trip report from one of my Utah trips can be found here.

[rcdude]

^Looks like that trip was fun. It reminds me of my 2011 trip to the Cottonwood Canyons resorts. I probably would have enjoyed Canyons a lot more if the snow was closer to that.

 

Two weeks is too long between updates. Therefore, I will do the next one now and the final one from this trip on either Monday or Tuesday next week (depends how tired I am from WCB).

 

January 5th, 2012-Sundance Resort

 

Originally, we figured we would ski one day at each of the Park City ski areas, then use this day to spend a second day at the one we liked best. However, due to conditions we decided none of them were worth the price for a second day, so we used this to try another place. We were originally thinking Snowbasin, but since that was in the opposite direction we instead chose Sundance.

 

Sundance Resort

 

Upon arriving at the parking lot, Sundance looks like a small mountain village. In fact, it is so small that I doubt anyone would have heard of it if not for the Sundance Film Festival (which is conveniently held in Park City). It isn't obvious that there is a ski area here. However, crossing a bridge over a small creek will place you at the bottom of a chairlift somewhat hidden from the parking lot by trees.

 

Sundance is not really a place that most visitors consider. It is a smaller ski area (by Utah Standards) at only 450 acres, but it does have 2,150 ft of vertical. The ski area has 41 trails serviced by 3 lifts (2 Triples, 1 Fixed-Grip Quad), as well as a secluded beginner area with its own handle tow (no lift ticket required). However, despite its size, we skied here for a decent portion of a day and never got bored with the mountain.

 

Layout:

 

Trail Map: http://skimap.org/data/230/7/1214800745.pdf

 

The lower portion of Sundance is serviced by a single quad chairlift, Ray's Lift, with a couple mid-stations. Despite the inclusion of a couple black trails on the map, a strong intermediate should be able to handle everything down here. Beginners should not ride the lift up beyond the first mid-station, but everything below this point is suitable for them. All the trails on this part of the mountain are long and mostly wide-open, so it is a great area for cruising.

 

On the upper mountain are the two triple chairs. Arrowhead runs from the top of Ray's Lift to the top of the mountain. The terrain up here is really good, and if everything is open you could spend a good two to three hours on this lift alone. The views from the top of the mountain are excellent as well. The other lift up here, Flathead, was not open when I visited, but it looked like it serviced some very steep terrain suitable for Advanced skiers only.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

Even though Sundance isn't a big resort, I enjoyed it. I actually liked Sundance Resort better than Canyons Resort. My dad said it reminded him a lot of Mt. Baldy in Southern California, and I agree. It isn't a big ski area, but it doesn't try to be one, and it provides a much different experience. While they do have some modern features, the resort feels more like a family run organization and less like a big corporate operation. However, I will say that you shouldn't plan on skiing a full day here, as it is more of a half-day resort.

 

Best Bet for Beginners: The Handle Tow

Best Bet for Intermediates: Arrowhead

Best Bet for Advanced: Flathead and Bishop's Bowl

 

After Skiing:

 

Once we were done skiing, we drove down to our hotel in Beaver, UT, and got dinner at a nearby McDonalds. We then spent some time browsing the gas station convenience store across the street from our hotel before returning to our room and snacking on the candy we had purchased while watching TV. It was a rather uneventful night.

 

Photos:

While not immediately obvious, a short walk from the parking area reveals a perfectly good chairlift ready for use.

After a 12 minute ride, this mile long lift will allow you access to the entire lower mountain.

You then proceed up Arrowhead to access the upper mountain.

That hill is where the summit station of Ray's Lift is located.

We drove right past that lake on the way up here.

Nothing on top of the mountain. Just the summit station for the chairlift.

And this old restaurant. They don't even have running water up here.

I'm on top of Sundance Resort (the actual mountain is much higher).

My dad (pictured) and I agree...Sundance has better scenery than any of the Park City areas.

While a few runs had snow that looked like this, most of them had good coverage.

Of course, there was not enough snow to open Bishop's Bowl.

Finally, I will end this update with a view down the valley from the top of the ski area.

[rcdude]

Time to finish this, at least until I go to Mammoth.

 

January 6th, 2012-Brian Head Resort

 

Originally, on the last day of the trip, we were going to ski at a small ski area named Eagle Point (a locals resort about 30 minutes from Beaver). However, since that ski area has no snowmaking, it was not yet open. We therefore decided to do a half-day at Brian Head before heading home.

 

Before leaving Beaver, however, we went to this restaurant named Arshel's Cafe for breakfast. This was an interesting little restaurant that seemed like an older establishment. One interesting thing was the books they had on the tables: each table had a few small books that you could look at while waiting for your food, and they were what I call "humorous advice" books. The food itself was pretty good, and overall I'd say this place was good but not the best breakfast place I've been to. For whatever reason, the restaurant was deserted and we were the only customers there.

 

Anyway, after we paid we left and made the hour or so drive to Brian Head.

 

Brian Head Resort

 

I skied here in January 2011 and really enjoyed it (despite the lousy weather), so I was looking forward to another visit. While the weather was better this time, the snow conditions definitely were not. It wasn't the worst conditions of the trip, but not nearly as many trails as I expected were open.

 

Since I've already covered this ski area, I'll be brief (look at my previous post for all the details). Basically, Brian Head is a medium sized ski area (though small by Utah standards) that covers two peaks on opposite sides of the highway. Based on my experience, i'm guessing that it is rarely crowded. They have good terrain for every member of the family, but none of it is particularly challenging. I don't think there is a single run on the mountain that an intermediate couldn't handle. The ski area is also very good for beginners, with three lifts and nearly a whole mountain dedicated to beginner terrain. One other attractive thing about Brian Head is the prices: a single day lift ticket is only $45. One thing we discovered that was helpful was that the ski area not only has afternoon half-day tickets (begin at 12:30 P.M.), but morning half-day tickets as well (good until 1 P.M.).

 

Since I didn't take very many pictures of Brian Head last year, I've got plenty more to post below. All else that remains to be said of the trip is that we skied until about 12:30, drove to St. George where we got gas and lunch (Wendy's), then made it all the way home on a single tank of gas. Thus ends my big ski trip for 2012, although I am planning one more trip, a weekend trip to Mammorth in late March.

 

Photos:

Riding up the Giant Steps chair in the morning. This lift is a 10 minute ride and is the only chair that I think could use an upgrade at Brian Head.

The main run down from the top of the mountain. Those signs in the middle of the run read "Thin Cover".

Fortunately, most of the major dirt patches were individually marked.

Last year, they had a Nastar course down here. I guess they got rid of it.

Roulette was my favorite chair at the ski area last year. It's just too bad there were only two runs open off it this year.

Looking down at the lower elevations of Utah.

The top of Roulette is not that much lower than the true summit of the ski area.

Looking over the ski area from the Roulette lift. The closer terrain is Brian Head peak while the far terrain is Navajo peak.

A look the other way at Blackfoot (the lower lift) and Roulette (the upper one). Brian Head seems to have a gambling theme, as they have chairs named Roulette and the Dunes and previously had Black Jack, Stardust, and Riviera.

Back up to the top.

The Dunes closed early on my previous visit due to weather, and it was closed on this visit due to conditions. I wonder if I'll ever get a chance to ski it.

To head over to Navajo mountain, you must take the Wildflower chair.

Navajo is a 3,900 ft lift with only 600 ft of vertical. This makes it an excellent lift for beginners.

The snow was a little better on this side of the mountain, but overall conditions were excellent on the groomed terrain.

Slopeside lodging. I'm not sure if these are houses or condos.

Before heading home, we drove up the road a couple miles to check out Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Brian Head peak from the backside.

And I will end the Utah 2012 portion of this ongoing report with this picture of Cedar Breaks. Worth seeing if you are in the area, but what you see here is pretty much the entire thing.

[johnychen]

Nice photos. I was at Brian Head just 1 week after you were there. Wish I known about Cedar Breaks. I will definitely visit there the next time.