Utah early December

[Emski528]

I realize we can’t predict snow but I have Dec 6-10 off and am thinking of heading to Utah. Any idea what the conditions are usually like then? I’m from the east coast and early season skiing is really just so you can say you skied, not bc the conditions are worthwhile. If not there, where would you go that week?

 

[contesstant]

Slim pickings. Some of the resorts struggle to open by then and if they are, it's frequently on the man-made ribbon of death. Solitude is often the best bet that early in the season.

 

[SarahXC]

If you don’t care about on mountain lodging (there isn’t any) Wolf Creek, CO has some of the best early season snow in my experience. It has been 90 percent or more open by early Dec in my experience.

 

[marzNC]

I realize we can’t predict snow but I have Dec 6-10 off and am thinking of heading to Utah. Any idea what the conditions are usually like then? I’m from the east coast and early season skiing is really just so you can say you skied, not bc the conditions are worthwhile. If not there, where would you go that week?

Having done an early December trip to Jackson Hole and Alta, I wouldn't repeat the experience. Really only a few groomers open. Not worth the travel effort when having to fly.

My small crew have gone to Wolf Creek Ski Area in mid-December the last two seasons. WCSA was 100% open on Dec. 11 both times. In 2021 going into the trees you had to be a bit careful because the coverage wasn't deep enough in places. Although that changed midweek after a storm dropped 8+ inches of new snow.

We'll be skiing WCSA again this December. After trying Pagosa Springs for lodging, we decided staying in South Fork on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass is better. Possible to drive from Denver or Albuquerque.

TR Wolf Creek, CO - Dec. 11-18, 2021

For an early season trip out west, I decided during the summer that Wolf Creek was a better bet than destination resorts on Ikon. The overall trip for me spanned Dec. 8-21 because I opted to drive from North Carolina to Colorado. Wolf Creek Ski Area (WCSA) has the advantage over many...

www.theskidiva.com

TR Wolf Creek, CO - Dec. 11-17, 2022

My early season trip to Wolf Creek Ski Area was even more fun than last year. The crew was a bigger and ranged from 4 to 8 people. We opted to stay in a big house on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass. It was fun to introduce WCSA to a few new people, including an older intermediate starting to...

www.theskidiva.com

 

[snoWYmonkey]

It is truly hit or miss. Last December in Jackson Hole parts of the mountain that normally don't open until January were already more covered by December 12th than they are by mid season.

I can count on one hand the number of Decembers where I was skiing powder off piste mid month out of 22 years.

Can you wait and see? The forecast is for El Niño to create cooler conditions for southern resorts with the middle unaffected and north warmer.

 

[Skiskisarah]

I realize we can’t predict snow but I have Dec 6-10 off and am thinking of heading to Utah. Any idea what the conditions are usually like then? I’m from the east coast and early season skiing is really just so you can say you skied, not bc the conditions are worthwhile. If not there, where would you go that week?

Last year I went out for a solo trip the first week in December to Park City and it was really nice on the Canyons side. Decent coverage for so early with lots of pow on the western slopes that edge the seasonally closed terrain. The Park City side was sparser but still lots of runs to hit. Folks were complaining about ice on the wider slopes but honestly it just felt like a normal (non-snow) day at Okemo. Also the vibe is super chill with the resorts half empty. I was riding the chair with no lines and practically no partners. Ate at restaurants without a wait. It’s early season but for east coasters it’s kinda a dream. I say do it.

 

[Emski528]

Perfect. Thanks everyone! This is super helpful. I decided I am going to wait and see who has snow. I’ll keep your notes of the
most likely winning spots (Wolf Creek comes up a ton). I have the days off and will keep my fingers crossed that I can book a place last minute. I don’t get out much so i think it’ll be worth waiting and dealing with the extra travel cost if I have to. Appreciate the feedback!

 

[mzapsCO]

Can’t wait to hear how you like Wolf Creek if that’s the one! I live in Denver but have never made it there. I’ve heard great things!

 

[marzNC]

Perfect. Thanks everyone! This is super helpful. I decided I am going to wait and see who has snow. I’ll keep your notes of the
most likely winning spots (Wolf Creek comes up a ton). I have the days off and will keep my fingers crossed that I can book a place last minute. I don’t get out much so i think it’ll be worth waiting and dealing with the extra travel cost if I have to. Appreciate the feedback!

If making your way to Wolf Creek is a possibility, might be worth checking the flight and car rental options.

Last December, my friend who drove out to Colorado with me and I spent a couple days at Winter Park before going to South Fork. If there is decent snow coverage, I would consider going there for an early season trip. The disadvantage over SLC is the higher altitude.

 

[Emski528]

It looks like Alta is winning the snow game so far (at least that's what instagram tells me). Everyone is suffering with lack of early snow but they've had a few feet and it's predicted to snow a bit every day before we arrive. Has anyone been yet this season? Any tips on where to stay? Planning to say at the mountain to avoid traffic. Anyone free to meet up? Mr. Emski will be joining me. It's amazing how he finds last minute time off when I say Utah. :-)

 

[marzNC]

It looks like Alta is winning the snow game so far (at least that's what instagram tells me). Everyone is suffering with lack of early snow but they've had a few feet and it's predicted to snow a bit every day before we arrive. Has anyone been yet this season? Any tips on where to stay? Planning to say at the mountain to avoid traffic. Anyone free to meet up? Mr. Emski will be joining me. It's amazing how he finds last minute time off when I say Utah. :-)

Hmm, for an early Dec trip try seeing what deals can be found at Snowbird or Solitude. I always have a car for ground transportation when I fly to SLC unless I'm staying at Alta Lodge in April. Provides a lot more flexibility.

Do you have Ikon?

When I did the Dec trip flying to SLC a few years ago, my ski buddy (Jason) and I stayed at Snowbird but only skied at Alta. Easy to take the free UTA bus between Snowbird and Alta. We'd go early in the morning to the Albion base because that's where there is a locker room with free cubbies. It's next to the ski school office and on the same level as the parking lot where the bus stop is located. One day was a powder day and the traffic going down canyon was pretty slow. The bus driver suggested we get off sooner and walk through the Cliff Lodge. From there we could get on the Snowbird resort bus to our lodging. We clearly beat that bus.

Paging @Scribble

 

[Emski528]

I definitely considered staying at Snowbird and I love this tip bc it looks like a few better options. Alta Lodge does have availability. Is the pass area between the two always open? I will be buying day passes because we won't be travelling to Icon or Epic locations again this year.

 

[marzNC]

I definitely considered staying at Snowbird and I love this tip bc it looks like a few better options. Alta Lodge does have availability. Is the pass area between the two always open? I will be buying day passes because we won't be travelling to Icon or Epic locations again this year.

If you are referring to Mineral Basin for skiing between Snowbird and Alta, I wouldn't count on that being open during early season. Not only does there need to enough snow, there also cannot be much wind and decent visibility for the two lifts in Mineral to be open. I've never bothered to pay attention to how often that happens during early season since my annual trips to Alta Lodge are in April.

If staying in SLC and renting a car, sometimes the SLC Superpass is worthwhile. Can make sense if flexibility about where to ski on a given day is of interest though. For Alta only, best deal is usually a multi-day ticket bought online at least a few days in advance. Might be worth comparing the cost to an Ikon 4-day Pass or the MCP (2 days covered, 50% off additional days).

You'll need to plan for meals when staying at Snowbird. Hard to say which restaurants on resort will be open in early Dec. There is no "ski town" in LCC so the options are to eat at a resort food service place, bring groceries and cook, or stay in a lodge in the town of Alta where breakfast and dinner is included. I was lucky and had travelmates who were very organized about grocery shopping and preferred to cook fabulous dinners the entire trip.

The only risk to staying at Alta Lodge is that you'll be forever spoiled. Best to call Alta Reservations to see what the most economical options are available, if budget is a consideration. For an unplanned mid-season stay, I stayed in a dorm room for a few nights. When they aren't busy, it's possible to book a dorm room as a private room for 2-4 people. I know families with a couple kids who have done that in late season (kids 12 and under are free the last few weeks).

 

[contesstant]

Not much terrain open, bring your rock skis, too. Not much snow in the forecast. The lower-elevation resort skiers like myself are going CRAZY!

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@contesstant Don't you just love how truly skilled the marketing photographers are at making things look so much better than they are. I am posting that thought on here, as I am not allowed to comment on my home mountain in public media such as this forum.

 

[marzNC]

@contesstant Don't you just love how truly skilled the marketing photographers are at making things look so much better than they are. I am posting that thought on here, as I am not allowed to comment on my home mountain in public media such as this forum.

The advantage of having done skied a bit in the Rockies in December is that looking at the list of open trails for destinations makes that much more sense. While Jason and I had fun at JH, GT, and Alta, we aren't likely to repeat the experience. The same winter @Olesya Chornoguz and Bill went to Steamboat, Winter Park, and JH/GT. Jason and I checked out Winter Park in early Dec 2022, but only made the decision a couple weeks before traveling when it became obvious that Mary Jane would be open because there was so much snow in November.

That said, it's relatively easy to make last minute plans to fly to SLC for someone who lives in the northeast or midwest. There will be open trails in those mountains the first week of Dec, but top-to-bottom groomers in the Rockies are a lot longer and more likely to have some natural snow along with sections where snowmaking make a difference. @Bookworm had a good time at Alta Lodge the same Dec that I stayed at Snowbird.

 

[contesstant]

@contesstant Don't you just love how truly skilled the marketing photographers are at making things look so much better than they are. I am posting that thought on here, as I am not allowed to comment on my home mountain in public media such as this forum.

It's true! Granted, for an opening day, Alta did have some fresh powder and people had fun, but early season is just not worth a trip IMO. But hey, I'll take the IKONers burning their days up now!

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@marzNC You are wise to look at reports. Last December in JH was better than most mid February snowpacks. I was teaching deep powder in the Hobacks and they had coverage top to bottom. The comment was more about how skilled they are at making us salivate for what is often one or two runs. This winter Sweden is having an exceptional start to their season with friends skiing treed powder lines already. We should start a thread for how to read the reports!

 

[Emski528]

Yes! A thread for how to read reports. After I posted this morning, I started to look at what was actually open and, even though I don't know the trails, it's clearly more limited than I thought. This was a solo trip originally. On my own I would probably call it on Utah and enjoy a quiet weekend in Lake Placid or Vermont somewhere. Once Mr Emski got involved the intensity went up a few notches. I can't imagine flying out west to ski groomers and rocks. We have plenty of that here. Thanks to all of you for your fast and honest info.

 

[marzNC]

I can't imagine flying out west to ski groomers and rocks. We have plenty of that here.

As I mentioned, my "crew" and I now head to Wolf Creek for early season skiing out west. We'll do a couple semi-private lessons with a very experienced Level 3 instructor as additional "tune up" for the season.

I've done more than one ski safari in between Thanksgiving and Christmas week driving around the northeast when my daughter was in school in either Lake Placid or Boston (2013-19). The two regions are very different. Skiing groomers at Sunday River or Whiteface is not the same from a snow surface standpoint as skiing groomers at JH or Alta before mid-December. I caught a powder storm at Alta that was deep enough to make it worth renting wider skis for a personal demo day. Unlike the northeast, there had not been a thaw or rain since the snowstorms had started in November. Note that I know Alta terrain well. Whether or not it's worth packing for a flight, that's a different question.