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Brighton, Solitude, Powder Mountain and Alta 2/23-2/27

newbieM

Angel Diva
So this is my second ski trip ever (first trip was in Jan and I had 4 days of skiing) and it was similar to what I did last month on my first ski trip.

At the end of the last trip I considered myself an advanced beginner but still was working really hard on turns and had a very large dose of fear. This trip I was determined to get control of the fear to a healthy dose and to work on my turning and speed control so I would feel more confident. I wanted to feel comfortable with blues and know I can handle any steepness, I also wanted to get comfortable with speed even if it was on more flat terrain but to not always be the slowest.

First day was Brighton - morning was chilly but I mostly stuck to greens off of Majestic, I wish I would have done some more but I was still just getting my legs under me. I didn't explore much of the mountain because my boots and skis were just giving me trouble and the groomers felt super packed. It was still a fun day skiing and by the afternoon the sun had come out. But I had so much trouble with the borrowed skis and boots my first stop off the mountain was a local ski shop and pick up some rentals. Turns out the boots I was wearing that I thought were the right size were a size too big. I have wide feet in the front and a really high arch so I need lots of volume. They ended up giving me a pair of nordica boots that are this seasons that fit like a glove, I had practically zero issues the entire week. I also got a super fun pair of performance skis that were shorter than the ones I were borrowing and they were amazing and just carved through the pow and handled turns like a dream.

Second day - Solitude. This was my first time at this mountain. It was a glorious day! There was a bit of fresh powder to make it not so packed and the green runs are wide and pretty gentle until the end. For those totally new learners the link lift is a nice size beginner lift to work on your skills and practice getting on and off the lift. It is funny how the beginner lifts have the worst least, user friendly, lifts to learn. The more advanced ones all seem to have the quads which so gently take you off the lift. Since I was on new skis I stuck to moonbeam express, I worked on smooth c turns, s turns and worked on feeling comfortable increasing my speed. I also got on my first blue! The first time down was ugly because I was freaked out, the second time down was much smoother and really felt great. I finished the day with so much more confidence.

Third day - Powder mountain - this was going to be a rest day but my BF saw they got 4 inches of snow so we decided to make it a PowMow day and boy am I glad we did. Powder mountain is an AMAZING mountain for those beginner and intermediates, its not great for super steep but they do have cat runs for those who want more challenge and powder country which I hear is amazing but I am not at that skill level yet. As a beginner, I also love that they have greens all the way from the top of the mountain and they are all super friendly. While skiing I had the entire mountain to myself, the only time I really saw people was on the lift lines. I also took my first Poma lift, for those who are new I highly recommend asking for help to get on the thing. It may look easy but it takes a minute to get the hang of it. I felt like a true skier that day! There are greens and blues everywhere so you can just explore all day. There was a ton of fresh powder and I got to be adventurous. There is these two trails called Picnic and Mushroom Valley that have a small section of trees between them. I had so much fun cutting through the trees in knee deep powder. I also did my first mini jump, I was going after some fresh powder on the side and it turned into a little foot high jump, I was excited I landed on my skis and did not freak out. I also discovered how hard it is to put a ski back on in powder that deep. But it was so much fun and so confidence building. I think I am absolutely in love with this mountain, the vibe is so chill and it was so quiet. All the mountain guides who stand by the maps are so friendly. Next time I'll probably take a mountain tour, they have those for free twice a day. Since I was solo, I ended up riding quite a few lifts with the ski patrol guys, super nice, gave me lots of good tips and one even skied with me for a bit to show me a super fun run.

Fourth day - Alta - I love Alta and spent most of the morning skiing greens with a friend who was also learning. There was a decent amount of powder on the sides of the groomed runs to go play in and I had a super fun time exploring the mountain. I practiced hockey stops, side slipping, upper and lower body separation, and gaining speed. I mostly stayed within my comfort zone here since my legs were kinda tired but I had a great day and really just tried to reinforce all the muscle control and working on skill building. I also ended the day a bit early since it was low light conditions in the afternoon, everything looked SO FLAT. It was my first experience with that and it was so disorienting. I just didn't feel comfortable because you can't see the terrain at all.

Fifth day - Alta - we would have loved to go back to PowMow but they had already sold out. Alta got 11 inches overnight, the canyon was closed until 8am and it was snowing all day. It took us three hours to get up the mountain but once we got up there after the first run the place was EMPTY. For a Saturday, that was really unusual. Since I did all the greens the day before and it was my last day of skiing this was going to be blue day. I rode up with an instructor and she was kind enough to go run down a blue with me. I told her my biggest fear was controlling the speed on my turns, she mentioned completing turns, but she also said I could do a skidding turn (apologies if this isn't the right term). I have pretty good body separation and the skidding turns opened up a whole new world for me. They were super comfortable to do and I could handle the steepness with so much more confidence. After this, something clicked and I was just able to feel so much better. I had ZERO fear that day, I even took a steep un-groomed blue that essentially goes off the side of the cat track. It was like 2 feet of powder that you just have to do very tight turns. I took it one turn at a time. I kept leaning into the mountain instead of relying on the weight of my outside ski and keep it away from the hill. So after taking two turns and falling over into the mountain (with my skis still on, thankfully), I had lots of laughing at each fall and got back up and tried again. The last half of that section I was able to make the turns, stop, compose myself and make the next turn until I got to the bottom. My biggest surprise is that entire time I wasn't scared AT ALL. That was so unusual for me. It was SO MUCH FUN. I skied blues most of the day. I took a break at 2pm to get some food and wanted to go out again but felt pretty tired. I decided to not push myself and do the green runs at Alta and work on speed. Bonus tip - it was so empty and not at all beginner friendly that day if beginners have never skied that type of powder. I got super lucky that my first ski trip was mostly powder so I was oddly much more comfortable with that then with packed groomers. Once I got off to go hit the greens, I discovered that some of the greens were not skied at all. I had fresh powder tracks everywhere. I had to really increase my speed since the greens have some uphill spots but once you know where they are you just make sure to accelerate. I got to end the day with a bunch of fresh pow runs practically all by myself. Of course the sun came out just as we were leaving but it was a day for the books.

Beginner tip - make sure your goggles fit properly on a cold, snowy day. I borrowed some new goggles for my last day because the day before had such low night. What I didn't notice was that the clip to tighten them further was broken. So as it got super snowy and cold the inside was fogging up. Because I couldn't tighten them, the fog turned into ice. In the beginning it would just fog and ice up on the edges and it wasn't so bad. At the end of a run I went down, adjusted them, cleaned them, and thought I was ok. Half way through the run the entire goggles were iced in. I had to do the rest of the run without goggles, it was BRUTAL. I thought my contacts were going to freeze to my eyeballs and I kept stopping on the side, wiping off my icy eyelashes and continuing slowly down. At this point it was still early and there was no way I was going to stop skiing but I was stuck without goggles. I went to the rental counter but they don't rent them anymore. I pretty much begged the guy to see if he could find any goggles anywhere of any kind I could just use for a few hours. He thankfully searched some random bin and fetched some for me. They worked flawlessly and I got to enjoy the rest of my day.

I actually feel like an actual skier and I think I am a pretty solid intermediate at a level 6 or even 7 but now just need to continue to repeat the skills and get stronger. This is addicting and I am super spoiled getting to ski those amazing mountains with so much fresh snow. I am not sure I'll make it out again this season, I'm going to try to maybe even go back out to Utah in April since I hear spring skiing is pretty fun over there.

Now I am going to go rest my sore muscles after 5 full days of crazy skiing. Sigh, it is Monday tomorrow so back to work, kids and real life :smile:

Hope this is helpful for someone.
 

ski skuhl

Angel Diva
I am so glad UT treated you well :-) I am a big fan of Big Cottonwood Canyon (Brighton & Solitude) though LCC (Alta) has gotten amazing snowfall this season, particularly early on when cover in BCC was thin. It is wonderful when things align and a trip exceeds expectations. And it is so many things, right? Like weather, our bodies, equipment, sometimes even the help of total strangers to look for spare goggles. :-)
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Thanks for the trip report! Totally jealous of the great snow you've had at Powder Mountain. The stars have never aligned for me there. Do take the free mountain tour the next time. When we did it, I think the guide spent a couple hours with us. It was a very warm day during late season, so it was a private tour.

If you can make it out to Alta again in April, I'll be around. You clearly have good luck with the weather so it would be great to make some turns together. I've skied after powder storms in April in recent years. :snow:
 

badger

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My first POMA experience was the same one at Powder Mountain. I too, was a beginner and had never seen one of these crazy things. Naturally I had no clue what to do. People looked to me as if they were sitting on the disc. So that's exactly what I did. Needless to say that was a fail. I tried three more times falling off with each effort, skis dragging uncomfortably around me, and suffering embarrassment while listening the the queue of about forty people laughing.
Too bad Warren Miller wasn't filming there then, because my ignorance would have been great footage for his Ski Lift Blooper reels.
 

newbieM

Angel Diva
My first POMA experience was the same one at Powder Mountain. I too, was a beginner and had never seen one of these crazy things. Naturally I had no clue what to do. People looked to me as if they were sitting on the disc. So that's exactly what I did. Needless to say that was a fail. I tried three more times falling off with each effort, skis dragging uncomfortably around me, and suffering embarrassment while listening the the queue of about forty people laughing.
Too bad Warren Miller wasn't filming there then, because my ignorance would have been great footage for his Ski Lift Blooper reels.

Yes I ate it in the middle of the POMA, I just fell over somehow, I started walking up the rest of the lift but some guy was nice enough to let me grab on to his poles and he dragged me the rest of the way. Clearly he knew what he was doing.

After the 3rd time I was finally able to do it without any help. I've learned please don't hesitate to ask for the lift folks for help, they were super kind and I didn't have to worry too much.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
The first time I rode a POMA was at Aspen Snowmass and then have also done the one at Powder. I've never fallen off or had an issue riding them, but I just do not like them! :bounce: The one in Aspen especially hurts my arms, though speaking to others they do not have the same experience so I'm not sure what it is.. perhaps I just get too tense holding on. I'll suck it up if necessary to access the terrain they service, but I could do without ever riding one again, give me a regular lift any day haha.
 

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