Suggestions for family ski trip to SLC Utah, early-mid March?

[Gidget415]

Hi everyone,

We are planning a family ski trip sometime between March 7-17 for my kids' spring break. At @marzNC's suggestion, my BF is looking to try out some new tele gear and the closest spot for him to find a good demo option seems to be in SLC. Anyway, we've got BF (expert), me (blue/blacks), and my kids who are solid intermediates and can handle groomed blacks and some powder. We tend to all ski together, but I'm up for getting the kids into ski school and taking some lessons myself. I've heard great things about Alta, and we are looking at mixing in a few places along the way. We generally ski in NM/CO.

I would love some recommendations for resorts for that time of year -- I hope to avoid slushy conditions if possible. Any suggestions for lodging, places to find deals, etc. would be great. I think we may drive from Albuquerque.

We are also looking at some other places, but figured we'd add SLC to the list.

Thanks!

 

[Mary Brosnan]

We have been doing a family ski trip to Utah for the last few years with our Mountain Collective pass. This is a great option because there are three resorts on the pass that are all within a relatively close driving distance. We start at Snowbasin for a few days and rent a condo in Huntsville which is very affordable and a short drive to the mountain. Powder Mountain is also close by which I've heard is great when the snow is good but last winter was a lean snow year in Utah so we didn't make it Powder.

For the second half of our trip, we go to Alta/Snowbird and stay at the Alta Lodge. This has been great because it's ski in/ski out with breakfast and dinner included. Super convenient and very family friendly (they have a free kids club program). I took a few private lessons at Alta last year and the instructors are top notch and the cost, though expensive, is significantly cheaper than at other resorts we've visited. They also have affordable group lessons.

My husband is also an expert telemark skier and my kids and I are advanced and we found plenty of terrain at all three mountains to keep us all satisfied. At Alta there are many options for backcountry skiing which is easy to access with a guide.

Good luck with your trip planning and you really can't go wrong because it's all so nice out there!

 

[marzNC]

For the second half of our trip, we go to Alta/Snowbird and stay at the Alta Lodge. This has been great because it's ski in/ski out with breakfast and dinner included. Super convenient and very family friendly (they have a free kids club program). I took a few private lessons at Alta last year and the instructors are top notch and the cost, though expensive, is significantly cheaper than at other resorts we've visited. They also have affordable group lessons.

Alta Lodge is also my favorite lodging when I ski Alta. I've also stayed in SLC in either a motel in Sandy or a VRBO house for mid-season trips. I was totally spoiled as a parent when I took my daughter (ages 7-12) to Alta Lodge for spring break trips. Not having to think about her from 4:30-8:15 knowing that she was having a great time with the Alta Lodge kid's program and new and old friends made it easy to enjoy the hot pools and the fabulous dinner with my friends.

Each of the five lodges in the town of Alta have their own personality and advantages/disadvantages. With kids, Alta Lodge, Goldminer's Daughter, and the Peruvian are a better fit. Rustler was the fanciest and is more like a luxury hotel than a ski chalet (has a spa and fitness center). But after the major reconstruction, Snowpine may be on the same level as Rustler. There is a new chairlift to the Snowpine.

I have a few friends who have taken the adult intermediate group lessons at Alta and learned a lot. During late season, midweek lessons can end up a solo lesson or with only one other student. My friend JF has had Level 3 instructors every time. Her first trip she had three consecutive solo lessons with a L3 instructor with 30+ years of experience. Her progress was amazing that week.

My usual instructor at Alta is Arthur Haskell. He's also done semi-private lessons for a friend's children after they aged out the children's ski school program. By then they were Level 7/8 (of 9).

 

[marzNC]

At @marzNC's suggestion, my BF is looking to try out some new tele gear and the closest spot for him to find a good demo option seems to be in SLC. Anyway, we've got BF (expert), me (blue/blacks), and my kids who are solid intermediates and can handle groomed blacks and some powder. We tend to all ski together

A day at Solitude could be worthwhile. Brighton is fun midweek but too crowded on weekends because it's a locals' mountain. Has night skiing though, which could be a fun experience. Also has good terrain parks if that's of interest to the kids.

Depending on the budget, starting in the Ogden Valley may or may not be worth the extra driving. The main advantage to going there would be ski deep powder at Powder Mountain without a lot of hard charging powder hounds. But need to be lucky and make sure to buy lift tickets in advance. PowMow limits not only the number of season passes but also the number of day tickets. They have sold out on powder days since the policy was put into place. Also the drive up to PowMow can be pretty hairy with lots of snow. But there is a bus option.

For an impression of PowMow with deep snow, check out the threads about Diva West 2014 to the Ogden Valley. A plan was made to do cat skiing for a particular day somewhat in advance. As it turned out, there was a major snowstorm just in time for that day.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?forums/diva-weeks-2014.115/

 

[marzNC]

We are planning a family ski trip sometime between March 7-17 for my kids' spring break.

March is prime season in Utah, not late season. The deepest powder I've ever skied at Alta was on April 15 a few years ago. Of course, you never know. Also had a spring break trip with my daughter the second week of March when it was way too warm all week. We still had a good time at Alta Lodge though.

Note that there may not been many rooms, if any, left at the lodges in Alta given that early March is college spring break time.

Solitude has ski in/out condo lodging that I've heard is pretty good. About a 40 min drive from Solitude to Alta/Snowbird, when the roads are dry.

 

[skatha]

Solitude is a great place for kids. I too stay in Sandy when we go and drive up either Big Cottonwood Canyon to Solitude or Little Cottonwood to Alta. Alta/Solitude is about 1000 feet higher in elevation than Park City, as a reference, and, last time we went to Park City to ski Deer Valley, it rained. If you do want to try Deer Valley, I suggest purchasing lift tickets before you go. They only sell a limited number of lift tickets daily