• Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.

Utah 2019-20: travel planning, deals, snow conditions

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Skied Deer Valley on Friday. Very disappointed. The runs were short and required a lot of poling to get to the chair. Given they had just gotten 5" of snow the conditions were lousy. Groomers were hard pack, some pretty icey. We found a couple of ungroomed runs that were great. We skied Powder Mountain for 2 days before going to Deer Valley and conditions were awesome. 4-5" of snow each day. Hero snow. Untracked powder both days on many runs.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Skied Deer Valley on Friday. Very disappointed. The runs were short and required a lot of poling to get to the chair. Given they had just gotten 5" of snow the conditions were lousy. Groomers were hard pack, some pretty icey. We found a couple of ungroomed runs that were great. We skied Powder Mountain for 2 days before going to Deer Valley and conditions were awesome. 4-5" of snow each day. Hero snow. Untracked powder both days on many runs.
Which peaks did you get to at DV? The fun terrain for advanced skiers isn't near the main base. What DV has in common with Sun Valley is that since there is a lot of snowmaking, groomers can be pretty slick by the afternoon once the fresh corduroy and any new snow is skied off.

PowMow is all natural snow. It makes a difference. Especially since the number of season passes and day tickets are limited. Plus there is more acreage at PowMow than Alta and Snowbird combined.
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We parked by the Jordanelle Gondola. Skied to Snow Park Lodge then took the Silver Lake Express. Spent most of our time on Flagstaff Mtn then had lunch at the Empire Canyon Lodge. The runs we enjoyed weren't skied very much, but had been groomed. However, they were short so we quickly ended up on the chair. We tried Bald Mtn but we ended up on an icy run. Over grooming can cause the skied off, icy conditions too.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
We parked by the Jordanelle Gondola. Skied to Snow Park Lodge then took the Silver Lake Express. Spent most of our time on Flagstaff Mtn then had lunch at the Empire Canyon Lodge. The runs we enjoyed weren't skied very much, but had been groomed. However, they were short so we quickly ended up on the chair. We tried Bald Mtn but we ended up on an icy run. Over grooming can cause the skied off, icy conditions too.
My impression from the one day last April is that Flagstaff and Bald get the most traffic. It was too warm to bother with Little Baldy. We parked at Snow Park. Empire and Lady Morgan is where I want to go in Feb. Hopefully the bowls and chutes will be fun to try that week.
 

scski

Certified Ski Diva
I am taking my 17 yr old snowboarding son to Brighton/Solitude March 14-21 and would appreciate any suggestions to help the week go smoothly. I suspect my son will prefer Brighton as he is new to snowboarding after only skiing as a child and 10 year break in between. The only skiing I have experienced out west is Big Sky with the SkiDivas! We are flying in very late from different cities so I thought getting a hotel in SLC for that night would be best.

So far the best lodging option I can find is the Inn at Solitude. I would rather stay closer to Brighton but the Lodge is booked up. I understand there is a trail that makes it possible to ski between Solitude and Brighton. Can anyone share details on that? I understand there is a limited bus/shuttle between the two? I am wondering how we could get back to Solitude after night skiing at Brighton? I would prefer not to rent a car, but how realistic is that? It has been years since I have driven in snowy conditions. What kind of road conditions could we see in mid-March? I heard that Canyon Transportation provides a shuttle from the airport to Solitude and will stop at a grocery if I arrange it in advance. Any suggestions on the food logistics? I was also thinking about checking out the Nordic center on a rest day.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I am taking my 17 yr old snowboarding son to Brighton/Solitude March 14-21 and would appreciate any suggestions to help the week go smoothly. I suspect my son will prefer Brighton as he is new to snowboarding after only skiing as a child and 10 year break in between. The only skiing I have experienced out west is Big Sky with the SkiDivas! We are flying in very late from different cities so I thought getting a hotel in SLC for that night would be best.
Hello again! It's been a while. Your son is 17 already . . . time flies. My daughter is in college now.

So far the best lodging option I can find is the Inn at Solitude. I would rather stay closer to Brighton but the Lodge is booked up. I understand there is a trail that makes it possible to ski between Solitude and Brighton. Can anyone share details on that? I understand there is a limited bus/shuttle between the two? I am wondering how we could get back to Solitude after night skiing at Brighton? I would prefer not to rent a car, but how realistic is that? It has been years since I have driven in snowy conditions. What kind of road conditions could we see in mid-March? I heard that Canyon Transportation provides a shuttle from the airport to Solitude and will stop at a grocery if I arrange it in advance. Any suggestions on the food logistics? I was also thinking about checking out the Nordic center on a rest day.
When I was at Solitude last April, we were told by a ski patroller that the connecting trail between Solitude and Brighton is rarely open these days. Don't remember the details. It's for advanced skiers/boarders in any case.

As for road conditions, impossible to predict more than a few days in advance. However, the BCC road doesn't close completely nearly as much as LCC for Alta/Snowbird.

To stay in BCC, it really makes more sense to have a rental car. Safest approach is to reserve both 2WD and 4WD, then cancel when the weather is more obvious for your stay.

From what I've heard and seen, the lodging at Solitude is nice for a family. Brighton has better beginner terrain from what I remember. It definitely has more emphasis on terrain parks. Plus the night skiing on a few trails. Solitude has a strong ski school and I assume can teach boarders too. But you don't see too many around midweek. The local boarders are at Brighton.
 

scski

Certified Ski Diva
Thank you for the details and suggestions! It has been a long while. I just booked a condo at Powderhorn Lodge that I found on Airbnb. So excited to get back to the snow!
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sounds like locals have gotten more used to the idea of pay parking for Solitude. Only article I could find from January has pretty much a positive spin on how the new system is working.

Jan. 17, 2020, KSLTV (SLC)
Solitude Rolls Out New Parking Plan To Ease Powder Day Congestion


It's easy peasy.. 10$ for 3 of us, just see an attendant for a 'coupon' for how many in your car, same type of kiosks that are used for big city parking,

Conditions have been NICE; Sunday Solitude was packed powder a few lift lines but all manageable.
Today Deer Valley was fantastic, NO Crowds, Fresh powder over night made for some soft bumps and piles of fresh on the trails..
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
For future reference, here's how the totals varied across Utah during the extended snowstorms Jan. 9-18. LCC/BCC generally does quite a bit better than Parley's Canyon (Park City, Deer Valley) or the Ogden area (Snowbasin, Powder Mountain).

OpenSnow report by Evan Thayer, Jan. 18, 2020

Screen Shot 2020-01-30 at 9.44.14 PM.png
 

Getting Ready

Angel Diva
Day 1 at Deer Valley. If groomers are not your style, you would not be happy. But my whole family is having a great day so far. Snow expected tonight and tomorrow.
My daughter’s instructor was complaining about crowds but it was nothing compared to Stowe over Christmas for us. Most we waited for a lift was around 8 minutes.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Day 1 at Deer Valley. If groomers are not your style, you would not be happy. But my whole family is having a great day so far. Snow expected tonight and tomorrow.
My daughter’s instructor was complaining about crowds but it was nothing compared to Stowe over Christmas for us. Most we waited for a lift was around 8 minutes.


We were at DV last week, I loved it (I do enjoy no snowboards) It took 3 days for us to fully explore the Mt. The fall lines are superb, surface great and the customer service can't be beat!

We're up at Alta today- WINDY!!! OMG-- getting blown down the trails! Here's to some good powder skiing tomorrow! Have Fun!
 

Getting Ready

Angel Diva
The service everywhere is so nice. I went in to get my boots tweaked (where I was when I wrote the above). He adjusted a bunch of stuff and then refused a charge. (Sadly my foot still hurts. I think it might be the way I'm skiing..)
 

DvR

Certified Ski Diva
Sorry to hear about the issues with your ski boots. I had a similar experience 2 years ago at Deer Valley and went to several off slope ski places to have them try and fix my boots from hurting so much. All they did was blow them out at the sides to the point my boots looks awful. My ski instructor recommend Park City Ski Boots owned by Brent Amsbury, master boot fitter. Go see him and have him evaluate your boots. I had to get new boots and they are wonderful but that may not be your issue. 435-776-7883 appts recommended.
 

BonStarlet

Certified Ski Diva
Sitting in my office in Boise watching it snow and checking the snow report at home in Park City. Let's DO this, Divas! I'm definitely skiing PCMR/Canyons Friday (can't beat the convenience from my house....or the fact that parking exists) but will be over at Deer Valley Saturday and could be Sunday as well. Hit me up if you're around!
 

lucy

Angel Diva
LCC was closed Thursday and closed again today for avalanche control. BCC was a disaster since all of the traffic from LCC was trying to ski somewhere, anywhere. No ski report because, well, we haven't been skiing. We've just been sitting in a line of cars waiting, hoping, and ultimately turning around and heading home without one run. I know it's a safety issue and I'm grateful as I will live to ski another day. ;) But I'm starting to feel like I'd really like to, you know, ski. We called Snowbird and they said there's a good chance that LCC will also be closed tomorrow (Saturday).
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It's been a crappy storm, for sure. Rain at the lower elevation resorts like Snowbasin. Skipped today, might have been OK up higher, but my knees will thank me!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Hmm, Brighton has night skiing using a headlamp on Friday nights. Don't remember hearing about that before. $49 for two hours, 6:00-8:00pm, off the Snake Creek lift, guided by an instructor, have to also have a lift ticket for the night session. Can have a private group for up to five people for $225.

Screen Shot 2020-02-25 at 8.28.49 PM.png
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
t's easy peasy.. 10$ for 3 of us, just see an attendant for a 'coupon' for how many in your car, same type of kiosks that are used for big city parking,
My friends and I got a front row parking spot at Solitude on a Tuesday, right in front of the ski school building. We arrived around 8:30am and it wasn't anything close to a powder day. Ended up booting up in the lodge and then storing our boot bags in the car. Clearly no place to just leave a boot bag around Solitude any more.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
26,235
Messages
497,583
Members
8,503
Latest member
MermaidKelly
Top