Utah LCC/BCC April 2024 conditions - Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton

[marzNC]

I and a few other Divas will be skiing Alta in the next couple weeks. May wander over to Snowbird a bit too when Mineral Basin is open.

I tend to pay attention to Alta with OpenSnow all season since it's my favorite resort out west. Of course late season conditions can vary quite a bit. I know an NC family who are in SLC this week and they are having fun with spring skiing. By this weekend, winter will be back.

Closing day for Alta for 7-day operations is April 21. Snowbird and Solitude will be open longer. Per usual, Brighton won't announce a closing date until later.

OpenSnow forecast for Alta on April 3, 2024


For those who haven't skied in Utah, some terminology:

LCC - Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta at the end of the road, Snowbird a mile closer to SLC
BCC - Big Cottonwood Canyon, Brighton at the end of the road, Solitude a couple miles closer to SLC

UTA- Utah Transit Authority for ski bus that runs to LCC and BCC
UTA TRAX - light rail around SLC, has stop at airport
Parley's Canyon - where Park City and Deer Valley are located
Ogden Valley - where Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, and Nordic Valley are located, about 1.5 hrs north of the SLC airport

UTDOT has several Twitter accounts related to the LCC/BCC canyons roads as well as the general UTDOT traffic map. There are links for traffic and weather on the resort websites. Definitely pays to check one way or another before driving up in the morning or heading down in the afternoon.

 

[marzNC]

The Alta website includes snowfall history going back a decade. The last season with over 130 inches of snow in March and April was 2018-19. I had a good time in Utah that spring. The mid-April storm dropped 45+ inches in a few days.

Fair to say that 2022-23 was very unusual, not only because of the total snowfall but also because the early warm temps in late March and April caused multi-day full road closures that don't normally happen. If you are curious, check out the LCC/BCC thread starting around mid-March 2023.

2022-23 LCC/BCC thread, Post #96

Utah LCC/BCC 2022-23 conditions, parking - Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton

I don't go up Brighton much but I remember most of the lot being free the times I went. Didn't realize there was a section of paid/reserved parking available. I guess I'm curious if they might consider expanding paid/reserved parking to more sections of the lot in future years.

www.theskidiva.com

It's possible to compare the current season with a past season. Scroll down on the Alta webpage for snow conditions. Getting over 600 inches is always a goal.

Comparing 2023-24 to 2018-19:


Historical monthly snowfall:

 

[Chuyi]

Not sure where you get your info from but there has been no bus from BCC to LCC or LCC to BCC (bus 953 was canceled in 2023).
Parking at brighton requires reservation Fri-sat sun till closing day.
UTA trax has only been on the slc side. The UTA bus that used to go from SLC to PC was canceled at the same time as 953.
You should check UTA website.
Cutting the busses is one of the main reasons why traffic got worse in the canyons on the WE. UTA is the sponsor of the LCC gondola.

 

[marzNC]

Alta has a webpage for April events. There will be tents at the base of Collins for Alta Earth Day on April 13. Closing Day festivities are April 21. Also includes a Top Ten list.

Parking reservations for Alta are not required for April 1-20.

 

[Chuyi]

Since you have inside knowledge about busses may be you know if closing day parking reservations is a system fluke or real cuz have not met anyone with advanced reservation for that day

 

[marzNC]

Skied Alta with a NC family this afternoon. It was warm spring conditions with empty parking lots.

A lot less snow on the roof at Alf's compared to a year ago


Wildcat parking lot mid-afternoon on April 4

 

[Slow Sarah]

I and a few other Divas will be skiing Alta in the next couple weeks. May wander over to Snowbird a bit too when Mineral Basin is open.

I tend to pay attention to Alta with OpenSnow all season since it's my favorite resort out west. Of course late season conditions can vary quite a bit. I know an NC family who are in SLC this week and they are having fun with spring skiing. By this weekend, winter will be back.

Closing day for Alta for 7-day operations is April 21. Snowbird and Solitude will be open longer. Per usual, Brighton won't announce a closing date until later.

OpenSnow forecast for Alta on April 3, 2024
View attachment 22996

For those who haven't skied in Utah, some terminology:

LCC - Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta at the end of the road, Snowbird a mile closer to SLC
BCC - Big Cottonwood Canyon, Brighton at the end of the road, Solitude a couple miles closer to SLC

UTA- Utah Transit Authority for ski bus that runs to LCC and BCC
UTA TRAX - light rail around SLC, has stop at airport
Parley's Canyon - where Park City and Deer Valley are located
Ogden Valley - where Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, and Nordic Valley are located, about 1.5 hrs north of the SLC airport

UTDOT has several Twitter accounts related to the LCC/BCC canyons roads as well as the general UTDOT traffic map. There are links for traffic and weather on the resort websites. Definitely pays to check one way or another before driving up in the morning or heading down in the afternoon.

Thanks for this thread. I plan to be out there next week. All of this is very helpful.

 

[marzNC]

The wind started blowing at the top of Sugarloaf by 3:00 this afternoon and it felt noticeably colder. I'm going to wear my insulated jacket tomorrow.

OpenSnow for Alta in the evening of April 4:

 

[marzNC]

Winter is back around SLC! Snow started at the top of Deer Valley this afternoon by 2pm. When we were leaving at 3:30, it was snowing at the Snow Park base and much colder than at lunch time.

Heading to Alta tomorrow and expecting to be going indoors more often the usual to warm up.

From the Alta website on the evening of April 5:

 

[marzNC]

The storm overdelivered at Alta. Almost 2 feet as of 9pm on April 6.

 

[marzNC]

It was snowing when we arrived around 8:45 at the Albion base. The temperature was in the low teens. Sunnyside had a bit of a delay before starting up. All the lifts opened, but it took a little while before ski patrol opened up areas like Supreme Bowl. With cold temps and low visibility, not really that many people around for a Saturday powder day. By the afternoon, I heard locals say it was like a "country club day."

The canyon road was closed from 1:30 to about 3:00. Presumably for avalanche mitigation work above the road. Right about 3:00 is when another snow squall started and visibility pretty much disappeared. When driving down around 4:00, past Snowbird the road was simply wet.

Sunnyside at 8:45am, Sat, April 6


Snow drifts on top of Alf's


Passing by Snowbird, late afternoon

 

[marzNC]

The snow ended in LCC around midnight. Total was 24 inches.

 

[Sheena]

With cold temps and low visibility, not really that many people around for a Saturday powder day. By the afternoon, I heard locals say it was like a "country club day."

Ha I think General Conference weekend keeps a lot of crowds away.

 

[Michelle P]

Even Park City got about 17"! It was a great day yesterday. Earlier in the week we were in Beaver Creek and the warm temps were doing their best to kill the snow at lower elevations, so for a moderate skier like me "ski high" left me with little more than Red Buffalo for consistently good snow from top to bottom. Hubby enjoyed Birds of Prey, but not this girl! So, we came over to PC early (we have epic pass).....and good thing we did -- we didn't drive through the storm and the conditions yesterday were great. He's already out getting first chair -- but I'm sure today will even be better (with more visibility and less wind gusts). One last springtime gift before we head back to the Midwest.

 

[VickiK]

Have fun, ski safe, and enjoy the spring days!

 

[hennessk]

The snow ended in LCC around midnight. Total was 24 inches.

View attachment 23027

Hi Divas! I am at Alta with a friend and we will be taking a private 2 hour lesson tomorrow. We ski blues and easy blacks — approximately level 6. We would welcome another skier for fun and lower shared costs (would be about $153 if there are 3 of us). Lmk if you are interested!

 

[marzNC]

Hi Divas! I am at Alta with a friend and we will be taking a private 2 hour lesson tomorrow. We ski blues and easy blacks — approximately level 6. We would welcome another skier for fun and lower shared costs (would be about $153 if there are 3 of us). Lmk if you are interested!

Welcome! What region do you ski in the most often?

Unfortunately the Divas I know who might have been interested don't arrive start skiing until April 10.

 

[marzNC]

No more snow for the rest of the week. But staying cold for a few days so should be plenty of fun even after spring conditions return.

From OpenSnow for Alta, as of the evening of April 7

 

[Scribble]

The snow was amazing yesterday and the lines were short all morning. The sun even peeked out from the clouds a few times. It was lovely! It should be a great day today, I wish I wasn't stuck at work.

 

[marzNC]

Fair to say that the weather forecast when it came to temperature was completely off for April 8. It was in the 30s at the base all afternoon. Also, it was sunny almost all day so I used dark goggle lenses.

Ballroom and Devil's Castle opened up in the morning. Locals and regulars who stay in SLC came, skied, and left. Not many people skiing after about noon.

There was plenty of cold snow to be found up top in the afternoon. But tomorrow morning it may not be worth heading out to catch First Chair. The groomers were setting up near the base of Collins by the time I quit around 4:00.

From Alta website on April 8, 5:30pm: