Sandi M. wrote:

SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little

Well I found a cheap place to stay in downtown. I know that Sandy is pretty
good located, but I cannot find any affordable places to stay there(well
they only one I found looks kind of crappy...).

Try this place: http://www.utahvacationhomes.com/default.aspx

We rented one of their units last December - quite affordable,
convienently located.


I heard that Powder Mountain's supposed to be really good and that Park
City has some decent backcountry as well (...experiendes...), but the snow
seems to be better in Solitude, right?

Higher elevations generally mean better conditions, especially in early
& late season. Alta & Snowbird get the most snow, followed by Solitude
and Brighton. But if you're looking for freshies, what's important is
where the last storm tracked, not where the seasonal average is highest.
Hence my advice to park yourself in Sandy and stay loose.


The deal you talk about is $10/day cheaper than buying them on a day-by
day basis. $60 is $60, but the way I'd play it is to remain flexible.
Do you have to use them on consecutive days? If not it's probably a
viable way to go - three weeks in SLC, every third day at Solitude.


Thanks, I already knew the page for affordable tickets. The good thing is
that you DON't have to use them on consecutive days, so it seems to be a
good deal!
And we're still flexible...

You could do much worse than spending three weeks in SLC and skiing
Solitude every third day.

Are there some where you will end up on a lift after a backcountry
ride and be able to make more than just one run? Or will you end up in the
middle of nowhere and need to find a way back out of the middle of nowhere?

Generally "backcountry" means that there are no lifts.

But if you are looking for large swaths of ungroomed natural snow on
natural terrain that's accessible via lifts, yes that's readily
available. Especially at Alta.

What about Snowbird and Brigton (too easy?)?

"Snowbird" and "easy" are rarely used in the same sentence. Brighton
has abundant easy terrain, but there's some challenging terrain there
too if you look for it. Don't ever go to Brighton on a Saturday.

//Walt