Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?

Me and some friends are going to SLC around 20. December for 2-3 weeks for
skiing/snowboarding.

As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference
btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different
in Europe) and on a shoestring as well, we we're thinking about getting the
Deal at Solitude: 6 days for $36/each

So do you think it's worth it? I mean will we get an easy access to the
lifts when we ski down? Honeycomb? Or is it better to get single ride
tickets (I know they got those at Brighton)?
What about the other resorts around (even in the north like Powder
Mountain)? Does somebody have a better suggestion than Solitude?

Thanks, Sandi

Sandi M. wrote:

Me and some friends are going to SLC around 20. December for 2-3 weeks
for skiing/snowboarding.

As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference
btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be
different in Europe) and on a shoestring as well, we we're thinking
about getting the Deal at Solitude: 6 days for $36/each

So do you think it's worth it? I mean will we get an easy access to the
lifts when we ski down? Honeycomb? Or is it better to get single ride
tickets (I know they got those at Brighton)?
What about the other resorts around (even in the north like Powder
Mountain)? Does somebody have a better suggestion than Solitude?

SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little
Cottonwood Canyon & Big Cottonwood Canyon), buy your discount tickets at
this place: http://www.canyonsports.com/tickets.html before going up the
canyon, and go where the best snow is. That may mean going to Park
City, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain, or maybe even Sundance. Don't lock
yourself into a particular plan - you may find that you can't even get
up the canyon if it really dumps, in that situation drive around to one
of the resorts you *can* get to.

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.

There is easy access out of Honeycomb canyon via the lift they put in a
few years ago. Much to the consternation of the locals. You could
probably yo-yo Honeycomb for six days straight and never take the same
route twice.

BTW, Solitude sells tickets by the ride too. $55 for ten rides. If
you're serious about spending most of your time backcountry that may be
the way to go.

Powder Mountain has cheap cat skiing - you might want to check that out
one of the days you're there.

good Luck. Have fun.

//Walt

SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little
Cottonwood Canyon & Big Cottonwood Canyon), buy your discount tickets at
this place: http://www.canyonsports.com/tickets.html before going up the
canyon, and go where the best snow is. That may mean going to Park
City, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain, or maybe even Sundance. Don't lock
yourself into a particular plan - you may find that you can't even get
up the canyon if it really dumps, in that situation drive around to one
of the resorts you *can* get to.

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...). And for skiing Powder
mountain SLC is probably a bit too far away, so I'd prefer to stay
somewhere there.

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?

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...

There is easy access out of Honeycomb canyon via the lift they put in a
few years ago. Much to the consternation of the locals. You could
probably yo-yo Honeycomb for six days straight and never take the same
route twice.

Ah, saw it on the trail map! Right, looks awesome! But what about the other
resorts? 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?
What about Snowbird and Brigton (too easy?)?

BTW, Solitude sells tickets by the ride too. $55 for ten rides. If
you're serious about spending most of your time backcountry that may be
the way to go.

Powder Mountain has cheap cat skiing - you might want to check that out
one of the days you're there.

That sounds awesome!


good Luck. Have fun.

//Walt

Thanks :-)

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

Walt wrote:
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.

looks nice, but as everywhere they're rising the prices during the
holidays. Think we stay in SLC downtown. Haven't checked it out, but
there's supposed to be a good bus system to the resorts as well, right? If
not- we got a car

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.

The "easy" was related to Brighton only. Yeah, I heard that it's kind of
crowded on weekend. We'll avoid going there on weekends!


//Walt

Sandi M. wrote:
Walt wrote:

Sandi M. wrote:

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

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

looks nice, but as everywhere they're rising the prices during the
holidays.

Yeah, Xmas week + skiing == high prices for accomodations.

Think we stay in SLC downtown.

Well, there's definitely better food to be had in SLC proper.

Haven't checked it out, but
there's supposed to be a good bus system to the resorts as well, right? If
not- we got a car

I'd plan on using the car. There is a bus that goes up the LCC & BCC
canyons, which is handy for when the road is closed to non-4WD vehicles,
but other than that I would plan on renting a car and driving. You
don't want to spend 3 hours on the bus everyday.


The "easy" was related to Brighton only. Yeah, I heard that it's kind of
crowded on weekend. We'll avoid going there on weekends!

It's the only SLC resort where kids ski free. Throngs of Mormon
families show up by the busload on Saturday. Sunday, they're in church,
so that day's not too bad. Especially if you're planning on spending
the day off the beaten path. HINT: check out the Sol-bright trail.

Sandi M. wrote:

As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference
btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be
different in Europe)

Not only no formal prepared runs in the backcountry, but no lifts either...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

But in Solitude there seems to be one at least :-)

Peter Clinch wrote:
Sandi M. wrote:

As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a
difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry,
might be different in Europe)

Not only no formal prepared runs in the backcountry, but no lifts either...

Pete.

Sandi M. wrote:
Peter Clinch wrote:
Sandi M. wrote:

As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a
difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry,
might be different in Europe)

Not only no formal prepared runs in the backcountry, but no lifts either...

But in Solitude there seems to be one at least :-)

No. Honeycomb Canyon is not backcountry. It's inbounds lift-served
off-piste. It's patrolled and avalanche controlled, but no pistes or
grooming. (Actually, I think they run a groomer up the runout on occasion)

Sounds to me that "off-piste" is what you are looking for, not
necessarily "backcountry". There's a lot of that at the resorts around
SLC.

As I understand it, "off-piste" has different implications in Europe vs.
the US. I won't speak for Europe, but the US/Canada has the following:

In-bounds - this is the general area available for skiing. It's
patrolled and avi controlled. Some of it may be prepared piste with
marked trails, other parts may be completely wild including cliffs,
trees, rocks and other natural hazards. Nobody will yell at you or pull
your ticket for skiing the off-piste areas. If you get injured
off-piste, the patrol will come and get you (eventually).

In-bounds (closed) - A ski area may close off some of their area for
whatever reason (lack of snow, unsafe condidions, etc.) Often there
will be some areas that are permanently closed. Skiing an area that is
closed is illegal.

Out-of-Bounds - A ski area will have a boundary, usually marked. If you
leave the ski area, you are on your own - no avi control, no rescue,
etc. It is usually illegal to cross the boundary except at certain
spots; there are specific gates that you must go through to leave the
ski area legally. Sometimes these gates are closed. Lift served out of
bounds exists at some resorts.

Backcountry - No lifts, no patrol, no avi control, no nothing. You're
on your own. Maybe a helicopter to get you there and back if you're rich.


//Walt

Sandi M. wrote:
Me and some friends are going to SLC around 20. December for 2-3 weeks for
skiing/snowboarding.

As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference
btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different
in Europe) and on a shoestring as well, we we're thinking about getting the
Deal at Solitude: 6 days for $36/each

So do you think it's worth it? I mean will we get an easy access to the
lifts when we ski down? Honeycomb? Or is it better to get single ride
tickets (I know they got those at Brighton)?
What about the other resorts around (even in the north like Powder
Mountain)? Does somebody have a better suggestion than Solitude?

Thanks, Sandi

Backcountry means just that. You generally don't buy lift tickets if
you are doing backcountry skiing. You hike to where you want to go.
If Solitude lets you buy single ride tickets you could use those to
access the backcountry. There are usually gates at many of the ski
areas where you can access the backcountry. However, if you are
planning on doing this, you better know what you are doing and from the
sound of your post, it doesn't sound like you do.

Remember, in the backcountry, you are responsible for your own rescue
which can get very expensive if search and rescue needs to be called
in. You will need proper equipment including shovels, avi trancievers
and probe poles at a minimum. Plus the knowledge of how to use them,
how to read the terrain and how to choose a proper route. If you don't
have this equipment and knowledge then don't go into the backcountry.
If you haven't had an avalanche awareness course and some training on
how to use an avi trancever then you should stick to inbounds skiing.