SLC resorts logistics

In rec.skiing.alpine Yabahoobs wrote:

Walt wrote:


If I found myself going to SLC over dead preznits weekend, I'd probably
hide out at Solitude for the three days.

My $.02.

BINGO.


You guys are killing me. Taking the bus, that may work. But there will
be no place to park. I don't particularly care. The closest I'll get
to Solitude Resort that weekend is the bar.

-klaus

klaus wrote:

You guys are killing me. Taking the bus, that may work. But there will
be no place to park. I don't particularly care. The closest I'll get
to Solitude Resort that weekend is the bar.


Long Story short : They all suck that week(end).

wrote:
Yabahoobs wrote:
Walt wrote:

If I found myself going to SLC over dead preznits weekend, I'd probably
hide out at Solitude for the three days.

My $.02.

BINGO.

But would Solitude from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. offer more opportunity than
Brighton from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.?

If you can last from 9am to 4pm and still want more, you are a better
man than I. People who ski first chair to last are pretty rare - I'm
one of them, but I'm usually ready to quit after 7 hours. Most people
last two to three hours and are done for the day.

My advice: get there early for first tracks. Eat lunch early, then get
out on the hill from noon to 1 when everybody else is in the lodge.
Spend the after-lunch rush on the least travelled part of the ski area
(hint: look for old slow fixed grip chairs) Venture back to the main
areas after 3, when the crowds are packing it in. If you have any
energy left after that, you were milking it - try harder tomorrow.

//Walt

In rec.skiing.alpine wrote:

Yabahoobs wrote:
Walt wrote:


If I found myself going to SLC over dead preznits weekend, I'd probably
hide out at Solitude for the three days.

My $.02.

BINGO.

But would Solitude from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. offer more opportunity than
Brighton from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.?

Solitude doesn't have as much variety in the blue range as
Brighton. Brighton will be a zoo. And also, you really think you will
be coming from Pennsylvania and skiing twelve hours? Just a thought.

-klaus

wrote:
Neil Gendzwill wrote:

Are the blues at Louise and Sunshine seriously "holy crap" compared to
those in the east? Never been to the east, don't have any idea how the
ratings compare.

Well, eastern terrain is pretty varied. I'm in Pennsylvania, which I
believe is less challenging than many places in New England. Some New
England ratings are probably comparable to those out west.

They vary in the west, too. Louise and Sunshine use a comparable scale,
but what's black at Kicking Horse would often rate a double-black in the
Banff area.

We visited Banff at the end of our first season of snowboarding, so we
stuck to the greens. The greens at Lake Louise definitely would have
been blues back home -- very steep in spots.

There's not a lot of green at the Lake. The main beginner's run
"Wiwaxi" definitely has some pitches that make beginners nervous.

The greens at Sunshine
Village were not as tough, just extremely long, which was fun (except
for the snowboard-unfriendly flat areas).

You've got to know when to point it at Sunshine, otherwise you're
walking a lot.

We went to Banff in early April. The conditions were still quite good,
but this time I wanted to experience peak season snow instead of spring
skiing conditions. Feb. is crowded for a good reason, I imagine.

Yeah, but if you avoid that one weekend it's still doable. The Canadian
resorts aren't near as crowded that weekend as the US ones, so maybe
consider switching your trip or doing it different next time.

Sunshine, for example, is perfectly rideable even on the ugliest
weekends. I was there Easter weekend - once you've done the gondola
thing, you're good to go. The hill is big enough to suck up a whole
pile of people. Parking is a royal pain on the crowded days, so taking
the hotel shuttle is a good idea.

Neil

klaus wrote:
In rec.skiing.alpine Yabahoobs wrote:
Walt wrote:

If I found myself going to SLC over dead preznits weekend, I'd probably
hide out at Solitude for the three days.

My $.02.

BINGO.

You guys are killing me. Taking the bus, that may work. But there will
be no place to park. I don't particularly care. The closest I'll get
to Solitude Resort that weekend is the bar.

Fair enough. Everywhere's crowded dead preznits weekend. Even Canada.
I'd figure that Solitude would be the least crowded of a crowded
bunch. parking - a good excuse to get there at 7:30 (which is a
leisurely 9:30 eastern time). Maybe a good weekend to take up XC?

The closest I'll get to Solitude Resort that weekend is the bar.

Me too. But the bar I'll be at will be farther than the bar you're at.

//Walt

wrote:

Neil Gendzwill wrote:

wrote:

Are the blues at Louise and Sunshine seriously "holy crap" compared to
those in the east? Never been to the east, don't have any idea how the
ratings compare.

Well, eastern terrain is pretty varied. I'm in Pennsylvania,

Ok. Here's the deal: The hills in PA are down at least a rating from
New England and the west; a blue in PA would rate green elsewhere. A
black in PA might be blue out west, although I've seen green runs out
west with spots that are steeper for longer than black runs in PA.
Anything blue in the west would be black in PA.

Moreover, Snowbird is one of the tougher resorts that the west has to
offer. If you find anything in PA daunting (including the "double
blacks" at Blue Mountain) you should probably not go to Snowbird.

BTW, lest I come off like some kind of vert snob, realize that I live &
ski in Michigan, which is on par with PA for the ratings. I ski PA every
Christmas and I've been to SLC half a dozen times, so I'm familiar with
the resorts in question. I mostly ski blues out west. I'm just trying
to present an objective assessment on the relative steepness, not stroke
myself about what a rad extreme dude I am.

//Walt


which I
believe is less challenging than many places in New England. Some New
England ratings are probably comparable to those out west.

We visited Banff at the end of our first season of snowboarding, so we
stuck to the greens. The greens at Lake Louise definitely would have
been blues back home -- very steep in spots. The greens at Sunshine
Village were not as tough, just extremely long, which was fun (except
for the snowboard-unfriendly flat areas). More experienced skiers and
riders on our trip also commented that many of the slopes they
encountered seemed to be a level above the ones with the same rating
that they were used to.


Lots of Americans in Canada that weekend, too. It's a crowded time to
go skiing.


We went to Banff in early April. The conditions were still quite good,
but this time I wanted to experience peak season snow instead of spring
skiing conditions. Feb. is crowded for a good reason, I imagine.

Joe Ramirez

Walt wrote:
wrote:
Yabahoobs wrote:
Walt wrote:

If I found myself going to SLC over dead preznits weekend, I'd probably
hide out at Solitude for the three days.

My $.02.

BINGO.

But would Solitude from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. offer more opportunity than
Brighton from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.?

If you can last from 9am to 4pm and still want more, you are a better
man than I. People who ski first chair to last are pretty rare - I'm
one of them, but I'm usually ready to quit after 7 hours. Most people
last two to three hours and are done for the day.

We certainly wouldn't go nonstop until closing time. No way. It's just
that a later close means more flexibility if we get there late, or take
a long lunch, or want to take a lesson, etc. I was hoping it might also
mean less population density on the slopes, since people can spread out
their activity over more hours. In short, we really don't *need* the
extra five hours, but I thought their availability might be helpful.

My advice: get there early for first tracks. Eat lunch early, then get
out on the hill from noon to 1 when everybody else is in the lodge.
Spend the after-lunch rush on the least travelled part of the ski area
(hint: look for old slow fixed grip chairs) Venture back to the main
areas after 3, when the crowds are packing it in. If you have any
energy left after that, you were milking it - try harder tomorrow.

Sounds like a sensible plan. Is there a huge rush for the ski buses at
the end of the day? Do more buses run to accommodate the crowd?

Joe Ramirez

Yabahoobs wrote:
klaus wrote:

You guys are killing me. Taking the bus, that may work. But there will
be no place to park. I don't particularly care. The closest I'll get
to Solitude Resort that weekend is the bar.


Long Story short : They all suck that week(end).

Maybe I can get Ski Salt Lake to give us the suck discount
retroactively!

Joe Ramirez

klaus wrote:
In rec.skiing.alpine wrote:

Yabahoobs wrote:
Walt wrote:


If I found myself going to SLC over dead preznits weekend, I'd probably
hide out at Solitude for the three days.

My $.02.

BINGO.

But would Solitude from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. offer more opportunity than
Brighton from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.?

Solitude doesn't have as much variety in the blue range as
Brighton. Brighton will be a zoo. And also, you really think you will
be coming from Pennsylvania and skiing twelve hours? Just a thought.

No -- as I mentioned in another post, it's more for flexibilty than for
duration.

Joe Ramirez